-
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
“Was he in the master's class?”
“No; he never exchanged a word with him so far as I know.”
“That is certainly very singular. Had the boy a bicycle?”
“No.”
“Was any other bicycle missing?”
“No.”
“Is that certain?”
“Quite.”
“Well, now, you do not mean to seriously suggest that this German rode off upon a bicycle in the dead of the night bearing the boy in his arms?”
“Certainly not.”
“Then what is the theory in your mind?”
“The bicycle may have been a blind. It may have been hidden somewhere and the pair gone off on foot.”
“Quite so; but it seems rather an absurd blind, does it not? Were there other bicycles in this shed?”
“Several.”
“Would he not have hidden a couple he desired to give the idea that they had gone off upon them?”
“I suppose he would.”
“Of course he would. The blind theory won't do. But the incident is an admirable starting-point for an investigation. After all, a bicycle is not an easy thing to conceal or to destroy. One other question. Did anyone call to see the boy on the day before he disappeared?”
“No.”
“Did he get any letters?”
“Yes; one letter.”
“From whom?”
“From his father.”
“Do you open the boys' letters?”
“No.”
“How do you know it was from the father?”
“The coat of arms was on the envelope, and it was addressed in the Duke's peculiar stiff hand. Besides, the Duke remembers having written.”
“When had he a letter before that?”
“Not for several days.”
“Had he ever one from France?”
“No; never.”
“You see the point of my questions, of course. Either the boy was carried off by force or he went of his own free will. In the latter case you would expect that some prompting from outside would be needed to make so young a lad do such a thing. If he has had no visitors, that prompting must have come in letters. Hence I try to find out who were his correspondents.”
“所以有三天的时间白白一浪一费掉了。这个案件处理得太不妥当了。”
“我已经感觉到了，并且承认这一点。”
“可是这个案件应该能够得到最终解决。我很愿意研究这个案件，您了解这孩子和那位德语教师的关系吗？”
“一点也不了解。”
“这个孩子是在他的班上吗？”
“不是，而且我听说，这个孩子从来也没有和他说过一句话。”
“这种情况倒是很少见。这孩子有自行车吗？”
“没有。”
“另外还丢一了一辆自行车吗？”
“也没有。”
“确实吗？”
“确实。”
“那么，你的意思是，这位德国人并没有在深夜里挟着这个孩子汽车出走。是吗？”
“是的，肯定没有。”
“您想应该怎样解释呢？”
“这辆自行车可能是个骗局。车或许藏在某个地方，然后这两人徒步走掉。”
“很可能是这样的，不过拿自行车作幌子似乎相当荒谬，是不是？棚子里还有别的自行车吗？”
“还有几辆。”
“要是他想使人认为他们汽车走掉，他不会藏起两辆吗？”
“我看他会的。”
“当然他会。幌子的说法解释不通。但是这个情节可以作为调查的良好开端。总之，一辆自行车是不容易隐藏或是毁掉的。还有一个问题。这个孩子失踪的前一天有人来看过他吗？”
“没有。”
“他收到过什么信没有？”
“有一封。”
“谁寄来的？”
“他的父亲。”
“您平常拆他的信看吗？”
“不。”
“您怎么知道是他的父亲寄来的呢？”
“信封上有他家的家徽，笔迹是公爵特有的刚劲笔迹。此外，公爵也记得他写过。”
“在这封信以前他什么时候还收到过信？”
“收到这封信的前几天。”
“他收到过从法国来的信吗？”
“从来没有。”
“你当然明白我提这个问题的意义所在。这个孩子不是被劫走，便是自愿出走。在后者的情况下，您会料想到要有外界的唆使，使得这样小的孩子做出这种事情。如果没有客人来看他，教唆一定来自信中，所以我想要弄清谁和他通信。”
购买
在百度中搜索