11.The mystery 疑点
Did Charles Bravo kill himself, or was he murdered?
查尔斯·布拉沃是自杀还是被谋杀？
After listening to everyone’s story, the Coroner came to a decision.
在听取了所有人的陈述后，验尸官做出了裁决。
“After listening to everyone’s story, the Coroner came to a decision.”
“在听取了所有人的陈述后，验尸官做出了裁决。”
The Times
《泰晤士报》
Friday 11th August 1876
1876年8月11日，星期五
Charles Bravo Murdered!
查尔斯·布拉沃遭谋杀！
Yesterday the Coroner read out this decision: ‘Mr Charles Bravo did not commit suicide and he did not die by accident. He was murdered with the poison antimony. But it is impossible to say which person – or persons – killed him.’
昨天验尸官宣读了这一裁决：“查尔斯·布拉沃先生并非自杀，也非意外死亡。他是被毒药锑谋杀的。但无法确定究竟是哪个人或哪些人杀害了他。”
But was the Coroner right?
但是验尸官的裁决正确吗？
And if so, who killed Charles Bravo?
如果是他杀，那么谁杀害了查尔斯·布拉沃？
Over the years since 1876, many books and television programmes have asked these questions.
自1876年以来的多年间，许多书籍和电视节目都提出了这些问题。
But they have all given different answers.
但它们给出的答案各不相同。
The police learnt that the coachman, George Griffiths, was in Kent when Charles Bravo died, and his new employer said that was true.
警方得知马车夫乔治·格里菲斯在查尔斯·布拉沃去世时身在肯特郡，他的新雇主也证实了这一点。
So Griffiths was not the murderer, but was he telling the truth when he said there was no antimony left in the stables?
因此格里菲斯不是凶手，但他说马厩里没有剩余的锑时，说的是真话吗？
Perhaps there was some antimony left there – and someone found it, and used it.
也许那里确实还残留着一些锑——有人发现了它并加以使用。
Or perhaps the antimony didn’t come from the stables at all.
又或者这些锑根本就不是来自马厩。
Here are the four main possible answers to the mystery.
关于这个谜团，主要有四种可能的解释。
First possible answer: Charles Bravo killed himself
第一种可能：查尔斯·布拉沃自杀
It is difficult to believe that Charles Bravo meant to kill himself.
很难相信查尔斯·布拉沃是蓄意自杀。
Why would he do that?
他为什么要那样做？
He was young and healthy, he seemed happy, he had a rich wife – he had every reason to live.
他年轻健康，看起来生活幸福，又有一位富有的妻子——他有充分的理由活下去。
And to die from antimony is a very painful, horrible death.
而且死于锑中毒是非常痛苦和可怕的。
But perhaps he killed himself by accident.
但也许他是意外导致了自己的死亡。
Is that possible?
这有可能吗？
Think about it.
想一想吧。
Charles Bravo was not a very nice man.
查尔斯·布拉沃并不是一个很好的人。
He married Florence for her money, not because he loved her.
他娶弗洛伦丝是为了她的钱，而不是因为爱她。
He hit her when she argued with him.
当她与他争吵时，他会动手打她。
She drank a lot of wine, and he didn’t like that.
她经常酗酒，而他对此很反感。
Maybe he found the antimony in the stables, and put a little in her wine, to stop her drinking.
也许他在马厩里发现了锑，并在她的酒里放了一点，想以此让她戒酒。
After all, Florence did that to her first husband.
毕竟，弗洛伦丝曾对她的第一任丈夫做过同样的事。
If he was using antimony in this way, perhaps he put some antimony in his water bottle by mistake; then forgot about it, and later drank from the bottle when he was thirsty.
如果他是这样使用锑的，也许他误将一些锑放进了自己的水瓶里；然后忘记了这件事，后来口渴时便从瓶中喝了水。
Mrs Cox said he told her: ‘I have taken some of that poison.’
考克斯太太说他曾告诉她：“我服了一些那种毒药。”
Did he really say that?
他真的说过那句话吗？
And did Mrs Cox know which poison he was talking about?
考克斯太太知道他说的是哪种毒药吗？
Probably not.
很可能不知道。
She told Dr Harrison he had taken chloroform.
她告诉哈里森医生他服用的是氯仿。
But then, if Charles knew he had taken antimony by mistake, why didn’t he tell the doctors about it?
但是，如果查尔斯知道自己误服了锑，为什么不告诉医生呢？
‘I only took laudanum, nothing else,’ he told them.
“我只服了鸦片酊，没有别的，”他告诉他们。
And laudanum didn’t kill him.
而鸦片酊并没有致死。
Second possible answer: Dr Gully killed Charles Bravo
第二种可能：格利医生杀害了查尔斯·布拉沃
Dr Gully loved Florence.
格利医生爱着弗洛伦丝。
He wanted to marry her.
他想娶她为妻。
He hated Charles Bravo, and he was worried and angry when Jane Cox told him that Charles sometimes hit Florence.
他憎恨查尔斯·布拉沃，当简·考克斯告诉他查尔斯有时殴打弗洛伦丝时，他既担忧又愤怒。
Did Dr Gully write that letter to Charles Bravo saying: ‘You don’t love her. You just wanted her money, that’s all.’?
那封写给查尔斯·布拉沃的信是格利医生写的吗？信中写道：“你不爱她。你只是想要她的钱，仅此而已。”
Charles Bravo certainly thought so.
查尔斯·布拉沃显然认为是这样。
Dr Gully certainly wrote to Mrs Cox, and sent her medicine for her mother.
格利医生确实给考克斯太太写过信，并为她的母亲寄去了药品。
He was a doctor, he could easily buy antimony if he wanted.
作为一名医生，只要他想，就能轻易买到锑。
And maybe he thought: ‘If Charles Bravo is dead, then Florence will come back to me.’
也许他想：“如果查尔斯·布拉沃死了，弗洛伦丝就会回到我身边。”
But then, how could he get into the house, and into Charles Bravo’s bedroom, to put the poison in the water bottle?
但是，他如何进入房子，潜入查尔斯·布拉沃的卧室，把毒药放进水瓶里呢？
No one saw him there; he hadn’t been inside the house for months.
没人看见他在那里；他已经好几个月没进过这栋房子了。
But perhaps he did buy the antimony.
但也许他确实买了锑。
And perhaps another person put it in the water bottle.
也许是另一个人把它放进了水瓶。
Jane Cox, perhaps?
也许是简·考克斯？
Or Florence?
或者是弗洛伦丝？
Dr Gully lived until 1882.
格利医生一直活到1882年。
The last years of his life were unhappy.
他生命的最后几年过得并不快乐。
No other doctors would speak to him or read his books.
没有其他医生愿意与他交谈或阅读他的著作。
He didn’t spend much time with Florence, either.
他也很少与弗洛伦丝在一起。
She wasn’t interested in him any more.
她对他不再感兴趣了。
Third possible answer: Jane Cox killed Charles Bravo
第三种可能：简·考克斯杀害了查尔斯·布拉沃
Jane Cox was Florence’s companion and her friend.
简·考克斯是弗洛伦丝的伴侣和朋友。
She knew and liked Dr Gully but she thought he was too old for Florence.
她认识并喜欢格利医生，但她认为他对弗洛伦丝来说太老了。
So she introduced her to a younger man, Charles Bravo.
于是她把一位更年轻的男人介绍给了她，那就是查尔斯·布拉沃。
At first she thought Charles was a good husband for Florence, but she soon changed her mind.
起初她认为查尔斯是弗洛伦丝的好丈夫，但很快就改变了看法。
He was angry and unkind; he hit Florence when she argued with him.
他脾气暴躁且刻薄；当弗洛伦丝与他争吵时，他会动手打她。
He got rid of many servants, and he tried to get rid of Jane Cox, too.
他解雇了许多仆人，还试图赶走简·考克斯。
So Jane Cox would lose her friend, and her job.
这样一来，简·考克斯将失去她的朋友和工作。
She had three sons at school – how would she pay for them?
她有三个儿子在上学——她该如何支付他们的学费？
Mrs Cox knew Charles Bravo drank from his water bottle every night.
考克斯太太知道查尔斯·布拉沃每晚都会喝他水瓶里的水。
She could easily go into his bedroom and put antimony in the bottle.
她可以轻易进入他的卧室，把锑放进瓶子里。
There are many questions about Jane Cox.
关于简·考克斯有许多疑点。
When Charles opened his bedroom door, shouting for hot water, why didn’t Mrs Cox come out?
当查尔斯打开卧室门大喊要热水时，考克斯太太为什么不出来？
She wasn’t asleep.
她并没有睡着。
But she did nothing until the maid, Mary Ann, came to fetch her.
直到女仆玛丽·安来叫她，她才有所行动。
And then, when she went into Charles’s bedroom, she sent Mary Ann out, again and again.
然而，当她走进查尔斯的卧室后，却一次又一次地把玛丽·安打发出去。
Why?
为什么？
Because she wanted to be alone with Charles, perhaps?
也许是因为她想单独和查尔斯待在一起？
What did she do when she was alone with him?
当她和他独处时做了什么？
Give him more poison, perhaps?
也许是给他喂了更多的毒药？
Burn the rest of the antimony on the fire?
把剩下的锑扔进火里烧掉？
Clean out the water bottle, to make sure there were no grains of antimony left inside?
清洗水瓶，以确保里面没有残留任何锑颗粒？
Why did she send for Dr Harrison, when Dr Moore lived much closer?
既然摩尔医生住得近得多，她为什么要请哈里森医生？
Was she telling the truth, about what Charles said to her?
关于查尔斯对她说的话，她说的是真话吗？
Some people say that Mrs Cox did it, because she was afraid of losing her job.
有些人说考克斯太太这么做是因为害怕失去工作。
She was a poor widow and needed the money.
她是个贫穷的寡妇，需要这份收入。
But there is a problem with this, too.
但这种说法也有问题。
Jane Cox’s aunt, who lived in Jamaica, was very rich.
简·考克斯住在牙买加的姨妈非常富有。
And her aunt was dying.
而且她的姨妈已不久于人世。
A month before Charles Bravo died, this rich aunt had left all her money to Mrs Cox’s sons.
在查尔斯·布拉沃去世前一个月，这位富有的姨妈已将所有财产留给了考克斯太太的儿子们。
So Jane Cox didn’t really need a job any more.
所以简·考克斯其实不再需要工作了。
And after Charles’s death, she stopped working for Florence.
查尔斯死后，她也不再为弗洛伦丝工作。
She took her sons to Jamaica, and lived in a big house there.
她带着儿子们去了牙买加，住在一所大房子里。
She was a rich lady, and died in 1917, aged ninety.
她成了一位富有的女士，并于1917年以九十岁高龄去世。
Perhaps she did kill Charles Bravo.
也许她确实杀害了查尔斯·布拉沃。
But she didn’t do it for the money.
但她并非为了钱而这么做。
Fourth possible answer: Florence killed Charles Bravo
第四种可能：弗洛伦丝杀害了查尔斯·布拉沃
Florence’s first husband, Alexander Ricardo, died because he drank too much.
弗洛伦丝的第一任丈夫亚历山大·里卡多因酗酒而死。
Before she left him, Florence tried to stop him drinking by putting small amounts of antimony in his wine, to make him sick.
在离开他之前，弗洛伦丝曾试图通过在酒中加入少量锑让他生病，以此来阻止他饮酒。
Florence was a very rich young woman.
弗洛伦丝是一位非常富有的年轻女性。
She had a fine house, with lots of servants and horses.
她拥有一座豪宅，还有许多仆人和马匹。
She liked to do things her own way.
她喜欢按自己的方式行事。
But she lived at a time when men told women what to do.
但她生活在一个男人对女人发号施令的时代。
When a man married a woman, all her money belonged to him.
当一个男人娶了一个女人，她所有的钱财都归他所有。
If a wife argued with her husband, the husband often hit her.
如果妻子与丈夫争吵，丈夫往往会动手打她。
When Alexander hit her, Florence ran away, to Dr Gully.
当亚历山大殴打她时，弗洛伦丝逃走了，投奔了格利医生。
Dr Gully was the only man in her life who was kind to her.
格利医生是她生命中唯一对她好的男人。
But she couldn’t marry him, because he was too old and his wife was still alive.
但她无法嫁给他，因为他年纪太大，而且他的妻子还在世。
So she married Charles Bravo instead.
于是她转而嫁给了查尔斯·布拉沃。
She was only married to Charles for five months.
她与查尔斯的婚姻仅维持了五个月。
They had many arguments, and he often hit her.
他们频繁争吵，他经常殴打她。
He sold her horses; he got rid of her coachman, George Griffiths.
他卖掉了她的马；解雇了她的马车夫乔治·格里菲斯。
They argued about money, they argued about servants, they argued about her drinking.
他们为金钱争吵，为仆人争吵，也为她酗酒的问题争吵。
She lost her baby, and he tried to get rid of her friend, Jane Cox.
她失去了孩子，他还试图赶走她的朋友简·考克斯。
Florence had many reasons to hate him.
弗洛伦丝有许多理由恨他。
Was she really asleep, when he drank the poison?
当他喝下毒药时，她真的睡着了吗？
Charles shouted for help outside her bedroom, but she didn’t hear him.
查尔斯在她的卧室外大声呼救，但她却没有听见。
She lay in bed with her eyes closed.
她闭着眼睛躺在床上。
Did she find some antimony in the stables?
是她在马厩里发现了一些锑吗？
Did she put the antimony into his water bottle?
是她把锑放进了他的水瓶里吗？
But then, when she woke up, she tried hard to save him.
可是，当她醒来后，她竭尽全力试图挽救他。
She sent for five different doctors.
她先后请了五位不同的医生。
All the doctors thought she was very upset.
所有的医生都认为她极度悲痛。
And Charles didn’t think she had killed him.
查尔斯也不认为是她杀害了自己。
‘You’ve been the best of wives,’ he said.
“你是最好的妻子，”他说。
His cousin, Dr Royes Bell, heard him.
他的堂兄罗伊斯·贝尔医生听到了这句话。
Charles left all his money to her.
查尔斯把所有的钱都留给了她。
After the enquiry, Florence Bravo left The Priory and went to live in Southsea, on the south coast of England.
调查结束后，弗洛伦丝·布拉沃离开了普赖尔瑞宅邸，搬到了英格兰南海岸的绍西居住。
Her brother invited her to start a new life with him in Australia, but she refused.
她的哥哥邀请她去澳大利亚与他一起开始新的生活，但她拒绝了。
In Southsea she was lonely and unhappy.
在绍西，她孤独而不幸。
She didn’t talk to Jane Cox or Dr Gully.
她不再与简·考克斯或格利医生来往。
She drank more and more wine every day.
她每天喝的酒越来越多。
In September 1878, two years after her husband’s death, she died.
1878年9月，即丈夫去世两年后，她也离世了。
She had killed herself by drinking so much alcohol.
她因过度饮酒而结束了自己的生命。
She was thirty-three years old.
年仅三十三岁。
So did she love her husband, or did she kill him?
那么，她是深爱着她的丈夫，还是亲手杀害了他？
No one knows.
无人知晓。
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