Chapter 55 Chapter 52 Secret Information

Good Mrs. Brown and her daughter Alice sat together in silence in their own room.It was late spring, dusk had just fallen.Only a few days had passed since Mr. Dombey had told Major Bagstock of the strange news he had obtained in a strange way, perhaps worthless, but perhaps true; and society had still not been satisfied. The mother and daughter sat there for a long time without exchanging a word, and hardly moved their bodies.The old woman's face was sly, anxious, and expectant; the daughter's was also expectant, but to a lesser extent, and sometimes darkened, as if by growing disappointment and doubt.The old woman, though looking into her face from time to time, did not notice these changes in her expression, and sat muttering, chewing loudly, and listening confidently.

Their dwelling, poor and poor as it was, was not so dilapidated and dirty as when Mrs. Brown lived alone; Wanted to clean it up and organize it; just look at it and you'd know it was all done by the young woman.While the two remained silent, the twilight grew thicker and darker, until at last the blackened walls were almost lost in darkness. At this moment Alice broke the long silence and said: "Don't wait for him, mother. He won't come here." "I don't give up!" the old woman replied impatiently. "He will come." "Let's see," said Alice.

"We shall see him," replied the mother. "At the end of the world," said the daughter. "I know, you think I've become an ignorant child again!" the old woman said in a mournful voice. "That's the respect and devotion I get from my own daughter, but I'm wiser than you think. He'll come. When I passed his coat in the street the other day, he looked back at me, As if I were a toad. But my God, look at the look on his face when I say their names and ask him if he wants to find out where they are!" "Are you angry?" her daughter asked, suddenly interested.

"Angry? You'd better ask him if he's in a rage. That's about the same word. Angry? Haha! Can that look be anything but angry?" The old woman limped up to the cupboard. , lit a candle; and when she brought it to the table, the candlelight showed the ugly movement of her mouth. "If that's the way to say it, then I can also describe the way you look when you think or speak of them as mere anger." Indeed, when Alice sat there quietly like a crouching tigress, with sparks in her eyes, her face was a little different from anger. "Listen!" said the old woman proudly. "I heard footsteps coming. It wasn't the footsteps of the neighbors or people who used to walk that way. We didn't walk that way. We should be proud of having neighbors like that! You heard him Is it?" "I think you're right, Mother," Alice whispered back. "Stop talking! Go and open the door."

When the old woman put on the shawl and wrapped herself tightly, she did as her daughter said; she looked out the door, and beckoned Mr. Dombey to come in.No sooner had Mr Dombey put a foot through the threshold than he stopped, and looked suspiciously about him. "It's a poor place for a gentleman of your honor," said the old woman, curtseying, "I told you that, but there is no danger here." "Who is she?" asked Mr Dombey, looking at her roommate. "This is my beautiful daughter," said the old woman. "Your Excellency, leave her alone. She knew all about it. "

There was a shadow over his countenance; and if he had groaned, "Who doesn't know all!" it would not have been more clear than that; but he gazed at her, and she gazed. He, did not express any greetings to him. As he turned his eyes away from her face, the shadows on his face grew darker; but even after this he stole his eyes again to look at her, as if her bold glance had attracted him, It's like evoking some memories of him. "Woman!" said Mr Dombey to the ugly old woman, who giggled and squinted beside him; and when he turned on her, she pointed furtively at her daughter, rubbing He started and pointed at her again. "Woman! I believe that I have come here to show my weakness, and to forget who I am; but you know why I have come here; and, when you stopped me in the street, What advice did I make. What do you have to say to me that I want to know? When I have used my power and money in vain, and still have no news, someone volunteered to come to this place What's the matter with tipping me off in a hut?" He glanced contemptuously around him, "I suppose," and he was silent for a moment, during which time he observed sternly. She then continued, "You don't want to be so presumptuous that you come to make fun of me, or try to deceive me. But if you have this intention, then you'd better give it up in the first place. I'm not a casual person. Jokers, my punishment will be severe."

"Oh, what a proud, cruel sir!" said the old woman, shaking her head, rubbing her wrinkled hands, and giggling, "Oh, how cruel, how cruel, how cruel! But Your Excellency will kiss you Hearing, seeing, and not through our ears and eyes—yet you wouldn't refuse to pay a little reward if the clues to them were pointed out to your lordship, wouldn't you, my lord sir? " "Money works wonders, I know," replied Mr Dombey, evidently relieved and reassured by her asking the question, "that it can employ such unexpected and seemingly hopeless means as Rise. All right. I will pay for any reliable information I receive. But I must first have it, and then I shall judge its value."

"Don't you know there is something more powerful than money?" asked the young woman; she did not rise, nor change her posture. "I don't think there is," said Mr Dombey. "It seems to me that you ought to know that there are stronger things elsewhere," She replied, "You know the wrath of a woman?" "You have no manners with your mouth, frivolous woman," said Mr Dombey. "Not often," she replied without emotion. "I am telling you now so that you may know us better and trust us more. A woman's wrath follows you here in your luxurious mansion." I am angry. I have been angry for years. My anger is just like yours, with good reason. Both of us are angry at the same person."

He couldn't help being startled, and looked at her in surprise. "Yes," she said, with a sneer. "While there is a great distance between us, that is the way it is. Why it happened is irrelevant; it concerns my experience, and I will not go into it. I shall be willing to put you and him in Brought together because I hated him. My mother was greedy and poor; for money she'd sell anything she could hear, she'd sell anything, anybody. If she could help you know you want It may be fair and reasonable that you should pay her a little for the news. But that was not my motive, and I have told you what my motive was; for me it was strong and itself That's enough; and if you haggle and quarrel with her for sixpence, I won't give up. I've said all I want to say. I don't say anything more from my impolite mouth, even if you wait here till tomorrow I won't say anything about the sun rising."

The old woman shows great disquiet when her daughter speaks, because it tends to devalue the benefits she expects.She tugged Mr Dombey lightly by the sleeve, and whispered to him to leave her alone.He looked haggard, looked at the two of them in turn, and said in a deeper tone than usual: "Go on, what do you know?" "Oh, not so soon, sir! We must wait for someone," answered the old woman. "Have to get it from another man--get it out of him slowly--and coax it out of him with great force and detours." "What do you mean by that?" asked Mr Dombey. "Be patient!" she wailed like a crow, resting a hand on his arm like a paw. "Be patient! I'll have it. I know I'll have it! If he tries to keep it from me," said good Mrs. Brown, crooking ten fingers, "then I'll take it out of his mouth !"

She limped to the door, and looked out again, Mr Dombey's eye following her, and then his eye to her daughter; but she remained cold and silent, and paid him no attention. "Woman, do you want to tell me," he said, as the hunched Mrs. Brown came back shaking her head and babbling to herself, "there is one more person coming here, and we waiting for him?" "Yes," said the old woman, looking up into his face, and nodding. "Are you going to find out from him something useful to me?" "Yes," said the old woman, nodding again. "Someone I don't know?" "Huh!" said the old woman, with a sharp laugh. "What does it matter! Well, well, it's not someone you don't know. But he won't see you. If he does, he'll be frightened and won't tell. You'll stand behind the door and you'll Judge for yourself what he says, we don't ask you to believe us unchecked. Why! Are you suspicious of the room behind the door? Ah! You rich gentlemen are suspicious! Then go and see it Bar." Her keen eyes had picked up the expression which he had inadvertently shown on his face, which was quite natural in the circumstances.To reassure him of his suspicions, she took the candle to the door she had spoken of.Mr. Dombey looked in, and seeing that it was an empty, shabby room, he made a sign to her to take the candle back to its place. "How long has this man been here?" he asked. "Not long," she replied. "Would you please sit down for a few minutes, sir?" He made no answer; but began to pace up and down the room with an air of indecision, as if he could not make up his mind whether to stay here or to go away, and as if he blamed himself for being here at all. Come.But presently his steps became slower and heavier, and his face took on a more and more stern, pensive expression, for the purpose of his coming here took possession of him again and spread there. Come. While he walked up and down in this way with eyes downcast, Mrs. Brown sat down in the chair from which she had risen to meet him, and listened again.His monotonous footsteps, or perhaps her indeterminate age, had dulled her hearing so much that the footsteps outside the door had reached her daughter a few seconds before, and she had hurried Lifting her head to remind her mother of its approach, the old woman was awakened by it; but immediately after this she jumped up from her seat, whispered "He's coming!" His guest pushed up to his observation post, and deftly placed a bottle and a glass on the table, so that as soon as Rob the Grinder appeared at the door, she could immediately put out her arms and hug her. Hold his neck. "Here comes my sweet boy at last!" cried Mrs Brown, "oh ho, oh ho! You are like my own son, Robert! " "Oh, Mrs. Brown!" protested the Grinder. "Don't! You like a young man. Do you have to hug him so tightly and strangle him? Please take care of the bird cage in my hand, will you?" "He thinks only of the cage, and not of me!" cried the old woman to the ceiling. "And I love him more than his own mother!" "Well, indeed, I am very grateful to you, Mrs. Brown," said the unfortunate young man with great irritation; "but you are too jealous of a lad! Of course I liked you very much, but I didn't pinch you." Your neck chokes you, doesn't it, Mrs. Brown?" He spoke these words with a look on his face as if he would never have objected to such a favorable opportunity. "You talk about birdcages too!" whimpered the Grinder, "as if it were a crime! Here, look here! Do you know whose it belongs to?" "It's your master, isn't it, dear?" said the old woman, grinning. "Yes," answered the Grinder, lifting a large bird-cage, which was tightly bound up in bundles, to the table, and tried to untie it with his teeth and his hands. "This is our parrot." "Mr Carker's parrot, Rob?" "Will you shut up, Mrs. Brown?" replied the irritated Grinder. "Why are you naming names?" said Rob, pulling his hands at his hair in exasperation. "She's gotta drive a lad crazy!" "What! You're scolding me, you ungrateful child!" cried the old woman, immediately angrily. "Why, Mrs. Brown, don't!" replied the Grinder, with tears in his eyes. "Who ever saw such--! Don't I like you very much, Mrs. Brown?" "Is that so, dear Rob? Is that so? My little darling?" said Mrs. Brown, hugging him affectionately again, until he had made many violent, useless struggles with his legs, and his hair was all at the root of his hair. After erecting, she let him go. "Ah!" cried the Grinder, "it's too bad, I like it so much. I wish she--how have you been, Mrs. Brown? " "Ah! You haven't been here for a week!" said the old woman, looking at him reproachfully. "Why, Mrs. Brown," replied the Grinder, "I told you a week ago evening that I would be here this evening, did I not? Here I am. Why do you keep pestering me?" I want you to be a little more reasonable, Mrs. Brown. I am hoarse in my defense, and my face is shining brightly in your arms." He wiped his face with his sleeve, as if trying to put The light he spoke of seemed to be wiped away. "Drink a little, and comfort yourself, my Robin," said the old woman, pouring out a glass from the bottle, and handing it to him: "Thank you, Mrs. Brown," replied the Grinder. "Health to you! Long life to you! Wait." Judging by the look on his face, it wasn't his best wishes. "Wish her well now," said the Grinder, with a glance at Alice; and it seemed to him that her eyes were fixed on the wall behind him, but were really fixed on Mr. Dombey's face standing behind the door. , "and likewise wish her a long life, and many other good things, etc." After these two toasts he drank the wine and put the glass on the table. "Well, I say, Mrs. Brown!" he went on. "Now you'll have to be a little reasonable. You're an expert on birds, and understand their habits, as I paid the price for." "The price!" repeated Mrs. Brown. "I mean, please yourself," replied the Grinder. "Why do you interrupt a boy, Mrs. Brown! You've got everything out of my head." "You said I was a birder, Robert," suggested the old woman. "Ah, yes!" said the grinder. "I've got to take care of this parrot now-some things are being sold, some properties are closed, I don't have time to take care of this parrot now, I hope you will take care of it for a week or so, feed it, give it a place to live, Would you like to? If I have to come back and forth here," said Rob, thinking dejectedly, "then maybe I'm here for something." "What are you here for?" cried the old woman. "I meant to say it wasn't just to see you, Mrs Brown," replied the timid Rob, "but it doesn't mean I need any other motive for coming here than you, Mrs Brown. Please do me a favor and stop talking about this." "He doesn't care about me! He doesn't care about me as much as I care about him!" cried Mrs. Brown, raising her bony hand, "but I care about his birds." "You know, you've got to take good care of it, Mrs. Brown," said Rob, shaking his head. "If you bruise its feathers, even once, I'm sure you'll be noticed." "Oh, how sharp is his eye, Rob!" said Mrs. Brown quickly. "Sharp, Mrs. Brown," repeated Rob. "But you can't talk about that." Rob stopped suddenly, looked around frightenedly, filled the glass again, drank it slowly, shook his head, and began to draw his finger on the wire of the parrot's cage, trying to get out of it just now. Turn away from the mentioned dangerous topic. The old woman watched him slyly, drew her chair closer to his, and looked into the cage at the parrot (which came down from the gilded dome at her call), and asked: "Are you unemployed now, Rob?" "It's none of your business, Mrs. Brown," replied Rob curtly. "Perhaps you're only paid enough for board and lodging now, Rob?" asked Mrs. Brown. "Beautiful parrot!" said the Grinder. The old woman gave him a quick look which would have warned him that his ears were in danger.But now it was his turn to look at the parrot in the cage.While he might have vividly imagined her scowl, his physical eyes didn't see it. "I wonder if your master didn't take you with him, Rob," the old woman asked sweetly, but her face became more resentful. Rob looked so intently at the parrot and fingered the wire that he answered nothing. He was stooping over the table, and the old woman's hand was almost on the verge of catching his tousled hair, but she restrained her fingers, and said, in a voice too hard to please: "Robe, my boy." "Well, Mrs. Brown," answered the Grinder. "I said I wondered that your master didn't take you with him, my dear." "That's none of your business, Mrs. Brown," replied the Grinder. Immediately Mrs. Brown seized him by the hair with her right hand, and his throat with her left, and seized the object of her favor in such a fury that he turned blue in an instant. "Mrs. Brown!" cried the Grinder, "let go of me, do you hear? What are you doing? Help me, young woman! Mrs. Brown--boo--!" But the young woman, hearing his direct appeals to her and his inarticulate words, remained as calm as before, and continued to remain completely neutral until Rob, after struggling with his opponent, retreated into a corner. Freed, he stood there, panting, shielding himself with his elbows; the old woman, panting too, stamped her feet furiously and eagerly, and seemed to be gathering strength to spring upon him again.At this critical moment, Alice intervened to speak, but not to the benefit of the Grinder. "Well done, Mom. Rip him to pieces!" "Why, young woman!" cried Rob; "you object to me too? What have I done? I wonder why you tear me to pieces? A lad never hurt you both Any of them, why are you trying to choke him out? You have the audacity to call yourself a woman!" said the terrified and distressed Grinder, wiping his eyes with his cuff, "You astonish me! Where is the gentleness of your women?" "You ungrateful dog!" gasped Mrs. Brown. "You shameless, disrespectful dog!" "What have I done to offend you, Mrs. Brown?" retorted the terrified Rob. "You were fond of me a minute ago." "Short words, indifferent answers, sullen and unhappy speeches, you want to use this to contradict me and gag me," said the old woman. "Me! He dared to play tricks on me just because I was curious about some rumors about his master and his lady! But I don't intend to talk to you any more, my boy. Now go!" "Really, Mrs. Brown," replied the miserable Grinder, "I never hinted that I wanted to go. Please don't say that, Mrs. Brown." "I won't say anything," said Mrs. Brown, moving her crooked fingers so that he curled up in a corner to half its original size. "I won't speak a word to him again. He's an ungrateful dog. I disown him. Let him go now! I'm going to get those who can talk and lash out at him, who he can't get rid of, Those who stalked him like leeches, those who stalked after him like a fox came against him. No! He knew them. He knew his old tricks and his old way of life. If he had put If they forget, then they will soon make him remember. Now let him go, with such a company of companions who have been following him to and fro, to see how he will serve his master and how he will keep him Ha, ha, ha! Allie, though he has kept his mouth shut about you and me, he will find that they are a very different kind of people from you and me. Now let Let him go, now let him go!" The stooped old woman began to pace round and round in a circle about four feet in diameter, repeating the words over and over, while pumping her fists above her head and chewing with her mouth; the grinder watched Seeing this situation, I felt indescribably astonished. "Mrs. Brown," begged Rob, stepping a little from the corner, "I'm sure you wouldn't hurt a young man after you calmed down, would you?" "Don't talk to me," said Mrs. Brown, going on in a furious circle, "let him go now, let him go now!" "Mrs. Brown," pleaded the distressed grinder, "I didn't mean to—oh, why should a lad suffer like this!—I just said it carefully, Mrs. Brown, like I'm always cautious, because he can find out anything. In fact, Mrs. Brown, I would be happy to chat, but I must know that it will not come out of this room again. Just do it." He said pitifully, "Please don't go on talking like that. Oh, can't you do a good job and say a good word to a young man?" The miller appealed to his daughter in despair. "Well, mother, you heard him," she said sternly, shaking her head impatiently, "try him again; and if you fall out with him again, then if you like Destroy him, cut him off." Mrs. Brown, who seemed moved by this very kind advice, began to howl at once, and then gradually subsided, and put her arms around the apologetic Grinder, who, with an indescribably sad face, embraced her, and then, like a Like the victim (as it was in fact), he re-sat in his old seat, pressed close beside his esteemed friend, with a most reluctantly affectionate countenance, but very clearly There was an expression of utterly opposite emotion; he let her draw his arm into hers and never let go. "How is the master, dear dear?" asked Mrs. Brown, when they had sat together in such amiability, and had toasted each other. "Hush! Could you please speak softly, Mrs. Brown?" begged Rob. "Well, I think he's fine, thank you." "So you're not unemployed, Rob?" asked Mrs. Brown in a sweet tone. "Well, I can't quite say unemployed, nor can I say employed," Rob falters. "I—I'm still paid, Mrs. Brown." "Nothing to do, Rob?" "There's nothing special to do now, Mrs. Brown, it's just— Just open your eyes." The grinder rolled his eyes pitifully. "Has master gone abroad, Rob?" "Well, please do a good deed, Mrs. Brown, can't you talk to a young man about something else?" cried the Grinder suddenly, in despair. The impatient Mrs. Brown rose to her feet at once; the tortured grinder stopped her, and stammered, "Yes, yes, Mrs. Brown, I think he is abroad. What is she staring at?" His last words were referring to Mrs. Brown's daughter; her eyes were fixed on the face that stood behind him and was now looking out. "Leave her alone, child," said the old woman, drawing him closer to her so that he would not look away. "That's her habit—her habit. Tell me, Rob.Have you seen the lady, dear? " "Why, Mrs. Brown, who's the lady?" cried Rob, in a tone begging for mercy. "Which lady?" she asked back. "The lady; Mrs Dombey." "Yes, I think I saw her once," Rob replied. "She went away that night, didn't she, Rob?" said the old woman, leaning into his ear, watching closely the changes in his face. "Hey! I know it was that night. " "Well, if you knew it was that night, Mrs. Brown," replied Rob, "why put the pliers in a lad's mouth and make him say it?" "Where did they go that night, Rob? Straight out of the country? How did they get there? Where did you see her? Did she laugh? Did she cry? Tell me all," cried the ugly old woman. , pulling him closer to her side, while the hand that had put her in his arm patted her other hand gently, and watched every feature of his face with blurred eyes. "Hey, get on with it. I want you to tell me everything. Rob, my boy! You and I can keep a secret together, can't we? We've done that before. Where did they go in the first place, Rob? " The poor grinder took a breath, and was silent for a while. "Are you dumb?" said the old woman angrily. "My God, Mrs. Brown, I'm not dumb! You expect a lad to be as quick as lightning. I wish I were an electric current," murmured the beleaguered Grinder, "so I could hit somebody , to bring them to an end at once." "What did you say?" the old woman asked with a grin. "I'm wishing you: I love you, Mrs. Brown," replied false Rob, taking comfort from his glass. "You ask where they go first, don't you? You mean him and her?" "Yes!" said the old woman eagerly, "the two of them." "Well, they didn't go anywhere—I mean, they didn't go together," Rob replied. The old woman looked at him as if she had a strong urge to grip his head and throat again, but she restrained herself by seeing a stubborn, mysterious look on his face. "It's a strategy," said the reluctant Grinder, "so that no one saw them go, and no one can tell how they went. I tell you, they went by different routes. , Mrs. Brown." "Yes, yes, yes! So, we are going to meet at an agreed place," the old woman chuckled after watching his face silently and keenly for a while. "Well, if they're not going to meet somewhere, I reckon they'll just stay at home, won't they, Mrs. Brown?" replied Rob reluctantly. "Well, what happened then, Rob? What happened then?" The old woman pulled his arm closer into her own, as if she was afraid, in impatience, that he might slip away. "Why, haven't we talked enough, Mrs. Brown?" replied the Miller, who had grown weeping from a sense of being wronged, of the drink, of mental torment; almost Every time he answered, he wiped this eye or that with his sleeve, and wept under his breath in protest. "You asked me if she laughed that night, didn't you, Mrs. Brown?" "Or did you cry?" The old woman nodded and added. "Neither laughed nor cried," said the Grinder, "she kept her composure when she and I—oh, I see you're taking it all out of me, Mrs. Swear you will never tell this to anyone." Mrs. Brown, being cunning by nature, complied at once without embarrassment; her only object was that her hidden guest should hear the whole thing for herself. "She kept her composure like a statue when she came with me to Southampton," said the Grinder, "and she was quite so in the morning, Mrs Brown. Exactly so. I was her servant in the guise of taking her safely aboard. Now, are you satisfied, Mrs. Brown?" -------- ①Southampton (Southampton): British port city. "No, Rob, not yet," said Mrs. Brown firmly. "Oh, what a tough woman!" cried the unfortunate Rob, expressing a little sorrow at his own helplessness. "What else do you wish to know, Mrs. Brown?" "How is the master? Where has he gone?" she asked, still holding him tightly, and watching his face carefully with keen eyes. "I swear I didn't know, Mrs. Brown," replied Rob. "I swear I don't know what he did, or where he went, or anything about him. All I know is that when we parted, he warned me that I must keep my mouth shut. In any case. I tell you as a friend, Mrs. Brown, if you repeat even a single word of what we are talking about, you might as well shoot yourself, or lock yourself up in this room and set it on fire, for he could do anything to get revenge on you. You don't know him half as well as I do, Mrs. Brown. I tell you, you're not going to be safe from him escape." "Haven't I already sworn an oath, and must keep it?" retorted the old woman. "Well, I do hope you'll keep your oath, Mrs. Brown," replied Rob, doubtfully, not without a hint of threat in his manner, "both for me and for yourself." When he offered her this oath of friendship, he looked at her and nodded again to reinforce its weight.But he was very close to her, looking at her yellow face and its strange movements, at her weasel eyes and their keen, old, cold eyes, and he felt very uncomfortable. Comfortable, so he lowered his eyes uncomfortably, sat on the chair and slid his feet on the ground, as if he was about to announce with a sullen face that he would no longer answer any questions.The old woman still clung to him, and taking advantage of this favorable moment, she raised the forefinger of her right hand in the air, quietly signaling to the hidden guest that he should pay special attention to what was about to happen. "Rob," she said in a very coaxing tone. "My God, Mrs. Brown, what do you want to say now?" replied the exasperated grinder. "Rob, where did Madam and Master agree to meet?" 罗布把脚在地上更多次地滑来滑去，抬起眼睛又低垂下去，咬咬大姆指，又在背心上把它擦干，最后斜着眼睛看着折磨他的人，说道，“我怎么知道呢，布朗太太？” 老太婆又像先前一样，举起指头，回答道，“得了吧，我的孩子！你已经跟我说了这么多。现在想半途停止是没有用的。我想要知道这一点。”——然后就等待着他的回答。 罗布惶惑不安地沉默了一会儿，然后突然叫嚷道，“我怎么能读得出外国的地名呢，布朗太太？您是个多么不讲道理的女人啊！” “可是你听到过，罗贝，”她坚定地反驳道，“你知道它的发音大致是怎么样的。说吧！” “我从来没有听到过，布朗太太，”磨工回答道。 “这么说，”老太婆迅速地回答道，“你看到它写出来过，你能拼写出来。” 罗布暴躁地大叫了一声，既不像笑，又不像哭，因为他虽然经受了这样的拷问，但对布朗太太狡黠的头脑却深深地钦佩。他在背心口袋中不乐意地摸索了一会之后，从里面掏出一小支粉笔。当老太婆看到他用大姆指与食指紧握着它的时候，她高兴得眼睛炯炯有神，急忙在松木板的桌子上擦干净一小块地方，好让他把那个地名写在那里，并又一次用颤抖的手发出了信号。 “现在我得事先跟您说，布朗太太，”罗布说道，“您用不着再问我其他问题。我不会再回答其他问题，因为我不能回答。他们要多久才能相会，或者他们各自单独前往是谁出的主意，我都不比您知道得更多。我对这些事情完全不知道。如果我告诉您我是怎么发现这个地名的话，那么您就会相信这一点的。我是不是告诉您，布朗太太？” “说吧，罗布。” “好吧，布朗太太。事情是这样的——您知道吗，不要再向我提问题了？”罗布望着她，说道；他的眼睛现在很快就变得昏昏欲睡，迟钝无神了。 “一个字也不问了，”布朗太太说道。 “那好吧，事情是这样的：当某个人离开夫人和我的时候，他把上面写着地点的一片纸塞到她手里，说唯恐她会把它忘记。她并不担心会忘记，因为他刚一转身，她就把它撕了。当我把马车阶蹬翻折回去的时候，我抖落了一小张她撕碎的纸片——其余撕碎的纸片我想她都撒到窗子外面去了，因为后来我想找它们，却什么也没找到。在这一小片纸上只写着一个词儿，如果您非要知道它不可，我就把它写出来。可是记住！您得遵守您的誓言，布朗太太！” 布朗太太说，她知道这一点；罗布没有别的话要说了，就开始用粉笔在桌子上慢吞吞地、费劲地写起来。 “D，”当他写完这个字母的时候，老太婆大声地念出来。 “您住嘴好不好，布朗太太？”他用手遮住字母，并不耐烦地转向她，喊道。“我不愿意把它念出来。安安静静的，好不好？” “那就写得大一些，罗布，”她回答道，一边又重复着发出她的信号；“因为我的眼睛不好，哪怕是印刷的字体，我也辨别不清。” 罗布自言自语地嘟囔了几句，很不高兴地转回去工作，继续写出那个词儿。当他低下头去的时候，那位他向他提供情报、而他却一无所知的人，慢慢地从他后面的门中走出来，和他的肩膀只隔开一步距离，并急切地注视着他的手在桌子上徐徐蠕动。在这同时，艾丽斯从对面椅子上密切注视着他写下的字母，不发出大声地把它一个个念出来。当每一个字母写完的时候，她的眼光都要和董贝先生的眼光相遇，仿佛他们两人都想要相互验证似的。就这样，他们两人都拼得了D． I． J． O． N． （第戎）①。 -------- ①第戎出（Dijon）：法国城市。 “写完了！”磨工说道，一边急忙在手掌中吐了一口唾沫，以便把这个写下的词儿抹去；他把它涂得模糊不清还不满足，还用衣袖去擦它的一切痕迹，直到粉笔的颜色都从桌子上消失为止。“现在我希望您心满意足了吧，布朗太太！” 老太婆为了表示满意，放松了他的胳膊，拍拍他的背；磨工因为刚才受到屈辱、盘问，又喝了酒，这时精疲力竭，就在桌子上合抱着胳膊，并把头枕在胳膊上，睡着了。 等到他已睡得很熟，并发出很响的鼾声时，老太婆才转向董贝先生暗藏在那里的门，向他打个招呼，要他穿过房间，走出去。甚至在这时候，她还继续在罗布周围打转，并做好了准备，如果董贝先生向门口悄然走去的时候，罗布抬起头来的话，那么她就用手蒙住他的眼睛或把他的头猛打下去。不过她的眼睛虽然敏锐地注视着睡着的人，但却也同样敏锐地注视着醒着的人。董贝先生虽然小心谨慎，但是当他的手碰到她的手时，却仍然发出了金子的叮当响声，这时候她的眼光就像一个大乌鸦的眼光一样明亮和贪婪。 女儿的阴沉的眼光伴送他到门口，清楚地注意到他的脸色十分苍白；他的急促的步伐表明，最短暂的耽搁他都难以忍受；他急煎煎地要离开这里去采取行动。当他把他后面的门关上的时候，她回过头来看着她的母亲。老太婆小步跑向她的身边，伸开手掌让她看看里面是什么，然后又戒备地、贪婪地把它紧紧地握在手心，低声问道： “他将会做什么呢，艾丽？” “凶恶的行为，”女儿回答道。 “暗杀吗？”老太婆问道。 “他的高傲受到了伤害，现在已成了个疯子；我们不知道，他自己也不知道，他会干出什么事来。” 她的眼光比她母亲的眼光更明亮；在她眼中燃烧的火焰也更猛烈；可是她的脸孔、甚至她的嘴唇，却毫无血色。 她们不再说什么；但却隔开坐着；母亲在细细玩赏着她的钱；女儿则在沉思着；她们两人的眼光都在这光线微弱的房间的昏暗中闪耀着。罗布睡着，并打着鼾。只有无人理睬的鹦鹉在动作。它用钩形的嘴把笼子的金属丝扭弯并拽着它，然后爬到圆形的笼顶里，像一只苍蝇一样沿着笼顶爬着，然后又下来，头冲着前面，摇晃着和咬着每根细长的金属丝，发出格格的响声，仿佛它知道它的主人正处在危险之中，因此它急切地想要打开一条出路，飞出去，警告他注意提防。