4 Death in Geneva

Chapter 4 Death in Geneva When Victor returned, there was a letter from his father waiting for him. He opened it eagerly- but his face turned pale as he read.

Dear Victor, How can I send such bad news? It is with tears and wretchedness I write- your little brother William is dead! Murdered! I must tell you how... We had gone for a family walk in the woods. We stopped to rest and we grown-ups fell asleep. William must have wandered off. When we woke, he was gone. We searched everywhere. Eventually I discovered his lifeless body, the marks of the murderer's fingers still red around his neck. A locket containing a picture of his dead mother had been stolen from him. Who could have robbed and killed an innocent child? Surely only a monster, someone without any human feeling! Hurry home, to comfort us in our grief... Your loving father Silently, Victor passed the letter to Henry. "Poor William!" cried Henry. "Still, at least he is at peace now. He does not need our pity- we must keep that for the living."

The friends returned to Geneva by coach. It was a long journey and they arrived late, during a storm. As lightning burned across the sky, Victor spotted a familiar ugly figure in the distance. "The monster!" He watched it run swiftly over the hills until it disappeared. Knowing the creature was still alive filled him with despair. "What is it doing here?" he wondered. And the suspicion came to him- could it be the murderer?

The more he thought about it, the more certain he felt. "And I created this thing!" he moaned. "It's my fault it's here. I raised it from the grave, and now it's destroying my own family." At home, they were greeted by more bad news. The missing locket had been found -in the pocket of William's nanny, a young girl named Justine. For the authorities, eager for someone to blame, that was enough. She had been accused of murder and, after a hasty trial, hanged. "She couldn't explain how she came to have the locket," sighed Victor's father. "But I know she was innocent," wept Elizabeth. "She could never have hurt William. She loved him as much as the rest of us." Victor just shook his head. "I'm sure the monster is to blame for all this," he thought. "But how can I tell them? They'll think I'm insane."

Tortured by remorse, Victor spent hours brooding. No one could comfort him, not even Elizabeth. He felt a terrible guilt for having created such a monster, and lived in fear it would strike again. To try to distract himself, he went for a long walk in the mountains. He climbed higher and higher, through jagged pines and ragged ravines, until he reached a lonely, rocky slope. Ice glittered in the sunlight and the majestic peak of Mont Blanc towered overhead. As he gazed up at the mountain, he heard a noise and spun around. A huge, ugly figure had appeared among the rocks. The monster! "Murderer," cried Victor, trembling with rage. "You strangled my brother, and an innocent woman was hanged for your crime. How dare you come here?"

该页暂无翻译