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The Merry Men-Part32_ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON(1850-1894)_English Literature(文学名著)-第2页

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garrulous, kind-hearted master to become a brawling deputy; and

both be lost for ever to Jean-Marie and their better selves. He



knew his own defects; he knew he must sink into less and less

consideration in the turmoil of a city life, sink more and more



from the child into the servant. And he began dimly to believe the

Doctor's prophecies of evil. He could see a change in both. His



generous incredulity failed him for this once; a child must have

perceived that the Hermitage had completed what the absinthe had



begun. If this were the first day, what would be the last? 'If

necessary, wreck the train,' thought he, remembering the Doctor's



parable. He looked round on the delightful scene; he drank deep of

the charmed night air, laden with the scent of hay. 'If necessary,



wreck the train,' he repeated. And he rose and returned to the

house.



CHAPTER VI. A CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION, IN TWO PARTS.

THE next morning there was a most unusualoutcry, in the Doctor's



house. The last thing before going to bed, the Doctor had locked

up some valuables in the dining-room cupboard; and behold, when he



rose again, as he did about four o'clock, the cupboard had been

broken open, and the valuables in question had disappeared. Madame



and Jean-Marie were summoned from their rooms, and appeared in

hasty toilets; they found the Doctor raving, calling the heavens to



witness and avenge his injury, pacing the room bare-footed, with

the tails of his night-shirt flirting as he turned.



'Gone!' he said; 'the things are gone, the fortune gone! We are

paupers once more. Boy! what do you know of this? Speak up, sir,



speak up. Do you know of it? Where are they?' He had him by the

arm, shaking him like a bag, and the boy's words, if he had any,



were jolted forth in inarticulate murmurs. The Doctor, with a

revulsion from his own violence, set him down again. He observed



Anastasie in tears. 'Anastasie,' he said, in quite an altered

voice, 'compose yourself, command your feelings. I would not have



you give way to passion like the vulgar. This - this trifling

accident must be lived down. Jean-Marie, bring me my smaller



medicine chest. A gentle laxative is indicated.'

And he dosed the family all round, leading the way himself with a



double quantity. The wretched Anastasie, who had never been ill in

the whole course of her existence, and whose soul recoiled from



remedies, wept floods of tears as she sipped, and shuddered, and

protested, and then was bullied and shouted at until she sipped



again. As for Jean-Marie, he took his portion down with stoicism.

'I have given him a less amount,' observed the Doctor, 'his youth



protecting him against emotion. And now that we have thus parried

any morbid consequences, let us reason.'



'I am so cold,' wailed Anastasie.

'Cold!' cried the Doctor. 'I give thanks to God that I am made of



fierier material. Why, madam, a blow like this would set a frog

into a transpiration. If you are cold, you can retire; and, by the



way, you might throw me down my trousers. It is chilly for the

legs.'



'Oh, no!' protested Anastasie; 'I will stay with you.'

'Nay, madam, you shall not suffer for your devotion,' said the



Doctor. 'I will myself fetch you a shawl.' And he went upstairs

and returned more fully clad and with an armful of wraps for the



shivering Anastasie. 'And now,' he resumed, 'to investigate this

crime. Let us proceed by induction. Anastasie, do you know



anything that can help us?' Anastasie knew nothing. 'Or you,

Jean-Marie?'



'Not I,' replied the boy steadily.

'Good,' returned the Doctor. 'We shall now turn our attention to



the material evidences. (I was born to be a detective; I have the

eye and the systematic spirit.) First, violence has been employed.



The door was broken open; and it may be observed, in passing, that

the lock was dear indeed at what I paid for it: a crow to pluck



with Master Goguelat. Second, here is the instrument employed, one

of our own table-knives, one of our best, my dear; which seems to



indicate no preparation on the part of the gang - if gang it was.

Thirdly, I observe that nothing has been removed except the



Franchard dishes and the casket; our own silver has been minutely

respected. This is wily; it shows intelligence, a knowledge of the



code, a desire to avoid legal consequences. I argue from this fact

that the gang numbers persons of respectability - outward, of



course, and merely outward, as the robbery proves. But I argue,




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