After his nephew had gone to bed, the Marquis went to his room. The castle was surrounded with darkness. In the villages nearby the hungry people dreamt of a better life, with enough good food to eat, and time to rest from their work.
在他侄儿上床后，侯爵进了自己的房间。城堡被夜色包围。附近村子里饥饿的人们在梦想着过上好一点的生活，以便有足够的好食物吃。还可以工作后有时间休息。
Early in the morning the dreamers awoke and started their day's hard work. The people in the castle did not get up until later, but when they did, why did the great bell start ringing? Why did people ride out of the castle to the village as fast as they could?
一大早人们便从睡梦中醒来开始他们一天的辛勤劳作。城堡里的人很晚才会起床的。可等到他们起床时，为什么那个大钟开始响了起来呢?人们为什么骑着马拼命地从城堡往村子里跑呢?
The answer lay in the bed of the Marquis. He lay there, like stone, with a knife pushed into his heart. On his chest lay a piece of paper with the words：
答案就在侯爵的床上。侯爵像一块石头僵躺在床上。一把尖刀插进了他的心脏，在他的胸前放着一张纸条。上面写着：
"Drive him fast to his grave. This is from JACQUES."
“快把他送进他的坟墓。这是雅克干的。”

创作历程：

我同我的孩子们和朋友们演出威尔基·柯林斯先生的戏剧《冰海深处》的时候，第一次构思了这部小说的主要想法。那时候，我产生了一种强烈的愿望，想亲自把这种想法体现出来；于是我驰骋想象，刻意精心而且兴趣盎然的追踪一个敏锐细致的旁观者非表现出来不可的那种心情感受。