CHAPTER IX A MOMENT OF GRIM SILENCE

 “Drew, old boy, we win!”

 

Tom Howe put out his hand to grip his partner’s solemnly.

 

It had been a stirring night. Now gray dawn was creeping up the narrow canyons¹ that are a city’s streets.

 

As we have seen, they had come, quite by accident, upon Greasy² Thumb and his undesirable³ companion. They had arrested them on suspicion. But suspicion holds no man in jail.

 

They had found concealed⁴ weapons upon them. But well enough they knew that in this city no man could be held for such an offense⁶ unless the arresting officer had a search warrant. They had none.

 

For all this, a bit of glorious good fortune had come their way. In attempting to conceal⁵ or discard a small package, Greasy Thumb’s partner had bungled⁷. Tom Howe’s eagle eye had detected the move.

 

He had retrieved⁸ the package. And, of all good fortune, he had found it marked with the Air Mail’s special stamp.

 

As he showed it to Drew, his eyes shone.

 

“You wouldn’t have thought they’d keep it,” Drew whispered excitedly.

 

“Wouldn’t?” Tom drew ten one hundred dollar bills from the envelope. “Wouldn’t they, though! It’s wonderful what they’d do for money.

 

“Besides,” he added after a moment, “the thing seemed safe enough. Done in the dark. No witnesses. No nothing. Clean get away.”

 

“Wonder where the rest of it is?” Drew mused⁹.

 

“The rest?”

 

“You don’t think they’d do all that for one grand, a mere¹⁰ thousand dollars! They were after something big. Wonder if they got it.

 

“By the way, what became of the Air Mail pilot?”

 

“That’s a mystery. He’s vanished.”

 

* * * * * * * *

 

Had they but known it, that air pilot was at that moment beneath the city in that labyrinth¹¹ of subways, still in pursuit of the man who had snatched the mysterious package from him.

 

* * * * * * * *

 

“What will you do with them?” Johnny Thompson broke in, poking¹² a thumb at Greasy Thumb and his partner in crime who stood huddled¹³ sulkily in a corridor of the police court building.

 

“We’ll take them right to the Chief,” Drew replied cheerfully. “He’ll book them. We’ve got the goods on ’em. The world will not see them again for many a day.”

 

They led the prisoners to an elevator, rode up two flights, walked down a dark corridor and entered a room where a heavy-set man with beady eyes sat behind a massive desk.

 

This was the Chief. He looked at the youthful detectives through eyes that seemed heavy for lack of sleep.

 

Drew advanced in silence and placed the Air Mail envelope on the Chief’s desk.

 

“What’s this?” The Chief did not look up.

 

“Evidence.”

 

“Evidence!” the Chief exclaimed. “That’s what we need. The people are clamoring for convictions. We must have evidence. We—”

 

At that moment he looked up and his glance fell upon the cowering¹⁴ prisoners.

 

Like a pike caught on a spoon-hook, he appeared to stiffen¹⁵. He continued to stare straight ahead.

 

At that moment a man Johnny had not noticed before, a young man with a boyish face but crafty¹⁶ eye, moved silently forward and whispered in the Chief’s ear.

 

“Where you boys been?” the Chief demanded almost savagely¹⁸, as he wheeled about to face Drew and Tommy. “You know you are supposed to report to me every day. This is the fourth day. No report at all.”

 

“There’s our report.” Drew Lane held his ground. He pointed¹⁹ at the envelope on the Chief’s desk.

 

At that moment Johnny Thompson stole a look at Greasy Thumb and his man. The change that had come over them gave him a start. Gone were their dark and doleful looks. They seemed almost cheerful.

 

“If you please, Chief,” Greasy Thumb appeared to hesitate, “that’s a letter they took from me by force. I received it by Air Mail yesterday.”

 

“Yes, and I suppose your name is Robert Deering,” Drew Lane scoffed²⁰. Robert Deering was the name on the envelope.

 

The wily crook²¹ hesitated, but only for a space of seconds. “Chief,” he replied evenly, “it is. That’s my name. As you know, I have many enemies. I am living under an assumed name.”

 

Once more the man beside the Chief bent²² over to whisper in his ear. Drew Lane frowned.

 

“Is this all the evidence?” the Chief demanded of Drew.

 

“It is, except that they were near the scene of the Air Mail robbery last evening.”

 

“Give it back to ’em. Turn ’em loose.” The Chief’s voice had taken on a hostile, almost savage¹⁷ tone. “There’s no law against receiving money by Air Mail. You can’t hold a man on any such evidence. Turn ’em loose. Do you hear me? Turn ’em loose!”

 

“And now,” he said, after Greasy Thumb and his partner had vanished, “I’m going to put you boys where it won’t be so much trouble to report to me. From now on you’re on court room duty. No more carnivals²³ and baseball games for you. You’re on court room duty, see?”

 

For one full minute by the clock Drew Lane and Tom Howe stood where they were. It was a minute of grim silence. The Chief sat staring like an angry Buddha²⁴. The young man behind him wore on his face one of those fixed²⁵ smiles that never become a sign of mirth.

 

Johnny looked first at Drew, then at Tom in a vain attempt to understand.

 

At last Drew turned in silence and led the way out of the room.

 

1 canyons   

n.峡谷( canyon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This mountain range has many high peaks and deep canyons. 这条山脉有许多高峰和深谷。 来自辞典例句
• Do you use canyons or do we preserve them all? 是使用峡谷呢还是全封闭保存？ 来自互联网

2 greasy   

adj. 多脂的，油脂的

参考例句：

• He bought a heavy-duty cleanser to clean his greasy oven.昨天他买了强力清洁剂来清洗油污的炉子。
• You loathe the smell of greasy food when you are seasick.当你晕船时，你会厌恶油腻的气味。

3 undesirable   

adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子

参考例句：

• They are the undesirable elements among the employees.他们是雇员中的不良分子。
• Certain chemicals can induce undesirable changes in the nervous system.有些化学物质能在神经系统中引起不良变化。

4 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

5 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

6 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

7 bungled   

v.搞糟，完不成( bungle的过去式和过去分词 )；笨手笨脚地做；失败；完不成

参考例句：

• They bungled the job. 他们把活儿搞糟了。
• John bungled the job. 约翰把事情搞糟了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 retrieved   

v.取回( retrieve的过去式和过去分词 )；恢复；寻回；检索（储存的信息）

参考例句：

• Yesterday I retrieved the bag I left in the train. 昨天我取回了遗留在火车上的包。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He reached over and retrieved his jacket from the back seat. 他伸手从后座上取回了自己的夹克。 来自辞典例句

9 mused   

v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事）

参考例句：

• \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们，”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道：‘我们这是在干什么？” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

10 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

11 labyrinth   

n.迷宫；难解的事物；迷路

参考例句：

• He wandered through the labyrinth of the alleyways.他在迷宫似的小巷中闲逛。
• The human mind is a labyrinth.人的心灵是一座迷宫。

12 poking   

n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
• He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。

13 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

14 cowering   

v.畏缩，抖缩( cower的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He turned his baleful glare on the cowering suspect. 他恶毒地盯着那个蜷缩成一团的嫌疑犯。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He stood over the cowering Herb with fists of fury. 他紧握着两个拳头怒气冲天地站在惊魂未定的赫伯面前。 来自辞典例句

15 stiffen   

v.(使)硬，(使)变挺，(使)变僵硬

参考例句：

• The blood supply to the skin is reduced when muscles stiffen.当肌肉变得僵硬时，皮肤的供血量就减少了。
• I was breathing hard,and my legs were beginning to stiffen.这时我却气吁喘喘地开始感到脚有点僵硬。

16 crafty   

adj.狡猾的，诡诈的

参考例句：

• He admired the old man for his crafty plan.他敬佩老者的神机妙算。
• He was an accomplished politician and a crafty autocrat.他是个有造诣的政治家，也是个狡黠的独裁者。

17 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

18 savagely   

adv. 野蛮地，残酷地

参考例句：

• The roses had been pruned back savagely. 玫瑰被狠狠地修剪了一番。
• He snarled savagely at her. 他向她狂吼起来。

19 pointed   

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。

20 scoffed   

嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He scoffed at our amateurish attempts. 他对我们不在行的尝试嗤之以鼻。
• A hundred years ago people scoffed at the idea. 一百年前人们曾嘲笑过这种想法。

21 crook   

v.使弯曲；n.小偷，骗子，贼；弯曲(处)

参考例句：

• He demanded an apology from me for calling him a crook.我骂他骗子，他要我向他认错。
• She was cradling a small parcel in the crook of her elbow.她用手臂挎着一个小包裹。

22 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

23 carnivals   

狂欢节( carnival的名词复数 )； 嘉年华会； 激动人心的事物的组合； 五彩缤纷的颜色组合

参考例句：

• The Venice Carnival is one of the oldest and most famous international carnivals in the world. 威尼斯嘉年华是世界上最古老、最富盛名的国际嘉年华会之一。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年2月号
• A few exceptions would be made, he said, such as for carnivals. 他说一些免责条款将被制定出来，例如嘉年华会。

24 Buddha   

n.佛；佛像；佛陀

参考例句：

• Several women knelt down before the statue of Buddha and prayed.几个妇女跪在佛像前祈祷。
• He has kept the figure of Buddha for luck.为了图吉利他一直保存着这尊佛像。

25 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。