登陆注册
5301600000026

第26章 TROTTLE'S REPORT(1)

The curious events related in these pages would,many of them,most likely never have happened,if a person named Trottle had not presumed,contrary to his usual custom,to think for himself.

The subject on which the person in question had ventured,for the first time in his life,to form an opinion purely and entirely his own,was one which had already excited the interest of his respected mistress in a very extraordinary degree.Or,to put it in plainer terms still,the subject was no other than the mystery of the empty House.

Feeling no sort of objection to set a success of his own,if possible,side by side with a failure of Mr.Jarber's,Trottle made up his mind,one Monday evening,to try what he could do,on his own account,towards clearing up the mystery of the empty House.

Carefully dismissing from his mind all nonsensical notions of former tenants and their histories,and keeping the one point in view steadily before him,he started to reach it in the shortest way,by walking straight up to the House,and bringing himself face to face with the first person in it who opened the door to him.

It was getting towards dark,on Monday evening,the thirteenth of the month,when Trottle first set foot on the steps of the House.

When he knocked at the door,he knew nothing of the matter which he was about to investigate,except that the landlord was an elderly widower of good fortune,and that his name was Forley.A small beginning enough for a man to start from,certainly!

On dropping the knocker,his first proceeding was to look down cautiously out of the corner of his right eye,for any results which might show themselves at the kitchen-window.There appeared at it immediately the figure of a woman,who looked up inquisitively at the stranger on the steps,left the window in a hurry,and came back to it with an open letter in her hand,which she held up to the fading light.After looking over the letter hastily for a moment or so,the woman disappeared once more.

Trottle next heard footsteps shuffling and scraping along the bare hall of the house.On a sudden they ceased,and the sound of two voices--a shrill persuading voice and a gruff resisting voice--confusedly reached his ears.After a while,the voices left off speaking--a chain was undone,a bolt drawn back--the door opened--and Trottle stood face to face with two persons,a woman in advance,and a man behind her,leaning back flat against the wall.

"Wish you good evening,sir,"says the woman,in such a sudden way,and in such a cracked voice,that it was quite startling to hear her."Chilly weather,ain't it,sir?Please to walk in.You come from good Mr.Forley,don't you,sir?""Don't you,sir?"chimes in the man hoarsely,making a sort of gruff echo of himself,and chuckling after it,as if he thought he had made a joke.

If Trottle had said,"No,"the door would have been probably closed in his face.Therefore,he took circumstances as he found them,and boldly ran all the risk,whatever it might be,of saying,"Yes.""Quite right sir,"says the woman."Good Mr.Forley's letter told us his particular friend would be here to represent him,at dusk,on Monday the thirteenth--or,if not on Monday the thirteenth,then on Monday the twentieth,at the same time,without fail.And here you are on Monday the thirteenth,ain't you,sir?Mr.Forley's particular friend,and dressed all in black--quite right,sir!

Please to step into the dining-room--it's always kep scoured and clean against Mr.Forley comes here--and I'll fetch a candle in half a minute.It gets so dark in the evenings,now,you hardly know where you are,do you,sir?And how is good Mr.Forley in his health?We trust he is better,Benjamin,don't we?We are so sorry not to see him as usual,Benjamin,ain't we?In half a minute,sir,if you don't mind waiting,I'll be back with the candle.Come along,Benjamin.""Come along,Benjamin,"chimes in the echo,and chuckles again as if he thought he had made another joke.

Left alone in the empty front-parlour,Trottle wondered what was coming next,as he heard the shuffling,scraping footsteps go slowly down the kitchen-stairs.The front-door had been carefully chained up and bolted behind him on his entrance;and there was not the least chance of his being able to open it to effect his escape,without betraying himself by making a noise.

Not being of the Jarber sort,luckily for himself,he took his situation quietly,as he found it,and turned his time,while alone,to account,by summing up in his own mind the few particulars which he had discovered thus far.He had found out,first,that Mr.

Forley was in the habit of visiting the house regularly.Second,that Mr.Forley being prevented by illness from seeing the people put in charge as usual,had appointed a friend to represent him;and had written to say so.Third,that the friend had a choice of two Mondays,at a particular time in the evening,for doing his errand;and that Trottle had accidentally hit on this time,and on the first of the Mondays,for beginning his own investigations.Fourth,that the similarity between Trottle's black dress,as servant out of livery,and the dress of the messenger (whoever he might be),had helped the error by which Trottle was profiting.So far,so good.

But what was the messenger's errand?and what chance was there that he might not come up and knock at the door himself,from minute to minute,on that very evening?

While Trottle was turning over this last consideration in his mind,he heard the shuffling footsteps come up the stairs again,with a flash of candle-light going before them.He waited for the woman's coming in with some little anxiety;for the twilight had been too dim on his getting into the house to allow him to see either her face or the man's face at all clearly.

同类推荐
  • 六十种曲投梭记

    六十种曲投梭记

    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。
  • 天台九祖传

    天台九祖传

    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。
  • 言兵事书

    言兵事书

    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。
  • 证道歌颂

    证道歌颂

    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。
  • 金楼子

    金楼子

    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
  • 穿越成公主

    穿越成公主

    她出生的时候,父母就因为车祸而去世了,她的童年都是在孤儿院里面长大的,别人的童年都是要什么有什么,可以无休止的在父母的面前撒娇,可是小沫的童年印象里面只有严厉的管理员不断地训斥,还有饿着肚子瑟缩在薄薄的被子里不能入睡的悲哀。【情节虚构,请勿模仿】
  • 竹马订制:强吻校草99次

    竹马订制:强吻校草99次

    “景奈,为什么你不跟我同桌?”幼稚园的崔星星鼻子挂着鼻涕,伤心欲绝。“景奈,为什么你帮校花解题不帮我?”“景奈,你这么讨厌我,为什么还要跟我一个学校?”高中的崔星星激动不已,近水楼台先得月!校草景奈无语:“难道不是你喜欢我吗?”景大校草的名言:喜欢一个人,就得跟她反着来,把她的桃花都砍掉!
  • 家国球

    家国球

    本小说以大爱无疆为核心,以紫桥、阿娇、琼瑶的成长经历与爱情为主线,表现了江致义一家的家国天下情怀。那温馨温暖的家庭氛围、那可歌可泣的家国情怀、那无疆无界的地球之爱……,或许走进您心海。
  • 轻松回款47招

    轻松回款47招

    本书47个催款绝招是商场催款高手的经验总结!催款这份差使是足够苦的,但催款人也并不是催告无门。俗话说:“上有政策,下有对策。”欠债人这几招虽然够狠,但也不至于坚不可催,仔细揣摸,倒是处处有机可乘,有隙可钻。只要对症下药,找准突破口,全力攻之,还怕欠债人不乖乖就范?
  • 阿毗昙心论

    阿毗昙心论

    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。
  • 草莽千金

    草莽千金

    家道中落的她,被迫嫁给了豪门大少爷冲喜。怎料新婚初夜,竟发现新郎官儿早已心属他人。在经历了小三逼宫,山贼打劫,诬陷杀人一系列事件之后,这段婚姻,还要不要存续下去……更何况,她发现自己的心,也早已不在原处了……
  • 注定你是我命里的妖

    注定你是我命里的妖

    谁会相信一个长相平凡,身材平平的,好吃懒做的,一生下来便是穷神附体的,不仅让自己的父母无奈出走,又让自己的朋友家倾家荡产最后无奈的被送到尼姑庵的小女孩居然是远古时代神谕天启上指定的救世主?--情节虚构,请勿模仿
  • 重生空间:天才炼丹师

    重生空间:天才炼丹师

    绝色少女重生修真,随身秘府灵药多多。爱宠霸道损友腹黑,契约血誓缠绵热烈。美妖双面酷魔狂拽,出生入死柔情仗义。师祖爱卖萌,师傅不着调,师叔无节操,师弟们二缺,还好宗主家面瘫大师兄超护短。那个谁,说我大苍朔宗没灵石,穷的弟子连本命剑都要卖?我灵药神丹砸死你!关门,剑术凶残的师兄弟们上!
  • 绝代风华之谋妃玄梦

    绝代风华之谋妃玄梦

    他是满头银发,外表嫡仙却在众人心中是那种连肠子都是黑着的货。但又不得不承认,他是屹立于群山顶峰的‘神’,纯静的双眸不经意间便能扭转他人的命运。却不知,他其实是她。
  • 诸天迷宫

    诸天迷宫

    游戏外,是真实的世界。游戏里,是虚拟的世界。虚拟和真实的界限有时候非常的清晰,不可逾越;有时候又非常的模糊,混淆不清。