Chapter 24 Chapter Twenty-Three

The next morning, the doctor was sitting comfortably on the veranda of the hotel, crossing his legs and holding a book.He had just learned from the shipping office that a ship bound for Bali would pass by the next day, so he wanted to take this opportunity to see that charming island.And it is very convenient to go to Surabaya from Bali.He was so absorbed in the holidays that he had completely forgotten the joy of idleness and aimlessness. "Idle man who doesn't have to work," he said to himself. "God, I'm going to be thought a gentleman." Then Fred Blake strolled up the street, nodded to him, and sat down beside him.

"Did you get the telegram?" he asked. "No, how could there be my telegram." "I was just at the post office and a man asked me if my name was Sanders." "It's so strange, no one knows I'm here, and no one is in such a hurry to waste money on telegrams to get in touch with me." However, seeds of doubt were planted in the doctor's heart.An hour later, a young man came to the door of the hotel on a bicycle, and the manager came out, and then brought the young man to the veranda, handed the telegram to Dr. Sanders, and asked him to sign for it.

"This is so strange!" he said loudly, "Even Cheng Jin might not have guessed that I'm here, who else could send it here!" However, when he opened the telegram, he was stunned again. "That's really stupid!" he said. "It's a coded letter. God behold, who would do such a stupid thing? How do I know how to decipher it?" "Can I see it?" said Fred. "If it's a world-renowned cipher, I might be able to help you. There must be common cipherbooks here." The doctor handed him the telegram.This is a telegram written in a digital cipher. Words or phrases appear in the form of numbers, and a "0" is used as a period at the end of each group.

"Business codes are made up of made-up words," Fried said. "I do not know anything." "I've studied ciphers before. It's a hobby. Do you mind if I try to decipher it?" "not at all." "They say it's only a matter of time before the code is broken. There's a guy in the British army who says he can solve any code, no matter how complicated, within twenty-four hours." "Let's get into the subject." "I'm going to get it inside. I need a pen and paper." The doctor suddenly thought of something, reached out and took back the telegram.

"Let me take another look." Fred handed it to him, and he found the sender.Melbourne.The doctor did not return the telegram to Fred. "Could it be a telegram for you?" Fred hesitated for a moment, then smiled.His mouth can become very sweet when he wants to coax someone. "Actually, it is like this." "Why did you send it to me?" "Because I live on the 'Fenton', the post office may not be willing to send it over, or ask for identification or something, so I think it will save a lot of trouble if I send it to you." "You are really bold."

"I know you're a friend." "So is it Sanders' thing to be questioned at the post office?" "Pure nonsense, old man." Dr. Saunders giggled. "How do you know I won't tear it up because I can't decipher it?" "I know the telegram won't arrive until today, and the address they got yesterday." "Who are 'them'?" "The telegrapher," Fred replied, a smile on his lips. "So you didn't come here entirely because you wanted my company?" "yes." The doctor returned the thin piece of paper to Fred.

"You really have a devil's face. Here, I guess the codebook is in your pocket." "It's in my head." Fred walked into the hotel.The doctor continued to read just now, but couldn't concentrate, and couldn't help thinking about what happened just now.It amused him a lot, and he wondered again to himself what the hell Fred had gotten into.The young man was very cautious, leaving no clues for anyone to follow, which really left the doctor without a clue.The doctor shrugged, after all, these had nothing to do with him.He pretended not to care at all, in order to dispel the curiosity that troubled him in his heart, and forced himself to continue reading the book in his hand.After a while, however, Fred was back on the veranda.

"A drink, doctor?" he said. His eyes were shining, and his face was flushed with excitement, but at the same time, there was a bit of doubt on his face.He was very excited, he wanted to laugh out loud, but since there was no reason to be happy at the moment, he tried to control his emotions. "Good news?" said the doctor. Suddenly, Fred couldn't hold it back anymore, and burst out laughing. "Such good news?" "I don't know if it's good news or bad news, but it's really interesting. If only I could share it with you. Really, it's very strange, it makes me feel weird, I don't know what to do, really , it will take some getting used to. I'm not even sure if I'm on my feet or on my head."

The doctor looked at Fred, lost in thought.The child in front of him seemed to be reinvigorated. Before, there was always something shameful in his expression, which cast a shadow on his good looks, but now he looked very honest. There were no secrets to hide, as if a weight had finally been lifted from his shoulders.At this time the wine was served. "This is a glass of wine in memory of my late friend." Fred said, holding the glass. "Who?" "Smith." He drank it down. "I have to ask Eric if there is somewhere I can go in the afternoon. I really want to go for a walk. It's good for me to exercise."

"When are you going to sea?" "I don't know, I like it here, and it doesn't hurt to stay longer. You should really see the view of the caldera, the volcano I climbed with Eric yesterday, and I tell you, it's beautiful. This The world isn't just an old, bad place after all, is it?" A lean pony creaked a buggy along the road, kicked up a cloud of dust, and stopped at the door of the hotel.Louise drove the car with her father sitting beside her.He got out of the car and walked up the steps of the hotel.In his hand was a bundle of brown paper packets. "Last night I forgot that I promised to show you the manuscript, so I bring it to you now."

"You are so considerate." Frith untied the string and produced a small sheaf of typewriter paper. "Of course, what I need is a candid opinion." He gave the doctor an uncertain look. "If you're all right now, I'll read you a few pages. I always thought that poetry was to be read aloud, and only poets I can make a fair judgment on that.” The doctor sighed, feeling powerless because he couldn't think of any reason to deny Frith's request. "Just let your daughter wait in the sun?" he said rashly. "She still has something to do. She can come back to pick me up after finishing her work." "May I go with her, sir?" asked Fred Black. "I happen to be free." "I think she'll be delighted." He walked back and said a few words to Louise.The doctor saw her looking at him seriously, then a smile appeared on her face, and she said something to him.She was wearing a white cotton dress and a large local straw hat.The face under the straw hat was golden, revealing a calmness.Fred got in and sat beside her, and she drove away. "Let me read you the third chapter," Frith said. "I'm very proud of the translation of that chapter. The rhythm is very good. It's probably my best work. Do you understand Portuguese?" "don't know." "That's a pity. I translated word for word, and I wanted you to experience my reproduction of the rhythm, musicality, and mood of the original poem. In fact, for a great poem, these Both are indispensable. Of course, feel free to comment and I can’t wait to hear your thoughts, but I’m pretty sure this is the final translation, and I honestly don’t believe there’s anything else that could replace it.” He read it aloud.His voice is beautiful.This is an octaline poem with beautiful and clear rhythm.Dr. Saunders listened intently.The whole poem is smooth and peaceful, but how much of this is due to Frith's cadence and majestic reading, and how much is due to the beauty of the poem itself, the doctor is not sure.Frith's reading is very vivid, but it only stays in the beauty of the voice, but does not bring this vividness to the connotation of the poem, so the meaning behind the words gradually escapes the ears of the audience.He puts so much emphasis on discipline that it reminds Dr. Saunders of a train rattling on bad-quality rails.And whenever the regular finals floated into his ears, the doctor felt trembling all over.His attention began to wander.The thick and monotonous voice continued to hammer down again and again, and the doctor felt drowsy coming back and forth.He stared at Ferris hard, but his eyelids closed slowly involuntarily, and then he opened them slightly, frowning, struggling with sleepiness.Suddenly, his whole body trembled, and he felt his head slam into his chest like a chicken pecking at rice. Only then did he realize that he had fallen asleep.Fries was reading aloud the exploits of those great men who had built the Portuguese Empire, his voice rising with the heroic deeds, trembling with the death and misfortune, and sinking.Suddenly, Dr. Saunders noticed that Frith's voice was gone.He opened his eyes, but he didn't see Ferris, sitting in front of him was Fred Black, with a mischievous smile on his handsome face. "Did you sleep well?" "I didn't nap." "You're snoring loudly." "Where's Ferris?" "Going back. We came back in the buggy, and they went back to supper together. He told me not to disturb you." "I know what happened to him," said the doctor. "He had a dream, and now it's come true. Dreams are good because they're out of reach, and God laughs at us when we get what we want." "I don't know what you're talking about," Fred said. "You haven't woken up yet." "Let's have a glass of beer together, no matter what, wine is the most authentic."