CHAPTER XXXVIII. MR. BARTON DEFIES THE SQUIRE.

 Squire¹ Marlowe sat down, while John Barton, instead of quailing² in his presence, eyed him with cool indifference³.

 

"What is the meaning of this tomfoolery?" asked Albert Marlowe, uneasily.

 

"You may call it what you like, but the time has come for an explanation. Albert Marlowe, you have done me a cruel wrong. It is through you that I have had my name blackened and have been forced to fly from my country."

 

"So you went to Canada, did you?" sneered⁴ the squire. "It's a popular resort for gentlemen of your class."

 

"Your words do not trouble me, for I never committed the crime with which I was charged."

 

"Of course not. It is wonderful how in272nocent you all are. But you say that I am responsible for the consequences of your crime. What do you mean by that?"

 

"I mean," answered Barton, with a penetrating⁵ glance, "that the bonds were stolen by you, and that you schemed to throw the blame upon me. Is this plain?"

 

"Are you mad?" said the squire, angrily, "do you expect the world to believe this, or are you in a conspiracy⁶ to blackmail⁷ me?"

 

"The last question you can ask when I demand money from you as the price of my silence."

 

"Take care, John Barton! Your silly tale is the last desperate expedient⁸ of a criminal. You ought to see the folly⁹ of attacking a man in my position. For years I have been the most prominent man in Lakeville, owner of the large shoe factory that gives employment to fifty hands. It is no idle boast—and your wife will confirm my words—that I am the most influential¹⁰ and respected citizen of this town."

 

"And on what are your position and prosperity based, Albert Marlowe? Where did you273 obtain the capital that enabled you to start in business?"

 

Squire Marlowe looked confused for a moment, but his audacity¹¹ did not desert him.

 

"I started," he answered, "on borrowed money."

 

"Of whom did you borrow?"

 

"That is my affair," returned Marlowe, doggedly¹².

 

"You would find it hard to answer. Let me answer for you."

 

The squire did not speak, but waited, not without uneasiness, for Barton to answer his own question. He didn't have long to wait.

 

"You started your factory on the money realized from the stolen bonds."

 

"You will have to prove this," said Marlowe, furiously.

 

"Do you wish me to do so?" asked John Barton, significantly.

 

"This is all a scheme to clear yourself from the charge," exclaimed the squire. "Don't think I am so dull that I don't see through it. How happens it that you have waited ten years before it occurred to you to implicate¹³ me?"274

 

"It did not immediately occur to me; but when you started in business on a large scale, though you were no better off than myself at the time of the theft, it set me to thinking."

 

"I have already told you that I used borrowed money."

 

"You won't tell me where you borrowed it."

 

"Because it is my private business. John Barton, I warn you that you are making a powerful enemy. If you keep quiet and let me alone, I will not call attention to your presence in Lakeville, and for safety's sake I will not appear to know anything about you. Do you make that promise?"

 

"Albert Marlowe, I am an innocent man, but I am under a ban. I want to prove my innocence¹⁴, and regain¹⁵ the right to live with my family, and hold up my head before my fellow-men. If, in doing this, attention should be drawn¹⁶ to you as the real criminal I cannot help it."

 

"So you defy me, do you?" demanded the squire.

 

"If what I have said is a defiance¹⁷, then I defy you," answered John Barton, calmly.275

 

Squire Marlowe rose from his seat, his face flushed with anger.

 

"Be it so," he said. "You will hear from me again."

 

"Oh, John," exclaimed Mrs. Barton as the squire left the room, "I am afraid Albert will do you some harm."

 

"Then, Mary, to relieve you, let me say that I have heard through Uncle Jacob that Bert has found the missing witness, Ralph Harding, and that both are probably in New York at this moment."

 

On his return Squire Marlowe telegraphed from a neighboring town as follows:

 

"To Robert Manning, No. 71 1-2 Fulton St., Brooklyn:

 

"John Barton, who ten years since stole your bonds, and escaped trial, is at Lakeville, at his wife's house.

 

"Albert Marlowe."

 

The last act in the drama was about to be played, and Squire Marlowe went about with a gleam in his eye as he anticipated the final downfall of the man who had dared to defy him.

1 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。

2 quailing   

害怕，发抖，畏缩( quail的现在分词 )

参考例句：

3 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

4 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。

5 penetrating   

adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的

参考例句：

• He had an extraordinarily penetrating gaze. 他的目光有股异乎寻常的洞察力。
• He examined the man with a penetrating gaze. 他以锐利的目光仔细观察了那个人。

6 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

7 blackmail   

n.讹诈，敲诈，勒索，胁迫，恫吓

参考例句：

• She demanded ＄1000 blackmail from him.她向他敲诈了1000美元。
• The journalist used blackmail to make the lawyer give him the documents.记者讹诈那名律师交给他文件。

8 expedient   

adj.有用的，有利的；n.紧急的办法，权宜之计

参考例句：

• The government found it expedient to relax censorship a little.政府发现略微放宽审查是可取的。
• Every kind of expedient was devised by our friends.我们的朋友想出了各种各样的应急办法。

9 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。

10 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

11 audacity   

n.大胆，卤莽，无礼

参考例句：

• He had the audacity to ask for an increase in salary.他竟然厚着脸皮要求增加薪水。
• He had the audacity to pick pockets in broad daylight.他竟敢在光天化日之下掏包。

12 doggedly   

adv.顽强地，固执地

参考例句：

• He was still doggedly pursuing his studies.他仍然顽强地进行着自己的研究。
• He trudged doggedly on until he reached the flat.他顽强地、步履艰难地走着，一直走回了公寓。

13 implicate   

vt.使牵连其中，涉嫌

参考例句：

• He didn't find anything in the notebooks to implicate Stu.他在笔记本中没发现任何涉及斯图的东西。
• I do not want to implicate you in my problem of the job.我工作上的问题不想把你也牵扯进来。

14 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

15 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

16 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

17 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。