福爾摩斯探案經典:《恐怖谷》第8章Part5

"Good Lord, mister! you are queer, if I must say it without offense. There's only one set of affairs that you'll hear of in these parts, and that's the affairs of the Scowrers."
"Why, I seem to have read of the Scowrers in Chicago. A gang of murderers, are they not?"
"Hush, on your life!" cried the miner, standing still in alarm, and gazing in amazement at his companion. "Man, you won't live long in these parts if you speak in the open street like that. Many a man has had the life beaten out of him for less."
"Well, I know nothing about them. It's only what I have read."
"And I'm not saying that you have not read the truth." The man looked nervously round him as he spoke, peering into the shadows as if he feared to see some lurking danger. "If killing is murder, then God knows there is murder and to spare. But don't you dare to breathe the name of Jack McGinty in connection with it, stranger; for every whisper goes back to him, and he is not one that is likely to let it pass. Now, that's the house you're after, that one standing back from the street. You'll find old Jacob Shafter that runs it as honest a man as lives in this township."
"I thank you," said McMurdo, and shaking hands with his new acquaintance he plodded, gripsack in hand, up the path which led to the dwelling house, at the door of which he gave a resounding knock.
It was opened at once by someone very different from what he had expected. It was a woman, young and singularly beautiful. She was of the German type, blonde and fair-haired, with the piquant contrast of a pair of beautiful dark eyes with which she surveyed the stranger with surprise and a pleasing embarrassment which brought a wave of colour over her pale face. Framed in the bright light of the open doorway, it seemed to McMurdo that he had never seen a more beautiful picture; the more attractive for its contrast with the sordid and gloomy surroundings. A lovely violet growing upon one of those black slag-heaps of the mines would not have seemed more surprising. So entranced was he that he stood staring without a word, and it was she who broke the silence.
"I thought it was father," said she with a pleasing little touch of a German accent. "Did you come to see him? He is down town. I expect him back every minute."
McMurdo continued to gaze at her in open admiration until her eyes dropped in confusion before this masterful visitor.
"No, miss," he said at last, "I'm in no hurry to see him. But your house was recommended to me for board. I thought it might suit me--and now I know it will."
"You are quick to make up your mind," said she with a smile.
"Anyone but a blind man could do as much," the other answered.
She laughed at the compliment. "Come right in, sir," she said. "I'm Miss Ettie Shafter, Mr. Shafter's daughter. My mother's dead, and I run the house. You can sit down by the stove in the front room until father comes along--Ah, here he is! So you can fix things with him right away."
A heavy, elderly man came plodding up the path. In a few words McMurdo explained his business. A man of the name of Murphy had given him the address in Chicago. He in turn had had it from someone else. Old Shafter was quite ready. The stranger made no bones about terms, agreed at once to every condition, and was apparently fairly flush of money. For seven dollars a week paid in advance he was to have board and lodging.
So it was that McMurdo, the self-confessed fugitive from justice, took up his abode under the roof of the Shafters, the first step which was to lead to so long and dark a train of events, ending in a far distant land.

“天哪，先生，我說句不怕你見怪的話，你可真是個怪人，在此地你只會聽到一類事，這就是死酷黨人的事。”
“爲什麼，我好象在芝加哥聽說過死酷黨人。是一夥殺人兇手，是不是？”
“噓，別說了！千萬別說了！"這個礦工惶惑不安地站在那裏，驚訝地注視着他的同伴，大聲說道，“夥計，要是你在大街上象這樣亂講話，那你在此地就活不了多久了。許多人因爲比這還小的事都已經送命了。”
“好，對他們的事，我什麼也不知道，這僅僅是我聽說的。”
“不過，我不是說你聽到的不是真事。"這個人一面說，一面忐忑不安地向四周打量了一番，緊緊盯着暗處，好象怕看到什麼暗藏的危險一樣，“如果是兇殺的話，那麼天知道，兇殺案多着呢。不過你千萬不要把這和傑克·麥金蒂的名字聯在一起。因爲每個小聲議論都會傳到他耳邊，而麥金蒂又是不肯輕易放過的。好，那就是你要找的房子，就是街後的那一座。你會發現房主老雅各布·謝夫特是本鎮的一個誠實人。”
“謝謝你，"麥克默多和他的新相識握手告別時說道。他提着旅行包，步履沉重地走在通往那所住宅的小路上，走到門前，用力敲門。
門馬上打開了，可是開門的人卻出乎他意料之外。她是一個年輕、美貌出衆的德國型女子，玉膚冰肌，髮色金黃，一雙美麗烏黑的大眼睛，驚奇地打量着來客，白嫩的臉兒嬌羞得泛出紅暈。在門口明亮的街燈下，麥克默多好象覺得從來沒有見過這樣美麗的丰姿；她與周圍污穢陰暗的環境形成鮮明的對照，更加動人。即使在這些黑煤渣堆上生出一支紫羅蘭，也不會象這女子那樣令人驚奇了。他神魂顛倒、瞠目結舌地站在那裏，還是這女子打破了寂靜。
“我還以爲是父親呢，"她嬌聲說道，帶點德國口音，“你是來找他的嗎？他到鎮上去了。我正盼他回來呢。”
麥克默多仍在滿心愛慕地癡望着她，在這矜持的來訪者面前，那女子心慌意亂地低下了頭。
“不是，小姐，"麥克默多終於開口說道，“我不急着找他。可是有人介紹我到你家來住。我想這對我很合適，現在我更知道這是很合適的了。”
“你也決定得太快了，"女子微笑着說。
“除非是瞎子，誰都會這樣決定的。"麥克默多答道。
姑娘聽到讚美的話語，莞爾一笑。“先生，請進來，"她說道，“我叫伊蒂·謝夫特小姐，是謝夫特先生的女兒。我母親早已去世，我管理家務。你可以在前廳爐旁坐下，等我父親回來。啊，他來了，有什麼事你和他商量吧。”
一個老人從小路上慢慢走過來。麥克默多三言兩語向他說明了來意。在芝加哥，一個叫墨菲的人介紹他到這裏來。這個地址是另一個人告訴墨菲的。老謝夫特完全答應下來。麥克默多對房費毫不猶豫，立刻同意一切條件，顯然他很有錢，預付了每週七美元的膳宿費。
於是這個公然自稱逃犯的麥克默多，開始住在謝夫特家裏。這最初的一步引出漫長而暗淡的無數風波，其收場則是在天涯的異國。