CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE CLOUDS ROLL BY.

 Just before leaving Denver, Dean, in passing through Lawrence Street, came upon a boy, miserably¹ clad, who held in his hand a few daily papers which he was trying to sell. There was something in the boy's face that looked familiar.

"Guy Gladstone!" he exclaimed in great surprise.

"Dean Dunham!" replied Guy, looking both pleased and ashamed.

"How came you here? I thought you were hunting Indians on the prairies."

Guy blushed scarlet².

"Don't say a word about it!" he replied. "I was a fool and I have suffered for my folly³."

"Tell me about it."

"I got out of money and have nearly starved. I268 have done anything I could to make a little money. I have blacked boots, set up pins in a bowling⁴ alley⁵, and now I am selling papers."

"Why don't you go home?"

"I would if I had the money."

"Then you shall have the money. I start East to-morrow, and will take you along with me."

"Then you have prospered⁶?" asked the wondering Guy.

"Yes, but not all the time. I have seen hard times, too. Mr. Kirby discharged me, and I lived some time by giving concerts on the harmonica."

"Really and truly!"

"Yes," answered Dean, laughing. "I don't wonder you are surprised. But here, give away your papers to that newsboy across the street and come to my hotel."

"But I haven't any money."

"I have enough for both."

Dean had the pleasure of restoring Guy to his family, who received him kindly⁷. It is safe to say that he will never again go West in quest of Indians.

A little before noon on Saturday Dean reached Waterford, and walked home. On the way he met Brandon Bates.

"Halloa, so you're back!" said Brandon, eying him curiously⁸.

269

"Yes, Brandon. Thank you for your warm welcome."

"I didn't mean to give you a warm welcome," said Brandon, ungraciously.

"I beg your pardon; I made a mistake."

"I suppose you came home without a cent."

"You're mistaken. I've got over a dollar in my pocket."

"What's a dollar?" sneered⁹ Brandon.

"It isn't much, to be sure."

"You won't hear very good news at your uncle's."

"Why? Is he sick—or my aunt?" asked Dean uneasily.

"No, but he can't pay the mortgage, and my father's going to take possession of the place."

"Oh, is that all?" said Dean, relieved.

"I should think it was enough."

"Oh, perhaps your father will think better of it, as I am at home now and can help Uncle Adin pay it off."

"What can you do?" asked Brandon, mockingly.

"That's the great question. However, I'm in a hurry to get home, and must leave you. You are kind to be so much interested in me, Brandon."

"I'm not interested in you at all," returned Brandon, tartly¹⁰.

Dean laughed and passed on.

270

"That boy's as impudent¹¹ as ever," soliloquized Brandon. "He'll feel differently on Monday."

In the joy of seeing Dean again his uncle and aunt lost sight for a time of their troubles, but after a while Adin Dunham said gravely, "It's well you came home as you did, Dean, for the old home is about to pass from me."

"How is that, Uncle Adin?"

"Squire¹² Bates is going to foreclose the mortgage. He offers to buy the place and give me eight hundred dollars over and above what I owe him."

"Of course you declined?"

"It will do no good. I must yield to necessity."

"Squire Bates shall never have the place," said Dean, resolutely¹³.

"Who will prevent it?"

"I will."

"But, Dean, what power have you? The squire is firmly resolved."

"So am I."

"But——"

"Uncle Adin, ask me no questions, but rest easy in the thought that you won't lose your home. Leave the matter in my hands. That is all you need to do."

"Sarah, what does the boy mean?"

271

"He means something, Adin. We may as well leave it in his hands as he asks."

"Very well, I don't know as he can do any harm—or good."

"That remains¹⁴ to be seen, uncle."

Dean went to church on Sunday, and received a warm welcome from nearly all the congregation, for he was popular with those of all ages. He wore a smiling, untroubled look which puzzled Squire Bates and Brandon.

"Does he know that I am going to foreclose the mortgage?" asked the squire of Brandon.

"Yes, for I told him."

"It seems strange that he should be so cheerful."

"He won't be—to-morrow."

"No, I apprehend¹⁵ not."

When Squire Bates called at the carpenter's modest home Dean opened the door, and invited him into the sitting-room¹⁶, where the two found themselves alone.

"I want to see your uncle," said the squire.

"If it's about the mortgage, I will attend to that matter."

"You—a boy?"

"Yes, I feel competent to settle the matter."

272

"There is only one way of settling it, by paying the money."

"I propose to pay it as soon as——"

"Well, as soon as what?"

"As soon as you restore to my uncle, with interest, the thousand dollars you stole from him nearly a year since."

"What do you mean by this insolence¹⁷?" demanded Squire Bates, springing to his feet and glaring at Dean.

"I mean," answered Dean, slowly, "that I have the sworn testimony¹⁸ of Peter Kirby, given me at Denver, implicating¹⁹ you in that robbery."

"Show it to me," said the squire, turning livid.

"Here is a copy. The original is in the hands of a New York lawyer."

Squire Bates took the paper in his trembling fingers, and read it deliberately²⁰.

"This is a lie!" he exclaimed hoarsely²¹.

"The matter can come before the courts if you wish it. My uncle recognized you at the time of the robbery, but no one would believe his testimony. Fortunately, it will be substantiated²² now."

"But this is the most utter absurdity²³. Does anybody believe that a man of my reputation would be implicated²⁴ in a highway robbery?"

"They will find it equally hard to believe that273 you are the captain of a band of robbers with headquarters in Colorado. I have been in the cave where your booty is congealed²⁵, and know what I am talking about."

After fifteen minutes more the squire capitulated, only making it a condition that Dean would keep secret the serious discoveries which he had made.

"I will do so, unless I am summoned to testify in court," said Dean.

"Leave me to explain matters to your uncle," said the squire.

Dean called the carpenter into the room.

"Mr. Dunham," said Squire Bates with his old suavity²⁶, "I have arranged matters satisfactorily with your nephew. He has recovered the large sum of which you were robbed a year ago, and paid the mortgage, or is prepared to do so. Dean, if you will accompany me to my office we will arrange this affair."

"But, who stole the money?" asked Adin Dunham, bewildered.

"I promised not to tell," said Dean. "Was I right?"

"Yes, yes, as long as you got the money back."

Dean received the mortgage back canceled, and something over two hundred dollars besides, which he placed in his uncle's hands. Adin Dunham looked274 ten years younger, and his face was radiant. His joy was increased when Dean told him how he had prospered out West, and gave his aunt five hundred dollars, reserving for himself the remainder of the thousand which he had brought home.

Two months later Dean returned to Denver to find that his lots had considerably²⁷ increased in value. Gradually he sold them off for twice what he paid, and entered business in the Queen City of Colorado.

Squire Bates soon removed from Waterford, and the villagers have heard nothing of him since. But Dean could tell them that his connection with the band of robbers was discovered, and that he is upon conviction serving a protracted²⁸ term in a Western prison. What has become of Brandon or his mother is not known to the general public, but it is less than a year since Dean, while leaving the Denver post-office, was accosted²⁹ by a shabbily dressed young man who asked for assistance.

"Are you not Brandon Bates?" asked Dean after a brief glance.

Brandon was about to hurry away, but Dean detained him. "Don't go," he said. "I am glad to help you," and he placed two gold eagles in the hands of the astonished Brandon.

"Come to me again if you are in need," said Dean in a friendly manner.

 

"Thank you! I didn't expect this from you," said Brandon. "I thought you would triumph over me."

"If I did I should show myself unworthy of the good fortune that has come to me. I wish you good luck."

That was the last Dean has seen of Brandon. Let us hope that he will deserve good luck, and attain³⁰ it.

Adin Dunham still lives, happy in the companionship of his good wife, and the prosperity of his nephew. But there is one thing that puzzles him. He has never been able to solve The Waterford Mystery.
 

THE END.

1 miserably   

adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地

参考例句：

• The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。
• It was drizzling, and miserably cold and damp. 外面下着毛毛细雨，天气又冷又湿，令人难受。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 scarlet   

n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的

参考例句：

• The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
• The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了，深红的颜色变成了绯红，绯红又变为浅红。

3 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。

4 bowling   

n.保龄球运动

参考例句：

• Bowling is a popular sport with young and old.保龄球是老少都爱的运动。
• Which sport do you 1ike most,golf or bowling?你最喜欢什么运动，高尔夫还是保龄球？

5 alley   

n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路

参考例句：

• We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
• The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。

6 prospered   

成功，兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The organization certainly prospered under his stewardship. 不可否认，这个组织在他的管理下兴旺了起来。
• Mr. Black prospered from his wise investments. 布莱克先生由于巧妙的投资赚了不少钱。

7 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。

8 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

9 sneered   

讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sneered at people who liked pop music. 他嘲笑喜欢流行音乐的人。
• It's very discouraging to be sneered at all the time. 成天受嘲讽是很令人泄气的。

10 tartly   

adv.辛辣地，刻薄地

参考例句：

• She finished by tartly pointing out that he owed her some money. 她最后刻薄地指出他欠她一些钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Kay said tartly, "And you're more Yankee than Italian. 恺酸溜溜他说：“可你哪，与其说是意大利人，还不如说是新英格兰人。 来自教父部分

11 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。

12 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。

13 resolutely   

adj.坚决地，果断地

参考例句：

• He resolutely adhered to what he had said at the meeting. 他坚持他在会上所说的话。
• He grumbles at his lot instead of resolutely facing his difficulties. 他不是果敢地去面对困难，而是抱怨自己运气不佳。

14 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

15 apprehend   

vt.理解，领悟，逮捕，拘捕，忧虑

参考例句：

• I apprehend no worsening of the situation.我不担心局势会恶化。
• Police have not apprehended her killer.警察还未抓获谋杀她的凶手。

16 sitting-room   

n.（BrE）客厅，起居室

参考例句：

• The sitting-room is clean.起居室很清洁。
• Each villa has a separate sitting-room.每栋别墅都有一间独立的起居室。

17 insolence   

n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度

参考例句：

• I've had enough of your insolence, and I'm having no more. 我受够了你的侮辱，不能再容忍了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• How can you suffer such insolence? 你怎么能容忍这种蛮横的态度？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

19 implicating   

vt.牵涉，涉及（implicate的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• He was in the public dock, confessing everything, implicating everybody. 他站在被告席上，什么都招认，什么人都咬。 来自英汉文学
• No one would have had me get out of the scrape by implicating an old friend. 无论什么人都不能叫我为了自己摆脱困难便把一个老朋友牵累到这案子里去。 来自辞典例句

20 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

21 hoarsely   

adv.嘶哑地

参考例句：

• "Excuse me," he said hoarsely. “对不起。”他用嘶哑的嗓子说。
• Jerry hoarsely professed himself at Miss Pross's service. 杰瑞嘶声嘶气地表示愿为普洛丝小姐效劳。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

22 substantiated   

v.用事实支持（某主张、说法等），证明，证实( substantiate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The results of the tests substantiated his claims. 这些检验的结果证实了他的说法。
• The statement has never been substantiated. 这一陈述从未得到证实。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

23 absurdity   

n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论

参考例句：

• The proposal borders upon the absurdity.这提议近乎荒谬。
• The absurdity of the situation made everyone laugh.情况的荒谬可笑使每个人都笑了。

24 implicated   

adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的

参考例句：

• These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

25 congealed   

v.使凝结，冻结( congeal的过去式和过去分词 )；（指血）凝结

参考例句：

• The cold remains of supper had congealed on the plate. 晚餐剩下的冷饭菜已经凝结在盘子上了。
• The oil at last is congealed into a white fat. 那油最终凝结成了一种白色的油脂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 suavity   

n.温和；殷勤

参考例句：

• He's got a surface flow of suavity,but he's rough as a rasp underneath.他表面看来和和气气的，其实是个粗野狂暴的恶棍。
• But the well-bred,artificial smile,when he bent upon the guests,had its wonted steely suavity.但是他哈着腰向宾客招呼的那种彬彬有礼、故意装成的笑容里，却仍然具有它平时那种沉着的殷勤。

27 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

28 protracted   

adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The war was protracted for four years. 战争拖延了四年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We won victory through protracted struggle. 经过长期的斗争，我们取得了胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》

29 accosted   

v.走过去跟…讲话( accost的过去式和过去分词 )；跟…搭讪；（乞丐等）上前向…乞讨；（妓女等）勾搭

参考例句：

• She was accosted in the street by a complete stranger. 在街上，一个完全陌生的人贸然走到她跟前搭讪。
• His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him. 他乐善好施的本性使他不会拒绝走上前向他行乞的任何一个乞丐。 来自《简明英汉词典》

30 attain   

vt.达到，获得，完成

参考例句：

• I used the scientific method to attain this end. 我用科学的方法来达到这一目的。
• His painstaking to attain his goal in life is praiseworthy. 他为实现人生目标所下的苦功是值得称赞的。