Russell smiled slightly in reply. Apparently1 he expected Uzali to make that guess, for he went on again unsurprised. Nor had Mercer time to show any astonishment2.
"I am obliged to you for saving me so much trouble," Russell said. "It is so pleasant to have an appreciative3 audience. I don't mind admitting that at the time I was more surprised than Mr. Uzali appears to be now. Mind you, I knew Samuel Flower well enough. I had done a variety of work for him from time to time, some of it shady, but nothing that one could call positively4 dishonourable. But to see that man on that side of the globe came on me like a shock. I thought the blackguard was in London, engaged in his congenial occupation of sending coffin5 ships to sea and profiting by their wrecks6. When I came to think of it, I remembered Flower once telling me that he had been pretty well all over the world in his youth, and now I guessed what he was doing in that out-of-way spot. I knew he was there with sinister7 designs upon my friendly host. I knew he must be at the head of the faction8 of natives who were bearing down upon the devoted9 city."
Russell paused and helped himself to a fresh cigarette.
"Mind you, I am not taking credit to myself for any philanthropy," he went on. "I admit those people were very good to me, but I wanted to get back to civilization nevertheless. And I am afraid I was thinking more about those jewels than anything else. If I could succeed in reaching the coast with them, why, then, my fortune was made. All these thoughts passed swiftly through my mind as I crouched10 behind the friendly shelter, watching Flower and his companions. There were two Europeans besides himself, and some half-a-dozen natives who stood at a distance waiting for orders. It puzzled me to know what they were doing up there, and it was some little time before I could make out. But gradually the thing began to appear plainer, for one of the Europeans came along with something in his hand which I made out to be an electric battery. This man silently paced along the whole length of the dam, then he proceeded to make pencil notes in a pocket-book. Flower seemed to be watching him carefully, as if waiting for a verdict.
"'No great difficulty,' said the man with the pocket-book by and by. 'On the whole the thing appears feasible. It only means removing a stone or two and applying a big charge of dynamite11 and the thing is done. I don't think we need take the trouble to keep our men here. The less people we have about us the better. We can easily find some excuse for sending them to the coast. It is by far the most expeditious12 plan, to say nothing of its absolute safety.'
"'And those places down there?' Flower asked.
"'What does it matter?' he asked. 'It will only make the game exciting afterwards—the finest game of hide-and-seek you ever had in your life. You leave it to me and I'll fix it all right. And the sooner it comes off the better.'"
Russell made another pause.
"I daresay you will think me stupid," he said, "but for the moment I could not make out what those fellows were doing. I knew there was mischief14 on foot. I knew that Samuel Flower would never come all that way for nothing. But, for the life of me, I couldn't see what they were driving at. I stayed there thinking the matter over long after Flower and his companions had gone, but the more I pondered the more muddled15 I grew. Still, I decided16 to go down presently and see how the chief was progressing. It only wanted a glance in the moonlight to see what had happened. The poor fellow was dead. He had told me the sober truth. He had fallen by a poisoned arrow shot by one of those miscreants17 who had guided Flower and his companions to that out-of-the-way corner of the world.
"But there was nothing for it but to wait for the morning. I went back to my own quarters sorrowfully enough, feeling that I had lost what little power I possessed18, for since the chief was dead my reputation for surgery would vanish to nothing. I might alarm the natives in the morning and try to show them what was in store for them if they had not much faith in my diplomacy19. I lay on my bed full of fears and none the less alarmed because I did not know in which quarter to look for the danger. I suppose I must have dozed20 off into a sort of sleep, when I was alarmed by a tremendous crash and boom overhead as if a mighty21 thunderstorm were in progress, and a moment later I heard the torrents23 of rain roaring down the flinty streets. Even then I did not connect this with the peril24 to come, though it was impossible to sleep for the noise of the rushing waters, and I sat up in bed. Presently I could see the yellow flood creeping into my room and almost before I knew where it was it was knee-deep on the floor.
"And then it flashed across me what had happened. The truth came too late. I saw once more in my mind's eye the man jotting25 down his calculations in a pocket-book. It came back to me with vivid force what he had said about the dynamite, and I knew. They had removed some of the heavy coping-stones from the top of the dam, then with the aid of their battery they had fired a mine of dynamite, and in the twinkling of an eye the dam was no more. The huge wall had been removed as if by a gigantic knife, and the great lake overhead was rushing on to the destruction of the city. In a few minutes every man, woman and child would perish, and the gigantic buildings be torn apart like so many packs of cards.
"I rose from my bed and rushed into the street where the torrent22 was already high. With a shudder26 I looked upwards27 and saw a huge wall of water bearing down upon me like some all-compelling cataract28 down an Alpine29 mountain side. I could hear a cry now and again as something human flashed by me, but I was powerless to give any assistance; I was even powerless to secure my own safety. A moment later and the water had me in its grip, tossing and turning me over as if I had been a chip. I remember sliding over a ledge30 of rock and finding myself pinioned31 by a great mass of bushes whilst the water slid over me, leaving me free to breathe, and indeed, the mass of rock forming a huge cascade32 as it did, saved my life.
"Goodness knows how long I was held there. It seemed that the night changed to day and the day to dusk again before the mighty roar ceased and I was free to creep from under the shelter of the rock and gaze on the destruction which had taken place around me. As to the city itself, it had vanished. The great stone buildings were gone, the mass of temples were no more, nothing remained to speak of what had been except a mighty jumble33 of stones at the foot of the valley. I was the sole survivor34 of that appalling35 calamity36. It did not need any one to inform me that I witnessed one of the most awful tragedies of modern times. For the time being I could not even think.
"But gradually my strength and courage came back to me. I knew that I was not altogether alone. I knew now what Flower and his fellow-miscreants were after. They had not dared to meet the people of the granite37 city single-handed; they had taken this murderous way of sweeping38 life out of existence, so that they might recover the lost treasures of the city without interruption.
"This knowledge was my one chance of salvation39. If I could keep on the track of those people without being seen, then it was just possible that I might make my way down to the coast. I could hang about the camp at night, for they would not be likely to keep a very close watch, so that I could help myself to what food I required. For the best part of three days I hid myself closely in the daylight and prowled about at night until I got on the track of those people. As I had expected, they were after plunder40 alone, and gradually began to collect a mass of loot. But with all my caution there was one thing I did not succeed in finding out, and that was, where the stuff was hidden. At the end of a week they appeared to be satisfied, and one morning they moved off towards the coast. It was only by a bit of sheer luck that I managed to keep up with them. You see, I had my life to think of, for all the treasure on the island was worthless to me without that. At the end of a week we began to see signs of civilization and I could afford to drop back and let Flower and his party go their own way. The strange part of the whole thing was this—when Flower reached the sea, save for one European he was alone. I don't insinuate41 anything, but I feel certain that not one of Flower's escort lived to tell the tale. I believe that every native who went with him as far as the granite city was murdered. Oh, that would be nothing to a man like Flower. It would be easy to make a present of a case of whisky to those natives and see that it was heavily drugged with poison. And now I think I have told you everything. Every word of it is true."
"Absolutely true," Uzali said. "I can confirm it if necessary. For the chief you spoke42 of just now was well known to me; in fact, I may say that he was my elder brother."
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1
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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2
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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3
appreciative
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| adj.有鉴赏力的，有眼力的；感激的 | |
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4
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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5
coffin
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| n.棺材，灵柩 | |
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6
wrecks
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| n.沉船( wreck的名词复数 )；（事故中）遭严重毁坏的汽车（或飞机等）；（身体或精神上）受到严重损伤的人；状况非常糟糕的车辆（或建筑物等）v.毁坏[毁灭]某物( wreck的第三人称单数 )；使（船舶）失事，使遇难，使下沉 | |
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7
sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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8
faction
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| n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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10
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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11
dynamite
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| n./vt.(用)炸药(爆破) | |
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12
expeditious
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| adj.迅速的，敏捷的 | |
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13
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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14
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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15
muddled
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| adj.混乱的；糊涂的；头脑昏昏然的v.弄乱，弄糟( muddle的过去式)；使糊涂；对付，混日子 | |
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16
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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17
miscreants
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| n.恶棍，歹徒( miscreant的名词复数 ) | |
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18
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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19
diplomacy
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| n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕 | |
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20
dozed
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| v.打盹儿，打瞌睡( doze的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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21
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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22
torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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torrents
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| n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断 | |
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24
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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25
jotting
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| n.简短的笔记，略记v.匆忙记下( jot的现在分词 )；草草记下，匆匆记下 | |
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26
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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27
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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28
cataract
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| n.大瀑布，奔流，洪水，白内障 | |
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29
alpine
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| adj.高山的；n.高山植物 | |
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30
ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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31
pinioned
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| v.抓住[捆住]（双臂）( pinion的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32
cascade
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| n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下 | |
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33
jumble
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| vt.使混乱，混杂；n.混乱；杂乱的一堆 | |
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34
survivor
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| n.生存者，残存者，幸存者 | |
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35
appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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36
calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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37
granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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38
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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39
salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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40
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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41
insinuate
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| vt.含沙射影地说，暗示 | |
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42
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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