沉默的证人01

One,THE MISTRESS OF LITTLEGREEN HOUSE,Miss Arundell died on May 1st. Though her illness was short her death did not occasion muchsurprise in the little country town of Market Basing where she had lived since she was a girl ofsixteen. For Emily Arundell was well over seventy, the last of a family of five, and she had beenknown to be in delicate health for many years and had indeed nearly died of a similar attack to theone that killed her some eighteen months before.,But though Miss Arundell’s death surprised no one, something else did. The provisions of herwill gave rise to varying emotions, astonishment ¹, pleasurable excitement, deep condemnation,fury, despair, anger and general gossip. For weeks and even months Market Basing was to talk ofnothing else! Everyone had their own contribution to make to the subject from Mr. Jones thegrocer, who held that “blood was thicker than water, ” to Mrs. Lamphrey at the post office, whorepeated ad nauseam that “there’s something behind it, depend upon it! You mark my words.
”,What added zest ² to the speculations ³ on the subject was the fact that the will had been made aslately as April 21st. Add to this the further fact that Emily Arundell’s near relations had beenstaying with her just before that date over Easter Bank Holiday and it will be realized that the mostscandalous theories could be propounded ⁴, pleasurably relieving the monotony of everyday life inMarket Basing.,There was one person who was shrewdly suspected of knowing more about the matter than shewas willing to admit. That was Miss Wilhelmina Lawson, Miss Arundell’s companion. MissLawson, however, professed ⁵ herself just as much in the dark as everyone else. She, too, shedeclared, had been dumbfounded when the will was read out.,In that reticence ⁸ could be found the keynote of Emily Arundell’s character. She was, in everyrespect, a typical product of her generation. She had both its virtues ⁹ and its vices ¹⁰. She wasautocratic and often overbearing, but she was also intensely warmhearted. Her tongue was sharpbut her actions were kind. She was outwardly sentimental ¹¹ but inwardly shrewd. She had asuccession of companions whom she bullied ¹² unmercifully, but treated with great generosity ¹³. Shehad a great sense of family obligation. On the Friday before Easter Emily Arundell was standingin the hall of Littlegreen House giving various directions to Miss Lawson.,Emily Arundell had been a handsome girl and she was now a well-preserved handsome old ladywith a straight back and a brisk manner. A faint yellowness in her skin was a warning that shecould not eat rich food with impunity ¹⁴.,Miss Arundell was saying:,“Now then, Minnie, where have you put them all?”,“Well, I thought—I hope I’ve done right—Dr. and Mrs. Tanios in the Oak room and Theresa inthe Blue room and Mr. Charles in the Old Nursery— ”,I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异 。,He dived into his new job with great zest.他充满热情地投入了新的工作
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