Tobermory

I t was a cold，rain－washed afternoon in late August．Lady Blemley and her guests were sitting round the teatable．Everyone was listening open－mouthed to Mr Cornelius Appin.

Although he was one of her guests，Lady Blemley did notknow Mr Appin well．She had invited him to stay at Blemley House because she had heard that he was clever．But until teatime that day he had not done or said anything clever．Hedid not play tennis，or sing，or make intelligent¹ conversation．But now Mr Appin was describing a most extraordinary² discovery³ and the other guests were listening with deep interest．'Are you telling us that you have found a way of teachinganimals to talk？'Sir Wilfrid was saying．'And our dear oldTobermory is your first successful student？'

'I have studied this problem for seventeen years，'saidMr Appin，'but I didn't have any real success until eight ornine months ago． Of course， I have studied thousands of animals，but recently I have worked only with cats．A cat，of course，is a wild animal who agrees to live with you．All catsare intelligent，but naturally some cats are more intelligent than others．When I met Tobermory a week ago，I realized at once that here was an extraordinarily⁴ intelligent cat，a veryspecial cat indeed．In Tobermory，I found the student I needed．With him I have succeeded in my plan．'

Nobody laughed，and nobody actually said'Rubbish'，al-though Clovis's lips⁶ moved silently…

'And have you really taught Tobermory，'asked MissResker，'to say and understand short，easy words？'

'My dear Miss Resker，'said Mr Appin patiently，'weteach little children and very slow，stupid adults in that way．But Tobermory is a most intelligent cat．He can speak Englishas well as you or I can．'

This time Clovis said'Rubbish！'aloud．

Sir Wilfrid was more polite，but it was clear that he didnot believe Mr Appin's story．

'Shall⁸ we bring the cat in here and hear him forourselves？'said Lady Blemley．

Sir Wilfrid went off to look for Tobermory．

'Mr Appin will try to be clever，'said Miss Resker happily，'but if we watch him carefully，we shall see his lips move．'

In a minute Sir Wiflrid returned， looking very excited．

'It's true，you know！'he said．'I found Tobermory sleeping in the smoking-room，and called out to him to come for his tea．He lifted his head and opened one eye．I said，“Come on，Toby，don't keep us waiting！”and he said calmly，“I'll come when I'm ready！”I couldn't believe my ears！'

The guests all started talking at once，while Mr Appin satsilently and looked very pleased with himself indeed．

Then Tobermory entered the room and calmly walkedover to the tea table． The conversation stopped．Nobody knewwhat to say to a talking cat．At last Lady Blemley spoke：

'Would you like some milk，Tobermory？'she asked in ahigh，unnatural voice．

'I don't mind if I do，'answered Tobermory．Lady Blemley's hand shook with excitement¹⁰ and some of the milkwent onto the carpet．

'Oh dear！I'm so sorry，'she said．

'I don't mind．It isn't my carpet，after all，'replied To－bermory.

There was another silence，then Miss Resker asked politely，'Did you find it difficult to learn English，Tobermory？'

Tobermory looked straight through her with his brightgreen eyes．Clearly，he did not answer questions that did notinterest him．

'What do you think of the intelligence¹³ of people？'askedMavis Pellington．

'Which people's intelligence？'asked Tobermory coldly.

'Well，my intelligence，for example，'said Mavis with alittle laugh．

'You make things very uncomfortable for me，'said Tobermory，although he did not look at all uncomfortable.'WhenLady Blemley wanted to invite you here，Sir Wilfrid was notpleased．“Mavis Pellington is the stupidest¹⁴ woman I know，”he said．“That's why I want to invite her，”Lady Blemleyreplied．“I want her to buy my old car， and she's stupidenough to do that．”'

'It isn't true！'cried Lady Blemley．'Don't believe him，Mavis！'

'If it isn't true，'said Mavis coldly，'why did you saythis morning that your car would be just right for me？'

Major Barfield did his best to help．He tried to start anew conversation．'How are you getting on with your littleblack and white lady friend in the garden？'he asked Tobermory.

Everybody realized at once that this was a mistake．

Tobermory gave him an icy¹⁵ look．'We do not usually discuss these things in polite company，'he said．'But I havewatched you a little since you have been in this house．I thinkperhaps you would not like me to discuss your lady friends.'

The Major's face became very red，and all the otherguests began to look worried and uncomfortable．What was Tobermory going to say next？

'Would you like to go down to the kitchen now，Tobermory，'asked Lady Blemley politely，'and see if the cook hasgot your dinner ready？'

'No，thank you，'said Tobermory．'I 've only just hadmy tea．I don't want to make myself sick．'

'Cats have nine lives，you know，'said Sir Wilfrid with alaugh．

'Possibly，'answered Tobermory．'But only one stomach．'

'Lady Blemley！'cried Mrs Cornett，'Don't send thatcat to the kitchen.He will talk about us to the cook！'

Everyone was very worried now．They remembered uncomfortably that Tobermory moved freely¹⁶ all over the houseand gardens，at all hours of the day and night. He could lookinto any of the bedrooms if he wanted to．What had he seen？What had he heard？Nobody's secrets were safe now.

'Oh，why did I come here？'cried Agnes Resker，whocould never stay silent⁷ for long．

'You know very well why you came here，'said Tobermory immediately．'You came for the food，of course．I heardyou talking to Mrs Cornett in the garden．You said that the Blemleys were terribly boring people，but they had an excel-lent cook．'

'You mustn't believe him！'cried Agnes．'I never saidthat，did I，Mrs Cornett？'

'Later，Mrs Cornett repeated¹⁸ your words to Bertie vanTahn，'said Tobermory．'She said，“That Resker woman willgo anywhere for four good meals a day，”and Bertie said—'

Just then Tobermory looked out of the window and sawthe doctor's big yellow cat crossing the garden．Immediatelyhe disappeared¹⁹ through the open window．

Everyone started talking at once，and Mr Appin foundhimself in a storm of angry questions．

'You must stop this at once，'everyone said to him.'What will happen if Tobermory teaches other cats to talk？We shall never have a moment's peace！'

'It's possible that he has taught the gardener²⁰'s cat，'replied Mr Appin thoughtfully，'but I don't believe he hashad time to teach any other cats．'

'Then，'said Mrs Cornett，'although Tobermory is avaluable cat，he and the gardener's cat must die．Don't youagree，Lady Blemley？'

'You're right，'said Lady Blemley sadly²².'My husbandand I love Tobermory—well，we did before this afternoon—but now，of course，he must die as soon as possible．''We will poison²³ his dinner，'said Sir Wilfrid，'and I willkill the gardener's cat myself．The gardener won't like it，but I'll say it has some kind of disease—'

'But what about my discovery？'cried Mr Appin．'What about all my years of work？Are you going to destroy my onlysuccessful student？'

'You can go and teach the cows on the farm，'said Mrs Cornett coldly，'or the elephants at the zoo．Elephants arevery intelligent，they tell me，and elephants don't hide behind chairs or under beds and listen to people's conversations．'Mr Appin knew when he was beaten．

Dinner that evening was not a success．Sir Wilfrid hadhad a difficult time with the gardener's cat and later with the gardener．Agnes Resker refused to eat anything，while Mavis Pellington ate her meal in silence．Everyone was waiting for Tobermory．A plate of poisoned²⁴ fish stood ready for him in thedining－room，but he did not come home．Nobody talked much，and nobody laughed．It was a most uncomfortable meal．

After dinner the Blemleys and their guests sat in the smoking－room．Everyone was quiet and worried and nobodywanted to play cards．At eleven o'clock the cook and the housekeeper²⁵ went to bed．They left the kitchen window openfor Tobermory as usual，but he did not come．

At two o'clock Clovis spoke：

'He won't come home tonight．He's probably in the newspaper office selling them his story．They'll love it．The story will be the excitement of the year．'

After that everyone went to bed，but nobody slept．

In the morning Tobermory had still not come home．

Breakfast was another quiet，uncomfortable meal．Then，half－way through the coffee，the gardener brought in Tobermory's blood-stained body．

'Look at his claws！'cried Clovis．'He's been fighting！'And there，on Tobermory's claws，was the yellow hair of the doctor's cat．

By lunchtime most of the guests had left Blemley House．Lady Blemley began to feel better．She took out her pen and paper and wrote a very angry letter to the doctor about the death of her valuable²¹ cat．

Tobermory was Mr Appin's only successful student．Afew weeks after Tobermory's death an elephant escaped²⁸ from the Dresden Zoo and killed an English visitor．

The zoo keeper²⁶ said that the elephant had always been acalm and gentle animal before．But suddenly it seemed to be－come very angry with the English visitor，who was talking toit．

The dead man's name was reported in the newspapers as Oppin，but his first name was Cornelius．

'If Appin was trying to teach the poor elephant to speak German，'said Clovis，'I'm not surprised it killed him．'

托博莫里

这是8月底一个寒冷的下午。布莱姆雷夫人和客人正坐在桌旁吃茶点。大家听了科尼利厄斯·阿普因先生的话都很吃惊。

虽然他是其中的一个客人，但是布莱姆雷夫人并不太了解阿普因先生。她只是听说他聪明，所以邀请他来布莱姆雷家。但那天直到喝茶的时候他还没有做或说任何聪明的事情。他没打网球、没唱歌也没说什么机智的话。但是现在阿普因先生正在描述一个极其特别的发现，其他客人正兴致勃勃地听着。

“你是说你找到了教动物说话的办法？”威尔弗雷德爵士说。“而且我们可爱的老托博莫里是你的第一个成功的学生？”

“我研究这个问题17年了，”阿普因先生说，“但是直到八九个月前我才真正成功了。当然，我研究了成千上万种动物，但是最近我只研究了猫。猫自然是愿意和你生活在一起的野生动物。所有的猫都聪明，但是一些猫自然比其它的更聪明。一星期前遇见托博莫里时，我立刻意识到这是一只极其聪明的猫，一只实际上非常特殊的猫。在托博莫里身上我找到了我需要的学生，借助于他我成功地实现了我的计划。”

没人笑，没人说“胡说”，虽然克洛维斯的嘴唇在无声地嚅动……

“你真的教了托博莫里说话并听懂一些简单的短句吗？”雷斯克小姐问。

“亲爱的雷斯克小姐，”阿普因先生耐心地说，“我们用这种方式教小孩和非常迟钝、愚笨的成人。但是托博莫里是一只非常聪明的猫，他的英语讲得和你我一样好。”

这次克洛维斯大声地说：“胡说！”

威尔弗雷德爵士比较有礼貌，但是很明显他不相信阿普因先生的故事。

“我们把猫带到这儿来亲自听他说好吗？”布莱姆雷夫人说。

威尔弗雷德爵士离开房间去找托博莫里。

“阿普因先生会想办法来些聪明的把戏，”雷斯克小姐高兴地说，“可是如果我们仔细观察他，我们就会看见他的嘴唇要动。”

一分钟后威尔弗雷德爵士回来了，他看上去非常激动。

“你们知道这是真的！”他说。“我发现托博莫里在吸烟室睡觉，就叫他出来喝茶。他抬起头睁开一只眼。我说，'来吧，托比，别让我们等你！'他平静地说，'我准备好了就来！'我真不相信我的耳朵！”

客人马上开始谈论起来，这时阿普因先生沉默地坐着，看起来很为自己高兴。

托博莫里进了屋，沉着地走到茶桌旁。谈话停止了，没人知道该对一只会说话的猫说些什么。最后布莱姆雷夫人说：

“你来点牛奶吗，托博莫里？”她用高而不自然的声音问。

“我不介意来点牛奶，”托博莫里回答。布莱姆雷夫人的手激动得颤抖，牛奶洒在地毯上。

“哦，亲爱的！非常抱歉，”她说。

“没关系，那毕竟不是我的地毯，”托博莫里回答说。

又是一阵沉默，然后雷斯克小姐札貌地问，“你觉得学英语难吗，托博莫里？”

托博莫里用明亮的绿色眼睛直视着她。很清楚，他不想回答让他不感兴趣的问题。

“你认为人的智力怎么样？”梅维斯·佩林顿问。

“哪个人的智力？”托博莫里冷冷地问。

“这个，比如说我的智力，”梅维斯微笑着说。

“你让我不舒服，”托博莫里说，虽然他根本不像不舒服。“布莱姆雷夫人想邀请你来这儿时，威尔弗雷德爵士不高兴。'梅维斯·佩林顿是我认识的最愚蠢的女人，'他说。'那正是我想邀请她的原因，'布莱姆雷夫人回答。'我想让她买我的旧车，她这么笨，会买的。'”

“这不是真的！”布莱姆雷夫人叫道。“别相信他，梅维斯！”

“如果这不是真的，”梅维斯冷淡地说，“那么今天早上你为什么说你的车对我正合适呢？”

巴菲尔德少校尽力帮忙，他努力开始新的话题。“你和花园里你的黑白色相间的小女士朋友处得怎么样？”他问托博莫里。

马上每个人都意识到这是个错误。

托博莫里冷冰冰地看了他一眼。“我们在礼貌的客人面前通常不谈论这些事情，”他说。“但是自从你来这个房间，我就观察了你一阵子。我想你可能不喜欢我谈论你的女士朋友。”

少校的脸红了，其他客人开始担心和不舒服。托博莫里下一步要说什么？

“你现在愿意去厨房吗，托博莫里？”布莱姆雷夫人礼貌地问，“去看看厨师给你做好晚饭了吗？”

“不，谢谢，”托博莫里说。“我刚喝完茶，我不想让自己生病。”

“要知道猫有九条命，”威尔弗雷德爵士笑着说。

“可能，”托博莫里回答。“但只有一个胃。”

“布莱姆雷夫人！”科尼特夫人叫道，“别让这猫去厨房，他会向厨师谈论我们！”

每个人现在都非常担心。他们不安地记起托博莫里在白天晚上的所有时间里自由自在地在房间和花园里走动。如果他想的话，他可以窥视任何一间卧室。他看见了什么？他听见了什么？没有谁的秘密是安全的。

“哦，我为什么来这儿？”阿格尼丝·雷斯克叫道，她总是不能长时间地保持沉默。

“你很清楚你为什么来这儿，”托博莫里立刻说。“你来当然是为了食物。我听见了你在花园和科尼特夫人的谈话。你说布莱姆雷这家人无聊透顶，可是他们有一个好厨师。”

“你别信他！”阿格尼丝叫喊着。“我从没说过那话，对吗，科尼特夫人？”

“后来，科厄特夫人又把你的话重复给伯蒂·范·塔安，”托博莫里说。“她说，'那个雷斯克女人为了点好吃的会去任何地方吃四顿饭。'然后伯蒂说——”

正在这时托博莫里朝窗外看，看见了医生的大黄猫正走过花园。随即他从敞开的窗户那儿消失了。

每个人立刻开始说话，阿普因先生发现自己被愤怒的提问包围了。

“你必须立刻停止这一切，”每个人都对他说。“如果托博莫里教其它的猫说话将会发生什么事情？我们将再不能有片刻的安宁！”

“可能他已经教了园丁的猫说话，”阿普因先生思考着回答，“但我相信他还没时间教其它的猫说话。”

“那么，”科尼特夫人说，“虽然托博莫里是只珍贵的猫，但是他和园丁的猫必须死。你同意吗，布莱姆雷夫人？”

“你说得对，”布莱姆雷夫人难受地说。“我丈夫和我喜欢托博莫里——唉，在今天下午之前喜欢——但是现在，他当然必须尽快死掉。”

“我们在他的晚饭里下毒，”威尔弗雷德爵士说。“我要亲自杀死园丁的猫。园丁可能不喜欢这样做，可我会说他得了某种疾病—”

“可是我的发明怎么办？”阿普因先生嚷道。“我多年的研究怎么办？你要毁掉我唯一的成功的学生吗？”

“你可以去教农场的奶牛，”科尼特夫人冷冷地说，“或者动物园里的大象。别人告诉我大象很聪明，而且不会藏在椅子后面或床下面听人们的谈话。”

阿普因先生知道自己在哪里被驳倒了。

那天晚饭大家都没吃好。威尔弗雷德爵士先是和园丁的猫，后来和园丁很困难地打了一通交道。阿格尼丝·雷斯克拒绝吃任何东西，而梅维斯·佩林顿吃饭的时候一声不吭。每人都在等托博莫里。一盘放了毒药的鱼已经在餐室为他准备好了，但是他没回家。没人多说话，没人笑。这是一顿非常令人不安的晚餐。

晚饭后布莱姆雷夫人和客人在吸烟室坐着。每人都默不出声地焦急地待着，没人想玩牌。11点时厨师和管家上床睡觉了。他们把厨房的窗户像往常一样给托博莫里开着，但是他没有回来。

两点钟克洛维斯说：

“今晚他不回家了，他可能在报馆出卖他的故事，他们喜欢这个故事，它会成为今年的热门话题。”

过后每人都上了床，但是都没睡着。

早上托博莫里还没回家。早餐又是平静不安的一顿饭。然后，在咖啡喝了一半时，园丁带来了托博莫里血迹斑斑的尸体。

“看他的爪子！”克洛维斯叫道。“他打了架！”在托博莫里的爪子上有医生那只猫的黄毛。

午饭时候，多数客人已经离开布莱姆雷家。布莱姆雷夫人开始觉得好受些。她拿出笔和纸，给医生写了一封非常生气的信，叙说她的珍贵的猫的死亡。

托博莫里是阿普因先生唯一成功的学生。托博莫里死后的几个星期之后，一只大象从德莱斯顿动物园跑了出来，杀死了一个英国游客。

动物园管理员说这只大象以前一直很安静、温顺，但是正当这个英国游客和它说话时，它突然变得非常恼怒。

报纸上说这个死去的人姓奥普因，他的名字是科尼利厄斯。

“如果阿普因在尝试教可怜的大象说德语，”克洛维斯说，“它杀死了他，我不觉得奇怪。”