Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Buxton.Lord Grenoll

Before the bank office robbery, Lord Buxton had been locked away for several years.His castle was built near Udoksegir, a small town in central England.His gates were always closed to guests outside the castle, especially the lord's own quarters which were almost secluded from the outside world.A great tragedy has ruined his family's reputation, disturbed his peaceful life, and forced him to confine himself to confinement. Sixty years ago, when Lord Buxton had just left the military school, he entered society, received a fortune from his father, and acquired great family and reputation.

Edward.Allah.At the age of twenty-two Buxton married a lady of a distinguished family.A year later, they had a daughter, which made Edward.Buxton was devastated and eagerly awaited the birth of his second child. But it was not until twenty years later that Mrs. Buxton bore him his long-awaited son, whom they named George.Almost at the same time, their married Frenchman de.Son Bolin's daughter gave birth to a son Arenor. Five years later, Mrs. Buxton gave birth to a second son, named Louise.Robert.It was this Luis who, in his twenty-fifth year of life, had been given a tragic role by fate in the case of the Decker office of the Central Bank.His birth took away his mother's life.Lord Buxton has lost his girlfriend of a quarter of a century.

Lord Buxton was melancholy and disheartened.Although he was not very old, he abandoned all thoughts of fame and fame, and left the naval fleet where he had been serving since his graduation from school. He lived in pain and loneliness for a long time.Later, with the passage of time, the pain gradually eased.After nine years of widowhood, Lord Buxton plans to restore his long-lost family life.He and his late colleague in the Navy, Malgari.Fairey's widow married.The widow's entire dowry was a sixteen-year-old son of her ex-husband named William.Fairray. Fate seemed to have destined Lord Buxton to live out his later years in solitude.A few years later, they had their fourth child, a girl they named Janna.Her mother died shortly thereafter, and Lord became a widower for the second time.

By this time the Lord was sixty years old.At this age, he has no intention of remarrying, and devotes all his energy to fulfilling his father's duties.His eldest daughter, the French de.Mrs. Sunberling no longer needs his care. If she is excluded, the lord has four children by his side.The biggest of them, William.Fairray was twenty years old, and his lord did not think differently of him. However, the mistreatment of him by the god of fate did not stop there, and Buxton was destined to suffer greater misfortune than before. The first misfortune was the stepson who followed his mother. Although he loved his stepson just like his own son, this young man not only failed to repay his stepfather's love for him, but isolated himself in the family.He likes to quarrel and is hypocritical. Although the whole family sees him openly and gives him warmth, he is indifferent and does not buy it.On the contrary, the more affectionate you are to him, the more alienated he will be from everyone; the more friendship you give him, the more he will hate his family members.

From the day he followed his widowed mother through the gates of Castle Glenor, he buried in his heart a deep-seated hatred for George and Louis, because they were heirs to Lord Buxton's huge estate. When his sister Jeanna was born, his hatred was intensified, because she could also get a share, while he, William, was an outsider.Even if his brothers and sisters gave him a copy out of kindness, it would only be a pitiful amount.After his mother died, no one else could understand the secrets in his heart and curb his hatred.The jealous young man became increasingly estranged from his family and led a lonely life.Later, his secret course was revealed in many disgraceful incidents.It turned out that he mixed with many young people who behaved depravedly.

Many debt collectors came to the door.At first the lord offered him his debts, but later he refused them all. Although the money William lived on was not much, he did not change his way of life.For a long time, everyone still couldn't understand: Where did he get so much money from?Suddenly, one day, a note carefully imitated Lord Buxton's handwriting was sent to the castle, which was a huge sum of money.Lord Buxton paid the money in silence, and had the perpetrator thrown out of the gate; nevertheless, he was given a considerable sum. William.It is unknown what happened to Fairray after he left Lord Buxton's castle.What happened to him in the future, the Lord did not know.

Happily, Lord Buxton's troubles with his stepson were more than made up for by the comforts of his own three children.The eldest son, George, inherited his father's career. After graduating from the military school in Asgoth, he joined the colonial army for adventure and novelty.It was a pity that the second son, Louis, was not interested in military life, but in other respects he was very popular with his father.This is a well-behaved, serious-minded, well-organized young man. The lives of young people have their content.Louis wanted to make progress in business, and he joined the central bank, which spoke highly of him, and some people even predicted that he would become the head of this huge financial institution.At the same time, George fought with the colonial army, became a kind of hero, and won the rank of military exploits.

Lord Buxton thought his misfortune was over, but he had no idea that greater misfortune, hitherto unknown to him, awaited him.This time the great reputation of the Grenoll family was almost wiped away forever. His eldest son George.Buxton, because there was no official establishment for a period of time, he temporarily served in an exploration team.It is said that he served as a commander in the semi-regular unit recruited by this expedition for two years, and visited many places where the Hausa lived.But suddenly news came: the lord's son was the leader of a band of robbers.The news spread like wildfire, and the newspapers reported in detail the crimes committed by Captain George and his gang of desperadoes, and the retribution they deserved.This group of robbers raped, plundered, extorted, and did everything in the local area.They were chased by government forces and fled in all directions.Captain Georges and the remnants of his troops fled to the French possessions, and were finally driven to a small village called Couper under the Homboli Mountains, where Georges was shot by the first volley.

The adventures of this gang of desperadoes shocked the whole of England.However, as time goes by, people gradually put it in the back of their minds.The dead are shrouded in a veil of oblivion. However, there is one family whose memory of one of the dead will never die, and that is Lord Buxton's. Lord Buxton was at this time seventy-five years old.The old sailor loved his son dearly, but loved his honor even more.It is conceivable that he was shocked when he got the news about his son. His pale face could explain his pain, but he did not succumb to the blow.Although the incident was intolerable to him, he did not say a word, and at the same time became self-confident and kept a haughty silence.

From that day on, he never went out for a walk, locked himself in the house, and even cut off communication with his closest friends.Lived a life of confinement, lonely, and became a mute. It's not necessarily true that he is alone, because there are three people staying with him.Out of respect and love for him, these three men summoned up the courage to live with him, even though he imprisoned himself in eternal silence, like a statue or a ghost that still retains a little bit of life. . First of all, his second son Louis.Robert.Buxton.He spends one day a week with his father when he is not on duty at the central bank.

Followed by his grandson Arenor.De.Sun Berlin.He expected to bring a little joy to this gloomy castle like a monastery with his good-natured smile.Samblin is a wonderful man, attentive, loyal, honest, sympathetic, steadfast, and he has three distinctive features: carelessness, love of fishing, and misogyny. He inherited a sizeable fortune from his deceased parents.When news of his grandfather's misfortune came, he left France immediately and took up residence in an elegant villa next to the Château de Glenore.A small river ran by the villa, and here Sunberling found a good place to fish, with a zeal that no one else could understand. Indeed, even with all the fish in the world coming for the bait, he was always absent-minded, sometimes not even looking at the buoy.Why should he devote all his energy to this?What is inexplicable is that if there is a small squid or small squid[Note] that stubbornly comes to take the bait automatically, the kind Arenor will put it back into the water without hesitation. 【Note】Simina and scorpion are small fishes of Cyprinidae, widely distributed. This is a very good man, as explained before.But why does he have such a big prejudice against women?He blamed them for all the faults and vices of mankind.Deceit, treachery, hypocrisy, waste—that's what he used to say about women.But there is also an exception to his hostile attitude towards women, and this preferentially treated woman is Jeanna.Buxton, the lord's youngest daughter, was also his aunt.This aunt, who was nearly twenty years younger than him, lived with him when she was very young, and he taught her to walk.After the unfortunate Lord began to live in solitude, he became her protector again.He had a fatherly affection for her, and she was very attached to him.He is a gentleman, but a gentleman who only obeys the orders of his students.They hiked or rode together, played or hunted in the woods, rowed together in the creek, and played various sports together.So when this gentleman talked about the young aunt he brought up, he was always full of praise: You see, she will definitely become a big man in the future! Jana.Buxton was the third person who took good care of the old lord.She almost comforted her old father's miserable old age with the warmth of a mother's love.As long as she could see the smile on her father's face, she would give her life.She always thought: How wonderful it would be to bring back even a little bit of happiness to her father's traumatized heart!This was almost the sole purpose of her whole thought, speech and deed.When the tragedy of the elder brother's death happened, she found that the reason why the father cried was not so much because of the pity of the son who deserved the crime, but because of the pain of his own notoriety. Jana.Buxton, on the contrary, does not cry.That didn't mean she was indifferent to the loss of her dear brother and the shame it brought to the family.In fact, she was outraged in her grief.How did it happen?How could Louis and his father have so easily believed the legend of George's crime?How can the news from far away overseas be taken as fact without thinking?What can these unverified street talks show?A firm conviction of her brother's innocence was born in Janna's mind.While the image of the poor dead man faded from memory, Jana remembered him, and the conviction of his innocence never left her mind. The passage of time only deepened Jeanna.It was just the initial concept formed in Buxton's mind.As the days passed, her belief in her brother's innocence became more unshakable, even though she could find little evidence of her own.The whole Buxton family kept a tacit agreement: never talk about the tragedy that happened to Cooper.This absolute silence was finally broken one day, several years after the incident, by Jeanna who mustered up her courage for the first time. uncle!She asked Arenor.De.exclaimed Sunberling. Arenor usually called Jeanne his niece, because she gave him the title of uncle. However, there are exceptions.If the uncle reproached his niece, or tried to do anything against her will, the niece immediately reinstated her kinship title, and taught her nephew that he should respect his elders.Seeing that things were difficult, the nephew had to compromise, and hurried to comfort his respected aunt. uncle!Jeanne called out to Sunberlin on this day. What are you doing, dear?Samblin replied.At this moment he was engrossed in reading a large "Fishing Guide". I want to talk to you about George. Arenor put down the book in surprise. George?He repeated in embarrassment, which George? my brother george.she replied calmly. Arenor turned pale. But you know, he answered in a trembling voice, that it is forbidden to talk about it, and his name cannot be mentioned here. Jana shook her head in disapproval. It doesn't matter.She said calmly, Uncle, let's talk about George! What are we talking about? Talk about the whole process of the incident. Absolutely not! Jana frowned. nephew!she cried out majestically. It worked perfectly. OK!OK!Arenor muttered a compromise, and began to tell the story about George. Jeanna listened in silence, and when he finished, she didn't ask any questions, and Arenor breathed a sigh of relief when he thought that was the end of the matter. But he was wrong.A few days later, Jana asked the old question again. Uncle, she cried again. what's the matter, dear?Arenor asked. What if George hadn't committed a crime after all? Arenor thought he had heard wrong. Not guilty?He repeated again, forget it!Poor boy, the question is beyond doubt, poor George is treasonable and dead.This is a fait accompli historical fact, and there is a lot of evidence in this regard. What evidence?Jana asked. Arenor resumed the story.He cited newspaper articles and some official official documents, saying that no one denied these facts.Finally, he said that George was no longer alive anyway, which was the strongest evidence. Even if he is dead, Jeanna said, but is there any proof of his betrayal? One cause, two consequences.Arenor replied that he was a little embarrassed by such stubbornness. However, the girl is more stubborn than he imagined. From that day on, she often pestered Arenor with questions of this kind.From the substance of her questions, it can easily be concluded that she firmly believes that her brother is innocent. After many arguments between the nephew and aunt, they found some evidence to prove George's innocence, and Arenor did not have the courage to refute it.Not only that, it is impossible for Janna's firm belief in her brother's innocence to have no effect on Arenor's emotions.If he is not completely sure that the rebellious Captain George is innocent now, at least his original idea of ​​guilt is being shaken. In the years that followed, Jana's conviction grew stronger.The basis of this belief is more emotion than reason.She has achieved success in getting such a sympathizer as her nephew, but this is not enough. If there is not enough evidence, how can she declare her brother innocent? After a long period of deliberation, she felt that she had a solution. Of course, she said to Arenor one day, it is not enough for us to believe that George is innocent, we must show the evidence, do you understand, dear uncle?If we don't, no one will believe us, despite our loud cry that George is innocent. This is obvious, my poor doll. Even my father himself believed rumors from unknown sources.He's not going to test the truth of those damned hearsay.Even if he died in front of us in grief and humiliation when someone blamed his son, he would not cry out such words: You liars!George could not have done such a thing!How can we convince others if we can't find irrefutable facts to prove George's innocence? This cannot be more clear.Arenor agreed, rubbing his chin. But where to find such evidence? Of course not here Jana was silent for a while, then added in a low voice: In another place?possible another place?Where?my dear child! Where that tragedy happened, Cooper. Kupo? Yes, at Kupo.There is George's grave because he died there.Since this is the case, it must be possible to find out how he died.Then, find someone who has lived through this tragedy firsthand.The troops commanded by George had a large number of people. It is impossible for all of these people to disappear. They should be found, investigated and found out. Jana's face glowed and her voice trembled as she spoke these words. You are right, little girl!cried Arenor, unknowingly falling into her trap. Jana was ebullient. Well, she said, if I'm right, let's go! Where to go?Arenor was dumbfounded. To Cooper, my uncle! To Kupo?Which wretch are you sending to Cooper? Ranou put his arms around Arenor's neck. You, my good uncle!she whispered softly. I? Arenor broke free from her hand, and he was really angry. You are crazy!He yelled loudly, wanting to leave. Not completely crazy!Jeanna, who blocked his way, replied.Really, why don't you want to go to Cooper?Don't you just love traveling? That is incompatible with me.There is nothing I can do to catch the train on time. So don't you even like fishing? fishing?i can't see What are your thoughts on fried fish from the Niger River?This is no bland stuff!The Niger fish are as big as barracudas.It looks like a tuna 【Note】 the same.Are you not even interested in this? [Note] Tuna belongs to the family Tuna, an oceanic pelagic fish, up to 50 cm long, distributed in temperate and tropical oceans. i'm not uninterested but You can investigate people while fishing. In which language?Arenor interrupted her sarcastically, I don't think they can talk to us in English. That is why, Jeanna said coldly, it would be best to speak to them in Bamba. Bamba?Do I know Bamba? You can learn it. I am so old, can I still learn? However, I have learned, and I am still your aunt. you?Do you speak Bamba? Of course, you will understand after listening: Ji︱Dokhuo︱A︱Don’t︱La. What the hell are you talking about? It means: I want to drink water.Listen again: Yi︱Du, Nuonuo︱Yi︱Mida. I surrendered.This Nonomida It means: Come in, I'll give you milk.Also: Gukho︱Don’t︱La︱Guru︱Death Lala︱Ude︱A︱Man︱Dumuni, don’t you understand?The translation is: I am very hungry and haven't eaten since last night. Do you have to learn all of these? Yes.Don't waste your time, the day of departure is not far away. What?The day of departure?No, I won't go.This is really whimsical!No, I'm not going to talk to your natives. It seemed that Jeanna was going to give up the idea of ​​persuading him. Then I will go alone.she said sadly. one person?Amazed, Arenor muttered, You're going to go alone If you don't agree to go with me, so be it.she said coldly. But this is madness!This is insanity!This is hotheaded!Arenor yelled as he entered the room and closed the door hard. But when he wanted to see Jeanne the next day, he was told that she would not see him for several days.Arenor could not afford such jokes, and on the fourth day he finally surrendered. Jeanne was magnanimous and did not reproach him. You learn Bamba first.she said, kissing him on both cheeks. Since then, we have often seen Arenor concentrating on studying Bamba. Jeanna should have had her father's permission before she set off.She thought it would be difficult to do this, but it was beyond her expectations.As soon as she made a request to go on a trip, my father immediately made a gesture of agreement, and fell into mournful meditation again. After this aspect was arranged, Jeanna and Arenor began to make preparations for departure.They intended to go first to Liverpool, and from there to board the steamer Cyrus, bound for Africa.Their original destination was British Gambia, but after arriving in St. Louis[Note], they found out that a French expedition in Conakry happened to be on the same route as them, so they decided to go to De.A fellow of Sunberling. 【Note】St. Louis in West Africa, the seaport of Senegal. At the end of September, they mailed their luggage to Liverpool.On October 2nd they had their last breakfast in the great dining room at Buxton Castle (the old Lord never left his rooms).The atmosphere of this last meal was tragic and dreary.Jana.Buxton worries that she will never return to the castle where she spent her childhood and teenage years.Even if she could come back, would her elderly father still be alive by then? Yet it was to restore the honor of the Buxtons, to restore her father, and to bring a little joy to his wounded heart, in making this dangerous and difficult attempt. When it was time to leave, Jeanna begged to say goodbye to her father.She and Arenor were called into the old man's room.At this moment, he was sitting by the window facing the field, staring intently into the distance, as if waiting for someone to appear from there.Who is it?Is it his rebellious son George? When he heard his daughter walk into the room, he turned his head slowly.His weary and dull eyes suddenly brightened up, but his face was as dull as usual. Goodbye, father!Janna cried softly.She tried to hold back the tears that were about to burst into her eyes. Lord Buxton remained silent.He got up from the easy chair, gave his daughter his hand, then pulled her to his chest, kissing her forehead lovingly. Zhanna, fearing that she would burst into tears, broke free from her father's hand and ran out of the room.The old man caught De.Sun Bolin's hand shook heavily.He pointed to the direction in which Jeanna ran out, as if asking for more care of her on the Sembling Road. Don't worry.Samblin muttered.Lord Buxton was now seated in his place again, and his eyes were once more cast upon the fields beyond the window. The carriage was waiting in the castle yard for the travelers to take them to the railway station in Udoksegir. Where to go?asked the hopeless Sunberling.He was so bewildered by the scene just now that he had forgotten why they had left Castle Glenor. Jeanna shrugged resignedly, and they set off at last.But the carriage did not advance five hundred meters, De.Sun Bolin suddenly acted extremely nervous.He could barely speak, just gasped. My fishing rod!I forgot my fishing rod!At last he cried out in great distress. There was nothing to do but to go home and look for his excellent rod, which the careless fisherman had forgotten, and thus was delayed for nearly a quarter of an hour.When they arrived at the station, the train had already pulled in and stopped at the platform.When they stepped onto the train, Arenor said somewhat proudly: It was the second time in my life that I caught a train without being late. Zhanna burst into tears and couldn't help laughing again. Thus began the expedition, which exposed the two travelers to many adventures. Would Jeanna have gone on this expedition if she had known in advance what would happen when she left home?Would she have left the unfortunate old man if she had thought how hard her father would be when she risked her life to save him from despair? At the time, however, there was no sign to Jeanne that such a tragedy would happen in the Dirk office of the Central Bank, and the unlucky defendant happened to be her second brother Louis.At the critical moment when her care was more important to her father than anything else, she left the poor old man. About Louis.Robert.The news of Buxton's disappearance was brought by a faithful servant.The news reached the old lord's ears on the first of December, the morning after the robbery at Dirk's office.It was a bolt from the blue.The immaculate hero, the lord of honor, understood now that his two sons were a traitor and a robber. The unfortunate old man let out a low groan, clutching the throat with both hands, and fell dead on the parquet floor. Everyone panicked and carried him to bed.He didn't know what to do until his eyes opened.The only sign that life has not yet left this humiliated heart is the eyes.His body was paralyzed and destined to never move.But this does not take away the cruel fate, there is still a clear mind in this motionless body!Don't look at him feeling out of order, silent and unable to move, but he can still think! In this way, if we don't count the time difference, we will find that at the moment when Jeanna's father lost consciousness and fell to the ground, Jeanna just stepped on the saddle, crossed the small bridge connecting Conakry and the mainland, and headed towards the mysterious African jungle. Taking the first few steps, she began her expedition.