高中英语课外阅读：The 39 Steps第三十九级台阶

学必求其心得，业必贵于专精学必求其心得，业必贵于专精学必求其心得，业必贵于专精The39Steps第三十九级台阶byJohnBuchan约翰巴肯TheManWhoDiedIreturnedfromtheCityaboutthreeo'clockonthatMayafternoonprettywelldisgustedwithlife.IhadbeenthreemonthsintheOldCountry,andwasfedupwithit.IfanyonehadtoldmeayearagothatIwouldhavebeenfeelinglikethatIshouldhavelaughedathim；buttherewasthefact。Theweathermademeliverish,thetalkoftheordinaryEnglishmanmademesick,Icouldn'tgetenoughexercise,andtheamusementsofLondonseemedasflatassoda—waterthathasbeenstandinginthesun.”RichardHannay，”Ikepttellingmyself,"youhavegotintothewrongditch，myfriend，andyouhadbetterclimbout.”ItmademebitemylipstothinkoftheplansIhadbeenbuildingupthoselastyearsinBulawayo。Ihadgotmypile--notoneofthebigones，butgoodenoughforme；andIhadfiguredoutallkindsofwaysofenjoyingmyself.MyfatherhadbroughtmeoutfromScotlandattheageofsix,andIhadneverbeenhomesince；soEnglandwasasortofArabianNightstome，andIcountedonstoppingtherefortherestofmydays。ButfromthefirstIwasdisappointedwithit.InaboutaweekIwastiredofseeingsights,andinlessthanamonthIhadhadenoughofrestaurantsandtheatresandrace—meetings。Ihadnorealpaltogoaboutwith,whichprobablyexplainsthings。Plentyofpeopleinvitedmetotheirhouses,buttheydidn’tseemmuchinterestedinme。TheywouldflingmeaquestionortwoaboutSouthAfrica，andthengetontotheirownaffairs.AlotofImperialistladiesaskedmetoteatomeetschoolmastersfromNewZealandandeditorsfromVancouver，andthatwasthedismallestbusinessofall.HerewasI，thirty—sevenyearsold，soundinwindandlimb,withenoughmoneytohaveagoodtime，yawningmyheadoffallday.Ihadjustaboutsettledtoclearoutandgetbacktotheveld,forIwasthebestboredmanintheUnitedKingdom.ThatafternoonIhadbeenworryingmybrokersaboutinvestmentstogivemymindsomethingtoworkon，andonmywayhomeIturnedintomyclub—-ratherapot-house,whichtookinColonialmembers.Ihadalongdrink，andreadtheeveningpapers.TheywerefulloftherowintheNearEast,andtherewasanarticleaboutKarolides,theGreekPremier.Iratherfanciedthechap.Fromallaccountsheseemedtheonebigmanintheshow;andheplayedastraightgametoo,whichwasmorethancouldbesaidformostofthem。IgatheredthattheyhatedhimprettyblacklyinBerlinandVienna，butthatweweregoingtostickbyhim，andonepapersaidthathewastheonlybarrierbetweenEuropeandArmageddon。IrememberwonderingifIcouldgetajobinthoseparts。ItstruckmethatAlbaniawasthesortofplacethatmightkeepamanfromyawning。Aboutsixo'clockIwenthome，dressed，dinedattheCafe'Royal,andturnedintoamusic-hall.Itwasasillyshow，allcaperingwomenandmonkey-facedmen，andIdidnotstaylong。ThenightwasfineandclearasIwalkedbacktotheflatIhadhirednearPortlandPlace.Thecrowdsurgedpastmeonthepavements,busyandchattering,andIenviedthepeopleforhavingsomethingtodo.Theseshop-girlsandclerksanddandiesandpolicemenhadsomeinterestinlifethatkeptthemgoing。IgavehalfacrowntoabeggarbecauseIsawhimyawn;hewasafellow-sufferer.AtOxfordCircusIlookedupintothespringskyandImadeavow.IwouldgivetheOldCountryanotherdaytofitmeintosomething;ifnothinghappened，IwouldtakethenextboatfortheCape.MyflatwasthefirstfloorinanewblockbehindLanghamPlace。Therewasacommonstaircase，withaporterandaliftmanattheentrance,buttherewasnorestaurantoranythingofthatsort，andeachflatwasquiteshutofffromtheothers。Ihateservantsonthepremises，soIhadafellowtolookaftermewhocameinbytheday。Hearrivedbeforeeighto'clockeverymorningandusedtodepartatseven，forIneverdinedathome。IwasjustfittingmykeyintothedoorwhenInoticedamanatmyelbow。Ihadnotseenhimapproach，andthesuddenappearancemademestart。Hewasaslimman，withashortbrownbeardandsmall,gimletyblueeyes.Irecognizedhimastheoccupantofaflatonthetopfloor,withwhomIhadpassedthetimeofdayonthestairs。"CanIspeaktoyou?"hesaid。”MayIcomeinforaminute?”Hewassteadyinghisvoicewithaneffort，andhishandwaspawingmyarm。Igotmydooropenandmotionedhimin。Nosoonerwasheoverthethresholdthanhemadeadashformybackroom，whereIusedtosmokeandwritemyletters.Thenheboltedback。"Isthedoorlocked?”heaskedfeverishly，andhefastenedthechainwithhisownhand.”Iamverysorry，”hesaidhumbly.”It’samightyliberty，butyoulookthekindofmanwhowouldunderstand。I'vehadyouinmymindallthisweekwhenthingsgottroublesome。Say，willyoudomeagoodturn?”"I'lllistentoyou,"Isaid。"That'sallI'llpromise。”Iwasgettingworriedbytheanticsofthisnervouslittlechap.Therewasatrayofdrinksonthetablebesidehim，fromwhichhefilledhimselfastiffwhisky-and-soda.Hedrankitoffinthreegulps，andcrackedtheglassashesetitdown。”Pardon，”hesaid,"I’mabitrattledto-night.Yousee,Ihappenatthismomenttobedead。”Isatdowninanarm-chairandlitmypipe。"Whatdoesitfeellike？"Iasked。IwasprettycertainthatIhadtodealwithamadman。Asmileflickeredoverhisdrawnface。"I’mnotmad--yet.Say，sir，I’vebeenwatchingyou,andIreckonyou’reacoolcustomer。Ireckon，too，you'reanhonestman，andnotafraidofplayingaboldhand。I'mgoingtoconfideinyou.Ineedhelpworsethananymaneverneededit，andIwanttoknowifIcancountyouin.””Getonwithyouryam，”Isaid，”andI'lltellyou.”Heseemedtobracehimselfforagreateffort,andthenstartedonthequeerestrigmarole。Ididn’tgetholdofitatfirst，andIhadtostopandaskhimquestions.Buthereisthegistofit：—-HewasanAmerican,fromKentucky,andaftercollege,beingprettywelloff，hehadstartedouttoseetheworld.Hewroteabit，andactedaswarcorrespondentforaChicagopaper，andspentayearortwoinSouth—EasternEurope。Igatheredthathewasafinelinguist,andhadgottoknowprettywellthesocietyinthoseparts.HespokefamiliarlyofmanynamesthatIrememberedtohaveseeninthenewspapers。Hehadplayedaboutwithpolitics,hetoldme,atfirstfortheinterestofthem，andthenbecausehecouldn'thelphimself。Ireadhimasasharp，restlessfellow，whoalwayswantedtogetdowntotherootsofthings。Hegotalittlefurtherdownthanhewanted.IamgivingyouwhathetoldmeaswellasIcouldmakeitout。AwaybehindalltheGovernmentsandthearmiestherewasabigsubterraneanmovementgoingon,engineeredbyverydangerouspeople。Hehadcomeonitbyaccident;itfascinatedhim;hewentfurther，andthenhegotcaught.Igatheredthatmostofthepeopleinitwerethesortofeducatedanarchiststhatmakerevolutions，butthatbesidethemtherewerefinancierswhowereplayingformoney。Aclevermancanmakebigprofitsonafallingmarket，anditsuitedthebookofbothclassestosetEuropebytheears.Hetoldmesomequeerthingsthatexplainedalotthathadpuzzledme——thingsthathappenedintheBalkanWar，howonestatesuddenlycameoutontop，whyalliancesweremadeandbroken,whycertainmendisappeared，andwherethesinewsofwarcamefrom。TheaimofthewholeconspiracywastogetRussiaandGermanyatloggerheads。WhenIaskedWhy,hesaidthattheanarchistlotthoughtitwouldgivethemtheirchance。Everythingwouldbeinthemelting—pot,andtheylookedtoseeanewworldemerge。Thecapitalistswouldrakeintheshekels,andmakefortunesbybuyingupwreckage.Capital，hesaid,hadnoconscienceandnofatherland.Besides,theJewwasbehindit，andtheJewhatedRussiaworsethanhell。"Doyouwonder?”hecried。”Forthreehundredyearstheyhavebeenpersecuted,andthisisthereturnmatchforthepogroms。TheJewiseverywhere,butyouhavetogofardownthebackstairstofindhim。TakeanybigTeutonicbusinessconcern.IfyouhavedealingswithitthefirstmanyoumeetisPrincevonundzuSomething，anelegantyoungmanwhotalksEton-and—HarrowEnglish.Buthecutsnoice.Ifyourbusinessisbig，yougetbehindhimandfindaprognathousWestphalianwitharetreatingbrowandthemannersofahog.HeistheGermanbusinessmanthatgivesyourEnglishpaperstheshakes.Butifyou’reonthebiggestkindofjobandareboundtogettotherealboss,tentooneyouarebroughtupagainstalittlewhite—facedJewinabath—chairwithaneyelikearattlesnake。Yes，sir，heisthemanwhoisrulingtheworldjustnow，andhehashisknifeintheEmpireoftheTsar，becausehisauntwasoutragedandhisfatherfloggedinsomeone—horselocationontheVolga。"IcouldnothelpsayingthathisJew-anarchistsseemedtohavegotleftbehindalittle。”Yesandno，"hesaid.”Theywonuptoapoint，buttheystruckabiggerthingthanmoney，athingthatcouldn’tbebought,theoldelementalfightinginstinctsofman.Ifyou'regoingtohekilledyouinventsomekindofflagandcountrytofightfor，andifyousurviveyougettolovethething。Thosefoolishdevilsofsoldiershavefoundsomethingtheycarefor,andthathasupsettheprettyplanlaidinBerlinandVienna。Butmyfriendshaven’tplayedtheirlastcardbyalongsight.They’vegottentheaceuptheirsleeves，andunlessIcankeepaliveforamonththeyaregoingtoplayitandwin.””ButIthoughtyouweredead,"Iputin."_i_Morsjanuavitae_i_"hesmiled.（Irecognizedthequotation:itwasaboutalltheLatinIknew。)”I’mcomingtothat,butI'vegottoputyouwiseaboutalotofthingsfirst。Ifyoureadyournewspaper，IguessyouknowthenameofConstantineKarolides？"Isatupatthat，forIhadbeenreadingabouthimthatveryafternoon。"Heisthemanthathaswreckedalltheirgames.Heistheonebigbraininthewholeshow，andhehappensalsotobeanhonestman.Thereforehehasbeenmarkeddownthesetwelvemonthspast.Ifoundthatout--notthatitwasdifficult，foranyfoolcouldguessasmuch。ButIfoundoutthewaytheyweregoingtogethim,andthatknowledgewasdeadly.That'swhyIhavehadtodecease。"Hehadanotherdrink,andImixeditforhimmyself,forIwasgettinginterestedinthebeggar。”Theycan’tgethiminhisownland,forhehasabodyguardofEpirotesthatwouldskintheirgrandmothers。Butonthe15thdayofJuneheiscomingtothiscity。TheBritishForeignOfficehastakentohavinginternationaltea—parties，andthebiggestofthemisdueonthatdate。NowKarolidesisreckonedtheprincipalguest,andifmyfriendshavetheirwayhewillneverreturntohisadmiringcountrymen.”"That’ssimpleenough,anyhow，”Isaid.”Youcanwarnhimandkeephimathome。""Andplaytheirgame？"heaskeds