（
绝品高手）（
最强兵人）（
腹黑郡王妃）（
武破魔天）（
家奴的饲养）（
至尊少女复仇记）the returnimray
by rudyard kipling
the doors were wide, the story saith,outthe night came the patient wraith,he might not speak, andcould not stira hairthe baron’s minniver speechless and strengthless, a shadow thin,he roved the castleseekoh, ’twaiteous thingseethe dumb ghost follow his enemy!
the baron.
imray achievedwarning, forconceivable motive,his youth,the thresholdhis careerchosedisappear from the world whichto say, the little indian station wherelived.
upoaywas alive, well, happy, andgreat evidence among the billiard tableshorning,was not, andmannersearch could make sure wheremight be.he had stepped outhis place;had not appearedhis officethe proper time, and his dogcart was not upon the publi these reasons, and becausewas hampering,a microscopical degree, the administrationthe indian empire, that empire paused for one microscopical momentmake inquiry into the fatere dragged, wells were plumbed, telegrams were despatched down the linesrailways andthe nearest seaport town twelve hundred miles away; but imray was notthe endthe drag ropes nor the telegrap was gone, and his place knew himmore.
then the workthe great indian empire swept forward, becausecould notdelayed, and imray from beinan becamystery suchingmen talk overtheir tablesthe club foonth, and thenguns, horses, and carts were soldthe highes superior officer wrotealtogether absurd letterhis mother, saying that imray had unaccountably disappeared, and his bungalow stood empty.
after threefour monthsthe scorching hot weather had gone by,friend strickland,the police, saw fitrent the bungalow from the nativ was beforewas engagedmiss youghalaffair which has been describedanother place and whilewas pursuing his investigations into nativ own life was sufficiently peculiar, and men plainedhis mannerswas always foodhis house, but there wereregular timesate, standingand walking about, whatevermight findthe sideboard, and thisnot good for human beings.
his domestic equipment was limitedsix rifles, three shot guns, five saddles, anollectionstiff jointed mahseer rods, bigger and stronger than the largest salmo occupied one-halfhis bungalow, and the other half was givento strickland and his dog tietjensenormous rampur slut who devoured daily the rationstw spokestricklanda languageher own; and whenever, walking abroad, she saw things calculateddestroy the peaceher majesty the queen empress, she returnedher master and laid information.
strickland would take stepsonce, and the endhis labours was trouble and fine and imprisonment for othe natives believed that tietjens waamiliar spirit, and treated her with the great reverence thatbornhateroomthe bungalow was set apart for her specia owneedstead, a blanket, anrinking-trough, andany one came into strickland’s roomnight her custom wasknock down the invader and give tongue till some one came with owed his lifeher, whenwasthe frontier,searcha local murderer, who camethe gray dawnsend strickland much farther than the andaman islands.
tietjens caught the manhe was crawling into strickland’s tent witagger between his teeth; and after his recordiniquity was establishedthe eyesthe lawwa that date tietjens worollarrough silver, and employeonogramher night blanket; and the blanket wasdouble woven kashmir cloth, for she waelicate dog.
undercircumstances would sheseparated from strickland; and once, whenwas ill with fever, made great trouble for the doctors, because she did not know howhelp her master and would not allow another creatureattemp,the indian medical service, beat her over her head witun-butt before she could understand that she must give room for those who could give quinine.
a short time after strickland had taken imray’s bungalow,business tookthrough that station, and naturally, the club quarters being full, i quartered myself upo waesirable bungalow, eight roomed and heavily thatched against any chanceleakage fro the pitchthe roof raeiling cloth which looked justneata white washe landlord had repaintedwhen strickland tookyou knew how indian bungalows were built you would never have suspected that above the cloth lay the dark three cornered cavernthe roof, where the beams and the undersidethe thatch harboured all mannerrats, bats, ants, and foul things.
tietjens metin the verandah witay like the boomthe bellst. paul’s, putting her pawsmy shouldershow she was gladsee me.strickland had contrivedclaw togetheortmeal whichcalled lunch, and immediately afterwas finished went out aboutleft alone with tietjens andow heatthe summer had brokenand turnedthe warm dampth wasmotionthe heated air, but the rain fell like ramrodsthe earth, and flunga blue mist whensplashe bamboos, and the custard apples, the poinsettias, and the mango treesthe garden stood still while the warm water lashed through them, and the frogs begansing among the aloe hedges.
a little before the light failed, and when the rain wasits worst, i satthe back verandah and heard the water roar from the eaves, and scratched myself becausas covered with the thing calle came out withand put her headmy lap and was very sorrowful;i gave her biscuits when tea was ready, anook teathe back verandahaccountthe little coolness foun roomsthe house were dark behind me.i could smell strickland’s saddlery and the oilhis guns, anaddesiresit among these things.
my own servant camemethe twilight, the muslinhis clothes clinging tightlyhis drenched body, and toldthaentleman had called and wishedsee som much againstwill, but only becausethe darknessthe rooms, i went into the naked drawing room, tellingmanbringmightmight not have beealler waitingseemedme thaaigureonethe windows but when the lights came there was nothing save the spikesthe rain without, and the smellthe drinking earthmy nostrils.
iexplainedmy servant thatwaswiser thanoughtbe, and went backthe verandahtalad gone out into the wet, anould hardly coax her backme; even with biscuits with suga came home, dripping wet, just before dinner, and the first thingsaid was:‘has any one called?’i explained, with apologies, thatservant had summonedinto the drawing-rooma false alarm;that some loafer had triedcallstrickland, and thinking betterit had fled after givingordered dinner, without ment, and sincewaeal dinner withite tablecloth attached,sat down.
atnine o’clock strickland wantedgobed, anas tire, who had been lying underneath the table, rose up, and swung into the least exposed verandahsoonher master movedhis own room, which was nextthe stately chamber set aparta mere wife had wishedsleep outdoorsthat pelting rainwould not have mattered; but tietjens waog, and therefore the bettestrickland, expectingsee him flay her with smiled queerly,a man would smile after telling some unpleasant domestic tragedy.‘she has dohis ever sincovedhere,’ said he.‘let her go.’
the dog was strickland’s dog,i said nothing, buelt all that strickland feltbeing thus made light of.tietjens encamped outsidebedroom window, and storm after storm came up, thunderedthe thatch, and die lightning spattered the skya thrown egg spatterarn door, but the light was pale blue, not yellow; and, looking throughsplit bamboo blinds, i could see the great dog standing, not sleeping,the verandah, the hackles alifther back and her feet anchoredtenselythe drawn wire ropea suspension bridge.
in the very short pausesthe thunderiedsleep, butseemed that some one wantedver, whoeverwas, was tryingcallby name, but his voice wasmore thausk thunder ceased, and tietjens went into the garden and howledthetriedopendoor, walked about and about through the house and stood breathing heavilythe verandahs, and just wheas falling asleeancied thaearild hammering and clamouring aboveheadon the door.
i ran into strickland’s room and asked him whetherwas ill, and had been calling for me.he was lyinghis bed half dressed, a pipehis mouth.‘i thought you’d e,’said.‘haveen walking round the house recently?’
i explained thathad been trampingthe dining room and the smoking room and twothree other places, andlaughed and toldtobacackbed and slept till the morning, but through allmixed dreamas suras doing some oneinjusticenot attendinghi those wants werould not tell; buluttering, whispering, bold fumbling, lurking, loitering someone was reproachingforslackness, and, half awake, i heard the howlingtietjensthe garden and the threshingththat house for two days.
strickland wenthis office daily, leavingalone for eightten hours with tietjens foronl longthe full light lasteas fortable, andwas tietjens; butthe twilight she anoved into the back verandah and cuddled each otherwere alonethe house, but nohe lesswas much too fully occupieda tenant with whoid not wisaw him, buould see the curtains between the rooms quivering wherehad just passed through; i could hear the chairs creakingthe bamboos sprung undeeight that had just quitted them; anould feel wheentgeook from the dining-room that somebody was waitingthe shadowsthe front verandah tilhould have gone away.
tietjens made the twilight more interestingglaring into the darkened rooms with every hair erect, and following the motionssomething thaouldnever entered the rooms, but her eyes moved interestedly: that was quit whenservant cametrim the lamps and make all light and habitable she would ewithand spend her time sittingher haunches, watchinginvisible extra manhe moved about behinre cheerful panions.
iexplainedstrickland, gentlymight be, thaouldoverthe club and find for myself quarter his hospitality, was pleased with his guns and rods, buid not much care for his house andheardoutthe end, and then smiled very wearily, but without contempt, forian who understands things.‘stay on,’said, ‘and see what this thin you have talked abouave known sincookonhas left me.are you going too?’
i had seen him through one little affair, connected witeathen idol, that had broughtto the doorsa lunatic asylum, anaddesirehelp him through furthe waanwhom unpleasantnesses arriveddo dinnersordinary people.
thereforxplained more clearly than ever thaiked him immensely, and wouldhappysee himthe daytime; but thaid not caresleep underwas after dinner, when tietjens had gone outliethe verandah.‘ponsoul, i don’t wonder,’ said strickland, with his eyesthe ceiling cloth.‘lookthat!’the tailstwo brown snakes were hanging between the cloth and the corniceth threw long shadowsthe lamplight.‘if you are afraidsnakescourse ’ said strickland.
ihate and fear snakes, becauseyou look into the eyesany snake you will see thatknows all and morethe mysteryman’s fall, and thatfeels all the contempt that the devil felt when adam was evicted fro which its bitegenerally fatal, andtwiststrouser legs.
‘you oughtget your thatch overhauled,’ i said.‘givea mahseer rod, and we’ll poke ’em down.’‘they’ll hide among the roof beams,’ said strickland.‘i can’t stand snake’m goingintoi shake ’em down, standwitleaning rod and break their backs.’i was not anxiousassist stricklandhis work, buook the cleaning-rod and waitedthe dining room, while strickland broughardener’s ladder from the verandah, and setagainst the sidethe room.
the snake tails drew themselvesan could hear the dry rushing scuttlelong bodies running over the baggy ceilin tooamp with him, whilriedmake clearhim the dangerhunting roof-snakes betweeeiling cloth anhatch, apart from the deteriorationproperty causedripping out ceiling cloths.
‘nonsense!’ said strickland.‘they’re surehide near the wallsth bricks are too cold for ’em, and the heatthe roomjust what they like.’he put his handthe cornerthe stuff and rippedfromgave witreat soundtearing, and strickland put his head through the opening into the darkthe anglethe rooteeth and lifted the rod, foad not the least knowledgewhat might descend.
‘h’m!’ said strickland, and his voice rolled and rumbledthe roof.‘there’s room for another setroomshere, and,jove, some oneoccupying ’em!’‘snakes?’ i said from below.‘no. it’sthe two last jointsa mahseer rod, and i’ll prod it.it’s lyingthe main roof beam.’
i handedthe rod.‘whaest for owls and serpents!no wonder the snakes live here,’ said strickland, climbing farther intosee his elbow thrusting with the rod.‘e outthat, whoever you are!heads below there!it’s falling.’
i saw the ceiling cloth nearlythe centrethe room bag withape that was pressingdownwards and downwards towards the lighted lampth the lamp outdanger and stoo the cloth ripped out from the walls, tore, split, swayed, and shot down upon the table something thaared not look at, till strickland had slid down the ladder and was standingmy side.
hedid not say much, beinanfew words; butpickedthe loose endthe tablecloth and threwover the remnantsthe table.‘it strikes me,’ said he, putting down the lamp, ‘our friend imray has ! you would, would you?’there waovement under the cloth, anittle snake wriggled out,be back brokenthe buttthe mahsee sufficiently sickmakeremarks wort meditated, and helped himselrrangement under the cloth mademore signslife.
‘isimray?’ turned back the cloth fooment, and looked.‘itimray,’said; ‘and his throatcut from earear.’thenspoke, both together andourselves:‘that’s whywhispered about the house.’tietjens,the garden, beganba later her great nose heaved open the dining room door.
she sniffed andtattered ceiling cloth hung down almostthe levelthe table, and there was hardly roommove away fromcameand sat down; her teeth bared under her lip and her forepaw lookedstrickland.‘it’ad business, old lady,’ said he.‘men don’t climbinto the roofstheir bungalowsdie, and they don’t fastenthe ceiling cloth behind ’em.let’s thinkout.’‘let’s thinkout somewhere else,’ i said.‘excellent idea!turn the lamp’ll get intoroom.’
idid not turn the lamp into strickland’s room first, and allowed himmakehe followed me, andlit tobacco smoked furiously, becausas afraid.‘imrayback,’ said strickland.‘the questionwho killed imray?don’t talk, i’votionook this bungaloook over mostimray’ was guileless and inoffensive, wasn’t he?’i agreed; though the heap under the cloth had looked neither ohing nor the other.
‘iallall the servants they will stand fasta crowd and lie likyou suggest?’‘call ’emoneone,’ i said.‘they’ll run away and give the newsall their fellows,’ said strickland.‘we must segregate ’em.do you suppose your servant knows anything about it?’‘he may, for aughnow; buon’t think it’ has only been here twothree days,’ i answered.‘what’s your notion?’‘i can’t quit the dickens did the man get the wrong sidethe ceiling cloth?’
there waeavy coughing outside strickland’s bedroo showed that bahadur khan, his body servant, had waked from sleep and wishedput stricklandbed.‘e in,’ said strickland.‘it’ery warm night, isn’t it?’bahadur khan, a great, green turbaned, six foot mahomedan, said thatwaery warm night; but that there was more rain pending, which,his honour’s favour, would bring reliefthe country.
‘it willso,god pleases,’ said strickland, tugging off his boots.‘itinmind, bahadur khan, thaave worked thee remorselessly for many days ever since that time when thou first earnest intime was that?’‘has the heaven born fotten?it was when imray sahib went secretlyeurope without warning given; anveame into the honoured servicethe protectorthe poor.’‘and imray sahib wenteurope?’‘itso said among those who were his servants.’‘and thou wilt take service with him whenreturns?’‘assuredly, waood master, and cherished his dependants.’
‘thaery tired, but ibuck shootinthe little sharp rifle thase for black buck;isthe case yonder.’the man stooped over the case; handed barrels, stock, and fore endstrickland, who fitted all together, yawninreached downthe gun case, tooolid drawn cartridge, and slippedinto the breechthe ‘360 express.‘and imray sahib has goo europe secretly!thatvery strange, bahadur khan,it not?’‘whati knowthe waysthe whit born?’
‘very little, thou shalt know mor has reachedthat imray sahib has returned from hislong journeyings, and that even nowliesthe next room, waiting his servant.’‘sahib!’the lamplight slid along the barrelsthe riflethey levelled themselvesbahadur khan’s broad breast.‘go and look!‘said strickland.‘take mastertired, andwait!’
the man pickeda lamp, and went into the dining room, strickland following, and almost pushing him with the muzzleth looked foomentthe black depths behind the ceiling cloth;the writhing snake under foot; and last, a gray glaze settlinghis face,the thing under the tablecloth.
‘hast thou seen?’ said strickland afteause.‘i hav claythe white man’ does the presence do?’‘hang thee withinelse?’‘for killing him?nay, sahib, among us, his servants,cast his eyes uponchild, who was four yearbewitched, andten daysdiedthe feverchild!’‘what said imray sahib?’
‘he saidwaandsome child, and patted himthe head; whereforechiilled imray sahibthe twilight, whenhad e back from office, andi dragged himinto the roof beams and made all fast behin heaven born knowsthe servantthe heaven born.’strickland lookedme above the rifle, and said,the vernacular, ‘thou art witnessthis saying?he has killed.’
bahadur khan stood ashen graythe lighttheneed for justification came upon him very swiftly.‘itrapped,’said, ‘but the offence was that man’s.he castevil eye uponchild, anilled andsuchare serveddevils,’glaredtietjens, couched stolidly before him, ‘only such could know whaid.’‘itthou shouldst have lashed himthe beam with , thou thyself wilt hang!’
a drowsy policeman answered strickland’ was followedanother, and tietjens sat wondrous still.‘take himthe police station,’ said strickland.‘therea case toward.’‘dang, then?’ said bahadur khan, makingattemptescape, and keeping his eyesthe ground.‘if the sun shinesthe water runs yes!’ sai khan stepped back one long pace, quivered, and stoo two policemen waited further orders.‘go!‘said strickland.‘nay; but ivery swiftly,’ said bahadur khan.‘look!ieven noead man.’
helifted his foot, andthe little toe there clung the headthe half killed snake, firm fixedthe agonydeath.‘i eland holding stock,’ said bahadur khan, rocking wherestood.‘it werisgracemegothe public scaffold: thereforake thiremembered that the sahib’s shirts are correctly enumerated, and that therean extra piecesoaphi child was bewitched, anlewshould you seekslaywith the rope?my honoursaved, and anie.’
atthe endan hourdied,they die who are bittenthe little brown karait, and the policemen bore him and the thing under the tablecloththeir appointe were neededmake clear the disappearanceimray.‘this,’ said strickland, very calmly,he climbed into bed, ‘is called the nieent you hear what that man said?’‘i heard,’ i answered.‘imray madistake.’‘simply and solely through not knowing the naturethe oriental, and the coincidencea little seasona khan had been with him for four years.’
own servant had been withfor exactly that lengt went overmy own roooundman waiting, impassivethe copper heada penny,pull offboots.‘what has befallen bahadur khan?’ said i.‘he was bittena snakerest the sahib knows,’ was the answer.‘and how muchthis matter hast thou known?’‘as muchmightgathered from one ingin the twilightsee, pull off those boots.’i had just settledthe sleepexhaustion wheeard strickland shouting from his sidethe house ‘tietjens has e backher place!’
andsh great deerhound was couched statelilyher own bedsteadher own blanket, while,the next room, the idle, empty, ceiling cloth waggledit trailedthe table.
m.pi.co
(梨树文学http://www.lishu123.com)