CHAPTER XV. BERT'S TRIUMPHANT VINDICATION.

 "You have not answered my question, Mr. Jones," persisted the young lawyer.

 

"I rather think I have," said the grocer, looking around him triumphantly¹.

 

"But not satisfactorily. I ask you again, how do you know that the twenty-dollar bill tendered you by my client was the same bill which you left on the desk?"

 

"It stands to reason——"

 

"Stop there! That is no answer."

 

"It seems to me you're mighty³ particular," retorted the grocer sharply.

 

"My young client's interests require it. Now for your answer."101

 

"Well, there wasn't any other twenty-dollar bill around."

 

"How do you know! Young Barton says he brought the bill from home."

 

"He says so!" repeated Mr. Jones, with a suggestive sneer⁴.

 

"Upon that point I propose to call a witness who will corroborate⁵ his statement. Mrs. Barton!"

 

The widow Barton came forward, pale and anxious, and was sworn. She was regarded with sympathy by all present except the grocer and the acting⁶ judge. After one or two unimportant questions, Mr. Conway asked: "When your son went to the grocery store, did he take any money with him?"

 

"Yes, sir."

 

"How much?"

 

"Twenty dollars."

 

"Was it in the form of one bill, or several?"

 

"It was a single twenty-dollar bill."

 

Mr. Jones, who had now taken his seat, looked insultingly incredulous.

 

"Can I ask a question?" he said, turning to Squire⁷ Marlowe.

 

"You can."

 

"I should like to ask Mrs. Barton where the prisoner obtained the twenty-dollar bill?"102 And the grocer looked around the court-room again, triumphantly.

 

"It came from my uncle, Jacob Marlowe," answered Mrs. Barton.

 

"Ah, that's it! Is Mr. Jacob Marlowe in town?"

 

"No, sir."

 

"When was he in town?"

 

"Three or four weeks since."

 

"When did he give you the money?"

 

"He left a sealed envelope containing it, which we were not to open unless in case of need."

 

"When did you first open it?"

 

"Last evening."

 

"Can you produce the envelope?" asked Jones, with an ironical⁸ smile.

 

"Here it is."

 

The envelope was taken and examined by the grocer.

 

"There is nothing to show that this could not have been prepared by the defendant⁹, without the knowledge of this convenient uncle," he said.

 

"There was a note accompanying it," Mrs. Barton added.

 

"Let me see it."

 

"I will read it," said Mr. Conway, taking it in his hand.103

 

This note has already been quoted in Chapter XI.

 

Mr. Jones looked somewhat nonplussed¹⁰.

 

"I am free to confess," he said, after a pause, "that I doubt the genuineness of this note. Nothing could be easier than to prepare it."

 

"I appeal to the court to protect the witness from insult," interposed Mr. Conway.

 

"I do not consider that she has been insulted," said Squire Marlowe coldly. "The credibility of testimony¹¹ is always a matter to be considered."

 

Mr. Jones eyed the young lawyer with a triumphant² smile.

 

"Have you any further questions to put, Mr. Jones?" added Conway.

 

"No, sir, I am satisfied."

 

"Then the witness may step down. I call upon Mr. Jones to take the witness stand again."

 

"I have no objection, I am sure!" said the grocer jauntily¹². He saw that the judge was with him, and he confidently anticipated Bert's conviction.

 

"From whom did you obtain the twenty-dollar bill which you charge my client with taking?" asked Mr. Conway.104

 

"From Mr. Holbrook, the landlord of the hotel."

 

"You are sure of this?" demanded Conway sternly.

 

"Of course I am."

 

"And you will swear that this is the case?"

 

"Certainly!" answered Mr. Jones aggressively, thinking it very important that he should substantiate¹³ this fact.

 

"That will do, Mr. Jones."

 

The grocer took his seat, feeling that he had scored a victory and foiled the lawyer. It was not long before he had occasion to change his opinion.

 

"Mr. Holbrook," called Conway.

 

The landlord of the Lakeville Hotel took the stand. He was a pleasant-looking, good-hearted man, and he glanced sympathetically at Bert and his mother.

 

"Mr. Holbrook," said Conway, "do you remember paying Mr. Jones, the complainant, a twenty-dollar bill?"

 

"Yes, sir."

 

The grocer smiled again. Everything seemed to favor his side of the case.

 

"For what was the payment made?"

 

"For groceries furnished by Mr. Jones."

 

"Would you recognize the bill you paid if you should see it again?"105

 

"Yes, sir."

 

"Is this the bill?" asked the lawyer, exhibiting the note taken from the grocer, and now in the custody¹⁴ of the court.

 

Mr. Holbrook took the bill in his hand, and, turning it over, looked at the reverse side. All eyes were upon him, and there was a hush¹⁵ of expectation, for it was felt that the whole case hinged upon the answer to this question.

 

"This is not the same bill," answered the landlord composedly.

 

Bert's friends looked joyful¹⁶, and Mr. Jones looked dismayed.

 

"He is mistaken!" ejaculated the grocer, much perturbed¹⁷.

 

"Of course," continued the young lawyer, "you have some means of identification. Please state to the court how you know that this is not the same bill."

 

"The bill which I paid to Mr. Jones," answered the landlord, "had the letters I. W. written in red ink on the back. This note has no such mark."

 

Conway looked triumphant. It was his turn now. He took the bank-note, and holding it up in sight of all, called the attention of the court and those present to the fact attested¹⁸ by the witness.

 

"It is clear," he said, "that nothing was106 ever written on the back of this note in red ink."

 

"It might have been effaced," suggested the grocer querulously.

 

"The bill, since it was taken from the complainant, has been in charge of the court," said Conway. "I hardly think the complainant will dare to assert that it has been tampered¹⁹ with. And now, your honor," turning to the presiding judge, "I submit that the charge has been completely answered. We have shown that the bill tendered by my client was not the bill lost by Mr. Jones. I claim his discharge."

 

Squire Marlowe hesitated, but he could think of no pretext²⁰ for holding Bert, since the case against him had so signally failed.

 

"The prisoner is discharged!" he said briefly²¹, and rose from his seat.

 

Bert's friends surrounded him, and he began to fear that in their enthusiasm they would shake his hand off. It was almost as serious as being a Presidential candidate. It is needless to say, however, that Mr. Jones was not one of the friends who congratulated him. He, on the other hand, looked decidedly grumpy, and as if he had lost his best friend. He pushed his way through the crowd up to the young lawyer.107

 

"This is all very fine, Mr. Lawyer," he said, "but will you tell me how I am to get my money back?"

 

"What money, Mr. Jones?"

 

"The twenty-dollar bill taken from my desk, of course."

 

"I wish I could, Mr. Jones, but I know no more than the man in the moon."

 

"Is that all the satisfaction I am going to get?" demanded Jones angrily.

 

"From me—yes. You will have to find the person who actually took the money."

 

"I don't see how I am to do it. I would have sworn that it was Bert Barton, and I am not sure now——"

 

"Stop there, Mr. Jones! If after my client's full vindication²² you insinuate²³ any charge of dishonesty, I shall advise him to sue you for defamation²⁴ of character."

 

The grocer looked startled, and Conway continued:

 

"But I will volunteer the suggestion that as you can now identify the bill, you can advertise that a note so marked has been stolen from you, and call upon any one into whose hands it may come to help you trace it back to the thief. There is a chance that you may recover it."

1 triumphantly   

ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地

参考例句：

• The lion was roaring triumphantly. 狮子正在发出胜利的吼叫。
• Robert was looking at me triumphantly. 罗伯特正得意扬扬地看着我。

2 triumphant   

adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的

参考例句：

• The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
• There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。

3 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。

4 sneer   

v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语

参考例句：

• He said with a sneer.他的话中带有嘲笑之意。
• You may sneer,but a lot of people like this kind of music.你可以嗤之以鼻，但很多人喜欢这种音乐。

5 corroborate   

v.支持，证实，确定

参考例句：

• He looked at me anxiously,as if he hoped I'd corroborate this.他神色不安地看着我，仿佛他希望我证实地的话。
• It appeared that what he said went to corroborate my account.看来他所说的和我叙述的相符。

6 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。

7 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。

8 ironical   

adj.讽刺的，冷嘲的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironical end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• From his general demeanour I didn't get the impression that he was being ironical.从他整体的行为来看，我不觉得他是在讲反话。

9 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

10 nonplussed   

adj.不知所措的，陷于窘境的v.使迷惑( nonplus的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The speaker was completely nonplussed by the question. 演讲者被这个问题完全难倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I was completely nonplussed by his sudden appearance. 他突然出现使我大吃一惊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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。

12 jauntily   

adv.心满意足地；洋洋得意地；高兴地；活泼地

参考例句：

• His straw hat stuck jauntily on the side of his head. 他那顶草帽时髦地斜扣在头上。 来自辞典例句
• He returned frowning, his face obstinate but whistling jauntily. 他回来时皱眉蹙额，板着脸，嘴上却快活地吹着口哨。 来自辞典例句

13 substantiate   

v.证实；证明...有根据

参考例句：

• There is little scientific evidence to substantiate the claims.这些主张几乎找不到科学依据来证实。
• These theories are used to substantiate the relationship between the phenomenons of the universe.这些学说是用来证实宇宙现象之间的关系。

14 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

15 hush   

int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静

参考例句：

• A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
• Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去！

16 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

17 perturbed   

adj.烦燥不安的v.使（某人）烦恼，不安( perturb的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I am deeply perturbed by the alarming way the situation developing. 我对形势令人忧虑的发展深感不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mother was much perturbed by my illness. 母亲为我的病甚感烦恼不安。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

18 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》

19 tampered   

v.窜改( tamper的过去式 )；篡改；（用不正当手段）影响；瞎摆弄

参考例句：

• The records of the meeting had been tampered with. 会议记录已被人擅自改动。 来自辞典例句
• The old man's will has been tampered with. 老人的遗嘱已被窜改。 来自辞典例句

20 pretext   

n.借口，托词

参考例句：

• He used his headache as a pretext for not going to school.他借口头疼而不去上学。
• He didn't attend that meeting under the pretext of sickness.他以生病为借口，没参加那个会议。

21 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

22 vindication   

n.洗冤，证实

参考例句：

• There is much to be said in vindication of his claim.有很多理由可以提出来为他的要求作辩护。
• The result was a vindication of all our efforts.这一结果表明我们的一切努力是必要的。

23 insinuate   

vt.含沙射影地说，暗示

参考例句：

• He tried to insinuate himself into the boss's favor.他设法巧妙地渐渐取得老板的欢心。
• It seems to me you insinuate things about her.我觉得你讲起她来，总有些弦外之音。

24 defamation   

n.诽谤；中伤

参考例句：

• Character defamation can be either oral or written.人格诽谤既可以是口头的也可以是书面的。
• The company sued for defamation.这个公司因受到诽谤而提起诉讼。