Outside the rain poured down and the wind howled in great shuddering gusts against the window-panes.
屋外暴雨倾盆，狂风大作。狂风暴雨一齐向窗户紧压过来。
Philip Lombard cocked his head slightly on one side before answering. Then he said: “You mean, do I believe that old Wargrave is right when he says it’s one of us?”
菲利普·隆巴德在回答之前，先向一边歪了歪脑袋，随后说道：“你的意思是问我沃格雷夫这老头儿说得是否有道理，凶手就是我们当中的一个？”
Vera said: “Oh, how I wish that could happen!”
维拉说道：“喔，但愿果真如此，那多好啊！”
Philip Lombard said slowly: “It’s difficult to say. Logically, you know, he’s right, and yet –“
菲利普·隆巴德慢悠悠地说道：“那就难说了。照情理看，你要知道，他是对的，然而……”
“The whole thing’s incredible! But after Macarthur’s death there’s no more doubt as to one thing. There’s no question now of accidents or suicides. It’s definitely murder. Three murders up to date.”
“压根儿就是不可思议！但是麦克阿瑟一死，有一点是不容置疑的了。现在，不存在意外或者自杀的问题了。分明是谋杀。到现在为止，总共三起了。”
“Yes.”
“是的。”
Philip Lombard made a grimace.
菲利普·隆巴德做了个鬼脸。
Vera took the words out of his mouth. “And yet it seems so incredible!”
维拉替他把到嘴边的话说完了：“然而，这看来又是多么地不可思议！”
He said with understanding: “I know. Presently a tap will come on the door, and early morning tea will be brought in.”
他深有同感似地说道：“我理解。睡着睡着，门上响起了敲门声，接着早茶就送进来了！”
She and Philip Lombard sat on the window — sill of the living-room.
她和菲利普·隆巴德两人坐在休息厅的窗台上。
Vera shivered. She said: “It’s like some awful dream. I keep feeling that things like this can’t happen!”
维拉禁不住簌簌发抖地说道：“这简直像场恶梦，我总感到这类事情是不可能发生的！”
“Do you believe it?” Vera asked.
“你相信吗？”维拉问道。
Philip Lombard said gravely: “Yes, but it won’t! We’re all in the dream! And we’ve got to be pretty much upon our guard from now on.”
菲利普·隆巴德一本正经地说道：“可惜，不会如愿，我们全都在这场梦中！而且，从现在起，我们还非得十分警惕不可。”
Vera said, lowering her voice: “If — if it is one of them — which do you think it is?”
维拉压低嗓门说道：“假如——假如真是我们中间的一个——你看会是谁？”
Philip Lombard grinned suddenly. He said: “I take it you are excepting our two selves? Well, that’s all right. I know very well that I’m not the murderer, and I don’t fancy that there’s anything insane about you, Vera. You strike me as being one of the sanest and most level-headed girls I’ve come across. I’d stake my reputation on your sanity.”
菲利普·隆巴德突然露出牙齿地笑了，他说道：“我理解你是把我们俩除外了？也成，这没问题，我自己清楚得很，我不是凶手，而且我也不怀疑你有什么不对头的地方，维拉。你还真使我感到你是我所见到过的最稳当、最冷静的姑娘呐！我敢担保你精神正常。”
With a slightly wry smile, Vera said: “Thank you.”
维拉露出一丝淡淡的苦笑，说道：“谢谢你。”
He said: “Come now, Miss Vera Claythome, aren’t you going to return the compliment?”
他说道：“来吧，维拉·克菜索恩小姐，你不打算回敬我几句吗？”
Vera hesitated a minute, then she said: “You’ve admitted, you know, that you don’t hold human life particularly sacred, but all the same I can’t see you as — as the man who dictated that gramophone record.”
维拉稍许迟疑了一下，然后说道：“你清楚你自己说过，你并不主张人生在世非得吃素念佛、奉公守法不可。这个不去管它，反正我看不出来你会像——像灌唱片的那个人。”
Lombard said: “Quite right. If I were to commit one or more murders it would be solely for what I could get out of them. This mass clearance isn’t my line of country. Good, then we’ll eliminate ourselves and concentrate on our five fellow prisoners. Which of them is U. N. Owen? Well, at a guess, and with absolutely nothing to go upon, I’d plump for Wargrave!”
隆巴德说道：“一点儿不错。如果我非得害死个把人，无非只是为了使自己能脱身。像这一类的大规模清算，本人并不在行。好吧，这样我们就不算自己，集中来谈谈其他五个同狱犯。谈谈哪一个才是不知何许人也的尤·纳·欧文吧。嗯，依我猜，可是一点根据也没有啊，我说他就是沃格雷夫！”
Lombard gave a low whistle. “The doctor, ch? You know, I should have put him last of all.”
隆巴德轻轻地吹了一个口哨：“那个大夫，呃？我跟你说，我是把他摆在最后一个的。”
Without any hesitation Vera answered: “Dr. Armstrong.”
维拉毫不犹豫地回答道：“阿姆斯特朗大夫。”
“Hard to say exactly. But to begin with, he’s an old man and he’s been presiding over courts of law for years. That is to say, he’s played God Almighty for a good many months every year. That must go to a man’s head eventually. He gets to see himself as all powerful, as holding the power of life and death — and it’s possible that his brain might snap and he might want to go one step farther and be Executioner and Judge Extraordinary.”
“很难说得清楚。但是，先拿这一点来说吧，他是个老油条，主持庭审可有年头儿了。也就是说，哪一年他都得充当好几个月至高无上的上帝。久而久之，肯定他就自以为真是上帝了。权高一切，生杀由己。他完全可能一下子心血来潮，越走越远，又想当一名巡案大人，替天执法了。”
“Oh!” Vera sounded surprised. She thought a minute or two and then said, “Why?”
维拉大吃一惊。她想了一两分钟才说：“为什么？”
Vera said slowly: “Yes, I suppose that’s possible…”
维拉慢慢地说道：“是啊，我看这倒也可能……”
Lombard said: “Who do you plump for?”
隆巴德说道：“要你说，你说是哪一个呢？”
Vera shook her head. “Oh, no! Two of the deaths have been poison. That rather points to a doctor. And then you can’t get over the fact that the only thing we are absolutely certain Mrs. Rogers had was the sleeping draught that he gave her.”
维拉摇摇头：“喔，不！两起命案都是毒死的。还不足以说明那和大夫有关吗？而且你不能不考虑这个事实：我们惟一有绝对把握的，就是罗杰斯太太吃的安眠药是他给的。”
Lombard admitted: “Yes, that’s true.”
隆巴德同意这一点：“是，这没错。”
“Who is it, Mr. Blore? That’s what I want to know. Who is it?”
“他是谁呢，布洛尔先生？我要知道的就是这一点，他是谁？”
“You know,” he said, “that’s a clever idea of yours. I wonder –“
“有你的，”他说道，“这个想法挺高明，我怀疑……”
Philip whistled again very softly. He said: “So you think he did it then? Pretty cool thing to do.”
菲利普十分悠然地又吹了一声口哨，说道：“这样说，你认为他是在那个时候干的啦？那非得有点沉着劲儿不可！”
“When he went down to call the General to lunch.”
“他去叫将军吃午饭的时候。”
Rogers’ face was working. His hands were clenched round the polishing leather that he held in his hand.
罗杰斯的脸抽搐着，双手紧紧攥着正在擦的皮鞋。
“When?”
“什么时候？”
Philip looked at her thoughtfully.
菲利普若有所思地看着维拉。
Vera said: “He didn’t do it then. He had an opportunity later.”
维拉说道：“他不是在那个时候干的。他后来还有一次机会。”
Vera said impatiently: “What risk was there? He’s the only person here with medical knowledge. He can swear the body’s been dead at least an hour and who’s to contradict him?”
维拉有点不耐烦了：“那怕什么？这里只有他一个人懂医道。他满可以说此人至少已经死了一个钟点，谁又能反驳得了他？”
Philip Lombard said: “Yes, but I doubt if he could have killed Macarthur. He wouldn’t have had time during that brief interval when I left him — not, that is, unless he fairly hared down there and back again, and I doubt if he’s in good enough training to do that and show no signs of it.”
菲利普·隆巴德说道：“可也是。不过我怀疑他杀得成麦克阿瑟将军。他时间不够用的，我只跑开了一会儿——决不可能，除非他一去一回都跑得像兔子那样快。我不相信他会早有这种训练，竟然干得如此干净利索，一点也瞧不出来。”
Vera persisted: “If a doctor went mad, it would be a long time before any one suspected. And doctors overwork and have a lot of strain.”
维拉坚持说下去：“要是大夫搞鬼，一般人是很难发觉的。而且大夫往往由于工作太累、过度紧张而出错。”
“That,” said Blore, “is what we all would like to know.”
“这一点，”布洛尔说道，“是我们全部想知道的。”
Ex-Inspector Blore said: “Eh, my ]ad, that’s the question!”
前探长布洛尔说道：“对，伙计，就是这个问题！”
Rogers wiped the perspiration from his forehead. He said hoarsely: “It’s like a bad dream, that’s what it is.”
罗杰斯抹去前额冒出的冷汗，喘着粗气说道：“真像一场恶梦，就是！”
“I may have,” Broll said slowly. “from being sure. I may be wrong. All I can say is that if I’m right the person in question is a very cool customer — a very cool customer indeed.”
“我可能有点数，”布洛尔慢吞吞地说道，“可是要说准，还差得远呐。也许我还是错的。我只能说要是我说对了的话，这位有问题的人物可真够沉着的了——确实称得起沉着透顶了。”
The butler shook his head. He said hoarsely: “I don’t know. I don’t know at all. And that’s what’s frightening the life out of me. To have no idea.”
管家摇摇头，还是粗声粗气说：“我不知道，我根本不知道。正因为这个缘故，我才害怕得要死，要是能知道点儿的话……”
Rogers said shrewdly: “But you’ve got an idea, Mr. Blore. You’ve got an idea, aren’t you?”
罗杰斯显得挺精明地说道：“但，你是有数的，布洛尔先生。你是有数的吧？”
“One of us, ‘is lordship said. Which one? That’s what I want to know. Who’s the fiend in’uman form?”
“我们中间的一个。法官老爷是这么说的。哪一个呢？我要知道的就是这一点。谁是化成人形的恶魔呢？”
Mr. Justice Wargrave looked thoughtfully out of the smoking room window. He played with the cord of his eyeglasses. He said: “I do not, of course, profess to be a weather prophet. But I should say that it is very unlikely that a boat could reach us — even if they knew of our plight — under twenty-four hours — and even then only if the wind drops.”
沃格雷夫法官先生沉思地望着吸烟室的窗外，手里捻着拴眼镜的带子说道：“不是我自己炫耀自己能识天知时，但我还得说二十四小时之内决不像会有船开来的，哪怕他们已经了解到我们的处境，也得看看二十四小时以后风停不停。”
Blore said, looking at him curiously: “Got any ideas yourself, Rogers?”
布洛尔好奇地瞅着他说道：“你白己也有点看法吧，罗杰斯？”
Dr. Armstrong said violently: “We must get out of here — we must — we must! At all costs!”
阿姆斯特朗大夫非常激动地说道：“我们一定要离开这里——一定要——一定要！豁出去也要！”
“I hope not,” said Mr. Justice Wargrave. “I intend to take every possible precaution against such a thing happening.”
“但愿不是，”沃格雷夫法官先生说道，“我打算采取一切措施防止这种情况发生。”
Dr. Armstrong dropped his head in his hands and groaned. He said: “And in the meantime we may all be murdered in our beds?”
阿姆斯特朗大夫低下头，用双手捂着脑袋，嘴里哼哼唧唧地呻吟着说：“难道说，在此期间，就光躺在床上干等着人家把我们全都宰了？”
The doctor said: “There have been three victims already, remember?”
大夫说道：“已经报销三个了。忘了？”
Mr. Justice Wargrave was thinking: “Murdered in our beds! These doctors are all the same — they think in cliches. A thoroughly commonplace mind.”
沃格雷夫法官先生也在想着：“躺着等死！这些大夫都是一路货色——脑子不开窍。实在是俗不可耐。”
“Certainly. But you must remember that they were unprepared for the attack. We are forewarned.”
“忘不了。但是你也别忘了，他们全是一无准备，猝不及防的，而我们却预先有了警告。”
Dr. Armstrong said bitterly: “What can we do? Sooner or later –“
阿姆斯特朗大夫愁眉苦脸地说道：“我们有什么办法？迟早——”
“I think,” said Mr. Justice Wargrave, “that there are several things we can do.”
“我考虑，”沃格雷夫法官先生说道，“我们还是可以做点什么的。”
It flashed across Dr. Armstrong’s mind that an old man like the judge, was far more tenacious of life than a younger man would be. He had often marvelled at that fact in his professional career. Here was he, junior to the judge by perhaps twenty years, and yet with a vastly inferior sense of self-preservation.
阿姆斯特朗大夫脑子里闪过一个念头。他觉得像法官这种老年人的求生欲望远比年青人要强烈得多。他行医多年，对这一点深有所感。他比法官可能要小上二十岁，但在自我保存的精神方面却不知要差多少了。
Armstrong said: “We’ve no idea, even, who it can be –“
阿姆斯特朗说道：“到底是哪一个人，我们甚至连一点数儿都没有。”
The judge stroked his chin and murmured: “Oh, you know, I wouldn’t quite say that.”
法官摸摸下巴颏，低声道：“可你得知道，我不这么想。”
Mr. Justice Wargrave said cautiously: “As regards actual evidence, such as is necessary in court, I admit that I have none. But it appears to me, reviewing the whole business, that one particular person is sufficiently clearly indicated. Yes, I think so.”
沃格雷夫法官先生小心翼翼地说道：“要说确切的证据，例如开庭所必需的那些，我承认我一点儿也没有。但是把事情前前后后串连起来，我看，就是有这么一个人，那简直是太明显了。确实，我就是这么想的。”
Armstrong stared at him. “Do you mean you know?”
阿姆斯特朗瞪着他说：“你的意思是说你知道了？”
Miss Brent was upstairs in her bedroom.
布伦特小姐在楼上自己的卧室里。
She opened it. Then, after a minutes hesitation, she set it aside and went over to the dressing-table. From a drawer in it she took out a small black-covered notebook.
翻开圣经，但是，犹豫了一会儿，她又把圣经搁下了，走到梳妆台前，从抽屉里取出一本黑面笔记本。
Armstrong stared at him. He said: “I don’t understand.”
阿姆斯特朗仍然瞪着他说：“我不明白。”
She opened it and began writing. “A terrible thing has happened. General Macarthur is dead. (His cousin married Elsie MacPherson.) There is no doubt but that he was murdered. After luncheon the judge made us a most interesting speech. He is convinced that the murderer is one of us. That means that one of us is possessed by a devil. I had already suspected that. Which of us is it? They are all asking themselves that. I alone know…”
她打开本子，开始写道：“可怕的事情发生了。麦克阿瑟将军死了（他堂兄娶的是埃尔西·麦克弗森）。他无疑是被害死的。午饭以后，法官对大家作了一次挺有意思的讲话。他认为凶手就在我们中间。这意思就是说，我们之中有一个人是替魔鬼当差的。这一点我早有怀疑。究竟是哪一个呢？他们都在问自己，而独独我是知道的……”
She took up her Bible and went to sit by the window.
她拿起圣经，走到窗前坐下。
Suddenly, with a start, she awoke. She looked down at the notebook. With an angry exclamation she scored through the vague unevenly scrawled characters of the last sentence.
忽然，她一惊，醒了。低头看看笔记本。她一声怒叫，把最后一行的那些乱七八糟的字全都划掉了。
Her eyes closed.
她闭上了眼睛。
The storm increased. The wind howled against the side of the house.
风暴更厉害了。狂风在楼房的四周吼叫着。
She sat for some time without moving. Her eyes grew vague and filmy. The pencil straggled drunkenly in her fingers. In shaking loose capitals she wrote: THE MURDERER’S NAME is BEATRICE TAYLOR…
她坐在那里，有好一阵子一动也不动。她的双眼渐渐模糊了，眼前是一片迷惘。铅笔在她手指中间像人喝醉了酒似地乱晃起来，她歪歪斜斜、稀稀拉拉地用大楷写道：凶手的名字叫做比阿特丽斯·泰勒。
When Rocyers brought in the tea-tray, they all jumped. He said: “Shall I draw the curtains? It would make it more cheerful like.”
当罗杰斯端着茶盘走进来时，他门全都蹦了起来。“把窗户帘子拉上吗？这样会更舒服些。”
She said in a low voice: “Did I write that? Did I? I must be going mad…”
她轻轻地说道：“是我写的吗？是我吗？我一定是快疯了……”
Every one was in the living-room. They sat listlessly huddled together. And, surreptitiously, they watched each other.
大家都在休息厅里，六神无主地凑在一块儿，而且偷偷摸摸地彼此打量着。
Receiving an assent to this, the curtains were drawn and the lamps turned on. The room grew more cheerful. A little of the shadow lifted. Surely, by tomorrow, the storm would be over and some one would come — a boat would arrive.
大家同意了之后，他把窗帘拉上了，又扭开了电灯，屋里确实显得舒服多了。愁云被抹掉了一些。肯定，到明天，风暴就会过去，会有人来的——小船也会到来……
Vera Claythome said: “Will you pour out tea, Miss Brent?”
维拉·克莱索恩说道：“您来倒茶吧，布伦特小姐？”
Mr. Justice Wargrave asked: “Was it there this morning?”
沃格雷夫法官先生问道：“今天早晨还在吗？”
Tea! Blessed ordinary everyday afternoon tea! Philip Lombard made a cheery remark. Blore responded. Dr. Armstrong told a humorous story. Mr. Justice Wargrave, who ordinarily hated tea, sipped approvingly.
“茶啊！每天的家常下午茶啊！谢天谢地！”菲利普·隆巴德说了句逗乐的话。布洛尔也凑乎了一句。阿姆斯特朗又讲了个惹人发笑的故事。沃格雷夫法官先生本来是讨厌喝茶的，如今也津津有味地啜起来了。
Lombard’s head went up with a jerk. “The bathroom curtain? What the devil do you mean, Rogers?”
隆巴德猛地抬起了头：“洗澡间的窗帘子？你究竟要说什么，罗杰斯？”
“Scarlet oilsilk, sir. It went with the scarlet tiles.”
“紫红色的闪光绸，先生。正好配上洗澡间里的红瓷砖。”
Blore said: “What kind of a curtain was it?”
布洛尔说道：“是什么样子的窗帘？”
And Rogers was upset. He said nervously and at random: “Excuse me, sir, but does any one know what’s become of the bathroom curtain?”
他却是一脸苦相，说起话来神情紧张，前言不搭后语的。“对不起，先生，哪一位知道洗澡间的窗帘子到哪里去了？”
Into this relaxed atmosphere came Rogers.
就在这种松弛和谐的气氛中，罗杰斯走了进来。
“It’s gone, sir, clean vanished. I was going round drawing all the curtaiiis and the one in the lav-bathroom wasn’t there any longer.”
“没了，先生，无影无踪了。我正在各处拉窗帘子，而盥——洗澡间里的那个帘子怎么也找不到啦。”
Vera moved to the tea-table. There was a cheerful rattle and clink of china. Normality returned.
维拉向茶桌子走去。瓷器的碰撞声，听上去使人感到挺高兴的。屋子里又带点儿家常味儿了。
The elder woman replied: “No, you do it, dear. That tea-pot is so heavy. And I have lost two skeins of my grey knitting-wool. So annoying.”
那位上年纪的妇女回答道：“不，亲爱的，你倒吧。茶壶太沉。再说我又把两团灰毛线弄乱了，烦死了。”
“Oh, yes, sir.”
“啊，在的，先生。”
They heard the sound of two bolts being shot and the turning of two keys.
他们听见插插销和转动钥匙的声音。
The two women went up the stairs and Lombard and Blore came with them. Standing at the top of the stairs, the two men watched the women go into their respective rooms and shut the doors.
两个女人爬上了楼梯，隆巴德和布洛尔也跟着一起走出去了。他们站在楼梯口，看着两个妇女走进各自的房间，关上了房门。
Blore said with a grin: “No need to tell ’em to lock their doors!”
布洛尔好笑地说道：“用不着关照她们锁好门！”
“Gone, Sir.”
“不见了，先生。”
At nine o’clock, Emily Brent rose to her feet. She said: “I’m going to bed.”
到九点钟，埃米莉·布伦特站了起来，说道：“我去睡了。”
Inside the room, the pall of fear had fallen anew.
房间里，愁云惨雾又升起来了。
Again, surreptitiously, they watched each other.
大家又偷偷摸摸地互相打量了起来。
Rogers said: “Yes, sir, thank you, sir.”
罗杰斯说道：“是，先生，谢谢您啦，先生。”
He went out, shutting the door behind him.
他走出去了，随手带上了门。
Blore said heavily: “Well — after all — what of it? It’s mad — but so’s everything else. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. You can’t kill anybody with an oil-silk curtain. Forget about it.”
布洛尔严肃地说道：“得——还得问——怎么回事？不可思议——其实全都莫名其妙。算了吧，没什么了不起的，总不能用块闪光绸窗帘杀人吧。把它忘了吧。”
Dinner came, was eaten, and cleared away. A simple meal, mostly out of tins. Afterwards, in the living-room, the strain was almost too great to be borne.
晚饭端上来了，吃完了，拾掇完了。简简单单的一顿晚饭，多数是罐头。后来，休息厅里的紧张气氛实在使人受不住了。
They stared at each other.
大家你看看我，我瞧瞧你。
Vera said: “I’ll go to bed too.”
维拉也说道：“我也要去睡了。”
Lombard said: “And it’s gone?”
隆巴德说道：“那么说是不见了？”
He went down again and the other followed him.
他走下楼来，另一个跟着他。
Lombard said: “Well, they’re all right for the night, at any rate!”
隆巴德说道：“得，无论如何，这一夜她们是太平无事了！”
Then the judge’s voice spoke. “I need hardly advise you, gentlemen, to lock your doors.”
是法官的声音在说话：“各位，用不着我再关照大家锁好门了吧。”
Blore said: “And, what’s more, put a chair under the handle. There are ways of turning locks from the outside.”
布洛尔说道：“而且，最好在门把儿下面再顶上把椅子。还是有可能从外面把锁打开的。”
The four men went to bed an hour later. They went up together. Rogers, from the dining-room where he was setting the table for breakfast, saw them go up. He heard them pause on the landing above.
一个小时以后，剩下的四个人也去睡了。他们是一起上楼的。罗杰斯正在餐厅里为第二天的早餐摆桌子，他看着他们上了楼，听见他们在上面的楼道口停住了。
Lombard murmured: “My dear Blore, the trouble with you is you know too much!”
隆巴德嘀咕着说道：“我亲爱的布洛尔，你的毛病在于懂得太多了！”
The judge said gravely: “Good-night, gentlemen. May we all meet safely in the morning!”
法官一本正经地说道：“那么，晚安，各位！祝大家明天早晨都平安无事，再见。”
He nodded his head. “That’s all right,” he muttered.
“没问题了。”他点点头，低声说道。
He went back into the dining-room. Yes, everything was ready for the morning. His eye lingered on the centre plaque of looking-glass and the seven little china figures.
罗杰斯重新回到餐厅。行，明天早晨的一切都齐备了。他的眼光落在镶饰在墙壁正中的穿衣镜上，又在七个小瓷人儿上停留了一会儿。
Rogers came out of the dining-room and slipped halfway up the stairs. He saw four figures pass through four doors and heard the turning of four locks and the shooting of four bolts.
罗杰斯从餐厅里跑了出来，急步溜上半节楼梯，他看见四个人影消失在四个门洞里，听到四把门锁都锁好，四个插销全插牢了的声音。
A sudden grin transformed his face.
刹时，有一点儿喜色骤然出现在他的脸上。
He murmured: “I’ll see no one plays tricks tonight, at any rate.”
他嘀嘀咕咕说道：“我倒要看看，今儿晚上有谁还能搞得了鬼。”
Then, extinguishing the lights, he hurried up the stairs and into his new bedroom.
然后，他熄了电灯，急急忙忙上楼走进自己的新卧室。
Crossing the room he locked the door to the pantry. Then going through the other door to the hall he pulled the door to, locked it and slipped the key into his pocket.
他走到房间那一头，把通向小厨房的门锁好，又穿过另一扇门走进大厅，返身把门拉好上了锁，将钥匙放进口袋里了。
There was only one possible hiding-place in it, the tall wardrobe, and lie looked into that immediately. Then, locking and bolting the door, he prepared for bed.
屋里只有一处可以藏得了人的地方，就是那个高大的衣橱，他立刻查看了一番。接着，锁好并插上门，准备睡了。
He said to himself: “No more Indiaii tricks tonight. I’ve seen to that…”
他自言自语道：“今晚不会再有印地安把戏了。我都照料好了……”
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