章节正文
felt herself permeated with an immense sense of peace and received the
impression that everything was finished, disentangled, settled according
to her companion's will.
They left the house at ten minutes past four. Prasvile's secretary, who
had received his chief's instructions by telephone, showed them into the
office and asked them to wait. It was a quarter to five.
Prasville came running in at five o'dock exactly and, at once, cried:
"Have you the list?"
"Yes."
"Give it me."
He put out his hand. Clarisse, who had risen from her chair, did not stir.
Prasville looked at her for a moment, hesitated and sat down. He
understood. In pursuing Daubrecq, Clarisse Mergy had not acted only from
hatred and the desire for revenge. Another motive prompted her. The
paper would not be handed over except upon conditions.
"Sit down, please," he said, thus showing that he accepted the discussion.
Clarisse resumed her seat and, when she remained silent, Prasville said:
"Speak, my friend, and speak quite frankly. I do not scruple to say
that we wish to have that paper."
"If it is only a wish," remarked Clarisse, whom Lupin had coached in her
part down to the least detail, "if it is oniy a wish, I fear that we
shall not be able to come to an arrangement."
Prasville smiled:
"The wish, obviously, would lead us to make certain sacrifices."
"Every sacrifice," said Mme. Mergy, correcting him.
"Every sacrifice, provided, of course, that we keep within the bounds of
acceptable requirements."
"And even if we go beyond those bounds," said Clarisse, inflexibly.
Prasville began to lose patience:
"Come, what is it all about? Explain yourself."
"Forgive me, my friend, but I wanted above all to mark the great
importance which you attach to that paper and, in view of the immediate
transaction which we are about to conclude, to specify - what shall I
say? - the value of my share in it. That value, which has no limits,
must, I repeat, be exchanged for an limited" target="_blank" title="a.无限的；过渡的">unlimited value."
"Agreed," said Prasville, querulously.
"I presume, therefore, that it is unnecessary for me to trace the whole
story of the business or to enumerate, on the one hand, the disasters
which the possession of that paper would have allowed you to avert and,
on the other hand, the incalculable advantages which you will be able to
derive from its possession?"
Prasville had to make an effort to contain himself and to answer in a
tone that was civil, or nearly so:
"I admit everything. Is that enough?"
"I beg your pardon, but we cannot explain ourselves too plainly. And
there is one point that remains to be cleared up. Are you in a position
to treat, personally?"
"How do you mean?"
"I want to know not, of course, if you are empowered to settie this
business here and now, but if, in dealing with me, you represent the
views of those who know the business and who are qualified to settle it."
"Yes," declared Prasville, forcibly.
"So that I can have your answer within an hour after I have told you my
conditions?"
"Yes."
"Will the answer be that of the government?"
"Yes."
Clarisse bent forward and, sinking her voice:
"Will the answer be that of the Elysee?"
Prasville appeared surprised. He reflected for a moment and then said:
"Yes."
"It only remains for me to ask you to give me your word of honour that,
however incomprehensible my conditions may appear to you, you will not
insist on my revealing the reason. They are what they are. Your answer
must be yes or no."
"I give you my word of honour," said Prasville, formally.
Clarisse underwent a momentaryagitation that made her turn paler still.
Then, mastering herself, with her eyes fixed on Prasville's eyes, she
said:
"You shall have the list of the Twenty-seven in exchange for the pardon
of Gilbert and Vaucheray."
"Eh? What?"
Prasville leapt from his chair, looking absolutely" target="_blank" title="ad.绝对地；确实">absolutely dumbfounded:
"The pardon of Gilbert and Vaucheray? Of Arsene Lupin's accomplices?"
"Yes," she said.
"The murderers of the Villa Marie-Therese? The two who are due to die
to-morrow?"
"Yes, those two," she said. in a loud voice. "I ask? I demand their
pardon."
"But this is madness! Why? Why should you?"
"I must remind you, Prasville, that you gave me your word... "
"Yes... yes... I know... But the thing is so unexpected... '
"Why?"
"Why? For all sorts of reasons!"
"What reasons?"
"Well... well, but... think! Gilbert and Vaucheray have been sentenced
to death!"
"Send them to penal servitude: that's all you have to do."
"Impossible! The case has created an enormoussensation. They are
Arsene Lupin's accomplices. The whole worid knows about the verdict."
"Well?"
"Well, we cannot, no, we cannot go against the decrees of justice."
"You are not asked to do that. You are asked for a commutation of
punishment as an act of mercy. Mercy is a legal thing."
"The pardoning-commission has given its findmg... "
"True, but there remains the president of the Republic."
"He has refused."
"He can reconsider his refusal."
"Impossible!"
"Why?"
"There's no excuse for it."
"He needs no excuse. The right of mercy is absolute. It is exercised
without control, without reason, without excuse or explanation. It is
a royal prerogative; the president of the Republic can wield it according
to his good pleasure, or rather according to his conscience, in the best
interests of the State."
"But it is too late! Everything is ready. The execution is to take
place in a few hours."
"One hour is long enough to obtain your answer; you have just told us so."
"But this is confounded madness! There are insuperable obstacles to your
conditions. I tell you again, it's impossible, physically impossible."
"Then the answer is no?"
"No! No! A thousand times no!"
"In that case, there is nothing left for us to do but to go."
She moved toward the door. M. Nicole followed her. Prasville bounded
across the room and barred their way:
"Where are you going?"
"Well, my friend, it seems to me that our conversation is at an end. As
you appear to think, as, in fact, you are certain that the president of
the Republic will not consider the famous list of the Twenty-seven to be
worth... "
"Stay where you are," said Prasville.
He turned the key in the door and began to pace the room, with his hands
behind his back and his eyes fixed on the floor.
And Lupin, who had not breathed a word during the whole of this scene
and who had prudently contented himself with playing a colourless part,
said to himself:
"What a fuss! What a lot of affectation to arrive at the inevitable
result! As though Prasville, who is not a genius, but not an absolute
blockhead either, would be likely to lose the chance of revenging himself
on his mortal enemy! There, what did I say? The idea of hurling
Daubrecq into the bottomless pit appeals to him. Come, we've won the
rubber."
Prasville was opening a small inner door which led to the office of his
private secretary.
He gave an order aloud:
"M. Lartigue, telephone to the Elysee and say that I request the favour
of an audience for a communication of the utmost importance."
He dosed the door, came back to Clarisse and said:
"In any case, my intervention is limited to submitting your proposal."
"Once you submit it, it will be accepted."
A long silence followed. Clarisse's features expressed so profound a
delight that Prasville was struck by it and looked at her with attentive
curiosity. For what mysterious reason did Clarisse wish to save Gilbert
and Vaucheray? What was the incomprehensible link that bound her to
those two men? What tragedy connected those three lives and, no doubt,
Daubrecq's in addition?
"Go ahead, old boy," thought Lupin, "cudgel your brains: you'll never
spot it! Ah, if we had asked for Gilbert's pardon only, as Clarisse
wished, you might have twigged the secret! But Vaucheray, that brute
of a Vaucheray, there really could not be the least bond between Mme.
Mergy and him.... Aha, by Jingo, it's my turn now!... He's watching me
... The inward soliloquy is turning upon myself... 'I wonder who that
M. Nicole can be? Why has that little provincial usher devoted himself
body and soul to Clarisse Mergy? Who is that old bore, if the truth
were known? I made a mistake in not inquiring... I must look into
this.... I must rip off the beggar's mask. For, after all, it's not
natural that a man should take so much trouble about a matter in which
he is not directly interested. Why should he also wish to save Gilbert
and Vaucheray? Why? Why should he? ... " Lupin turned his head away.
"Look out!... Look out!... There's a notion passing through that
red-tape-merchant's skull: a confused notion which he can't put into
words. Hang it all, he mustn't suspect M. Lupin under M. Nicole! The
thing's complicated enough as it is, in all conscience!...
But there was a welcomeinterruption. Prasville's secretary came to
say that the audience would take place in an hour's time.
"Very well. Thank you," said Prasville. "That will do."
And, resuming the interview, with no further circumlocution, speaking
like a man who means to put a thing through, he declared:
"I think that we shall be able to manage it. But, first of all, so that
I may do what I have undertaken to do, I want more precise information,
fuller details. Where was the paper?"
"In the crystal stopper, as we thought," said Mme. Mergy.
"And where was the crystal stopper?"
"In an object which Daubrecq came and fetched, a few days ago, from the
writing-desk in his study in the Square Lamartine, an object which I
took from him yesterday."
"What sort of object?"
"Simply a packet of tobacco, Maryland tobacco, which used to lie about
on the desk."
Prasville was petrified. He muttered, guilelessly:
"Oh, if I had only known! I've had my hand on that packet of Maryland a
dozen times! How stupid of me!"
"What does it matter?" said Clarisse. "The great thing is that the
discovery is made."
Prasville pulled a face which implied that the discovery would have been
much pleasanter if he himself had made it. Then he asked:
"So you have the list?"
"Yes."
"Yes."
"Show it to me."
And, when Clarisse hesitated, he added:
"Oh, please, don't be afraid! The list belongs to you, and I will give
it back to you. But you must understand that I cannot take the step in
question without making certain."
Clarisse consulted M. Nicole with a glance which did not escape Prasville.
Then she said:
"Here it is."
He seized the scrap of paper with a certain excitement, examined it and
almost immediately said:
"Yes, yes... the secretary's writing: I recognize it.... And the
impression that everything was finished, disentangled, settled according
to her companion's will.
They left the house at ten minutes past four. Prasvile's secretary, who
had received his chief's instructions by telephone, showed them into the
office and asked them to wait. It was a quarter to five.
Prasville came running in at five o'dock exactly and, at once, cried:
"Have you the list?"
"Yes."
"Give it me."
He put out his hand. Clarisse, who had risen from her chair, did not stir.
Prasville looked at her for a moment, hesitated and sat down. He
understood. In pursuing Daubrecq, Clarisse Mergy had not acted only from
hatred and the desire for revenge. Another motive prompted her. The
paper would not be handed over except upon conditions.
"Sit down, please," he said, thus showing that he accepted the discussion.
Clarisse resumed her seat and, when she remained silent, Prasville said:
"Speak, my friend, and speak quite frankly. I do not scruple to say
that we wish to have that paper."
"If it is only a wish," remarked Clarisse, whom Lupin had coached in her
part down to the least detail, "if it is oniy a wish, I fear that we
shall not be able to come to an arrangement."
Prasville smiled:
"The wish, obviously, would lead us to make certain sacrifices."
"Every sacrifice," said Mme. Mergy, correcting him.
"Every sacrifice, provided, of course, that we keep within the bounds of
acceptable requirements."
"And even if we go beyond those bounds," said Clarisse, inflexibly.
Prasville began to lose patience:
"Come, what is it all about? Explain yourself."
"Forgive me, my friend, but I wanted above all to mark the great
importance which you attach to that paper and, in view of the immediate
transaction which we are about to conclude, to specify - what shall I
say? - the value of my share in it. That value, which has no limits,
must, I repeat, be exchanged for an limited" target="_blank" title="a.无限的；过渡的">unlimited value."
"Agreed," said Prasville, querulously.
"I presume, therefore, that it is unnecessary for me to trace the whole
story of the business or to enumerate, on the one hand, the disasters
which the possession of that paper would have allowed you to avert and,
on the other hand, the incalculable advantages which you will be able to
derive from its possession?"
Prasville had to make an effort to contain himself and to answer in a
tone that was civil, or nearly so:
"I admit everything. Is that enough?"
"I beg your pardon, but we cannot explain ourselves too plainly. And
there is one point that remains to be cleared up. Are you in a position
to treat, personally?"
"How do you mean?"
"I want to know not, of course, if you are empowered to settie this
business here and now, but if, in dealing with me, you represent the
views of those who know the business and who are qualified to settle it."
"Yes," declared Prasville, forcibly.
"So that I can have your answer within an hour after I have told you my
conditions?"
"Yes."
"Will the answer be that of the government?"
"Yes."
Clarisse bent forward and, sinking her voice:
"Will the answer be that of the Elysee?"
Prasville appeared surprised. He reflected for a moment and then said:
"Yes."
"It only remains for me to ask you to give me your word of honour that,
however incomprehensible my conditions may appear to you, you will not
insist on my revealing the reason. They are what they are. Your answer
must be yes or no."
"I give you my word of honour," said Prasville, formally.
Clarisse underwent a momentaryagitation that made her turn paler still.
Then, mastering herself, with her eyes fixed on Prasville's eyes, she
said:
"You shall have the list of the Twenty-seven in exchange for the pardon
of Gilbert and Vaucheray."
"Eh? What?"
Prasville leapt from his chair, looking absolutely" target="_blank" title="ad.绝对地；确实">absolutely dumbfounded:
"The pardon of Gilbert and Vaucheray? Of Arsene Lupin's accomplices?"
"Yes," she said.
"The murderers of the Villa Marie-Therese? The two who are due to die
to-morrow?"
"Yes, those two," she said. in a loud voice. "I ask? I demand their
pardon."
"But this is madness! Why? Why should you?"
"I must remind you, Prasville, that you gave me your word... "
"Yes... yes... I know... But the thing is so unexpected... '
"Why?"
"Why? For all sorts of reasons!"
"What reasons?"
"Well... well, but... think! Gilbert and Vaucheray have been sentenced
to death!"
"Send them to penal servitude: that's all you have to do."
"Impossible! The case has created an enormoussensation. They are
Arsene Lupin's accomplices. The whole worid knows about the verdict."
"Well?"
"Well, we cannot, no, we cannot go against the decrees of justice."
"You are not asked to do that. You are asked for a commutation of
punishment as an act of mercy. Mercy is a legal thing."
"The pardoning-commission has given its findmg... "
"True, but there remains the president of the Republic."
"He has refused."
"He can reconsider his refusal."
"Impossible!"
"Why?"
"There's no excuse for it."
"He needs no excuse. The right of mercy is absolute. It is exercised
without control, without reason, without excuse or explanation. It is
a royal prerogative; the president of the Republic can wield it according
to his good pleasure, or rather according to his conscience, in the best
interests of the State."
"But it is too late! Everything is ready. The execution is to take
place in a few hours."
"One hour is long enough to obtain your answer; you have just told us so."
"But this is confounded madness! There are insuperable obstacles to your
conditions. I tell you again, it's impossible, physically impossible."
"Then the answer is no?"
"No! No! A thousand times no!"
"In that case, there is nothing left for us to do but to go."
She moved toward the door. M. Nicole followed her. Prasville bounded
across the room and barred their way:
"Where are you going?"
"Well, my friend, it seems to me that our conversation is at an end. As
you appear to think, as, in fact, you are certain that the president of
the Republic will not consider the famous list of the Twenty-seven to be
worth... "
"Stay where you are," said Prasville.
He turned the key in the door and began to pace the room, with his hands
behind his back and his eyes fixed on the floor.
And Lupin, who had not breathed a word during the whole of this scene
and who had prudently contented himself with playing a colourless part,
said to himself:
"What a fuss! What a lot of affectation to arrive at the inevitable
result! As though Prasville, who is not a genius, but not an absolute
blockhead either, would be likely to lose the chance of revenging himself
on his mortal enemy! There, what did I say? The idea of hurling
Daubrecq into the bottomless pit appeals to him. Come, we've won the
rubber."
Prasville was opening a small inner door which led to the office of his
private secretary.
He gave an order aloud:
"M. Lartigue, telephone to the Elysee and say that I request the favour
of an audience for a communication of the utmost importance."
He dosed the door, came back to Clarisse and said:
"In any case, my intervention is limited to submitting your proposal."
"Once you submit it, it will be accepted."
A long silence followed. Clarisse's features expressed so profound a
delight that Prasville was struck by it and looked at her with attentive
curiosity. For what mysterious reason did Clarisse wish to save Gilbert
and Vaucheray? What was the incomprehensible link that bound her to
those two men? What tragedy connected those three lives and, no doubt,
Daubrecq's in addition?
"Go ahead, old boy," thought Lupin, "cudgel your brains: you'll never
spot it! Ah, if we had asked for Gilbert's pardon only, as Clarisse
wished, you might have twigged the secret! But Vaucheray, that brute
of a Vaucheray, there really could not be the least bond between Mme.
Mergy and him.... Aha, by Jingo, it's my turn now!... He's watching me
... The inward soliloquy is turning upon myself... 'I wonder who that
M. Nicole can be? Why has that little provincial usher devoted himself
body and soul to Clarisse Mergy? Who is that old bore, if the truth
were known? I made a mistake in not inquiring... I must look into
this.... I must rip off the beggar's mask. For, after all, it's not
natural that a man should take so much trouble about a matter in which
he is not directly interested. Why should he also wish to save Gilbert
and Vaucheray? Why? Why should he? ... " Lupin turned his head away.
"Look out!... Look out!... There's a notion passing through that
red-tape-merchant's skull: a confused notion which he can't put into
words. Hang it all, he mustn't suspect M. Lupin under M. Nicole! The
thing's complicated enough as it is, in all conscience!...
But there was a welcomeinterruption. Prasville's secretary came to
say that the audience would take place in an hour's time.
"Very well. Thank you," said Prasville. "That will do."
And, resuming the interview, with no further circumlocution, speaking
like a man who means to put a thing through, he declared:
"I think that we shall be able to manage it. But, first of all, so that
I may do what I have undertaken to do, I want more precise information,
fuller details. Where was the paper?"
"In the crystal stopper, as we thought," said Mme. Mergy.
"And where was the crystal stopper?"
"In an object which Daubrecq came and fetched, a few days ago, from the
writing-desk in his study in the Square Lamartine, an object which I
took from him yesterday."
"What sort of object?"
"Simply a packet of tobacco, Maryland tobacco, which used to lie about
on the desk."
Prasville was petrified. He muttered, guilelessly:
"Oh, if I had only known! I've had my hand on that packet of Maryland a
dozen times! How stupid of me!"
"What does it matter?" said Clarisse. "The great thing is that the
discovery is made."
Prasville pulled a face which implied that the discovery would have been
much pleasanter if he himself had made it. Then he asked:
"So you have the list?"
"Yes."
"Yes."
"Show it to me."
And, when Clarisse hesitated, he added:
"Oh, please, don't be afraid! The list belongs to you, and I will give
it back to you. But you must understand that I cannot take the step in
question without making certain."
Clarisse consulted M. Nicole with a glance which did not escape Prasville.
Then she said:
"Here it is."
He seized the scrap of paper with a certain excitement, examined it and
almost immediately said:
"Yes, yes... the secretary's writing: I recognize it.... And the
- immense [i´mens]
a.广大的，无限的 (初中英语单词) - running [´rʌniŋ] a.奔跑的；流动的 (初中英语单词)
- revenge [ri´vendʒ] vt.报复 n.报仇；报复 (初中英语单词)
- motive [´məutiv] n.动机；主题 a.运动的 (初中英语单词)
- frankly [´fræŋkli] ad.直率地；慷慨地 (初中英语单词)
- obviously [´ɔbviəsli] ad.明显地；显而易见地 (初中英语单词)
- attach [ə´tætʃ] v.附；使隶属；使依恋 (初中英语单词)
- therefore [´ðeəfɔ:] ad.&conj.因此；所以 (初中英语单词)
- contain [kən´tein] v.包含；容纳；抑制 (初中英语单词)
- pardon [´pɑ:dən] n.&vt.原谅；饶恕；赦免 (初中英语单词)
- plainly [´pleinli] ad.平坦地；简单地 (初中英语单词)
- absolutely [´æbsəlu:tli] ad.绝对地；确实 (初中英语单词)
- remind [ri´maind] vt.提醒；使记(想)起 (初中英语单词)
- enormous [i´nɔ:məs] a.巨大地，很，极 (初中英语单词)
- sensation [sen´seiʃən] n.感觉；轰动；轰动一时 (初中英语单词)
- absolute [´æbsəlu:t] a.绝对的 n.绝对 (初中英语单词)
- explanation [,eksplə´neiʃən] n.解释；说明；辩解 (初中英语单词)
- republic [ri´pʌblik] n.共和国；共和政体 (初中英语单词)
- conscience [´kɔnʃəns] n.良心；道德心 (初中英语单词)
- obtain [əb´tein] v.获得；买到；得到承认 (初中英语单词)
- genius [´dʒi:niəs] n.天才(人物)；天赋 (初中英语单词)
- opening [´əupəniŋ] n.开放；开端 a.开始的 (初中英语单词)
- audience [´ɔ:diəns] n.听众；观众；接见 (初中英语单词)
- communication [kə,mju:ni´keiʃən] n.通信；通讯联系 (初中英语单词)
- utmost [´ʌtməust] a.最大的 n.极端 (初中英语单词)
- submit [səb´mit] vt.使服从；使忍受 (初中英语单词)
- mysterious [mi´stiəriəs] a.神秘的；难以理解的 (初中英语单词)
- tragedy [´trædʒidi] n.悲剧；惨案；灾难 (初中英语单词)
- suspect [´sʌspekt, sə´spekt] v.怀疑；觉得 n.嫌疑犯 (初中英语单词)
- complicated [´kɔmplikeitid] a.结构复杂的；难懂的 (初中英语单词)
- welcome [´welkəm] a.受欢迎的；可喜的 (初中英语单词)
- interruption [intə´rʌpʃ(ə)n] n.停止，中断 (初中英语单词)
- interview [´intəvju:] n.&vt.接见；会见；交谈 (初中英语单词)
- crystal [´kristəl] n.水晶 a.水晶的 (初中英语单词)
- tobacco [tə´bækəu] n.烟草(叶)；卷烟 (初中英语单词)
- stupid [´stju:pid] a.愚蠢的；糊涂的 (初中英语单词)
- excitement [ik´saitmənt] n.兴奋；骚动；煽动 (初中英语单词)
- writing [´raitiŋ] n.书写；写作；书法 (初中英语单词)
- presume [pri´zju:m] v.假定；推测；以为 (高中英语单词)
- dealing [´di:liŋ] n.交易；来往 (高中英语单词)
- agitation [,ædʒi´teiʃən] n.鼓动；摇动；焦虑 (高中英语单词)
- unexpected [ʌniks´pektid] a.突然的；意外的 (高中英语单词)
- execution [,eksi´kju:ʃən] n.执行；演奏；表演 (高中英语单词)
- contented [kən´tentid] a.满足的；心满意足的 (高中英语单词)
- mortal [´mɔ:tl] a.致命的 n.凡人 (高中英语单词)
- limited [´limitid] a.有限(制)的 (高中英语单词)
- profound [prə´faund] a.深奥的；渊博的 (高中英语单词)
- inward [´inwəd] a.向内的；心灵上的 (高中英语单词)
- maryland [´mɛərilænd] n.马里兰(州) (高中英语单词)
- unlimited [ʌn´limitid] a.无限的；过渡的 (英语四级单词)
- momentary [´məuməntəri] a.瞬息间的 (英语四级单词)
- physically [´fizikəli] ad.按照自然规律 (英语四级单词)
- provincial [prə´vinʃəl] a.省的 n.外省人 (英语四级单词)
- devoted [di´vəutid] a.献身...的，忠实的 (英语四级单词)
- precise [pri´sais] a.精确的；清楚的 (英语四级单词)
- packet [´pækit] n.盒 vt....打成小包 (英语四级单词)
- scruple [´skru:pəl] n.&v.犹豫；顾忌 (英语六级单词)
- specify [´spesifai] vt.指定；详述；说明 (英语六级单词)
- enumerate [i´nju:məreit] vt.列举；清点，数 (英语六级单词)
- servitude [´sə:vitju:d] n.奴隶状态；苦役 (英语六级单词)
- prerogative [pri´rɔgətiv] n.特权 a.(有)特权的 (英语六级单词)
- colourless [´kʌləlis] a.无色的；不生动的 (英语六级单词)
- intervention [,intə´venʃən] n.干涉；调停；插入 (英语六级单词)
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