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IV
The boat churned its way round the rock. Now at last the house came into view. The south side
of the island was quite different. It shelved gently down to the sea. The house was there facing
south—low and square and modern looking with rounded windows letting in all the light.
An exciting house—a house that lived up to expectation!
Fred Narracott shut off the engine, they nosed their way gently into a little natural inlet
between rocks.
Philip Lombard said sharply:
“Must be difficult to land here in dirty weather.”
Fred Narracott said cheerfully:
“Can’t land on Soldier Island when there’s a southeasterly. Sometimes ’tis cut off for a
week or more.”
Vera Claythorne thought:
problems are so worrying.”
The boat grated against the rocks. Fred Narracott jumped out and he and Lombard helped
the others to alight. Narracott made the boat fast to a ring in the rock. Then he led the way up
steps cut in the cliff.
General Macarthur said:
“Ha! delightful2 spot!”
But he felt uneasy. Damned odd sort of place.
terrace magnificent….
respectable. He said:
“Will you come this way, please.”
In the wide hall drinks stood ready. Rows of bottles. Anthony Marston’s spirits cheered up
a little. He’d just been thinking this was a rum kind of show. None of his lot! What could old
Plenty of ice, too.
What was it the butler chap was saying?
Mr. Owen — unfortunately delayed — unable to get here till tomorrow. Instructions —
everything they wanted—if they would like to go to their rooms? … dinner would be at eight
o’clock….
4
小船在礁石之间颠簸穿行。现在终于能看见那幢别墅了。岛的南侧与北侧截然不同，
岩石边缘延伸为斜坡，一直伸进海里。那幢别墅坐北朝南，正好可以从南边看清楚。房子
不高，方方正正的，很有现代气息，窗户是圆形的，屋内的采光非常好。
这幢漂亮的别墅果然没有辜负大家的期望。
弗雷德·纳拉科特关掉马达，小船载着他们一行人顺利地驶入岩石之间形成的天然港
口。
菲利普·隆巴德贸然说：
“赶上坏天气，要想在这儿上岸那可就难啦！”
弗雷德·纳拉科特乐呵呵地说：
“一刮东南风，谁也别想登上士兵岛。有时候交通一中断就是一个星期。”
维拉·克莱索恩心想：
“岛上的物资供给真不方便，交通中断对住在岛上的人来说是最麻烦的事。看来要当好
这个家的秘书也够操心的。”
小船在岩石边停下。弗雷德·纳拉科特率先跳下船，和隆巴德一起扶着其他人下了船。
纳拉科特把小船牢牢地拴在钉进岩石里的环上，随后带领一行人沿着岩石上凿出的石阶向
上走。
麦克阿瑟将军嘴里念叨着：
“哈哈！这地方真不错！”
然而，他心里并非这样想。这个该死的鬼地方。
一行人拾级而上，到了一层露台上，才松了口气。在这幢别墅敞开的大门前面，一个
体面的男管家正等着他们。他那副庄重的架势让这帮人更放心了。此外，这幢房子本身确
实是再美不过了，站在露台上欣赏海岛风光，景色令人心旷神怡。
男管家走过来，微微躬着身。他瘦高的个子，头发灰白，派头十足。
管家说：
“请随我来。”
宽敞的客厅里，酒席已经备好，餐桌上各种美酒列成几排。看到这些，安东尼·马斯顿
立刻振奋起来。刚才他还一直琢磨，不知道邀请他来这儿的人在耍什么把戏！巴杰尔这个
老家伙把他和这帮人一起请来，也不知道安的是什么心。不过话说回来，这些酒确实不
错，冰块也准备了不少。
这个男管家刚才说什么？
不凑巧，欧文先生有事耽误了，明天才能到。他已经全都安排好了，一切应有尽有。
现在请各位去房间。八点钟开饭。
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