侦探故事（英文）
2011-10-01 13:19阅读：
看到一篇侦探故事，英语好的看过来：@麦子 看过来：（ps：看得我头都大了）
The Three Travellers Now the three had
journeyed several days when at last they came upon the Oasis of
Ziza, and Gaspar who was the wisest of them said, 'We will rest our
horses here this night. It will be safe.' 'Safe for horses and
men,' Melchior agreed. 'But what of the gold?' 'Safe for the gold
also. No one knows we carry it.' The sun was low in the western sky
as they approached, and Gaspar held up a hand to shield his eyes.
It would be night soon. A young herdsman came out to meet them and
take their horses. And he said, 'Welcome to the Oasis of Ziza. Have
you ridden far?' 'A full moon's journey,' Gaspar replied, speaking
in the nomadic tongue. 'What is your name?' And the herdsman
answered, 'They call me Ramoth, sire.' 'Here is a gold coin for
you, Ramoth. Feed and water our mounts for the journey and another
will be yours on the morrow.' 'Which way do you travel, sire?'
'Towards the west,' G
aspar said, purposely vague. When the young herdsman had departed
with the horses fat Balthazar said, 'I am not pleased, Gaspar. You
lead us, it is true, but the keeping of the gold is my
responsibility. And travellers guided by the heavens would do well
to journey by night.' 'The desert is cold by night, my friend. Let
us cease this bickering and settle ourselves here till the dawn.'
Then Melchior and Balthazar went off to put up their tent, and
Gaspar was much relieved. It had been a long journey, not yet
ended, and he treasured these moments alone. Presently he set off
to inspect the oasis where they would spend the night, and he came
upon a stranger who wore a sword at his waist. 'Greetings,
traveller,' the man said. 'I am Nevar, of the northern tribe. Do
you journey this route often?' 'Not often, no. My name is Gaspar
and I come with my two companions from the east.' Nevar nodded, and
stroked his great growth of beard. 'Later, when the sun is gone,
there a are games of chance--and women for those who have the gold
to pay.' 'That does not interest me,' Gaspar said. 'You will find
the companionship warming,' Nevar said. 'Come to the fire near the
well. That is where we will be.' Gaspar went on, pausing to look at
the beads and trinkets the nomad traders offered. When he reached
the well at the far end of the oasis, he saw a woman lifting a
great earthen jar to her shoulder. She was little more than a
child, and as he watched, the jar slipped from her grasp and
shattered against the stones, splashing her with water. She burst
into tears. 'Come, child,' Gaspar said, comforting her. 'There is
always another jar to be had.' And she turned her wide brown eyes
to him, revealing a beauty he had not seen before. 'My father will
beat me,' she said. 'Here is a gold coin for him. Tell him a
stranger named Gaspar bumped you and made the jar break.' 'That
would not be true.' 'But it is true that I am Gaspar. Who are you?'
'Thantia, daughter of Nevar.' 'Yes, I have met your father. You are
very lovely, my child.' But his words seemed to frighten her, and
she ran from him. Then he returned to the place where Melchior had
erected their tent. They had learned from past encampments to leave
nothing of value with the horses, and Gaspar immediately asked the
location of the gold. 'It is safe,' Balthazar told him. 'Hidden in
the bottom of this grain bag.' 'Good. And the perfume?' 'With our
regular supplies. No one would steal that.' Melchior chuckled. 'If
they did, we could smell out the culprits quickly enough!' And then
Balthazar said, 'There is gaming tonight, near the well.' 'I know,'
Gaspar replied. 'But it is not for us.' The fat man held out his
hands in a gesture of innocence. 'We could but look,' he said. And
Gaspar reluctantly agreed. 'Very well.' Later, when the fire had
been kindled and the people of Ziza came forth from their tents to
mingle, the three travellers joined them. Almost at once Gaspar was
sought out by a village elder, a man with wrinkled skin and rotting
teeth. 'I am Dibon,' he said, choosing a seat next to Gaspar. 'Do
you come from the east?' 'Yes, from Persia.' 'A long journey. What
brings you this far?' Gaspar did not wish to answer. Instead, he
motioned towards a group of men with small smooth stones before
them. 'What manner of sport is this?' 'It is learned from the
Egyptians, as are most things sinful.' Then the old man leaned
closer, and Gaspar could smell the foul odour of his breath. 'Some
say you are a magus.' 'I have studied the teachings of Zoroaster,
as have my companions. In truth some would consider me a magus.'
'Then you journey in search of Mazda?' 'In search of truth,' Gaspar
replied. Then he felt the presence of someone towering over him,
and saw it was the figure of Nevar. His right hand rested on the
sword at his waist. 'I would have words with you, Gaspar.' 'What
troubles you?' 'My only daughter Thantia, a virgin not yet twenty,
tells me you gave her a gold coin today.' 'Only because I feared
the broken water jug was my fault.' 'No stranger approaches
Thantia! You will leave Ziza this night!' 'We leave in the
morning,' Gaspar said quietly. Nevar drew his sword, and Gaspar
waited no longer. He flung himself at the big man and they tumbled
towards the fire as the game-players scattered. Gaspar pulled
Nevar's sword from his grip. Then Thantia broke from the crowd,
running to her father. 'This stranger did me no harm!' she cried
out. 'Silence, daughter!' Nevar reached for a piece of burning
firewood and hurled it at Gaspar, but it went wide of its mark and
landed on a low straw roof nearby. 'The stable!' someone shouted,
and Gaspar saw it was the herdsman Ramoth hurrying to rescue the
horses. The others helped to quench the flames with water from the
well, but not before a quantity of feed and supplies had been
destroyed. Then Gaspar and Melchior went in search of fat
Balthazar, who had disappeared during the commotion. They found him
behind the row of tents, playing the Egyptian stone game with a
half dozen desert-riders. He had a small pile of gold coins before
him. 'This must cease!' Gaspar commanded. The nomads ran at his
words, and Balthazar struggled to his feet. 'It was merely a game.'
'Our task is far more important than mere gaming,' Gaspar reminded
him, and the fat man looked sheepish. 'While you idled I was near
killed by the swordsman Nevar.' 'A trouble-maker,' Balthazar
agreed. 'I will not rest easy until Ziza is behind us on our
journey.' Then as they passed the burned stable on the way to their
tent, old Dibon approached them saying, 'This ruin is your fault,
Gaspar. Yours and Nevar's.' 'That is true, old man. We will stay
here tomorrow and help rebuild the stable.' Dibon bowed his head.
'A generous offer. We thank you.' But when they were alone,
Balthazar complained, 'This will delay us an entire day!' 'We will
travel a distance by night, as you wished.' Now another surprise
was waiting at their tent. As Melchior raised the flap to enter,
there was a whimper from within. Gaspar pushed past his hesitating
companion and lit the oil lamp. By its glow they saw the girl
Thantia crouched behind a pile of robes. 'Please!' she gasped.
'Please hide me. My father has beaten me and I fear for my life!'
'I fear for ours if he finds you here,' Melchior said. Gaspar held
the oil lamp closer and saw the bruises on her face and arms. 'We
cannot send you back to him. Remain here with Melchior and
Balthazar. I will return shortly.' Then he made his way to the
place where old Dibon rested, and he told the elder what had
happened. Dibon nodded and said, 'My daughter and her husband will
find room for Thantia until Nevar regains his senses. You were wise
to come to me.' Gaspar and his companions delivered the girl to
Dibon, and went with them to the dwelling place of Dibon's
daughter. Later, in their tent, Balthazar grumbled again about the
delayed departure. But they settled down at last to sleep, as the
fires of the encampment burned low around them. In the morning, by
the first rays of the rising sun, Gaspar was awakened by
Balthazar's panic-filled voice. 'Wake quickly, Gaspar!' he pleaded,
shaking him. 'Someone has stolen our gold!' Gaspar saw at once that
the words were true. The leather sack of grain contained only grain
now. Though the tent showed no sign of forced entry, and though
their regular supplies were untouched, the gold had vanished. 'I
cannot believe it!' Melchior gasped. 'How could a thief have
entered while we slept? ' Gaspar agreed such a thing was
impossible. 'The gold was stolen before we retired last night,' he
reasoned. 'We were away from the tent during the gaming and fire,
and again while escorting Thantia. A thief could have entered at
either time.' 'What of the perfume and incense? ' Melchior asked.
'Untouched,' Balthazar said. 'My special knot is still in place on
the other bags.' 'Only the gold,' Gaspar mused. 'It is truly as if
someone knew where to look.' 'The girl!' Balthazar exclaimed. 'We
found her in here! She could have searched for the gold and found
it.' 'Possible,' Gaspar admitted. 'But I cannot bring myself to
believe it.' 'We cannot leave Ziza without the gold,' Melchior
said. 'Let us put our minds to the problem while we work at the
stable,' Gaspar said. Now when they reached the stable Nevar was
already there, toiling with the others. He paused in his labours
when he saw the three, and shot an accusing finger at Gaspar. 'You
have stolen away my daughter. I will revenge myself!' 'Your
daughter is safe, in the care of Dibon and his family.' His words
quieted Nevar, but Melchior asked, 'If he was so concerned, why did
he not come after us in the night?' Balthazar agreed. 'Or did he
come, and steal our gold away?' Then presently old Dibon appeared,
with the girl Thantia at his side. She cast not a glance in her
father's direction, and he went about his work ignoring her. Gaspar
laboured diligently through the morning, instructing Dibon and the
others in Persian building techniques. He too ignored Nevar, not
wanting more trouble. Once, while Balthazar was off to the well for
water, Melchior whispered, 'Is it possible that our companion
betrays us, Gaspar? Might he have stolen the gold himself to cover
his losses at the stone game?' But Gaspar would hear none of it.
'We must never doubt each other, Melchior. In my heart I know
Balthazar is innocent, as I know you are innocent. And I remember
the scene at the stone game. There were gold coins in front of him.
He was winning, not losing.' 'How will we recover the gold,
Gaspar?' 'Through the power of our minds, Melchior. We are wise
men, and we must use our minds to determine the thief's identity.'
'But there is no clue to his identity!' 'Sometimes the lack of a
clue can be one.' Balthazar returned with the water and they drank
eagerly. Later as they ate of their supplies, Thantia came to them.
'I thank you for helping me,' she said. 'The elders have spoken to
my father and he has promised never again to beat me. I will return
to him now.' 'We need no thanks,' Gaspar assured her. Then old
Dibon came to join them. 'How may we repay you for your work on the
stable?' 'You may recover our stolen gold,' Balthazar blurted out.
'Gold? Stolen gold?' 'It was stolen from our tent,' Balthazar
hurried on, before Gaspar could silence him. 'There are no thieves
in Ziza!' 'There is one.' 'I will summon the elders. We will search
for your gold.' 'No, no,' said Gaspar. 'We will recover it.' 'But
how?' 'By finding the thief. It is best to say nothing and catch
him off guard.' Old Dibon bowed his head. 'I will do as you
suggest.' 'One favour. Could you ask that our horses be brought to
us? We must appear to be leaving.' Then, as they waited, Balthazar
gathered their supplies. And Melchior said, 'I have put my mind to
the problem, Gaspar. But there are too many possibilities. The girl
Thantia could be the thief, or her father Nevar. Or any of the game
players.' 'Or old Dibon himself, ' Balthazar added. 'There are too
many to suspect.' Gaspar nodded. 'What is needed is an oracle.'
'You mean to kill a beast as the Romans do?' Gaspar shook his head.
'My oracle will be a living animal.' He saw the herdsman Ramoth
leading their horses. 'My steed will tell me who has our gold.'
'Your horse?' fat Balthazar laughed. 'Who learns anything from a
dumb animal?' Gaspar held out some grain for the horse. 'You see
how he eats? He is hungry.' 'What does that tell us?' Melchior
asked. 'That our gold was stolen by Ramoth!' It was after Dibon
spoke to Ramoth that the young herdsman confessed his crime and
begged forgiveness. When the missing gold had been returned to
Gaspar's hands, the others questioned him. 'How did you know it was
Ramoth?' Melchior asked. 'We barely spoke to the youth. ' 'My horse
told me, as I told you he would. The horse was hungry, so had not
been fed. You see, the thief never touched our other supplies,
never unfastened Balthazar's special knot. How could he have found
the gold so easily, without searching for it? But the gold was
hidden in a sack of grain, and after the fire destroyed the stable,
Ramoth came in search of feed for our horses. He came while we were
away, and looked in only one place--the grain bag. Feeling the
weight of it, his fingers reached through the grain and came upon
the gold. He stole it, but then could not take the grain lest we
realize he was the thief. So the horses went hungry.' 'You are a
wise man, Gaspar,' Balthazar conceded. 'As we all are. Come, let us
mount.' 'It will be dark soon,' Melchior said. Gaspar nodded. 'We
will get bearings from the star.' Dibon was by the well to wish
them farewell. 'Ramoth will be punished,' he promised. 'Show
mercy,' Gaspar said. 'Do you ride west with your gold?' 'West with
gifts for a King. Gold and frankincense and myrrh.' 'Good journey,'
Dibon said. He watched them for a long time, until the three
vanished from sight over the desert wastes.
