Cotter seemed to feel his way to the door, as if he were blind, or the room had been suddenly plunged1 into intense darkness. He hardly dared to breathe till he had opened the front door and admitted a short, enormously stout2 man who beamed on him mildly behind a pair of huge silver-rimmed spectacles. There was nothing in the stranger to inspire terror in the heart of Cotter, but his manner was servile to a degree.
"You see, I have come back again," the foreigner said. "Did I not tell you that I should come back, my friend? And it is no use telling me that Mr. Flower is not in, because I saw him arrive with his beautiful niece. In fact, I stood on the pavement on the other side of the road and watched the carriage come. If it had been all night I had to wait, I should have remained there. You have told your master I am coming?"
The Dutchman bustled4 into the dining-room and threw his hat and coat carelessly on a chair. Then he proceeded to wipe his spectacles on an immense red handkerchief which he produced from the tail pocket of his greasy5 frock-coat. Without ceremony he hustled6 Cotter to the door and closed it.
Flower stood moodily7 gazing into the fire-place without taking the least heed8 of his visitor. Not in the least disconcerted, the Dutchman wheeled a big armchair to the fire-place and made himself comfortable. Then from another capacious pocket he produced a villainous cigar with the fumes9 of which he began to poison the room. Helping10 himself liberally to brandy and soda11, he sat down patiently waiting for Flower to speak. Despite the man's fatness and the jovial12 twinkle in his eyes, there was something about him which spoke13 of a grim and determined14 nature. Evidently, too, he was master of the situation and knew it. The tension grew until Flower could stand it no longer.
"Well, what the devil do you want?" he broke out passionately15. "What are you doing here just at this time? Haven't I got worry enough without you turning up to blackmail16 me?"
The Dutchman waved the suggestion aside.
"There, my friend," he said coolly, "you are entirely17 wrong. I did not come here to blackmail you at all. You treated me very badly some years ago, and I have bided18 my time till I could get even with you. I don't know whether you are aware of it or not, but the time has come. I should like to know what you are going to do about it."
"Nothing," Flower said moodily. "I am going to let matters take their course. I am not afraid of you and the sooner you know it the better, and if you want money, well, you can't have it. For the last two years everything has gone wrong. People fight shy of me and only the smaller firms in the City will have any dealings with my firm. I am supposed to be rich and prosperous, to have made money in my own peculiar19 way, but I tell you I am a ruined, almost desperate man. Two years ago——"
"Ah, I know what you are going to say," the Dutchman chuckled20. "You are going to tell me that everything has gone wrong with you since that trouble over the Guelder Rose. There was the Japonica, too, and the time has gone by when you could make money in coffin21 wood. Well, on the whole, you have been a lucky man. If I choose to find where young Dr. Mercer is, and if we put our heads together, we could tell a story about the Guelder Rose which would land Mr. Samuel Flower within the four walls of a gaol22. Oh, you needn't look at me like that. I am not likely to do you any harm so long as I can make money out of you. I have waited long enough for this opportunity, knowing that you would find yourself in a corner sooner or later, and I have come here to-night to make a proposal. Why should you talk about being a ruined and desperate man when you have only to put out your hand and fill your pockets with treasure?"
Flower abandoned his place by the fire and began to walk up and down the room again. He was agitated23.
"I will not be fool enough to pretend to misunderstand you," he said hoarsely24. "I know what you are alluding25 to. You are speaking about that treasure which awaits us in North Borneo. I tell you I dare not. I cannot steel myself to go through that again. As for you, your case is different. Though you took a prominent part in that expedition you were wily enough to keep yourself in the background. Nobody could identify you with any of the men who fired that mine and washed a whole city to destruction. I used to marvel26 at your cunning——"
"I hope you admired it," Jansen chuckled. "Did you think that I was such a fool as to embark27 upon an enterprise like that without taking proper precautions? Did you suppose I didn't expect to be murdered on my way down to the coast? And didn't your native servants do their best, at your instigation, to put me away? Not that I bear you any malice28. I daresay if things had been otherwise I should have tried to wipe you out, as they say in America. When the time came I discreetly29 disappeared, and it was generally imagined that I had perished miserably30 in the jungle. My dear, respected partner, I did nothing of the kind. I kept my head and by and by went back to the scene of the destruction to see what I could pick up for myself."
"Absolutely nothing," the Dutchman said good-naturedly. "You had taken good care of that. But the stuff is there, and you know where it is to be found. That is why I am here to-night; why I want you to accompany me on a final voyage, after which neither of us will ever need to work again. The whole thing has blown over. There are no natives left to tell the tale, and we shall be rich men with a minimum expenditure32 of trouble. The key of the situation lies with us. You can do nothing without me and I am powerless without you. Let us make an offensive and defensive33 alliance and take out our own staff. What do you say?"
Jansen spread his hands cheerfully out to the blaze, his little eyes beaming with good-nature. He was not in the least like a man in the close proximity34 of his would-be murderer. He seemed to take everything for granted. Flower came to an abrupt35 halt by the fire and looked down at his companion.
"A very pretty programme," he sneered36. "Quite an excellent programme. We are to fit out an expedition to North Borneo together. We are to recover all that priceless treasure—why, the marvellous china and engraved37 glass alone would be worth a fortune—then come home rich beyond the dream of avarice38 and live happily for ever afterwards. It sounds delightful39, but there is one flaw. You are under the impression that the clan40 was destroyed root and branch when the city was washed away. You are mistaken. There were survivors41, and at least two of them to my certain knowledge are in England at the present moment. Do you know that my life is not worth a moment's purchase? Do you know that one attempt has already been made upon it? The next may be successful. And when I am got rid of, that treasure will never be seen again by mortal eye. Besides, how do you know you are safe yourself? You took extraordinary precautions, I know. But we had men to deal with whose cunning and foresight42 were far greater than our own. Now, in view of what I tell you, are you still bent43 on going?"
The twinkle had died out of the Dutchman's eyes and his rubicund44 face had grown solemn. He sat for a long time gazing into the fire before he spoke.
"You are sure of this?" he asked. "You are certain there has been no mistake."
By way of response Flower took an envelope from his pocket and produced a five-knotted piece of string. He handed it gravely to his companion.
"Look at that," he said. "You know what it means. Now, that came to me in a registered letter posted by my agent Slater, in Borneo. Mind you, though Slater knows nothing about this trouble, my correspondence with him is always conducted in cypher. The letter was so private and confidential45 that it was written by Slater himself and posted by his own hand. And yet, when I come to open the letter, I find this inside. You are an easy-going sort, but I ask you, would not your flesh creep and your hair stand on end if you found a message like that inside of a confidential letter, written, sealed and posted by another person? I tell you the play is finished, the game is up, and I am doomed46 just as irrevocably as if I were the victim of some incurable47 malignant48 disease. Come, you are a clever man, Dr. Jansen, can you show me any way out of this?"
Jansen played thoughtfully with the string, but no words crossed his lips. He was baffled.
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1
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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3
whined
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| v.哀号( whine的过去式和过去分词 )；哀诉，诉怨 | |
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4
bustled
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| 闹哄哄地忙乱，奔忙( bustle的过去式和过去分词 )； 催促 | |
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greasy
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| adj. 多脂的，油脂的 | |
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hustled
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| 催促（hustle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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7
moodily
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| adv.喜怒无常地；情绪多变地；心情不稳地；易生气地 | |
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8
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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fumes
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| n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体 | |
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helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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soda
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| n.苏打水；汽水 | |
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jovial
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| adj.快乐的，好交际的 | |
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13
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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14
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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16
blackmail
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| n.讹诈，敲诈，勒索，胁迫，恫吓 | |
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17
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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18
bided
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| v.等待，停留( bide的过去式 )；居住；等待；面临 | |
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19
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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20
chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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coffin
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| n.棺材，灵柩 | |
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22
gaol
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| n.(jail)监狱；(不加冠词)监禁；vt.使…坐牢 | |
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23
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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alluding
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| 提及，暗指( allude的现在分词 ) | |
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26
marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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embark
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| vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机 | |
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malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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discreetly
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| ad.(言行)审慎地，慎重地 | |
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30
miserably
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| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
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31
snarled
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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32
expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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33
defensive
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| adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的 | |
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proximity
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| n.接近，邻近 | |
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35
abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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36
sneered
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| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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37
engraved
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| v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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38
avarice
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| n.贪婪；贪心 | |
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39
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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40
clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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41
survivors
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| 幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 ) | |
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42
foresight
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| n.先见之明，深谋远虑 | |
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43
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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44
rubicund
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| adj.(脸色)红润的 | |
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45
confidential
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| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
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46
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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47
incurable
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| adj.不能医治的，不能矫正的，无救的；n.不治的病人，无救的人 | |
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48
malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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