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CHAPTER XVI — GRANT FALLS UNDER SUSPICION
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 In furtherance of his scheme to throw suspicion upon Grant, Willis Ford1 decided2 to make another call upon his stepmother the succeeding evening. It occurred to him that she might possibly connect his visit of the evening before with her loss, and he wished to forestall3 this.
“Is Mrs. Estabrook at home?” he asked of the servant.
“Yes, sir.”
When the housekeeper4 made her appearance he carefully scrutinized5 her face. She was calm and placid6, and it was clear that she had not discovered the abstraction of the bonds.
“I dare say you are surprised to see me so soon again,” he commenced.
“I am always glad to see you, Willis,” she said. “Come upstairs.”
“What a pleasant room you have, mother!”
“Yes, I am very comfortable. Have you had any return of your sickness?” she asked, anxiously.
“No, I have been perfectly7 well. By the way, mother, I have a special object in calling.”
“What is it, Willis?”
“I want to speak to you about those bonds of yours. If you will only sell them out, and invest in Erie, I am sure you will make in six months a sum equal to several years interest.”
“That may be, Willis, but I am very timid about taking a risk. Those bonds represent all the property I have.”
Willis Ford's conscience pricked8 him a little, when he heard her speaking thus of the property he had so heartlessly stolen; but he did not show it in his manner.
“What is the date of your bonds, mother?” he asked.
“I don't know. Does that make any difference?”
“It makes some difference. Those that have longest to run are most valuable.”
“I can easily tell,” said the housekeeper, as she rose from her chair and opened the bureau drawer, in full confidence that the bonds were safe.
It was an exciting moment for Willis Ford, knowing the sad discovery that awaited her.
She put her hand in that part of the drawer where she supposed the bonds to be, and found nothing. A shade of anxiety overspread her face, and she searched hurriedly in other parts of the drawer.
“Don't you find them, mother?” asked Willis.
“It is very strange,” said Mrs. Estabrook, half to herself.
“What is strange?”
“I always kept the bonds in the right-hand corner of this drawer.”
“And you can't find them?”
“I have looked all over the drawer.”
“You may have put them, by mistake, in one of the other drawers.”
“Heaven grant it!” said Mrs. Estabrook, her face white with anxiety.
“Let me help you, mother,” said Willis, rising.
She did not object, for her hands trembled with nervousness.
The other drawers were opened and were thoroughly9 searched, but, of course, the bonds were not found.
Mrs. Estabrook seemed near fainting.
“I have been robbed,” she said. “I am ruined.”
“But who could have robbed you?” asked Ford, innocently.
“I-don't-know. Oh, Willis! it was cruel!” and the poor woman burst into tears. “All these years I have been saving, and now I have lost all. I shall die in the poorhouse after all.”
“Not while I am living, mother,” said Willis. “But the bonds must be found. They must be mislaid.”
“No, no! they are stolen. I shall never see them again.”
“But who has taken them? Ha! I have an idea.”
“What is it?” asked the housekeeper, faintly.
“That boy—Grant Thornton—he lives in the house, doesn't he?”
“Yes,” answered Mrs. Estabrook, in excitement. “Do you think he can have robbed me?”
“What a fool I am! I ought to have suspected when—-”
“When what?”
“When he brought some bonds to me to-day to sell.”
“He did!” exclaimed Mrs. Estabrook; “what were they?”
“A five-hundred-dollar and a hundred-dollar bond.”
“I had a five-hundred and five one-hundred-dollar bonds. They were mine—the young villain10!”
“I greatly fear so, mother.”
“You ought to have kept them, Willis. Oh! why didn't you? Where is the boy? I will see Mr. Reynolds at once.”
“Wait a minute, till I tell you all I know. The boy said the bonds were handed to him by an acquaintance.”
“It was a falsehood.”
“Do you know the number of your bonds, mother?”
“Yes, I have them noted11 down, somewhere.”
“Good! I took the number of those the boy gave me for sale.”
Mrs. Estabrook found the memorandum12. It was compared with one which Willis Ford brought with him, and the numbers were identical. Four numbers, of course, were missing from Ford's list.
“That seems pretty conclusive13, mother. The young rascal14 has stolen your bonds, and offered a part of them for sale. It was certainly bold in him to bring them to our office. Is he in the house?”
“I'll go and see.”
“And bring Mr. Reynolds with you, if you can find him.”
In an excited state, scarcely knowing what she did, the housekeeper went downstairs and found both parties of whom she was in search in the same room. She poured out her story in an incoherent manner, inveighing15 against Grant as a thief.
When Grant, with some difficulty, understood what was the charge against him, he was almost speechless with indignation.
“Do you mean to say I stole your bonds?” he demanded.
“Yes, I do; and it was a base, cruel act.”
“I agree with you in that, Mrs. Estabrook. It was base and cruel, but I had nothing to do with it.”
“You dare to say that, when you brought the bonds to my son, Willis, to be sold to-day?”
“Is this true, Grant?” asked Mr. Reynolds. “Did you sell any bonds at the office to-day?”
“Yes, sir.”
The broker16 looked grave.
“Where did you get them?” he asked.
“They were handed to me by an acquaintance in Wall Street.”
“Who was he?”
“His name is James Morrison.”
“What do you know of him? Is he in any business?”
“I know very little of him, sir.”
“Have you handed him the money?”
“No, sir. I am to meet him to-morrow morning at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, and pay him.”
“Why doesn't he call at the office?”
“I don't know,” answered Grant, puzzled. “I suggested to him to bring the bonds to the office himself, but he said he was in haste, and offered me a dollar to attend to the matter.”
“This seems a mysterious case.”
“Excuse me, Mr. Reynolds, but I think it is plain enough,” said the housekeeper, spitefully. “That boy opened my bureau drawer, and stole the bonds.”
“That is not true, Mr. Reynolds,” exclaimed Grant, indignantly.
“How did you know the bonds were offered for sale at my office to-day, Mrs. Estabrook?” inquired the broker.
“My son—Willis Ford—told me.”
“When did you see him?”
“Just now.”
“Is he in the house?”
“Yes, sir. I left him in my room.”
“Ask him to be kind enough to accompany you here.”
The housekeeper left the room. Grant and his employer remained silent during her absence.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 Ford KiIxx     
n.浅滩,水浅可涉处;v.涉水,涉过
参考例句:
  • They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上,所以我们只能涉水过河。
  • If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪,必须极度小心。
2 decided lvqzZd     
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。
3 forestall X6Qyv     
vt.抢在…之前采取行动;预先阻止
参考例句:
  • I left the room to forestall involvements.我抢先离开了这房间以免受牵累。
  • He followed this rule in order to forestall rumors.他遵守这条规矩是为了杜绝流言蜚语。
4 housekeeper 6q2zxl     
n.管理家务的主妇,女管家
参考例句:
  • A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
  • She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家,一家人吃得很省。
5 scrutinized e48e75426c20d6f08263b761b7a473a8     
v.仔细检查,详审( scrutinize的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The jeweler scrutinized the diamond for flaws. 宝石商人仔细察看钻石有无瑕庇 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Together we scrutinized the twelve lemon cakes from the delicatessen shop. 我们一起把甜食店里买来的十二块柠檬蛋糕细细打量了一番。 来自英汉文学 - 盖茨比
6 placid 7A1yV     
adj.安静的,平和的
参考例句:
  • He had been leading a placid life for the past eight years.八年来他一直过着平静的生活。
  • You should be in a placid mood and have a heart-to- heart talk with her.你应该心平气和的好好和她谈谈心。
7 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
8 pricked 1d0503c50da14dcb6603a2df2c2d4557     
刺,扎,戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 ); 刺伤; 刺痛; 使剧痛
参考例句:
  • The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry. 厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
  • He was pricked by his conscience. 他受到良心的谴责。
9 thoroughly sgmz0J     
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。
10 villain ZL1zA     
n.反派演员,反面人物;恶棍;问题的起因
参考例句:
  • He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
  • The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。
11 noted 5n4zXc     
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。
12 memorandum aCvx4     
n.备忘录,便笺
参考例句:
  • The memorandum was dated 23 August,2008.备忘录上注明的日期是2008年8月23日。
  • The Secretary notes down the date of the meeting in her memorandum book.秘书把会议日期都写在记事本上。
13 conclusive TYjyw     
adj.最后的,结论的;确凿的,消除怀疑的
参考例句:
  • They produced some fairly conclusive evidence.他们提供了一些相当确凿的证据。
  • Franklin did not believe that the French tests were conclusive.富兰克林不相信这个法国人的实验是结论性的。
14 rascal mAIzd     
n.流氓;不诚实的人
参考例句:
  • If he had done otherwise,I should have thought him a rascal.如果他不这样做,我就认为他是个恶棍。
  • The rascal was frightened into holding his tongue.这坏蛋吓得不敢往下说了。
15 inveighing 5f3c5011f0219e7e9abe4bbf6d6a89f2     
v.猛烈抨击,痛骂,谩骂( inveigh的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • The speaker was inveighing against the evils of drink. 发言人正在猛烈抨击喝酒的害处。 来自互联网
  • Letters appear regularly in the newspaper inveighing against the misuse of the English language. 报纸上经常刊登来信猛烈抨击滥用英语的现象。 来自互联网
16 broker ESjyi     
n.中间人,经纪人;v.作为中间人来安排
参考例句:
  • He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
  • I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。


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