"Wilkie Collins - The Evil Genius" - читать интересную книгу автора (Collins Wilkie)

"I write to you before my trial takes place. If the verdict goes in my favor, I
shall destroy what I have written. If I am found guilty, I must leave it to you
to do what I should otherwise have done for myself.
"The undeserved misfortune that has overtaken me began with the arrival of my
ship in the port of Rio. Our second mate (his duty for the day being done) asked
leave to go on shore--and never returned. What motive determined him on
deserting, I am not able to say. It was my own wish to supply his place by
promoting the best seaman on board. My owners' agents overruled me, and
appointed a man of their own choosing.
"What nation he belonged to I don't know. The name he gave me was Beljames, and
he was reported to be a broken-down gentleman. Whoever he might be, his manner
and his talk were captivating. Everybody liked him.
"After the two calamities of the loss of the ship and the disappearance of the
diamonds--these last being valued at five thousand pounds--I returned to England
by the first opportunity that offered, having Beljames for a companion.
"Shortly after getting back to my house in London, I was privately warned by a
good friend that my owners had decided to prosecute me for willfully casting
away the ship, and (crueler still) for having stolen the missing diamonds. The
second mate, who had been in command of the vessel when she struck on the rock,
was similarly charged along with me. Knowing myself to be innocent, I
determined, of course, to stand my trial. My wonder was, what Beljames would do.
Would he follow my example? or, if he got the chance, would he try to make his
escape?
"I might have thought it only friendly to give this person a word of warning, if
I had known where to find him. We had separated when the ship reached the port
of Falmouth, in Cornwall, and had not met since. I gave him my address in
London; but he gave me no address in return.
"On the voyage home, Beljames told me that a legacy had been left to him; being
a small freehold house and garden in St. John's Wood, London. His agent, writing
to him on the subject, had reported the place to be sadly out of repair, and had
advised him to find somebody who would take it off his hands on reasonable
terms. This seemed to point to a likelihood of his being still in London, trying
to sell his house.
"While my mind was running on these recollections, I was told that a decent
elderly woman wanted to see me. She proved to be the landlady of the house in
which Beljames lodged; and she brought an alarming message. The man was dying,
and desired to see me. I went to him immediately.
"Few words are best, when one has to write about one's own troubles.
"Beljames had heard of the intended prosecution. How he had been made aware of
it, death left him no time to tell me. The miserable wretch had poisoned
himself--whether in terror of standing his trial, or in remorse of conscience,
it is not any business of mine to decide. Most unluckily for me, he first
ordered the doctor and the landlady out of the room; and then, when we two were
alone, owned that he had purposely altered the course of the ship, and had
stolen the diamonds.
"To do him justice, he was eager to save me from suffering for his fault.
"Having eased his mind by confession, he gave me the slip of paper (written in
cipher) which you will find inclosed in this. 'There is my note of the place
where the diamonds are hidden,' he said. Among the many ignorant people who know
nothing of ciphers, I am one--and I told him so. 'That's how I keep my secret,'