下载辰思小说免费APP
No！——don’tstarttalking，forgoodness’sake。“
TheywentoutintothedarknessofthegardenwiththetrunkstillbowingMr。Ledbetter’sshoulders。ThemanintheyachtingcostumewalkedinfrontwiththeGladstonebagandapistol；thencameMr。LedbetterlikeAtlas；Mr。Binghamfollowedwiththehat-box，coat，andrevolverasbefore。Thehousewasoneofthosethathavetheirgardensrightuptothecliff。Atthecliffwasasteepwoodenstairway，descendingtoabathingtentdimlyvisibleonthebeach。
Belowwasaboatpulledup，andasilentlittlemanwithablackfacestoodbesideit。“Afewmoments’explanation，“saidMr。Ledbetter；
“Icanassureyou——“Somebodykickedhim，andhesaidnomore。
Theymadehimwadetotheboat，carryingthetrunk，theypulledhimaboardbytheshouldersandhair，theycalledhimnobetternamethan“scoundrel“and“burglar“allthatnight。Buttheyspokeinundertonessothatthegeneralpublicwashappilyunawareofhisignominy。Theyhauledhimaboardayachtmannedbystrange，unsympatheticOrientals，andpartlytheythrusthimandpartlyhefelldownagangwayintoanoisome，darkplace，wherehewastoremainmanydays——howmanyhedoesnotknow，becausehelostcountamongotherthingswhenhewasseasick。Theyfedhimonbiscuitsandincomprehensiblewords；theygavehimwatertodrinkmixedwithunwished-forrum。Andtherewerecockroacheswheretheyputhim，nightanddaytherewerecockroaches，andinthenight-timetherewererats。TheOrientalsemptiedhispocketsandtookhiswatch——
butMr。Bingham，beingappealedto，tookthathimself。AndfiveorsixtimesthefiveLascars——iftheywereLascars——andtheChinamanandthenegrowhoconstitutedthecrew，fishedhimoutandtookhimafttoBinghamandhisfriendtoplaycribbageandeuchreandthree-
andedwhist，andtolistentotheirstoriesandboastingsinaninterestedmanner。
Thentheseprincipalswouldtalktohimasmentalktothosewhohavelivedalifeofcrime。Explanationstheywouldneverpermit，thoughtheymadeitabundantlycleartohimthathewastherummiestburglartheyhadeverseteyeson。Theysaidasmuchagainandagain。
Thefairmanwasofataciturndispositionandirascibleatplay；
butMr。Bingham，nowthattheevidentanxietyofhisdeparturefromEnglandwasassuaged，displayedaveinofgenialphilosophy。
Heenlargeduponthemysteryofspaceandtime，andquotedKantandHegel——or，atleast，hesaidhedid。SeveraltimesMr。Ledbettergotasfaras:“Mypositionunderyourbed，youknow——，“butthenhealwayshadtocut，orpassthewhisky，ordosomesuchinterveningthing。Afterhisthirdfailure，thefairmangotquitetolookforthisopening，andwheneverMr。Ledbetterbeganafterthat，hewouldroarwithlaughterandhithimviolentlyontheback。“Sameoldstart，sameoldstory；goodoldburglar！“thefair-hairedmanwouldsay。
SoMr。Ledbettersufferedformanydays，twentyperhaps；andoneeveninghewastaken，togetherwithsometinnedprovisions，overthesideandputashoreonarockylittleislandwithaspring。
Mr。Binghamcameintheboatwithhim，givinghimgoodadvicealltheway，andwavinghislastattemptsatanexplanationaside。
“IamreallyNOTaburglar，“saidMr。Ledbetter。
“Youneverwillbe，“saidMr。Bingha
