登陆注册
26128200000042

第42章

"Yes, it's pretty poor fishing," mused the colonel, when Garrigan had gone off to engage in a game of billiards with some insistent friends, whose advent the detective was thankful for, as he wanted to be alone.He was gregarious by nature, but there were times when he had to be alone, and it was because of this trait in his nature that he had taken up with the rod and reel, becoming a disciple of Izaak Walton.

Until dusk began to fall, changing the character of the throngs on the avenue, the colonel lingered in his easy chair before the broad, plate windows.And then, as the electric lights began to sparkle, as had the diamonds on some of the over-dressed women in the afternoon, he arose and started out.

"Will you be dining here, sir?" asked one of tke stewards.

"Mr.Garrigan asked me to inquire, sir, and, if you were, to say that he would appreciate it if you would be his guest.""Thank him for me, and tell him I can't stay." And the colonel, tossingaside the cigar which had gone out and been frequently relighted, soon found himself ****** a part of the avenue's night throng.

It was a warm summer evening-altogether too warm to be in New York when one had the inclination and means to be elsewhere, but the colonel, in spite of the fact that he had been in a hurry to leave the club, seemed to find no occasion for haste now.

He sauntered along, seemingly without an object, though the rather frequent consultations he made of his watch appeared to indicate otherwise.Finally, he seemed either to have come to a sudden decision or to have noted the demise of the time he was trying to kill, for with a last quick glance at his timepiece he put it back into his pocket, and, turning a corner where there was a taxicab stand, he entered one of the vehicles and gave an order to the chauffeur.

"Columbia College-yes, sir!" and the driver looked rather oddly at the figure of the colonel.

"Wonder what he teaches, and what he's going up there this time of night for?" was the mental comment of the chauffeur."Maybe they have evening classes, but this guy looks as though he could give em a post- graduate course in poker."Colonel Ashley sat back in the corner of the cab, glad of the rather long ride before him.He scarcely moved, save when the sway or jolt of the vehicle tossed him about, and he sat with an unlighted cigar between his teeth.

"Yes," he murmnred once, "pretty poor fishing.I might better have stayed where I was.Well, I'll go back to-morrow."Leaving the taxicab, the colonel made his way along the raised plaza on which some of the college buildings front, and turned into the faculty club, where he stayed for some time.When he came out, having told his man to wait, he bore under his arm a package which, even to the casual observer, contained books.

"Pennsylvania station," was the order he gave, and again he sat back in the corner of the cab, scarcely glancing out of the window to note the busy scenes all about him.

It was not until he had purchased his ticket and was about to board thelast Jersey Shore train, to take him back to the `scene of the death of Horace Carwell, that Colonel Ashley, as he caught sight of a figure in the crowd ahead of him, seemed galvanized into new life.

For a moment he gazed at a certain man, taking care to keep some women with large hats between the object of his attention and himself.And then, as he made sure of the identity, the colonel murmured:

"Poor fishing did I say?Well, it seems to me it's getting better."He looked at his watch, made a rapid calculation that showed him he had about five minutes before the train's departure, and then he hurried off to his right and down the stairs that led to the lavatories.

It was Colonel Robert Lee Ashley, as Bruce Garrigan had seen him at the Fifth Avenue club, who entered one of the pay compartments where so many in-coming and out-going travelers may, for the modest sum of ten cents, enjoy in the railroad station a freshening up by means of soap, towels and plenty of hot water.

But it was a typical Southern politician, with slouch hat, long frock coat, a moustache and goatee, who emerged from the same private wash- room a little later, carrying a small, black valise.

"I don't like to do this," said Colonel Ashley, ****** sure the spirit gum had set, so his moustache and goatee would not come off prematurely, "but I have to.This fishing is getting better, and I don't want any of the fish to see me."Then he went down the steps to the train that soon would be whirling him under the Hudson river, along the Jersey meadows, and down to the cool shore.He passed through the string of coaches until he came to one where he found a seat behind a certain man.Into this vantage point the colonel, looking more the part than ever, slumped himself and opened his paper.

"Yes, the fishing is getting better - decidedly better," he mused."I shouldn't wonder but what I got a bite soon."

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 心理医生

    心理医生

    她,一生追求挚爱,视知己如命,她热爱音乐,却选择心理专业,她将他的大学生活点亮;他,爱他所爱,敬他所敬,恨他所恨,他是音乐系的高材生,却成为了她第一个治疗对象。
  • 炫丽人生之幻境成谜

    炫丽人生之幻境成谜

    人在世间就像住客栈一样,等天亮了就都散去了,短短的人生所以有很多不必太执着了。对于杨书浩这一生许多奇妙境遇也只有他自己能悟出个中因果。时光穿梭如闪电,世事也似苦酸甜,品味细阅看官来,道出沧桑不孤独。
  • 总裁的落跑娇妻

    总裁的落跑娇妻

    在秦萱萱小的时候父母离婚后,她和母亲与后爸生活在了一起。童年不幸的遭遇让她有着和同龄人不一样的经历,她非常喜欢小孩,但不是却不想结婚,不想重蹈当年母亲的覆辙。在某次聚会上,她邂逅了顾家少爷顾邵林。因为从小对男人的不感冒,在不小心冲撞了顾邵林之后,秦萱萱只是简单的说了一句对不起。身为一个顾家的少爷,对于秦萱萱这种蛮不讲理的女孩是完全没有抵抗力的。于是,顾邵林决定想要追求秦萱萱。
  • 幽兰魔幻世界

    幽兰魔幻世界

    命运的意外安排就是如此残酷,古老的魔法,威严的帝国文明,顶尖的科技水平,在漫画中才会出现的中世纪村落。可是在这些美好事物的背后却充满了,帝国的阶级压迫、背叛、两大智慧种族之间的明争暗斗…直到魔兽之战的爆发。三年懂得如何生存,五年历练,十年异世流浪,二十年游历三大帝国,四十年铸就魔法界的辉煌震撼,五十年屹立在魔法世界的顶峰,一百四十年如同流星般陨落……即使被这个世界的黑暗侵染,生命被敌人终结,也不会忘记曾经逝去的誓言以及那永不抹去的记忆。一定要回到属于我们的世界……
  • 七年离索

    七年离索

    情路难,不在水,不在山,只在人情反复间。
  • 漫威龙神

    漫威龙神

    中学体育教师齐继获得系统穿越到了漫威的世界,但他还是个教师,只不过神秘的系统和龙的血统让他变得神秘起来,齐继:你先跑,我追你,如果我,追到你我就把你嘿嘿嘿。
  • 农民维权必读

    农民维权必读

    本书聚焦于普通群体的权利的维护,从普法的角度着眼,从现行的法律规定着手,从日常生活中我们所熟悉的一个个场景切入,通过一系列我们并不陌生的案例,以通俗的语言向普通群体宣示了权利保护方面的法律制度,它为普通群众正当表达诉求找到一种最为经济、最为便捷的解决“问题”的办法。本书主要介绍了涉农法律法规以及老百姓财产权、人身权、工伤权益、民事侵权损害索赔权、合同权、民事诉讼权利等权利的维护,并配有简洁明了的诉求流程图,是一本很具特色的普法适用读物。
  • 虚无圣轮

    虚无圣轮

    “主宰”转世,逆转混沌。—吸纳命运,掌源泉源。—一世轮回,一界之轮。当源魂到来,当源系即将崩溃之时,“主宰”觉醒了从未有过的记忆,于是故事开始了。
  • 欧巴,撒拉嘿呦

    欧巴,撒拉嘿呦

    林熙夕是一名三流明星,长得漂亮却很二,专接一些打酱油的角色,当然,主要能力不够。而韩哲阳却是内地的小天王,唱歌,演戏样样精通,更重要的是长得还帅,唯一的缺点就是太沉默寡言。一次电视剧的拍摄,让这对活宝相遇,擦出一系列火花。故事会很精彩,相信我。
  • 苍澜山

    苍澜山

    临安城的北边有做叫沧澜的山,有人说那是座仙山,也有人说山上住着精怪。但是谁也不知道是真是假,只是远远看过去,山上常年云雾缭绕,好像似有那么几分仙气。苍澜山上的花妖寂寥的生命中总有那么几个点缀,那些点缀太过耀眼,耀眼的燃烧了她们的荒芜和寂寥。