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蓝宝石十字架 The Blue Cross(第3/3页)

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“Whatdoyoumean?”askedhisinterlocutor。

“Well,I’dhaveswornonsevenBiblesthatI’dut4s。onthatbill。ButnowIsawI’dut14s。,aslainasaint。”

“Well?”criedValentin,movingslowly,butwithburningeyes,“andthen?”

“Thearsonatthedoorsaysallserene,‘Sorrytoconfuseyouraccounts,butit’llayforthewindow。’‘Whatwindow?’Isays。‘TheoneI’mgoingtobreak,’hesays,andsmashedthatblessedanewithhisumbrella。”

Allthreeinquirersmadeanexclamation;andtheinsectorsaidunderhisbreath,“Areweafterescaedlunatics?”Thewaiterwentonwithsomerelishfortheridiculousstory:

“Iwassoknockedsillyforasecond,Icouldn’tdoanything。Themanmarchedoutofthelaceandjoinedhisfriendjustroundthecorner。ThentheywentsoquickuBullockStreetthatIcouldn’tcatchthem,thoughIranroundthebarstodoit。”

“BullockStreet,”saidthedetective,andshotuthatthoroughfareasquicklyasthestrangecouleheursued。

Theirjourneynowtookthemthroughbarebrickwaysliketunnels;streetswithfewlightsandevenwithfewwindows;streetsthatseemedbuiltoutoftheblankbacksofeverythingandeverywhere。Duskwasdeeening,anditwasnoteasyevenfortheLondonolicementoguessinwhatexactdirectiontheyweretreading。Theinsector,however,wasrettycertainthattheywouldeventuallystrikesomeartofHamsteadHeath。Abrutlyonebulginggas-litwindowbrokethebluetwilightlikeabull’s-eyelantern;andValentinstoedaninstantbeforealittlegarishsweetstuffsho。Afteraninstant’shesitationhewentin;hestoodamidthegaudycoloursoftheconfectionerywithentiregravityandboughtthirteenchocolatecigarswithacertaincare。Hewasclearlyrearinganoening;buthedidnotneedone。

Anangular,elderlyyoungwomanintheshohadregardedhiselegantaearancewithamerelyautomaticinquiry;butwhenshesawthedoorbehindhimblockedwiththeblueuniformoftheinsector,hereyesseemedtowakeu。

“Oh,”shesaid,“ifyou’vecomeaboutforthatarcel,I’vesentitoffalready。”

“Parcel?”reeatedValentin;anditwashisturntolookinquiring。

“Imeanthearcelthegentlemanleft-theclergymangentleman。”

“Forgoodness’sake,”saidValentin,leaningforwardwithhisfirstrealconfessionofeagerness,“forHeaven’ssaketelluswhathaenedexactly。”

“Well,”saidthewomanalittledoubtfully,“theclergymencameinabouthalfanhouragoandboughtsomeeermintsandtalkedabit,andthenwentofftowardstheHeath。Butasecondafter,oneofthemrunsbackintotheshoandsays,HaveIleftaarcel!’Well,Ilookedeverywhereandcouldn’tseeone;sohesays,Nevermind;butifitshouldturnu,leaseostittothisaddress,’andheleftmetheaddressandashillingformytrouble。Andsureenough,thoughIthoughtI’dlookedeverywhere,Ifoundhe’dleftabrownaerarcel,soIostedittothelacehesaid。Ican’tremembertheaddressnow;itwassomewhereinWestminster。Butasthethingseemedsoimortant,Ithoughterhastheolicehadcomeaboutit。”

“Sotheyhave,”saidValentinshortly。“IsHamsteadHeathnearhere?”

“Straightonforfifteenminutes,”saidthewoman,“andyou’llcomerightoutontheoen。”

Valentinsrangoutoftheshoandbegantorun。Theotherdetectivesfollowedhimatareluctanttrot。

Thestreettheythreadedwassonarrowandshutinbyshadowsthatwhentheycameoutunexectedlyintothevoidcommonandvastskytheywerestartledtofindtheeveningstillsolightandclear。Aerfectdomeofeacock-greensankintogoldamidtheblackeningtreesandthedarkvioletdistances。Theglowinggreentintwasjustdeeenoughtoickoutinointsofcrystaloneortwostars。AllthatwasleftofthedaylightlayinagoldenglitteracrosstheedgeofHamsteadandthatoularhollowwhichiscalledtheValeofHealth。Theholidaymakerswhoroamthisregionhadnotwhollydisersed;afewcoulessatshaelesslyonbenches;andhereandthereadistantgirlstillshriekedinoneoftheswings。Thegloryofheavendeeenedanddarkenedaroundthesublimevulgarityofman。

Standingonthesloeandlookingacrossthevalley,Valentinbeheldthethingwhichhesought。

Amongtheblackandbreakinggrousinthatdistancewasoneeseciallyblackwhichdidnotbreak-agrouoftwofiguresclericallyclad。Thoughtheyseemedassmallasinsects,Valentincouldseethatoneofthemwasmuchsmallerthantheother。Thoughtheotherhadastudent’sstooandaninconsicuousmanner,hecouldseethatthemanwaswelloversixfeethigh。Heshuthisteethandwentforward,whirlinghisstickimatiently。Bythetimehehadsubstantiallydiminishedthedistanceandmagnifiedthetwoblackfiguresasinavastmicroscoe,hehaderceivedsomethingelse;somethingwhichstartledhim,andyetwhichhehadsomehowexected。Whoeverwasthetallriest,therecouldbenodoubtabouttheidentityoftheshortone。ItwashisfriendoftheHarwichtrain,thestumylittlecureofEssexwhomhehadwarnedabouthisbrownaerarcels。

Now,sofarasthiswent,everythingfittedinfinallyandrationallyenough。ValentinhadlearnedbyhisinquiriesthatmorningthataFatherBrownfromEssexwasbringinguasilvercrosswithsahires,arelicofconsiderablevalue,toshowsomeoftheforeignriestsatthecongress。Thisundoubtedlywasthe“silverwithbluestones”;andFatherBrownundoubtedlywasthelittlegreenhorninthetrain。NowtherewasnothingwonderfulaboutthefactthatwhatValentinhadfoundoutFlambeauhadalsofoundout;Flambeaufoundouteverything。AlsotherewasnothingwonderfulinthefactthatwhenFlambeauheardofasahirecrossheshouldtrytostealit;thatwasthemostnaturalthinginallnaturalhistory。AndmostcertainlytherewasnothingwonderfulaboutthefactthatFlambeaushouldhaveitallhisownwaywithsuchasillysheeasthemanwiththeumbrellaandthearcels。HewasthesortofmanwhomcouldleadanybodyonastringtotheNorthPole;itwasnotsurrisingthatanactorlikeFlambeau,dressedasanotherriest,couldleadhimtoHamsteadHeath。Sofarthecrimeseemedclearenough;andwhilethedetectiveitiedtheriestforhishellessness,healmostdesisedFlambeauforcondescendingtosogullibleavictim。ButwhenValentinthoughtofallthathadhaenedinbetween,ofallthathadledhimtohistriumh,herackedhisbrainsforthesmallestrhymeorreasoninit。Whathadthestealingofablue-and-silvercrossfromariestfromEssextodowithchuckingsouatwallaer?Whathadittodowithcallingnutsoranges,orwithayingforwindowsfirstandbreakingthemafterwards?Hehadcometotheendofhischase;yetsomehowhehadmissedthemiddleofit。Whenhefailed(whichwasseldom),hehadusuallygrasedtheclue,butneverthelessmissedthecriminal。Herehehadgrasedthecriminal,butstillhecouldnotgrastheclue。

Thetwofiguresthattheyfollowedwerecrawlinglikeblackfliesacrossthehugegreencontourofahill。Theywereevidentlysunkinconversation,anderhasdidnotnoticewheretheyweregoing;buttheywerecertainlygoingtothewilderandmoresilentheightsoftheHeath。Astheirursuersgainedonthem,thelatterhadtousetheundignifiedattitudesofthedeer-stalker,tocrouchbehindclumsoftreesandeventocrawlrostrateindeegrass。Bytheseungainlyingenuitiesthehuntersevencamecloseenoughtothequarrytohearthemurmurofthediscussion,butnowordcouldbedistinguishedexcettheword“reason”recurringfrequentlyinahighandalmostchildishvoice。Onceoveranabrutdioflandandadensetangleofthickets,thedetectivesactuallylostthetwofigurestheywerefollowing。Theydidnotfindthetrailagainforanagonisingtenminutes,andthenitledroundthebrowofagreatdomeofhilloverlookinganamhitheatreofrichanddesolatesunsetscenery。Underatreeinthiscommandingyetneglectedsotwasanoldramshacklewoodenseat。Onthisseatsatthetworiestsstillinseriousseechtogether。Thegorgeousgreenandgoldstillclungtothedarkeninghorizon;butthedomeabovewasturningslowlyfromeacock-greentoeacock-blue,andthestarsdetachedthemselvesmoreandmorelikesolidjewels。Mutelymotioningtohisfollowers,Valentincontrivedtocreeubehindthebigbranchingtree,and,standingthereindeathlysilence,heardthewordsofthestrangeriestsforthefirsttime。

Afterhehadlistenedforaminuteandahalf,hewasgriedbyadevilishdoubt。PerhashehaddraggedthetwoEnglisholicementothewastesofanocturnalheathonanerrandnosanerthanseekingfigsonitsthistles。Forthetworiestsweretalkingexactlylikeriests,iously,withlearningandleisure,aboutthemostaerialenigmasoftheology。ThelittleEssexriestsokethemoresimly,withhisroundfaceturnedtothestrengtheningstars;theothertalkedwithhisheadbowed,asifhewerenotevenworthytolookatthem。ButnomoreinnocentlyclericalconversationcouldhavebeenheardinanywhiteItaliancloisterorblackSanishcathedral。

ThefirstheheardwasthetailofoneofFatherBrown’ssentences,whichended:“……whattheyreallymeantintheMiddleAgesbytheheavensbeingincorrutible。”

Thetallerriestnoddedhisbowedheadandsaid:“Ah,yes,thesemoderninfidelsaealtotheirreason;butwhocanlookatthosemillionsofworldsandnotfeelthattheremaywellbewonderfuluniversesaboveuswherereasonisutterlyunreasonable?”

“No,”saidtheotherriest;“reasonisalwaysreasonable,eveninthelastlimbo,inthelostborderlandofthings。IknowthateolechargetheChurchwithloweringreason,butitisjusttheotherway。Aloneonearth,theChurchmakesreasonreallysureme。Aloneonearth,theChurchaffirmsthatGodhimselfisboundbyreason。”

Theotherriestraisedhisausterefacetothesangledskyandsaid:“Yetwhoknowsifinthatinfiniteuniverse-?”

“Onlyinfinitehysically,”saidthelittleriest,turningsharlyinhisseat,“notinfiniteinthesenseofescaingfromthelawsoftruth。”

《指向死亡的微灯》蓝宝石十字架 The Blue Cross(第3/3页)

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