CHAPTER IX. THE SQUIRE'S BOLD STROKE.

 "That boy evidently suspects me," thought Renwick Bates, contracting his forehead. "He is altogether too smart. With the help of his uncle, whose suspicions are already excited, he may make me trouble. I must take a bold course, and make the accusations¹ look ridiculous."

Squire² Bates kept on his way till he reached Rockmount, and drove at once to the office of Thomas Marks.

"How do you do, Squire Bates?" asked the agent politely.

"Very well, thank you. I suppose you have heard of the robbery?"

"To what do you allude³?"

"Adin Dunham was stopped on his way home yesterday, and robbed of a thousand dollars!"

"You don't mean it?" returned the agent. "Why I paid him that money with my own hands."

"So I supposed. Why didn't you give him a check?"

"He preferred the bills. Besides, as you have no bank at Waterford, he could have done nothing with the check."

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"That is true; I didn't think of that. But it's a pity as it happened."

"Can you tell me any of the details of the robbery?"

"I talked with Dean Dunham, the nephew, only this morning. I have not seen Adin himself."

"What does the boy say?"

Squire Bates repeated what he had heard from Dean, though he might have gone more into details from his own knowledge. This, of course, he could not venture upon.

"It seems extraordinary," said Thomas Marks, thoughtfully. "How could the robber have known that Adin Dunham had received any money?"

"He might have seen him at your office."

"I don't pay money to every one that calls upon me," said Marks, smiling.

"No, or I should call for my installment," returned the squire jocosely⁴. "Perhaps it might have been some one connected with the hotel company. I suppose they knew the money was to be called for to-day?"

"Yes."

"By the way, in what shape did you pay the money?"

"You mean in bills of what denomination⁵?"

"Yes."

"In fifty-dollar bills."

"Twenty fifties then?"

"Yes."

"That information may prove important. Were the bills all on one bank?"

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"No, from several. Some, I think, were silver certificates."

"If this had happened in England the numbers of the notes would have been noted⁶."

"Exactly. That is one advantage the English detectives have over ours. May I ask if you have been retained by Adin Dunham to work out the case?"

"No; I haven't even seen him since the robbery, but as he is a neighbor I naturally take an interest in the affair. If I can do anything to ferret out the thief, or recover the money, I will do so gladly, and it shall cost Dunham nothing."

"Your words do you credit, Squire Bates," said the agent, warmly.

"I think I have misjudged Bates. He is a better man than I gave him credit for," reflected Thomas Marks.

"I sympathize with the poor man heartily," continued the squire, following up the favorable impression which he could see that he had made. "A thousand dollars is a fortune to him. To us, Mr. Marks, it would not be so important."

"Speak for yourself, squire. I am by no means a millionaire."

"Nor I," rejoined Squire Bates, laughing. "The assessors of Waterford would be glad if I were."

"Still I don't think you are in any danger of going to the poor house," continued the agent.

"Well, no, perhaps not. But I must be getting home. I suppose you will warn the merchants here to look out for any fifty-dollar bills that may be offered them."

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"Yes; it is a good suggestion. I don't think, however, that the robber will be apt to spend his money in this neighborhood."

"I presume not. From all I can gather he is a wandering tramp, who possibly only expected to get a few dollars, and will probably be quite bewildered when he finds what a haul he has made."

"I hope for poor Dunham's sake he will be found out."

"Amen to that!" said Squire Bates, with a queer smile.

"What a droll⁷ world it is!" soliloquized the lawyer as he turned his horse's head towards Waterford. "How that worthy⁸ Marks would have been astonished if he had known that the bold and audacious robber had been holding a conversation with him! I must send away those fifty-dollar notes. Their use in this neighborhood would be suicidal.

"I think my call upon this man Marks is a clever stroke!" the squire complacently⁹ continued musing¹⁰ to himself. "I must venture upon a still bolder, stroke, and call upon Adin Dunham, though under the circumstances I feel rather nervous about it. If that young Dean were out of the way I should feel more comfortable. It may be necessary to get rid of him, but that can wait. I understand from my boy Brandon that Dean treated him very disrespectfully, not to say insolently¹¹, only yesterday. As Brandon truly remarks, the boy is as proud as he is poor, and doesn't know his place. A working boy occupies an humble¹² position, and owes deference¹³ to his superiors62 in station. I might have him arrested for taking possession of Brandon's boat by violence, but at present it would not be politic¹⁴. Our turn will come after a while, and then Dean Dunham must look out!"

When Squire Bates reached Waterford he drove to the house of Adin Dunham. Dean was standing¹⁵ in the yard.

"Please hold my horse, Dean," said the squire pleasantly, "I am going to call upon your uncle."

"I don't know whether he can see you, sir," said Dean, doubtfully.

"At any rate I can ask. I called on Mr. Marks, from whom your uncle received the money."

"Did you learn anything, sir?"

"Yes, I learned that the money was paid in fifty-dollar bills—just twenty of them. You can see that this is important. If any one in this neighborhood offers a fifty-dollar bill in payment for any article it should be investigated."

"Yes, sir."

Dean regarded the squire with a puzzled expression. He seemed to take so much interest in the matter of the robbery, to be so desirous of throwing obstacles in the way of the thief, that Dean began to think his suspicions unwarranted. Yet there was his uncle's description of the robber, and again there was the tell-tale sleeve button in his pocket.

"It beats me!" was Dean's conclusion. "Things may clear up, but at present it seems particularly foggy."

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"Please ask your aunt if I may see Mr. Dunham," said the squire. "I will tie the horse."

Dean went in and proffered¹⁶ the request, adding, "Squire Bates has just returned from Rockmount, where he had an interview with the man who gave uncle the money. He says it was all in fifty-dollar bills."

"I don't know," said Mrs. Dunham, doubtfully. "Perhaps it may be as well to let the squire go in. We ought to be doin' somethin' to catch the thief, and the squire's a lawyer."

So it happened that without notification to Dunham she entered the sick room followed by the squire.

"Adin, I've brought Squire Bates to see you," she said soothingly¹⁷.

Instantly Dunham became excited and manifested alarm.

"Take him away!" he cried, apparently¹⁸ warding¹⁹ off an attack with his hands. "He is the man that robbed me!"

The squire was prepared for this, and he had decided²⁰ what to do.

"What!" he exclaimed in a tone of concern, "is poor Dunham's mind affected²¹?"

"Yes, I fear the shock was too much for him," said Mrs. Dunham, sorrowfully. "What in the world should have put such an idea into his head?"

"I tell you he is the man that robbed me!" exclaimed Adin Dunham. "I know him by those long teeth. Give me back my thousand dollars,64 Squire Bates!" he continued piteously. "They were all I had."

"Poor man! I am inexpressibly shocked. I see that my presence excites him, and I will go."

"I hope you will excuse his words, squire. He doesn't know what he says."

"Yes, he does, and he means it too. That man knew I was to bring back a large sum of money, and he lay in wait for me."

"I had better go, I think," said the squire nervously²².

Mrs. Dunham followed him from the room, continuing her apologies.

"Don't say a word, my dear madam," said the squire in a sympathetic tone. "I feel for you, indeed I do. To prove it, I will head a subscription²³ to make up to your husband a part of his loss. I will put down fifty dollars."

"You are very kind, Squire Bates. How can I thank you?"

"Don't thank me at all, but rest assured that I will do all I can for Mr. Dunham, notwithstanding his strange delusion²⁴ respecting myself."

"That's clever stroke number two," thought the squire, as he rode homeward. "I think I have thoroughly²⁵ disarmed²⁶ suspicion now."

1 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

2 squire   

n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅

参考例句：

• I told him the squire was the most liberal of men.我告诉他乡绅是世界上最宽宏大量的人。
• The squire was hard at work at Bristol.乡绅在布里斯托尔热衷于他的工作。

3 allude   

v.提及，暗指

参考例句：

• Many passages in Scripture allude to this concept.圣经中有许多经文间接地提到这样的概念。
• She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles.她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。

4 jocosely   

adv.说玩笑地，诙谐地

参考例句：

5 denomination   

n.命名，取名，(度量衡、货币等的)单位

参考例句：

• The firm is still operating under another denomination.这家公司改用了名称仍在继续营业。
• Litre is a metric denomination.升是公制单位。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 droll   

adj.古怪的，好笑的

参考例句：

• The band have a droll sense of humour.这个乐队有一种滑稽古怪的幽默感。
• He looked at her with a droll sort of awakening.他用一种古怪的如梦方醒的神情看着她.

8 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

9 complacently   

adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地

参考例句：

• He complacently lived out his life as a village school teacher. 他满足于一个乡村教师的生活。
• "That was just something for evening wear," returned his wife complacently. “那套衣服是晚装，"他妻子心安理得地说道。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

10 musing   

n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• "At Tellson's banking-house at nine," he said, with a musing face. “九点在台尔森银行大厦见面，”他想道。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• She put the jacket away, and stood by musing a minute. 她把那件上衣放到一边，站着沉思了一会儿。

11 insolently   

adv.自豪地，自傲地

参考例句：

• No does not respect, speak insolently,satire, etc for TT management team member. 不得发表对TT管理层人员不尊重、出言不逊、讽刺等等的帖子。 来自互联网
• He had replied insolently to his superiors. 他傲慢地回答了他上司的问题。 来自互联网

12 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

13 deference   

n.尊重，顺从；敬意

参考例句：

• Do you treat your parents and teachers with deference?你对父母师长尊敬吗？
• The major defect of their work was deference to authority.他们的主要缺陷是趋从权威。

14 politic   

adj.有智虑的；精明的；v.从政

参考例句：

• He was too politic to quarrel with so important a personage.他很聪明，不会与这么重要的人争吵。
• The politic man tried not to offend people.那个精明的人尽量不得罪人。

15 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

16 proffered   

v.提供，贡献，提出( proffer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She proffered her cheek to kiss. 她伸过自己的面颊让人亲吻。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He rose and proffered a silver box full of cigarettes. 他站起身，伸手递过一个装满香烟的银盒子。 来自辞典例句

17 soothingly   

adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地

参考例句：

• The mother talked soothingly to her child. 母亲对自己的孩子安慰地说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He continued to talk quietly and soothingly to the girl until her frightened grip on his arm was relaxed. 他继续柔声安慰那姑娘，她那因恐惧而紧抓住他的手终于放松了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

19 warding   

监护，守护（ward的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Magina channels a powerful warding magic damping the negative effects of spells. 敌法师用守护魔法来抵御负面法术的攻击。
• Indeed, warding off disruption is the principal property of complex systems. 的确，避免破损解体是复杂系统主要的属性。

20 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。

21 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

22 nervously   

adv.神情激动地，不安地

参考例句：

• He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。
• He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

23 subscription   

n.预订，预订费，亲笔签名，调配法，下标（处方）

参考例句：

• We paid a subscription of 5 pounds yearly.我们按年度缴纳5英镑的订阅费。
• Subscription selling bloomed splendidly.订阅销售量激增。

24 delusion   

n.谬见，欺骗，幻觉，迷惑

参考例句：

• He is under the delusion that he is Napoleon.他患了妄想症，认为自己是拿破仑。
• I was under the delusion that he intended to marry me.我误认为他要娶我。

25 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

26 disarmed   

v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 )；使息怒

参考例句：

• Most of the rebels were captured and disarmed. 大部分叛乱分子被俘获并解除了武装。
• The swordsman disarmed his opponent and ran him through. 剑客缴了对手的械，并对其乱刺一气。 来自《简明英汉词典》