Знак четырех
XII. The Strange Story of Jonathan Small
“‘Why,astothat,gentlemen,’Ianswered,tryingalsotobecool,butfeelingasexcitedashedid,‘thereisonlyonebargainwhichamaninmypositioncanmake.Ishallwantyoutohelpmetomyfreedom,andtohelpmythreecompanionstotheirs.Weshallthentakeyouintopartnership,andgiveyouafifthsharetodividebetweenyou.’
“‘Hum!’saidhe.‘Afifthshare!Thatisnotverytempting.’
“‘Itwouldcometofiftythousandapiece,’saidI.
“‘Buthowcanwegainyourfreedom?Youknowverywellthatyouaskanimpossibility.’
“‘Nothingofthesort,’Ianswered.‘Ihavethoughtitallouttothelastdetail.Theonlybartoourescapeisthatwecangetnoboatfitforthevoyage,andnoprovisionstolastusforsolongatime.ThereareplentyoflittleyachtsandyawlsatCalcuttaorMadraswhichwouldserveourturnwell.Doyoubringoneover.Weshallengagetogetaboardherbynight,andifyouwilldropusonanypartoftheIndiancoastyouwillhavedoneyourpartofthebargain.’
“‘Iftherewereonlyone,’hesaid.
“‘Noneorall,’Ianswered.‘Wehaveswornit.Thefourofusmustalwaysacttogether.’
“‘Yousee,Morstan,’saidhe,‘Smallisamanofhisword.Hedoesnotflinchfromhisfriend.Ithinkwemayverywelltrusthim.’
“‘It’sadirtybusiness,’theotheranswered.‘Yet,asyousay,themoneywouldsaveourcommissionshandsomely.’
“‘Well,Small,’saidthemajor,‘wemust,Isuppose,tryandmeetyou.Wemustfirst,ofcourse,testthetruthofyourstory.
