VI. NEW FACTS.

 Mr. Van Burnam and his sons had gone through the formality of a supper and were conversing¹ in the haphazard² way natural to men filled with a subject they dare not discuss, when the door opened and Mr. Gryce came in.

 

Advancing very calmly, he addressed himself to the father:

 

"I am sorry," said he, "to be obliged to inform you that this affair is much more serious than we anticipated. This young woman was dead before the shelves laden³ with bric-à-brac fell upon her. It is a case of murder; obviously so, or I should not presume to forestall⁴ the Coroner's jury in their verdict."

 

Murder! it is a word to shake the stoutest⁵ heart!

 

The older gentleman reeled as he half rose, and Franklin, his son, betrayed in his own way an almost equal amount of emotion. But Howard, shrugging his shoulders as if relieved of an immense weight, looked about with a cheerful air, and briskly cried:

 

"Then it is not the body of my wife you have there. No one would murder Louise. I shall go away and prove the truth of my words by hunting her up at once."

 

The detective opened the door, beckoned⁶ in the doctor, who whispered two or three words into Howard's ear.

 

They failed to awake the emotion he evidently expected. Howard looked surprised, but answered without any change of voice:

 

"Yes, Louise had such a scar; and if it is true that this woman is similarly marked, then it is a mere⁷ coincidence. Nothing will convince me that my wife has been the victim of murder."

 

"Had you not better take a look at the scar just mentioned?"

 

"No. I am so sure of what I say that I will not even consider the possibility of my being mistaken. I have examined the clothing on this body you have shown me, and not one article of it came from my wife's wardrobe; nor would my wife go, as you have informed me this woman did, into a dark house at night with any other man than her husband."

 

"And so you absolutely refuse to acknowledge her."

 

"Most certainly."

 

The detective paused, glanced at the troubled faces of the other two gentlemen, faces that had not perceptibly altered during these declarations, and suggestively remarked:

 

"You have not asked by what means she was killed."

 

"And I don't care," shouted Howard.

 

"It was by very peculiar⁸ means, also new in my experience."

 

"It does not interest me," the other retorted.

 

Mr. Gryce turned to his father and brother.

 

"Does it interest you?" he asked.

 

The old gentleman, ordinarily so testy⁹ and so peremptory¹⁰, silently nodded his head, while Franklin cried:

 

"Speak up quick. You detectives hesitate so over the disagreeables. Was she throttled¹¹ or stabbed with a knife?"

 

"I have said the means were peculiar. She was stabbed, but not—with a knife."

 

I know Mr. Gryce well enough now to be sure that he did not glance towards Howard while saying this, and yet at the same time that he did not miss the quiver of a muscle on his part or the motion of an eyelash. But Howard's assumed sang froid remained undisturbed and his countenance¹² imperturbable¹³.

 

"The wound was so small," the detective went on, "that it is a miracle it did not escape notice. It was made by the thrust of some very slender instrument through——"

 

"The heart?" put in Franklin.

 

"Of course, of course," assented¹⁴ the detective; "what other spot is vulnerable enough to cause death?"

 

"Is there any reason why we should not go?" demanded Howard, ignoring the extreme interest manifested by the other two, with a determination that showed great doggedness of character.

 

The detective ignored him.

 

"A quick stroke, a sure stroke, a fatal stroke. The girl never breathed after."

 

"But what of those things under which she lay crushed?"

 

"Ah, in them lies the mystery! Her assailant must have been as subtle as he was sure."

 

And still Howard showed no interest.

 

"I wish to telegraph to Haddam," he declared, as no one answered the last remark. Haddam was the place where he and his wife had been spending the summer.

 

"We have already telegraphed there," observed Mr. Gryce. "Your wife has not yet returned."

 

"There are other places," defiantly¹⁵ insisted the other. "I can find her if you give me the opportunity."

 

Mr. Gryce bowed.

 

"I am to give orders, then, for this body to be removed to the Morgue."

 

It was an unexpected suggestion, and for an instant Howard showed that he had feelings with the best. But he quickly recovered himself, and avoiding the anxious glances of his father and brother, answered with offensive lightness:

 

"I have nothing to do with that. You must do as you think proper."

 

And Mr. Gryce felt that he had received a check, and did not know whether to admire the young man for his nerve or to execrate¹⁶ him for his brutality¹⁷. That the woman whom he had thus carelessly dismissed to the ignominy of the public gaze was his wife, the detective did not doubt.

 

1 conversing   

v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I find that conversing with her is quite difficult. 和她交谈实在很困难。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They were conversing in the parlor. 他们正在客厅谈话。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 haphazard   

adj.无计划的，随意的，杂乱无章的

参考例句：

• The town grew in a haphazard way.这城镇无计划地随意发展。
• He regrerted his haphazard remarks.他悔不该随口说出那些评论话。

3 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

4 forestall   

vt.抢在…之前采取行动；预先阻止

参考例句：

• I left the room to forestall involvements.我抢先离开了这房间以免受牵累。
• He followed this rule in order to forestall rumors.他遵守这条规矩是为了杜绝流言蜚语。

5 stoutest   

粗壮的( stout的最高级 )； 结实的； 坚固的； 坚定的

参考例句：

• The screams of the wounded and dying were something to instil fear into the stoutest heart. 受伤者垂死者的尖叫，令最勇敢的人都胆战心惊。

6 beckoned   

v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He beckoned to the waiter to bring the bill. 他招手示意服务生把账单送过来。
• The seated figure in the corner beckoned me over. 那个坐在角落里的人向我招手让我过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

8 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

9 testy   

adj.易怒的；暴躁的

参考例句：

• Ben's getting a little testy in his old age.上了年纪后本变得有点性急了。
• A doctor was called in to see a rather testy aristocrat.一个性格相当暴躁的贵族召来了一位医生为他检查。

10 peremptory   

adj.紧急的，专横的，断然的

参考例句：

• The officer issued peremptory commands.军官发出了不容许辩驳的命令。
• There was a peremptory note in his voice.他说话的声音里有一种不容置辩的口气。

11 throttled   

v.扼杀( throttle的过去式和过去分词 )；勒死；使窒息；压制

参考例句：

• He throttled the guard with his bare hands. 他徒手掐死了卫兵。
• The pilot got very low before he throttled back. 飞行员减速之前下降得很低。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 countenance   

n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同

参考例句：

• At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
• I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地，仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。

13 imperturbable   

adj.镇静的

参考例句：

• Thomas,of course,was cool and aloof and imperturbable.当然，托马斯沉着、冷漠，不易激动。
• Edward was a model of good temper and his equanimity imperturbable.爱德华是个典型的好性子，他总是沉着镇定。

14 assented   

同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The judge assented to allow the prisoner to speak. 法官同意允许犯人申辩。
• "No," assented Tom, "they don't kill the women -- they're too noble. “对，”汤姆表示赞同地说，“他们不杀女人——真伟大！

15 defiantly   

adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地

参考例句：

• Braving snow and frost, the plum trees blossomed defiantly. 红梅傲雪凌霜开。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 execrate   

v.憎恶；厌恶；诅咒

参考例句：

• Others execrate it.有些人痛恨它。
• I execrate people who deceive and tell lies.我憎恶那些欺骗和说谎的人。

17 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军