CHAPTER XXXIV. A PLOT AGAINST PAUL.

 The housekeeper¹ and her son had seen, with increasing alarm, the growing attachment² of Mrs. Granville for Paul.

“Something’s got to be done, Frost,” she said, decidedly. “That boy is setting the old woman against us.”

“That’s so, mother; she never wants me to go with her now. I might as well be out of the house, so far as any notice of me goes.”

“She’s mighty⁴ cool to me, too, Frost. I suspected how it would be when that boy came into the house. He’s the artfulest young one I ever knew.”

“The two of us ought to be a match for him,” grumbled⁵ Frost. “I’ll give him a lickin’ if you say so.”

“It would do no good. She’d only take his part, and as likely as not send you packing. No, we must adopt a different course.”

“What shall it be? You’re smarter than I am, mother. I’ll do whatever you think best.”

“I’ve thought of a plan, Frost,” said Mrs. Mercer, and she proceeded to communicate it to him.

“That’ll do,” said the son, in a tone of satisfaction. “We’ve got to give her a bad opinion of her favorite, and then we’ll get rid of him.”

This conversation took place in Frost’s room one[185] evening. This room adjoined Paul’s, and it so happened that in the upper part of the room there was a round hole in the partition, made probably for the entrance of a funnel⁶, which rendered it easy for conversation to be heard in the adjoining room. Paul had been spending the evening in Mrs. Mercer’s room, but was dismissed earlier than usual, and had retired⁷ to his own bed room. So it chanced that he heard the details of the plot against him.

It did not surprise him much, for he was quite aware of the housekeeper’s hostility⁸ towards him. He had been on the point of lighting⁹ his lamp, but decided³ not to do so, and noiselessly prepared for bed. He felt that forewarned was forearmed, and he determined¹⁰ to tell Mrs. Granville what he had heard.

This he did the next morning. The old lady listened attentively¹¹.

“I did not believe Mrs. Mercer capable of such wickedness,” she said. “After all the kindness I have heaped upon her, too!”

“I suppose she is jealous of me,” suggested Paul. “For my part, I wish her no harm. I would not have told you, except to defend myself in advance of any charges she may make against me.”

“You have done right, Paul,” said the old lady, kindly¹². “Mrs. Mercer selfishly wishes to monopolize¹³ all my favors. Whatever I may do for you would not have interfered¹⁴ with her, if she had behaved properly. Now she must take the consequences of her folly¹⁵.”

Early in the afternoon, Mrs. Granville directed Paul to bring the carriage round to the door. When they had driven a quarter of a mile, she said: “You may drive me to Coleraine, Paul.”

This was an adjoining town, about four miles away.

Reaching the town, the old lady directed Paul to[186] drive her to the office of her lawyer. Finding him in, she said: “You may take the horse to the stable, and come back in an hour. I have some business to attend to.”

“Certainly, ma’am,” said Paul, obediently.

He returned in an hour, but had to wait half an hour longer. Then the old lady came out, and seemed unusually cheerful.

“Paul,” she said, “I have been making my will.”

“I thought it might have been made already,” said our hero.

“So it was, but I have made a new one.”

Paul did not feel called upon to reply.

“I have not forgotten you,” continued Mrs. Granville, kindly.

“Thank you very much,” said Paul, gratefully. “I won’t pretend to be sorry, but I hope it will be a long time before I reap any benefit from it.”

“I am sure of that, Paul,” said the old lady. “You are not selfish and self seeking like Mrs. Mercer and Frost. They were handsomely remembered in my former will, but I had not found them out then.”

When they reached the house, Mrs. Mercer herself opened the door. There was a look of blended mystery and triumph on her face as she admitted them.

“Can I speak with you a minute in private, Mrs. Granville?” she said with a significant glance in Paul’s direction.

“Certainly, Mrs. Mercer. Paul, you may go out and put up the horse.”

“It’s coming,” thought Paul.

“Well, what is it, Mercer?” asked the old lady, as she led the way into her own chamber¹⁶.

“It’s about that boy, ma’am.”

“About Paul?”

“Yes, ma’am. I know you think him an angel.”

[187]

“Well, not quite that, Mercer,” smiled Mrs. Granville.

“At any rate, you think a great deal of him.”

“Yes, I do.”

“I never liked him for my part,” continued the housekeeper, spitefully. “I always distrusted him. I thought him a snake in the grass.”

“Come, Mercer, that’s rather a heavy indictment¹⁷ of the poor boy.”

“I can prove all I say, ma’am,” said the housekeeper. “I thought you were wrong in trusting him.”

“What has he done? Come to the point.”

“You see this, ma’am,” said Mrs. Mercer, producing a breast pin set with pearls.

“Yes, it is mine.”

“Where do you think I found it?”

“Suppose you tell me.”

“In the boy’s bureau drawer, while you were out.”

“How did you happen to be examining his drawer?” asked the old lady, sharply.

“Because from things I have noticed I suspected he meant to rob you. I didn’t expect to find that, I confess, but I did think I should find something. This favorite of yours is nothing but a thief.”

“You may call him, Mrs. Mercer. It is only fair to hear what he has to say for himself.”

Mrs. Mercer needed no second bidding. She hurried to the stables and found Paul occupied in unharnessing the horses.

“Frost,” she said, “just finish unharnessing the horses. Mrs. Granville wants to see this young gentleman.”

Frost obeyed with unwonted alacrity¹⁸, and Paul quietly followed the housekeeper into the house. He was not particularly alarmed, for he had already put a spoke¹⁹ in the housekeeper’s wheel, though she was quite unaware²⁰ of it.

[188]

“Has Mrs. Granville an errand for me to do?” he asked, suppressing a smile.

“You’ll find out what she wants of you,” returned the housekeeper, tossing her head. “Young man, your course is about run!”

“Is it?” asked Paul, innocently.

He followed Mrs. Mercer into Mrs. Granville’s chamber. The old lady was sitting in her arm chair by the window.

“I’ve brought him, ma’am,” said Mrs. Mercer. “Now you can find out for yourself what a viper²¹ he is.”

“Paul,” said the old lady, mildly, “Mrs. Mercer tells me she found this breast pin in your bureau drawer. Do you know anything about it?”

“No, ma’am,” answered Paul, not betraying the slightest confusion.

“Of course he would say so,” remarked the housekeeper.

“Yet, Mrs. Mercer says she found it in your drawer.”

“What was she doing there?” asked Paul.

“Tracking a thief!” answered Mrs. Mercer, spitefully.

“She charges you with stealing the breast pin from my room, Paul.”

“Yes, I do; how did it get into your drawer unless you stole it? Answer me that, Mr. Paul Parton.”

“I suppose you put it there,” returned Paul, calmly.

Mrs. Mercer held up both hands in indignant protest. “Did you ever hear the likes, ma’am?” she ejaculated. “He’s a thief, and unfit to stay in your house.”

“Excuse me, Mrs. Mercer,” said Paul, quite coolly, “but didn’t you arrange this little plot against me last evening in conversation with your son?”

“What do you mean?” ejaculated the housekeeper.

[189]

“I happened to be in my room, and overheard you.”

“Do you believe this impudent²² lie, Mrs. Granville?” the housekeeper asked, desperately²³.

“I have reason to believe Paul,” answered the old lady, “for this breast pin, which you say you found in Paul’s room during my absence, I distinctly remember leaving in my own bureau drawer when I left the house this afternoon.”

Mrs. Mercer was panic stricken. She turned to leave the room, quite overwhelmed, but Mrs. Granville called her back.

“Stay, Mrs. Mercer,” she said, “I have something to say to you.”

1 housekeeper   

n.管理家务的主妇，女管家

参考例句：

• A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
• She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

2 attachment   

n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附

参考例句：

• She has a great attachment to her sister.她十分依恋她的姐姐。
• She's on attachment to the Ministry of Defense.她现在隶属于国防部。

3 decided   

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。

4 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

5 grumbled   

抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声

参考例句：

• He grumbled at the low pay offered to him. 他抱怨给他的工资低。
• The heat was sweltering, and the men grumbled fiercely over their work. 天热得让人发昏，水手们边干活边发着牢骚。

6 funnel   

n.漏斗；烟囱；v.汇集

参考例句：

• He poured the petrol into the car through a funnel.他用一个漏斗把汽油灌入汽车。
• I like the ship with a yellow funnel.我喜欢那条有黄烟囱的船。

7 retired   

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。

8 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

9 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

10 determined   

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。

11 attentively   

adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神

参考例句：

• She listened attentively while I poured out my problems. 我倾吐心中的烦恼时，她一直在注意听。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She listened attentively and set down every word he said. 她专心听着，把他说的话一字不漏地记下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

13 monopolize   

v.垄断，独占，专营

参考例句：

• She tried to monopolize his time.她想独占他的时间。
• They are controlling so much cocoa that they are virtually monopolizing the market.他们控制了大量的可可粉，因此他们几乎垄断了整个市场。

14 interfered   

v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉

参考例句：

• Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

16 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

17 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。

18 alacrity   

n.敏捷，轻快，乐意

参考例句：

• Although the man was very old,he still moved with alacrity.他虽然很老，动作仍很敏捷。
• He accepted my invitation with alacrity.他欣然接受我的邀请。

19 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。

20 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

21 viper   

n.毒蛇；危险的人

参考例句：

• Envy lucks at the bottom of the human heart a viper in its hole.嫉妒潜伏在人心底，如同毒蛇潜伏在穴中。
• Be careful of that viper;he is dangerous.小心那个阴险的人，他很危险。

22 impudent   

adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的

参考例句：

• She's tolerant toward those impudent colleagues.她对那些无礼的同事采取容忍的态度。
• The teacher threatened to kick the impudent pupil out of the room.老师威胁着要把这无礼的小学生撵出教室。

23 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。