第 18 节
作者:月寒      更新:2024-04-14 09:15      字数:9321
  millionaire friends; a popular edition was on view in the windows of every
  book… shop; It was offered as a prize to subscribers to all the more sedate
  magazines;   and   the   name   and   features   of   the   distinguished   author   had
  become famous and familiar。 Not a day passed but that some new honor; at
  least    so   the   newspapers       stated;   was    thrust   upon     him。   Paragraphs
  announced that he was to be the next exchange professor to Berlin; that in
  May he was to lecture at the Sorbonne; that in June he was to receive a
  degree from Oxford。
  A fresh…water college on one of the Great Lakes leaped to the front by
  offering him the chair of history at that seat of learning at a salary of five
  thousand   dollars   a   year。   Some   of   the   honors   that   had   been   thrust   upon
  Doctor Gilman existed only in the imagination of Peter and Stetson; but
  this offer happened to be genuine。
  〃Doctor   Gilman   rejected   it   without   consideration。   He   read   the   letter
  from the trustees to his wife and shook his head。
  〃We   could   not   be   happy   away   from   Stillwater;〃   he   said。   〃   We   have
  only a month more in the cottage; but after that we still can walk past it;
  we can look into the garden and see the flowers she planted。 We can visit
  the place   where she lies。 But   if   we went   away we   should be lonely  and
  miserable for her; and she would be lonely for us。〃
  Mr。   Hallowell   could   not   know   why   Doctor   Gilman   had   refused   to
  leave Stillwater; but when he read that the small Eastern college at which
  Doctor Gilman had graduated had offered to make him its president; his
  jealousy knew no bounds。
  He   telegraphed   to   Black:   〃Reinstate   Gilman   at   once;   offer   him   six
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  thousandoffer   him   whatever   he   wants;   but   make   him   promise   for   no
  consideration to leave Stillwater he is only member faculty ever brought
  any credit to the college if we lose him I'll hold you responsible。〃
  The next morning; hat in hand; smiling ingratiatingly; the Chancellor
  called upon Doctor Gilman and ate so much humble pie that for a week he
  suffered acute mental indigestion。 But little did Hallowell senior care for
  that。 He had got what he wanted。 Doctor Gilman; the distinguished; was
  back in the faculty; and had made only one conditionthat he might live
  until he died in the ivy…covered cottage。
  Two weeks   later;  when  Peter  arrived at   Stillwater  to   take the  history
  examination;   which;   should   he   pass   it;   would   give   him   his   degree;   he
  found   on   every   side   evidences   of   the   〃worldwide   fame〃   he   himself   had
  created。 The newsstand   at the depot; the book…stores;   the drugstores;   the
  picture…shops; all spoke of Doctor Gilman; and postcards showing the ivy…
  covered      cottage;    photographs       and    enlargements       of   Doctor     Gilman;
  advertisements   of   the   different。   editions   of   〃the〃   history   proclaimed   his
  fame。 Peter; fascinated by the success of his own handiwork; approached
  the    ivy…covered     cottage    in  a  spirit   almost    of  awe。    But   Mrs。   Gilman
  welcomed   him   with   the   same   kindly;   sympathetic   smile   with   which   she
  always   gave   courage   to   the   unhappy   ones   coming   up   for   examinations;
  and    Doctor     Gilman's     high   honors    in   no   way    had   spoiled    his  gentle
  courtesy。
  The   examination   was   in   writing;   and   when   Peter   had   handed   in   his
  papers Doctor Gilman asked him if he would prefer at once to know the
  result。
  〃I should indeed!〃 Peter assured him。
  〃Then   I   regret   to   tell   you;   Hallowell;〃   said   the   professor;   〃that   you
  have not passed。 I cannot possibly give you a mark higher than five。〃 In
  real   sympathy   the     sage    of  Stillwater   raised    his  eyes;   but  to  his   great
  astonishment he found that Peter; so far from being cast down or taking
  offense; was smiling delightedly; much as a fond parent might smile upon
  the precocious act of a beloved child。
  〃I am afraid;〃 said   Doctor Gilman gently; 〃that   this summer   you   did
  not work very hard for your degree!〃
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  Peter Laughed and picked up his hat。
  〃To tell you the truth; Professor;〃 he said; 〃you're right I got working
  for something worth whileand I forgot about the degree。〃
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  CHAPTER 3。 THE INVASION OF
  ENGLAND
  This is the true inside story of the invasion of England in 1911 by the
  Germans; and why it failed。 I got my data from Baron von Gottlieb; at the
  time military attach* of the German Government with the Russian army in
  the    second    Russian…Japanese       War;   when     Russia    drove   Japan    out   of
  Manchuria; and reduced her to a third…rate power。 He told me of his part in
  the invasion as we sat; after the bombardment of Tokio; on the ramparts of
  the   Emperor's   palace;   watching   the   walls   of   the   paper   houses   below   us
  glowing and smoking like the ashes of a prairie fire。
  Two years before; at the time of the invasion; von Gottlieb had been
  Carl Schultz; the head…waiter at the East Cliff Hotel at Cromer; and a spy。
  The    other   end   of  the  story  came    to  me   through    Lester    Ford;   the
  London       correspondent      of  the   New     York    Republic。    They     gave    me
  permission to tell it in any fashion I pleased; and it is here set down for the
  first time。
  In telling the story;   my conscience is not in the least disturbed; for I
  have yet to find any one who will believe it。
  What led directly to the invasion was that some week…end guest of the
  East   Cliff  Hotel left   a  copy  of   〃The   Riddle  of the   Sands〃   in the   coffee…
  room;   where   von   Gottlieb   found   it;   and   the   fact   that   Ford   attended   the
  Shakespeare   Ball。   Had   neither   of   these   events   taken   place;   the   German
  flag   might   now   be   flying   over   Buckingham   Palace。   And;   then   again;   it
  might not。
  As every German knows; 〃The Riddle of the Sands〃 is a novel written
  by a very clever Englishman in which is disclosed a plan for the invasion
  of   his   country。   According   to   this   plan   an   army   of   infantry   was   to   be
  embarked       in   lighters;   towed    by   shallow…draft;     sea…going     tugs;   and
  despatched simultaneously from the seven rivers that form the Frisian Isles。
  From   there   they   were   to   be   convoyed   by   battle…ships   two   hundred   and
  forty miles through the North Sea; and thrown upon the coast of Norfolk
  somewhere between the Wash and Mundesley。 The fact that this coast is
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  low…lying   and   bordered   by   sand   flats   which   at   low   water   are   dry;   that
  England maintains no North Sea squadron; and that her nearest naval base
  is at Chatham; seem to point to it as the spot best adapted for such a raid。
  What von Gottlieb thought was evidenced by the fact that as soon as
  he read the book he mailed it to the German Ambassador in London; and
  under   separate   cover   sent   him   a   letter。   In   this   he   said:   〃I   suggest   your
  Excellency bring this book to the notice of a certain royal personage; and
  of the Strategy Board。 General Bolivar said; 'When you want arms; take
  them from the enemy。' Does not this also follow when you want ideas?〃
  What the Strategy Board thought of the plan is a matter of history。 This
  was in 1910。 A year later; during the coronation week; Lester Ford went to
  Clarkson's   to   rent   a   monk's   robe   in   which   to   appear   at   the   Shakespeare
  Ball; and while the assistant departed in search of the robe; Ford was left
  alone   in   a   small   room   hung   with   full…length   mirrors   and   shelves;   and
  packed with the uniforms that Clarkson rents for Covent Garden balls and
  amateur      theatricals。    While     waiting;     Ford    gratified    a   long;   secretly
  cherished desire to behold himself as a military man; by trying on all the
  uniforms on the lower shelves; and as a result; when the assistant returned;
  instead of finding a young American in English clothes and a high hat; he
  was   confronted   by   a   German   officer   in   a