简 介理查德哈内走回他伦敦的公寓，感到百无聊赖。他想，在英格兰好像什么令人激动的事情也不曾发生过。也许他该回非洲去。然而，那天晚上来了一位叫斯卡德尔的客人，给他讲了一个离奇的故事。一周以后，哈内卧在苏格兰荒原的石楠丛中，饥肠辘辘，筋疲力尽。一架小飞机在他头顶的蓝天上低空盘旋。哈内一动不动地躺着，希望谢天谢地飞机不要发现他，同时琢磨着口袋里斯卡德尔的黑色小笔记本。斯卡德尔在笔记本里记着“黑石”，这个神秘的黑石是谁呢？那个“三十九级台阶”又怎么那么重要？六月十五日伦敦会出什么事？而斯卡德尔已经被害，哈内的敌人在苏格兰的山山岭岭日夜追捕他，他必须自己搞清这是为什么。如果他的敌人抓住他，就会把他杀掉约翰巴肯（18751940）：苏格兰作家，政治家，曾任加拿大总督。他有许多著作，最有名的是理查德哈内系列惊险小说，其中包括三十九级台阶，该书写于一九一五年，后改编成著名导演希区科克执导的电影。1 The man who diedI returned to my flat at about three oclock on that May afternoon very unhappy with life. I has been back in Britain for three months and I was already bored. The weather was bad，the people were dull，and the amusements of London seemed as exciting as a glass of cold water.Richard Hannay，I told myself，you have made a mistake，and you had better do something about it.It made me angry when I thought of the years I had spent in Africa. I had spent those years working very hard and making money. Not a lot of money，but enough for me. I had left Scotland when I was six years old，and I had never been home since. For years I had dreamt of coming home to Britain and spending the rest of my life there，but I was disappointed with the place after the first week. And so here I was，thirty-seven years old，healthy，with enough money to have a good time，and bored to death.That evening I went out to dinner and sat reading the newspapers afterwards. They were full of the troubles in south-east Europe，and there was a long report about Karolides，the Greek Prime Minister. He seemed to be an honest man，but some people in Europe hated him. However，many people in Britain liked him，and one newspaper said that he was the only man who could prevent a war starting. I remember wondering if I could get a job in south-east Europe；it might be a lot less boring than life in London.As I walked home that night，I decided to give Britain one more day. If nothing interesting happened，I would take the next boat back to Africa.My flat was in a big new building in Langham Place. There was a doorman at the entrance to the building，but each flat was separate，with its own front door. I was just putting the key into my door when a man appeared next to me. He was thin，with a short brown beard and small，very bright eyes. I recognized him as the man who lived in a flat on the top floor of the building. We had spoken once or twice on the stairs.Can I speak to you？he asked. May I come in for a minute？His voice was shaking a little.I opened the door and we went in.Is the door locked？he asked，and quickly locked it himself.Im very sorry，he said to me. Its very rude of me. But Im in a dangerous corner and you looked like the kind of man who would understand. If I explain，will you help me？Ill listen to you，I said. Thats all I promise. I was getting worried by this strange mans behaviour.There was a table with drinks on it next to him，and he took a large whisky for himself. He drank it quickly，and then put the glass down so violently that it broke.Im sorry，he said. Im a little nervous tonight. You see，at this moment Im dead. I sat down in an armchair and lit my pipe.How does it feel？I asked. I was now almost sure that the man was mad.He smiled. Im not mad-yet. Listen，Ive been watching you，and I guess that youre not easily frightened. Im going to tell you my story. I need help very badly，and I want to know if youre the right man to ask. Tell me your story，I said，and Ill tell you if I can help you. It was an extraordinary story. I didnt understand all of it，and I had to ask a lot of questions，but here it is：His name was Franklin P. Scudder and he was an American，but he had been in south-east Europe for several years. By accident，he had discovered a group of people who were working secretly to push Europe towards a war. These people were clever，and dangerous. Some of them wanted to change the world through war；others simply wanted to make a lot of money，and there is always money to be made from a war. Their plan was to get Russia and Germany at war with each other.I want to stop them，Scudder told me，and if I can stay alive for another month，I think I can. I thought you were already dead，I said.Ill tell you about that in a minute，he answered. But first，do you know who Constantine Karolides is？The Greek Prime Minister. Ive just been reading about him in todays newspapers. Right. Hes the only man who can stop the war. Hes intelligent，hes honest，and he knows whats going on-and so his enemies plan to kill him. I have discovered how. That was very dangerous for me，so I had to disappear. They cant kill Karolides in Greece because he has too many guards. But on the 15th of June hes coming to London for a big meeting，and his enemies plan to kill him here. You can warn him，I said. Hell stay at home. Thats what his enemies want. If he doesnt come，theyll win，