福爾摩斯探案經典:《恐怖谷》第9章Part3
"Vell, I vant to tell you right now that it ain't no manner of use. There's someone slipped in afore you."
"She told me so."
"Vell, you can lay that she told you truth. But did she tell you who it vas?"
"No, I asked her; but she wouldn't tell."
"I dare say not, the leetle baggage! Perhaps she did not vish to frighten you avay."
"Frighten!" McMurdo was on fire in a moment.
"Ah, yes, my friend! You need not be ashamed to be frightened of him. It is Teddy Baldwin."
"And who the devil is he?"
"He is a boss of Scowrers."
"Scowrers! I've heard of them before. It's Scowrers here and Scowrers there, and always in a whisper! What are you all afraid of? Who are the Scowrers?"
The boarding-house keeper instinctively sank his voice, as everyone did who talked about that terrible society.
"The Scowrers," said he, "are the Eminent Order of Freemen!"
The young man stared. "Why, I am a member of that order myself."
"You! I vould never have had you in my house if I had known it--not if you vere to pay me a hundred dollar a veek."
"What's wrong with the order? It's for charity and good fellowship. The rules say so."
"Maybe in some places. Not here!"
"What is it here?"
“好，現在我對你直說吧，這是毫無用處的。在你以前，已經有人纏上她了。”
“她也對我這麼說過。”
“好，你應當相信她說的是真情。不過，她告訴你這個人是誰了嗎？”
“沒有，我問過她，可是她不肯告訴我。”
“我想她不會告訴你的，這個小丫頭。也許她不願意把你嚇跑吧。”
“嚇跑！"麥克默多一下子火冒三丈。
“啊，不錯，我的朋友！你怕他，這也不算什麼羞恥啊。這個人是特德·鮑德溫。”
“這惡魔是什麼人？”
“他是死酷黨的一個首領。”
“死酷黨！以前我聽說過。這裏也有死酷黨，那裏也有死酷黨，而且總是竊竊私語！你們大家都怕什麼呢？死酷黨到底是些什麼人呢？”
房東象每一個人談起那個恐怖組織時一樣，本能地放低了聲音。
“死酷黨，"他說道，“就是自由人會。”
年輕人大吃一驚，說道：“爲什麼？我自己就是一個自由人會會員。”
“你！要是我早知道，我決不會讓你住在我這裏——即使你每星期給我一百美元，我也不幹。”
“這個自由人會有什麼不好呢？會章的宗旨是博愛和增進友誼啊。”
“有些地方可能是這樣的。這裏卻不然！”
“它在這裏是什麼樣的呢？”
