書蟲5級《沙洲之謎》6. 少女和書

6. A young lady and a book

We left Bensersiel the next morning, but the wind had dropped, just when we needed it most, and sometimes we did not seem to be moving at all, but were just rolling from side to side. In the distance we saw the Blitz, travelling rapidly westwards, and I felt sure the Kormoran would also be on her way to Norderney.

I was desperately impatient to get on, but it took us most of the day to reach Langeoog, and we anchored that night near Baltrum, in a thick white fog. The next morning we continued our painfully slow journey, and in the afternoon I heard Davies shout at last, 'There's Norderney!' I looked up and saw, through the mist, a group of grassy sandhills, exactly like a hundred others I had seen recently, but of much greater interest to me.

I was busy with the lead line, as we were in shallow water, when Davies suddenly said, 'Is that a boat ahead?'

The Kormoran, do you think?' I asked, noticing what looked like a fishing boat in the distance.

Davies said nothing, and seemed to forget that he was steering the boat. We touched the sandbank, but luckily the tide pushed us away again. His next words surprised me. 'Let go the anchor. Lower the sail.'

When I had done this, Davies was still staring into the mist through his binoculars, and, to my astonishment, I noticed that his hands were trembling violently. I had never seen this happen before, even at moments of great danger.

What's the matter?' I asked. 'Are you cold?'

That little boat,' he said. 'It's her, I'm sure. It's the Medusa's dinghy. She's come to meet m—, I mean, us.' He pushed the binoculars into my hand, and I saw a pretty little white sail coming closer. I kept my eyes on the boat, as I did not want to look at Davies. At last I heard him draw a deep breath. He turned to the Dulcibella's dinghy.

You come, too,' he offered, jumping in and picking up the oars.

I'd rather stay. I'll tidy up the cabin.'

Carruthers,' said Davies, 'if she comes aboard, please remember she's outside this business. There are no clues to be got from her.'

I'll keep out of it this time,' I said. 'You do and say what you like.'

He rowed away, just as he was, with unbrushed hair and in his old sailing clothes. I watched the two boats getting closer in the mist, and heard a great splashing of oars. Finally I saw the boats being pulled up on a sandbank, and then two figures walking rapidly to meet each other. And then I thought it was time to go below to tidy the cabin.

Nothing on earth could have made the Dulcibella's cabin a suitable place to receive a lady, but I did my best, putting clothes away in cupboards, a clean cloth on the table, and books back on the shelf. I had just put water on to boil for tea, when I heard the dinghy return.

I went up on deck, and found Davies with a very pretty girl, about nineteen years old. She was wearing a thick jacket, dark skirt and rubber boots, and her rose-brown skin lent a delicious touch of colour to the greyness of the sea and sky. When she looked at me and spoke, I knew immediately that she was no 'Fr?ulein Dollmann', but as English as I was, although she must have spoken German ever since she was a child.

She looked eagerly round the yacht, asking questions about all she saw, but it was obvious that she was more interested in Davies himself. The way she looked at him, and the way he looked at her, made me feel sorry for myself, because I was not in love, and even sorrier for Davies, because I could not see how all this would end. One thing was clear, however. She could never have been involved in her father's attempt to kill Davies.

How did you manage alone that day?' she asked him suddenly. 'You know, on the way to Cuxhaven.'

Oh, it was quite safe,' replied Davies. 'But it's much better to have a friend.'

She looked at me, and – well, I was suddenly extremely proud to be Davies's friend.

Father said you'd be safe,' she said.

We went below into the cabin, where the water was just beginning to boil. Miss Dollmann was in a light-hearted mood, laughing and joking about all our little domestic arrangements.

You will stop at Norderney?' she asked us.

I looked at Davies. It was up to him. But I need not have doubted him. There was no hesitation in his reply. 'Yes, of course we shall. I'd like to see your father again.'

Ye–es,' she said, anxiously, 'yes, I'm sure he will be glad to see you.' She did not sound at all certain. 'He'll be back tomorrow. You know, we aren't living on the Medusa at the moment, but in our house on Norderney. My stepmother is there too.' She gave Davies the address, a little unwillingly, it seemed to me.

The difficult moment passed and a warm and friendly feeling returned to the cabin as the three of us sat down to enjoy our tea together. But that pleasant event never took place – all because of an English name in gold-painted letters on the cover of an old book on our bookshelf. The disaster came and went so quickly that at the time I had no idea what caused it. One moment our visitor was laughing and talking to Davies, while looking through some of our books. Then suddenly there was an awful silence, and I turned round from making the tea. She was sitting quite still, with eyes wide open, and a very white, frightened face.

Clara was sitting quite still, with eyes wide open, and a very white, frightened face.

After a few seconds, she managed to speak. 'How late it is – I really must go. My boat won't be safe.' She got up from the table.

What's the matter?' asked Davies in English, but she did not answer, and almost ran up the ladder, like a wounded animal trying to escape. She had reached the deck and jumped into the dinghy, before she realized she needed one of us to go with her and bring the boat back.

Davies can...' I began, but she interrupted me.

Oh, no, thank you. If you will be so kind, Herr Carruthers. It's your turn. I mean—'

Go on,' said Davies to me in English. I jumped into the dinghy. The poor girl tried to apologize to Davies, but could not find the right words.

Goodbye,' he said simply, and turned away.

I offered to row, but she took no notice and rowed fast towards her sailing boat. It was now floating gently off the sandbank, where it was anchored.

Herr Carruthers,' she said. 'I want to say something to you.' (It sounded like von Brüning's warning all over again.) 'I made a mistake just now. It's not a good idea for you to call on us at Norderney tomorrow. My father is always busy.'

We can come another day. We have several days to spare,' I said, 'and we have to stop at Norderney for letters, anyway.'

Please don't come because of us,' she said. 'This fine weather may not last. It would be a pity not to use it to sail to England. And my father will be too busy to see you, I know.'

But we could see you, surely,' I replied.

No, no, please,' she said quickly. 'My father would not like it. I should not have come today. Please tell Herr Davies that – he must not come near us.'

He'll understand,' I said. 'I know he'll be very sorry, but you can always trust him to do the right thing.'

Yes, I know I can,' she said softly. 'Goodbye. Please say goodbye to Herr Davies for me.'

I rowed back to the yacht, where I found Davies in the cabin. He had taken down all the books from the shelf, and was staring at the one he held in his hand.

What on earth can have upset her?' I asked.

I've just realized,' he said. 'It was this,' and he handed me the book. I had seen it before on the shelf, but never opened it. It was about sailing on the east coast of England, with all the usual details of winds and tides.

What about it?' I asked, puzzled.

Don't you see? She was looking at this book,' said Davies. 'Look at the photograph at the front.'

I looked. It showed a young man on the deck of a small yacht. 'Well?' I still could not understand.

It's him!'

Who?'

Dollmann!' cried Davies. 'Dollmann wrote it! She was upset because now we know who her father really is! '

I looked at the front of the book. The author was Captain X of the Royal Navy. The book had been written sixteen years before. 'Are you sure it's him?' I asked.

Quite sure,' Davies replied. He looked again at the picture. 'Yes, that's Dollmann, all right.'

So, sixteen years ago he was an officer in the British Navy, and now he's working for the Germans,' I said slowly. 'He's about fifty now, you said, so that fits in. And the girl has been speaking German since she was a child. They must have come to Germany soon after he wrote the book. Is it a well-known book?'

I've never seen another copy,' said Davies. 'I bought this one for a few pence, in a second-hand bookshop.'

Didn't you say that Dollmann visited you on the Dulcibella in September?' I asked.

Of course! He must have seen the book. Perhaps he thought I'd recognized him. That explains everything!'

Does it?' I said. 'Perhaps he's just someone who did something wrong, had to leave the navy, and came here, where nobody knew him, to start a new life.'

No, that's not it,' said Davies. 'That doesn't explain why Grimm's been watching us, or why von Brüning suspects us. What do you think of the daughter?' he added.

She's lovely, Davies,' I said. 'You'll be a lucky man if... well, better not think about that for the moment. I'm sorry I ever thought badly of her. I can see she's quite innocent of any unpleasant business. Mind you, she's aware that they have a past to hide. This makes the problem much more difficult for us, doesn't it?'

Not at all,' said Davies. 'It just means that there are two things we must do. We must find out exactly what Dollmann is doing and stop him, and we've got to make sure she doesn't suffer because of his guilt.'

He's still away,' I said.

Yes, I know. But she said he's coming back on the ferry from the mainland tomorrow morning. We'd better be there when he arrives.'

We arrived at Norderney town in the evening, and anchored on the edge of the deep water channel, about fifty metres from the harbour entrance. We were too excited to sleep, or do anything except make plans, and talk. At last Davies's natural shyness left him, and I was able to see into the secret corners of his heart. He loved this girl, and he loved his country, and he was determined to be loyal to both of them. Somehow, a way must be found to do this.

After much discussion, we realized there was only one answer – to get Dollmann, secrets and all, daughter and all, away from Germany completely. This was now our goal, and we took delight in the challenge. We had no clear idea how we would reach the goal, but there were two possible ways forward. One was to continue searching the area for clues of some kind; and the other was to use this new information about Dollmann to force him to tell us what was going on. By the time we went to bed, this second plan was the preferred one.

binoculars n. (pl) special glasses for seeing the details of distant objects 雙筒望遠(yuǎn)鏡

oar n. a long pole used to move a boat through the water 船槳

delicious adj. extremely pleasant or enjoyable 宜人的；令人愉快的

domestic adj. used in people's homes 家用的

loyal adj. staying faithful to somebody or something 忠誠的

6. 少女和書

第二天早上我們從貝瑟西爾起航，可就在我們最需要風(fēng)的時候，風(fēng)力卻減弱了。有時船似乎一點兒都沒往前走，只是左右搖晃。我們遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)看到“閃電”號向西飛速前進(jìn)，我?guī)缀蹩梢钥隙?，“鸕鶿”號也會到諾德奈去。

我迫不及待地想要前進(jìn)，可我們花了大半天時間才駛到朗格奧格。那晚，我們停泊在貝爾特魯姆附近，身處白色的濃霧中。第二天早上，緩慢而痛苦的航行又開始了。到了下午，我終于聽到戴維斯大喊：“諾德奈到了！”我抬起頭，透過濃霧看到一群長滿草的沙丘。一模一樣的沙丘我近來見過不下百次了，可這一群對我而言有著較大的吸引力。

和在淺海航行時一樣，我忙著用水砣繩測水深。這時，戴維斯突然說道：“前面是有一艘船嗎？”

“是‘鸕鶿’號吧，你覺得呢？”我注意到遠(yuǎn)處有一艘漁船模樣的船。

戴維斯沒說話，似乎忘了自己在掌舵。船碰到了沙洲，不過幸好又被潮水推開了。戴維斯接下來的話讓我大吃一驚：“拋錨，收帆?！?/p>

我照做了，而他仍在用雙筒望遠(yuǎn)鏡向霧中凝望。我注意到他的手在劇烈顫抖，嚇了一大跳。我之前從沒見過他這樣，即使是在最危險的時候。

“怎么了？”我問，“你冷嗎？”

“那艘小船?！彼f，“是它，我確定。那是‘美杜莎’號的小艇。她是來見我——我是指，我們的?！彼央p筒望遠(yuǎn)鏡塞給我，我看見一艘漂亮的白色小帆船正駛過來。我一直盯著那船，因為我不想看戴維斯。終于，我聽見他深吸了一口氣，朝“達(dá)爾茜貝拉”號的小艇走去。

“你也來吧?！彼M(jìn)小艇，拿起槳，向我提議道。

“我還是留下吧，收拾收拾船艙?！?/p>

“卡拉瑟斯，”戴維斯說，“要是她來到咱們船上，請記住她與這事無關(guān)。從她身上找不到任何線索的?！?/p>

“這回我什么也不管?！蔽艺f，“怎么做怎么說都由你?！?/p>

他頂著一頭沒梳理的發(fā)，穿著舊航海服，就這樣劃著小船走了。我看著兩艘船在霧中越來越近，聽到一陣嘈雜的劃槳聲。終于，我看見兩艘船?？吭谝蛔持夼?，接著兩個人影急匆匆地朝對方走去。這時，我覺得我該下去收拾船艙了。

“達(dá)爾茜貝拉”號的船艙再怎樣也不適合招待一位出身高貴的姑娘，但我還是盡了最大努力：把衣服收進(jìn)衣櫥，換上干凈桌布，把書放回架子上。我剛剛燒上沏茶的水，就聽見小艇回來了。

我走上甲板，發(fā)現(xiàn)戴維斯和一個19歲左右的漂亮姑娘在一起。姑娘穿著厚夾克、深色半截裙，還有橡膠靴，棕里透紅的皮膚為灰蒙蒙的大海和天空增添了一抹動人的亮色。她看著我，一開口沖我說話，我立刻就知道她根本不是個德國姑娘，而是和我一樣的地道英國人，只不過從小就說德語罷了。

她興致盎然地環(huán)視著游艇，看到什么都要問個問題，但顯然她對戴維斯本人更感興趣。她看他的眼神，還有他看她的目光，讓我為自己沒有戀人而感到難過。但我更替戴維斯難過，因為我不知道他們的愛情將有怎樣的結(jié)果。不過有一點是顯而易見的：她肯定沒有參與她父親除掉戴維斯的陰謀。

“那天你一個人到底是怎么脫險的？”她突然問道，“哦，就是去庫克斯港的路上?！?/p>

“噢，其實沒什么危險啦?！贝骶S斯說，“不過有個朋友還是會好得多?！?/p>

她看了看我，這時——唔，我突然為自己是戴維斯的朋友感到極度光榮。

“父親說你會平安無事的。”她說。

我們下到船艙里，這時水剛要燒開。多爾曼小姐顯得很輕松，談笑之余，對我們艙內(nèi)布置的每個小細(xì)節(jié)都要戲謔一番。

“你們會在諾德奈停留吧？”她問。

我看了看戴維斯，這都取決于他。但我根本沒必要懷疑他的想法，因為他毫不遲疑地答道：“會呀，我們當(dāng)然會。我還想再見見你父親呢?！?/p>

“是……是呀，”她不安地說，“是的，他肯定也會很高興見到你?！笨伤恼Z氣一點兒也不肯定?！八魈炀突貋砹?。你們知道嗎？我們現(xiàn)在沒住在‘美杜莎’號上，而是住在諾德奈的家里。我繼母也在那兒?！彼训刂方o了戴維斯，在我看來似乎帶著幾分不情愿。

這段尷尬的小插曲過后，船艙里又恢復(fù)了溫暖、友好的氣氛，我們?nèi)俗聹?zhǔn)備一起喝茶?？晌覀兘K歸還是沒喝上茶——一切都是拜一個燙金的英語名字所賜。那個名字出現(xiàn)在一本舊書的封面上，書放在我們的書架上。變故是在一瞬間發(fā)生的，我當(dāng)時都沒明白是怎么回事。我們的客人剛剛還一邊笑著和戴維斯說話，一邊瀏覽我們的一些書籍呢。接著突然間，船艙里一陣可怕的沉默，我停止泡茶，轉(zhuǎn)過身來。多爾曼小姐木木地坐在那里，雙眼圓睜，蒼白的臉上寫滿恐懼。

幾秒鐘之后，她才說出話來：“太晚了——我真的得走了。我的船會有危險的?！彼龔淖肋呎酒鹕韥怼?/p>

“怎么了？”戴維斯用英語問道。多爾曼小姐沒有回答，幾乎是跑著上了梯子，像一只竭力逃跑的受了傷的小動物。她上了甲板，跳進(jìn)小艇，這才意識到得有一個人跟她一起走，好把船劃回來。

“戴維斯可以——”我剛開口就被她打斷了。

“噢不，謝謝。請你幫幫忙，卡拉瑟斯先生，該輪到你了。我是說——”

“去吧?！贝骶S斯用英語對我說。我跳進(jìn)小艇?？蓱z的姑娘想要向戴維斯道歉，卻找不到合適的語言。

“再見?！彼徽f了這一句，就轉(zhuǎn)過身去。

我提議由我來劃船，可她沒注意到我的話，只是飛快地向她的帆船劃去。那艘船原本停泊在沙洲上，現(xiàn)在正緩緩漂離停泊的地方。

“卡拉瑟斯先生，”她說，“我想跟你說件事?！保ㄋ恼Z氣聽上去跟馮布呂寧的警告毫無二致。）“我剛才犯了個錯誤，不該叫你們明天去諾德奈看我們的。我父親一直很忙?！?/p>

“我們可以改天再去，有好幾天空閑時間呢?！蔽艺f，“再說，我們得在諾德奈停留的，要去取信呀?！?/p>

“請不要專程來看我們?！彼f，“這樣的好天氣可能持續(xù)不了多久，你們不借機(jī)回英國，真是太可惜了。而且我父親也會很忙，沒時間見你們，我知道的?！?/p>

“可我們肯定能見你吧?！蔽一卮?。

“不，不，求你們別來?！彼泵φf道，“我父親會不高興的。我今天就不該來。請告訴戴維斯先生——讓他不要接近我們?！?/p>

“他會理解的?！蔽艺f，“我知道他會很難過，但你要相信，他知道該怎么辦?！?/p>

“是的，我相信。”她輕聲說，“再見。也替我向戴維斯先生道別?！?/p>

我劃著小艇回到船上，看到戴維斯正在船艙里。他把書全部從架子上拿了下來，正盯著手里的一本看。

“到底有什么讓她不高興？”我問。

“我剛意識到?！彼f，“是這個?！彼涯潜緯f給我。我之前在架子上見過這本書，但從沒翻開過。這書是關(guān)于在英國東海岸航行的，內(nèi)容不外乎風(fēng)啊，潮汐啊，等等尋常內(nèi)容。

“這本書怎么了？”我不解地問。

“你沒明白嗎？她之前在看這本書?！贝骶S斯說，“看看書前面的照片?！?/p>

我看了看。照片上是一個年輕男子，在一艘小游艇的甲板上?！叭缓竽?？”我還是不明白。

“這是他！”

“誰？”

“多爾曼！”戴維斯叫道，“這本書是多爾曼寫的！她難過是因為現(xiàn)在我們知道她父親究竟是誰了！”

我看了看書的前頁。作者是皇家海軍的X上校。書寫于16年前?！澳愦_定是他嗎？”我問。

“很確定?！贝骶S斯回答，又看了一眼那張照片?！皩?，就是多爾曼，沒錯?！?/p>

“也就是說，16年前他是英國海軍的一名軍官，而現(xiàn)在為德國人工作?！蔽揖従徴f道，“你說他50歲左右，這就對上號了。那姑娘從小就說德語，他們肯定是在他寫了這本書之后不久就來德國了。這本書有名嗎？”

“我沒見過第二本?！贝骶S斯說，“這本我是從一家二手書店買來的，才幾便士?！?/p>

“你是說過9月份多爾曼曾經(jīng)來到‘達(dá)爾茜貝拉’號上拜訪過你嗎？”我問。

“對呀！他肯定看見這本書了，可能以為我認(rèn)出了他。這樣一切都說得通了！”

“是嗎？”我說，“也許他只是犯了什么事，不得不離開海軍，來到這個沒人認(rèn)識他的地方開始新生活呢?！?/p>

“不，不是這樣?！贝骶S斯說，“這樣不能解釋格林為什么監(jiān)視我們，還有馮布呂寧為什么懷疑我們。你覺得多爾曼的女兒怎么樣？”他加了一句。

“她很可愛，戴維斯?！蔽艺f，“要是你真有那個福氣能……唉，現(xiàn)在最好先別想這個了。很抱歉我之前對她的評價不怎么好。我能看出她很無辜，不可能做任何壞事。不過我也提醒你，她知道他們父女二人有一段過去需要隱瞞。這樣，問題對咱們來說就難辦多了，是不是？”

“一點兒也不難辦?！贝骶S斯說，“這只意味著咱們必須做兩件事：一是必須弄清楚多爾曼到底在做什么并制止他；二是確保她不會因為他的罪過而受到牽連?！?/p>

“他還沒回來呢?！蔽艺f。

“是，我知道?？伤f他明天早上會乘渡船從大陸回來。咱們最好在那兒等他?！?/p>

晚上我們到達(dá)諾德奈鎮(zhèn)，在深水航道邊上、離海港入口大約50米處停了船。我們興奮得睡不著覺，一直在做計劃、聊天。戴維斯終于克服了天生的羞怯，讓我看到他內(nèi)心深處最隱秘的角落。他愛這個姑娘，也愛他的祖國，并決心要忠誠于二者。他無論如何也要找到一種方法做到這一點。

充分討論之后，我們意識到只有一個辦法——把多爾曼帶離德國，連同他的秘密、他的女兒，一切的一切全都帶走。這就是我們現(xiàn)在的目標(biāo)，而且我們很樂意迎接挑戰(zhàn)。我們還不清楚該如何實現(xiàn)目標(biāo)，但是有兩種可行的解決辦法：一是繼續(xù)探索這片海域，尋找某種線索；二是利用這一關(guān)于多爾曼的新信息迫使他告訴我們事情的真相。到上床睡覺時，我們的結(jié)論是第二種辦法更好些。