CHAPTER XXX. HOW HARTLEY GOT A CLEW.

 John Hartley, when a young man, had wooed and won Althea's mother. Julia Belmont was a beautiful and accomplished¹ girl, an heiress in her own right, and might have made her choice among at least a dozen suitors. That she should have accepted the hand of John Hartley, a banker's clerk, reputed "fast," was surprising, but a woman's taste in such a case is often hard to explain or justify². Her sister—now Mrs. Vernon—strenuously objected to the match, and by so doing gained the hatred³ of her future brother-in-law. Opposition⁴ proved ineffectual, and Julia Belmont became Mrs. Hartley. Her fortune amounted to two hundred thousand dollars. The trustee and her sister succeeded in obtaining her consent that half of this sum should be settled on herself, and her issue, should she have any.

 

This proved to be a wise precaution. John Hartley resigned his position immediately after marriage, and declined to enter upon any business.

 

"Why should I?" he said. "Julia and I have[Pg 216] enough to live upon. If I am out of business I can devote myself more entirely⁵ to her."

 

This reasoning satisfied his young wife, and for a time all went well. But Hartley joined a fashionable club, formed a taste for gambling⁶, indulged in copious⁷ libations, not unfrequently staggering home drunk, to the acute sorrow of his wife, and then excesses soon led to ill-treatment. The money, which he could spend in a few years, melted away, and he tried to gain possession of the remainder of his wife's property. But, meanwhile, Althea was born, and a consideration for her child's welfare strengthened the wife in her firm refusal to accede⁸ to this unreasonable⁹ demand.

 

"You shall have the income, John," she said—"I will keep none back; but the principal must be kept for Althea."

 

"You care more for the brat¹⁰ than you do for me," he muttered.

 

"I care for you both," she answered. "You know how the money would go, John. We should all be left destitute¹¹."

 

"That meddling¹² sister of yours has put you up to this," he said, angrily.

 

"There was no need of that. It is right, and I have decided¹³ for myself."

 

"Your first duty is to your husband."

 

[Pg 217]

 

"I feel that in refusing I am doing my duty by you."

 

"It is a strange way—to oppose your husband's wishes. Women ought never to be trusted with money—they don't know how to take care of it."

 

"You are not the person to say this, John. In five years you have wasted one hundred thousand dollars."

 

"It was bad luck in investments," he replied.

 

"I am afraid you are right. Investing money at the gaming-table is not very profitable."

 

"Do you mean to insult me, madam?" exclaimed Hartley, furiously.

 

"I am only telling the sad truth, John."

 

He forgot himself and struck her.

 

She withdrew, flushed and indignant, for she had spirit enough to resent this outrage¹⁴, and he left the house in a furious rage.

 

When Hartley found that there was no hope of carrying his point, all restraint seemed removed. He plunged¹⁵ into worse excesses, and his treatment became so bad that Mrs. Hartley consented to institute proceedings¹⁶ for divorce. It was granted, and the child was given to her. Hartley disappeared for a time. When he returned his wife had died of pneumonia¹⁷, and her sister—Mrs. Vernon, now a widow—had assumed the care of Althea. An attempt to gain possession of the child induced her to find another[Pg 218] guardian¹⁸ for the child. This was the way Althea had come into the family of our young hero.

 

Thus much, that the reader may understand the position of affairs, and follow intelligently the future course of the story.

 

When John Hartley left the presence of his sister-in-law, he muttered maledictions upon her.

 

"I'll have the child yet, if only to spite her," he muttered, between his teeth. "I won't allow a jade¹⁹ to stand between me and my own flesh and blood. I must think of some plan to circumvent²⁰ her."

 

This was not easy. He had absolutely no clew, and little money to assist him in his quest. But Fortune, which does not always favor the brave, but often helps the undeserving, came unexpectedly to his help.

 

At an American banker's he ran across an old acquaintance—one who had belonged to the same club as himself in years past.

 

"What are you doing here, Hartley?" he asked.

 

"Not much. Luck is against me."

 

"Sorry to hear it. By the way, I was reminded of you not long since."

 

"How is that?"

 

"I saw your child in union Square, in New York."

 

"Are you sure of it?" asked Hartley, eagerly. "Are you sure it was my child?"

 

[Pg 219]

 

"Of course; I used to see it often, you know. She is a bright little thing."

 

"Do you know where she lives?" asked Hartley. "Did you follow her?"

 

"Don't you know where she lives?"

 

"No; her aunt is keeping the child from me. I am very anxious to find her."

 

"That accounts for it. She was with a middle-aged²¹ lady, who evidently was suspicious of me, for she did not bring out the child but once more, and was clearly anxious when I took notice of her."

 

"She was acting²² according to instructions, no doubt."

 

"Very probably."

 

"I wish you had learned more."

 

"So do I. Why do they keep you away from her?"

 

"Because she has money, and they wish to keep it in their hands," said Hartley, plausibly²³. "The aunt is a very mercenary woman. She is living here in London, doubtless on my little girl's fortune."

 

John Hartley knew that this was not true, for Mrs. Vernon was a rich woman; but it suited his purpose to say so, and the statement was believed by his acquaintance.

 

"This is bad treatment, Hartley," he said, in a tone of sympathy.

 

"Isn't it?"

 

[Pg 220]

 

"What are you going to do about it?"

 

"Try to find out where the child is placed, and get possession of her."

 

"I wish you success."

 

This information John Hartley felt to be of value. It narrowed his search, and made success much less difficult.

 

In order to obtain more definite information, he lay in wait for Mrs. Vernon's servant.

 

Margaret at first repulsed²⁴ him, but a sovereign judiciously²⁵ slipped into her hand convinced her that Hartley was quite the gentleman, and he had no difficulty, by the promise of a future douceur, in obtaining her co-operation.

 

"What is it you want, sir?" she asked. "If it's no harm you mean my missus——"

 

"Certainly not, but she is keeping my child from me. You can understand a father's wish to see his child, my dear girl."

 

"Indeed, I think it's cruel to keep her from you, sir."

 

"Then look over your mistress' papers and try to obtain the street and number where she is boarding in New York. I have a right to know that."

 

"Of course you have, sir," said the girl, readily.

 

So it came about that the girl obtained Dan's address, and communicated it to John Hartley.

 

[Pg 221]

 

As soon as possible afterward²⁶ Hartley sailed for New York.

 

"I'll secure the child," he said to himself, exultingly²⁷, "and then my sweet sister-in-law must pay roundly for her if she wants her back."

 

All which attested²⁸ the devoted²⁹ love of John Hartley for his child.

1 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

2 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

3 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

6 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

7 copious   

adj.丰富的，大量的

参考例句：

• She supports her theory with copious evidences.她以大量的例证来充实自己的理论。
• Every star is a copious source of neutrinos.每颗恒星都是丰富的中微子源。

8 accede   

v.应允，同意

参考例句：

• They are ready to accede to our request for further information.我们要是还需要资料，他们乐于随时提供。
• In a word,he will not accede to your proposal in the meeting.总而言之，他不会在会中赞成你的提议。

9 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

10 brat   

n.孩子；顽童

参考例句：

• He's a spoilt brat.他是一个被宠坏了的调皮孩子。
• The brat sicked his dog on the passer-by.那个顽童纵狗去咬过路人。

11 destitute   

adj.缺乏的；穷困的

参考例句：

• They were destitute of necessaries of life.他们缺少生活必需品。
• They are destitute of common sense.他们缺乏常识。

12 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句

13 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。

14 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

15 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

16 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

17 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

18 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

19 jade   

n.玉石；碧玉；翡翠

参考例句：

• The statue was carved out of jade.这座塑像是玉雕的。
• He presented us with a couple of jade lions.他送给我们一对玉狮子。

20 circumvent   

vt.环绕，包围；对…用计取胜，智胜

参考例句：

• Military planners tried to circumvent the treaty.军事策略家们企图绕开这一条约。
• Any action I took to circumvent his scheme was justified.我为斗赢他的如意算盘而采取的任何行动都是正当的。

21 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

22 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。

23 plausibly   

似真地

参考例句：

• The case was presented very plausibly. 案情的申述似很可信。
• He argued very plausibly for its acceptance. 他为使之认可辩解得头头是道。

24 repulsed   

v.击退( repulse的过去式和过去分词 )；驳斥；拒绝

参考例句：

• I was repulsed by the horrible smell. 这种可怕的气味让我恶心。
• At the first brush,the enemy was repulsed. 敌人在第一次交火时就被击退了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 judiciously   

adv.明断地，明智而审慎地

参考例句：

• Let's use these intelligence tests judiciously. 让我们好好利用这些智力测试题吧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His ideas were quaint and fantastic. She brought him judiciously to earth. 他的看法荒廖古怪，她颇有见识地劝他面对现实。 来自辞典例句

26 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

27 exultingly   

兴高采烈地，得意地

参考例句：

• It was exultingly easy. 这容易得让人雀跃。
• I gave him a cup of tea while the rest exultingly drinking aquavit. 当别人继续兴高采烈地喝着白兰地的时候，我随手为那位朋友端去了一杯热茶。

28 attested   

adj.经检验证明无病的，经检验证明无菌的v.证明( attest的过去式和过去分词 )；证实；声称…属实；使宣誓

参考例句：

• The handwriting expert attested to the genuineness of the signature. 笔迹专家作证该签名无讹。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Witnesses attested his account. 几名证人都证实了他的陈述是真实的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

29 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。