Chapter 5 The Burglary at the Vicarage
The facts of the burglary at the vicarage came to us chiefly
through the medium of the vicar and his wife.It occurred in
thesmall hours of Whit-Monday-the day devoted in Iping to the Club
festivities.Mrs.Bunting，it seems，woke up suddenly in the stillness
that comes before the dawn，with the strong impression that the door
of their bedroom had opened and closed.She did not arouse her
husband at first，but sat up in bed listening.She then distinctly
heard the pad，pad，pad of bare feet coming out of the
adjoiningdressing room and walking along the passage towards the
staircase.As soon as she felt assured of this，she aroused the Rev
Mr.Buntingas quietly as possible.He did not strike a light，but
putting on hisspectacles，her dressing gown，and his bath slippers，he
went out onthe landing to listen.He heard quite distinctly a
fumbling going on at his study desk downstairs，and then a violent
sneeze.
At that he returned to his bedroom，armed himself with themost
obvious weapon，the poker，and descended the staircase as noiselessly
as possible.Mrs.Bunting came out on the landing.
The hour was about four，and the ultimate darkness of the nightwas
past.There was a faint shimmer oflight in the hall，but the
studydoorway yawned impenetrably black.Everything was still except
thefaint creaking of the stairs under Mr.Bunting''s tread，and the
slightmovements in the study.Then something snapped，the drawer
wasopened，and there was a rustle of papers.Then came an
imprecation，and a match was struck and the study was flooded with
yellow light.Mr.Bunting was now in the hall，and through the crack
of the doorhe could see the desk and the open drawer and a candle
burning onthe desk.But the robber he could not see.He stood there
in the hallundecided what to do，and Mrs.Bunting，her face white and
intent，crept slowly downstairs after him.One thing kept up
Mr.Bunting''scourage； the persuasion that this burglar was a
resident in thevillage.
They heard the chink of money，and realised that the robberhad
found the housekeeping reserve of gold-two pounds ten in half
sovereigns altogether.At that sound Mr.Bunting was nerved toabrupt
action.Gripping the poker firmly，he rushed into the room，closely
followed by Mrs.Bunting.“Surrender！”criedMr.Bunting，fiercely，and
then stooped amazed.Apparently the room wasperfectly empty.
Yet their conviction that they had，that very moment，heard
somebody moving in the room had amounted to a certainty.For half a
minute，perhaps，they stood gaping，then Mrs.Bunting went across the
room and lookedbehind the screen，while Mr.Bunting，by a kindred
impulse，peered under the desk.Then Mrs.Bunting turned back the
window-curtains，and Mr.Bunting looked up the chimney and probedit
with the poker.Then Mrs.Bunting scrutinised the waste-paper
basketand Mr.Bunting opened the lid of the coal-scuttle.Then they
came to a stop and stood with eyes interrogating each other.
“I could have sworn-”said Mr.Bunting.
“The candle！”said Mr.Bunting.“Who lit the candle？”
“The drawer！”said Mrs.Bunting.“And the money''s gone！”
She went hastily to the doorway.
“Of all the extraordinary occurrences-”
There was a violent sneeze in the passage.They rushed out，and as
they did so the kitchen door slammed.“Bring the candle，”said
Mr.Bunting，and led the way.They both heard a sound of boltsbeing
hastily shot back.
As he opened the kitchen door he saw through the scullery thatthe
back door was just opening，and the faint light of early
dawndisplayed the dark masses of the garden beyond.He is certain
thatnothing went out of the door.It opened，stood open for a
moment，and then closed with a slam.As it did so，the candle
Mrs.Buntingwas carrying from the study fiickered and flared.It was
a minute ormore before they entered the kitchen.
The place was empty.They refastened the back door，examinedthe
kitchen，pantry，and scullery thoroughly，and at last went downinto
the cellar.There was not a soul to be found in the house，searchas
they would.
Daylight found the vicar and his wife，a quaintly-costumedlittle
couple，still marvelling about on their own ground floor by
theunnecessary light of a guttering candle.Chapter 6The Furn，iture
That Went Mad，
Now it happened that in the early hours of Whit-Monday，before
Millie was hunted out for the day，Mr.Hall and Mrs.Hallboth rose and
went noiselessly down into the cellar.Their businessthere was of a
private nature，and had something to do with thespecific gravity of
their beer.They had hardly entered the cellarwhen Mrs.Hall found
she had forgotten to bring down a bottle ofsarsaparilla from their
jointroom.As she was the expert and principaloperator in this
affair，Hall very properly went upstairs for it.
On the landing he was surprised to see that the stranger''s
doorwas ajar.He went on into his own room and found the bottle as
hehad been directed.
But returning with the bottle，he noticed that the bolts of
thefront door had been shot back，that the door was in fact simply
onthe latch.And with a flash of inspiration he connected this with
thestranger''s room upstairsandthe suggestions of Mr.Teddy
Henfrey.He distinctly remembered holding the candle while Mrs.Hall
shotthese bolts overnight.At the sight he stopped，gaping，then with
thebottle stillin his hand went upstairs again.He rapped at the
stranger''sdoor.There was no answer.He rapped again； then pushed the
doorwide open and entered.
It was as he expected.The bed，the room also，was empty.Andwhat was
stranger，even to his heavy intelligence，on the bedroomchair and
along the rail of the bed were scattered the garments，theonly
garments so far as he knew，and the bandages of their guest.
……
購物車/收銀台(
0
) | 在線留言板
| 付款方式
| 運費計算
| 聯絡我們
| 幫助中心 |
加入書簽
HOME
新書上架
