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CHAPTER VII. “My Brother a Convict!”
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The official thought: “I must not let myself be known. I must not.”

To the prisoner he said: “You may be seated, sir. I want to talk to you.”

Then to the guard: “I will excuse you, guard. I wish to question the prisoner alone.”

Turning to the prisoner: “Now, sir, I should like to hear something about yourself. Why were you sentenced, and have you registered under your real name?”

“I have, sir. I am not a criminal. I have been sentenced because of strong circumstantial evidence. I am innocent. I did not commit the crime for which I am here.”

“Well, my opinion of you is good. I do not believe that you are a murderer—at least, I hope not. What occupation did you follow before you came here?”

“I was a follower1 of any work I could do—anything that my strength would permit me to do. I was not a disagreeable man. I made many friends.”

[73]

“If you had many, your friends were no help to you in this case. Did not they offer any assistance?”

“No, sir; I was judged wrongly from the beginning—that is, as soon as it was discovered that it was my handkerchief which was found by the dead lady’s side. My friends were nowhere to be found. I received cold and hard looks from all.”

“Well, sir, I have heard your story. I want to ask you where you were born. What is your native country?”

“My home, sir, is in England. When a very small boy, I ran away from home. I have grieved my dear old mother so much. I understand that she has since died, and after I heard that, I never cared to go home again, but I feel that many times she has spoken to me. Often, when I have been attracted to company I did not know well, I could feel that she was near me and I could hear these words: ‘My son, be careful, be careful!’ And I did not and would not go on after getting the warning, as I called it.”

“You talk as if you had tried to live the right kind of a life, and I feel that you have, but in the position which I hold here I must[74] not show any favors; otherwise I would do so in this case. Therefore I must give you work to fit the crime of which you have been accused. That will mean hard work.”

“I am willing to work, but do not give me work that my strength will not allow me to do. I am weak. I do not get the substantial food that you do, therefore I am not able to work hard. You do not know what it means to be punished for a crime committed by another. I am being punished for a murder which I never committed, and I ask you to have mercy on me.”

“You are guilty until proved innocent. I will ring for the guard, and he will place you where you belong.”

As the guard approached the prisoner turned and looked in astonishment3. The official also looked, and, describing the scene afterward4, he said:

“I was raised from my chair. I do not know by what means. Then I began to feel dizzy and could not speak. I lost my power to see. I could feel someone near, and then I heard the voice of a woman saying: ‘You would sentence your brother to hard labor5, to enable you to hold your own position? You, a child of the same mother and father? Have you no mercy on[75] him? My son, take this brother to your arms and let yourself be known to him. Look into this affair and see if he is not innocent. I will release you, and you do with your brother as you would have him do to you. These are the commands of the spirit of your mother.’

“I shall never forget the terrible strain I was in, and as I mumbled6 brokenly I felt a hand trembling, trying to help me to stand up, and I was given strength by the help of this hand.

“The guard asked for instructions as to where he should place this man—my brother, and I ordered him back to his cell.

“I was at a loss to know what to do. Must I confess—acknowledge him as my brother? or should I pretend to be ignorant of the fact which was plain to my mind? No one knew that he was my brother—not even the man himself knew it. Why should I acknowledge a criminal and a murderer? I could not!

“I thought: ‘I shall place him at once at hard labor. I shall call the guard and have him brought in. I shall try to be brave and not think of boyhood days, when he and I went hand in hand to the dear old school. And dear mother, how she caressed7 us as she said good-bye![76] I can hear those words ring in my ears yet: “Run along, children, and study hard, and some day you will be your mother’s pride.” Yes, to-day, if she could be near her criminal son, she would not be so proud of him. She would do as I am going to do, disown him.’

“I had been so deeply engrossed8 in thought that I had not called for the prisoner, so I called: ‘Guard, I want you to bring No. 78 in here.’

“I felt so uneasy that I thought: ‘Can it be that I have decided9 wrong in this matter?’

“‘Here he is,’ responded the guard, in a short time.

“‘Come in, and I will find the work for you to do which I think you will be able and trustworthy to do. You may take this coat and hat, and you may remove your coat of stripes, and we will exchange places.’

“‘What! You think that I would not do my part if I were given work which I could do? I know that I would do my part if given work I could do. I know I would do my part. Oh, please give me a chance! I only want an opportunity to live, if I can, those ten years I must stay in here—or, at least, until I am proved innocent.’

[77]

“‘Well, how do you think you can prove that you are innocent?’

“‘The real murderer has written to the superintendent10 and confessed his guilt2—or, at least, a letter has been sent here stating that I am innocent.’

“‘You received such a statement?’

“‘I did not, but the officer did—the one whose place you are filling.’

“‘I will look into this matter, at once.’

“‘You may take him back to his cell, guard, and I will send for him again when I have investigated this thoroughly11. Take him back, and return at once.’

“I was sure that if he were innocent, he could be proved to be so, and I decided to go about it at once.

“‘A great man, he is,’ said the guard. ‘We have had more trouble with him than with twenty-five of the other prisoners together.’

“‘Do you know anything in regard to a letter written here?’

“‘I do not. I think that the superintendent has taken a letter for use while he is working on the case for the poor devil.’

“‘Well, I will go to the records and see if there is a record of any such letter.’

[78]

“‘I hope that you will do something in a hurry, for I am getting tired of pacing back and forward with the gentleman,’ said the guard. ‘I feel that I have need of a pair of shoes sot to going some other direction than from 78’s cell to the office and back.’

“‘Well, Pat, what is your opinion of this case? Do you think the man is innocent, or not?’

“‘I’m not here acting12 as judge, but if he is guilty, the mon should work. Setting around eating of the victuals13 and his toime going on just the same!’

“‘The only way to prove his innocence14 would be for the poor woman to come back and tell how the murder was done, and I don’t think there would be any of us here to do time or see others did if we would see her here telling us how she was murdered.’

“‘I, for one, would be a dead Pat.’

“‘Well, Pat, we are both in doubt about the prisoner’s guilt. Now, as long as he is here and proved guilty, say we find work for him to do. What would there be to do where a man could work and not work?’

“‘Leave him have the same job he has had—rest[79] in his cell when he is not on the road here and back.’

“‘If you want a job of that kind, you misunderstand me, Pat. As I understand the poor man, he has never done very hard manual labor, and to place him to work of that kind, I fear, would make it necessary to soon change again. I am sorry that it had to fall to me to confine a convict to hard labor and feel that he is innocent [in an undertone] and my brother!’

“‘Well, shall I bring the poor devil in? My shoes has pointed15 that way; every toime I start the shoes on my very feet wants to track to 78’s cell.’

“‘I wish we could arrange everything, Pat, so your shoes could get a rest. It matters not about our minds. Bring him along.’”

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 follower gjXxP     
n.跟随者;随员;门徒;信徒
参考例句:
  • He is a faithful follower of his home football team.他是他家乡足球队的忠实拥护者。
  • Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。
2 guilt 9e6xr     
n.犯罪;内疚;过失,罪责
参考例句:
  • She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
  • Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。
3 astonishment VvjzR     
n.惊奇,惊异
参考例句:
  • They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
  • I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。
4 afterward fK6y3     
adv.后来;以后
参考例句:
  • Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏,然后吃饭。
  • Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来,这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。
5 labor P9Tzs     
n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦
参考例句:
  • We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
  • He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后,他已经疲惫不堪了。
6 mumbled 3855fd60b1f055fa928ebec8bcf3f539     
含糊地说某事,叽咕,咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He mumbled something to me which I did not quite catch. 他对我叽咕了几句话,可我没太听清楚。
  • George mumbled incoherently to himself. 乔治语无伦次地喃喃自语。
7 caressed de08c4fb4b79b775b2f897e6e8db9aad     
爱抚或抚摸…( caress的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • His fingers caressed the back of her neck. 他的手指抚摩着她的后颈。
  • He caressed his wife lovingly. 他怜爱万分地抚摸着妻子。
8 engrossed 3t0zmb     
adj.全神贯注的
参考例句:
  • The student is engrossed in his book.这名学生正在专心致志地看书。
  • No one had ever been quite so engrossed in an evening paper.没人会对一份晚报如此全神贯注。
9 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
10 superintendent vsTwV     
n.监督人,主管,总监;(英国)警务长
参考例句:
  • He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
  • He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。
11 thoroughly sgmz0J     
adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地
参考例句:
  • The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
  • The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。
12 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
参考例句:
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
13 victuals reszxF     
n.食物;食品
参考例句:
  • A plateful of coarse broken victuals was set before him.一盘粗劣的剩余饭食放到了他的面前。
  • There are no more victuals for the pig.猪没有吃的啦。
14 innocence ZbizC     
n.无罪;天真;无害
参考例句:
  • There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
  • The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。
15 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。


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