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CHAPTER XI. HENDERSON IN NEW BUSINESS.
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 “I will get even with you for this. Bob is not your son, and I will see that you don’t adopt him, either. Whenever I see a notice of your death—and you can’t live forever—I will hunt that boy up and make him know what it is to be in want, as I am at this moment.”
I don’t suppose that when Clifford Henderson shouted this defiance1 at his brother, on the day he left him, after Mr. Davenport had refused to take any further steps toward paying his debts, that he really intended to go to Texas, or, if he did, he never expected to meet Bob there. He wanted to get away by himself and think over his misfortune; for he considered it a misfortune when his brother, who was fairly rolling in wealth, should decline to advance him the small sum when he was so much in need of it. Henderson was[199] in sore straits—that is, for him. He had money, but he was anxious to get a little more, in order to go into a speculation2 in which he was certain to lose all he had; and it was when his brother declined to meet this demand that he went into a rage.
“Old Bob wants me to go to work,” said he, as he turned and shook his fist at the house. “Not if I know it! I have seen him, when he was not any older than I am, looking around for a chance to put his money at interest, and he never would have anything to do with what I suggested to him. Never mind; he is ’most dead with consumption, and I will see what will become of Bob after that.”
When he got a little further along the street whom should he meet but the man with whom he intended to go into the speculation. It was buying waste land on the outskirts4 of the city, which might some day be profitable enough, but which would take double the amount that he had to improve it.
“Well, Clifford, did you try your brother?” he exclaimed, as soon as he got[200] within speaking distance. “I know you have, for a fellow would not look as glum5 as you do who had met with any success.”
“Yes, I have tried him,” said Henderson, taking the opportunity to whisper a few choice swear words. “I have tried him, and he can’t see it. He had but a few dollars left, and he wants to invest that for Bob. Bob! Everything is for Bob! I wish I could get rid of that boy.”
“You know I told you, when he came back from the mines and brought that boy with him, that your cake was all dough,” said his friend, who was about as disgusted as a man could well be. “Why did not you take my advice and put him away long ago?”
“Because I was a fool—that’s why! You see I was afraid somebody would get onto it.”
“They won’t if you do as I tell you. But it is none of my funeral. If you can’t go into the speculation I must go and hunt up somebody else. I must have some of those acres up there, for I know there is money in them. Before I would be tied down by a little boy![201] Good gracious! Why don’t you push him overboard?”
“I never have a chance to go fishing with him,” said Henderson.
“No matter. You could make chances enough, I dare say. How does the boy feel toward you?”
“Friendly enough. I don’t think old Bob has mentioned my name to him for a long time.”
“Does his tutor go with him everywhere?”
“Yes, everywhere. He can’t go out around the block without the tutor sticks close at his heels. If he would only send the boy to school I would have a better show.”
“Do you know where the boy sleeps?”
“I bet you I do, but I don’t intend to fool around there,” said Henderson, growing alarmed. “He sleeps in a room opening off from the tutor’s, and I tell you I wouldn’t take a hand in it. That tutor is a big man and is a match for both of us.”
“Could he get away with a sand-bag?” said the friend, shutting one eye and looking at Henderson with the other. “A man has[202] to be wide awake to meet such a thing as that.”
“You may try it if you want to, and I’ll give you half you make,” said Henderson. “My brother is going to die in the course of a year or two, and by the end of that time I shall have money enough.”
“You can if he dies without making a will; but how do you intend to get around it if he names the boy as his heir?”
“If he doesn’t adopt him it is all right. I tell you that would make me mad. In that case I should probably wake up and do something, and I should find myself in jail before I was a week older.”
“Not if you manage rightly. But I must go on. I must have that land before three o’clock or the fat will all be in the fire.”
The friend walked away and Henderson kept on his road down the street. We can see from his conversation that he was not a bad man at heart, but he ought to have been rich, and in that case he would in a very short time have found himself penniless. His expectations ran greatly ahead of his income,[203] which at this time amounted to just nothing at all. All he made aside from his brother’s allowance was what he gained from little speculations6, and, furthermore, he was in the hands of men who generally called on him for everything they wanted, and with a fair prospect7 of getting it. But now that Mr. Davenport had refused him any more money,—he had told him in plain language that he would have to pay his own debts in future,—their occupation was gone, and they must look elsewhere. He sent for his clothing during the day, and took up his abode8 at the hotel, where he tried to make up his mind what he ought to do.
“I have my choice between two courses of action,” said he, as he lighted a cigar and sat down in his room to think the matter over. “One is, to shut Bob up in a lunatic asylum9; and the other is, to go fishing with him and shove him overboard. Now, if anyone can tell me which of those two is the safest, I will be ready to listen to him. Nothing else seems likely to happen to him.”
The worst of it all was, Mr. Davenport[204] knew that something was about to happen to Bob. Almost a year before, when Mr. Davenport had refused to advance money for some of Henderson’s schemes, the latter had so far forgotten himself as to make threats against Bob. It alarmed his father, who at once took Bob out of school and placed him under the protection of a private teacher, a stalwart man, a born athlete, and ready to hold his own against all the men that Henderson could bring against him. He slept, too, in a room adjoining Bob’s, so that the boy was under his care night and day. And it was all done so quietly that Bob never suspected anything. Wherever he went his tutor was ready to go with him; he was a man whom he liked, and he supposed that everything was just as it should be.
“That was a bad thing for me,” soliloquized Henderson, knocking the ashes from his cigar. “If I had kept still about that I might have got rid of Bob, and no one would have been the wiser for it, but now he is lost to me.”
Of course his determination to push Bob overboard when he went fishing with him was[205] knocked in the head by this arrangement, and so was his desire to steal him away and lock him up. This last, which was the idea of the man he had left but a few minutes ago, held out brighter promises than anything else; and he had even gone so far as to engage the doctor who was to take charge of it, promising10 him five thousand dollars when the boy was delivered into his hands, and as much more if his object was successful. But there he stopped. Henderson didn’t have the pluck to go ahead with it, and there the matter laid for over a year. Now it was brought back to him with redoubled force. Everything was going to Bob; he could see that plainly enough, and it was high time he was doing something. In fact, it had been that way ever since Mr. Davenport returned from the mines with this little nuisance, picked up none knew where.
“He must go, and that’s all about it,” said Henderson, rising from his chair and hurriedly pacing the room. “If he won’t go overboard he must be locked up; my luck and everything else depend upon it. I will[206] go out now and see what Scanlan has to say about it, for I am determined11 that I will not put up with him any longer.”
Scanlan was the friend he had left an hour or so before, and when found he didn’t have the money to enable him to go on with that speculation. There were few Hendersons in the field for him to call upon, and they were as hard up as he was.
“I guess the land will have to go to somebody else,” said he, as he described his ill luck. “I want just five hundred dollars, and nobody seems to have it.”
“I could get it, if it were not for my brother,” said Henderson; and when he spoke12 the word “brother” he fairly hissed13 it through his teeth. Scanlan looked up in surprise. “Have I forgotten to tell you that old Bob invariably speaks of that little snipe as my brother?” he continued. “He has been with him now for four years, and he thinks that I can get used to calling him by a relationship that really never existed.”
“How old is the boy, anyhow?”
“Seven years old. Old Bob took him when[207] he was only three. I only wish the Indians had come down on them and massacred the last one of the lot. Not old Bob, of course, for I am indebted to him for a pocketful of rocks, but that young one I wish I had never seen.”
“I don’t see what his pocketful of rocks has got to do with you,” said Scanlan.
“Neither do I. I do think,” added Henderson, as though he was considering the matter for the first time, “that if I would go home and behave myself, and wait until the old man dies, I could really get hold of some of his money, but how much would I get? Not twenty thousand, and that isn’t enough to buy an oyster14 supper.”
“How much is the old man worth?”
“I don’t know. A cool million.”
“Whew!” whistled Scanlan. “And are you going to stay back and let that boy cheat you out of it? If you do I shall never be sorry for you.”
“That’s is just what I don’t want to do, and I came down here to talk to you about kidnapping him and putting him under lock[208] and key,” continued Henderson, looking all around to make sure that no one overheard him. “I say let him be locked up at once.”
“Now you are talking,” said Scanlan. “If you had decided15 on that several years ago you would have had no trouble; but now I tell you it is going to be uphill work. We’ve got the tutor to overcome, and that is going to be all that we two can do. Now, what do you propose?”
A long conversation followed, and the substance was that the matter was left entirely16 in the hands of his friend Scanlan. Henderson had never been in the habit of defying the police by engaging in any kidnapping schemes, and he did not propose to begin now. He wanted the boy got rid of, when and how he didn’t care, so long as no effort was made against his life. That was too dangerous. And there, we may add, the thing rested for a whole year, until one day Henderson heard something in a few moments’ talk with the tutor, who had waited outside while his pupil was in a store making some purchases, that set him post haste after Scanlan.
[209]
“The dog is dead now,” said he, drawing Scanlan into a doorway17 where they could talk without being overheard, “and I don’t know whether to be glad or sorry over it. My brother is going to Texas!”
“To Texas?” exclaimed Scanlan. “What in the world should take him into that far-off region?”
“He had a relative down there engaged in the cattle business, and he has died leaving his property to old Bob. Don’t it beat the world how some fellows can get along without lifting their hands? Now, if he had left those cattle to me who stand so much in need of them——”
“If that boy goes to Texas he’ll be out of reach of you,” interrupted Scanlan.
“Yes; but see what danger he’ll be in.”
“I don’t know that he will be in any danger—more than he is here,” said Scanlan. “Remember that if he stays there long enough to get acquainted he will have any number of rifles to back him up.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Why, supposing his father dies and[210] leaves no will. It would put you to some trouble to prove that you are next of kin3. You see your names are different. If they made up their minds that he was the heir, it would be good-by to you.”
“And you believe it would be best to kidnap him very soon?” asked Henderson, his courage all leaving him.
“Certainly I do! If he goes down there you are a poor man for your lifetime. Now is the chance. I tell you I would not miss it for anything!”
This brought the matter squarely home to Henderson, and he decided that he would take that night to sleep upon it. He rolled and tossed on his bed without ever closing his eyes in slumber18, and when morning came he had made up his mind to do something.
“Scanlan will have to do it all,” said he, and his compressed lips showed that he had looked at the matter in all its bearings. “I will keep just behind him and show him the room where the boy sleeps, and he can throw the quilt over him and secure him without any help from me. Then if that old tutor of[211] his jumps in on us, why I will get out of the way. But I must leave my way of escape clear.”
Henderson carried out his programme by going to the bank, drawing out his money, and depositing it somewhere about his person. Then he packed his trunk as if for a long journey, and then told Scanlan that he was ready for business.
“I knew that was the decision you would come to, so I got the carriage and made it all right with the driver,” said Scanlan. “I have got an extension bit, which is about the only thing we need, to enable us to get in through the basement door. Now, Cliff, how much am I going to get for this? I do all the work and you stand by and look on. I ought to have a considerable sum for that.”
“Why, I guess what I am to give the doctor——” began Henderson.
“Not much,” said Scanlan, with a laugh. “What you will give the doctor won’t faze me. Say a tenth of what you make.”
“Oh, my goodness!” stammered19 Henderson.
[212]
“I have got the paper here, it is all drawn20 up, and I guess it is all right,” continued Scanlan, drawing a folded document from his inside pocket. “Just run your eye over that.”
“A hundred thousand!” gasped21 Henderson.
“That isn’t a drop in the bucket to what you will have if you succeed,” said Scanlan coolly. “You will see that the paper says ‘if successful.’ If you don’t succeed in the job, why that is my lookout22. If you do, I shall want the money. If the arrangement doesn’t suit you, get somebody else to try his hand.”
That was just what Henderson was afraid of, and things had gone too far for him to back out. He felt as though he was signing his death warrant when he was affixing23 his signature to the document, but when it was done the writing did not look much like his bold penmanship.
“So far so good,” said Scanlan, coolly surveying the signature. “But you are a little nervous, Cliff. Now you keep that tutor off[213] me and I will get the boy. You meet me here at ten o’clock, and when morning comes that fellow will be under lock and key.”
“I have done it,” said Henderson, going out on the street and wending his way toward his brother’s house. “I have gone too far to back out. Here I have gone and signed a paper and placed it in the hands of that man Scanlan, and he can use it on me at a moment’s warning. He’s a desperate fellow. I wish I felt as certain of success as he does.”
Somebody has said that when a man is going to the bad he finds everything greased for the occasion; that is, he finds it easy enough to go down hill; but almost impossible for him to get back. I am not well enough posted in literature to know who it was that said it, but perhaps some of you boys who are fresh from your books may be able to name the person. Henderson found it so, and it all dated from the moment he signed that paper. He was afraid to back out now, and so he must go on. He walked by his brother’s house once or twice, and then went back to his hotel. He didn’t eat any supper, and he[214] didn’t want any; but when it came near time for him to meet Scanlan he stepped into a store and bought a heavy oak stick, which he thought would be strong enough to floor the tutor or anybody else that took a hand in rescuing the boy, and pronounced himself ready for the business. There were still three hours for them to pass in some way, for Scanlan did not think it safe to make a move before one o’clock, and the time seemed to slip away before they knew it. They found the carriage right where Scanlan said they would, and in a few minutes were set down within a few doors of Mr. Davenport’s house. When they got out the hack-driver thought it time to speak about his money.
“Look here!” said he; “which one of you gentlemen is a-going to pay me a hundred dollars for this trip? Kidnapping a sane24 person and taking him off to a lunatic asylum——”
“My dear sir, kidnapping is something we don’t have any hand in at all,” said Scanlan. “We are going to take this fellow out of the house with the full consent of[215] his father, but we don’t want his aunts to know anything about it. The hundred dollars are all right. This man is a detective, and will pay you when we get the passenger to the asylum. Are you satisfied?”
The hack-driver had nothing further to say. All he wanted to know was who would give him his money when the trip was over. He mounted to his box, being instructed to keep himself within hailing distance, and the two kept on toward Mr. Davenport’s residence. All was dark and silent within, except the light that was kept burning in the tutor’s room.
“We have got to keep out of that,” said Henderson, pointing toward the window. “If we allow ourselves to come within reach of it I shall be recognized; then good-by to me.”
“Well, we must look out for that,” said Scanlan, who did not feel any more fear than if he was sitting down to his supper. “Keep close beside me, and be ready to knock the tutor down if he takes a hand in the rumpus. That’s all you have to do.”
[216]
In a few minutes they reached the basement door, where they were free from interruption, and Scanlan, producing his extension bit, went to work in earnest. He first cut out a circular opening in the door above the bolt, then thrust his hand in and cautiously removed the fastenings, and the door swung open. They entered and Scanlan closed the door behind him.
“I think you had better leave it open,” said Henderson, who trembled as if he was seized with a sudden attack of the ague. “We might be discovered.”
“In that case we’ll have something to light us out,” said Scanlan. “But be sure you kick over the blaze before you go out.”
With the words Scanlan took from his pocket a small piece of candle, which he lighted and stood upon the table, embedded25 in some of its own grease. Then he stopped and looked around him. The house was silent as if it had been deserted26, and having satisfied himself on this point, Scanlan motioned for Henderson to lead the way up the stairs.[217] The steps were carpeted, and moreover, being shod with rubbers, the men gave out no sound as they ascended27 to the first floor, the leader easily finding and opening all doors that barred his progress. That one lock passed at the basement door had opened the way for them.
At length they came to the front hall, and here some more strategy was made use of. Henderson carefully unlocked the door and placed the key on the outside, and then cautiously led the way up the second stairs to the floor above. He stopped every once in a while to listen, but he heard nothing suspicious, and presently pushed open a door that gave entrance into the room in which the little boy was sleeping. With a motion of his hand, Henderson pointed28 him out, and then moved through the room to take a look at the tutor. He lay upon his back with his arms extended over his head, revealing muscles that made Henderson tremble. Something, I don’t know what it was, went through the tutor all of a sudden, and he started up in alarm to find a strange face in his door[218] He gazed at it a moment, and then thrust his hand under his pillow. When it came out it had a revolver in its grasp. Henderson took one look at it and turned and took to his heels.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 defiance RmSzx     
n.挑战,挑衅,蔑视,违抗
参考例句:
  • He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
  • He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。
2 speculation 9vGwe     
n.思索,沉思;猜测;投机
参考例句:
  • Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
  • There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。
3 kin 22Zxv     
n.家族,亲属,血缘关系;adj.亲属关系的,同类的
参考例句:
  • He comes of good kin.他出身好。
  • She has gone to live with her husband's kin.她住到丈夫的亲戚家里去了。
4 outskirts gmDz7W     
n.郊外,郊区
参考例句:
  • Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
  • They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。
5 glum klXyF     
adj.闷闷不乐的,阴郁的
参考例句:
  • He was a charming mixture of glum and glee.他是一个很有魅力的人,时而忧伤时而欢笑。
  • She laughed at his glum face.她嘲笑他闷闷不乐的脸。
6 speculations da17a00acfa088f5ac0adab7a30990eb     
n.投机买卖( speculation的名词复数 );思考;投机活动;推断
参考例句:
  • Your speculations were all quite close to the truth. 你的揣测都很接近于事实。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • This possibility gives rise to interesting speculations. 这种可能性引起了有趣的推测。 来自《用法词典》
7 prospect P01zn     
n.前景,前途;景色,视野
参考例句:
  • This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
  • The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。
8 abode hIby0     
n.住处,住所
参考例句:
  • It was ten months before my father discovered his abode.父亲花了十个月的功夫,才好不容易打听到他的住处。
  • Welcome to our humble abode!欢迎光临寒舍!
9 asylum DobyD     
n.避难所,庇护所,避难
参考例句:
  • The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
  • Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。
10 promising BkQzsk     
adj.有希望的,有前途的
参考例句:
  • The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
  • We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。
11 determined duszmP     
adj.坚定的;有决心的
参考例句:
  • I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
  • He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
12 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
13 hissed 2299e1729bbc7f56fc2559e409d6e8a7     
发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 ); 发嘘声表示反对
参考例句:
  • Have you ever been hissed at in the middle of a speech? 你在演讲中有没有被嘘过?
  • The iron hissed as it pressed the wet cloth. 熨斗压在湿布上时发出了嘶嘶声。
14 oyster w44z6     
n.牡蛎;沉默寡言的人
参考例句:
  • I enjoy eating oyster; it's really delicious.我喜欢吃牡蛎,它味道真美。
  • I find I fairly like eating when he finally persuades me to taste the oyster.当他最后说服我尝尝牡蛎时,我发现我相当喜欢吃。
15 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。
16 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
17 doorway 2s0xK     
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径
参考例句:
  • They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
  • Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。
18 slumber 8E7zT     
n.睡眠,沉睡状态
参考例句:
  • All the people in the hotels were wrapped in deep slumber.住在各旅馆里的人都已进入梦乡。
  • Don't wake him from his slumber because he needs the rest.不要把他从睡眠中唤醒,因为他需要休息。
19 stammered 76088bc9384c91d5745fd550a9d81721     
v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He stammered most when he was nervous. 他一紧张往往口吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Barsad leaned back in his chair, and stammered, \"What do you mean?\" 巴萨往椅背上一靠,结结巴巴地说,“你是什么意思?” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
20 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
21 gasped e6af294d8a7477229d6749fa9e8f5b80     
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要
参考例句:
  • She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
  • People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
22 lookout w0sxT     
n.注意,前途,瞭望台
参考例句:
  • You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
  • It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来,公司的前景可就不妙了。
23 affixing 5744b3b3c6bf9b7d389323054e11854d     
v.附加( affix的现在分词 );粘贴;加以;盖(印章)
参考例句:
  • Formally approves a document by affixing a signature. 以签名的形式正式批准文件。 来自互联网
  • Forfixing, insulating, shock affixing parts or screws of many items such as appliances, stereos, and eyeglasses. 电器、音响响、光学学、电脑等的零件、螺丝固定绝缘、防震与接著。 来自互联网
24 sane 9YZxB     
adj.心智健全的,神志清醒的,明智的,稳健的
参考例句:
  • He was sane at the time of the murder.在凶杀案发生时他的神志是清醒的。
  • He is a very sane person.他是一个很有头脑的人。
25 embedded lt9ztS     
a.扎牢的
参考例句:
  • an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
  • He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。
26 deserted GukzoL     
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的
参考例句:
  • The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
  • The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。
27 ascended ea3eb8c332a31fe6393293199b82c425     
v.上升,攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He has ascended into heaven. 他已经升入了天堂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The climbers slowly ascended the mountain. 爬山运动员慢慢地登上了这座山。 来自《简明英汉词典》
28 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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