Edgar Wallace

Crime Classics
Krimiklassiker

Vier spannende Fälle

Ausgewählt und übersetzt
von Anne Rademacher

Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Titelblatt

2. Impressum

3. The Stealer of Marble

4. Sentimental Simpson

5. White Stockings

6. I

7. II

8. III

9. The Green Mamba

10. Informationen zum Buch

11. Leseprobe: Mark Twain, A Couple of Truly Wonderful Stories

12. Crime Classics (Englisch)

Originalausgabe
2010 Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, München

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ISBN der gedruckten Ausgabe 978-3-423-09462-7

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Konvertierung, Synchronisation und Umsetzung: Doppeltext

The Stealer of Marble

Die Marmordiebin

Margaret Belman’s chiefest claim to Mr. Reeder’s notice was that she lived in the Brockley Road, some few doors from his own establishment.

Margaret Belman war Mr. Reeder vor allem deshalb aufgefallen, weil sie nur wenige Türen von ihm entfernt in der Brockley Road wohnte.

He did not know her name, being wholly incurious about law-abiding folk, but he was aware that she was pretty,

Da ihn gesetzestreue Menschen nicht weiter interessierten, kannte er noch nicht einmal ihren Namen, doch dass sie hübsch war, hatte er durchaus bemerkt.

that her complexion was that pink and white which is seldom seen away from a magazine cover.

Ihr Teint hatte diese Mischung aus rosig und blass, wie man sie meist nur auf den Titelseiten der Illustrierten findet.

She dressed well, and if there was one thing that he noted about her more than any other,

Sie kleidete sich gut, und wenn es etwas gab, das ihm besonders ins Auge fiel,

it was that she walked and carried herself with a certain grace that was especially pleasing to a man of aesthetic predilections.

dann war es die gewisse Anmut ihrer Haltung und ihrer Bewegungen, die für einen Mann mit ästhetischen Neigungen eine besondere Freude bedeutete.

He had, on occasions, walked behind her and before her, and had ridden on the same street car with her to Westminster Bridge.

Gelegentlich war er schon vor ihr oder hinter ihr her gegangen oder sie hatten in derselben Straßenbahn zur Westminster Bridge gesessen.

She invariably descended at the corner of the Embankment, and was as invariably met by a good-looking young man and walked away with him.

Jedes Mal stieg sie an der Ecke zur Embankment aus, und jedes Mal wurde sie von einem gut aussehenden jungen Mann abgeholt.

The presence of that young man was a source of passive satisfaction to Mr. Reeder, for no particular reason, unless it was that he had a tidy mind,

Dass es diesen jungen Mann gab, stellte Mr. Reeder auf stille Weise zufrieden, wozu er eigentlich keinen besonderen Grund hatte, außer vielleicht seine Ordnungsliebe:

and preferred a rose when it had a background of fern and grew uneasy at the sight of a saucerless cup.

Rosen mochte er lieber vor einem Hintergrund aus Farn, und der Anblick einer Tasse ohne Untertasse bereitete ihm Unbehagen.

It did not occur to him that he was an object of interest and curiosity to Miss Belman.

Niemals wäre er auf die Idee gekommen, dass er die Neugier und das Interesse von Miss Belman geweckt hatte.

“That was Mr. Reeder – he has something to do with the police, I think,” she said.

«Das war Mr. Reeder. Ich glaube, er hat was mit der Polizei zu tun», sagte sie.

“Mr. J. G. Reeder?”

Roy Master looked back with interest at the middle-aged man scampering fearfully across the road,

Interessiert schaute sich Roy Master zu dem Mann mittleren Alters um, der ängstlich über die Straße huschte.

his unusual hat on the back of his head, his umbrella over his shoulder like a cavalryman’s sword.

Er hatte einen ungewöhnlichen Hut auf dem Kopf und trug seinen Regenschirm über der Schulter wie ein Kavallerist sein Schwert.

“Good Lord! I never dreamt he was like that.”

«Meine Güte! So hätte ich ihn mir niemals vorgestellt!»

“Who is he?” she asked, distracted from her own problem.

«Was macht er?», fragte sie und war eine Weile von den eigenen Sorgen abgelenkt.

“Reeder? He’s in the Public Prosecutor’s Department, a sort of a detective – there was a case the other week where he gave evidence.

«Reeder? Er ist eine Art Detektiv und arbeitet in der Staatsanwaltschaft. Letzte Woche gab es eine Verhandlung, in der er als Zeuge ausgesagt hat.

He used to be with the Bank of England – ”

Früher war er bei der Bank von England.»

Suddenly she stopped, and he looked at her in surprise.

Sie blieb abrupt stehen, und er blickte sie verwundert an.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

«Was ist los?», fragte er.

“I don’t want you to go any farther, Roy,” she said. “Mr. Telfer saw me with you yesterday, and he’s quite unpleasant about it.”

«Geh bitte nicht weiter mit, Roy», sagte sie. «Mr. Telfer hat mich gestern mit dir gesehen und ist darüber sehr ungehalten.»

“Telfer?” said the young man indignantly. “That little worm! What did he say?”

«Telfer?», empörte sich der junge Mann. «Dieser kleine Wurm? Was hat er gesagt?»

“Nothing very much,” she replied, but from her tone he gathered that the “nothing very much” had been a little disturbing.

«Nicht sehr viel», erwiderte sie, aber ihr Ton verriet ihm, dass dieses «nicht sehr viel» ein wenig beunruhigend war.

“I am leaving Telfers,” she said unexpectedly.

«Ich werde die Firma Telfer verlassen», sagte sie wie aus heiterem Himmel.

“It is a good job, and I shall never get another like it – I mean, so far as the pay is concerned.”

«Es ist eine gute Stelle, und ich werde keine vergleichbare mehr finden, ich meine, was die Bezahlung angeht.»

Roy Master did not attempt to conceal his satisfaction.

Roy Master versuchte nicht, seine Genugtuung zu verbergen.

“I’m jolly glad,” he said vigorously. “I can’t imagine how you’ve endured that boudoir atmosphere so long.

«Da bin ich echt froh», sagte er im Brustton der Überzeugung. «Ich weiß gar nicht, wie du diese Boudoiratmosphäre so lange ausgehalten hast.

What did he say?” he asked again, and, before she could answer: “Anyway, Telfers are shaky.

Was hat er gesagt?», fragte er, wartete ihre Antwort aber nicht ab. «Der Firma Telfer geht es ohnehin nicht gut.

There are all sorts of queer rumours about them in the City.”

In der Stadt hört man die seltsamsten Gerüchte.»

“But I thought it was a very rich corporation!” she said in astonishment.

«Aber ich dachte, es sei ein sehr reiches Unternehmen!», staunte sie.

He shook his head.

Er schüttelte den Kopf.

“It was – but they have been doing lunatic things –

«Das war es, aber sie haben verrückte Sachen gemacht.

what can you expect when a halfwitted weakling like Sidney Telfer is at the head of affairs?

Was kann man von einer Firma, die von einem blödsinnigen Schwächling wie Sidney Telfer geleitet wird, schon anderes erwarten?

They underwrote three concerns last year that no brokerage business would have touched with a barge-pole, and they had to take up the shares.

Letztes Jahr haben sie für drei Unternehmen gebürgt, die kein Börsenmakler auch nur mit der Beißzange angefasst hätte, und waren gezwungen, die nicht verkauften Aktien zu übernehmen.

One was a lost treasure company to raise a Spanish galleon that sank three hundred years ago!

Eins der Unternehmen war eine Schatzsuchergesellschaft, die eine vor dreihundert Jahren gesunkene spanische Galeone heben wollte!

But what really did happen yesterday morning?”

Aber was ist gestern Morgen nun wirklich passiert?»

“I will tell you tonight,” she said, and made her hasty adieux.

«Ich erzähle es dir heute Abend», sagte sie und verabschiedete sich hastig.

Mr. Sidney Telfer had arrived when she went into a room which, in its luxurious appointments, its soft carpet and dainty etceteras, was not wholly undeserving of Roy Masters’ description.

Als sie das Zimmer betrat, das mit seiner luxuriösen Ausstattung, dem weichen Teppich und dem exquisiten Nippes der Beschreibung von Roy Master durchaus gerecht wurde, war Mr. Sidney Telfer bereits anwesend.

The head of Telfers Consolidated seldom visited his main office on Threadneedle Street.

Der Firmenchef von Telfers Consolidated besuchte nur selten den Hauptsitz in der Threadneedle Street.

The atmosphere of the place, he said, depressed him; it was all so horrid and sordid and rough.

Er behauptete, die Atmosphäre dort als bedrückend zu empfinden, alles sei so scheußlich, schmutzig und primitiv.

The founder of the firm, his grandfather, had died ten years before Sidney had been born,

Sein Großvater, der Firmengründer, war zehn Jahre vor Sidneys Geburt gestorben

leaving the business to a son, a chronic invalid, who had died a few weeks after Sidney first saw the light.

und hatte die Firma seinem chronisch kranken Sohn überlassen, der wiederum wenige Wochen, nachdem Sidney das Licht der Welt erblickte, starb.

In the hands of trustees the business had flourished, despite the spasmodic interferences of his eccentric mother,

Unter der Verwaltung der Treuhänder florierten die Firmengeschäfte trotz der gelegentlichen Einmischung seiner exzentrischen Mutter,

whose peculiarities culminated in a will which relieved him of most of that restraint which is wisely laid upon a boy of sixteen.

deren Eigenheiten schließlich in einem Testament gipfelten, das ihren Sohn von fast allen Einschränkungen befreite, die man einem sechzehnjährigen Knaben wohlweislich auferlegt.

The room, with its stained-glass windows and luxurious furnishing, fitted Mr. Telfer perfectly, for he was exquisitely arrayed.

Der Raum mit den Buntglasfenstern und der luxuriösen Einrichtung passte hervorragend zu dem exquisit ausstaffierten Mr. Telfer.

He was tall and so painfully thin that the abnormal smallness of his head was not at first apparent.

Er war hochgewachsen und so entsetzlich dünn, dass sein unnatürlich kleiner Kopf auf den ersten Blick gar nicht auffiel.

As the girl came into the room he was sniffing delicately at a fine cambric handkerchief,

Als die junge Frau ins Zimmer trat, schnüffelte er gerade geziert in ein Taschentuch aus feinem Batist.

and she thought that he was paler than she had ever seen him – and more repellent.

Sie glaubte, ihn noch nie so blass gesehen zu haben – und noch nie so abstoßend.

He followed her movements with a dull stare, and she had placed his letters on his table before he spoke.

Mit dumpf starrendem Blick folgte er ihren Bewegungen. Erst als sie ihm seine Briefe auf den Tisch legte, begann er zu reden:

“I say. Miss Belman, you won’t mention a word about what I said to you last night?”

«Hören Sie, Miss Belman, Sie werden doch kein Wort über das verlieren, was ich gestern Abend zu Ihnen gesagt habe?»

“Mr. Telfer,” she answered quietly, “I am hardly likely to discuss such a matter.”

«Mr. Telfer, es ist wohl eher unwahrscheinlich, dass ich über so etwas reden sollte», erwiderte sie ruhig.

“I’d marry you and all that, only … clause in my mother’s will,” he said disjointedly. “That could be got over – in time.”

«Ich würde Sie heiraten und alles, nur … die Klausel im Testament meiner Mutter», stammelte er. «Das ließe sich in den Griff bekommen … mit der Zeit.»

She stood by the table, her hands resting on the edge.

Sie stand an ihrem Schreibtisch und stützte die Hände auf der Tischkante ab.

“I would not marry you, Mr. Telfer, even if there were no clause in your mother’s will;

«Ich würde Sie nicht heiraten, Mr. Telfer, selbst wenn es keine Klausel im Testament ihrer Mutter gäbe.

the suggestion that I should run away with you to America – ”

Der Vorschlag, dass ich mit Ihnen nach Amerika gehen …»

“South America,” he corrected her gravely. “Not the United States; there was never any suggestion of the United States.”

«Südamerika», korrigierte er sie ernst. «Nicht in die Vereinigten Staaten, von den Vereinigten Staaten war nie die Rede.»

She could have smiled, for she was not as angry with this rather vacant young man as his startling proposition entitled her to be.

Beinahe hätte sie gelächelt, denn sie war auf diesen geistig eher minderbemittelten jungen Mann nicht so wütend, wie sie es nach seinem verblüffenden Vorschlag hätte sein können.

“The point is,” he went on anxiously, “you’ll keep it to yourself? I’ve been worried dreadfully all night.

«Es geht mir nur darum», fuhr er nervös fort, «dass Sie nichts weiter erzählen. Ich habe mir die ganze Nacht fürchterliche Sorgen gemacht.

I told you to send me a note saying what you thought of my idea – well, don’t!”

Ich hatte Sie gebeten, mir schriftlich mitzuteilen, was Sie von meiner Idee halten. Bitte, tun Sie’s nicht!»

The Stealer of Marble

Margaret Belman’s chiefest claim to Mr. Reeder’s notice was that she lived in the Brockley Road, some few doors from his own establishment. He did not know her name, being wholly incurious about law-abiding folk, but he was aware that she was pretty, that her complexion was that pink and white which is seldom seen away from a magazine cover. She dressed well, and if there was one thing that he noted about her more than any other, it was that she walked and carried herself with a certain grace that was especially pleasing to a man of aesthetic predilections.

He had, on occasions, walked behind her and before her, and had ridden on the same street car with her to Westminster Bridge. She invariably descended at the corner of the Embankment, and was as invariably met by a good-looking young man and walked away with him. The presence of that young man was a source of passive satisfaction to Mr. Reeder, for no particular reason, unless it was that he had a tidy mind, and preferred a rose when it had a background of fern and grew uneasy at the sight of a saucerless cup.

It did not occur to him that he was an object of interest and curiosity to Miss Belman.

“That was Mr. Reeder – he has something to do with the police, I think,” she said.

“Mr. J. G. Reeder?”

Roy Master looked back with interest at the middle-aged man scampering fearfully across the road, his unusual hat on the back of his head, his umbrella over his shoulder like a cavalryman’s sword.

“Good Lord! I never dreamt he was like that.”

“Who is he?” she asked, distracted from her own problem.

“Reeder? He’s in the Public Prosecutor’s Department, a sort of a detective – there was a case the other week where he gave evidence. He used to be with the Bank of England – ”

Suddenly she stopped, and he looked at her in surprise.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

“I don’t want you to go any farther, Roy,” she said. “Mr. Telfer saw me with you yesterday, and he’s quite unpleasant about it.”

“Telfer?” said the young man indignantly. “That little worm! What did he say?”

“Nothing very much,” she replied, but from her tone he gathered that the “nothing very much” had been a little disturbing.

“I am leaving Telfers,” she said unexpectedly. “It is a good job, and I shall never get another like it – I mean, so far as the pay is concerned.”

Roy Master did not attempt to conceal his satisfaction.

“I’m jolly glad,” he said vigorously. “I can’t imagine how you’ve endured that boudoir atmosphere so long. What did he say?” he asked again, and, before she could answer: “Anyway, Telfers are shaky. There are all sorts of queer rumours about them in the City.”

“But I thought it was a very rich corporation!” she said in astonishment.

He shook his head.

“It was – but they have been doing lunatic things – what can you expect when a halfwitted weakling like Sidney Telfer is at the head of affairs? They underwrote three concerns last year that no brokerage business would have touched with a barge-pole, and they had to take up the shares. One was a lost treasure company to raise a Spanish galleon that sank three hundred years ago! But what really did happen yesterday morning?”

“I will tell you tonight,” she said, and made her hasty adieux.

Mr. Sidney Telfer had arrived when she went into a room which, in its luxurious appointments, its soft carpet and dainty etceteras, was not wholly undeserving of Roy Masters’ description.

The head of Telfers Consolidated seldom visited his main office on Threadneedle Street. The atmosphere of the place, he said, depressed him; it was all so horrid and sordid and rough. The founder of the firm, his grandfather, had died ten years before Sidney had been born, leaving the business to a son, a chronic invalid, who had died a few weeks after Sidney first saw the light. In the hands of trustees the business had flourished, despite the spasmodic interferences of his eccentric mother, whose peculiarities culminated in a will which relieved him of most of that restraint which is wisely laid upon a boy of sixteen.

The room, with its stained-glass windows and luxurious furnishing, fitted Mr. Telfer perfectly, for he was exquisitely arrayed. He was tall and so painfully thin that the abnormal smallness of his head was not at first apparent. As the girl came into the room he was sniffing delicately at a fine cambric handkerchief, and she thought that he was paler than she had ever seen him – and more repellent.

He followed her movements with a dull stare, and she had placed his letters on his table before he spoke.

“I say. Miss Belman, you won’t mention a word about what I said to you last night?”

“Mr. Telfer,” she answered quietly, “I am hardly likely to discuss such a matter.”

“I’d marry you and all that, only … clause in my mother’s will,” he said disjointedly. “That could be got over – in time.”

She stood by the table, her hands resting on the edge.

“I would not marry you, Mr. Telfer, even if there were no clause in your mother’s will; the suggestion that I should run away with you to America – ”

“South America,” he corrected her gravely. “Not the United States; there was never any suggestion of the United States.”

She could have smiled, for she was not as angry with this rather vacant young man as his startling proposition entitled her to be.

“The point is,” he went on anxiously, “you’ll keep it to yourself? I’ve been worried dreadfully all night. I told you to send me a note saying what you thought of my idea – well, don’t!”