CHAPTER XIX. OUT OF DEATH'S SHADOW.

 A well-dressed man, with white hair and whiskers, occupied a stool in front of a fruit-stand opposite Nick Carter's rooms from eight o'clock until half-past nine on the morning following the trunk episode. The man was Peter Mannion, and he was making sure that Chick was not in town at the time of the opening of court. At half-past nine a telegraph boy appeared. He went quickly up the stairway of the house where Nick had lodged¹, and before his return to the street he was stopped by Peter Mannion. "If you have a telegram for Mr. Carter," he said, "I'll take it and sign for it. Here is my authority," and he produced a card upon which was written: "Deliver to bearer all letters, notes, and telegrams for me that may come to-day"—giving the date. "Nicholas Carter." The boy, without hesitation², gave up an envelope containing a telegram. When the book had been signed, Peter Mannion opened the telegram, which was dated Frederick, Md., and read: "Will be with you seven o'clock to-night. C. Carter."

"Good! good!" and the villain³ rubbed his hands gleefully. "Everything is coming our way. Nick Carter is at the bottom of the river, and Chick, who will go to join him will not be here to interfere⁴ with the court[197] business. The prospect⁵ could not be better. And now to prepare for court."

At ten o'clock Peter Mannion and his lawyer entered the court-room. They were followed by Prosper⁶ Craven and Elmer Newton, the witnesses to Arthur Mannion's will. There were but few spectators present, for there had been no public intimation that the proceedings⁷ that day would be of special interest.

Just as the calendar was being called Jackson Feversham, accompanied by two smart-looking business men, both strangers to Peter Mannion, entered and took seats just outside the bar.

The first matter taken up was that of the will of Arthur Mannion. Craven and Newton were sworn and the fact elicited⁸ that the will had been signed at Craven's house, in the presence of the witnesses and of Arthur Mannion. It had been delivered into the keeping of Nellie Mannion.

There being no objection, an order was made admitting the will to probate.

"So far so good," thought Peter Mannion. "And now for the will as is a will; the will that means millions to Nellie Mannion and her dear ones."

Rising to his feet, the uncle's attorney now made a motion that the matter of the will of James Playfair be taken up. "It must be judged by itself, as the court is aware," said the attorney, somewhat pompously⁹, and glaring at Jackson Feversham, "for it is an olographic will, one which does not require the signature of wit[198]nesses. Having once proved that the will is in the handwriting of the deceased Washingtonian, the court must admit it to probate."

The attorney sat down, and the judge took up the will, examined it, turned it over, and then said:

"Produce your witnesses."

"To prove the handwriting?"

"Of course. What else?" asked the court sharply.

"Then," said Peter Mannion's attorney, "I will ask Mr. Feversham to take the stand."

James Playfair's friend looked surprised, but he came forward, was sworn, and the will was placed in his hands.

"Examine it carefully, Mr. Feversham," said the attorney, "and then state whether or not, in your opinion, the body of the instrument and the signature, all the writing, in fact, is in the writing of James Playfair."

"If this is not his handwriting," answered Feversham, after a pause, "it is a perfect imitation."

"Can you say it is not his handwriting?" questioned Peter Mannion's attorney, with sternness.

There was a pause. Feversham looked at the judge, then at the two men who had accompanied him to the court. Finally he said slowly, but with emphasis: "I can say, with a conviction that almost amounts to certainty, that this will is not in the handwriting of my deceased friend."

Peter Mannion started violently. His face grew gray.[199] A sense of danger suddenly possessed¹⁰ him; but he gripped the sides of his chair and waited.

The attorney for the moment was nonplussed¹¹. He had not expected the answer. But he speedily recovered his wits, and, in a blustering¹² manner, said:

"Is it because the will leaves you nothing, while a previous one leaves you heir to the fortune, that you are unwilling¹³ to state what must be a patent fact to any man of intelligence?"

Feversham's fine face darkened with anger. He was about to reply, when the judge spoke¹⁴ with severity.

"You must not insult your own witnesses. If I hear anything of the kind again I shall be compelled to fine you for contempt of court. Have you any more questions to ask?"

"Yes," was the surly reply. "I wish to ask Mr. Feversham why he is positive that this will is not what it purports¹⁵ to be?"

"My attorney, who has just arrived, will answer for me," said the witness.

Both Peter Mannion and his attorney turned to see advancing toward the bar the tall, courtly figure of Colonel Seaman¹⁶, one of the leaders of the Washington bar.

"It is our intention," said the colonel to the court, "to contest the probate of this alleged¹⁷ olographic will. I have in my hands copies of the same document, which I respectfully ask the court to examine before I proceed to[200] explain where and how they were found, and what they mean."

Thus saying, he stepped within the bar, approached the bench, and handed to the judge the four copies found on the body of Dimitri Goloff, the Russian accomplice¹⁸ of Arthur Mannion.

The judge examined them, first with perplexity, then with understanding.

"As supplementing them," continued Colonel Seaman, "I will offer for your inspection¹⁹ a copy of the indictment²⁰ under which Arthur Mannion was convicted in a California court of forgery²¹." This document was passed to the judge.

Peter Mannion shifted uneasily in his seat. His brow began to ooze²² cold perspiration²³.

"Anything more?" asked the court pleasantly.

"Yes, your honor. Here are four affidavits²⁴ declaring that on the date of the alleged will in favor of Arthur Mannion that young man was in St. Louis."

"Well, what of that?"

"If you will hold up the will and the copies, you will see that the water-mark is 'St. Louis Mills.'"

The judge did so, with the remark: "You are right, Colonel Seaman; and, while the circumstance taken alone is of little consequence, when considered with other circumstances it may prove to have weight."

"I think the weight will be shown when we produce reliable witnesses who will swear that for years James[201] Playfair used but one kind of paper, and that of Baltimore make."

"Where were these will copies found?"

"Ask Mr. Feversham, your honor. He is on the stand, and he has been sworn."

The question was asked, and Feversham answered: "In the pockets of a dead man."

"His name?"

"Dimitri Goloff, who was the criminal associate of Arthur Mannion, and who accompanied Mannion from San Francisco. They were together in Washington until Goloff met his death by accident."

Peter Mannion could scarcely breathe, so great was his agitation²⁵. It was in his mind to rise and make a bolt from the room, but his limbs seemed to have lost their power of motion.

"The proceedings thus far have been somewhat irregular," remarked the court. "I presume that you are ready to proceed, unless there is objection from the other side."

Peter Mannion's attorney cast at his client a look full of disgust, and said nothing. He was ready to throw up the case.

"Before doing so," said Colonel Seaman suavely²⁶, "I desire to say that we shall need a subp?na for a Baltimore witness, Doctor Haswick, the superintendent²⁷ of St. Luke's Hospital."

"What do you expect to prove by him?" asked Peter Mannion's attorney, in marked curiosity.

[202]

"We expect to prove that the man who died there a short time ago and who was buried as Arthur Mannion was not Arthur Mannion, but one Jonas Jilson, a petty thief and tramp. By other witnesses we shall prove that Arthur Mannion is still alive."

The colonel ceased speaking. Peter Mannion, shaking as if with the ague, his eyes bloodshot, and his lips blue and trembling, arose to his feet and staggered toward the door. No one stayed him until he neared the two men who had entered with Jackson Feversham. Both rose when the discomfited²⁸ villain was within a few feet of them. Then acting²⁹ simultaneously³⁰, they stepped forward and each seized a wrist of the fleeing man.

"Don't go," said one of them, in a voice that made the wretch's heart stop beating, "for you may consider yourself under arrest, Mr. Arthur Mannion, for the murder of James Playfair."

The speaker was Nick Carter, and his assistant was Chick.

1 lodged   

v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属

参考例句：

• The certificate will have to be lodged at the registry. 证书必须存放在登记处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Our neighbours lodged a complaint against us with the police. 我们的邻居向警方控告我们。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

3 villain   

n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因

参考例句：

• He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
• The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。

4 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

5 prospect   

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。

6 prosper   

v.成功，兴隆，昌盛；使成功，使昌隆，繁荣

参考例句：

• With her at the wheel,the company began to prosper.有了她当主管，公司开始兴旺起来。
• It is my earnest wish that this company will continue to prosper.我真诚希望这家公司会继续兴旺发达。

7 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

8 elicited   

引出，探出( elicit的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Threats to reinstate the tax elicited jeer from the Opposition. 恢复此项征税的威胁引起了反对党的嘲笑。
• The comedian's joke elicited applause and laughter from the audience. 那位滑稽演员的笑话博得观众的掌声和笑声。

9 pompously   

adv.傲慢地，盛大壮观地；大模大样

参考例句：

• He pompously described his achievements. 他很夸耀地描述了自己所取得的成绩。 来自互联网

10 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

11 nonplussed   

adj.不知所措的，陷于窘境的v.使迷惑( nonplus的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The speaker was completely nonplussed by the question. 演讲者被这个问题完全难倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I was completely nonplussed by his sudden appearance. 他突然出现使我大吃一惊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 blustering   

adj.狂风大作的，狂暴的v.外强中干的威吓( bluster的现在分词 )；咆哮；（风）呼啸；狂吹

参考例句：

• It was five and a half o'clock now, and a raw, blustering morning. 这时才五点半，正是寒气逼人，狂风咆哮的早晨。 来自辞典例句
• So sink the shadows of night, blustering, rainy, and all paths grow dark. 夜色深沉，风狂雨骤；到处途暗路黑。 来自辞典例句

13 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

14 spoke   

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。

15 purports   

v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She purports to represent the whole group. 她自称代表整个团体。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The document purports to be official but is really private. 那份文件据称是官方的，但实际上是私人的。 来自辞典例句

16 seaman   

n.海员，水手，水兵

参考例句：

• That young man is a experienced seaman.那个年轻人是一个经验丰富的水手。
• The Greek seaman went to the hospital five times.这位希腊海员到该医院去过五次。

17 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

18 accomplice   

n.从犯，帮凶，同谋

参考例句：

• She was her husband's accomplice in murdering a rich old man.她是她丈夫谋杀一个老富翁的帮凶。
• He is suspected as an accomplice of the murder.他涉嫌为这次凶杀案的同谋。

19 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

20 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

21 forgery   

n.伪造的文件等，赝品，伪造（行为）

参考例句：

• The painting was a forgery.这张画是赝品。
• He was sent to prison for forgery.他因伪造罪而被关进监狱。

22 ooze   

n.软泥，渗出物；vi.渗出，泄漏；vt.慢慢渗出，流露

参考例句：

• Soon layer of oceanic ooze began to accumulate above the old hard layer.不久后海洋软泥层开始在老的硬地层上堆积。
• Drip or ooze systems are common for pot watering.滴灌和渗灌系统一般也用于盆栽灌水。

23 perspiration   

n.汗水；出汗

参考例句：

• It is so hot that my clothes are wet with perspiration.天太热了，我的衣服被汗水湿透了。
• The perspiration was running down my back.汗从我背上淌下来。

24 affidavits   

n.宣誓书，（经陈述者宣誓在法律上可采作证据的）书面陈述( affidavit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The woman offered written affidavits proving that she was the widow of Pancho Villa. 这女人提供书面证书，证明自己是庞科·比亚的遗孀。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The appeal was adjourned for affidavits to be obtained. 为获得宣誓证明书，上诉被推迟。 来自口语例句

25 agitation   

n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动

参考例句：

• Small shopkeepers carried on a long agitation against the big department stores.小店主们长期以来一直在煽动人们反对大型百货商店。
• These materials require constant agitation to keep them in suspension.这些药剂要经常搅动以保持悬浮状态。

26 suavely   

参考例句：

• He is suavely charming and all the ladies love him. 他温文尔雅，女士们都喜欢他。 来自互联网
• Jiro: (Suavely) What do you think? What do you feel I'm like right now? 大东﹕（耍帅）你认为呢﹖我现在给你的感觉如何﹖。 来自互联网

27 superintendent   

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。

28 discomfited   

v.使为难( discomfit的过去式和过去分词)；使狼狈；使挫折；挫败

参考例句：

• He was discomfited by the unexpected questions. 意料不到的问题使得他十分尴尬。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He will be particularly discomfited by the minister's dismissal of his plan. 部长对他计划的不理会将使他特别尴尬。 来自辞典例句

29 acting   

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。

30 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。