"You know,I'm not sure that your husband is quite responsible for his actions. I do notthink he is himself. He seems to me to be possessed by some power which isusing him for its own ends, and in whose hold he is as helpless as a fly in a spider'sweb. It's as though someone had cast a spell over him. I'm reminded of thosestrange stories one sometimes hears of another personality entering into a manand driving out the old one. The soul lives unstably in the body, and iscapable of mysterious transformations. In the old days they would say CharlesStrickland had a devil. "

Mrs. MacAndrewsmoothed down the lap of her gown, and gold bangles fell over her wrists.

"All thatseems to me very far-fetched, " she said acidly. "I don't deny thatperhaps Amy took her husband a little too much for granted. If she hadn't beenso busy with her own affairs, I can't believe that she wouldn't have suspectedsomething was the matter. I don't think that Alec could have something on hismind for a year or more without my having a pretty shrewd idea of it. "

The Colonelstared into vacancy, and I wondered whether anyone could be quite so innocentof guile as he looked.

"But thatdoesn't prevent the fact that Charles Strickland is a heartless beast. "She looked at me severely. "I can tell you why he left his wife -- frompure selfishness and nothing else whatever. "

"That iscertainly the simplest explanation, " I said. But I thought it explainednothing. When, saying I was tired, I rose to go, Mrs. Strickland made noattempt to detain me.

“你知道，我不敢肯 定你丈夫的行动是不是要由他自己负责。我觉得他已经不是他自己了。他好象被一种什么力量抓住了，正在被利用来完成这种势力所追逐的目标。他象是被捕捉到蛛网里的一只苍蝇，已经失去挣扎的能力。他象被符咒逮住了一样。这使我想起人们常常说的那种奇怪的故事：另一个人的精神走进一个人的躯体里，把他自己的赶了出去。人的灵魂在躯体内很不稳定，常常会发生神秘的变化。如果在过去，人们就会说查理斯·思特里克兰德是魔鬼附体了。

麦克安德鲁太太把她衣服的下摆理平，臂上的金钏滑落到手腕上。

“你说的这些话我觉得太离奇了点儿，”她尖酸地说，“我不否认，也许阿美对她丈夫过于放任了。如果她不是只顾埋头于自己的事，我想她一定会发觉思特里克兰德的行为有些异样的。如果阿莱克有什么心事，我不相信事过一年多还不被我看得清清楚楚的。”

上校眼睛茫然望着空中，我很想知道有谁的样子能象他这样胸襟坦荡、心地清白。

“但这丝毫也改变不了查理斯·思特里克兰德心肠冷酷的事实。”她面孔板得紧紧的，看了我一眼。“我可以告诉你为什么他抛弃了自己的妻子——纯粹是出于自私，再也没有其他理由了。”

“这肯定是最易于为人们接受的解释了，”我说。但是我心里却想：这等于什么也没有解释。最后我说身体有些劳累，便起身告辞了。思特里克兰德太太并没有留我多坐一会儿的意思。