《福尔摩斯探案集·铜山毛榉案》第42节
“Yes, sir.” “And brought Miss Hunter down from London in order to get rid of the disagreeable persistence of Mr. Fowler.” “That was it, sir.” “But Mr. Fowler being a persevering man, as a good seaman should be, blockaded the house, and having met you succeeded by certain arguments, metallic or otherwise, in convincing you that your interests were the same as his.” “Mr. Fowler was a very kind-spoken, free-handed gentleman,” said Mrs. Toller serenely. “And in this way he managed that your good man should have no want of drink, and that a ladder should be ready at the moment when your master had gone out.” “You have it, sir, just as it happened.” “I am sure we owe you an apology, Mrs. Toller,” said Holmes, “for you have certainly cleared up everything which puzzled us. And here comes the country surgeon and Mrs. Rucastle, so I think, Watson, that we had best escort Miss Hunter back to Winchester, as it seems to me that our locus standi now is rather a questionable one.” And thus was solved the mystery of the sinister house with the copper beeches in front of the door. Mr. Rucastle survived, but was always a broken man, kept alive solely through the care of his devoted wife. They still live with their old servants, who probably know so much of Rucastle’s past life that he finds it difficult to part from them. Mr. Fowler and Miss Rucastle were married, by special license, in Southampton the day after their flight, and he is now the holder of a government appointment in the island of Mauritius. As to Miss Violet Hunter, my friend Holmes, rather to my disappointment, manifested no further interest in her when once she had ceased to be the centre of one of his problems, and she is now the head of a private school at Walsall, where I believe that she has met with considerable success.
注释摘要
这一节是整桩铜山毛榉别墅奇案的收束。托勒太太终于开口，将此前所有拼不拢的碎片一一归位。她告诉我们，爱丽丝小姐自父亲再娶后便在家中受尽冷落，但真正的危机是在她结识福勒先生之后——那是位有财产权的姑娘，父亲担心她一嫁人，自己便再也掌控不了那笔钱。他逼女儿签一份放弃财产的文件，女儿不肯，他便持续施压，直至女儿患上脑炎，命悬一线，那头秀发就是在那场大病中被剪去的。…