福爾摩斯探案經典:《恐怖谷》第10章Part9

"Half a dozen, and two to guard the door. You'll come, Gower, and you, Mansel, and you, Scanlan, and the two Willabys."
"I promised the new brother he should go," said the chairman.
Ted Baldwin looked at McMurdo with eyes which showed that he had not forgotten nor forgiven. "Well, he can come if he wants," he said in a surly voice. "That's enough. The sooner we get to work the better."
The company broke up with shouts and yells and snatches of drunken song. The bar was still crowded with revellers, and many of the brethren remained there. The little band who had been told off for duty passed out into the street, proceeding in twos and threes along the sidewalk so as not to provoke attention. It was a bitterly cold night, with a half-moon shining brilliantly in a frosty, star-spangled sky. The men stopped and gathered in a yard which faced a high building. The words, "Vermissa Herald" were printed in gold lettering between the brightly lit windows. From within came the clanking of the printing press.
"Here, you," said Baldwin to McMurdo, "you can stand below at the door and see that the road is kept open for us. Arthur Willaby can stay with you. You others come with me. Have no fears, boys; for we have a dozen witnesses that we are in the Union Bar at this very moment."
It was nearly midnight, and the street was deserted save for one or two revellers upon their way home. The party crossed the road, and, pushing open the door of the newspaper office, Baldwin and his men rushed in and up the stair which faced them. McMurdo and another remained below. From the room above came a shout, a cry for help, and then the sound of trampling feet and of falling chairs. An instant later a gray-haired man rushed out on the landing. He was seized before he could get farther, and his spectacles came tinkling down to McMurdo's feet. There was a thud and a groan. He was on his face, and half a dozen sticks were clattering together as they fell upon him. He writhed, and his long, thin limbs quivered under the blows. The others ceased at last; but Baldwin, his cruel face set in an infernal smile, was hacking at the man's head, which he vainly endeavoured to defend with his arms. His white hair was dabbled with patches of blood. Baldwin was still stooping over his victim, putting in a short, vicious blow whenever he could see a part exposed, when McMurdo dashed up the stair and pushed him back.
"You'll kill the man," said he. "Drop it!"
Baldwin looked at him in amazement. "Curse you!" he cried. "Who are you to interfere--you that are new to the lodge? Stand back!" He raised his stick; but McMurdo had whipped his pistol out of his pocket.
"Stand back yourself!" he cried. "I'll blow your face in if you lay a hand on me. As to the lodge, wasn't it the order of the Bodymaster that the man was not to be killed--and what are you doing but killing him?"
"It's truth he says," remarked one of the men.
"By Gar! you'd best hurry yourselves!" cried the man below. "The windows are all lighting up, and you'll have the whole town here inside of five minutes."
There was indeed the sound of shouting in the street, and a little group of compositors and pressmen was forming in the hall below and nerving itself to action. Leaving the limp and motionless body of the editor at the head of the stair, the criminals rushed down and made their way swiftly along the street. Having reached the Union House, some of them mixed with the crowd in McGinty's saloon, whispering across the bar to the Boss that the job had been well carried through. Others, and among them McMurdo, broke away into side streets, and so by devious paths to their own homes.

“六個就夠了，用兩個人守門。高爾，你去；曼塞爾，還有你；斯坎倫，還有你；還有威拉比兄弟二人。”
“我允許這位新來的弟兄一同去，"麥金蒂說道。
特德·鮑德溫望着麥克默多，從他的眼色可以看出，他既沒有忘卻前隙，也不肯寬恕。“行，如果他願意，他可以去，"鮑德溫粗暴無禮地說道，“夠了。我們動手越快越好。”
這七個人有的吵嚷着，喊叫着，有的醉醺醺地哼着小調離了席。酒吧間裏依然擠滿歡宴的人，許多弟兄還留在那兒。這一小夥奉命執行任務的人走到街上，兩三個一夥沿人行道行進，以免引人注意。這天夜晚，天氣異常嚴寒，星光燦爛，一弦彎月高懸冷空。這些人走到一座高樓前停下來，聚集在院子裏。明亮的玻璃窗戶中間印着金色大字"維爾米薩先驅報社"。從裏面傳來印刷機的響聲。
“你在這裏，"鮑德溫對麥克默多說道，“你可站在樓下面，守住大門，使我們退路暢通。阿瑟·威拉比和你在一起。其餘的人隨我來。弟兄們，不要怕，因爲我們有十幾個證人，可以證明我們此時是在工會的酒吧間裏呢。”
這時將近午夜時分，街上除了一兩個返家醉漢外，別無行人。這一夥人穿過大街，推開報社大門，鮑德溫一行人衝進去，跑上對面的樓梯。麥克默多和另一個人留在樓下。從樓上的房間裏傳來呼救聲，然後是腳步踐踏聲、椅子翻倒聲。過了一會兒，一個鬢髮灰白的人跑到樓梯平臺上來。可是沒跑幾步，就被抓住，他的眼鏡叮噹一聲落在麥克默多腳旁。只聽砰的響了一下，接着是一陣呻吟聲。這人面朝下倒在那裏，幾根棍棒一起向他身上噼噼啪啪地打來。他翻滾抽搐着，瘦長的四肢在打擊下顫抖不已。別人都停手了，可是鮑德溫兇殘的臉依然獰笑不止，手中的棍棒向老人頭上亂砍，老人徒然努力用雙手護住頭，但他的白髮已經被血浸溼了。鮑德溫還在找被害人雙手護不着的地方亂打一陣。這時麥克默多跑上樓來，把他推開。
“你要把這個人打死的，"麥克默多說道，“住手！”
鮑德溫驚訝地望着他。“該死的！"鮑德溫喊道，“你是誰，敢來干涉我？你這個新入會的人嗎？靠後站！"他舉起了棍棒，可是麥克默多從褲子後兜中抽出手槍來。
“你自己靠後站！"麥克默多高喊道，“你敢碰我一下，我就立刻開槍。身主不是有命令吩咐不要殺死這個人麼，你這不是要殺死他是什麼？”
“他說得不錯，"其中有一個人說道。
“哎呀，你們最好快點吧！"樓下的那個人喊道，“各家窗戶裏都亮了燈，過不了五分鐘，全鎮的人都要來追捕你們了。”
這時街上果然有人喊叫，一些排字印刷工人聚集到樓下大廳裏，鼓起勇氣準備行動。那些罪犯便丟下這個編輯僵臥的身體，竄下樓來，飛快沿街而逃。跑到工會大廳以後，一些人混到麥金蒂酒館的人羣中，低聲向首領報告，事情已經完全得手。另一些人，其中也有麥克默多，奔到街上，從偏僻的小路各回各家去了。