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iii
the search of the island was practically completed. the three men stood on the highest point
looking over towards the mainland. there were no boats out. the wind was freshening.
lombard said:
“no fishing boats out. there’s a storm coming. damned nuisance you can’t see the village
from here. we could signal or do something.”
blore said:
“we might light a bonfire tonight.”
lombard said, frowning:
“the devil of it is that that’s all probably been provided for.”
“in what way, sir?”
“how do i know? practical joke, perhaps. we’re to be marooned here, no attention is to be
paid to signals, etc. possibly the village has been told there’s a wager on. some damn’ fool
story anyway.”
blore said dubiously:
“think they’d swallow that?”
lombard said dryly:
“it’s easier of belief than the truth! if the village were told that the island was to be isolated
until mr. unknown owen had quietly murdered all his guests—do you think they’d believe
that?”
dr. armstrong said:
“there are moments when i can’t believe it myself. and yet—”
philip lombard, his lips curling back from his teeth said:
“and yet—that’s just it! you’ve said it, doctor!”
blore was gazing down into the water.
he said:
“nobody could have clambered down here, i suppose?”
armstrong shook his head.
“i doubt it. it’s pretty sheer. and where could he hide?”
blore said:
“there might be a hole in the cliff. if we had a boat now, we could row round the island.”
lombard said:
“if we had a boat, we’d all be halfway to the mainland by now!”
“true enough, sir.”
lombard said suddenly:
“we can make sure of this cliff. there’s only one place where there could be a recess—just
a little to the right below here. if you fellows can get hold of a rope, you can let me down to
make sure.”
blore said:
“might as well be sure. though it seems absurd—on the face of it! i’ll see if i can get hold
of something.”
he started off briskly down to the house.
lombard stared up at the sky. the clouds were beginning to mass themselves together. the
wind was increasing.
he shot a sideways look at armstrong. he said:
“you’re very silent, doctor. what are you thinking?”
armstrong said slowly:
“i was wondering exactly how mad old macarthur was….”
3
搜岛行动很快便结束了。三个人站在小岛最高处望着远处的大陆。海面上没有一艘
船，海风吹来，裹挟着新鲜的海水气味。
隆巴德说：
“没有船出海，说明风暴要来了。这里也望不见村子，不然还可以发个信号。”
布洛尔说：
“今天晚上我们点上篝火试一试。”
隆巴德皱着眉头说：
“怕就怕这些也许都是预先安排好的。”
“怎么安排的，先生？”
“我怎么知道？也许别人以为这是在开玩笑。把我们骗上岛的人没准儿已经和岸上的人
说好了，无论我们发什么信号也不用插手，说我们其实是在打赌之类的。编瞎话还不容易
吗？”
布洛尔半信半疑地说：
“村子里的人会信吗？”
隆巴德冷冷地说：
“哼，假话往往比真话更有说服力！要是有人对村里的人说，别管这座岛上的事，一个
叫欧文的先生会把他的客人神不知鬼不觉地全部灭口——你认为会有人相信吗？”
阿姆斯特朗医生说：
“其实连我自己都无法相信，而现在——”
菲利普·隆巴德咬牙切齿地说：
“而现在——这就是从你嘴里说出来的话！”
布洛尔低头盯着水面说：
“我想应该不会有人藏到海里去了吧？”
阿姆斯特朗摇摇头。
“我看不会。再说岸边这么陡峭，哪儿藏得住人啊？”
布洛尔说：
“也许悬崖壁上有洞穴。如果现在有条船，我们就能划船围着岛检查一圈。”
“如果有船，我们已经在回去的路上了。”
“说得对，先生。”
隆巴德突然说：
“我们可以把这座岛上所有地方都搜个遍，悬崖这里只有一个地方可以藏身，就在右下
方那里。你们谁能找根绳子来，我顺着绳子下去看一看。”
布洛尔说：
“有必要去探一探，虽然听起来似乎挺荒唐的。我去看看能不能找到根绳子。”
他直接奔回房子里。
隆巴德望了望天，大块大块的乌云正在聚集，海风愈刮愈烈。
他侧目看了阿姆斯特朗一眼，说：
“你倒是很镇定，医生，你在想些什么呢？”
阿姆斯特朗幽幽地说：
“我正在想，老麦克阿瑟究竟能有多疯狂……”
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