CHAPTER XXII. A CRAFTY SCHEMER.

 "Your uncle has been here, Mark," said Mrs. Mason, when Mark reached home.

 

"I can tell you what business he came about, mother."

 

"He wanted my signature to a paper acknowledging that I had received my full share of father's estate."

 

"You didn't give it?" inquired Mark anxiously.

 

"No; I would not take such an important step without your knowledge."

 

"I feel much relieved. I have not told you what I found on my journey to Niagara."

 

"What is it?"

 

"That Uncle Solon is trying to cheat you out of a large sum of money."

 

"Is that possible? But father did not leave a fortune."

 

"So we all supposed. What if I should tell you that he left you enough to make you comfortable for life on your share."

 

Mrs. Mason looked incredulous.

 

"Here, read this memorandum¹, mother," and Mark explained briefly² how he came into possession of it.

 

"Tell me what it all means, Mark. I have a poor head for business."

 

"It means that grandfather owned four hundred shares of the Golden Hope mine in Colorado. Probably he bought it for a small sum. But it has proved unexpectedly rich, and it will probably soon be worth one hundred dollars a share. That means twenty thousand dollars for you, mother."

 

"And Solon Talbot wants me to relinquish³ my claim for a hundred dollars!" exclaimed Mrs. Mason indignantly.

 

"Exactly so, mother."

 

"Then I will give him a piece of my mind when he comes here this afternoon."

 

"Don't do it, mother. It is our policy to make him think we are ignorant of the existence of this important item in grandfather's estate. Only you must steadily⁴ refuse to sign a release."

 

"I will. I hope you will be here when he calls."

 

"I will get off for the afternoon. I wish to be here myself. I have a little headache, which will give me an excuse."

 

When Solon Talbot called on his sister-in-law about three o'clock in the afternoon he was rather disgusted to find Mark at home. He knew that Mark was much more clear-sighted than his mother, and he feared that he would influence her to refuse her signature.

 

"Good afternoon, Ellen," he said suavely⁵.

 

"Take a seat, Mr. Talbot," said Mrs. Mason coldly.

 

"How do you happen to be at home, Mark?" asked Solon, regarding Mark with a slight frown.

 

"I got excused for the afternoon. I have a headache."

 

"Perhaps you won't mind going out for a few minutes. I wish to speak to your mother on business."

 

"Do you wish me to go out, mother?" asked Mark.

 

"No. Whatever affects you affects me. Besides, I may want your advice."

 

"I don't ask Edgar for advice," returned Solon Talbot dryly.

 

"I suppose not. You are a business man, and can judge better than he. I am not a business man."

 

"You are older than Mark."

 

"I have always found Mark a safe and good adviser⁶."

 

"You will spoil him by such flattery."

 

"I am not afraid of it."

 

"Very well. I will humor your prejudices. Mark may have more judgment⁷ than I give him credit for."

 

This he said because he saw that it was necessary under the circumstances to propitiate⁸ Mark. The telegraph boy understood his uncle's object very well and was amused, but remained outwardly grave.

 

"Thank you, uncle," he said briefly.

 

"I will address myself, then, to both of you. You will remember that I offered you a hundred dollars in cash—I have the money with me," he added, tapping his pocket—"if you will sign acknowledgment that you have received your full share of your father's estate. It is a mere⁹ form, but I want to wind the whole business up and have it off my hands."

 

"I can't sign such a paper at present, Solon."

 

"Why not?"

 

"Because I am not sure that I have received my full share."

 

"Don't you believe my assurance to that effect?" said Solon Talbot impatiently.

 

"It is an important matter, and I have no evidence but your word."

 

"Do you doubt my word?"

 

"In this matter your interests and mine might clash."

 

"Then let me tell you that you are getting more than your share—that is, when I have paid you the hundred dollars. The fact is, your father left a very small estate. After paying his funeral expenses and debts there was scarcely anything over, and off that little you have already had your share. Still I understand your position and sympathize with you in your poverty, and therefore I am willing to strain a point and give you a hundred dollars."

 

If Mr. Talbot expected his sister-in-law to look grateful he was doomed¹⁰ to disappointment.

 

"A hundred dollars," he continued, "is a good deal of money, especially in your circumstances. I am sure Mark will agree with me in this."

 

"It is more than all the money we have," replied Mark.

 

"Precisely¹¹. It will make things easy for you for a year to come. By that time Mark will probably be earning higher pay than at present, and so your mind will be quite at ease."

 

"You are very considerate, Solon, but I think I would rather not sign."

 

"Why, this is midsummer madness. I am sure Mark will not advise you to refuse."

 

"I quite agree with my mother," said Mark.

 

"Well," returned Talbot angrily, "I have heard of foolish people, but I must own that you two beat the record."

 

"Why are you so anxious that my mother should sign a release, Uncle Solon," asked Mark quietly.

 

"Because I wish to have the whole matter settled and off my hands, as I have told you. I have business interests exclusively my own that demand my attention, and I don't want to be bothered by this small matter."

 

"I have no doubt you have good reasons for wishing mother to sign," said Mark.

 

"What do you mean?" demanded Solon suspiciously.

 

"Only that you are a good business man, and understand your own interests."

 

"I wish I could say the same for you," retorted Solon Talbot sharply.

 

"Perhaps we do."

 

"I ought not to be surprised at meeting opposition¹² from a woman and a boy, both ignorant of business. As a rule those who know nothing think they know the most and are most suspicious. However, I can afford to overlook your unexpected obstinacy¹³. I will do what I had no idea of doing when I entered the room. I will increase my offer to a hundred and twenty-five dollars. That is certainly handsome, and I shall not let Mrs. Talbot and Edgar know how foolishly I have acted."

 

 "Here is a pen," he said. "You can sign at once."—Page

179.

 

Mark Mason's Victory.

"Here is a pen," he said. "You can sign at once."—Page 179.

 

Mark Mason's Victory.

 

As he spoke¹⁴ he laid the paper before Mrs. Mason.

 

"Here is a fountain pen," he said. "You can sign at once."

 

"I don't care to sign, Solon."

 

"Have you been talking to your mother, Mark?" demanded Talbot sharply. "Have you put her up to this?"

 

"We had a little talk together, but I think she is just as determined¹⁵ on the subject as I am."

 

"Then," said Solon Talbot, "I can only regard your refusal as an act of hostility¹⁶. Evidently you want to break with me and mine. It was my intention to invite you both to take dinner at my house to-morrow; but, as matters stand, we cannot receive you, and I shall forbid Mrs. Talbot to call upon you."

 

"I shall be sorry to be separated from my sister," said Mrs. Mason in a pained tone, "but I cannot sign away my own and my children's rightful inheritance."

 

"I don't know what you mean by this nonsense. I have offered you more than your share of your rightful inheritance, as you see fit to call it. If you choose to return my kindness with ingratitude¹⁷, I can only leave you to the consequences of your own folly¹⁸."

 

He looked first at Mark and then at his mother to see how this speech affected¹⁹ them, but both looked firm, and there seemed to be nothing to do but to leave them. He took his hat and strode to the door, his hands trembling with nervous anger. But at the door he paused.

 

"If you come to your senses," he said, "and desire to accept my offer, Mark can call on me. I hate to see you so blind to your own interests."

 

After he had left the room Mark and his mother looked at each other.

 

"Uncle Solon seemed very much in earnest," said Mark.

 

"Yes; I am now ready to believe that he is conspiring²⁰ to cheat us. It is shameful²¹! He is a rich man already, and we are so poor."

 

"But we shan't be long, mother."

 

"You must take good care of that memorandum, Mark."

 

"I shall carry it to a young lawyer whom I know well, and ask his advice about it. When the right time comes I shall bring it forward. I will ask him to keep it in his safe."

 

"Very well, Mark. I think that will be wise."

 

The next day Mark received a letter at the office where he was employed. On the left-hand upper corner was the imprint²²:

 

Luther Rockwell,

Broker²³ and Banker.

"He is going to take you into partnership²⁴, 79," said A. D. T. 80.

 

"If he does I'll make you my office-boy," said Mark in a jocular tone. "I hope the old gentleman has quite recovered from his dynamite²⁵ scare."

1 memorandum   

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。

2 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。

3 relinquish   

v.放弃，撤回，让与，放手

参考例句：

• He was forced to relinquish control of the company.他被迫放弃公司的掌控权。
• They will never voluntarily relinquish their independence.他们绝对不会自动放弃独立。

4 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

5 suavely   

参考例句：

• He is suavely charming and all the ladies love him. 他温文尔雅，女士们都喜欢他。 来自互联网
• Jiro: (Suavely) What do you think? What do you feel I'm like right now? 大东﹕（耍帅）你认为呢﹖我现在给你的感觉如何﹖。 来自互联网

6 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

7 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

8 propitiate   

v.慰解，劝解

参考例句：

• They offer a sacrifice to propitiate the god.他们供奉祭品以慰诸神。
• I tried to propitiate gods and to dispel demons.我试著取悦神只，驱赶恶魔。

9 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

10 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

11 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

12 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

13 obstinacy   

n.顽固；（病痛等）难治

参考例句：

• It is a very accountable obstinacy.这是一种完全可以理解的固执态度。
• Cindy's anger usually made him stand firm to the point of obstinacy.辛迪一发怒，常常使他坚持自见，并达到执拗的地步。

14 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

15 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

16 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

17 ingratitude   

n.忘恩负义

参考例句：

• Tim's parents were rather hurt by his ingratitude.蒂姆的父母对他的忘恩负义很痛心。
• His friends were shocked by his ingratitude to his parents.他对父母不孝，令他的朋友们大为吃惊。

18 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。

19 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。

20 conspiring   

密谋( conspire的现在分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They were accused of conspiring against the king. 他们被指控阴谋反对国王。
• John Brown and his associates were tried for conspiring to overthrow the slave states. 约翰·布朗和他的合伙者们由于密谋推翻实行奴隶制度的美国各州而被审讯。

21 shameful   

adj.可耻的，不道德的

参考例句：

• It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。
• We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。

22 imprint   

n.印痕，痕迹；深刻的印象；vt.压印，牢记

参考例句：

• That dictionary is published under the Longman imprint.那本词典以朗曼公司的名义出版。
• Her speech left its imprint on me.她的演讲给我留下了深刻印象。

23 broker   

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。

24 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

25 dynamite   

n./vt.(用)炸药(爆破)

参考例句：

• The workmen detonated the dynamite.工人们把炸药引爆了。
• The philosopher was still political dynamite.那位哲学家仍旧是政治上的爆炸性人物。