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II
of the sea to the south.
Vera said, surprised:
“It’s a long way out.”
She had pictured it differently, close to shore, crowned with a beautiful white house. But
there was no house visible, only the boldly silhouetted6 rock with its faint resemblance to a giant
who came forward and introduced himself.
“Thought we might as well wait for you,” he said. “Make one trip of it. Allow me to
He laughed breezily.
Mr. Justice Wargrave looked at him with active malevolence11. He seemed to be wishing
that he could order the court to be cleared. Miss Emily Brent was clearly not sure if she liked
Colonials.
“Mustn’t delay, then. Our good host and hostess will be expecting us,” he said.
He might have noticed that a curious constraint15 came over the other members of the party.
guests.
against which he was leaning and came up to them. His rolling gait proclaimed him as a man of
the sea. He had a weather-beaten face and dark eyes with a slightly evasive expression. He
“Will you be ready to be starting for the island, ladies and gentlemen? The boat’s waiting.
There’s two gentlemen coming by car but Mr. Owen’s orders was not to wait for them as they
might arrive at any time.”
The party got up. Their guide led them along a small stone jetty. Alongside it a motorboat
was lying.
Emily Brent said:
“That’s a very small boat.”
The boat’s owner said persuasively19:
Mr. Justice Wargrave said sharply:
“There are a good many of us.”
“She’d take double the number, sir.”
Philip Lombard said in his pleasant easy voice:
Rather doubtfully, Miss Brent permitted herself to be helped into the boat. The others
followed suit. There was as yet no fraternizing among the party. It was as though each member
of it was puzzled by the other members.
They were just about to cast loose when their guide paused, boat-hook in hand.
Down the steep track into the village a car was coming. A car so fantastically powerful, so
superlatively beautiful that it had all the nature of an apparition22. At the wheel sat a young man,
his hair blown back by the wind. In the blaze of the evening light he looked, not a man, but a
He touched the horn and a great roar of sound echoed from the rocks of the bay.
It was a fantastic moment. In it, Anthony Marston seemed to be something more than
mortal. Afterwards more than one of those present remembered that moment.
2
他们的汽车翻过一个陡坡，驶上了通往斯蒂克尔黑文的公路。道路弯弯曲曲，放眼望
去，只见一个小村庄挨着海边，零星散落着几间茅屋和小渔船。
在落日余晖中，他们遥望海面上的士兵岛，就在正南方，他们第一次看到这座岛。
维拉惊讶地说：
“它离岸这么远。”
完全出乎意料。她原以为要去的小岛离岸边不远，岛上建造了美丽的白色别墅。但是
现在根本连别墅的影子都看不见，只能看见粗糙的黑色岩石和状似士兵头部的轮廓。这座
岛似乎被不祥的气氛笼罩着。她不寒而栗。
一个叫“七星”的小旅社门前坐着三个人。年迈的法官先生，挺胸抬头的布伦特小姐，
还有一个魁梧的男人，他走过来做自我介绍。
“我们觉得还是等等你们比较好，”他说，“我们一起过去。自我介绍一下，我是戴维
斯，出生在南非，那里是我的故乡。哈哈！”
他的笑声很放松。
瓦格雷夫法官先生看着他，毫不掩饰自己的厌恶。如果这一幕发生在他的法庭上，他
一定立刻命令旁听人员全部退席。布伦特小姐的态度也很明确，她显然不喜欢从殖民地来
的人。
“上船之前有人想先吃点儿东西吗？”戴维斯先生好心好意地问。
对于他的建议，没人吭声。戴维斯先生竖起一根手指，转过身去。
“好，那就不再耽误时间了，好客的主人和他太太正等着我们！”他说。
在说话的时候，他也许应该注意到，这群人中出现了一种诡异的情绪。提起主人和女
主人，似乎给他们造成了奇怪的影响。
戴维斯勾了勾手指，歪靠在墙边的男人就走了过来。他的罗圈腿和走路的步态让人一
眼就能看出这是个以海为生的人。他的脸饱经风霜，黑眼睛闪烁不定，说话声音不大，操
着一口柔和的德文郡口音。
“女士们，先生们，都准备好了吗？船早就准备好了。还有两位先生要开车来，欧文先
生嘱咐说不必等他们了，也不知道他们什么时候才到。”
大家站起身，跟着向导沿着岸边走上一座小小的码头。一艘摩托小艇紧靠码头停着。
埃米莉·布伦特说：
“这船可真小。”
船主一个劲儿解释：
“太太，这船很棒！开起来快极了！开着它从这儿去普利茅斯，一眨眼的工夫就到了，
棒极了。”
瓦格雷夫法官先生的语气刻薄得多：
“我们这儿人可不少。”
“比你们多一倍的人也坐得下，先生。”
菲利普·隆巴德和气地说：
“没问题。今天天气好，风平浪静。”
布伦特小姐半信半疑，但还是被人扶着上了船。其余人也陆续登上船。这一群人到现
在还谈不上有多熟悉，反而在互相猜疑。
向导刚要解开缆绳，忽然停了手，手里还拿着锚。
一辆跑车沿着村子里那条又斜又陡的小路飞驰。这辆车马力强劲，外形惹眼，看起来
不同凡响。一个年轻人把控着方向盘，头发在风中飘扬。暮光中，他看起来不像凡人，简
直是一位英姿飒爽的天神，和北欧传说中的英雄一模一样。
他按了按喇叭，喇叭声在海湾的山石草木之中回响。
这一刻的景象如此美妙。安东尼·马斯顿此时神气活现。后来，不止一个人曾回想起这
幅画面。
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