The July weather had been magnificent—blue skies, a gentle wind, and a sea scarcely silvered by a comber.
Assorted1 denizens2 of the Atlantic took part in the traditional vaudeville3 performance for the benefit of the Volhynia passengers; gulls4 followed the wake to mid-ocean; Mother Carey’s chickens skimmed the baby billows; dolphins turned watery5 flip-flaps under the bows; and even a distant whale consented to oblige.
Everybody pervaded6 the decks morning, noon, and evening; the most squeamish recovered confidence in twenty-four hours; and every constitutional lubber concluded he was a born sailor.
Neeland really was one; no nausea7 born from the bad adjustment of that anatomical auricular gyroscope recently discovered in man ever disturbed his abdominal8 nerves. Short of shipwreck9, he enjoyed any entertainment the Atlantic offered him.
So he was always on deck, tranquilly10 happy and with nothing in the world to disturb him except his responsibility for the olive-wood box.
He dared not leave it in his locked cabin; he dared not entrust11 it to anybody; he lugged12 it about with him wherever he went. On deck it stood beside his steamer chair; it dangled13 from his hand when he promenaded14, 194exciting the amazement15 and curiosity of others; it reposed16 on the floor under the table and beneath his attentive17 feet when he was at meals.
These elaborate precautions indicated his wholesome18 respect for the persistence19 of Scheherazade and her friends; he was forever scanning his fellow-voyagers at table, in the smoking room, and as they strolled to and fro in front of his steamer chair, trying to make up his mind concerning them.
But Neeland, a clever observer of externals, was no reader of character. The passenger list never seemed to confirm any conclusions he arrived at concerning any of the passengers on the Volhynia. A gentleman he mistook for an overfed broker20 turned out to be a popular clergyman with outdoor proclivities21; a slim, poetic-looking youth who carried a copy of “Words and Wind” about the deck travelled for the Gold Leaf Lard Company.
Taking them all in all, Neeland concluded that they were as harmless a collection of reconcentrados as he had ever observed; and he was strongly tempted22 to leave the box in his locked stateroom.
He decided23 to do so one afternoon after luncheon24, and, lugging25 his box, started to return to his stateroom with that intention, instead of going on deck, as usual, for a postprandial cigarette.
There was nobody in the main corridor as he passed, but in the short, carpeted passage leading to his stateroom he caught a glimpse of a white serge skirt vanishing into the stateroom opposite to his, and heard the door close and the noise of a key turned quickly.
His steward26, being questioned on the first day out, had told him that this stateroom was occupied by an invalid27 gentleman travelling alone, who preferred to 195remain there instead of trusting to his crutches28 on a temperamental deck.
Neeland, passing the closed and curtained door, wondered whether the invalid had made a hit, or whether he had a relative aboard who wore a white serge skirt, white stockings and shoes, and was further endowed with agreeable ankles.
He fitted his key to his door, turned it, withdrew the key to pocket it; and immediately became aware that the end of the key was sticky.
He entered the stateroom, however, and bolted the door, then he sat down on his sofa and examined his fingers and his door key attentively29. There was wax sticking to both.
When he had fully30 digested this fact he wiped and pocketed his key and cast a rather vacant look around the little stateroom. And immediately his eye was arrested by a white object lying on the carpet between the bed and the sofa—a woman’s handkerchief, without crest31 or initials, but faintly scented32.
After he became tired of alternately examining it and sniffing34 it, he put it in his pocket and began an uneasy tour of his room.
If it had been entered and ransacked35, everything had been replaced exactly as he had left it, as well as he could remember. Nothing excepting this handkerchief and the wax on the key indicated intrusion; nothing, apparently36, had been disturbed; and yet there was the handkerchief; and there was the wax on the end of his door key.
“Here’s a fine business!” he muttered to himself; and rang for his steward.
The man came—a cockney, dense37 as his native fog—who maintained that nobody could have entered the 196stateroom without his knowledge or the knowledge of the stewardess38.
“Do you think she’s been in my cabin?”
“No, sir.”
“Call her.”
The stewardess, an alert, intelligent little woman with a trace of West Indian blood in her, denied entering his stateroom. Shown the handkerchief and invited to sniff33 it, she professed39 utter ignorance concerning it, assured him that no lady in her section used that perfume, and offered to show it to the stewardesses40 of other sections on the chance of their identifying the perfume or the handkerchief.
“All right,” said Neeland; “take it. But bring it back. And here’s a sovereign. And—one thing more. If anybody pays you to deceive me, come to me and I’ll outbid them. Is that a bargain?”
“Yes, sir,” she said unblushingly.
When she had gone away with the handkerchief, Neeland closed the door again and said to the steward:
“Keep an eye on my door. I am positive that somebody has taken a wax impression of the keyhole. What I said to that stewardess also holds good with you. I’ll outbid anybody who bribes41 you.”
“Very good, sir.”
“Sure it’s good! It’s devilish good. Here’s a beautiful and newly minted gold sovereign. Isn’t it artistic42? It’s yours, steward.”
“Thanky, sir.”
“Not at all. And, by the way, what’s that invalid gentleman’s name?”
“’Awks, sir.”
“Yes, sir; Mr. ’Erbert ’Awks.”197
“American?”
“I don’t know, sir.”
“British?”
“Shall I inquire, sir?” starting to go.
“Not of him! Don’t be a lunatic, steward! Please try to understand that I want nothing said about this matter or about my inquiries44.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Very well, then! Find out, if you can, who Mr. Herbert Hawks is. Find out all you can concerning him. It’s easy money, isn’t it?”
“Oh, yes, sir––”
“Wait a moment. Has he any friends or relatives on board?”
“Not that I know, sir.”
“Oh, no friends, eh? No ladies who wear white serge skirts and white shoes and stockings?”
“No, sir, not as I knows of.”
“Oh! Suppose you step across to his door, knock, and ask him if he rang. And, if the door is opened, take a quick slant45 at the room.”
“Very good, sir.”
Neeland, his door at the crack, watched the steward cross the corridor and knock at the door of Mr. Herbert Hawks.
“Well, what iss it?” came a heavy voice from within.
“Mr. ’Awks, sir, did you ring?”
“No, I did not.”
“Oh, beg pardon, sir––”
The steward was starting to return to Neeland, but that young man motioned him violently away from his door and closed it. Then, listening, his ear against the panel, he presently heard a door in the passage creak open a little way, then close again, stealthily.198
He possessed46 his soul in patience, believing that Mr. Hawks or his fair friend in the white skirt had merely taken a preliminary survey of the passage and perhaps also of his closed door. But the vigil was vain; the door did not reopen; no sound came from the stateroom across the passageway.
To make certain that the owner of the white shoes and stockings did not leave that stateroom without his knowledge, he opened his door with many precautions and left it on the crack, stretching a rubber band from knob to bolt, so that the wind from the open port in the passage should not blow it shut. Then, drawing his curtain, he sat down to wait.
He had a book, one of those slobbering American novels which serve up falsehood thickly buttered with righteousness and are consumed by the morally sterilised.
And, as he smoked he read; and, as he read he listened. One eye always remained on duty; one ear was alert; he meant to see who was the owner of the white shoes if it took the remainder of the voyage to find out.
The book aided him as a commonplace accompaniment aids a soloist—alternately boring and exasperating47 him.
It was an “uplift” book, where the heroine receives whacks48 with patient smiles. Fate boots her from pillar to post and she blesses Fate and is much obliged. That most deadly reproach to degenerate49 human nature—the accidental fact of sex—had been so skilfully50 extirpated51 from those pages that, like chaste52 amœbæ, the characters merely multiplied by immaculate subdivision; and millions of lineal descendants of the American Dodo were made gleeful for $1.50 net.199
It was hard work waiting, harder work reading, but between the two and a cigarette now and then Neeland managed to do his sentry53 go until dinner time approached and the corridors resounded54 with the trample55 of the hungry.
The stewardess reappeared a little later and returned to him his handkerchief and the following information:
Mr. Hawks, it appeared, travelled with a trained nurse, whose stateroom was on another deck. That nurse was not in her stateroom, but a similar handkerchief was, scented with similar perfume.
“You’re a wonder,” said Neeland, placing some more sovereigns in her palm and closing her fingers over them. “What is the nurse’s name?”
“Miss White.”
“Very suitable name. Has she ever before visited Herr—I mean Mr.—Hawks in his stateroom?”
“Her stewardess says she has been indisposed since we left New York.”
“Hasn’t been out of her cabin?”
“No.”
“I see. Did you inquire what she looked like?”
“Her stewardess couldn’t be certain. The stateroom was kept dark and the tray containing her meals was left at the bedside. Miss White smokes.”
“Yes,” said Neeland reflectively, “she smokes Red Light cigarettes, I believe. Thank you, very much. More sovereigns if you are discreet56. And say to my steward that I’ll dine in my stateroom. Soup, fish, meat, any old thing you can think of. Do you understand?”
“Perfectly, sir.”
When she had withdrawn57 he kneeled down on his 200sofa and looked out through the port at the sunset sea.
There was a possibility that Scheherazade and her friends might be on board the Volhynia. Who else would be likely to take wax impressions of his keyhole and leave a scented scrap58 of a handkerchief on his stateroom floor?
That they had kept themselves not only out of sight but off the passenger list merely corroborated59 suspicion. That’s what they’d be likely to do.
And now there was no question in his mind of leaving the box in his cabin. He’d cling to it like a good woman to alimony. Death alone could separate his box from him.
As he knelt there, sniffing the salt perfume of the sea, his ears on duty detected the sound of a tray in the corridor.
“Leave it on the camp-table outside my door!” he said over his shoulder.
“Very good, sir.”
He was not hungry; he was thinking too hard.
The prospect62 was not agreeable for a man who loved the sea. All day and most of the starry63 night the hurricane deck called to him, and his whole anatomy64 responded. And now to sit hunched65 up here like a rat in the hold was not to his taste. Suppose he should continue to frequent the deck, carrying with him his box, of course. He might never discover who owned the white serge skirt or who owned the voice which pronounced is as “iss.”
Meanwhile, it occurred to him that for a quarter of an hour or more his dinner outside his door had been 201growing colder and colder. So he slid from the sofa, unstrapped the rubber band, opened the door, lifted table and tray into his stateroom with a sharp glance at the opposite door, and, readjusting the rubber band, composed himself to eat.
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1
assorted
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| adj.各种各样的，各色俱备的 | |
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denizens
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| n.居民，住户( denizen的名词复数 ) | |
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vaudeville
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| n.歌舞杂耍表演 | |
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gulls
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| n.鸥( gull的名词复数 )v.欺骗某人( gull的第三人称单数 ) | |
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watery
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| adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的 | |
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pervaded
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| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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nausea
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| n.作呕，恶心；极端的憎恶(或厌恶) | |
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abdominal
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| adj.腹（部）的，下腹的；n.腹肌 | |
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shipwreck
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| n.船舶失事，海难 | |
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tranquilly
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| adv. 宁静地 | |
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entrust
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| v.信赖，信托，交托 | |
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12
lugged
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| vt.用力拖拉（lug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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13
dangled
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| 悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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14
promenaded
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| v.兜风( promenade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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reposed
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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17
attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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18
wholesome
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| adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的 | |
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19
persistence
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| n.坚持，持续，存留 | |
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20
broker
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| n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排 | |
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21
proclivities
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| n.倾向，癖性( proclivity的名词复数 ) | |
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22
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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23
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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24
luncheon
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| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
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lugging
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| 超载运转能力 | |
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26
steward
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| n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员 | |
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27
invalid
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| n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的 | |
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28
crutches
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| n.拐杖, 支柱 v.支撑 | |
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29
attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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30
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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32
scented
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| adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词) | |
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33
sniff
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| vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视 | |
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34
sniffing
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| n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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35
ransacked
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| v.彻底搜查( ransack的过去式和过去分词 )；抢劫，掠夺 | |
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36
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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38
stewardess
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| n.空中小姐，女乘务员 | |
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professed
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| 公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的 | |
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stewardesses
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| （飞机上的）女服务员，空中小姐( stewardess的名词复数 ) | |
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41
bribes
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| n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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42
artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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43
hawks
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| 鹰( hawk的名词复数 )； 鹰派人物，主战派人物 | |
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44
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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45
slant
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| v.倾斜，倾向性地编写或报道；n.斜面，倾向 | |
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46
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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47
exasperating
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| adj. 激怒的 动词exasperate的现在分词形式 | |
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48
whacks
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| n.重击声( whack的名词复数 )；不正常；有毛病v.重击，使劲打( whack的第三人称单数 ) | |
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49
degenerate
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| v.退步，堕落；adj.退步的，堕落的；n.堕落者 | |
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50
skilfully
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| adv. (美skillfully)熟练地 | |
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51
extirpated
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| v.消灭，灭绝( extirpate的过去式和过去分词 )；根除 | |
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52
chaste
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| adj.贞洁的；有道德的；善良的；简朴的 | |
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53
sentry
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| n.哨兵，警卫 | |
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54
resounded
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| v.（指声音等）回荡于某处( resound的过去式和过去分词 )；产生回响；（指某处）回荡着声音 | |
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55
trample
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| vt.踩，践踏；无视，伤害，侵犯 | |
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56
discreet
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| adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的 | |
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57
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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58
scrap
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| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
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corroborated
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| v.证实，支持（某种说法、信仰、理论等）( corroborate的过去式 ) | |
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60
squat
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| v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的 | |
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61
ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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62
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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63
starry
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| adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的 | |
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64
anatomy
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| n.解剖学，解剖；功能，结构，组织 | |
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65
hunched
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| （常指因寒冷、生病或愁苦）耸肩弓身的，伏首前倾的 | |
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