CHAPTER VIII. THE COMBINATION OF THE SAFE.

 "Gertrude, you are making a great mistake," said Homer Bulson, after a pause broken only by the sobbing¹ of the girl.

 

"Please don't speak to me, Homer," she answered. "I have heard enough for one day."

 

"You have no right to blacken my character," he said with assumed dignity.

 

"Uncle Mark forced me to speak the truth."

 

"It was not the truth. But let that pass. Why didn't you tell him you would marry me?"

 

"Because I don't want to marry you."

 

"But you might let him think that you——"

 

"I am above practicing a deception² upon him, Homer."

 

"Oh, you aren't a saint!" he sneered³. "I know why you are so loving to him—you thought to get all of his money. Now you are trying to blacken my character, so that you may get all of it, anyway. But the game won't work."

 

"I told him what I did simply to let him know why I didn't care to marry you, Cousin Homer."

 

[Pg 64]

 

"And why are you so opposed to me?"

 

"I do not like your ways. Isn't that enough? As for Uncle Mark's money, I trust he will live a long time to enjoy it himself."

 

"Uncle Mark can live but a short while longer. Anybody can see that. He is exceedingly feeble."

 

"You seem to wish his death," replied Gertrude sharply.

 

"I? No, indeed; I hope he does live. Haven't I done what I could for him—giving him wines and the like? And he has the best of doctors—on my recommendation."

 

"I don't think the wine you gave him is doing any good. He seems to become weaker after it, instead of stronger."

 

"Bosh! If he hadn't the wine, he would collapse⁴ utterly⁵."

 

At this the girl merely shrugged⁶ her shoulders.

 

This was not the first time that Homer Bulson and herself had quarreled over the care their uncle should have. To the girl the retired⁷ merchant seemed to grow unexpectedly weak in spite of all she could do. The doctor, too, was baffled, and said he had never come across such a strange case before.

 

"If you won't marry me, you shall not turn Uncle Mark against me," went on Bulson sternly.[Pg 65] "If you try it, you will repent⁸ it as long as you live."

 

So speaking, he strode from the room and made after Mark Horton, who had gone to his private apartment on the second floor.

 

He found the retired merchant resting in an easy-chair by the window, his head bowed low.

 

"Cheer up, uncle," he said, placing his hand on the other's shoulder. "Let me pour you a glass of wine."

 

And he walked to a medicine closet in a corner and got out a bottle he had brought a few days before.

 

"Thank you, Homer; I will have a little wine," replied the retired merchant.

 

The wine was poured out and Mark Horton gulped⁹ it down. Homer Bulson watched him closely, and then turned away his face to hide a sinister¹⁰ smile.

 

"I cannot understand Gertrude," said Mark Horton. "I always thought she preferred you."

 

"I think she has another person in view," answered Bulson, struck with a certain idea.

 

"Another? Who is it?"

 

"I would rather not say, uncle."

 

"But I demand to know."

 

"I cannot tell you his name. But he is a [Pg 66]common sort of person. He went past the house a while ago and she nodded and smiled to him."

 

"And how long has this been going on?"

 

"Oh, several months, I dare say. They meet in the evening on the sly. But please don't tell Gertrude that I spoke¹¹ of this."

 

"What does the man do?"

 

"I am not sure, but I think he is in the theatrical¹² business, when he has an engagement—something on the variety stage."

 

"What! My Gertrude the wife of a variety actor? Never, Homer, never!" groaned¹³ Mark Horton. "This is too much! I will speak to her at once!"

 

"Uncle, you just promised not to let her know——"

 

"You'll be safe, Homer, never fear. But I won't have this—I'll cast her out first."

 

"I suppose she wanted to keep this a secret until after you—that is——"

 

"Until after I am dead, so that she can use up my money on her actor husband," finished Mark Horton bitterly. He suddenly sprang to his feet. "But she shall marry you, Homer, and nobody else. That is final."

 

"Pray do not excite yourself too much, uncle. Let the matter rest for a few days."

 

"And if I should die in the meantime, what[Pg 67] then? No, Homer; delays are dangerous. I—I—feel as if I cannot last much longer. Who knows but what this night may prove my last?"

 

And Mark Horton sank back again in his chair and covered his face with his hands.

 

"Uncle, in case anything should happen to you, may I ask what you have done with your will?" asked Bulson, after a long pause. "Or, perhaps Gertrude knows about this?"

 

"Yes, she knows, but you must know, too. Both the old will and the new one are in the safe in the library, in the upper compartment¹⁴ on the right side. On the left side are two gold pieces which I brought home with me when I visited the mint in California."

 

"Is that all the money there is in the safe?"

 

"No, there is more gold than that—in a secret compartment at the bottom. There is a spring to open this compartment on the left side, a small gilded¹⁵ knob. It is right I should tell you of this, otherwise you might never find the secret compartment."

 

"And the combination of the safe?" went on Bulson, more anxiously than ever.

 

"The combination is 0, 4, 25, 12, 32, and once around to the left to 0 again. You had better put it down. I have it written on a slip in my pocketbook."

 

[Pg 68]

 

"Then it won't be necessary for me to put it down," answered the nephew, but he took good care to remember the combination, nevertheless.

 

It was now time for Mark Horton to retire, and, the wine having made him drowsy¹⁶, he soon forgot his anger against Gertrude and went to sleep.

 

When Homer Bulson went below he paused in the hallway and glanced through the doorway¹⁷ into the library.

 

He saw that Gertrude had left the apartment and that it was empty.

 

None of the servants were about, and the housekeeper¹⁸, an elderly lady, was also nowhere to be seen.

 

"I wonder if I dare do it so soon?" he muttered to himself. Then he shut his teeth hard. "I must do something! I have used up my last dollar, and I can't go around empty-handed. Uncle Mark will never grow strong enough to know."

 

Going to the front door he opened it, then slammed it violently and made a noise as if he was descending¹⁹ the steps. Then he closed the door with care and stole back into the gloom of the library. It was now after midnight, a fitting time for the desperate deed this misguided young man had undertaken.

 

1 sobbing   

<主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的

参考例句：

• I heard a child sobbing loudly. 我听见有个孩子在呜呜地哭。
• Her eyes were red with recent sobbing. 她的眼睛因刚哭过而发红。

2 deception   

n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计

参考例句：

• He admitted conspiring to obtain property by deception.他承认曾与人合谋骗取财产。
• He was jailed for two years for fraud and deception.他因为诈骗和欺诈入狱服刑两年。

3 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。

4 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

5 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

6 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

8 repent   

v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔

参考例句：

• He has nothing to repent of.他没有什么要懊悔的。
• Remission of sins is promised to those who repent.悔罪者可得到赦免。

9 gulped   

v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的过去式和过去分词 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住

参考例句：

• He gulped down the rest of his tea and went out. 他把剩下的茶一饮而尽便出去了。
• She gulped nervously, as if the question bothered her. 她紧张地咽了一下，似乎那问题把她难住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 sinister   

adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的

参考例句：

• There is something sinister at the back of that series of crimes.在这一系列罪行背后有险恶的阴谋。
• Their proposals are all worthless and designed out of sinister motives.他们的建议不仅一钱不值，而且包藏祸心。

11 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。

12 theatrical   

adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的

参考例句：

• The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果，叫人失望。
• She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。

13 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 compartment   

n.卧车包房，隔间；分隔的空间

参考例句：

• We were glad to have the whole compartment to ourselves.真高兴，整个客车隔间由我们独享。
• The batteries are safely enclosed in a watertight compartment.电池被安全地置于一个防水的隔间里。

15 gilded   

a.镀金的，富有的

参考例句：

• The golden light gilded the sea. 金色的阳光使大海如金子般闪闪发光。
• "Friends, they are only gilded disks of lead!" "朋友们，这只不过是些镀金的铅饼！ 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡

16 drowsy   

adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的

参考例句：

• Exhaust fumes made him drowsy and brought on a headache.废气把他熏得昏昏沉沉，还引起了头疼。
• I feel drowsy after lunch every day.每天午饭后我就想睡觉。

17 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

18 housekeeper   

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。

19 descending   

n. 下行 adj. 下降的

参考例句：

• The results are expressed in descending numerical order . 结果按数字降序列出。
• The climbers stopped to orient themselves before descending the mountain. 登山者先停下来确定所在的位置，然后再下山。