登陆注册
5215600000105

第105章

He would not believe in the possibility of failure; the mere hint of such a thing made his brain reel with rage. Every circumstance pointing to it appeared incredible. The statement of Hirsch, which was so absolutely fatal to his hopes, could by no means be admitted. It is true, too, that Hirsch's story had been told so incoherently, with such excessive signs of distraction, that it really looked improbable. It was extremely difficult, as the saying is, to make head or tail of it. On the bridge of the steamer, directly after his rescue, Sotillo and his officers, in their impatience and excitement, would not give the wretched man time to collect such few wits as remained to him. He ought to have been quieted, soothed, and reassured, whereas he had been roughly handled, cuffed, shaken, and addressed in menacing tones. His struggles, his wriggles, his attempts to get down on his knees, followed by the most violent efforts to break away, as if he meant incontinently to jump overboard, his shrieks and shrinkings and cowering wild glances had filled them first with amazement, then with a doubt of his genuineness, as men are wont to suspect the sincerity of every great passion. His Spanish, too, became so mixed up with German that the better half of his statements remained incomprehensible. He tried to propitiate them by calling them hochwohlgeborene Herren , which in itself sounded suspicious. When admonished sternly not to trifle he repeated his entreaties and protestations of loyalty and innocence again in German, obstinately, because he was not aware in what language he was speaking. His identity, of course, was perfectly known as an inhabitant of Esmeralda, but this made the matter to clearer.

As he kept on forgetting Decoud's name, mixing him up with several other people he had seen in the Casa Gould, it looked as if they all had been in the lighter together; and for a moment Sotillo thought that he had drowned every prominent Ribierist of Sulaco. The improbability of such a thing threw a doubt upon the whole statement. Hirsch was either mad or playing a part -- pretending fear and distraction on the spur of the moment to cover the truth. Sotillo's rapacity, excited to the highest pitch by the prospect of an immense booty, could believe in nothing adverse. This Jew might have been very much frightened by the accident, but he knew where the silver was concealed, and had invented this story, with his Jewish cunning, to put him entirely off the track as to what had been done.

Sotillo had taken up his quarters on the upper floor in a vast apartment with heavy black beams. But there was no ceiling, and the eye lost itself in the darkness under the high pitch of the roof. The thick shutters stood open. On a long table could be seen a large inkstand, some stumpy, inky quill pens, and two square wooden boxes, each holding half a hundredweight of sand. Sheets of grey coarse official paper bestrewed the floor. It must have been a room occupied by some higher official of the Customs, because a large leathern armchair stood behind the table, with other high-backed chairs scattered about. A net hammock was swung under one of the beams -- for the official's afternoon siesta, no doubt. A couple of candles stuck into tall iron candlesticks gave a dim reddish light. The colonel's hat, sword, and revolver lay between them, and a couple of his more trusty officers lounged gloomily against the table. The colonel threw himself into the armchair, and a big Negro with a sergeant's stripes on his ragged sleeve, kneeling down, pulled off his boots. Sotillo's ebony moustache contrasted violently with the livid colouring of his cheeks. His eyes were sombre and as if sunk very far into his head. He seemed exhausted by his perplexities, languid with disappointment; but when the sentry on the landing thrust his head in to announce the arrival of a prisoner, he revived at once.

`Let him be brought in,' he shouted, fiercely.

The door flew open, and Captain Mitchell, bareheaded, his waistcoat open, the bow of his tie under his ear, was hustled into the room.

Sotillo recognized him at once. He could not have hoped for a more precious capture; here was a man who could tell him, if he chose, everything he wished to know -- and directly the problem of how best to make him talk to the point presented itself to his mind. The resentment of a foreign nation had no terrors for Sotillo. The might of the whole armed Europe would not have protected Captain Mitchell from insults and ill-usage, so well as the quick reflection of Sotillo that this was an Englishman who would most likely turn obstinate under bad treatment, and become quite unmanageable. At all events, the colonel smoothed the scowl on his brow.

`What! The excellent Senor Mitchell!' he cried, in affected dismay.

The pretended anger of his swift advance and of his shout, `Release the caballero at once,' was so effective that the astounded soldiers positively sprang away from their prisoner. Thus suddenly deprived of forcible support, Captain Mitchell reeled as though about to fall. Sotillo took him familiarly under the arm, led him to a chair, waved his hand at the room. `Go out, all of you,' he commanded.

When they had been left alone he stood looking down, irresolute and silent, watching till Captain Mitchell had recovered his power of speech.

Here in his very grasp was one of the men concerned in the removal of the silver. Sotillo's temperament was of that sort that he experienced an ardent desire to beat him; just as formerly when negotiating with difficulty a loan from the cautious Anzani, his fingers always itched to take the shopkeeper by the throat. As to Captain Mitchell, the suddenness, unexpectedness, and general inconceivableness of this experience had confused his thoughts.

Moreover, he was physically out of breath.

同类推荐
  • A Woman of Thirty

    A Woman of Thirty

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 无梦园初集

    无梦园初集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 铁花仙史

    铁花仙史

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 内身观章句经

    内身观章句经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 解老

    解老

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 中医治病的奥秘:辨证论治

    中医治病的奥秘:辨证论治

    中国医学有数千年的历史,是中国光辉灿烂的古文化的一个重要组成部分,为人民群众解除了疾病和痛苦、为中华民族的发展作出了巨大贡献。中医的核心内容即是辨证论治和整体观念。辨证论治是中医学的特点与精华,是中医学对疾病的一种特殊的研究和处理方法。辨证论治是我国特有的,根据病理变化进行治疗的一种临床诊疗原则,它的形成与发展经过了两千多年的漫长过程。《中国文化知识读本·中医治病的奥秘:辨证论治》介绍了中医辨证论治的起源、阴阳五行学说、中医外科守护、心理疗法、针灸辨治等内容。
  • 绝世女侠

    绝世女侠

    一次变性手术,她成了没有女性特征的异类。手刃色魔后,她悲摧地穿越了。未想到,竟意外再次遇到色魔,没有隐忍,没有退路。争斗中,芳心亦渐渐萌动。而那个男人,竟是色魔之子。到最后,这段天赐孽缘,该如何收场?--情节虚构,请勿模仿
  • 医手遮天:千面皇妃

    医手遮天:千面皇妃

    1世纪金牌医生穿越成废柴嫡女,被亲爹和未婚夫扔进瘟疫村。既然世人骗我,欺我,害我!那她就:毒他,辱他,灭他。看她除瘟疫、治难疑、整恶亲,戏王爷,医手遮天,傲世天下!
  • 最后一位大元素使

    最后一位大元素使

    元素使可以任意调用天地间的魔法元素,而大元素使则是世间万物的主人。唐德森是蓝月大陆的一位元素使,在经历圣战后成长为大元素使,所有神明都忌惮他的存在,还很弱小的他又该何去何从?
  • 妈咪,爹地又来了

    妈咪,爹地又来了

    她从小被遗弃,十八岁被继母陷害,生下父不详的孩子之后被赶走。五年后,她带着天才宝贝归来,“女人,你五年前偷走了我的两个宝贝,还被你弄丢了一个!我该怎么惩罚你?嗯?”她大惊,“不要瞎说!我只偷走了一个……”(甜宠无下限,有天才小包子!)
  • 进化之龙皇传说

    进化之龙皇传说

    在这个科技发达的年代,却依然有着无数科学解释不了的超自然现象。甚至有科学家说,就在地星上,一些人类接触不到的地方,生活着奇奇怪怪的智慧生物!很可能,每一种都比人类强大!不过李江枫不怕,因为他自己就是条龙。
  • 骊宫高-美天子重惜

    骊宫高-美天子重惜

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 机器脑

    机器脑

    什么?英雄联盟的人物?什么?机器人附身成为人类主角?什么?诺克萨斯与德玛西亚的战争居然导火索在这里?什么?卡特初恋居然是那个霸气无双的男人?均衡教派与影流教派的羁绊竟然这般错乱复杂?源计划组合究竟强大到何种程度?暗影岛究竟藏着多少秘密?
  • 我的异界历险记

    我的异界历险记

    一觉醒来,身处异界。从此踏上与神为师,与魔为敌之路。奋起吧!不畏艰难,不畏苦难。用独特的力量对抗敌人,催魔灭鬼!守护新世界!
  • 豪门弃妇:影帝,别过来!

    豪门弃妇:影帝,别过来!

    "即墨嫣嫣,跨国集团的千金小姐,却也是个人人耻笑的傻子!一朝撞击,她恢复清醒理智,却撞破丈夫与别人在床上……本以为继续装傻就可以摆脱丈夫那个噩梦,没想到,一个个坏消息接踵而来!父亲病故,家产被夺,她也在一夕之间变成了豪门弃妇……温亦阳,影视界的神话,众多女生追捧的天王巨星,却独独对她一个弃妇爱不释手,霸道守护……什么前夫旧爱,什么渣男小三,敢碰他的影后,统统收拾再说!"