Every winter Jeff comes to New York to eat spaghetti, to watch the shipping2 in East River from the depths of his chinchilla overcoat, and to lay in a supply of Chicago-made clothing at one of the Fulton street stores. During the other three seasons he may be found further west—his range is from Spokane to Tampa. In his profession he takes a pride which he supports and defends with a serious and unique philosophy of ethics3. His profession is no new one. He is an incorporated, uncapitalized, unlimited4 asylum5 for the reception of the restless and unwise dollars of his fellowmen.
In the wilderness6 of stone in which Jeff seeks his annual lonely holiday he is glad to palaver8 of his many adventures, as a boy will whistle after sundown in a wood. Wherefore, I mark on my calendar the time of his coming, and open a question of privilege at Provenzano's concerning the little wine-stained table in the corner between the rakish rubber plant and the framed palazzio della something on the wall.
"There are two kinds of graft," said Jeff, "that ought to be wiped out by law. I mean Wall Street speculation9, and burglary."
"Nearly everybody will agree with you as to one of them," said I, with a laugh.
"Well, burglary ought to be wiped out, too," said Jeff; and I wondered whether the laugh had been redundant10.
"About three months ago," said Jeff, "it was my privilege to become familiar with a sample of each of the aforesaid branches of illegitimate art. I was sine qua grata with a member of the housebreakers' union and one of the John D. Napoleons of finance at the same time."
"Interesting combination," said I, with a yawn. "Did I tell you I bagged a duck and a ground-squirrel at one shot last week over in the Ramapos?" I knew well how to draw Jeff's stories.
"Let me tell you first about these barnacles that clog12 the wheels of society by poisoning the springs of rectitude with their upas-like eye," said Jeff, with the pure gleam of the muck-raker in his own.
"As I said, three months ago I got into bad company. There are two times in a man's life when he does this—when he's dead broke, and when he's rich.
"Now and then the most legitimate11 business runs out of luck. It was out in Arkansas I made the wrong turn at a cross-road, and drives into this town of Peavine by mistake. It seems I had already assaulted and disfigured Peavine the spring of the year before. I had sold $600 worth of young fruit trees there—plums, cherries, peaches and pears. The Peaviners were keeping an eye on the country road and hoping I might pass that way again. I drove down Main street as far as the Crystal Palace drugstore before I realized I had committed ambush13 upon myself and my white horse Bill.
"The Peaviners took me by surprise and Bill by the bridle14 and began a conversation that wasn't entirely15 disassociated with the subject of fruit trees. A committee of 'em ran some trace-chains through the armholes of my vest, and escorted me through their gardens and orchards16.
"Their fruit trees hadn't lived up to their labels. Most of 'em had turned out to be persimmons and dogwoods, with a grove17 or two of blackjacks and poplars. The only one that showed any signs of bearing anything was a fine young cottonwood that had put forth18 a hornet's nest and half of an old corset-cover.
"The Peaviners protracted19 our fruitless stroll to the edge of town. They took my watch and money on account; and they kept Bill and the wagon20 as hostages. They said the first time one of them dogwood trees put forth an Amsden's June peach I might come back and get my things. Then they took off the trace chains and jerked their thumbs in the direction of the Rocky Mountains; and I struck a Lewis and Clark lope for the swollen21 rivers and impenetrable forests.
"When I regained22 intellectualness I found myself walking into an unidentified town on the A., T. & S. F. railroad. The Peaviners hadn't left anything in my pockets except a plug of chewing—they wasn't after my life—and that saved it. I bit off a chunk23 and sits down on a pile of ties by the track to recogitate my sensations of thought and perspicacity24.
"And then along comes a fast freight which slows up a little at the town; and off of it drops a black bundle that rolls for twenty yards in a cloud of dust and then gets up and begins to spit soft coal and interjections. I see it is a young man broad across the face, dressed more for Pullmans than freights, and with a cheerful kind of smile in spite of it all that made Phœbe Snow's job look like a chimney-sweep's.
"'Fall off?' says I.
"'Nunk,' says he. 'Got off. Arrived at my destination. What town is this?'
"'Haven't looked it up on the map yet,' says I. 'I got in about five minutes before you did. How does it strike you?'
"'Hard,' says he, twisting one of his arms around. 'I believe that shoulder—no, it's all right.'
"He stoops over to brush the dust off his clothes, when out of his pocket drops a fine, nine-inch burglar's steel jimmy. He picks it up and looks at me sharp, and then grins and holds out his hand.
"'Brother,' says he, 'greetings. Didn't I see you in Southern Missouri last summer selling colored sand at half-a-dollar a teaspoonful25 to put into lamps to keep the oil from exploding?'
"'Oil,' says I, 'never explodes. It's the gas that forms that explodes.' But I shakes hands with him, anyway.
"'My name's Bill Bassett,' says he to me, 'and if you'll call it professional pride instead of conceit26, I'll inform you that you have the pleasure of meeting the best burglar that ever set a gum-shoe on ground drained by the Mississippi River.'
"Well, me and this Bill Bassett sits on the ties and exchanges brags28 as artists in kindred lines will do. It seems he didn't have a cent, either, and we went into close caucus29. He explained why an able burglar sometimes had to travel on freights by telling me that a servant girl had played him false in Little Rock, and he was making a quick get-away.
"'It's part of my business,' says Bill Bassett, 'to play up to the ruffles31 when I want to make a riffle as Raffles32. 'Tis loves that makes the bit go 'round. Show me a house with a swag in it and a pretty parlor-maid, and you might as well call the silver melted down and sold, and me spilling truffles and that Chateau33 stuff on the napkin under my chin, while the police are calling it an inside job just because the old lady's nephew teaches a Bible class. I first make an impression on the girl,' says Bill, 'and when she lets me inside I make an impression on the locks. But this one in Little Rock done me,' says he. 'She saw me taking a trolley34 ride with another girl, and when I came 'round on the night she was to leave the door open for me it was fast. And I had keys made for the doors upstairs. But, no sir. She had sure cut off my locks. She was a Delilah,' says Bill Bassett.
"It seems that Bill tried to break in anyhow with his jimmy, but the girl emitted a succession of bravura35 noises like the top-riders of a tally-ho, and Bill had to take all the hurdles36 between there and the depot37. As he had no baggage they tried hard to check his departure, but he made a train that was just pulling out.
"'Well,' says Bill Bassett, when we had exchanged memories of our dead lives, 'I could eat. This town don't look like it was kept under a Yale lock. Suppose we commit some mild atrocity38 that will bring in temporary expense money. I don't suppose you've brought along any hair tonic39 or rolled gold watch-chains, or similar law-defying swindles that you could sell on the plaza40 to the pikers of the paretic populace, have you?'
"'No,' says I, 'I left an elegant line of Patagonian diamond earrings41 and rainy-day sunbursts in my valise at Peavine. But they're to stay there until some of those black-gum trees begin to glut42 the market with yellow clings and Japanese plums. I reckon we can't count on them unless we take Luther Burbank in for a partner.'
"'Very well,' says Bassett, 'we'll do the best we can. Maybe after dark I'll borrow a hairpin43 from some lady, and open the Farmers and Drovers Marine44 Bank with it.'
"While we were talking, up pulls a passenger train to the depot near by. A person in a high hat gets off on the wrong side of the train and comes tripping down the track towards us. He was a little, fat man with a big nose and rat's eyes, but dressed expensive, and carrying a hand-satchel careful, as if it had eggs or railroads bonds in it. He passes by us and keeps on down the track, not appearing to notice the town.
"'Come on,' says Bill Bassett to me, starting after him.
"'Where?' I asks.
"'Lordy!' says Bill, 'had you forgot you was in the desert? Didn't you see Colonel Manna drop down right before your eyes? Don't you hear the rustling45 of General Raven46's wings? I'm surprised at you, Elijah.'
"We overtook the stranger in the edge of some woods, and, as it was after sun-down and in a quiet place, nobody saw us stop him. Bill takes the silk hat off the man's head and brushes it with his sleeve and puts it back.
"'What does this mean, sir?' says the man.
"'When I wore one of these,' says Bill, 'and felt embarrassed, I always done that. Not having one now I had to use yours. I hardly know how to begin, sir, in explaining our business with you, but I guess we'll try your pockets first.'
"Bill Bassett felt in all of them, and looked disgusted.
"'Not even a watch,' he says. 'Ain't you ashamed of yourself, you whited sculpture? Going about dressed like a head-waiter, and financed like a Count! You haven't even got carfare. What did you do with your transfer?'
"The man speaks up and says he has no assets or valuables of any sort. But Bassett takes his hand-satchel and opens it. Out comes some collars and socks and a half a page of a newspaper clipped out. Bill reads the clipping careful, and holds out his hand to the held-up party.
"'Brother,' says he, 'greetings! Accept the apologies of friends. I am Bill Bassett, the burglar. Mr. Peters, you must make the acquaintance of Mr. Alfred E. Ricks. Shake hands. Mr. Peters,' says Bill, 'stands about halfway47 between me and you, Mr. Ricks, in the line of havoc48 and corruption50. He always gives something for the money he gets. I'm glad to meet you, Mr. Ricks—you and Mr. Peters. This is the first time I ever attended a full gathering51 of the National Synod of Sharks—housebreaking, swindling, and financiering all represented. Please examine Mr. Rick's credentials52, Mr. Peters.'
"The piece of newspaper that Bill Bassett handed me had a good picture of this Ricks on it. It was a Chicago paper, and it had obloquies53 of Ricks in every paragraph. By reading it over I harvested the intelligence that said alleged54 Ricks had laid off all that portion of the State of Florida that lies under water into town lots and sold 'em to alleged innocent investors55 from his magnificently furnished offices in Chicago. After he had taken in a hundred thousand or so dollars one of these fussy56 purchasers that are always making trouble (I've had 'em actually try gold watches I've sold 'em with acid) took a cheap excursion down to the land where it is always just before supper to look at his lot and see if it didn't need a new paling or two on the fence, and market a few lemons in time for the Christmas present trade. He hires a surveyor to find his lot for him. They run the line out and find the flourishing town of Paradise Hollow, so advertised, to be about 40 rods and 16 poles S., 27 degrees E. of the middle of Lake Okeechobee. This man's lot was under thirty-six feet of water, and, besides, had been preempted57 so long by the alligators58 and gars that his title looked fishy59.
"Naturally, the man goes back to Chicago and makes it as hot for Alfred E. Ricks as the morning after a prediction of snow by the weather bureau. Ricks defied the allegation, but he couldn't deny the alligators. One morning the papers came out with a column about it, and Ricks come out by the fire-escape. It seems the alleged authorities had beat him to the safe-deposit box where he kept his winnings, and Ricks has to westward60 ho! with only feetwear and a dozen 15-and-a-half English pokes61 in his shopping bag. He happened to have some mileage62 left in his book, and that took him as far as the town in the wilderness where he was spilled out on me and Bill Bassett as Elijah III. with not a raven in sight for any of us.
"Then this Alfred E. Ricks lets out a squeak63 that he is hungry, too, and denies the hypothesis that he is good for the value, let alone the price, of a meal. And so, there was the three of us, representing, if we had a mind to draw syllogisms and parabolas, labor64 and trade and capital. Now, when trade has no capital there isn't a dicker to be made. And when capital has no money there's a stagnation65 in steak and onions. That put it up to the man with the jimmy.
"'Brother bushrangers,' says Bill Bassett, 'never yet, in trouble, did I desert a pal7. Hard by, in yon wood, I seem to see unfurnished lodgings66. Let us go there and wait till dark.'
"There was an old, deserted67 cabin in the grove, and we three took possession of it. After dark Bill Bassett tells us to wait, and goes out for half an hour. He comes back with a armful of bread and spareribs and pies.
"The full moon was coming up bright, so we sat on the floor of the cabin and ate in the light of it. And this Bill Bassett begins to brag27.
"'Sometimes,' says he, with his mouth full of country produce, 'I lose all patience with you people that think you are higher up in the profession than I am. Now, what could either of you have done in the present emergency to set us on our feet again? Could you do it, Ricksy?'
"'I must confess, Mr. Bassett,' says Ricks, speaking nearly inaudible out of a slice of pie, 'that at this immediate69 juncture70 I could not, perhaps, promote an enterprise to relieve the situation. Large operations, such as I direct, naturally require careful preparation in advance. I—'
"'I know, Ricksy,' breaks in Bill Bassett. 'You needn't finish. You need $500 to make the first payment on a blond typewriter, and four roomsful of quartered oak furniture. And you need $500 more for advertising71 contracts. And you need two weeks' time for the fish to begin to bite. Your line of relief would be about as useful in an emergency as advocating municipal ownership to cure a man suffocated72 by eighty-cent gas. And your graft ain't much swifter, Brother Peters,' he winds up.
"'Oh,' says I, 'I haven't seen you turn anything into gold with your wand yet, Mr. Good Fairy. 'Most anybody could rub the magic ring for a little left-over victuals73.'
"'That was only getting the pumpkin74 ready,' says Bassett, braggy and cheerful. 'The coach and six'll drive up to the door before you know it, Miss Cinderella. Maybe you've got some scheme under your sleeve-holders that will give us a start.'
"'Son,' says I, 'I'm fifteen years older than you are, and young enough yet to take out an endowment policy. I've been broke before. We can see the lights of that town not half a mile away. I learned under Montague Silver, the greatest street man that ever spoke75 from a wagon. There are hundreds of men walking those streets this moment with grease spots on their clothes. Give me a gasoline lamp, a dry-goods box, and a two-dollar bar of white castile soap, cut into little—'
"'Where's your two dollars?' snickered Bill Bassett into my discourse76. There was no use arguing with that burglar.
"'No,' he goes on; 'you're both babes-in-the-wood. Finance has closed the mahogany desk, and trade has put the shutters77 up. Both of you look to labor to start the wheels going. All right. You admit it. To-night I'll show you what Bill Bassett can do.'
"Bassett tells me and Ricks not to leave the cabin till he comes back, even if it's daylight, and then he starts off toward town, whistling gay.
"This Alfred E. Ricks pulls off his shoes and his coat, lays a silk handkerchief over his hat, and lays down on the floor.
"'I think I will endeavor to secure a little slumber,' he squeaks78. 'The day has been fatiguing79. Good-night, my dear Mr. Peters.'
"'My regards to Morpheus,' says I. 'I think I'll sit up a while.'
"About two o'clock, as near as I could guess by my watch in Peavine, home comes our laboring80 man and kicks up Ricks, and calls us to the streak81 of bright moonlight shining in the cabin door. Then he spreads out five packages of one thousand dollars each on the floor, and begins to cackle over the nest-egg like a hen.
"'I'll tell you a few things about that town,' says he. 'It's named Rocky Springs, and they're building a Masonic temple, and it looks like the Democratic candidate for mayor is going to get soaked by a Pop, and Judge Tucker's wife, who has been down with pleurisy, is getting some better. I had a talk on these liliputian thesises before I could get a siphon in the fountain of knowledge that I was after. And there's a bank there called the Lumberman's Fidelity82 and Plowman's Savings83 Institution. It closed for business yesterday with $23,000 cash on hand. It will open this morning with $18,000—all silver—that's the reason I didn't bring more. There you are, trade and capital. Now, will you be bad?'
"'My young friend,' says Alfred E. Ricks, holding up his hands, 'have you robbed this bank? Dear me, dear me!'
"'You couldn't call it that,' says Bassett. 'Robbing" sounds harsh. All I had to do was to find out what street it was on. That town is so quiet that I could stand on the corner and hear the tumblers clicking in that safe lock—"right to 45; left twice to 80; right once to 60; left to 15"—as plain as the Yale captain giving orders in the football dialect. Now, boys,' says Bassett, 'this is an early rising town. They tell me the citizens are all up and stirring before daylight. I asked what for, and they said because breakfast was ready at that time. And what of merry Robin84 Hood85? It must be Yoicks! and away with the tinkers' chorus. I'll stake you. How much do you want? Speak up. Capital.'
"'My dear young friend,' says this ground squirrel of a Ricks, standing86 on his hind87 legs and juggling88 nuts in his paws, 'I have friends in Denver who would assist me. If I had a hundred dollars I—'
"Basset unpins a package of the currency and throws five twenties to Ricks.
"'Trade, how much?' he says to me.
"'Put your money up, Labor,' says I. 'I never yet drew upon honest toil89 for its hard-earned pittance90. The dollars I get are surplus ones that are burning the pockets of damfools and greenhorns. When I stand on a street corner and sell a solid gold diamond ring to a yap for $3.00, I make just $2.60. And I know he's going to give it to a girl in return for all the benefits accruing91 from a $125.00 ring. His profits are $122.00. Which of us is the biggest fakir?'
"'And when you sell a poor woman a pinch of sand for fifty cents to keep her lamp from exploding,' says Bassett, 'what do you figure her gross earnings92 to be, with sand at forty cents a ton?'
"'Listen,' says I. 'I instruct her to keep her lamp clean and well filled. If she does that it can't burst. And with the sand in it she knows it can't, and she don't worry. It's a kind of Industrial Christian93 Science. She pays fifty cents, and gets both Rockefeller and Mrs. Eddy94 on the job. It ain't everybody that can let the gold-dust twins do their work.'
"Alfred E. Ricks all but licks the dust off of Bill Bassett's shoes.
"'My dear young friend,' says he, 'I will never forget your generosity95. Heaven will reward you. But let me implore96 you to turn from your ways of violence and crime.'
"'Mousie,' says Bill, 'the hole in the wainscoting for yours. Your dogmas and inculcations sound to me like the last words of a bicycle pump. What has your high moral, elevator-service system of pillage97 brought you to? Penuriousness98 and want. Even Brother Peters, who insists upon contaminating the art of robbery with theories of commerce and trade, admitted he was on the lift. Both of you live by the gilded99 rule. Brother Peters,' says Bill, 'you'd better choose a slice of this embalmed100 currency. You're welcome.'
"I told Bill Bassett once more to put his money in his pocket. I never had the respect for burglary that some people have. I always gave something for the money I took, even if it was only some little trifle for a souvenir to remind 'em not to get caught again.
"And then Alfred E. Ricks grovels101 at Bill's feet again, and bids us adieu. He says he will have a team at a farmhouse, and drive to the station below, and take the train for Denver. It salubrified the atmosphere when that lamentable102 boll-worm took his departure. He was a disgrace to every non-industrial profession in the country. With all his big schemes and fine offices he had wound up unable even to get an honest meal except by the kindness of a strange and maybe unscrupulous burglar. I was glad to see him go, though I felt a little sorry for him, now that he was ruined forever. What could such a man do without a big capital to work with? Why, Alfred E. Ricks, as we left him, was as helpless as turtle on its back. He couldn't have worked a scheme to beat a little girl out of a penny slate-pencil.
"When me and Bill Bassett was left alone I did a little sleight-of-mind turn in my head with a trade secret at the end of it. Thinks I, I'll show this Mr. Burglar Man the difference between business and labor. He had hurt some of my professional self-adulation by casting his Persians upon commerce and trade.
"'I won't take any of your money as a gift, Mr. Bassett,' says I to him, 'but if you'll pay my expenses as a travelling companion until we get out of the danger zone of the immoral103 deficit104 you have caused in this town's finances to-night, I'll be obliged.'
"Bill Bassett agreed to that, and we hiked westward as soon as we could catch a safe train.
"When we got to a town in Arizona called Los Perros I suggested that we once more try our luck on terra-cotta. That was the home of Montague Silver, my old instructor105, now retired106 from business. I knew Monty would stake me to web money if I could show him a fly buzzing 'round the locality. Bill Bassett said all towns looked alike to him as he worked mainly in the dark. So we got off the train in Los Perros, a fine little town in the silver region.
"I had an elegant little sure thing in the way of a commercial slungshot that I intended to hit Bassett behind the ear with. I wasn't going to take his money while he was asleep, but I was going to leave him with a lottery107 ticket that would represent in experience to him $4,755—I think that was the amount he had when we got off the train. But the first time I hinted to him about an investment, he turns on me and disencumbers himself of the following terms and expressions.
"'Brother Peters,' says he, 'it ain't a bad idea to go into an enterprise of some kind, as you suggest. I think I will. But if I do it will be such a cold proposition that nobody but Robert E. Peary and Charlie Fairbanks will be able to sit on the board of directors.'
"'I thought you might want to turn your money over,' says I.
"'I do,' says he, 'frequently. I can't sleep on one side all night. I'll tell you, Brother Peters,' says he, 'I'm going to start a poker108 room. I don't seem to care for the humdrum109 in swindling, such as peddling110 egg-beaters and working off breakfast food on Barnum and Bailey for sawdust to strew111 in their circus rings. But the gambling112 business,' says he, 'from the profitable side of the table is a good compromise between swiping silver spoons and selling penwipers at a Waldorf-Astoria charity bazar.'
"'Then,' says I, 'Mr. Bassett, you don't care to talk over my little business proposition?'
"'Why,' says he, 'do you know, you can't get a Pasteur institute to start up within fifty miles of where I live. I bite so seldom.'
"So, Bassett rents a room over a saloon and looks around for some furniture and chromos. The same night I went to Monty Silver's house, and he let me have $200 on my prospects113. Then I went to the only store in Los Perros that sold playing cards and bought every deck in the house. The next morning when the store opened I was there bringing all the cards back with me. I said that my partner that was going to back me in the game had changed his mind; and I wanted to sell the cards back again. The storekeeper took 'em at half price.
"Yes, I was seventy-five dollars loser up to that time. But while I had the cards that night I marked every one in every deck. That was labor. And then trade and commerce had their innings, and the bread I had cast upon the waters began to come back in the form of cottage pudding with wine sauce.
"Of course I was among the first to buy chips at Bill Bassett's game. He had bought the only cards there was to be had in town; and I knew the back of every one of them better than I know the back of my head when the barber shows me my haircut in the two mirrors.
"When the game closed I had the five thousand and a few odd dollars, and all Bill Bassett had was the wanderlust and a black cat he had bought for a mascot114. Bill shook hands with me when I left.
"'Brother Peters,' says he, 'I have no business being in business. I was preordained to labor. When a No. 1 burglar tries to make a James out of his jimmy he perpetrates an improfundity. You have a well-oiled and efficacious system of luck at cards,' says he. 'Peace go with you.' And I never afterward115 sees Bill Bassett again."
"Well, Jeff," said I, when the Autolycan adventurer seemed to have divulged116 the gist117 of his tale, "I hope you took care of the money. That would be a respecta—that is a considerable working capital if you should choose some day to settle down to some sort of regular business."
"Me?" said Jeff, virtuously118. "You can bet I've taken care of that five thousand."
He tapped his coat over the region of his chest exultantly119.
"Gold mining stock," he explained, "every cent of it. Shares par30 value one dollar. Bound to go up 500 per cent. within a year. Non-assessable. The Blue Gopher mine. Just discovered a month ago. Better get in yourself if you've any spare dollars on hand."
"Sometimes," said I, "these mines are not—"
"Oh, this one's solid as an old goose," said Jeff. "Fifty thousand dollars' worth of ore in sight, and 10 per cent. monthly earnings guaranteed."
He drew out a long envelope from his pocket and cast it on the table.
"Always carry it with me," said he. "So the burglar can't corrupt49 or the capitalist break in and water it."
"In Colorado, I see," said I. "And, by the way, Jeff, what was the name of the little man who went to Denver—the one you and Bill met at the station?"
"Alfred E. Ricks," said Jeff, "was the toad's designation."
"I see," said I, "the president of this mining company signs himself A. L. Fredericks. I was wondering—"
"Let me see that stock," said Jeff quickly, almost snatching it from me.
To mitigate121, even though slightly, the embarrassment122 I summoned the waiter and ordered another bottle of the Barbera. I thought it was the least I could do.
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graft
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| n.移植，嫁接，艰苦工作，贪污；v.移植，嫁接 | |
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shipping
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| n.船运（发货，运输，乘船） | |
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ethics
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| n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准 | |
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unlimited
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| adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的 | |
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asylum
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| n.避难所，庇护所，避难 | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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pal
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| n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友 | |
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palaver
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| adj.壮丽堂皇的；n.废话，空话 | |
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speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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redundant
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| adj.多余的，过剩的；(食物)丰富的；被解雇的 | |
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legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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clog
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| vt.塞满，阻塞；n.[常pl.]木屐 | |
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ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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orchards
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| （通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 ) | |
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grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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protracted
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| adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词 | |
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wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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23
chunk
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| n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量） | |
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24
perspicacity
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| n. 敏锐, 聪明, 洞察力 | |
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25
teaspoonful
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| n.一茶匙的量；一茶匙容量 | |
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26
conceit
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| n.自负，自高自大 | |
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27
brag
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| v./n.吹牛，自夸；adj.第一流的 | |
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28
brags
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| v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的第三人称单数 ) | |
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29
caucus
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| n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议 | |
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30
par
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| n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的 | |
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31
ruffles
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| 褶裥花边( ruffle的名词复数 ) | |
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32
raffles
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| n.抽彩售物( raffle的名词复数 )v.以抽彩方式售（物）( raffle的第三人称单数 ) | |
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33
chateau
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| n.城堡，别墅 | |
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34
trolley
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| n.手推车，台车；无轨电车；有轨电车 | |
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35
bravura
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| n.华美的乐曲；勇敢大胆的表现；adj.壮勇华丽的 | |
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36
hurdles
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| n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛 | |
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37
depot
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| n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站 | |
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38
atrocity
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| n.残暴，暴行 | |
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39
tonic
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| n./adj.滋补品，补药，强身的，健体的 | |
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40
plaza
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| n.广场，市场 | |
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41
earrings
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| n.耳环( earring的名词复数 )；耳坠子 | |
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42
glut
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| n.存货过多，供过于求；v.狼吞虎咽 | |
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43
hairpin
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| n.簪,束发夹，夹发针 | |
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44
marine
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| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
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45
rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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46
raven
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| n.渡鸟，乌鸦；adj.乌亮的 | |
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47
halfway
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| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
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48
havoc
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| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
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49
corrupt
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| v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的 | |
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50
corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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51
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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52
credentials
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| n.证明，资格，证明书，证件 | |
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53
obloquies
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| n.辱骂( obloquy的名词复数 )；遭指责，遭诽谤 | |
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54
alleged
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| a.被指控的，嫌疑的 | |
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55
investors
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| n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 ) | |
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56
fussy
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| adj.为琐事担忧的，过分装饰的，爱挑剔的 | |
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57
preempted
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| v.先占( preempt的过去式和过去分词 )；取代；先取；先发制人 | |
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58
alligators
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| n.短吻鳄( alligator的名词复数 ) | |
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59
fishy
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| adj. 值得怀疑的 | |
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60
westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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61
pokes
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| v.伸出( poke的第三人称单数 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交 | |
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62
mileage
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| n.里程，英里数；好处，利润 | |
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63
squeak
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| n.吱吱声，逃脱；v.（发出）吱吱叫，侥幸通过；（俚）告密 | |
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64
labor
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| 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 | |
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65
stagnation
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| n. 停滞 | |
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66
lodgings
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| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
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67
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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68
farmhouse
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| n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房） | |
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69
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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70
juncture
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| n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头 | |
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71
advertising
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| n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的 | |
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72
suffocated
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| （使某人）窒息而死( suffocate的过去式和过去分词 )； （将某人）闷死； 让人感觉闷热； 憋气 | |
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73
victuals
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| n.食物；食品 | |
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74
pumpkin
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| n.南瓜 | |
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75
spoke
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| 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 | |
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76
discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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77
shutters
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| 百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门 | |
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78
squeaks
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| n.短促的尖叫声，吱吱声( squeak的名词复数 )v.短促地尖叫( squeak的第三人称单数 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者 | |
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79
fatiguing
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| a.使人劳累的 | |
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80
laboring
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| n.劳动，操劳v.努力争取(for)( labor的现在分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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81
streak
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| n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动 | |
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82
fidelity
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| n.忠诚，忠实；精确 | |
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83
savings
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| n.存款，储蓄 | |
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84
robin
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| n.知更鸟，红襟鸟 | |
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85
hood
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| n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖 | |
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86
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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87
hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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88
juggling
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| n. 欺骗, 杂耍(=jugglery) adj. 欺骗的, 欺诈的 动词juggle的现在分词 | |
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89
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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90
pittance
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| n.微薄的薪水，少量 | |
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91
accruing
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| v.增加( accrue的现在分词 )；（通过自然增长）产生；获得；（使钱款、债务）积累 | |
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92
earnings
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| n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得 | |
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93
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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94
eddy
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| n.漩涡，涡流 | |
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95
generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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96
implore
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| vt.乞求，恳求，哀求 | |
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97
pillage
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| v.抢劫；掠夺；n.抢劫，掠夺；掠夺物 | |
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98
penuriousness
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99
gilded
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| a.镀金的，富有的 | |
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100
embalmed
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| adj.用防腐药物保存（尸体）的v.保存（尸体）不腐( embalm的过去式和过去分词 )；使不被遗忘；使充满香气 | |
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101
grovels
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| v.卑躬屈节，奴颜婢膝( grovel的第三人称单数 )；趴 | |
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102
lamentable
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| adj.令人惋惜的，悔恨的 | |
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103
immoral
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| adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的 | |
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104
deficit
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| n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差 | |
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105
instructor
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| n.指导者，教员，教练 | |
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106
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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107
lottery
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| n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事 | |
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108
poker
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| n.扑克；vt.烙制 | |
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109
humdrum
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| adj.单调的，乏味的 | |
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110
peddling
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| 忙于琐事的，无关紧要的 | |
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111
strew
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| vt.撒；使散落；撒在…上，散布于 | |
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112
gambling
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| n.赌博；投机 | |
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113
prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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114
mascot
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| n.福神，吉祥的东西 | |
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115
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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116
divulged
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| v.吐露，泄露( divulge的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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117
gist
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| n.要旨；梗概 | |
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118
virtuously
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| 合乎道德地，善良地 | |
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119
exultantly
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| adv.狂欢地，欢欣鼓舞地 | |
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120
engraved
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| v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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121
mitigate
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| vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和 | |
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122
embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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