Chapter 27 Chapter 26 Mr. Brown

Sir James' words sounded like a bomb, and the two girls looked at each other in horror.The lawyer went to the table, took a small newspaper clipping and handed it to Jane, and Tuppence looked over Jane's shoulder.Had Mr. Carter been there, he would have recognized that it was a piece of news concerning the death of the mysterious man in New York. "As I said to Miss Tuppence," continued the lawyer, "I set about proving the impossible. The greatest stumbling block was the undeniable fact that Julius Hersheimmer was not a fictional The name, but the real person. My question was answered when I read this passage in the paper. It turned out that the real Julius Hersheimmer had left for the West to find out what had happened to his cousin. There he received news and photographs of his cousin, which aided his search. On the night before his departure from New York, he was attacked and killed. He died dressed in rags and was even Disfigured. In his place is Mr. Brown, and he's sailing to England right away. None of the true Hersheimer's friends and family have seen him before he leaves, and if they did, it doesn't matter, because of his attire Since then, he has been in league with those who swore to find him. He knows all the secrets of these people. It was only when Mrs. Vandermeyer learned about him that he felt that something was wrong. Mrs. Vandermeyer's huge bribe was not part of his plan. Miss Tuppence would have been far away by the time we arrived at the apartment, had it not been for Miss Tuppence's lucky change of plan. Seeing that he would be exposed, Brown took a desperate approach, using His own imposter, passing suspicion on to others. He almost made it - but not so well."

"I can't believe you," whispered Jane, "he's a very nice man." "The real Julius Hersheimmer was a very good man, but Brown is a fine actor. If you don't believe me, ask Miss Tuppence, she never doubted it." Jane turned silently to Tuppence, who nodded. "I hate to say it, Jane—I know it will hurt your heart. After all, I'm not entirely sure yet.I still don't understand why he saved us if he was Brown. " "What if it was Julius Hersheimmer who helped you escape?" Describing the events of that night to Sir James, Tuppence concluded: 'But I don't know why.' You could see what they were doing. As a last hope, they had to let Jane Finn escape - the escape had to be so seamless that she wouldn't see the slightest clue to the trap. They weren't on the lookout for Beresford around them. , and even contact you if necessary. They'll figure out how to take him out in due course. Then Julius Hersheimer rushes in and frees you in truly dramatic fashion. Although the bullets whizzed overhead, it wouldn't Hurt anyone. What will happen next? You will drive straight to the house in Soho to rescue the document that Jane Finn may have entrusted to her cousin. Or, if he searches, he will Acting as if he found out that the stash has been tampered with. He has a lot of ways of dealing with this kind of thing, but the result is the same. I always thought something was going to happen to you. You know too much, and it's not good for them. That's me Rough thoughts. I admit that I was overlooked by them, but some people are thorns in their eyes."

"You mean Tommy," said Tuppence softly. "Yes, obviously, when the time came to get rid of him—I was always worried about him because he was so intrusive." "why?" "Because Julius Hersheimmer is Brown," said James dryly, "it's more than one man with a revolver can do to subdue Brown..." Tuppence paled a little. "What can we do?" "There's nothing to do until we get to that house in Soho. If Beresford still has the upper hand, there's nothing to worry about. Otherwise, the enemy will come here for us, and we're prepared! With these words, Sir James took an army pistol from a drawer, and put it in his coat pocket.

"Now that we are ready, I think it best to take you, Miss Tuppence?" "I think so." "But I think Miss Finn should stay here. She'll be safe. Besides, I'm afraid she's exhausted from everything she's been through." Jane shook her head, much to Tuppence's surprise. "No, I think I'll have to go too, and since the papers have been handed over to me, I'm responsible. Anyway, I'm much better now." Sir James' car drove up, and the distance was not too long. Sitting in the car, Tuppence's heart was pounding. Although she sometimes felt uneasy for Tommy, she still couldn't restrain her inner excitement. About to succeed?

They came to the corner of the square and got out of the car.Sir James went up to several security officers in civilian clothes, said something to one of them, and returned to the girls. "So far, no one has entered the house, and the back door of the house is watched, so they are pretty sure that no one has entered. Anyone who tries to enter after we have entered will be arrested immediately. We Just go in, okay?" A policeman pulled out the keys.Everybody here knew Sir James, and well.They were also given orders to respect Tuppence.Only Jane Finn, they are not very familiar with.The three of them closed the door behind them and climbed slowly up the rickety stairs.At the top of the stairs was a battered curtain that covered the alcove where Tommy hid that day.Tuppence had heard this from Jane, who at the time called herself Annette.Tuppence looked curiously at the worn velvet curtains.

Even now she dared to say that the curtain was shaking slightly, as if someone was hiding behind it.The feeling was so strong that she could imagine the general situation behind the curtain...if Brown-Julius was waiting there now...that was impossible, of course, but she still I couldn't help but almost went over and lifted the curtain to see what happened. They came to the prison cell.There's nowhere to hide here.Tuppence breathed a sigh of relief at the thought, and at the same time reproached herself for the foolish notion that Brown was in the house. It was a feeling that was hard to get rid of... Listen!what sound?There seemed to be soft footsteps on the stairs.There are people in the room, ridiculous!She felt herself becoming neurotic.

Jane went straight to the portrait of Margaret, and carefully removed the painting from the nail.The space between the wall and the painting was covered with cobwebs, and the painting was also covered with a thin layer of dust.Jane took the pocketknife that James handed, and forcibly separated the brown paper on the back from the painting.The advertisement page in the magazine fell off, and Jane picked it up and tore off the frayed surroundings, and pulled out two thin sheets of paper, not blank, with writing on them, this is not fake, this is the real thing. "We've got it," said Tuppence with relief, "we've finally..."

Now they forgot to breathe with excitement, and forgot the slight creak that seemed to have been on the stairs a minute before.The eyes of the three of them stared at the things in Jane's hand. Sir James took the document and read it carefully. "Yes," he said softly, "this is the draft treaty that killed us." "We made it," said Tuppence, with awe and disbelief in her voice. Sir James echoed, carefully folding the papers into his wallet.Then he looked curiously at the filthy room. "It was here that your young friend was held for a long time, wasn't it?"

He said, "This is a veritable room full of evil. You have noticed that this room has no windows, and the door is solid and heavy. Whatever happens here, the outside world cannot hear it." Tuppence shuddered, and his words called to her a vaguely restless alertness.What if someone is hiding in the house?Would the man use this door to lock them in and let them die like rats in a trap?Immediately she felt that her idea was ridiculous.Police were all around the house, and if the three of them hadn't gone out, the police would have rushed in and conducted a thorough search. Laughing at her own folly, she looked up just in time to meet Sir James's examining eye.He nodded at her, looking determined.

"Yes, Miss Tuppence, you sense danger, and so do I, and Miss Finn is no exception." "Yes," admitted Jane, "it might be a little ridiculous, but I can't shake the feeling." Sir James nodded again. "You feel, and we all feel, Mr Brown's presence. There's no doubt about that, Mr Brown is here..." "In this house?" "In this house. Don't you understand? I'm Brown!" The two girls were stunned and stared at him in disbelief.The lines of his face changed suddenly, and he was completely different from Sir James before.He stood there smiling, a hideous, cruel smile.

"Neither of you will ever get out of this room alive. Just now you said we succeeded, no! I should have succeeded. This draft treaty is mine." Here he looked at Tuppence with complacency. Laugh out loud. "Shall I tell you what's going to happen? Sooner or later the police will come in and they'll find three of Brown's victims - three, not two, understand? Luckily I'm not dead, just wounded, I can give the people valuable details of the attack. Well, the treaty is in Mr. Brown's hands, and no one will think of searching the pockets of Sir James Peel Edgerton!" He turned to Jane: "I admit that I was deceived by you, but there will never be a second time." There was a slight sound behind him, but he, who was intoxicated with the joy of success, didn't pay attention and didn't turn around. He reached into his pocket. "The young adventurer is finished," he said, raising the automatic pistol slowly. At this moment, hands like iron pliers stretched out from behind him, clamped his wrist, and the pistol was twisted away.At the same time, Julius Hersheimmer's voice came to his ears word by word: "I expected you to be caught on the spot, together with the thing on you." Blood rushed to his face, but his self-control was remarkable. His eyes moved from Jane to Tuppence and finally to Jamie. "You," he gasped, "you, I should have thought it was you." Seeing that he had no intention of resisting, they relaxed their grip on him a little. At that very moment, his left hand, the one with the large signet ring, reached out to his lips like lightning... "'Ave Casar! te morituri salutant.'" he said, keeping his eyes fixed on the with Tommy. ① French.Meaning: Caesar testifies!you die.pay tribute.Annotation one by one. His face gradually changed, and after a long convulsion, he curled up and fell forward, and the room smelled of bitter almonds.