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CHAPTER XIII
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 THERE was something in the air that was electrical, and Mary Maxell felt it as she sat at supper with Sir John and his wife. Maxell was unusually silent and his wife amazingly so. She was nervous and almost jumped when a remark was addressed to her. The old truculence1 which distinguished2 her every word and action, her readiness to take offence, to see a slight in the most innocent remark, and her combativeness3 generally, had disappeared; she was almost meek4 when she replied to her husband’s questions.
“I just went round shopping and then decided5 to call on a girl I had known a long time ago. She lives in the country, and I felt so nervous and depressed6 this morning that I thought a ride in a taxi would do me good.”
“Why didn’t you take our car?” asked the other.
“I didn’t decide until the last moment to go out to her, and then I went by train one way.”
Sir John nodded.
“I’m glad you went into the fresh air,” he said, “it will do you good. The country is not so beautiful as Honolulu, but it is not without its attractions.”
It was unusual for the Judge to be sarcastic7, but it was less usual for Lady Maxell to accept sarcasm8 without a retort. To Mary’s surprise she made no reply, though a faint smile curved those straight lips of hers for a second.
“Do you think it was a burglar last night?” she asked suddenly.
“Good heavens, no!” said Maxell. “Burglars do not shoot up the house they burgle.”
“Do you think it is safe to have all this money in the house?” she asked.
“Perfectly safe,” he said. “I do not think that need alarm you.”
No further reference was made to the matter, and presently Sir John went up to his study. Mrs. Maxell did not go to the parlour, but drew a chair to the fire in the dining-room and read, and the girl followed her example. Presently the elder woman left the room and was gone a quarter of an hour before she returned.
“Mary,” she said, so sweetly that the girl was startled, “such an annoying thing has happened—I have lost the key of my wardrobe. You borrowed one of Sir John’s duplicates the other day—where did you put the ring?”
John Maxell was a methodical and systematic10 man. He had a duplicate set of all the keys in the house, and these as a rule were kept in a small wall-safe in his own bedroom. He had never invited his wife to use that receptacle, but she had a shrewd idea that the combination which was denied to her had been given to the girl.
Mary hesitated.
“Don’t you think if you asked Uncle——”
“My dear,” smiled the lady, “if I went to him now, he’d never forgive me. If you know where the keys are, be an angel and get them for me.”
The girl rose, and Lady Maxell followed her upstairs. Her own room was next to her husband’s and communicated, but the door was invariably locked on Maxell’s side. Presently the girl came in to her.
“Here they are,” she said. “Please let me put them back quickly. I feel very guilty at having taken them at all without his permission.”
“And for goodness’ sake don’t tell him,” said Lady Maxell, examining the keys.
At last she found the one she wanted, but was a long time in the process. She opened her bureau and the girl took the big key-ring from her hand with such evident relief that Lady Maxell laughed.
It had been easier than she thought and unless she made a blunder, the key she had selected from the bunch while she was fumbling11 at the bureau, would make just the difference—just the difference.
It was not customary for Sir John to come down from his study to enjoy the ladies’ company after dinner, but on this evening he made an exception to his rule. He found his wife and ward9 reading, one on each side of the fireplace. Lady Maxell looked up when her husband came in.
“Here is a curious story, John,” she said. “I think it must be an American story, about a woman who robbed her husband and the police refused to arrest her.”
“There’s nothing curious about that,” said the lawyer, “in law a wife cannot rob her husband or a husband his wife.”
“So that if you came to my Honolulu estate and stole my pearls,” she said banteringly, “I could not have you arrested.”
“Except for walking in my sleep!” he said smilingly, and they both laughed together.
He had never seen her so amiable12, and for the first time that day—it had been a very trying and momentous13 day—he had his misgivings14. She, with the memory of her good day’s work, the excellent terms she had arranged with the skipper of the Lord Lawrence, due to leave Southampton for Cadiz at daylight the next morning, had no misgivings at all, especially when she thought of a key she had placed under her pillow. She had had the choice of two boats, the Lord Lawrence and the Saffi, but the Saffi’s voyage would have been a long one, and its port of destination might hold discomfort15 which she had no wish to experience.
The household retired16 at eleven o’clock, and it was past midnight before Sadie Maxell heard her husband’s door close, and half an hour later before the click of the switch told her that his light had been extinguished.
He was a ready sleeper17, but she gave him yet another half-hour before she opened the door of her bedroom and stepped out into the black corridor. She moved noiselessly towards the study, her only fear being that the baronet had locked the door before he came out. But this fear was not well founded, and the door yielded readily to her touch. She was dressed, and carried only a small attaché case filled with the bare necessities for the voyage.
She pushed the catch of her electric lamp, located the safe and opened it with no difficulty. She found herself surprisingly short of breath, and her heart beat at such a furious rate that she thought it must be audible to everybody in the house. The envelope with the money lay at the bottom of the others, and she transferred its contents to her attaché case in a few seconds.
Then her heart stood still. . . .
It was only the faintest creak she heard, but it came from a corner of the room where the door leading to the cupboard stairway was placed. She saw a faint grey line of light appear—the stairway had a glass roof and admitted enough light to show her that the door was slowly opening. She had to bite her lips to stop herself from screaming. To make her escape or to rouse Sir John was impossible, and she opened the attaché case again, and with trembling fingers felt for the little revolver which she had taken from her drawer. She felt safer now, yet she had not the courage to switch on the light.
She saw the figure of a man silhouetted18 in the opening, then the door closed, and her terror bred of itself a certain courage.
She flashed the light full on his face. The dead silence was broken when she whispered:
“Oh, God! Benson!”
“Who’s that?” he whispered, and snatched the torch from her hand.
He looked at her long and curiously19, and then:
“I expected to find that Maxell had taken most of my possessions,” he said, “but I never thought he would take my wife!”
“Let us see what all this is about,” boomed the big voice of John Maxell almost in the man’s ear, he was so close, and suddenly the room was flooded with light.

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1 truculence EUnzJ     
n.凶猛,粗暴
参考例句:
  • One day, it might even suit the Kremlin to encourage this truculence. 总有一天可能更适于克里姆宁宫去鼓励这种好战。
  • Examples of China's truculence as viewed from Washington – abound. 在华盛顿方面看来,中国好斗的例子比比皆是。
2 distinguished wu9z3v     
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的
参考例句:
  • Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
  • A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。
3 combativeness 975431b814464f31b3d8dbc0651f0a62     
n.好战
参考例句:
  • While they were with Jesus, any slight shown to Him aroused their indignation and combativeness. 他们与耶稣同在时,只要有人对耶稣表示轻视,就会激起他们的愤恨和抨击。 来自互联网
4 meek x7qz9     
adj.温顺的,逆来顺受的
参考例句:
  • He expects his wife to be meek and submissive.他期望妻子温顺而且听他摆布。
  • The little girl is as meek as a lamb.那个小姑娘像羔羊一般温顺。
5 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。
6 depressed xu8zp9     
adj.沮丧的,抑郁的,不景气的,萧条的
参考例句:
  • When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
  • His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。
7 sarcastic jCIzJ     
adj.讥讽的,讽刺的,嘲弄的
参考例句:
  • I squashed him with a sarcastic remark.我说了一句讽刺的话把他给镇住了。
  • She poked fun at people's shortcomings with sarcastic remarks.她冷嘲热讽地拿别人的缺点开玩笑。
8 sarcasm 1CLzI     
n.讥讽,讽刺,嘲弄,反话 (adj.sarcastic)
参考例句:
  • His sarcasm hurt her feelings.他的讽刺伤害了她的感情。
  • She was given to using bitter sarcasm.她惯于用尖酸刻薄语言挖苦人。
9 ward LhbwY     
n.守卫,监护,病房,行政区,由监护人或法院保护的人(尤指儿童);vt.守护,躲开
参考例句:
  • The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
  • During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时,我要点根火把,抵挡蚊虫。
10 systematic SqMwo     
adj.有系统的,有计划的,有方法的
参考例句:
  • The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
  • The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。
11 fumbling fumbling     
n. 摸索,漏接 v. 摸索,摸弄,笨拙的处理
参考例句:
  • If he actually managed to the ball instead of fumbling it with an off-balance shot. 如果他实际上设法拿好球而不是fumbling它。50-balance射击笨拙地和迅速地会开始他的岗位移动,经常这样结束。
  • If he actually managed to secure the ball instead of fumbling it awkwardly an off-balance shot. 如果他实际上设法拿好球而不是fumbling它。50-50提议有时。他从off-balance射击笨拙地和迅速地会开始他的岗位移动,经常这样结束。
12 amiable hxAzZ     
adj.和蔼可亲的,友善的,亲切的
参考例句:
  • She was a very kind and amiable old woman.她是个善良和气的老太太。
  • We have a very amiable companionship.我们之间存在一种友好的关系。
13 momentous Zjay9     
adj.重要的,重大的
参考例句:
  • I am deeply honoured to be invited to this momentous occasion.能应邀出席如此重要的场合,我深感荣幸。
  • The momentous news was that war had begun.重大的新闻是战争已经开始。
14 misgivings 0nIzyS     
n.疑虑,担忧,害怕;疑虑,担心,恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 );疑惧
参考例句:
  • I had grave misgivings about making the trip. 对于这次旅行我有过极大的顾虑。
  • Don't be overtaken by misgivings and fear. Just go full stream ahead! 不要瞻前顾后, 畏首畏尾。甩开膀子干吧! 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
15 discomfort cuvxN     
n.不舒服,不安,难过,困难,不方便
参考例句:
  • One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。
  • She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。
16 retired Njhzyv     
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的
参考例句:
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
17 sleeper gETyT     
n.睡眠者,卧车,卧铺
参考例句:
  • I usually go up to London on the sleeper. 我一般都乘卧车去伦敦。
  • But first he explained that he was a very heavy sleeper. 但首先他解释说自己睡觉很沉。
18 silhouetted 4f4f3ccd0698303d7829ad553dcf9eef     
显出轮廓的,显示影像的
参考例句:
  • We could see a church silhouetted against the skyline. 我们可以看到一座教堂凸现在天际。
  • The stark jagged rocks were silhouetted against the sky. 光秃嶙峋的岩石衬托着天空的背景矗立在那里。
19 curiously 3v0zIc     
adv.有求知欲地;好问地;奇特地
参考例句:
  • He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
  • He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。


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