CHAPTER XXXV MR. BOLTON AND HIS CLIENT

 Benjamin Bolton sat at his desk in the law office of Albert Norcross, on Nassau Street. He was well, even handsomely dressed, and looked very unlike the shabby tramp who had called months before at the house of Stephen Ray.

 

He was really a man of ability which his employer had found out. He had raised Bolton’s salary to a liberal figure, and felt that in securing his services he had made a real acquisition.

 

Bolton was absorbed in preparation for a case which 161 had been assigned to him, when a boy came to his desk with a card.

 

Bolton no sooner read the name, “Ernest Ray,” than he became eager and excited.

 

“Tell him to come in,” he said.

 

Ernest, quiet and self-possessed, entered the office and approached the lawyer’s desk.

 

“Are you Mr. Bolton?” he asked.

 

“Yes, and you——”

 

“I am Ernest Ray.”

 

Benjamin Bolton looked keenly at the boy, admiring his handsome face and manly¹ bearing.

 

“I see your father’s looks in you,” he said.

 

“Then you knew my father?” said Ernest.

 

“Yes. We were young men together.”

 

“I am glad to meet you, then.”

 

“You come from California?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“I judge from your appearance that you have not suffered from poverty.”

 

“I have been fortunate at Oreville. At Oak Forks I lived very humbly² with Peter Brant, an old servant of my father.”

 

“Yes, I remember Peter. Is he alive still?”

 

“No, he died a little less than a year since. Till his death I thought him my uncle and knew no other relatives. Before he died he told me who I was.”

 

“How did he live?”

 

“On a small sum left by my father. When he died it was all exhausted³ except a hundred dollars. I took that and went to California with a man named Luke Robbins, who has proved my faithful friend.”

 

“What were you doing in California? Were you working at the mines?”

 

“No. I was keeping a store where I sold miners’ supplies.”

 

“Did it pay you well?”

 

“I was very well paid for a boy. When I left Oreville I was worth a thousand dollars.” 162

 

“That is well, but it is only a drop in the bucket compared with the fortune you are entitled to.”

 

“Now held by Mr. Stephen Ray?”

 

“Yes; he will be surprised to see you in the East.”

 

“He has seen me,” said Ernest quickly.

 

“What!” exclaimed the lawyer. “You have not called upon him?”

 

“No. I met him on the train and afterwards at a Buffalo⁴ hotel. My Cousin Clarence was with him.”

 

“Did you have any conference with them?”

 

“I talked with Clarence, not with his father.”

 

“Did you think the father knew you?”

 

“Yes, but he did not speak to me.”

 

“He told me when I called upon him some time ago that you were dead—that you died in Georgia.”

 

“What could have been his object?”

 

“He did not wish me to find you, for I had the proof that the estate was rightfully yours.”

 

“What led you to think I was alive?”

 

“I cross-examined Clarence, who did not know his father’s desire to keep us apart.”

 

“Is the estate a large one?”

 

“Quarter of a million, at least.”

 

Ernest’s eyes opened wide with amazement⁵.

 

“But I will introduce you to Mr. Norcross, my principal, and we will talk over our plan of operations. You must assert your rights, and demand that your grandfather’s will be carried out. Are you content to place yourself in our hands?”

 

“Entirely so. But I am sorry for Cousin Stephen. It will be a great blow for him.”

 

“Don’t waste any pity upon him. He defrauded⁷ your father, and meant to defraud⁶ you.”

1 manly   

adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地

参考例句：

• The boy walked with a confident manly stride.这男孩以自信的男人步伐行走。
• He set himself manly tasks and expected others to follow his example.他给自己定下了男子汉的任务，并希望别人效之。

2 humbly   

adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地

参考例句：

• We humbly beg Your Majesty to show mercy. 我们恳请陛下发发慈悲。
• "You must be right, Sir,'said John humbly. “你一定是对的，先生，”约翰恭顺地说道。

3 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

4 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

5 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

6 defraud   

vt.欺骗，欺诈

参考例句：

• He passed himself off as the managing director to defraud the bank.他假冒总经理的名义诈骗银行。
• He is implicated in the scheme to defraud the government.他卷入了这起欺骗政府的阴谋。

7 defrauded   

v.诈取，骗取( defraud的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He defrauded his employers of thousands of dollars. 他诈取了他的雇主一大笔钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He defrauded them of their money. 他骗走了他们的钱。 来自辞典例句