第 28 节
作者:津夏      更新:2021-04-30 15:57      字数:9307
  longer a woman to him。            It was a case。      He stooped and examined the
  wound carefully。
  〃There     are  no   signs   of  irritation;〃  said  he。   〃We     might    delay   the
  operation until local symptoms develop。〃
  The husband wrung his hands in incontrollable agitation。
  〃Oh! sir; sir!〃 he cried。      〃Do not trifle。 You do not know。          It is deadly。
  I   know;   and   I  give   you   my   assurance     that  an  operation    is  absolutely
  necessary。     Only the knife can save her。〃
  〃And yet I am inclined to wait;〃 said Douglas Stone。
  〃That    is  enough!〃     the   Turk   cried;   angrily。    〃Every     minute    is  of
  importance; and I cannot stand here and see my wife allowed to sink。                      It
  only remains for me to give you my thanks for having come; and to call in
  some other surgeon before it is too late。〃
  Douglas     Stone    hesitated。    To   refund    that  hundred     pounds    was   no
  pleasant   matter。     But   of   course   if   he   left   the   case   he   must   return   the
  money。      And   if   the   Turk   were   right   and   the   woman   died;   his   position
  before a coroner might be an embarrassing one。
  〃You have had personal experience of this poison?〃 he asked。
  〃I have。〃
  〃And you assure me that an operation is needful。〃
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  〃I swear it by all that I hold sacred。〃
  〃The disfigurement will be frightful。〃
  〃I can understand that the mouth will not be a pretty one to kiss。〃
  Douglas      Stone   turned    fiercely  upon    the   man。    The    speech    was    a
  brutal one。     But the Turk has his own fashion of talk and of thought; and
  there was no time for wrangling。           Douglas Stone drew a bistoury from his
  case; opened it and felt the keen straight edge with his forefinger。                  Then
  he held the lamp closer to the bed。           Two dark eyes were gazing up at him
  through   the   slit   in   the   yashmak。  They  were   all   iris;   and   the   pupil   was
  hardly to be seen。
  〃You have given her a very heavy dose of opium。〃
  〃Yes; she has had a good dose。〃
  He glanced   again   at the  dark   eyes which   looked straight at   his own。
  They   were   dull   and   lustreless;   but;   even   as   he   gazed;   a   little   shifting
  sparkle came into them; and the lips quivered。
  〃She is not absolutely unconscious;〃 said he。
  〃Would it not be well to use the knife while it would be painless?〃
  The   same   thought   had   crossed   the   surgeon's   mind。      He   grasped   the
  wounded lip with his forceps; and with two swift cuts he took out a broad
  V…shaped   piece。       The   woman   sprang   up   on   the   couch   with   a   dreadful
  gurgling   scream。      Her   covering   was   torn   from   her   face。   It   was   a   face
  that   he   knew。   In   spite   of   that   protruding   upper   lip   and   that   slobber   of
  blood; it was a face that he knew。          She kept on putting her hand up to the
  gap and screaming。         Douglas Stone sat down at the foot of the couch with
  his knife and his forceps。        The room was whirling round; and he had felt
  something go like a ripping seam behind his ear。              A bystander would have
  said that his face was the more ghastly of the two。              As in a dream; or as if
  he had been looking at something at the play; he was conscious that the
  Turk's hair and beard lay upon the table; and that Lord Sannox was leaning
  against the wall with his hand to his side; laughing silently。              The screams
  had died away now; and the dreadful head had dropped back again upon
  the pillow; but Douglas Stone still sat motionless; and Lord Sannox still
  chuckled quietly to himself。
  〃It was really very necessary for Marion; this operation;〃 said he; 〃not
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  physically; but morally; you know; morally。〃
  Douglas Stone stooped forwards and began to play with the fringe of
  the coverlet。     His knife  tinkled down upon   the ground; but   he still held
  the forceps and something more。
  〃I   had   long   intended   to   make   a   little   example;〃   said   Lord   Sannox;
  suavely。     〃Your note of Wednesday miscarried; and I have it here in my
  pocket…book。       I took some pains in carrying out my idea。              The wound;
  by the way; was from nothing more dangerous than my signet ring。〃
  He    glanced   keenly    at  his  silent  companion;     and   cocked    the  small
  revolver which he held in his coat pocket。             But Douglas Stone was still
  picking at the coverlet。
  〃You see you have kept your appointment after all;〃 said Lord Sannox。
  And   at   that   Douglas   Stone   began   to   laugh。   He   laughed   long   and
  loudly。     But    Lord   Sannox     did  not   laugh   now。    Something       like  fear
  sharpened and hardened his features。            He walked from the room; and he
  walked on tiptoe。       The old woman was waiting outside。
  〃Attend to your mistress when she awakes;〃 said Lord Sannox。
  Then he went down to the street。            The cab was at the door; and the
  driver raised his hand to his hat。
  〃John;〃 said Lord Sannox; 〃you will take the doctor home first。                  He
  will   want   leading   downstairs;   I   think。  Tell   his   butler   that   he   has   been
  taken ill at a case。〃
  〃Very good; sir。〃
  〃Then you can take Lady Sannox home。〃
  〃And how about yourself; sir?〃
  〃Oh;   my   address   for   the   next   few   months   will   be   Hotel   di   Roma;
  Venice。     Just see that the letters are sent on。       And tell Stevens to exhibit
  all the purple chrysanthemums next Monday and to wire me the result。〃
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  A QUESTION OF DIPLOMACY。
  The Foreign Minister was down with the gout。                  For a week he had
  been confined to the house; and he had missed two Cabinet Councils at a
  time when the pressure upon his department was severe。                   It is true that he
  had   an   excellent   undersecretary  and   an   admirable  staff;  but   the   Minister
  was a man of such ripe experience and of such proven sagacity that things
  halted   in   his   absence。   When   his   firm  hand   was   at   the   wheel   the   great
  ship    of  State   rode   easily   and    smoothly     upon    her   way;   when     it  was
  removed she yawed and staggered until twelve British editors rose up in
  their   omniscience   and   traced   out   twelve   several   courses;   each   of   which
  was the sole and only path to safety。           Then it was that the Opposition said
  vain   things;   and   that   the   harassed   Prime   Minister   prayed   for   his   absent
  colleague。
  The   Foreign   Minister   sat   in   his   dressing…room   in   the   great   house   in
  Cavendish Square。          It was May; and the square garden shot up like a veil
  of   green   in   front   of   his   window;   but;   in   spite   of   the   sunshine;   a   fire
  crackled and sputtered in the grate of the sick…room。                In a deep…red plush
  armchair   sat   the   great   statesman;   his   head   leaning   back   upon   a   silken
  pillow; one foot stretched forward and supported upon a padded rest。                     His
  deeply…lined;      finely…chiselled     face   and   slow…moving;       heavily…   pouched
  eyes   were   turned   upwards   towards   the   carved   and   painted   ceiling;   with
  that inscrutable expression which had been the despair and the admiration
  of his Continental colleagues upon the occasion of the famous Congress
  when      he   had   made     his  first  appearance      in   the   arena   of   European
  diplomacy。       Yet     at  the  present    moment      his   capacity    for  hiding    his
  emotions had for the instant failed him; for about the lines of his strong;
  straight mouth and the puckers of his broad; overhanging forehead; there
  were     sufficient   indications     of  the   restlessness    and    impatience     which
  consumed him。
  And indeed there was enough to make a man chafe; for he had much to
  think   of   and   yet   was   bereft   of   the   power   of   thought。  There   was;   for
  example; that question of the Dobrutscha and the navigation of the mouths
  of   the   Danube   which   was   ripe   for   settlement。    The   Russian   Chancellor
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