法蘭克福的耳環(huán)

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1、EAR-RINGS FROM FRANKFURT Do you have any brothers or sisters?They can sometims make your life very difficult.If they are younger than you,then the are always getting into trouble and needing your help. And if you know something bad about a person, it is difficult to forget it. ' Once a thief,alway

2、s a thief, ' people say.But is that true? Does one mistanke make a person bad for ever?Can ’ t people change? Jennifer Walton is a nerse.She is quiet and careful and sensible, but she has a young brother,Richard.Richard is not careful or sensible.He is always borrowing money,he never keeps a job f

3、or long,he ’ s been in trouble with the police.Jennifer worries about him a lot.And when one day the police come asking questions about him,Jennifer fears the worst. 1 A night out at Maxim ' s Jennifer looked at the clock on the waiting-room wall.Nearly half-past eight.The light was still on in D

4、octor Gibon ' s room.I ' m going to be late,she said toherself,why doesn ' t he hurry up? The evening surgery was always busy on Thursdays but tonight was worse than usual. She quickly put the newspapers in a cupboard. Then she took off her white coat and locked in in the cupboard too.She was tur

5、ning off the lights when someone rang the front doorbell.Oh no,not another patient,not at this hour.She ran to the door and opened it.Outside it was dark but she could see a man, his hands deep in hid pockets.He moved his head and the light fell on his face. 'Richard! ' she cried in surprise. ' Wha

6、t are you doing here? ’ 'Can I come in for a minute? ’ He did not wait for an answer but pushed past her and went inside.Jennifer turned to him.She was usually pleased when Richard called,but this was the wrong time. ‘I' m sorry, but you can ' t stay.i must hurry.i ' m meeting my fried Claire fo

7、r dinner and …'She stopped.It was Richard ' s eyes —they looked tired and worried. What s the matter? she asked. Just then Dr Gibson called from his room. ' Did I hear the doorbell,Nurse?Was it another patient? ’ 'No,it ' s only my brother Richard, ' she called back. She turned back to Rich

8、ard. 'Is something wrong? ’ she asked again. He shook his head. 'I' mfine, ' he said. ' It ' s just …well,I had some rouble at work. ' 'Trouble?' 'It was nothing,really.I said something to my boss and he didn ’ t like it.He got angry with me and …and in the end he told me to go.So I ' ve lost my

9、job. Oh Richard,not again! Why do you do these things? ’ Jennifer was beginning to fell cross with him. 'And now you have no money,is that it? ’ 'Take it easy,Jenny.I don' t need very much.Only twenty pounds. I ’ ll pay you back next week— really I will. ' He put his hand on her arm. 'You can do t

10、hat for me,can ’ t you? Just twenty pounds.It ’ s for a present. Yes,I know, I know. A present for a very special girl — like the last one.And the one before. ' Jennifer knew her young brother well and she was often angry with him,but she could never say no to him.She oened her bag,took out some mo

11、ney and gave it to him. ' But remember,I want it back next week. ' Richard smiled andd put his arm around his sister. 'Thanks,Jenny.This is differrent.Really!She ' s very very special.But you' re in a hurry so I ' ll go now.' ‘Don' t forge, ' she called after him. 'Next week.Twenty pounds. Maxim

12、' s restaurant was busy— young men and women from offices ,several older people,a group of students,and a few theatre people.Jennifer looked aroud for her friend.Claire usually sat near the window but tonight she was not there.Somebody was having a party and all the tables on that side were full.The

13、n Jennifer heard Claire ' s voice behind her. ' Did you get lost? I ’ ve been here for hours. ’ 'I know I ' m late, ' Jennifer said, 'and I am sorry.kToday has been really busy.The last patient didn ’ t leave until eight-thirty.And then I had a visit from Richard.He wanted to borrow some money.He a

14、lways wants to borrow money. They went to an empty table.A waiter came up to them and took their orders.At the moment there was a cheer from the party beside the window.An older man in a light grey suit was standing up.He spoke for a few minutes and the held up his glass.All the others stood up,

15、 and looked at a young girl with large gold ear-rings,who was sitting in the chair next to him.Everyone was laughing,and then they began to sing 'Happy birthday to you' .They were all looking at the girl,but she herself just sat there without a smile on her face.The song came to and end,and there

16、was another loud cheer and more laughing and shouting.Someone called out 'Twenty-one today,twenty one today …',and this time everyone in the restaurant sang too. Suddenly there was a loud crash.Then someone screamed and a woice shouted, ' Bring a towel —quickly. ' The man in the grey suit was lyin

17、g across the table.He was holding his face,which was red with blood.On the table there was broken glass. Someone said in loud voice, What happened—Did he fall? ' Several people were speaking at the same time. ' It ' s his heart,you know…' ‘Joe' s been in and out of hospital for years …' '… h

18、is head hit those glasses '. The manwas still lying across the table.Jennifer jumped up,and both she and Claire ran over to him. 'We re nurses, ' said Jennifer. 'Can we help?’ There was a cut on the side of the man s face.It was deep and he was losing a lot of blood.A waiter ran up with a towel.J

19、ennifer took it and held it to the cut.The man s mouth was open and he was making strange noises. 'He needs a doctor.We ' ll take him, ' Claire replied. They helped the man outside and put him in Claire ' s car.Jennifer jumped in beside him and they drove off.She was still holding the towel to the

20、 man' s face.The blood was not coming so fast now and he was beginnig to feel a little better. 'Where…where are we going? ' he asked. 'Are you taking me home? 'Just stay there and don ' t speak, ' Jennifer told him. 'You fell and hurt yourself.You ' ll be all right,but you must see a doctor. We '

21、ll be at the hospital in a few minutes. ’ At the word ' hospital ' the man immediately tried to sit up. ' No,no, ' he said angrily, 'I don' t need to go to hospital.I ’ m feeling better now.Just take me home.And who are you? ’ "I m a nurse, ' Jennifer told him, 'And you need to see a doctor.we re

22、 nearly there now.Just sit still — and stop talking. ' But the man was feeling stronger now and he would not be quiet.He pulled at Jennifer ' s arm and said loudly, 'I don ' t need a doctor.It ' s just a small cut on my face.I m all right now.Take me home! When Jennifer did not answer him,he sai

23、d in a quieter voice. 'Comeon now- listen to me. I ' m feeling fine, really I am. There s no need to take me to hospital.They ll want to keep methere —they always do,because of my bad heart.You see,I have to meet some business people the day after tomorrow — it ' s very important.So just stop the c

24、ar and I can get a taxi home. By now the car was at the door of the hospital.A nurse came to meet them and while Claire told her about and the accident,Jennifer helped the man out of the car.He said something angrily to the nurse,but after a few seconds he went with her into the hospital.Jennife

25、r Claire drove away. 'What a difficult man! said Claire crossly. _ , _ you re very you, ’ Jennifer No “Thank you for your help ” or kind Some people never say thank said. 'Don' t worry about it. When they got back to Maxim ' s, a police car was standing outside,with its blue lig

26、ht on.There was a small group of people around the door.Jennifer pushed through them,Claire behind her.They tried to go inside. A policeman moved forward and put up his arm. 'You' ll have to wait here, ' he told them. 'But we ordered dinner ???and we haven ' t eaten yet, ’ said Claire. But the p

27、oliceman was not listening to them.He was looking through the glass door.Something was happening inside and people were moving about.Then oneof Maxim ' s waiters opened the door and two policemen came out.they were holding a young girl between them.It was the girl from the birthday party,the girl

28、with the unhappy face and the expensive gold ear — rings.The police pushed her into the back of their acr and drove away quickly. Jennifer and Claire looked at each other.What an evening!They waited two or three minutes,but the restaurant door was closed now and the policeman was standing in front

29、 of it again. Neither of them felt hungry any more.They walked slowly towards the car.Claire was the first to speak. 'Comeon,Jenny,let ' s enjoy ourselves —we re having a night out. ' Jennifer did not speak. Claire went on, 'Do you remember Maxim' s little song on Tv? ' She began to sing: Come

30、where the music ’ s wonderful, Come where the food is fine. Let ’ s all meet at Maxim ’ s, We ll have a wonderful time. she said. She stopped.Jennifer was not pleased. 'All this is not really my idea of a wonderful time, ‘I ' m tired and I wanted a nice quiet evening,a good meal,and an early n

31、ight. ' 'Come on, ' Claire replied. 'Let' s go to another restaurant. ' 'No,let ' s leave it till next week. I ' ll just walk home now.' They said goodbye.Claire got into her car and called,See you next week,then. ' Jennifer walked slowly home.She felt unhappy and worried —worried about her you

32、ng brother,richard.She remembered his visit to the sugery earlier that evening.He was always in and out of jobs,and never had any money.A year ago he had a little trouble with the police,but Richard did not worry about it.He never worried about anything! He just laughed,and came to Jennifer to ask f

33、or more money.both their parents were dead,and there were no other brothers or sisters.So Jennifer, fifteen years older than Richard,worried about her brother a lot. She went past a jewellery shop with its lights on,and stopped to look in the window for a minute.She saw some ear-rings and then reme

34、mbered the gold ear-rings on the girl at Maxim' s.They were large and looked very expensive —and they looked all wrong next to that small unhappy face. Where did she get them?Jennifer smiled to herself.Perhaps the police were asking that question now 。 A visit from the police Jennifer did not s

35、leep well that night.She woke up feeling tired and unhappy.When she arrived at Dr Gibson ' s surgery, she looked into the waiting — room.It was nearly full.Another busy morning,she said to herself.Just then she heard the doctor ' s car outside.He hurried in and went into his room. Three hours later

36、 he finished with his last patient.Jennifer brought a cup of coffee and put it on Dr Gibson ' s desk.He said thanks and she turned to go. 'Er - just a minute ,' he called after her, 'I want a word with you. ' He sounded a little cross. ’ There was a phone call for you this morning — About an hour

37、 ago.You were busy at the time so I answered it. 'Oh,who was it?' 'Let me see — I wrote it down somewhere. " He began to move the papers on his desk. ' She said that she was a friend of your brother ' s. 'My brother?But why did she want me? ' 'Ah,here it is. ' He gave Jennifer a piece of paper

38、.On it was a name —Wendy. ' She didn ' t leave a number.She ' ll call you again at home. ' Jennifer looked at the name.Wendy?...Wendy who?she asked herself. 'Thank you,Dr Gibson, ' she said. 'And tell her,please,no phone calls during surgery hours . ‘I ' msorry. It won' t happen again. ' Jennif

39、er wanted to explain that she did not know this wendy but decided not to.A few minutes later Dr Gibson shouted goodbye to her and Jennifer was alone.She knew a few of Richard ' s friends but nobody called Wendy.But Richard changed his girl friends as often as his shirts! Jennifer did not try to reme

40、mber all their names. * * At the end of the day Jennifer arrived at her flat and was going up the stairs when she heard voices above.Two men were standing outside her door.One of them came up to her. 'Miss Walton? ' he asked. ' My name s Detective Barrett.I ' d like to ask you a few questions,pl

41、ease.Can we come in? ’ She turned the key in the lock and pushed open the door,and all three of them went inside and sat down. ‘It ' s about Mr Richard Walton.He ' s your brother,I think, Barrett began.He spoke softly but he had a hard voice,cold and unfriendly,and his light blue eyes never left J

42、ennifer ' s face. ' When did you last see him? Jennifer told him. 'And before that ' ‘I ' mnot sure —about three of four weeks ago.' Those light blue eyes were still on her.She was beginning to feel uncomfortable. 'You didn ' t see him last weekend,then? ’ no. 'Try to remember- did he come here

43、 last Saturday?In the evening? 'No.' ‘You' re sure?’ 'Yes,of course I' m sure.' Barrett ' s voice became a little louder. ' You didn ' t meet him in some other place?At the airport perhaps?’ 'No,I didn ' t.I haven ' t seen him for nearly a month,I tell you.Until last night,I mean. ' 'Last ni

44、ght …' Barrett said after her. 'Tell us more about last night.You took a man to hospital …from Maxim ' s restaurant. ' 'Yes.' 'A friend of yours? ’ 'I never saw him in my life before.He fell and hurt himself.They said that he had a bad heart so I went to the hospital with him.That ' s all. ' 'Y

45、ou never saw him before?You surprise me,Miss Walton. ' Barrett was watching her carefully. 'You didn t know that he was Mr Joe Kelly,Your brother ' s boss? 'No,I didn ' t.' 'Really? You didn ' t know him?Very strange,don ' t you think? ’ All these questions —she was feeling angry now.She stood u

46、p and went across to Barrett. ' Look, Detective Barrett,I ' m getting tired of this.What ' s it all about? You want me to answer your questions and you don ' t tell me why.What ' s the matter - I want to know.Is Richard in trouble? Barrett held up his hands. ' All right,take it , easy. He gave

47、 a little smile but his eyes were cold and he was still looking hard at Jennifer.The other detective said something quietly to Barrett.Then Barrett went on, 'Your brother —What do you know about his girl friend? ’ 'His girl friend? ' 'Yes,Wendy.He works with her at Joe Kelly ' s.' Wendy!The myste

48、ry telephone call at the surgery that morning! Jennifer tried to hide her surprise.She looked first at Barrett,then at the other man.Then she said coldly, 'Richard doesn ' t talk to me about his girl friends. ‘He' s told you about Wendy,I ' m sure.they ' re very friendly,the two of them.they went

49、 to Germany together. ' He turned to the other man. ' Last weekend,wasn t it? ’ The second detective moved a little nearer and spoke quietly to Barrett. 'she doesn' t know anything about this.You ' ll have to explain it to her. ' Barrett turned to Jennifer again. 'We re looking for some stolen je

50、wellery,from Germany.And we believe that your brother knows something about it.You won' t like this,Miss Walton,but your brother works for a criminal,a thief,and one of these day s he ' s going to find himself in trouble. ' 'But my brother lost his job yesterday.He told me last night.So he doesn '

51、 t work for this man any more. Barrett smiled. 'Perhaps he doesn' t … or perhaps he wants people to think that he doesn t work for Kelly. ' He went on. ' If you don' t want to see your brother in prison,tell him to keep away from Kelly. And from beautiful young girls like Wendy. Jennifer looked at

52、 him and said nothing. Barrett stood up. He looked at the other man and they both moved to the door.Jennifer followed and opened it for them. 'Good night,Miss Walton.Thanks for your help.' They walked to the top of the stairs.Jennifer waited for a few seconds,then went inside and closed the door.

53、 Oh Richard,she thought.What is happening? What are you doing? Why can ' t you stay out of trouble? She telephoned Richard ' s flat,but there was no answer.So she went to bed,and worried half the night about her young brother. The next day, Saturday,she worked only in the morning.When Dr Gibson '

54、 s surgery finished,she went home to hae lunch.Then she planned to go round to Richard ' s flat and talk to him.But when she got into her flat,the telephone was ringing.She ran across the room and answered it. 'Hello, is that Jennifer Walton? ' someone asked.It was a girl ' s voice. 'Yes,Jennifer

55、here. Who ' s speaking? ’ The caller was silent for a second or two ,then said, ' You don' t know me, but I ' m a friend of your brother ' s.Are you free just now? I need to see you.It ' s important. ' She went on quickly. 'I' mjust round the corner from your flat.Can I come up? I ' ll be there i

56、n therr minutes. And she put the phone down. Jennifer was waiting at the door when her visitor arrived.She looked at her in surprise.She knew that face.It was the young girl from Maxim ' s,but without the gold ear-rings today. The girl was also surprised. 'I saw you at Maxim' s on Thursday night,

57、 ' She said. 'You took Joe Kelly to hospital.Are you Jennifer,Richard s sister? "Yes, said Jennifer.She looked at her visitor,and began to put two and two together. 'And you must be Wendy. "Yes, the girl said. Jennifer stood back,and the girl went inside.They sat down nd Jennifer looked at the g

58、irl coldly.So this was Richard ' s girl friend ??? who worked for the criminal,JoeKelly.She had a beautiful little face and looked very unhappy,but Jennifer did not want to like her. What do you want to see me about? she asked. ‘it ' s difficult to explain, ' the girl began.She looked unhappily

59、at Jennifer ' s unfriendly face. ' You see,Richard has told me about you.He says that you' re very kind …You always help him.He gave me your phone numbers and said …'She stopped,and Jennifer waited. ' He said that I could ask you for help.' Jennifer smiled to herself.Always the kind big sister,she

60、thought. She looked at the girl ' s small,worried face. 'Well,go on,then, ' she said more kindly. 'Tell me all about it. I hope that Richard ’ s not in trouble.' 'You see,I work for Joe Kelly, ' Wendy began.She talked for a long time,and Jennifer listened carefully. This was Wendy s story. 3 wend

61、y ' s story Kelly is not a nice man, and I ve never liked him. I ' ve worked for him for a year now.My father got the job for me — he told me to work hard and not to ask questions.Kelly often gets angry,and when he' s angry,he shouts at everyone and his face goes very red. I' m afraid of him,but I

62、 don ' t want to lose my job.I need the money and it ’ s not easy to find another job. Richard started work at Kelly ’ s about a month ago.We' re good friends,but we don ' t talk much about our jobs.Nobody at Kelly ' s talks about the work.We don' t really know what his business is.He has two garag

63、es in the town and he buys and sells old cars.But he also buys and sells a lot of other things,too —furniture,01d pictures,jewellery.I think that some of these things are stolen, but I don' t ask questions. Ten days ago Kelly called me into his office.I stood there and waited.He began to say somet

64、hing to me, but he stopped and looked down at his papers.Then he took out his diary and opened it. 'Wendy,what are you doing next weekend? ’ ‘I' m not sure,Mr Kelly. ' 'How would you like to go on a little business trip? I ' ll pay you for it,Of course. ' This surprised me,and I did not reply imm

65、eddiately.Then I said, 'A business trip,Mr Kelly?' 'Yes,to germany ??? just for the day.It isn ' t a difficult job but it ' s important.What do you say? ’ I did not know much about Mr Kelly ’ s business,but ded know that there was something strange about these journeys to other countries.They happ

66、ened every two or three months,and after them there were secret meetings in the office,often late in the evening.i decided that I did not want to go. 'But …but I ' ve never been to Germany.Don ' t you think …well.perhaps you can ask one of the others.' ‘I ' m asking you,Wendy.I said that it was important and I want you to do it. I began to say something but he was still speaking. 'I have friends in Frankfurt and they want to send me some things.They ll give you three small boxes, like egg b