无人生还 1_英语小说

无人生还 1

文章来源：未知文章作者：enread 发布时间：2024-02-23 00:22 字体： [大中小]　进入论坛

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One

I n the corner of a first-class smoking carriage, Mr. Justice Wargrave, lately retired¹ from the

bench, puffed² at a cigar and ran an interested eye through the political news in The Times.

He laid the paper down and glanced out of the window. They were running now through

Somerset. He glanced at his watch—another two hours to go.

He went over in his mind all that had appeared in the papers about Soldier Island. There

had been its original purchase by an American millionaire who was crazy about yachting—and

an account of the luxurious³ modern house he had built on this little island off the Devon coast.

The unfortunate fact that the new third wife of the American millionaire was a bad sailor had

led to the subsequent putting up of the house and island for sale. Various glowing

advertisements of it had appeared in the papers. Then came the first bald statement that it had

been bought—by a Mr. Owen. After that the rumours⁴ of the gossip writers had started. Soldier

Island had really been bought by Miss Gabrielle Turl, the Hollywood film star! She wanted to

spend some months there free from all publicity⁵! Busy Bee had hinted delicately that it was to

be an abode⁶ for Royalty⁷??! Mr. Merryweather had had it whispered to him that it had been

bought for a honeymoon—Young Lord L—had surrendered to Cupid at last! Jonas knew for a

fact that it had been purchased by the Admiralty with a view to carrying out some very hush⁸-

hush experiments!

Definitely, Soldier Island was news!

From his pocket Mr. Justice Wargrave drew out a letter. The handwriting was practically

illegible⁹ but words here and there stood out with unexpected clarity. Dearest Lawrence … such

years since I heard anything of you … must come to Soldier Island … the most enchanting¹⁰

place … so much to talk over … old days … communion with nature … bask¹¹ in sunshine …

12.40 from Paddington … meet you at Oakbridge … and his correspondent signed herself with

a flourish his ever Constance Culmington.

Mr. Justice Wargrave cast back in his mind to remember when exactly he had last seen

Lady Constance Culmington. It must be seven—no, eight years ago. She had then been going to

Italy to bask in the sun and be at one with Nature and the contadini. Later, he had heard, she

had proceeded to Syria where she proposed to bask in a yet stronger sun and live at one with

Nature and the bedouin.

Constance Culmington, he reflected to himself, was exactly the sort of woman who would

buy an island and surround herself with mystery! Nodding his head in gentle approval of his

logic¹², Mr. Justice Wargrave allowed his head to nod….

He slept….

第一章

瓦格雷夫法官先生刚刚退休。此刻他正坐在一等车厢的吸烟室角落里，一边吸雪茄，

一边饶有兴致地读《泰晤士报》上的政治新闻。

他放下报纸，眺望窗外。列车在萨默塞特平原上疾驰。他看看手表，还有两小时的路

程。

瓦格雷夫法官回想着报纸上有关士兵岛 [1] 的各种奇闻逸事：据说首位岛主是个美国富

翁，酷爱帆船运动，于是买下这座德文郡海岸附近的孤岛，在岛上建了一幢豪华时髦的别

墅。可惜他新婚的第三任太太非常怕水，结果只能连房带岛一起挂牌出售。随之而来的是

报纸上铺天盖地的广告。后来传出一则简讯，称一位名叫欧文的先生买下了整座岛和别

墅。打那时起，关于士兵岛的流言蜚语就传开了。有人说士兵岛的真正买主是好莱坞大明

星加布里埃尔·特尔！她为了避开公众视线，来岛上躲几个月清净。署名为“大忙人”的记者

又含沙射影地透露，说这座岛将成为皇亲国戚的私邸！“结婚季先生”则称是一位青年贵族

一掷千金，买下该岛当蜜月爱巢。还有个名叫乔纳斯的人说自己得到可靠消息，海军部买

下了这个地方，准备搞几项秘密试验。

总之，有一点可以肯定：士兵岛成了新闻！

瓦格雷夫法官从口袋里掏出一封信。尽管手写笔迹模糊不清，一些词却格外清晰。

亲爱的劳伦斯……一别多年……务请光临士兵岛……实为景色迷人之地……畅谈往日

云烟……拥抱自然……沐浴阳光……十二点四十分由帕丁顿车站出发……在橡树桥恭

迎……

署名是位女士，花体签名：康斯坦斯·卡尔明顿。

瓦格雷夫法官使劲回忆上次见到康斯坦斯·卡尔明顿夫人的具体时间。想来已时隔七

年，不，八年了！后来她去了意大利，为的是沐浴阳光，让心融化在田野乡间。据说之后

又去了叙利亚，想必那里的阳光更加充足，她可以与大自然和贝都因人亲密无间。

康斯坦斯·卡尔明顿，他猛然忆起，她正是那种会独自买下一座孤岛的女人，这样做能

让她显得更加神秘！瓦格雷夫法官微微点头，觉得自己的推断挺有道理。他的头随着列车

的节奏点着、点着……

他睡着了……

点击

收听单词发音

1 retired
adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的
参考例句：
The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。 Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

2 puffed
adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧
参考例句：
He lit a cigarette and puffed at it furiously. 他点燃了一支香烟，狂吸了几口。来自《简明英汉词典》 He felt grown-up, puffed up with self-importance. 他觉得长大了，便自以为了不起。来自《简明英汉词典》

3 luxurious
adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的
参考例句：
This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。 The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。

4 rumours
n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传
参考例句：
The rumours were completely baseless. 那些谣传毫无根据。 Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。

5 publicity
n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告
参考例句：
The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。 He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

6 abode
n.住处，住所
参考例句：
It was ten months before my father discovered his abode.父亲花了十个月的功夫，才好不容易打听到他的住处。 Welcome to our humble abode!欢迎光临寒舍！

7 royalty
n.皇家，皇族
参考例句：
She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。 I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生，甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。

8 hush
int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静
参考例句：
A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。 Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去！

9 illegible
adj.难以辨认的，字迹模糊的
参考例句：
It is impossible to deliver this letter because the address is illegible.由于地址字迹不清，致使信件无法投递。 Can you see what this note says—his writing is almost illegible!你能看出这个便条上写些什么吗？他的笔迹几乎无法辨认。

10 enchanting
a.讨人喜欢的
参考例句：
His smile, at once enchanting and melancholy, is just his father's. 他那种既迷人又有些忧郁的微笑，活脱儿象他父亲。 Its interior was an enchanting place that both lured and frightened me. 它的里头是个吸引人的地方，我又向往又害怕。

11 bask
vt.取暖，晒太阳，沐浴于
参考例句：
Turtles like to bask in the sun.海龟喜欢曝于阳光中。 In winter afternoons,he likes to bask in the sun in his courtyard.冬日的午后，他喜欢坐在院子晒太阳。

12 logic
n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性
参考例句：
What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？ I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

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