04-01-02-不平静的坟墓 [17]
．
Dr Hall stood up．'This is terrible，'he said．'I must go up to the Hall at once．The Squire was so much better yesterday． It seems so sudden．'
'Yes，sir，'agreed the servant．'Mr Wickem said that the poor Squire was taken ill very suddenly with a terrible pain． He died very quickly，and Wickem said they want him buried quickly too．'
'Yes，yes；well，I must ask Mrs Bowles herself of Mr Joseph，'said the priest．'Bring me my coat and hat，please． Oh，and tell Mr Wickem that I would like to see him when he has finished ringing the bell．'And he hurried off to the Hall．
When he returned an hour later，he found the clerk waiting for him．
'There's a lot of work for you to do，Wickem，'he said， and not much time to do it．'
'Yes，sir，'said Wickem．'You'll want the family tomb opened，of course…'
'No，no，not at all，'replied Dr Hall．'The poor Squire said before he died that he did not want to be buried in the family tomb．It is to be an earth grave in the churchyard．'
'Excuse me，sir，'said Wickem，very surprised．'Do I understand you right？No tomb，you say，and just an earth grave？The poor Squire was too ill to know what he was saying，surely？'
'Yes，Wickem，it seems strange to me too，'said the priest． 'But Mr Joseph tells me that his father，or I should say his stepfather，made his wishes very clear when he was in good health． Clean earth and open air．You know，of course，the Squire had some strange ideas，though he never told me of this one．And there's another thing，Wickem．No coffin．'
'Oh dear，oh dear！'said Wickem．'There'll be some talk about that．And I know that old Mr Wright has some lovely wood for the Squire's coffin—he's kept it for him for years．'ei
'Well，'said Dr Hall，'those are the Squire's wishes，so I'm told，so that's what we must do．You must get the grave dug and everything ready by ten o'clock tomorrow night．Tell Wright that we shall need some lights．'
'Very well，sir．If those are the orders，I must do my best，'said Wickem．'Shall I send the women from the village to prepare the body？'
'No，Wickem．That was not mentioned，'said the priest． 'No doubt Mr Joseph will send for them if he wants them． You have enough work to do without that．Good night，Wick- em．'He paused．'I was just writing out the year's burials in the church records．I didn't think that I'd have to add Squire Bowles'name to them．'
The Squire's burial took place as planned．All the villagers and a few neighbours were present，and the Squire's stepson Joseph walked behind the body as it was carried to the church- yard．In those days nobody expected the Squire's wife to come to the burial．The Squire had no family except his wife and stepson，and he had left everything to his wife．
But what was everything？The land，house，furniture，pictures，and sliver were all there，but no money was found． This was very strange．Squire Bowles was quite a rich man；he received plenty of money from his land every year，his lawyers were honest，but still there was no money．The Squire had not been mean with his money．His wife had all she needed，he sent Joseph to school and university，and he lived well．But still he earned more money than he spent．Where was it？
Mrs Bowles and her son searched the house and grounds several times but found no money．They could not understand it． They sat one evening in the library discussing the problem for the twentieth time．
'You've been through his papers again，Joseph，have you？' asked the mother．
'Yes，Mother，and I've found nothing．'
'What was he writing the day before he died，do you know？ And why was he always writing to Mr Fowler in Gloucester？'
'You know he had some strange ideas about what happens to a person's soul when he dies．He was writing to Mr Fowler about it but he didn't finish the letter．Here，I'll read it to you．
He fetched some papers from the Squire's writing table and began to read．
My dear friend，
You will be interested to hear about my latest studies， though I am not sure how accurate they are．One writer says that for a time after death a man's soul stays close to the places he knew during life—so close，in fact，that he can be called to speak to the living
Dr Hall stood up．'This is terrible，'he said．'I must go up to the Hall at once．The Squire was so much better yesterday． It seems so sudden．'
'Yes，sir，'agreed the servant．'Mr Wickem said that the poor Squire was taken ill very suddenly with a terrible pain． He died very quickly，and Wickem said they want him buried quickly too．'
'Yes，yes；well，I must ask Mrs Bowles herself of Mr Joseph，'said the priest．'Bring me my coat and hat，please． Oh，and tell Mr Wickem that I would like to see him when he has finished ringing the bell．'And he hurried off to the Hall．
When he returned an hour later，he found the clerk waiting for him．
'There's a lot of work for you to do，Wickem，'he said， and not much time to do it．'
'Yes，sir，'said Wickem．'You'll want the family tomb opened，of course…'
'No，no，not at all，'replied Dr Hall．'The poor Squire said before he died that he did not want to be buried in the family tomb．It is to be an earth grave in the churchyard．'
'Excuse me，sir，'said Wickem，very surprised．'Do I understand you right？No tomb，you say，and just an earth grave？The poor Squire was too ill to know what he was saying，surely？'
'Yes，Wickem，it seems strange to me too，'said the priest． 'But Mr Joseph tells me that his father，or I should say his stepfather，made his wishes very clear when he was in good health． Clean earth and open air．You know，of course，the Squire had some strange ideas，though he never told me of this one．And there's another thing，Wickem．No coffin．'
'Oh dear，oh dear！'said Wickem．'There'll be some talk about that．And I know that old Mr Wright has some lovely wood for the Squire's coffin—he's kept it for him for years．'ei
'Well，'said Dr Hall，'those are the Squire's wishes，so I'm told，so that's what we must do．You must get the grave dug and everything ready by ten o'clock tomorrow night．Tell Wright that we shall need some lights．'
'Very well，sir．If those are the orders，I must do my best，'said Wickem．'Shall I send the women from the village to prepare the body？'
'No，Wickem．That was not mentioned，'said the priest． 'No doubt Mr Joseph will send for them if he wants them． You have enough work to do without that．Good night，Wick- em．'He paused．'I was just writing out the year's burials in the church records．I didn't think that I'd have to add Squire Bowles'name to them．'
The Squire's burial took place as planned．All the villagers and a few neighbours were present，and the Squire's stepson Joseph walked behind the body as it was carried to the church- yard．In those days nobody expected the Squire's wife to come to the burial．The Squire had no family except his wife and stepson，and he had left everything to his wife．
But what was everything？The land，house，furniture，pictures，and sliver were all there，but no money was found． This was very strange．Squire Bowles was quite a rich man；he received plenty of money from his land every year，his lawyers were honest，but still there was no money．The Squire had not been mean with his money．His wife had all she needed，he sent Joseph to school and university，and he lived well．But still he earned more money than he spent．Where was it？
Mrs Bowles and her son searched the house and grounds several times but found no money．They could not understand it． They sat one evening in the library discussing the problem for the twentieth time．
'You've been through his papers again，Joseph，have you？' asked the mother．
'Yes，Mother，and I've found nothing．'
'What was he writing the day before he died，do you know？ And why was he always writing to Mr Fowler in Gloucester？'
'You know he had some strange ideas about what happens to a person's soul when he dies．He was writing to Mr Fowler about it but he didn't finish the letter．Here，I'll read it to you．
He fetched some papers from the Squire's writing table and began to read．
My dear friend，
You will be interested to hear about my latest studies， though I am not sure how accurate they are．One writer says that for a time after death a man's soul stays close to the places he knew during life—so close，in fact，that he can be called to speak to the living