福爾摩斯探案經典:《恐怖谷》第13章Part5

The trial of the Scowrers was held far from the place where their adherents might have terrified the guardians of the law. In vain they struggled. In vain the money of the lodge--money squeezed by blackmail out of the whole countryside--was spent like water in the attempt to save them. That cold, clear, unimpassioned statement from one who knew every detail of their lives, their organization, and their crimes was unshaken by all the wiles of their defenders. At last after so many years they were broken and scattered. The cloud was lifted forever from the valley.
McGinty met his fate upon the scaffold, cringing and whining when the last hour came. Eight of his chief followers shared his fate. Fifty-odd had various degrees of imprisonment. The work of Birdy Edwards was complete.
And yet, as he had guessed, the game was not over yet. There was another hand to be played, and yet another and another. Ted Baldwin, for one, had escaped the scaffold; so had the Willabys; so had several others of the fiercest spirits of the gang. For ten years they were out of the world, and then came a day when they were free once more--a day which Edwards, who knew his men, was very sure would be an end of his life of peace. They had sworn an oath on all that they thought holy to have his blood as a vengeance for their comrades. And well they strove to keep their vow!
From Chicago he was chased, after two attempts so near success that it was sure that the third would get him. From Chicago he went under a changed name to California, and it was there that the light went for a time out of his life when Ettie Edwards died. Once again he was nearly killed, and once again under the name of Douglas he worked in a lonely canon, where with an English partner named Barker he amassed a fortune. At last there came a warning to him that the bloodhounds were on his track once more, and he cleared--only just in time--for England. And thence came the John Douglas who for a second time married a worthy mate, and lived for five years as a Sussex county gentleman, a life which ended with the strange happenings of which we have heard.

這些死酷黨人被押解到遠處去審判，他們的黨徒無法去威脅那裏的法律監護人，他們枉費心機去運動，花錢如流水一般地去搭救（這些錢都是從全鎮敲詐、勒索、搶劫而來的），結果依然是白費心機。控訴他們用的證詞寫得非常周密、明確、證據確鑿。因爲寫這份證詞的人熟知他們的生活、組織和每一犯罪活動的每一細節，以致他們的辯護人耍盡陰謀詭計，也無法挽救他們滅亡的命運。過了這麼多年，死酷黨人終於被擊破、被粉碎了。從此，山谷永遠驅散了烏雲。
麥金蒂在絞架上結束了他的生命，臨刑時悲泣哀號也是徒然。其他八名首犯也被處死。另有五十多名黨徒被判以各種的徒刑。至此，伯爾弟·愛德華大功告成。
然而，正如愛德華所預料的，這齣戲還不算結束。還有別的人要繼續上演，而且一個接一個地演下去。特德·鮑德溫首先逃脫了絞刑，其次是威拉比兄弟二人，還有這一夥人中其他幾個兇狠殘暴的人也都逃脫了絞刑。他們只被監禁了十年，終於獲得釋放，而愛德華深深瞭解這些人，他意識到仇敵出獄這一天也就是自己和平生活的結束。這些黨徒立誓要爲他們的同黨報仇雪恨，不殺死他決不罷休！
有兩次他們幾乎得手，毫無疑問，第三次會接踵而至。愛德華無奈離開了芝加哥。他更名換姓從芝加哥遷至加利福尼亞。伊蒂·愛德華與世長辭，他的生活一時失去了光彩。有一次他險遭毒手，他便再次更名道格拉斯在一個人跡稀少的峽谷裏和一個名叫巴克的英國人合夥經營礦業，積蓄了一大筆財富。最後，他發現那些嗜血的獵犬又追蹤而來。他清楚地意識到，只有立即遷往英國纔是出路。後來約翰·道格拉斯重娶了一位高貴的女子，過了五年蘇塞克斯郡的紳士生活。這種生活最後所發生的奇事，前面已經介紹過了。