There stands in this street a shabby brick house of three stories. In the rear room of the upper story lived James Cromwell, the clerk in the druggist's store already referred to in our first chapter. The room was small and scantily2 furnished, being merely provided with a pine bedstead, painted yellow, and a consumptive-looking bed, a wooden chair, washstand, and a seven-by-nine mirror. There was no bureau, and, in fact, it would have been difficult to introduce one into a room of the dimensions.
The occupant of the room stood before the [Pg 34]mirror, arranging his rather intractable hair, which he had besmeared with bear's grease. He surveyed the effect with some complacency, for it is a little remarkable3 that those who are least gifted with beauty, are very apt to be best satisfied with their personal appearance.
He had arrayed himself in a rusty4 black suit which showed his lank5 figure in all its natural ungracefulness and was evidently on the point of going out.
"Now for Twenty-ninth Street," he said, as he descended6 to the street. "I hope Hake has not deceived me. If he has, I will twist the little rascal's neck."
He got on board a Fourth Avenue car, and rode uptown. Nothing occurred to interrupt his progress, and in the course of half an hour he stood before the house which, as we already know, was occupied by Paul Morton.
He stood and surveyed it from the opposite side of the street.
"That's the house that Hake described," he said, "but whether my customer of the other day lives there or not, I cannot tell. And what is worse, I don't know how to find out."
While he was devising some method of [Pg 35]ascertaining this, to him, important point, fortune favored him. Mr. Paul Morton himself appeared at the door, accompanied by the physician. As the distance was only across the street, James Cromwell had no difficulty in hearing the conversation that passed between them.
"What do you think of him, doctor?" asked Paul Morton, in accents of pretended anxiety. "Don't you think there is any help for him?"
"No; I regret to say that I think there is none whatever. From the first I considered it a critical case, but within two or three days the symptoms have become more unfavorable, and his bodily strength, of which, at least, he had but little, has so sensibly declined, that I fear there is no help whatever for him."
"He cannot last a week, in my judgment8. If he does it will surprise me very much. He is wealthy, is he not?"
"Yes; he has been a successful man of business."
"Where has he passed his life?"
"In China. That is, he has lived there for a considerable time."
[Pg 36]
"Probably the climate may have had a deleterious effect upon his constitution. I will call round upon him to-morrow."
"Very well, doctor. I will rely upon you to do whatever human skill can accomplish for my sick friend."
"I am afraid human skill, even the greatest, can do little now. There are some recent symptoms which I confess, puzzle me somewhat, as they are not usual in a disease of the character of that which affects our patient."
"Indeed!" said Paul Morton, briefly9, but in a tone which did not indicate any desire to continue the discussion of this branch of the subject. "Well, doctor, I will not further trespass10 upon your time, which I know very well is valuable. Good-night."
"Good-night!" said the physician, and drawing on his gloves, he descended the steps, and jumped into the carriage which was waiting for him.
Paul Morton closed the door, unaware11 that there had been a listener who had gleaned12 valuable information from the conversation he had just had with the doctor.
"Well," thought James Cromwell, emerging[Pg 37] from the shaded doorway13 in which he had silently concealed14 himself—for he did not wish to run the risk of detection and possible recognition by his old customer, whom he, on his part, had recognized without difficulty,—"well, I'm in luck. I happened here just at the right time. I know pretty well what's going on now, and I can give a guess as to the rest. It seems there's a sick man inside, and that within two or three days he has been growing sicker. Maybe I could give a guess as to what has made him grow sicker. So the doctor don't understand some of his recent symptoms. Perhaps I could throw a little light upon the matter, if it were worth my while. Then, again, the sick man happens to be wealthy. Perhaps, there is nothing in that, and then, perhaps, again, there is. Well, there are strange things that happen in this world, and, if I'm not mistaken, I'm on the track of one of them, I rather think I shall find my advantage in it before I get through. I've got that man in my power, if things are as I suspect, and it won't be long before I shall let him know it. I might as well be going home now."
James Cromwell walked to Broadway, then walked a few squares down, until he reached the[Pg 38] Fifth Avenue Hotel, bright with lights, and thronged15 as usual in the evening.
"I think I will go in and have a smoke," said James Cromwell.
He entered, and making his way to the cigar stand, purchased an expensive cigar, and sat down for a smoke. It was not often that he was so lavish16, but he felt that the discovery he had made would eventually prove to him a source of income, and this made him less careful of his present means.
"This is the way I like to live," he thought, as he looked around him. "Instead of the miserable17 lodging18, where I am cooped up, I would like to live in a hotel like this, or at least, in a handsome boarding-house, and fare like a gentleman."
While he was thinking thus, his attention was drawn19 to a conversation which he heard beside him. The speakers were apparently20 two business men.
"What do you think of Morton's business position?"
"What Morton do you mean?"
"Paul Morton."
"If you want my real opinion, I think he is in a critical condition."
[Pg 39]
"Is it as bad as that?"
"Yes, I have reason to think so. I don't believe he will keep his head above water long unless he receives some outside assistance."
"I have heard that whispered by others."
"It is more than whispered. People are getting shy of extending credit to him. I shouldn't be surprised myself to hear of his failure any day."
James Cromwell listened eagerly to this conversation. He was sharp of comprehension, and he easily discerned the motive21 arising in Paul Morton's embarrassed affairs, which should have led him to such a desperate resolution as to hasten the death of a guest. There was one thing he did not yet understand. Paul Morton must be sure that the death of the sick man would rebound22 to his own advantage, or he would not incur23 such a risk.
"Probably, it is his brother or uncle, or, perhaps, father," concluded the clerk. "Whoever it is, it makes little difference to me. Let him play out his little game to the end, and enter into possession of his money, which, by the way, I hope will be a pretty good pile. Then I will step quietly in, and with what I know of a certain [Pg 40]purchase, it will be very strange if I cannot help myself to a generous slice."
After finishing his cigar, the druggist's clerk went out of the hotel, and it being a fine, moonlight evening, he concluded to walk home. As he walked, his mind was full of pleasing reflections. He looked about him with disgust, as he entered his humble24 and not very attractive home, and he soliloquized:
"If things go right, I won't live here much longer, nor will I stand behind the counter of a two-penny druggist's shop, at ten dollars a week."
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1
aspire
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| vi.(to，after)渴望，追求，有志于 | |
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scantily
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| adv.缺乏地；不充足地；吝啬地；狭窄地 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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lank
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| adj.瘦削的；稀疏的 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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7
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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8
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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9
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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10
trespass
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| n./v.侵犯，闯入私人领地 | |
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unaware
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| a.不知道的，未意识到的 | |
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12
gleaned
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| v.一点点地收集（资料、事实）( glean的过去式和过去分词 )；（收割后）拾穗 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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thronged
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| v.成群，挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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lavish
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| adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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rebound
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| v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回 | |
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23
incur
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| vt.招致，蒙受，遭遇 | |
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24
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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