福爾摩斯探案經典:《恐怖谷》第10章Part3

On a Saturday night McMurdo was introduced to the lodge. He had thought to pass in without ceremony as being an initiate of Chicago; but there were particular rites in Vermissa of which they were proud, and these had to be undergone by every postulant. The assembly met in a large room reserved for such purposes at the Union House. Some sixty members assembled at Vermissa; but that by no means represented the full strength of the organization, for there were several other lodges in the valley, and others across the mountains on each side, who exchanged members when any serious business was afoot, so that a crime might be done by men who were strangers to the locality. Altogether there were not less than five hundred scattered over the coal district.
In the bare assembly room the men were gathered round a long table. At the side was a second one laden with bottles and glasses, on which some members of the company were already turning their eyes. McGinty sat at the head with a flat black velvet cap upon his shock of tangled black hair, and a coloured purple stole round his neck, so that he seemed to be a priest presiding over some diabolical ritual. To right and left of him were the higher lodge officials, the cruel, handsome face of Ted Baldwin among them. Each of these wore some scarf or medallion as emblem of his office.
They were, for the most part, men of mature age; but the rest of the company consisted of young fellows from eighteen to twenty-five, the ready and capable agents who carried out the commands of their seniors. Among the older men were many whose features showed the tigerish, lawless souls within; but looking at the rank and file it was difficult to believe that these eager and open-faced young fellows were in very truth a dangerous gang of murderers, whose minds had suffered such complete moral perversion that they took a horrible pride in their proficiency at the business, and looked with deepest respect at the man who had the reputation of making what they called "a clean job."
To their contorted natures it had become a spirited and chivalrous thing to volunteer for service against some man who had never injured them, and whom in many cases they had never seen in their lives. The crime committed, they quarrelled as to who had actually struck the fatal blow, and amused one another and the company by describing the cries and contortions of the murdered man.
At first they had shown some secrecy in their arrangements; but at the time which this narrative describes their proceedings were extraordinarily open, for the repeated failure of the law had proved to them that, on the one hand, no one would dare to witness against them, and on the other they had an unlimited number of stanch witnesses upon whom they could call, and a well-filled treasure chest from which they could draw the funds to engage the best legal talent in the state. In ten long years of outrage there had been no single conviction, and the only danger that ever threatened the Scowrers lay in the victim himself--who, however outnumbered and taken by surprise, might and occasionally did leave his mark upon his assailants.
McMurdo had been warned that some ordeal lay before him; but no one would tell him in what it consisted. He was led now into an outer room by two solemn brothers. Through the plank partition he could hear the murmur of many voices from the assembly within. Once or twice he caught the sound of his own name, and he knew that they were discussing his candidacy. Then there entered an inner guard with a green and gold sash across his chest.
"The Bodymaster orders that he shall be trussed, blinded, and entered," said he.
The three of them removed his coat, turned up the sleeve of his right arm, and finally passed a rope round above the elbows and made it fast. They next placed a thick black cap right over his head and the upper part of his face, so that he could see nothing. He was then led into the assembly hall.
It was pitch dark and very oppressive under his hood. He heard the rustle and murmur of the people round him, and then the voice of McGinty sounded dull and distant through the covering of his ears.
"John McMurdo," said the voice, "are you already a member of the Ancient Order of Freemen?"
He bowed in assent.
"Is your lodge No. 29, Chicago?"
He bowed again.
"Dark nights are unpleasant," said the voice.
"Yes, for strangers to travel," he answered.
"The clouds are heavy."
"Yes, a storm is approaching."
"Are the brethren satisfied?" asked the Bodymaster.
There was a general murmur of assent.
"We know, Brother, by your sign and by your countersign that you are indeed one of us," said McGinty. "We would have you know, however, that in this county and in other counties of these parts we have certain rites, and also certain duties of our own which call for good men. Are you ready to be tested?"
"I am."
"Are you of stout heart?"
"I am."

星期六晚上，麥克默多被介紹入會。他以爲自己是芝加哥的老會員，不需要舉行什麼儀式就可以通過了。可是維爾米薩卻有它引以自豪的特殊儀式，而每一個申請入會的人都要經受這種儀式。集會是在工會樓裏一間專供舉行此種儀式的寬大房間裏進行的，維爾米薩有六十多個人麇集在這裏，但這決不是此地的全體會員，因爲山谷中還有一些它們的分會，在山谷兩邊的山上也還有一些分會。在乾重大營生時，便互相交換人員，所以，一些犯罪作惡的事就可以由當地不認識的人去做。總共有不下五百名會員散佈在整個煤礦區。
在空曠的會議室裏，人們圍在一張長桌周圍。旁邊另一張桌子上擺滿了酒瓶子和玻璃杯，一些會員已經垂涎欲滴地望着它們。麥金蒂坐在首席，蓬亂的黑髮上戴着一頂平頂黑絨帽，脖子上圍着一條主教舉行儀式用的聖帶，因此，他彷彿是一個主持惡魔儀典的祭司。麥金蒂左右兩旁是會中居於高位的人，其中就有生性兇殘而面貌俊秀的特德·鮑德溫。他們每個人都戴着綬帶或是徽章，表明他們的職位。他們大都是中年人，其餘的都是十八歲到二十五歲的青年，只要長者發出命令，他們就心甘情願竭盡全力地去幹。長者中許多人從面貌上可以看出是些生性兇殘、無法無天的人。不過僅從那些普通成員來看，很難使人相信，這些熱情、坦蕩的年輕人確實是一夥殺人不眨眼的兇手。他們道德敗壞到了極點，把幹壞事的本領引以爲榮，並且異常崇拜那些所謂"幹得利落"的出名人物。
由於具有這種變態的性格，他們主動去殺害那些從未得罪過他們的人；在許多情況下，還有那些素不相識的人，並把這當做勇敢而又俠義的事情。而在做案之後，他們還互相爭論到底是誰打得最致命，並且爭相描述被害人的慘叫聲和身體受痛的扭曲形狀，引以爲樂。
起初，在他們安排做惡事時，還有點保密，可是在他們講這些事時，就破例把這些罪惡行徑公開了。因爲法律在他們身上屢次失效，這就使他們覺得，一方面，沒有一個人敢於出面作證控告他們，另一方面，他們有無數隨叫隨到的可靠的假證人，有滿倉的金銀財寶可以用來聘請州內最有才幹的律師作辯護人。十年來，他們爲非作歹，無所顧忌，但沒有一個人被定罪。而威脅着死酷黨人的唯一危險，還是來自他們的受害者，因爲儘管受害者寡不敵衆或受到突然襲擊，但他們可以而且有時確實給匪徒們以深刻的教訓。
有人警告過麥克默多，說嚴峻考驗就擺在他面前，可是沒有一個人告訴他是什麼考驗。現在他被兩個面容嚴肅的弟兄引到外室。通過隔板牆，他可以模糊地聽到裏面與會者的七嘴八舌的聲音。有一兩次提到他的名字，麥克默多知道大家正在討論他的入會問題。後來走進一個斜挎着黃綠二色肩帶的內部警衛，說道：“身主有令，他應當被縛住雙臂，矇住雙眼領進來。”
他們三個人便將麥克默多的外衣脫下，把他右臂的衣袖捲起來，用一條繩子迅速地把他雙肘捆住。然後又把一頂厚厚的黑帽子扣到他的頭上，把臉的上半部也蓋住了，所以麥克默多什麼也看不見了。最後他被引入集會廳。
罩上帽子以後，麥克默多隻覺一片漆黑，十分難耐。他只聽到一片沙沙聲和周圍人們的低語聲，後來透過他雙耳上蒙着的東西，他又隱約模糊地聽到麥金蒂的聲音：“約翰·麥克默多，你是自由人會的老會員嗎？”
麥克默多點頭表示同意。
“你是屬於芝加哥第二十九分會嗎？”
麥克默多又點了點頭。
“黑夜是不愉快的，"對方說道。
“是的，對旅行的異鄉人，黑夜是不愉快的，"麥克默多答道。
“陰雲密佈。”
“對，暴風雨即將來臨。”
“衆位弟兄們可滿意嗎？"身主問道。
傳來一陣贊同的低語聲。
“兄弟，根據你的暗語和對答，我們知道你確實是一個自己人，"麥金蒂說道，“不過我們要讓你知道在本縣和外縣，我們有一定的儀式，一定的責任。你準備試一試嗎？”
“我準備好了。”
“你是一個堅定勇敢的人嗎？”
“對。”