4. Lí kám bô hoat-tō͘, Ralph?
In tng-teh ōe-sian ê sî, Ben Prince mā iô-iô pái-pái kiâⁿ ji̍p lâi, chhiú-kut khòe tio̍h, kek bô-sū-lâng ùi lân-kan ê phāng khòaⁿ hiòng lāi-té. I kā kūi-tâi-oân kóng i bô boeh chhòng siáⁿ; i kan-ta sī teh tán chi̍t-ê i bat ê lâng.
Hut-jiân-kan, cha-bó͘-lâng tiong-kan hoat-chhut chi̍t/nn̄g siaⁿ ê chiam-kiò, jiân-āu ū chi̍t-chūn jiáu-tāng. Tī tōa-lâng bô chù-ì ê tiong-kan, May, hit-ê káu-hòe ê chă-gín-á, sńg kah oa̍h thiàu-thiàu, soah kā Agatha koaiⁿ tī kim-khò͘ lāi. Yi koh koaiⁿ mn̂g-chhòaⁿ, chūn tùi-hō chūn-pôaⁿ, chiàu chhiūⁿ yi khòaⁿ tio̍h Adams Ss só͘ chò ê án-ne.
Lāu gîn-hâng-ka chhiong khì hōaⁿ chhiú-pèⁿ, tī hia khiú chi̍t-khùn. "Mn̂g phah bē khui," i nauh kóng. "Sî-cheng iáu bōe chūn hoat-tiâu, hō-má-só mā iáu bōe siat-tēng."
Agatha yin lāu-bú koh sit-sim tōa-siaⁿ ki-ki kiò.
"Sssh!" Adams Ss kóng, ná gia̍h teh chùn ê chhiú. "Ta̍k-ê seng an-chēng lo̍h-lâi. Agatha!" i chīn-la̍t tōa siaⁿ kiò. "Thiaⁿ góa kóng." Tī hit-khùn ê an-chēng tiong-kan, in kan-ta ē-tàng thiaⁿ tio̍h hit-ê gín-á tī o͘-àm ê kim-khò͘ lāi-bīn, in-ūi khióng-pò͘ ê kiaⁿ-hiâⁿ, hoat-chhut ê bî-bî chiam-kiò siaⁿ.
"Góa ê pó-pòe sim-koaⁿ íⁿ-á!" lāu-bú hoah thiⁿ kiò tē. "Yi ē kiaⁿ sí tī lāi-bīn! Kín khui-mn̂g! Oh, kā lòng hō͘ khui! Lín ta̍k-ê kám bô hoat-tō͘ ah?"
"Tio̍h kàu Little Rock chiah ū lâng thang khui hit-ê mn̂g," Adams Ss kóng, siaⁿ-im khū-khū chùn. "Thiⁿ ah! Spencer, lán boeh án-chóaⁿ hó? Hit-ê gín-á -- yi bô khó-lêng tī lāi-té tán siuⁿ kú. Lāi-bīn ê khong-khì bô chē, iû-kî, yi ē in-ūi tio̍h-kiaⁿ khí kiù-kin."
Agatha ê lāu-bú, taⁿ lia̍h-kông ah, kō͘ siang-chhiú kòng kim-khò͘ ê mn̂g. Ū-lâng kiàn-gī iōng hóe-io̍h. Annabel oa̍t ǹg Jimmy, tōa-lúi ba̍k-chiu chhiong-móa kan-khó͘, m̄-koh iáu bōe choa̍t-bōng. Tùi chi̍t-ê cha-bó͘ lâi kóng, yi só͘ chông-pài ê cha-po͘ ê lêng-le̍k, sī bô chò bē-kàu ê tāi-chì.
"Lí kám mā bô hoat-tō͘, Ralph -- chhì khòaⁿ-māi leh, kám m̄-hó?"
I ê ba̍k-chiu kim-kim khòaⁿ yi, chhùi-kak kek chi̍t-ê kî-koài, jiû-hô ê bî-chhiò.
"Annabel," i kóng, "kā lí kòa hit-lúi mûi-kùi hō͘ góa, hó bô?"
Yi kiông boeh bô siong-sìn ū thiaⁿ chheng-chhó i só͘ kóng ê ōe, tō kā pín tī heng-chêng ê hit-lúi mûi-kùi-m̂ pak lo̍h-lâi, khǹg tī i ê chhiú nih. Jimmy kín kā khǹg ji̍p-khì kah-á ê lak-tē-á nih, kā gōa-thò thǹg tiāu, koh kā chhiú-ńg pih koân. Tī chit-ê tōng-chok tiong-kan, Ralph D. Spencer siau-sit khì, iá Jimmy Valentine tāi-thè i ê tē-ūi.
"Lín ta̍k-ê lóng lī mn̂g khah hn̄g chi̍t-ē," i án-ne kán-té bēng-lēng.
I kā chhiú-thê-siuⁿ khǹg tī toh-á téng, kā phah-khui khǹg pêⁿ. Chū hit-sî khai-sí, i ká-ná bô ì-sek tio̍h piⁿ-á ū jīm-hô lâng. I kā hiah-ê kim sih-sih, kî-koài ê ke-si thâu-á kín-kín pâi chéng-chê, ná chhiūⁿ i kang-chok ê sî án-ne, ná khin-siaⁿ ka-tī kho͘ si-á. Ta̍k-ê tiām chiuh-chiuh, tāng to bô tāng, bē-su khì hông pàng-hû-á.
Chi̍t hun-cheng liáu-āu, Jimmy kah-ì ê chǹg-á tng-teh sūn-sūn chǹg ji̍p kǹg mn̂g. Cha̍p hun-cheng liáu-āu -- phah-phòa ka-tī ê chha̍t-thau kì-lo̍k -- i tháⁿ-lī mn̂g-chhòaⁿ, kā mn̂g phah-khui.
Agatha kiông-boeh hūn khì, m̄-koh yin lāu-bú í-keng an-choân kā phō chhut-lâi.
Jimmy Valentine kā gōa-thò chhēng hó, kiâⁿ chhut lân-kan, ǹg chêng mn̂g khì. Ná teh kiâⁿ ê sî, i ká-ná ū thiaⁿ tio̍h hn̄g-hn̄g ê siaⁿ teh kiò "Ralph!" M̄-koh i chi̍t-tiám-á to bô tiû-tû.
Mn̂g-kháu khiā chi̍t-ê tōa hàn-chháu ê cha-po͘ cha̍h tio̍h i ê lō͘.
"Halo, Ben!" Jimmy kóng, iáu sī kòa chi̍t-ê kî-koài ê chhiò-iông. "Koh sio-tú ah, kám m̄-sī? Hó lah, lán lâi khì. Góa m̄-chai, taⁿ kám iáu-ū siáⁿ-mih bô kāng."
Iá m̄-koh, Ben Price soah tōng-chok koài-kî.
"Góa siūⁿ, lí hut m̄-tio̍h khì ah, Spencer Ss," i kóng. "Góa bô jīn-ûi góa bat lí. Lí ê bé-chhia tī gōa-kháu tán lí, kám m̄-sī?"
Chū án-ne Ben Price oa̍t-sin, bān-bān kiâⁿ ǹg ke-lō͘ khì.
[Soah]
- -
4. 你敢無法度, Ralph?
In tng-teh 話仙 ê 時, Ben Prince mā 搖搖擺擺行入來, 手骨 khòe 著, 激無事人 ùi 欄杆 ê 縫看向內底. 伊 kā 櫃台員講伊無欲創啥; 伊干焦是 teh 等一个伊 bat ê 人.
忽然間, 查某人中間發出一兩聲 ê 尖叫, 然後有一陣擾動. Tī 大人無注意 ê 中間, May, 彼个九歲 ê chă 囡仔, 耍 kah 活跳跳, 煞 kā Agatha 關 tī 金庫內. 她 koh 關門閂, 捘對號捘盤, 照像她看著 Adams Ss 所做 ê án-ne.
老銀行家衝去扞手柄, tī hia 搝一睏. "門拍袂開," 伊 nauh 講. "時鐘猶未捘發條, 號碼鎖 mā 猶未設定."
Agatha 姻老母 koh 失心大聲 ki-ki 叫.
"Sssh!" Adams Ss 講, ná 攑 teh 顫 ê 手. "逐个先安靜落來. Agatha!" 伊盡力大聲叫. "聽我講." Tī 彼睏 ê 安靜中間, in 干焦會當聽著彼个囡仔 tī 烏暗 ê 金庫內面, 因為恐怖 ê 驚惶, 發出 ê 微微尖叫聲.
"我 ê 寶貝心肝穎仔!" 老母喝天叫地. "她會驚死 tī 內面! 緊開門! Oh, kā 挵予開! 恁逐个 敢無法度 ah?"
"著到 Little Rock 才有人通開彼个門," Adams Ss 講, 聲音 khū-khū 顫. "天 ah! Spencer, 咱欲按怎好? 彼个囡仔 -- 她無可能 tī 內底等 siuⁿ 久. 內面 ê 空氣無濟, 尤其, 她會因為著驚起糾筋."
Agatha ê 老母, 今掠狂 ah, kō͘ 雙手摃金庫 ê 門. 有人建議用火藥. Annabel 越 ǹg Jimmy, 大蕊目睭充滿艱苦, m̄-koh 猶未絕望. 對一个查某來講, 她所崇拜 ê 查埔 ê 能力, 是無做袂到 ê 代誌.
"你敢 mā 無法度, Ralph -- 試看覓 leh, 敢毋好?"
伊 ê 目睭金金看她, 喙角 kek 一个奇怪, 柔和 ê 微笑.
"Annabel," 伊講, "kā 你掛彼蕊玫瑰予我, 好無?"
她強欲無相信有聽清楚伊所講 ê 話, tō kā 鉼 tī 胸前 ê 彼蕊玫瑰莓剝落來, 囥 tī 伊 ê 手 nih. Jimmy 緊 kā 囥入去䘥仔 ê lak 袋仔 nih, kā 外套褪掉, koh kā 手䘼 pih 懸. Tī 這个動作中間, Ralph D. Spencer 消失去, iá Jimmy Valentine 代替伊 ê 地位.
"恁逐个 lóng 離門較遠一下," 伊 án-ne 簡短命令.
伊 kā 手提箱囥 tī 桌仔頂, kā 拍開囥平. 自彼時開始, 伊 ká-ná 無意識著邊仔有任何人. 伊 kā hiah-ê 金 sih-sih, 奇怪 ê 家私頭仔緊緊排整齊, ná 像伊工作 ê 時 án-ne, ná 輕聲 ka-tī kho͘ si-á. 逐个恬 chiuh-chiuh, 動 to 無動, 袂輸去 hông 放符仔.
一分鐘了後, Jimmy 佮意 ê 鑽仔 tng-teh 順順鑽入鋼門. 十分鐘了後 -- 拍破 ka-tī ê 賊偷記錄 -- 伊挺離門閂, kā 門拍開.
Agatha 強欲昏去, m̄-koh 姻老母已經安全 kā 抱出來.
Jimmy Valentine kā 外套穿好, 行出欄杆, ǹg 前門去. Ná teh 行 ê 時, 伊 ká-ná 有聽著遠遠 ê 聲 teh 叫 "Ralph!" M̄-koh 伊一點仔 to 無躊躇.
門口徛一个大漢草 ê 查埔閘著伊 ê 路.
"Halo, Ben!" Jimmy 講, 猶是掛一个奇怪 ê 笑容. "Koh 相拄 ah, 敢毋是? 好 lah, 咱來去. 我毋知, 今敢猶有啥物無仝."
Iá 毋過, Ben Price 煞動作怪奇.
"我想, 你 hut 毋著去 ah, Spencer Ss," 伊講. "我無認為我 bat 你. 你 ê 馬車 tī 外口等你, 敢毋是?"
自 án-ne Ben Price 越身, 慢慢行 ǹg 街路去.
[煞]
- -
4.
While they were thus engaged Ben Price sauntered in and leaned on his elbow, looking casually inside between the railings. He told the teller that he didn't want anything; he was just waiting for a man he knew.
Suddenly there was a scream or two from the women, and a commotion. Unperceived by the elders, May, the nine-year-old girl, in a spirit of play, had shut Agatha in the vault. She had then shot the bolts and turned the knob of the combination as she had seen Mr. Adams do.
The old banker sprang to the handle and tugged at it for a moment. “The door can't be opened,” he groaned. “The clock hasn't been wound nor the combination set.”
Agatha's mother screamed again, hysterically.
“Hush!” said Mr. Adams, raising his trembling hand. “All be quite for a moment. Agatha!” he called as loudly as he could. “Listen to me.” During the following silence they could just hear the faint sound of the child wildly shrieking in the dark vault in a panic of terror.
“My precious darling!” wailed the mother. “She will die of fright! Open the door! Oh, break it open! Can't you men do something?”
“There isn't a man nearer than Little Rock who can open that door,” said Mr. Adams, in a shaky voice. “My God! Spencer, what shall we do? That child—she can't stand it long in there. There isn't enough air, and, besides, she'll go into convulsions from fright.”
Agatha's mother, frantic now, beat the door of the vault with her hands. Somebody wildly suggested dynamite. Annabel turned to Jimmy, her large eyes full of anguish, but not yet despairing. To a woman nothing seems quite impossible to the powers of the man she worships.
“Can't you do something, Ralph—try, won't you?”
He looked at her with a queer, soft smile on his lips and in his keen eyes.
“Annabel,” he said, “give me that rose you are wearing, will you?”
Hardly believing that she heard him aright, she unpinned the bud from the bosom of her dress, and placed it in his hand. Jimmy stuffed it into his vest-pocket, threw off his coat and pulled up his shirt-sleeves. With that act Ralph D. Spencer passed away and Jimmy Valentine took his place.
“Get away from the door, all of you,” he commanded, shortly.
He set his suit-case on the table, and opened it out flat. From that time on he seemed to be unconscious of the presence of any one else. He laid out the shining, queer implements swiftly and orderly, whistling softly to himself as he always did when at work. In a deep silence and immovable, the others watched him as if under a spell.
In a minute Jimmy's pet drill was biting smoothly into the steel door. In ten minutes—breaking his own burglarious record—he threw back the bolts and opened the door.
Agatha, almost collapsed, but safe, was gathered into her mother's arms.
Jimmy Valentine put on his coat, and walked outside the railings toward the front door. As he went he thought he heard a far-away voice that he once knew call “Ralph!” But he never hesitated.
At the door a big man stood somewhat in his way.
“Hello, Ben!” said Jimmy, still with his strange smile. “Got around at last, have you? Well, let's go. I don't know that it makes much difference, now.”
And then Ben Price acted rather strangely.
“Guess you're mistaken, Mr. Spencer,” he said. “Don't believe I recognize you. Your buggy's waiting for you, ain't it?”
And Ben Price turned and strolled down the street.
--
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