03-02-04-牙齿和爪子 [11]
—well，we did before this afternoon—but now，of course，he must die as soon as possible．''We will poison his dinner，'said Sir Wilfrid，'and I willkill the gardener's cat myself．The gardener won't like it，but I'll say it has some kind of disease—'
'But what about my discovery？'cried Mr Appin．'What about all my years of work？Are you going to destroy my onlysuccessful student？'
'You can go and teach the cows on the farm，'said Mrs Cornett coldly，'or the elephants at the zoo．Elephants arevery intelligent，they tell me，and elephants don't hide behind chairs or under beds and listen to people's conversations．'Mr Appin knew when he was beaten．
Dinner that evening was not a success．Sir Wilfrid hadhad a difficult time with the gardener's cat and later with the gardener．Agnes Resker refused to eat anything，while Mavis Pellington ate her meal in silence．Everyone was waiting for Tobermory．A plate of poisoned fish stood ready for him in thedining－room，but he did not come home．Nobody talked much，and nobody laughed．It was a most uncomfortable meal．
After dinner the Blemleys and their guests sat in the smoking－room．Everyone was quiet and worried and nobodywanted to play cards．At eleven o'clock the cook and the housekeeper went to bed．They left the kitchen window openfor Tobermory as usual，but he did not come．
At two o'clock Clovis spoke：
'He won't come home tonight．He's probably in the newspaper office selling them his story．They'll love it．The story will be the excitement of the year．'
After that everyone went to bed，but nobody slept．
In the morning Tobermory had still not come home．
Breakfast was another quiet，uncomfortable meal．Then，half－way through the coffee，the gardener brought in Tobermory's blood-stained body．
'Look at his claws！'cried Clovis．'He's been fighting！'And there，on Tobermory's claws，was the yellow hair of the doctor's cat．
By lunchtime most of the guests had left Blemley House．Lady Blemley began to feel better．She took out her pen and paper and wrote a very angry letter to the doctor about the death of her valuable cat．
Tobermory was Mr Appin's only successful student．Afew weeks after Tobermory's death an elephant escaped from the Dresden Zoo and killed an English visitor．
The zoo keeper said that the elephant had always been acalm and gentle animal before．But suddenly it seemed to be－come very angry with the English visitor，who was talking toit．
The dead man's name was reported in the newspapers as Oppin，but his first name was Cornelius．
'If Appin was trying to teach the poor elephant to speak German，'said Clovis，'I'm not surprised it killed him．'
■ 托博莫里
这是8月底一个寒冷的下午。布莱姆雷夫人和客人正坐在桌旁吃茶点。大家听了科尼利厄斯·阿普因先生的话都很吃惊。
虽然他是其中的一个客人，但是布莱姆雷夫人并不太了解阿普因先生。她只是听说他聪明，所以邀请他来布莱姆雷家。但那天直到喝茶的时候他还没有做或说任何聪明的事情。他没打网球、没唱歌也没说什么机智的话。但是现在阿普因先生正在描述一个极其特别的发现，其他客人正兴致勃勃地听着。
“你是说你找到了教动物说话的办法？”威尔弗雷德爵士说。“而且我们可爱的老托博莫里是你的第一个成功的学生？”
“我研究这个问题17年了，”阿普因先生说，“但是直到八九个月前我才真正成功了。当然，我研究了成千上万种动物，但是最近我只研究了猫。猫自然是愿意和你生活在一起的野生动物。所有的猫都聪明，但是一些猫自然比其它的更聪明。一星期前遇见托博莫里时，我立刻意识到这是一只极其聪明的猫，一只实际上非常特殊的猫。在托博莫里身上我找到了我需要的学生，借助于他我成功地实现了我的计划。”
没人笑，没人说“胡说”，虽然克洛维斯的嘴唇在无声地嚅动……
“你真的教了托博莫里说话并听懂一些简单的短句吗？”雷斯克小姐问。
“亲爱的雷斯克小姐，”阿普因先生耐心地说，“我们用这种方式教小孩和非常迟钝、愚笨的成人。但是托博莫里是一只非常聪明的猫，他的英语讲得和你我一样好。”
这次克洛维斯大声地说：“胡说！”
威尔弗雷德爵士比较有礼貌，但是很明显他不相信阿普因先生的故事。
“我们把猫带到这儿来亲自听他说好吗？”布莱姆雷夫人说。
威尔弗雷德爵士离开房间去找托博莫里。
“阿普因先生会想办法来些聪明的把戏，”雷斯克小姐高兴地说，“可是如果我们仔细观察他，我们就会看见他的嘴唇要动。”
一分钟后威尔弗雷德爵士回来了，他看上去非常激动。
“你们知道这是真的！”他说。“我发现托博莫里在吸烟室睡觉，就叫他出来喝茶。他抬起头睁开一只眼。我说，'来吧，托比，别让我们等你！'他平静地说，'我准备好了就来！'我真不相信我的耳朵！”
客人马上开始谈论起来，这时阿普因先生沉默地坐着，看起来很为自己高兴。
托博莫里进了屋，沉着地走到茶桌旁。谈话停止了，没人知道该对一只会说话的猫说些什么。最后布莱姆雷夫人说：
“你来点牛奶吗，托博莫里？”她用高而不自然的声音问。
“我不介意来点牛奶，”托博莫里回答。布莱姆雷夫人的手激动得颤抖，牛奶洒在地毯上。
“哦，亲爱的！非常抱歉，”她说。
“没关系，那毕竟不是我的地毯，”托博莫里回答说。
又是一阵沉默，然后雷斯克小姐札貌地问，“你觉得学英语难吗，托博莫里？”
托博莫里用明亮的绿色眼睛直视着她。很清楚，他不想回答让他不感兴趣的问题。
“你认为人的智力怎么样？”梅维斯·佩林顿问。
“哪个人的智力？”托博莫里冷冷地问。
“这个，比如说我的智力，”梅维斯微笑着说。
“你让我不舒服，”托博莫里说，虽然他根本不像不舒服。“布莱姆雷夫人想邀请你来这儿时，威尔弗雷德爵士不高兴。'梅维斯·佩林顿是我认识的最愚蠢的女人，'他说。'那正是我想邀请她的原因，'布莱姆雷夫人回答。'我想让她买我的旧车，她这么笨，会买的。'”
“这不是真的！”布莱姆雷夫人叫道。“别相信他，梅维斯！”
“如果这不是真的，”梅维斯冷淡地说，“那么今天早上你为什么说你的车对我正合适呢？”
'But what about my discovery？'cried Mr Appin．'What about all my years of work？Are you going to destroy my onlysuccessful student？'
'You can go and teach the cows on the farm，'said Mrs Cornett coldly，'or the elephants at the zoo．Elephants arevery intelligent，they tell me，and elephants don't hide behind chairs or under beds and listen to people's conversations．'Mr Appin knew when he was beaten．
Dinner that evening was not a success．Sir Wilfrid hadhad a difficult time with the gardener's cat and later with the gardener．Agnes Resker refused to eat anything，while Mavis Pellington ate her meal in silence．Everyone was waiting for Tobermory．A plate of poisoned fish stood ready for him in thedining－room，but he did not come home．Nobody talked much，and nobody laughed．It was a most uncomfortable meal．
After dinner the Blemleys and their guests sat in the smoking－room．Everyone was quiet and worried and nobodywanted to play cards．At eleven o'clock the cook and the housekeeper went to bed．They left the kitchen window openfor Tobermory as usual，but he did not come．
At two o'clock Clovis spoke：
'He won't come home tonight．He's probably in the newspaper office selling them his story．They'll love it．The story will be the excitement of the year．'
After that everyone went to bed，but nobody slept．
In the morning Tobermory had still not come home．
Breakfast was another quiet，uncomfortable meal．Then，half－way through the coffee，the gardener brought in Tobermory's blood-stained body．
'Look at his claws！'cried Clovis．'He's been fighting！'And there，on Tobermory's claws，was the yellow hair of the doctor's cat．
By lunchtime most of the guests had left Blemley House．Lady Blemley began to feel better．She took out her pen and paper and wrote a very angry letter to the doctor about the death of her valuable cat．
Tobermory was Mr Appin's only successful student．Afew weeks after Tobermory's death an elephant escaped from the Dresden Zoo and killed an English visitor．
The zoo keeper said that the elephant had always been acalm and gentle animal before．But suddenly it seemed to be－come very angry with the English visitor，who was talking toit．
The dead man's name was reported in the newspapers as Oppin，but his first name was Cornelius．
'If Appin was trying to teach the poor elephant to speak German，'said Clovis，'I'm not surprised it killed him．'
■ 托博莫里
这是8月底一个寒冷的下午。布莱姆雷夫人和客人正坐在桌旁吃茶点。大家听了科尼利厄斯·阿普因先生的话都很吃惊。
虽然他是其中的一个客人，但是布莱姆雷夫人并不太了解阿普因先生。她只是听说他聪明，所以邀请他来布莱姆雷家。但那天直到喝茶的时候他还没有做或说任何聪明的事情。他没打网球、没唱歌也没说什么机智的话。但是现在阿普因先生正在描述一个极其特别的发现，其他客人正兴致勃勃地听着。
“你是说你找到了教动物说话的办法？”威尔弗雷德爵士说。“而且我们可爱的老托博莫里是你的第一个成功的学生？”
“我研究这个问题17年了，”阿普因先生说，“但是直到八九个月前我才真正成功了。当然，我研究了成千上万种动物，但是最近我只研究了猫。猫自然是愿意和你生活在一起的野生动物。所有的猫都聪明，但是一些猫自然比其它的更聪明。一星期前遇见托博莫里时，我立刻意识到这是一只极其聪明的猫，一只实际上非常特殊的猫。在托博莫里身上我找到了我需要的学生，借助于他我成功地实现了我的计划。”
没人笑，没人说“胡说”，虽然克洛维斯的嘴唇在无声地嚅动……
“你真的教了托博莫里说话并听懂一些简单的短句吗？”雷斯克小姐问。
“亲爱的雷斯克小姐，”阿普因先生耐心地说，“我们用这种方式教小孩和非常迟钝、愚笨的成人。但是托博莫里是一只非常聪明的猫，他的英语讲得和你我一样好。”
这次克洛维斯大声地说：“胡说！”
威尔弗雷德爵士比较有礼貌，但是很明显他不相信阿普因先生的故事。
“我们把猫带到这儿来亲自听他说好吗？”布莱姆雷夫人说。
威尔弗雷德爵士离开房间去找托博莫里。
“阿普因先生会想办法来些聪明的把戏，”雷斯克小姐高兴地说，“可是如果我们仔细观察他，我们就会看见他的嘴唇要动。”
一分钟后威尔弗雷德爵士回来了，他看上去非常激动。
“你们知道这是真的！”他说。“我发现托博莫里在吸烟室睡觉，就叫他出来喝茶。他抬起头睁开一只眼。我说，'来吧，托比，别让我们等你！'他平静地说，'我准备好了就来！'我真不相信我的耳朵！”
客人马上开始谈论起来，这时阿普因先生沉默地坐着，看起来很为自己高兴。
托博莫里进了屋，沉着地走到茶桌旁。谈话停止了，没人知道该对一只会说话的猫说些什么。最后布莱姆雷夫人说：
“你来点牛奶吗，托博莫里？”她用高而不自然的声音问。
“我不介意来点牛奶，”托博莫里回答。布莱姆雷夫人的手激动得颤抖，牛奶洒在地毯上。
“哦，亲爱的！非常抱歉，”她说。
“没关系，那毕竟不是我的地毯，”托博莫里回答说。
又是一阵沉默，然后雷斯克小姐札貌地问，“你觉得学英语难吗，托博莫里？”
托博莫里用明亮的绿色眼睛直视着她。很清楚，他不想回答让他不感兴趣的问题。
“你认为人的智力怎么样？”梅维斯·佩林顿问。
“哪个人的智力？”托博莫里冷冷地问。
“这个，比如说我的智力，”梅维斯微笑着说。
“你让我不舒服，”托博莫里说，虽然他根本不像不舒服。“布莱姆雷夫人想邀请你来这儿时，威尔弗雷德爵士不高兴。'梅维斯·佩林顿是我认识的最愚蠢的女人，'他说。'那正是我想邀请她的原因，'布莱姆雷夫人回答。'我想让她买我的旧车，她这么笨，会买的。'”
“这不是真的！”布莱姆雷夫人叫道。“别相信他，梅维斯！”
“如果这不是真的，”梅维斯冷淡地说，“那么今天早上你为什么说你的车对我正合适呢？”