CHAPTER XXXIX. CONCLUSION.

 Solon Talbot went home in high spirits. It was only recently that he had become aware of the great value of the Golden Hope shares. It had come to him as an agreeable surprise.

 

"With what I was worth before," he soliloquized, "I may now rate myself at one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. That is very good—for a beginning. I can afford to buy the house in Forty-Seventh Street, for I shall still have a hundred thousand dollars over, and in five years I mean to make it half a million."

 

He paced up and down his library in a state of joyous¹ excitement. No thought of giving his sister-in-law her rightful due entered his mind.

 

"How can she find out?" he reflected. "Old Mr. Doane never told any of us of his mining shares. I presume he looked upon them as rather a risky² investment. It has proved to be a splendid speculation³, but it was rather a lucky accident than a shrewd purchase."

 

 "'Mark!' exclaimed Talbot. What brings you here!"—Page

303.

 

Mark Mason's Victory.

"'Mark!' exclaimed Talbot. What brings you here!"—Page 303.

 

Mark Mason's Victory.

 

It was after breakfast on the morning succeeding the sale of stock. Mr. Talbot was preparing to go over to the house which he proposed to purchase for a last examination before making up his mind, when the servant entered the library.

 

"There is a boy down-stairs wishes to see you, Mr. Talbot," he said.

 

"Perhaps a boy from Crane & Lawton," he reflected. "Show him up."

 

Directly afterwards Mark Mason entered the room.

 

"Mark!" exclaimed Talbot. "What brings you here!"

 

"A matter of business, Uncle Solon."

 

"Then you will have to wait, for I am just going out."

 

"The business is important," said Mark significantly.

 

"Well, what is it?"

 

"I understand you sold yesterday the shares in the Golden Hope Mine belonging to grandfather's estate."

 

"What!" exclaimed Solon Talbot, his face showing his surprise and dismay.

 

"There were four hundred shares, and they were sold to Luther Rockwell, the banker."

 

"Who told you this? Have you had any communication from Crane & Lawton?"

 

"No; though I know the sale was made through them."

 

Solon Talbot paused long enough to pull himself together. It would never do to surrender at discretion⁴. He would brazen⁵ it out to the last.

 

"Your information is partly true," he said. "I did sell some shares of mining stock, but they belonged to me. You have nothing to do with them."

 

"Uncle Solon," said Mark composedly, "it is useless to try to deceive me. The four hundred shares were bought by my grandfather, and belonged to his estate. Half of the proceeds rightfully belongs to my mother."

 

Spots of perspiration⁶ stood on Solon Talbot's brow. Should he allow fifty thousand dollars to slip from his grasp?

 

"You audacious boy!" he exclaimed. "How dare you make such an assertion?"

 

"Because I happen to know that the four hundred shares stood in the name of my grandfather, Elisha Doane."

 

"That is a lie. May I ask where you got this information?"

 

"From the purchaser of the stock, Luther Rockwell."

 

"What do you know of Luther Rockwell?" demanded Solon Talbot, incredulous.

 

"He is one of my best friends. Before buying the shares of the Golden Hope Mine he asked my advice."

 

"Do you expect me to believe such ridiculous stuff? What could you know about the mine?"

 

"I have recently returned from California. On the way I stopped in Nevada, and I have in my pocket a statement signed by the secretary of the company, that four hundred shares of the stock stood in the name of my grandfather."

 

It was a series of surprises. Solon Talbot walked up and down the library in a state of nervous agitation⁷.

 

"What do you expect me to do?" he added finally.

 

"This letter will inform you, Uncle Solon."

 

"From whom is it?"

 

"From my lawyer, George Gerrish."

 

Mr. Gerrish, as Mr. Talbot knew, was one of the leaders of the bar. He opened it with trembling hands, and read the following:

 

 

"Mr. Solon Talbot:

"Dear Sir:

 

"My client, Mark Mason, authorizes⁸ me to demand of you an accounting⁹ of the sums received by you as executor of the estate of his late grandfather, Elisha Doane, to the end that his mother, co-heiress with your wife, may receive her proper shares of the estate. An early answer will oblige,

 

"Yours respectfully,       

"George Gerrish."

 

"Do you know Mr. Gerrish well, too?" asked Talbot.

 

"No, sir, but Mr. Rockwell gave me a note to him. I have had an interview with him."

 

"Say to him that he will hear from me."

 

Mark bowed and withdrew. Within a week Solon Talbot had agreed to make over to his sister-in-law, Mrs. Mason, a sum of over fifty thousand dollars, representing her share of her father's estate. He reconsidered his purpose of buying the house in West Forty-Seventh Street, and decided¹⁰ to remain in the flat which he then occupied.

 

Mrs. Mason and Mark took a handsome flat up town, and henceforth were able to live as well as their pretentious¹¹ relatives. Mark was advised by Mr. Rockwell as to the investment of his mother's money, and it has already increased considerably¹². He is himself taking a mercantile course at a commercial college, and will eventually enter the establishment of Mr. Gilbert, with whom he is as great a favorite as ever.

 

It never rains but it pours. One morning Mrs. Mack, the aged¹³ miser¹⁴, was found dead in bed. She left a letter directing Mark to call on her lawyer. To his surprise he found that he was left sole heir to the old lady's property, amounting to about five thousand dollars.

 

"What shall I do with it, mother?" he asked. "I have no rightful claim to it. She only left it to me that her nephew might not get it."

 

"Keep it till he gets out of prison, and then help him judiciously¹⁵ if he deserves it. Meanwhile invest it and give the income to charity."

 

Mark was glad that he was able to follow this advice. Jack¹⁶ Minton is still in jail, and it is to be feared that his prison life will not reform him, but Mark means to give him a chance when he is released.

 

Through Mark's influence, his old friend, Tom Trotter, has been taken into a mercantile establishment where his natural sharpness is likely to help him to speedy promotion¹⁷. Mark has agreed to pay his mother's rent for the next three years, and has given Tom a present of two hundred dollars besides. He is not one of those who in prosperity forget their humble¹⁸ friends.

 

And now after some years of privation and narrow means Mrs. Mason and Mark seem in a fair way to see life on its sunny side. I hope my readers will agree that they merit their good fortune.

 

On the other hand, Mr. Talbot has lost a part of his money by injudicious speculation, and his once despised sister-in-law is now the richer of the two. Edgar has got rid of his snobbishness¹⁹ and through Mark's friendship is likely to grow up an estimable member of society.

 

THE END.

1 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

2 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

3 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

4 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

5 brazen   

adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的

参考例句：

• The brazen woman laughed loudly at the judge who sentenced her.那无耻的女子冲着给她判刑的法官高声大笑。
• Some people prefer to brazen a thing out rather than admit defeat.有的人不愿承认失败，而是宁肯厚着脸皮干下去。

6 perspiration   

n.汗水；出汗

参考例句：

• It is so hot that my clothes are wet with perspiration.天太热了，我的衣服被汗水湿透了。
• The perspiration was running down my back.汗从我背上淌下来。

7 agitation   

n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动

参考例句：

• Small shopkeepers carried on a long agitation against the big department stores.小店主们长期以来一直在煽动人们反对大型百货商店。
• These materials require constant agitation to keep them in suspension.这些药剂要经常搅动以保持悬浮状态。

8 authorizes   

授权，批准，委托( authorize的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The dictionary authorizes the two spellings 'traveler' and 'traveller'. 字典裁定traveler和traveller两种拼法都对。
• The dictionary authorizes the two spellings "honor" and "honour.". 字典裁定 honor 及 honour 两种拼法均可。

9 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

10 decided   

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。

11 pretentious   

adj.自命不凡的，自负的，炫耀的

参考例句：

• He is a talented but pretentious writer.他是一个有才华但自命不凡的作家。
• Speaking well of yourself would only make you appear conceited and pretentious.自夸只会使你显得自负和虚伪。

12 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。

13 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

14 miser   

n.守财奴，吝啬鬼 (adj.miserly)

参考例句：

• The miser doesn't like to part with his money.守财奴舍不得花他的钱。
• The demon of greed ruined the miser's happiness.贪得无厌的恶习毁掉了那个守财奴的幸福。

15 judiciously   

adv.明断地，明智而审慎地

参考例句：

• Let's use these intelligence tests judiciously. 让我们好好利用这些智力测试题吧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His ideas were quaint and fantastic. She brought him judiciously to earth. 他的看法荒廖古怪，她颇有见识地劝他面对现实。 来自辞典例句

16 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

17 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

18 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

19 snobbishness   

势利； 势利眼

参考例句：

• We disdain a man for his snobbishness. 我们鄙夷势利小人。
• Maybe you have social faults such as snobbishness, talkativeness, and, etc. which drive away new acquaintances. 也许你有社交方面的缺点，诸如势利、饶舌、出语粗俗等，使你的新相识退避三舍。