福爾摩斯探案經典:《恐怖谷》第4章Part7
"Have you seen all you want of the study?" asked White Mason as we reentered the house.
"For the time," said the inspector, and Holmes nodded.
"Then perhaps you would now like to hear the evidence of some of the people in the house. We could use the dining room, Ames. Please come yourself first and tell us what you know."
The butler's account was a simple and a clear one, and he gave a convincing impression of sincerity. He had been engaged five years before, when Douglas first came to Birlstone. He understood that Mr. Douglas was a rich gentleman who had made his money in America. He had been a kind and considerate employer--not quite what Ames was used to, perhaps; but one can't have everything. He never saw any signs of apprehension in Mr. Douglas: on the contrary, he was the most fearless man he had ever known. He ordered the drawbridge to be pulled up every night because it was the ancient custom of the old house, and he liked to keep the old ways up. Mr. Douglas seldom went to London or left the village; but on the day before the crime he had been shopping at Tunbridge Wells. He (Ames) had observed some restlessness and excitement on the part of Mr. Douglas that day; for he had seemed impatient and irritable, which was unusual with him. He had not gone to bed that night; but was in the pantry at the back of the house, putting away the silver, when he heard the bell ring violently. He heard no shot; but it was hardly possible he would, as the pantry and kitchens were at the very back of the house and there were several closed doors and a long passage between. The housekeeper had come out of her room, attracted by the violent ringing of the bell. They had gone to the front of the house together. As they reached the bottom of the stairs he had seen Mrs. Douglas coming down it. No, she was not hurrying; it did not seem to him that she was particularly agitated. Just as she reached the bottom of the stair Mr. Barker had rushed out of the study. He had stopped Mrs. Douglas and begged her to go back.
"For God's sake, go back to your room!" he cried. "Poor Jack is dead! You can do nothing. For God's sake, go back!"
After some persuasion upon the stairs Mrs. Douglas had gone back. She did not scream. She made no outcry whatever. Mrs. Allen, the housekeeper, had taken her upstairs and stayed with her in the bedroom. Ames and Mr. Barker had then returned to the study, where they had found everything exactly as the police had seen it. The candle was not lit at that time; but the lamp was burning. They had looked out of the window; but the night was very dark and nothing could be seen or heard. They had then rushed out into the hall, where Ames had turned the windlass which lowered the drawbridge. Mr. Barker had then hurried off to get the police.
Such, in its essentials, was the evidence of the butler.
The account of Mrs. Allen, the housekeeper, was, so far as it went, a corroboration of that of her fellow servant. The housekeeper's room was rather nearer to the front of the house than the pantry in which Ames had been working. She was preparing to go to bed when the loud ringing of the bell had attracted her attention. She was a little hard of hearing. Perhaps that was why she had not heard the shot; but in any case the study was a long way off. She remembered hearing some sound which she imagined to be the slamming of a door. That was a good deal earlier--half an hour at least before the ringing of the bell. When Mr. Ames ran to the front she went with him. She saw Mr. Barker, very pale and excited, come out of the study. He intercepted Mrs. Douglas, who was coming down the stairs. He entreated her to go back, and she answered him, but what she said could not be heard.
"Take her up! Stay with her!" he had said to Mrs. Allen.
She had therefore taken her to the bedroom, and endeavoured to soothe her. She was greatly excited, trembling all over, but made no other attempt to go downstairs. She just sat in her dressing gown by her bedroom fire, with her head sunk in her hands. Mrs. Allen stayed with her most of the night. As to the other servants, they had all gone to bed, and the alarm did not reach them until just before the police arrived. They slept at the extreme back of the house, and could not possibly have heard anything.
So far the housekeeper could add nothing on cross-examination save lamentations and expressions of amazement.
Cecil Barker succeeded Mrs. Allen as a witness. As to the occurrences of the night before, he had very little to add to what he had already told the police. Personally, he was convinced that the murderer had escaped by the window. The bloodstain was conclusive, in his opinion, on that point. Besides, as the bridge was up, there was no other possible way of escaping. He could not explain what had become of the assassin or why he had not taken his bicycle, if it were indeed his. He could not possibly have been drowned in the moat, which was at no place more than three feet deep.
In his own mind he had a very definite theory about the murder. Douglas was a reticent man, and there were some chapters in his life of which he never spoke. He had emigrated to America when he was a very young man. He had prospered well, and Barker had first met him in California, where they had become partners in a successful mining claim at a place called Benito Canon. They had done very well; but Douglas had suddenly sold out and started for England. He was a widower at that time. Barker had afterwards realized his money and come to live in London. Thus they had renewed their friendship. Douglas had given him the impression that some danger was hanging over his head, and he had always looked upon his sudden departure from California, and also his renting a house in so quiet a place in England, as being connected with this peril. He imagined that some secret society, some implacable organization, was on Douglas's track, which would never rest until it killed him. Some remarks of his had given him this idea; though he had never told him what the society was, nor how he had come to offend it. He could only suppose that the legend upon the placard had some reference to this secret society.
"How long were you with Douglas in California?" asked Inspector MacDonald.
"Five years altogether."
"He was a bachelor, you say?"
"A widower."
"Have you ever heard where his first wife came from?"
"No, I remember his saying that she was of German extraction, and I have seen her portrait. She was a very beautiful woman. She died of typhoid the year before I met him."
"You don't associate his past with any particular part of America?"
"I have heard him talk of Chicago. He knew that city well and had worked there. I have heard him talk of the coal and iron districts. He had travelled a good deal in his time."
"Was he a politician? Had this secret society to do with politics?"
"No, he cared nothing about politics."
我們重新回到屋裏時，懷特·梅森問道：“你們對書房要檢查的地方，都檢查完了嗎？”
“暫時就算完了，"警官麥克唐納回答道，福爾摩斯也點了點頭。
“那麼，現在你們願意聽聽莊園裏一些人的證詞嗎？我們就利用這間餐室吧，艾姆斯，請你先來把你所知道的事情告訴我們。”
管家的敘述簡單、明瞭，給人一種誠實可靠的印象。他還是在五年前道格拉斯先生剛到伯爾斯通時受僱的。他知道道格拉斯先生是一個很有錢的紳士，是在美洲致富的。道格拉斯先生是一位和藹可親、善於體貼人的主人——或許艾姆斯對這個不完全習慣，不過，一個人不能事事具備。他從來沒見過道格拉斯先生有過什麼驚恐的跡象 ，相反，道格拉斯先生是他所見過的最大膽的人。道格拉斯先生之所以叫人每晚把吊橋拉起，只是因爲這是古老莊園的古老的習俗，道格拉斯先生喜歡把這種古老的習俗保持下去。道格拉斯先生很少到倫敦去，也難得離開村子，不過，在被害的頭一天，曾到滕布里奇韋爾斯市去買過東西。那天，艾姆斯發現道格拉斯先生有些坐臥不安，情緒激動，看來他是一反往常，變得性情急躁，容易發火。發案那天晚上，艾姆斯還沒有就寢，正在房後面的餐具室裏收拾銀器，忽然聽到鈴聲大作。他沒有聽到槍聲，因爲餐具室和廚房在莊園的最後面，中間還隔着幾重關着的門和一條長廊，所以確實很難聽到。艾倫太太也因爲聽到急促的鈴聲，趕忙跑出來，他們就一起跑到前廳。他們跑到樓下時，艾姆斯看到道格拉斯太太正從樓梯上走下來。不，她走得並不急，艾姆斯覺得，道格拉斯太太並不顯得特別驚慌。她一到樓下，巴克先生就從書房裏衝了出來，他極力阻攔道格拉斯太太，央求她回到樓上去。
“看在上帝面上，你快回自己房裏去吧！"巴克先生喊道，“可憐的傑克已經死了，你也無能爲力了。看在上帝面上，快回去吧！”
巴克先生勸說了一會兒，道格拉斯太太就回到樓上去了。她既沒有尖叫，也沒有大喊大鬧。女管家艾倫太太陪她上了樓，一起留在臥室裏。艾姆斯和巴克先生回到書房，他們所看①傑克爲約翰的愛稱，死者的全名爲約翰·道格拉斯。——譯者注到的屋內一切情況，完全和警署來人所看到的一樣。那時燭光已經熄滅了，可是油燈還點着呢。他們從窗裏向外望，但那天晚上非常黑，什麼東西也看不見，聽不到。後來他們奔到大廳，艾姆斯在這裏搖動捲揚機放下吊橋，巴克先生就匆匆地趕到警署去了。
這就是管家艾姆斯的簡要證詞。
女管家艾倫太太的說法，充其量也不過是進一步證實了與她共事的男管家的證詞。女管家的臥室到前廳比到艾姆斯收拾銀器的餐具室要近一些，她正準備睡覺，忽聽一陣鈴聲大作。她有點兒耳聾，所以沒有聽到槍聲，不過，無論如何，書房是離得很遠的。她記得聽到一種聲響，她把它當作砰的一下關門聲。這還是早得多的事，至少在鈴響半小時以前。在艾姆斯跑到前廳時，她是同艾姆斯一起去的。她看到巴克先生從書房出來，臉色蒼白，神情激動。巴克先生看到道格拉斯夫人下樓，就截住了她，勸她轉回樓上。道格拉斯夫人答了話，但聽不見她都說了些什麼。
“扶她上去，陪着她，"巴克先生對艾倫太太說道。
所以艾倫太太把道格拉斯夫人扶到臥室，並竭力安慰她。道格拉斯夫人大受驚恐，渾身發抖，但也沒有表示要再下樓去。她只是穿着睡衣，雙手抱着頭，坐在臥室壁爐旁邊。艾倫太太幾乎整晚都陪着她。至於其他僕人，都已入睡了，不曾受到驚恐，直到警察到來之前，他們才知道出了事。他們都住在莊園最後面的地方，所以多半也聽不到什麼聲音。
至於女管家艾倫太太，她除了悲傷和吃驚以外，在盤問中一點也沒有補充出什麼新情況。
艾倫太太說完，塞西爾·巴克先生作爲目擊者，接着講述了當時的情況。至於那晚發生的事情，除了他已經告訴警察的以外，補充的情況非常少。他個人確信，兇手是從窗戶逃走的。他的意見是，窗臺上的血跡就是這一論點的確鑿證據。此外，因爲吊橋已經拉起來，也沒有其他方法可以逃走。但他卻不能解釋刺客的情況是怎樣的，假如自行車確實是刺客的，爲什麼他不騎走呢？刺客不可能淹死在護城河裏，因爲河水沒有超過三英尺深的地方。
巴克先生認爲，關於兇手，他有一種非常明確的看法。道格拉斯是一個沉默寡言的人，對他以前的生活，有些部分他從來不曾對人講過。他還非常年輕時，就從愛爾蘭移居到美洲了。他的景況日漸富裕，巴克是在加利福尼亞州和他初次相識，他們便合夥在該州一個叫做貝尼託坎營的地方經營礦業。事業很成功，不料道格拉斯突然把它變賣，動身到英國來了。那時他正在鰥居。巴克隨後也把產業變賣了，遷到倫敦來住。於是他們的友誼又重新恢復起來。道格拉斯給他的印象是：總有一種迫在眉睫的危險在威脅着他。道格拉斯突然離開加利福尼亞，在英國這麼平靜的地方租下房子，巴克先生一直認爲都與這種危險有關。巴克先生料想一定有個什麼祕密團體，或是說一個決不饒人的組織，一直在追蹤道格拉斯，不把他殺死誓不罷休。儘管道格拉斯從來沒講過那是一種什麼團體，也沒講過怎樣得罪了他們，但道格拉斯的隻言片語使巴克產生了上述想法。他僅能推測這張卡片上的字一定和那個祕密團體有些關係。
“你在加利福尼亞和道格拉斯一起住了多長時間？"警官麥克唐納問道。
“一共五年。”
“你說，他是一個單身漢嗎？”
“那時他是個鰥夫。”
“你可曾聽說他前妻的來歷嗎？”
“沒有，我只記得他說過她是德國血統，我也看到過她的像片，是一個很美麗的女子。就在我和道格拉斯結識的前一年，她得傷寒病死去了。”
“你知不知道道格拉斯過去和美國的某一地區有密切關係？”
“我聽他講過芝加哥。他對這個城市很熱悉，並且在那裏作過事。我聽他講過產煤和產鐵的一些地區。他生前周遊過很多地方。”
“他是政治家嗎？這個祕密團體和政治有關係嗎？”
“不，他根本不關心政治。”
