the red house mystery-第19节

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Excursion'　aloud　to　you？〃　

〃As　a　matter　of　fact；　Betty　Miss　Calladine　happens　to　be　jolly　keen　on　
what's　the　beggar's　name？〃　

〃Never　mind　his　name。　You　have　said　quite　enough。　We　pass　on。〃　

He　moved　on　to　the　next　shelf。　

〃Biography。　Oh；　lots　of　it。　I　love　biographies。　Are　you　a　member　
of　the　Johnson　Club？　I　bet　Mark　is。　'Memories　of　Many　Courts'　I'm　
sure　Mrs。　Calladine　reads　that。　Anyway；　biographies　are　just　as　
interesting　as　most　novels；　so　why　linger？　We　pass　on。〃　He　went　to　the　
next　shelf；　and　then　gave　a　sudden　whistle。　〃Hallo；　hallo！〃　

〃What's　the　matter？〃　said　Bill　rather　peevishly。　

〃Stand　back　there。　Keep　the　crowd　back；　Bill。　We　are　getting　
amongst　it。　Sermons；　as　I　live。　Sermons。　Was　Mark's　father　a　
clergyman；　or　does　Mark　take　to　them　naturally？〃　

〃His　father　was　a　parson；　I　believe。　Oh；　yes；　I　know　he　was。〃　

〃Ah；　then　these　are　Father's　books。　'Half…Hours　with　the　Infinite'　I　
must　order　that　from　the　library　when　I　get　back。　'The　Lost　Sheep；'　
'Jones　on　the　Trinity；'　'The　Epistles　of　St。　Paul　Explained'　Oh；　Bill；　we're　
amongst　it。　'The　Narrow　Way；　being　Sermons　by　the　Rev。　Theodore　
Ussher'　hal…LO！〃　

〃What　is　the　matter？〃　

〃William；　I　am　inspired。　Stand　by。〃　He　took　down　the　Reverend　
Theodore　Ussher's　classic　work；　looked　at　it　with　a　happy　smile　for　a　
moment；　and　then　gave　it　to　Bill。　

〃Here；　hold　Ussher　for　a　bit。〃　

Bill　took　the　book　obediently。　

〃No；　give　it　me　back。　Just　go　out　into　the　hall；　and　see　if　you　can　
hear　Cayley　anywhere。　Say　'Hallo'　loudly；　if　you　do。〃　

Bill　went　out　quickly；　listened；　and　came　back。　

〃It's　all　right。〃　

〃Good。〃　He　took　the　book　out　of　its　shelf　again。　〃Now　then；　you　can　

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hold　Ussher。　Hold　him　in　the　left　hand　so。　With　the　right　or　dexter　
hand；　grasp　this　shelf　firmly　so。　Now；　when　I　say　'Pull；'　pull　gradually。　
Got　that？〃　

Bill　nodded；　his　face　alight　with　excitement。　

〃Good。〃　Antony　put　his　hand　into　the　space　left　by　the　stout　Ussher；　
and　fingered　the　hack　of　the　shelf。　〃Pull；〃　he　said。　

Bill　pulled。　

〃Now　just　go　on　pulling　like　that。　I　shall　get　it　directly。　Not　hard；　
you　know；　but　just　keeping　up　the　strain。〃　

His　fingers　went　at　it　again　busily。　

And　then　suddenly　the　whole　row　of　shelves；　from　top　to　bottom；　
swung　gently　open　towards　them。　

〃Good　Lord！〃　said　Bill；　letting　go　of　the　shelf　in　his　amazement。　

Antony　pushed　the　shelves　back；　extracted　Ussher　from　Bill's　fingers；　
replaced　him；　and　then；　taking　Bill　by　the　arm；　led　him　to　the　sofa　and　
deposited　him　in　it。　Standing　in　front　of　him；　he　bowed　gravely。　

〃Child's　play；　Watson；〃　he　said；　〃child's　play。〃　

〃How　on　earth　〃　

Antony　laughed　happily　and　sat　down　on　the　sofa　beside　him。　

〃You　don't　really　want　it　explained；〃　he　said；　smacking　him　on　the　
knee；　〃you're　just　being　Watsonish。　It's　very　nice　of　you；　of　course；　and　I　
appreciate　it。〃　

〃No；　but　really；　Tony。〃　

〃Oh；　my　dear　Bill！〃　He　smoked　silently　for　a　little；　and　then　went　on；　
〃It's　what　I　was　saying　just　now　a　secret　is　a　secret　until　you　have　
discovered　it；　and　as　soon　as　you　have　discovered　it；　you　wonder　why　
everybody　else　isn't　discovering　it；　and　how　it　could　ever　have　been　a　
secret　at　all。　This　passage　has　been　here　for　years；　with　an　opening　at　
one　end　into　the　library；　and　at　the　other　end　into　the　shed。　Then　Mark　
discovered　it；　and　immediately　he　felt　that　everybody　else　must　discover　it。　
So　he　made　the　shed　end　more　difficult　by　putting　the　croquet…box　there；　
and　this　end　more　difficult　by　〃　he　stopped　and　looked　at　the　other　〃by　
what；　Bill？〃　

But　Bill　was　being　Watsonish。　

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〃What？〃　

〃Obviously　by　re…arranging　his　books。　He　happened　to　take　out　'The　
Life　of　Nelson'　or　'Three　Men　in　a　Boat；'　or　whatever　it　was；　and　by　the　
merest　chance　discovered　the　secret。　Naturally　he　felt　that　everybody　
else　would　be　taking　down　'The　Life　of　Nelson'　or　'Three　Men　in　a　Boat。'　
Naturally　he　felt　that　the　secret　would　be　safer　if　nobody　ever　interfered　
with　that　shelf　at　all。　When　you　said　that　the　books　had　been　re…arranged　
a　year　ago　just　about　the　time　the　croquet…box　came　into　existence　of　
course　I　guessed　why。　So　I　looked　about　for　the　dullest　books　I　could　find；　
the　books　nobody　ever　read。　Obviously　the　collection　of　sermon…books　
of　a　mid…Victorian　clergyman　was　the　shelf　we　wanted。〃　

〃Yes；　I　see。　But　why　were　you　so　certain　of　the　particular　place？〃　

〃Well；　he　had　to　mark　the　particular　place　by　some　book。　I　thought　
that　the　joke　of　putting　'The　Narrow　Way'　just　over　the　entrance　to　the　
passage　might　appeal　to　him。　Apparently　it　did。〃　

Bill　nodded　to　himself　thoughtfully　several　times。　〃Yes；　that's　very　
neat；〃　he　said。　〃You're　a　clever　devil；　Tony。〃　

Tony　laughed。　

〃You　encourage　me　to　think　so；　which　is　bad　for　me；　but　very　
delightful。〃　

〃Well；　come　on；　then；〃　said　Bill；　and　he　got　up；　and　held　out　a　hand。　

〃Come　on　where？〃　

〃To　explore　the　passage；　of　course。〃　

Antony　shook　his　head。　

〃Why　ever　not？〃　

〃Well；　what　do　you　expect　to　find　there？〃　

〃I　don't　know。　But　you　seemed　to　think　that　we　might　find　something　
that　would　help。〃　

〃Suppose　we　find　Mark？〃　said　Antony　quietly。　

。〃I　say；　do　you　really　think　he's　there？〃　

〃Suppose　he　is？〃　

〃Well；　then；　there　we　are。〃　

Antony　walked　over　to　the　fireplace；　knocked　out　the　ashes　of　his　pipe；　
and　turned　back　to　Bill。　He　looked　at　him　gravely　without　speaking。　

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〃What　are　you　going　to　say　to　him？〃　he　said　at　last。　

〃How　do　you　mean？〃　

〃Are　you　going　to　arrest　him；　or　help　him　to　escape？〃　

〃I　…　I　…　well；　of　course；　I　…〃　began　Bill；　stammering；　and　then　ended　
lamely；　〃Well；　I　don't　know。〃　

〃Exactly。　We've　got　to　make　up　our　minds；　haven't　we？〃　

Bill　didn't　answer。　Very　much　disturbed　in　his　mind；　he　walked　
restlessly　about　the　room；　frowning　to　himself；　stopping　now　and　then　at　
the　newly　discovered　door　and　looking　at　it　as　if　he　were　trying　to　learn　
what　lay　behind　it。　Which　side　was　he　on；　if　it　came　to　choosing　sides　
Mark's　or　the　Law's？　

〃You　know；　you　can't　just　say；　'Oh　er　hallo！'　to　him；〃　said　Antony；　
breaking　rather　appropriately　into　his　thoughts。　

Bill　looked　up　at　him　with　a　start。　

〃Nor；〃　went　on　Antony；　〃can　you　say；　'This　is　my　friend　Mr。　
Gillingham；　who　is　staying　with　you。　We　were　just　going　to　have　a　game　
of　bowls。'〃　

〃Yes；　it's　dashed　difficult。　I　don't　know　what　to　say。　I've　been　rather　
forgetting　about　Mark。〃　He　wandered　over　to　the　window　and　looked　out　
on　to　the　lawns。　There　was　a　gardener　clipping　the　grass　edges。　No　
reason　why　the　lawn　should　be　untidy　just　because　the　master　of　the　house　
had　disappeared。　It　was　going　to　be　a　hot　day　again。　Dash　it；　of　course　
he　had　forgotten　Mark。　How　could　he　think　of　him　as　an　escaped　
murderer；　a　fugitive　from　justice；　when　everything　was　going　on　just　as　it　
did　yesterday；　and　the　sun　was　shining　just　as　it　did　when　they　all　drove　
off　to　their　golf；　only　twenty…four　hours　ago？　How　could　he　help　feeling　
that　this　was　not　real　tragedy；　but　merely　a　jolly　kind　of　detective　game　
that　he　and　Antony　were　playing？　

He　turned　back　to　his　friend。　

〃All　the　same；〃　he　said；　〃you　wanted　to　find　the　passage；　and　now　
you've　found　it。　Aren't　you　going　into　it　at　all？〃　

Antony　took　his　arm。　

〃Let's　go　outside　again；〃　he　said。　〃We　can't　go　into　it　now；　anyhow。　
It's　too　risky；　with　Cayley　about。　Bill；　I　feel　like　you　…　just　a　little　bit　

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frightened。　But　what　I'm　frightened　of　I　don't　quite　know。　Anyway；　you　

want　to　go　on　with　it；　don't　you？〃　

〃Yes；〃　said　Bill　firmly。　〃We　must。〃　

〃Then　we'll　explore　the　passage　this　afternoon；　if　we　get　the　chance。　
And　if　we　don't　get　the　chance；　then　we'll　try　it　to…night。〃　

They　walked　across　the　hall　and　out　into　the　sunlight　again。　

〃Do　you　really　think　we　might　find　Mark　hiding　there？〃　asked　Bill。　

〃It's　possible；〃　said　Antony。　〃Either　Mark　or　…〃　He　pulled　himself　
up　quickly。　〃No；〃　he　murmured　to　himself；　〃I　won't　let　myself　think　that　
not　yet；　anyway。　It's　too　horrible。〃　

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CHAPTER　XII　

A　Shadow　on　the　Wall　

In　the　twenty　hours　or　so　at　his　disposal　Inspector　Birch　had　been　
busy。　He　had　telegraphed　to　London　a　complete　description　of　Mark　in　
the　brown　flannel　suit　which　he　had　last　been　seen　wearing；　he　had　made　
inquiries　at　Stanton　as　to　whether　anybody　answering　to　this　description　
had　been　seen　leaving　by　the　4。20；　and　though　the　evidence　which　had　
been　volunteered　to　him　had　been　inconclusive；　it　made　it　possible　that　
Mark　had　indeed　caught　that　train；　and　had　arrived　in　London　before　the　
police　at　the　other　end　had　been　ready　to　receive　him。　But　the　fact　that　it　
was　market…day　at　Stanton；　and　that　the　little　town　would　be　more　full　than　
usual　of　visitors；　made　it　less　likely　that　either　the　departure　of　Mark　by　
the　4。20；　or　the　arrival　of　Robert　by　the　2。10　earlier　in　the　afternoon；　
would　have　been　particularly　noticed。　As　Antony　had　said　to　Cayley；　
there　would　always　be　somebody　ready　to　hand