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E-Books (english-e-reader), What the Shepherd Saw (2)

What the Shepherd Saw (2)

'Well, it is a lovely night for meetings.'

'Yes, it is a lovely night.'

The Duke got down from his horse and stood by her side. 'Why were you listening for me at this time of night?' he asked.

'There is a strange story, which I must tell you at once. But why did you come a night sooner than you said? I am sorry, I really am!' (shaking her head playfully), because I had ordered a special dinner for your arrival tomorrow, and now it won't be a surprise at all.'

The Duke did not look at his wife. 'What is this strange story that you wish to tell me?' he asked quietly.

'It is this. You know my cousin Fred Ogbourne? We used to play together when we were children, and he - well, he loved me, I think. I told you about it, you know.'

'You have never told me of it before.'

'Oh, then it was your sister - yes, I told her about -it. Well, I haven't seen him for many years, and of course I'd forgotten all about his feeling for me. So I was surprised to receive a letter from him yesterday. I can remember what he wrote.

'My dear cousin Harriet,' the letter said. 'If my life and future mean anything to you at all, I beg you to do what I ask. Meet me at eleven o'clock tonight by the ancient stones on Marlbury Downs. I cannot say more, except to beg you to come. I will explain everything when I see you. Come alone. You have all my happiness in your hands. Yours, Fred.'

'That was his letter. Now I realize that it was a mistake to go, but at the time I only thought he must be in trouble, and with not a friend in the world to help him. So I went to Marlbury Downs at eleven o'clock. Wasn't it brave of me?'

'Very,' replied the Duke coldly.

'When I got there, I saw he was no longer the boy that I remembered, but a full-grown man and an officer. I was sorry I had come. What he wanted, I don't know - perhaps just a meeting with me. He held me by the hand and waist, and refused to let me go until I promised to meet him again. And in the end I did, because he spoke very warmly to me and I was afraid of him in that lonely place. Then I escaped - I ran home - and that's all. Of course, I never meant to meet him there again. But this evening I thought, "Perhaps he'll come to the house when he realizes I'm not coming to meet him," and that's why I couldn't sleep. But you are so silent!'

'I have had a long journey.'

They moved on towards the front entrance of the house. 'I have thought of something, but perhaps you won't like it,' she said. 'I think he will wait there again tomorrow night. Shall we go to the hill tomorrow together - just to see if he is there? And tell him he must not try to meet me like this?'

'Why should we see if he is there?' asked her unsmiling husband.

'Because I think we should try to help him. Poor Fred! He will listen to you, if you talk to him. It is wrong of him to think of me in that way, but he is clearly very miserable.'

By this time they had reached the front entrance and rung the bell. A man came to take the horse away, and the Duke and Duchess entered the house.

CHAPTER THREE

Third night

The next night Bill Mills was left alone again to take care of the sheep. He tried bravely not to think of what lay behind the Devil's Door, but without much success. So he was almost pleased as well as surprised when the Duke and Duchess appeared near the hut at about eleven o'clock. He watched and listened through the little window in his hut.

'I tell you, he did not think it was worth coming again!' the Duke said, reluctant to walk further. 'He is not here, so turn round and come home.'

'He doesn't seem to be here, it's true. Perhaps something has happened to him? Oh poor Fred! I do hope he is all right!'

The Duke said quickly, 'Oh, he probably has some other meeting to go to.'

'I don't think so.'

'Or perhaps he has found it too far to come.'

'Nor is that probable.'

'Then perhaps he thought it was better not to come.'

'Yes, perhaps. Or he may be here all the time, hiding behind the Devil's Door. Let's go and see - and surprise him!'

'Oh, he's not there.'

'Perhaps he's lying very quietly in the grass there, because of you,' she said, smiling.

'Oh, no - not because of me!'

'Come, then. Dearest, you're as reluctant as a schoolboy tonight! I know you're jealous of poor Fred, but you have no reason to be!'

'I'll come! I'll come! Say no more, Harriet!' And together they crossed the grass towards the stones.

The boy came out of the hut to see what happened next, but the Duchess saw him moving in the darkness.

'Ah, I see him at last!' she said.

'See him!' cried the Duke. 'Where?'

'By the Devil's Door. Don't you see him?' She laughed. 'Ah, my poor lover-cousin, you'll be in trouble now!'

'It's not him!' said the Duke in horror. 'It can't be him!'

'No, it isn't. It's too small for him. It's a boy.'

'Ah, I thought so! Boy, come here.'

Fearfully, young Bill came closer.

'What are you doing here?' asked the Duke.

'Taking care of the sheep, your Grace.'

'Ah, you know me! Do you keep sheep here every night?'

'Most nights in winter, your Grace.'

'And what have you seen here tonight or last night?' asked the Duchess. 'Anyone waiting or walking about?'

The boy was silent.

'He has seen nothing,' said her husband quickly, staring angrily at the boy. 'Come, let us go. The air is cold.'

When they had gone, young Bill went back to the sheep. But he was not alone for long. Half an hour later the Duke's heavy steps were heard again. His wife was not with him.

'Listen, boy,' he said. 'The Duchess asked you a question, and I want you to answer it. Have you seen anything strange these nights, when you've been watching your sheep?'

'Your Grace, I'm just a poor, stupid boy, and what I see, I don't remember.'

'I ask you again,' said the Duke, holding the boy's shoulder with a strong hand and staring down into his frightened face. 'Did you see anything strange here last night?'

'Oh, your Grace, don't kill me!' cried the boy, falling to the ground. 'I've never seen you walking here, or riding here, or waiting for a man, or pulling a dead body along!'

'Ah!' said the Duke coldly. 'It is good to know that you have never seen those things. Now, which do you prefer - to see me do those things now, or to keep a secret all your life?'

'Keep a secret, your Grace!'

'You are sure you can do it?'

'Oh, try me, your Grace!'

'Very well. And now, do you like being a shepherd?'

'Not at all.' Tis lonely work for a boy like me, who sees ghosts everywhere. And my master sometimes beats me.'

'I'll give you new clothes, and send you to school, and make a man of you. But you must never say you've been a shepherd boy. The moment that you forget yourself, and speak of what you've seen on the hills - this year, next year, or twenty years from now - I will stop helping you, and you'll come down to being a poor shepherd again.'

'I'll never speak of it, your Grace!'

'Come here.' The Duke took the boy to the Devil's Door. 'Now make a promise in front of these ancient stones. The ghosts that live in this place will find you and punish you if you ever speak of your life as a shepherd boy or what you saw then. Promise to keep this secret!'

His face as white as a sheet, the boy promised.

Then they went down into the valley, the Duke holding the boy's hand. That night the boy slept at Shakeforest Towers, and the next day he was sent away to school.

CHAPTER FOUR

Fourth night

On a winter evening many years later, a well-dressed man of business sat in his office at Shakeforest Towers. He had come a long way from the shepherd boy that he once was, but he did not seem happy with his comfortable life. He appeared older than his age, and he looked about him restlessly.

He stood up and left the office, and went to a room in another part of the house, where he knocked, and entered. The Duchess had been dead for some years, and the Duke was now a thin old man with white hair.

'Oh - Mills?' he said. 'Sit down. What is it?'

'Old times have come to life again, your Grace.'

'Which old times are they?'

'That Christmas week twenty-two years ago, when the Duchess's cousin asked her to meet him on Marlbury Downs. I saw the meeting, and I saw much more than that.'

'Do you remember a promise made by a shepherd boy?'

'I do. That boy has kept the promise all his life.'

'Then I wish to hear no more about it.'

'Very well. But the secret may soon come out. Not from me, because I'm grateful for what you've done for me. There was great excitement when Captain Ogbourne disappeared, but I spoke not a word, and his body was never found. For twenty-two years I've wondered what you did with him. Now I know. This afternoon I went up on the hill, and did some digging. I saw enough to know that something still lies there in a hole behind the stones.'

'Mills, do you think the Duchess guessed?'

'She never did, I'm sure, to the day of her death.'

'What made you think of going there this afternoon?'

'Something that happened today, your Grace. The oldest man in the village has died - the old shepherd.'

'Dead at last - how old was he?'

'Ninety-four.'

'And I'm only seventy. I have twenty-four more years!'

'He was my master when I was a shepherd boy, your Grace. And he was on the hill the second night. He was there all the time, but none of us knew that.'

'Ah!' said the Duke, looking fixedly at Mills. 'Go on!'

'When I heard he was dying, it made me think of the past, and that's why I went up on the hills. Now the villagers are saying that before he died, he confessed a secret to the vicar - a secret that he'd kept for your Grace, about a crime on Marlbury Downs more than twenty years ago.'

'That's enough, Mills. I'll see the vicar early tomorrow.'

'What will you do, your Grace?'

'Stop his tongue for twenty-four years, until I am dead at ninety-four, like the old shepherd. Go home now, Mills.'

Mills left the room and walked to his own house, where he lived a lonely, friendless life. But he could not sleep, and at midnight he looked out at the colourless moon, and decided to walk up to Marlbury Downs again. Once on the hill, he placed himself where the shepherd's hut had stood. No sheep or lambs were there that winter, but the Devil's Door stood high and white as ever, with dark shadows behind it.

Suddenly he realized he was not alone. A figure in white was moving silently towards the stones. It was the Duke himself, in his long nightshirt, walking in his sleep. He went straight to the covered hole, and dug with his hands like an animal. Then he got up, sighed, and went back down the hill. Mills followed him and saw him enter Shakeforest Towers.

What the Shepherd Saw (2) Was der Hirte gesehen hat (2) Lo que vio el pastor (2) Ce que le berger a vu (2) Cosa vide il pastore (2) 羊飼いが見たもの (2) 양치기가 본 것 (2) Co widział pasterz (2) O que o pastor viu (2) Що побачив пастух (2)

'Well, it is a lovely night for meetings.' — Что ж, прекрасная ночь для встреч.

'Yes, it is a lovely night.'

The Duke got down from his horse and stood by her side. Герцог слез с лошади и встал рядом с ней. 'Why were you listening for me at this time of night?' — Почему ты подслушивал меня в это время ночи? he asked.

'There is a strange story, which I must tell you at once. But why did you come a night sooner than you said? Но почему ты пришел на ночь раньше, чем сказал? I am sorry, I really am!' Es tut mir leid, es tut mir wirklich leid! Я сожалею, я действительно сожалею! (shaking her head playfully), because I had ordered a special dinner for your arrival tomorrow, and now it won't be a surprise at all.' (игриво качая головой), потому что к твоему завтрашнему приезду я заказала особенный обед, и теперь это вовсе не будет сюрпризом.

The Duke did not look at his wife. Герцог не смотрел на свою жену. 'What is this strange story that you wish to tell me?' — Что это за странная история, которую вы хотите мне рассказать? he asked quietly.

'It is this. — Вот это. You know my cousin Fred Ogbourne? Вы знаете моего кузена Фреда Огборна? We used to play together when we were children, and he - well, he loved me, I think. I told you about it, you know.'

'You have never told me of it before.' — Ты никогда не говорил мне об этом раньше.

'Oh, then it was your sister - yes, I told her about -it. — О, тогда это была твоя сестра — да, я ей об этом рассказал. Well, I haven't seen him for many years, and of course I'd forgotten all about his feeling for me. Ну, я не видел его много лет и, конечно, совсем забыл о его чувствах ко мне. So I was surprised to receive a letter from him yesterday. Поэтому я был удивлен, получив вчера от него письмо. I can remember what he wrote.

'My dear cousin Harriet,' the letter said. 'If my life and future mean anything to you at all, I beg you to do what I ask. Wenn dir mein Leben und meine Zukunft irgendetwas bedeuten, bitte ich dich, meiner Bitte nachzukommen. — Если моя жизнь и будущее вообще что-то значат для тебя, умоляю тебя, сделай то, о чем я прошу. Meet me at eleven o'clock tonight by the ancient stones on Marlbury Downs. I cannot say more, except to beg you to come. Mehr kann ich nicht sagen, außer dass ich Sie bitte, zu kommen. Я не могу сказать больше, кроме как умолять вас прийти. I will explain everything when I see you. Я все объясню, когда увижу тебя. Come alone. Приходи один. You have all my happiness in your hands. Du hast mein ganzes Glück in deinen Händen. В твоих руках все мое счастье. Yours, Fred.'

'That was his letter. Now I realize that it was a mistake to go, but at the time I only thought he must be in trouble, and with not a friend in the world to help him. Теперь я понимаю, что уходить было ошибкой, но тогда я думал только о том, что он должен быть в беде, и у него нет друга в мире, который мог бы ему помочь. So I went to Marlbury Downs at eleven o'clock. Wasn't it brave of me?' Разве это не храбрость с моей стороны?

'Very,' replied the Duke coldly. — Очень, — холодно ответил герцог.

'When I got there, I saw he was no longer the boy that I remembered, but a full-grown man and an officer. Als ich dort ankam, sah ich, dass er nicht mehr der Junge war, den ich in Erinnerung hatte, sondern ein erwachsener Mann und ein Offizier. «Когда я добрался туда, я увидел, что это уже не тот мальчик, которого я помнил, а взрослый мужчина и офицер. I was sorry I had come. Я пожалел, что пришел. What he wanted, I don't know - perhaps just a meeting with me. Чего он хотел, я не знаю, может быть, просто встречи со мной. He held me by the hand and waist, and refused to let me go until I promised to meet him again. Он держал меня за руку и за талию и отказывался отпускать до тех пор, пока я не пообещала встретиться с ним снова. And in the end I did, because he spoke very warmly to me and I was afraid of him in that lonely place. И в конце концов я это сделал, потому что он очень тепло говорил со мной, и я боялся его в этом уединенном месте. Then I escaped - I ran home - and that's all. Потом убежал - побежал домой - и все. Of course, I never meant to meet him there again. Конечно, я никогда не собирался встречаться с ним там снова. But this evening I thought, "Perhaps he'll come to the house when he realizes I'm not coming to meet him," and that's why I couldn't sleep. Но сегодня вечером я подумал: «Может быть, он придет в дом, когда поймет, что я не иду встречать его», и поэтому я не мог уснуть. But you are so silent!' Но ты так молчишь!

'I have had a long journey.' «Я проделал долгий путь».

They moved on towards the front entrance of the house. Они двинулись к главному входу в дом. 'I have thought of something, but perhaps you won't like it,' she said. Ich habe mir etwas überlegt, aber vielleicht gefällt es Ihnen nicht", sagte sie. — Я кое-что придумала, но, может быть, вам это не понравится, — сказала она. 'I think he will wait there again tomorrow night. — Думаю, завтра вечером он снова будет ждать там. Shall we go to the hill tomorrow together - just to see if he is there? Пойдем завтра вместе на холм - просто посмотреть, там ли он? And tell him he must not try to meet me like this?' И скажи ему, что он не должен пытаться встретиться со мной вот так?

'Why should we see if he is there?' — Зачем нам смотреть, там ли он? asked her unsmiling husband. — спросил ее неулыбчивый муж.

'Because I think we should try to help him. Poor Fred! Бедный Фред! He will listen to you, if you talk to him. Он будет слушать вас, если вы поговорите с ним. It is wrong of him to think of me in that way, but he is clearly very miserable.' Es ist falsch von ihm, so über mich zu denken, aber er ist offensichtlich sehr unglücklich. Неправильно с его стороны думать обо мне так, но он явно очень несчастен.

By this time they had reached the front entrance and rung the bell. К этому времени они подошли к главному входу и позвонили в звонок. A man came to take the horse away, and the Duke and Duchess entered the house.

CHAPTER THREE

Third night

The next night Bill Mills was left alone again to take care of the sheep. На следующую ночь Билл Миллс снова остался один заботиться об овцах. He tried bravely not to think of what lay behind the Devil's Door, but without much success. Он храбро пытался не думать о том, что скрывается за Дьявольской дверью, но без особого успеха. So he was almost pleased as well as surprised when the Duke and Duchess appeared near the hut at about eleven o'clock. So war er fast ebenso erfreut wie überrascht, als der Herzog und die Herzogin gegen elf Uhr in der Nähe der Hütte erschienen. Так что он был почти рад, а также удивлен, когда герцог и герцогиня появились около хижины около одиннадцати часов. He watched and listened through the little window in his hut. Он смотрел и слушал через маленькое окошко в своей хижине.

'I tell you, he did not think it was worth coming again!' — Говорю вам, он не думал, что стоит приходить снова! the Duke said, reluctant to walk further. — сказал герцог, не желая идти дальше. 'He is not here, so turn round and come home.' — Его здесь нет, так что поворачивайся и иди домой.

'He doesn't seem to be here, it's true. — Кажется, его здесь нет, это правда. Perhaps something has happened to him? Oh poor Fred! I do hope he is all right!' Надеюсь, с ним все в порядке!

The Duke said quickly, 'Oh, he probably has some other meeting to go to.' Герцог быстро сказал: «О, у него, вероятно, есть еще какое-то собрание».

'I don't think so.' — Я так не думаю.

'Or perhaps he has found it too far to come.' «Или, возможно, он нашел это слишком далеко, чтобы прийти».

'Nor is that probable.' — Это маловероятно.

'Then perhaps he thought it was better not to come.' — Тогда, возможно, он решил, что лучше не приходить.

'Yes, perhaps. Or he may be here all the time, hiding behind the Devil's Door. Или он может быть здесь все время, прячась за Дверью Дьявола. Let's go and see - and surprise him!' Пойдем посмотрим — и удивим его!

'Oh, he's not there.' — О, его там нет.

'Perhaps he's lying very quietly in the grass there, because of you,' she said, smiling. — Может быть, он из-за тебя очень тихо лежит в траве, — сказала она, улыбаясь.

'Oh, no - not because of me!' — О нет, не из-за меня!

'Come, then. Dearest, you're as reluctant as a schoolboy tonight! Дорогая, ты сегодня неохотно, как школьник! I know you're jealous of poor Fred, but you have no reason to be!' Я знаю, что ты завидуешь бедному Фреду, но у тебя нет на то причин!

'I'll come! I'll come! Я приду! Say no more, Harriet!' Ни слова больше, Харриет! And together they crossed the grass towards the stones. И вместе они пересекли траву к камням.

The boy came out of the hut to see what happened next, but the Duchess saw him moving in the darkness. Мальчик вышел из хижины, чтобы посмотреть, что будет дальше, но Герцогиня увидела, как он двигается в темноте.

'Ah, I see him at last!' she said.

'See him!' 'Увидеть его!' cried the Duke. 'Where?'

'By the Devil's Door. Don't you see him?' Разве ты не видишь его? She laughed. 'Ah, my poor lover-cousin, you'll be in trouble now!' — Ах, мой бедный кузен, теперь у тебя будут неприятности!

'It's not him!' — Это не он! said the Duke in horror. — в ужасе сказал герцог. 'It can't be him!' — Это не может быть он!

'No, it isn't. It's too small for him. Это слишком мало для него. It's a boy.' Это мальчик.'

'Ah, I thought so! — А, я так и думал! Boy, come here.' Мальчик, иди сюда.

Fearfully, young Bill came closer. В страхе юный Билл подошел ближе.

'What are you doing here?' asked the Duke.

'Taking care of the sheep, your Grace.' — Забота об овцах, ваша милость.

'Ah, you know me! Do you keep sheep here every night?' Вы держите здесь овец каждую ночь?

'Most nights in winter, your Grace.' — Большинство ночей зимой, ваша светлость.

'And what have you seen here tonight or last night?' — А что вы видели здесь сегодня или прошлой ночью? asked the Duchess. 'Anyone waiting or walking about?' — Кто-нибудь ждет или ходит?

The boy was silent. Мальчик молчал.

'He has seen nothing,' said her husband quickly, staring angrily at the boy. — Он ничего не видел, — быстро сказал ее муж, сердито глядя на мальчика. 'Come, let us go. — Давай, пойдем. The air is cold.' Воздух холодный.

When they had gone, young Bill went back to the sheep. Когда они ушли, юный Билл вернулся к овцам. But he was not alone for long. Но он недолго был один. Half an hour later the Duke's heavy steps were heard again. Через полчаса снова послышались тяжелые шаги герцога. His wife was not with him. Жены с ним не было.

'Listen, boy,' he said. 'The Duchess asked you a question, and I want you to answer it. Have you seen anything strange these nights, when you've been watching your sheep?'

'Your Grace, I'm just a poor, stupid boy, and what I see, I don't remember.' «Ваша милость, я просто бедный, глупый мальчик, и что я вижу, я не помню».

'I ask you again,' said the Duke, holding the boy's shoulder with a strong hand and staring down into his frightened face. — Я спрашиваю вас еще раз, — сказал герцог, крепко держа мальчика за плечо и глядя в его испуганное лицо. 'Did you see anything strange here last night?'

'Oh, your Grace, don't kill me!' cried the boy, falling to the ground. 'I've never seen you walking here, or riding here, or waiting for a man, or pulling a dead body along!' — Я никогда не видел, чтобы ты шел сюда, или ехал верхом, или ждал человека, или таскал за собой мертвое тело!

'Ah!' said the Duke coldly. 'It is good to know that you have never seen those things. — Хорошо знать, что ты никогда не видел этих вещей. Now, which do you prefer - to see me do those things now, or to keep a secret all your life?' Итак, что вы предпочитаете — видеть, как я делаю все это сейчас, или хранить секреты всю жизнь?

'Keep a secret, your Grace!'

'You are sure you can do it?'

'Oh, try me, your Grace!'

'Very well. And now, do you like being a shepherd?' А теперь, тебе нравится быть пастухом?

'Not at all.' 'Нисколько.' Tis lonely work for a boy like me, who sees ghosts everywhere. Это одинокая работа для такого мальчика, как я, который повсюду видит призраков. And my master sometimes beats me.' А мой хозяин иногда бьет меня.

'I'll give you new clothes, and send you to school, and make a man of you. But you must never say you've been a shepherd boy. Но ты никогда не должен говорить, что ты был пастухом. The moment that you forget yourself, and speak of what you've seen on the hills - this year, next year, or twenty years from now - I will stop helping you, and you'll come down to being a poor shepherd again.' В тот момент, когда ты забудешь о себе и заговоришь о том, что видел в горах — в этом году, в следующем году или через двадцать лет, — я перестану тебе помогать, и ты снова станешь бедным пастухом. '

'I'll never speak of it, your Grace!'

'Come here.' 'Иди сюда.' The Duke took the boy to the Devil's Door. Герцог отвел мальчика к Вратам Дьявола. 'Now make a promise in front of these ancient stones. «Теперь дай обещание перед этими древними камнями. The ghosts that live in this place will find you and punish you if you ever speak of your life as a shepherd boy or what you saw then. Призраки, живущие в этом месте, найдут вас и накажут, если вы когда-нибудь расскажете о своей жизни пастушком или о том, что видели тогда. Promise to keep this secret!'

His face as white as a sheet, the boy promised. Его лицо белое, как полотно, пообещал мальчик.

Then they went down into the valley, the Duke holding the boy's hand. Затем они спустились в долину, герцог держал мальчика за руку. That night the boy slept at Shakeforest Towers, and the next day he was sent away to school. В ту ночь мальчик ночевал в Shakeforest Towers, а на следующий день его отправили в школу.

CHAPTER FOUR

Fourth night

On a winter evening many years later, a well-dressed man of business sat in his office at Shakeforest Towers. Зимним вечером много лет спустя хорошо одетый деловой человек сидел в своем кабинете в Shakeforest Towers. He had come a long way from the shepherd boy that he once was, but he did not seem happy with his comfortable life. Он прошел долгий путь от мальчика-пастушка, которым когда-то был, но, похоже, не был доволен своей удобной жизнью. He appeared older than his age, and he looked about him restlessly. Он казался старше своего возраста и беспокойно озирался по сторонам.

He stood up and left the office, and went to a room in another part of the house, where he knocked, and entered. Он встал, вышел из кабинета и прошел в комнату в другой части дома, куда постучал и вошел. The Duchess had been dead for some years, and the Duke was now a thin old man with white hair. Герцогиня уже несколько лет как умерла, а герцог превратился в худощавого старика с седыми волосами.

'Oh - Mills?' he said. 'Sit down. What is it?' Что это?'

'Old times have come to life again, your Grace.' — Старые времена снова ожили, ваша светлость.

'Which old times are they?' — Что это за старые времена?

'That Christmas week twenty-two years ago, when the Duchess's cousin asked her to meet him on Marlbury Downs. — В ту рождественскую неделю двадцать два года назад, когда двоюродный брат герцогини попросил ее встретиться с ним на Мальбери-Даунс. I saw the meeting, and I saw much more than that.' Я видел встречу, и я видел гораздо больше».

'Do you remember a promise made by a shepherd boy?' — Ты помнишь обещание, данное пастухом?

'I do. That boy has kept the promise all his life.' Этот мальчик сдержал обещание всю свою жизнь.

'Then I wish to hear no more about it.' — Тогда я не хочу больше об этом слышать.

'Very well. But the secret may soon come out. Но вскоре тайна может раскрыться. Not from me, because I'm grateful for what you've done for me. Не от меня, потому что я благодарен за то, что ты сделал для меня. There was great excitement when Captain Ogbourne disappeared, but I spoke not a word, and his body was never found. Es gab große Aufregung, als Kapitän Ogbourne verschwand, aber ich habe kein Wort gesagt, und seine Leiche wurde nie gefunden. Было очень волнительно, когда капитан Огборн исчез, но я не сказал ни слова, и его тело так и не было найдено. For twenty-two years I've wondered what you did with him. Двадцать два года я гадал, что ты с ним сделал. Now I know. This afternoon I went up on the hill, and did some digging. Heute Nachmittag bin ich auf den Hügel gegangen und habe ein wenig gegraben. Сегодня днем я поднялся на холм и немного покопался. I saw enough to know that something still lies there in a hole behind the stones.' Я видел достаточно, чтобы знать, что что-то все еще лежит там, в дыре за камнями.

'Mills, do you think the Duchess guessed?' Mills, glauben Sie, die Herzogin hat es erraten? — Миллс, вы думаете, герцогиня догадалась?

'She never did, I'm sure, to the day of her death.' «Я уверен, что она никогда этого не делала, до дня своей смерти».

'What made you think of going there this afternoon?' Wie kamen Sie auf die Idee, heute Nachmittag dorthin zu gehen? — Что заставило вас пойти туда сегодня днем?

'Something that happened today, your Grace. — То, что произошло сегодня, ваша светлость. The oldest man in the village has died - the old shepherd.' Умер самый старый человек в деревне — старый пастух.

'Dead at last - how old was he?' "Endlich tot - wie alt war er? — Наконец-то умер — сколько ему было лет?

'Ninety-four.'

'And I'm only seventy. — А мне всего семьдесят. I have twenty-four more years!' Ich habe noch vierundzwanzig Jahre!' У меня есть еще двадцать четыре года!

'He was my master when I was a shepherd boy, your Grace. And he was on the hill the second night. И он был на холме во вторую ночь. He was there all the time, but none of us knew that.' Он был там все время, но никто из нас этого не знал».

'Ah!' said the Duke, looking fixedly at Mills. — сказал герцог, пристально глядя на Миллса. 'Go on!' 'Продолжать!'

'When I heard he was dying, it made me think of the past, and that's why I went up on the hills. «Когда я услышал, что он умирает, это заставило меня вспомнить прошлое, и поэтому я поднялся на холмы. Now the villagers are saying that before he died, he confessed a secret to the vicar - a secret that he'd kept for your Grace, about a crime on Marlbury Downs more than twenty years ago.' Jetzt sagen die Dorfbewohner, dass er vor seinem Tod dem Pfarrer ein Geheimnis gestanden hat - ein Geheimnis, das er für Euer Gnaden gehütet hat, über ein Verbrechen in Marlbury Downs vor mehr als zwanzig Jahren. Теперь жители деревни говорят, что перед смертью он признался викарию в тайне — тайне, которую он хранил для вашей светлости, о преступлении в Мальбери-Даунс более двадцати лет назад.

'That's enough, Mills. I'll see the vicar early tomorrow.' Я встречусь с викарием завтра рано утром.

'What will you do, your Grace?' — Что вы будете делать, ваша милость?

'Stop his tongue for twenty-four years, until I am dead at ninety-four, like the old shepherd. — Заткни ему язык на двадцать четыре года, пока я не умру в девяносто четыре, как старый пастух. Go home now, Mills.'

Mills left the room and walked to his own house, where he lived a lonely, friendless life. Миллс вышел из комнаты и пошел к своему дому, где он жил одинокой жизнью без друзей. But he could not sleep, and at midnight he looked out at the colourless moon, and decided to walk up to Marlbury Downs again. Но он не мог заснуть, и в полночь он посмотрел на бесцветную луну и решил снова подняться на Мальбери-Даунс. Once on the hill, he placed himself where the shepherd's hut had stood. Оказавшись на холме, он расположился там, где раньше стояла пастушья хижина. No sheep or lambs were there that winter, but the Devil's Door stood high and white as ever, with dark shadows behind it. В ту зиму там не было ни овец, ни ягнят, но Дверь Дьявола стояла, как всегда, высокая и белая, с темными тенями за ней.

Suddenly he realized he was not alone. Внезапно он понял, что он не один. A figure in white was moving silently towards the stones. Фигура в белом бесшумно двигалась к камням. It was the Duke himself, in his long nightshirt, walking in his sleep. Es war der Herzog selbst, in seinem langen Nachthemd, der im Schlaf ging. Это был сам герцог в своей длинной ночной рубашке, идущий во сне. He went straight to the covered hole, and dug with his hands like an animal. Er ging direkt zu dem abgedeckten Loch und grub mit seinen Händen wie ein Tier. Он подошел прямо к закрытой яме и стал копать руками, как зверь. Then he got up, sighed, and went back down the hill. Dann stand er auf, seufzte und ging wieder den Hügel hinunter. Затем он встал, вздохнул и пошел обратно вниз по склону. Mills followed him and saw him enter Shakeforest Towers. Миллс последовал за ним и увидел, как он вошел в Башни Шейкфорест.