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第60章 花园血案之谜 5（第1页）

第60章花园血案之谜（5）

"Youoldfool!"shesaidinalowvoicewithoutprete;whatdoyousupptoprove?Itellyouthismanwasiwhilewithme。Butifhewasn'ti，hewasstillwithme。Ifhemurderedamaninthegarden，homusthaveseen—whomustatleasthaveknown?DoyouhateNeilsomuchasthter—"

LadyGallowayscreamed。Everyoingliouchofthosesatahavebeeweenloversbeforeheproud，whitefaceoftheScotcharistodherlover，theIrishadventurer，likeoldportraitsinadarkhouse。Thelongsilencewasfullofformlesshistoriurderedhusbandsandpoisonousparamours。

Ihismorbidsilenotvoicesaid:"Wasitaverylongcigar?"

Thegeofthoughtthattheyhadtolookroundtoseeoken。

"Imean，"saidlittleFatherBrown，fromtheeroftheroom，"ImeanthatcigarMr。Brayneisfinishing。Itseemsnearlyaslongasawalking-stick。"

&heirrelevaherewasassentaswellasirritatioin'sfaceasheliftedhishead。

&quht，"heremarkedsharply。"Ivan，goaMr。Brayneagain，andbrio;

&thefahadclosedthedoor，Valehegirlwithairelyness。

"LadyMargaret，"hesaid，"weallfeel，Iamsure，bothgratitudeandadmirationforyourarisingaboveynityandexplainingtheandant'sduct。Butthereisahiatusstill。Lalloway，Iuayoupassingfromthestudyt-room，anditwasoesafterwardsthathefoundthegardenandtheandantstillwalki;

"Youhavetoremember，"repliedMargaret，withafaintironyinhervoice，"thatIhadjustrefusedhim，soweshouldscarcelyhaveebaarm。Heisagentleman，anyhow;aeredbehind—andsedwithmurder。"

"Is，"saidVale;hemightreally—"

Theknock，andIvanputinhisscarredface。

"Begpardon，sir，"hesaid，"butMr。Brayhehouse。"

"Left!"criedValentin，ahefirsttimetohisfeet。

"Goed。Evaporated，"repliedIvaninhumorousFrench。"Hishatandcooo，andI'lltellyousomethingtocapitall。Irahehousetofindanytra，andIfoundone，andabigtrace，too。"

"Whatdoyoumean?"askedValentin。

"I'llshowyou，"saidhisservant，ahaflashingnakedcavalrysabre，streakedwithbloodaboutthepointandedge。Everyoheroomeyeditasifitwereathu;buttheexperienwentoly:

"Ifoundthis，"hesaid，"flungamongthebushesfiftyyardsuptheroadtoParis。Inotherwords，IfounditjustwhereyourrespectableMr。Braywhenheranaway。"

Therewasagaiofa。Valentintookthesabre，examiedwithurationofthought，aurfulfacetoO'Brien。"andant，"hesaid，"wetrustyouroducethisonifitiswantedforpoliation。Mea;headded，slappieelbatheringingscabbard，"letmereturnyouyoursword。"

Atthemilitarysymbolismoftheatheaudiencecouldhardlyrefrainfromapplause。

ForNeilO'Briegesturewastheturning-poiehetimehewaswahemysteriaininthethetragicfutilityofhisordinarymienhadfallenfromhim;hewasamanwithmanyreasonsforhappiness。Lallowaywasagentleman，andhadofferedhimanapology。LadyMargaretwassomethihanalady，awoma，andhadperhapsgiveterthananapology，astheydriftedamongtheoldflowerbedsbeforebreakfast。Thewholepanywasmhtheartedahoughtheriddleofthedeathremaiheloadofsuspiwasliftedoffthemall，aflyingofftoPariswiththestrangemillioheyhardlykhedevilwascastoutofthehouse—hehadcasthimselfout。

Still，theriddleremained;andwhenO'BrienthrewhimselfobesideDr。Simon，thatkeeifiato。HedidalkoutofO'Brieswereohings。

"I'tsayitismemuch，"saidtheIrishmanfrankly，"especiallyasitseemsprettyplainnoarentlyBrayrangerforsomereasoothegarden，ahmysword。Thehecity，tossingtheswordawayashewent。Bytheway，IvahedeadmanhadaYankeedollarinhispocket。SohewasaanofBrayne's，aochit。Idon'tseeanydifficultiesaboutthebusi;

"Therearefivecolossaldifficulties，"saidthedoctorquietly;"likehighalls。Don'tmistakeme。Idon'tdoubtthatBray;hisflight，Ifa。Butastohowhedidit。Firstdifficulty:Whyshouldamankillahagreathulkingsabre，whenhealmostkillhimoifeandputitbahispocket?Seddifficulty:Whywasthereanohereupwavingasdofferhirddifficulty:Aservahefrontdooralltheevening;andaratotgetiin'sgardenanywhere。Howdidthedeadmahegarden?Fourthdifficulty:Giveions，hetoutofthegarden?"