臨時急行列車の紛失The Disappearance of the Express Train

About this story

A condemned criminal's confession sheds light on a mysterious unsolved crime from eight years ago.

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Source

This text comes from Aozora Bunko (青空文庫), the volunteer-run library of Japanese writing that is out of copyright. See this work on Aozora Bunko

Base edition (底本): 「「新青年」復刻版　大正10年（第2巻）合本2」本の友社
2001（平成13）年1月10日復刻版第1刷発行

Typed in by 京都大学電子テクスト研究会入力班（加藤祐介）. Proofread by 京都大学電子テクスト研究会校正班（大久保ゆう）.

Yomimaru changed the spelling to modern kana and modern kanji, replaced classical grammar and some archaic words with modern ones, and rephrased some sentences, keeping their meaning.

The furigana are Yomimaru's.

What you'll learn

The narrator introduces the confession of Herbert de Lernac, a death row prisoner in Marseille, which he believes will finally solve the mystery of a train that disappeared eight years ago in England, carrying a financier named Mr. Caratal.

Mr. Caratal, a French financier, arrives in Liverpool with a large servant and demands a special train to London. Despite opposition, the train departs but never arrives at its destination; the driver's body is found, and the train and passengers vanish without a trace.

A letter from the guard James MacPherson to his wife reveals he is alive in New York and sends money. Herbert de Lernac confesses that he was hired by a syndicate of French financiers to prevent Caratal from reaching Paris with damaging documents. He describes the planning and execution of the train's disappearance.

Key vocabulary

繋つながれている	to be imprisoned/chained
文書袋ぶんしょぶくろ	document bag
未曾有みぞう	unprecedented
疑獄ぎごく	bribery scandal
佝僂こうがい	hunchback

Grammar points you'll meet

• ～が早いか N1Expresses that as soon as one action is completed, the next action immediately follows.

  カラタール氏しは、一いち哩まいるについて五ご志こころざしという規定きていの特別とくべつ乗車じょうしゃ賃ちんの割合わりあいで、総額そうがく五ご十じゅう磅五ご志こころざしを支払しはらうが早はやいか、あくあくしながら、例れいの連つれの男おとこを促うながして…

• ～たばかり N3Indicates that an action has just been completed.

  カラタール氏しは今日きょうの午後ごご、中部ちゅうぶ亜米利加あめりかから入港にゅうこうしたばかりであるが、緊急きんきゅうな事件じけんが突発とっぱつしたため…

• ～ず N3Negative form of ～ないで, meaning 'without doing'.

  その紳士しんしはいかにも恭うやうやしげな態度たいどと、絶たえずあたりに眼めをくばっている様子ようすとで、彼かれが紳士しんしの従者じゅうしゃであることが読よまれた。

Cultural notes

• Early 20th Century British RailwaysThe story is set in 1900s Britain, where special express trains could be chartered for urgent travel. The Liverpool and Manchester Railway was one of the earliest inter-city railways, and the narrative reflects the complexity of railway operations and telegraph communication of the time.
• Marseille Prison and French Justice SystemThe confession is written by a prisoner on death row in Marseille. This reflects the French penal system of the time, where public executions were still carried out, and condemned prisoners often made last-minute confessions or appeals.
• Financiers and Political Scandals in Belle Époque FranceThe plot involves a financial scandal (疑獄事件) in Paris, reminiscent of real-life scandals like the Panama Canal scandal. The narrative reflects the era's corruption and international intrigue.

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