CHAPTER XXIII. A BAFFLED SCHEME.

 Both Julian Lorimer and his father felt mortified¹ at the failure of their attempt to humiliate² Mr. Benton. They had supposed he had neither friends nor influence and were very much surprised at his securing another position elsewhere at an advanced salary. They tried to find out where he was now employed, but without success. Julian inquired of Rupert one day when he met him, but the bell-boy refused to tell.

 

"Oh, it's a secret, is it?" sneered³ Julian.

 

"Yes, to you," answered Rupert. "Why did you wish to know?"

 

Rupert was confident that Julian meant mischief⁴, and in the interest of Mr. Benton he declined to give him any information.

 

Of course this made Julian all the more anxious to gain his point. He got in the way[Pg 216] of visiting every dry-goods store, and scanning the clerks and salesmen. But there are a good many such stores in New York, and it was some time before he made any discovery.

 

One day, however, he strayed into Grand Street, and entered a large store in quest of some cheap neckties which he saw exposed outside. Julian was rather a dude, and these ties had attracted his notice.

 

As he was passing through the store without any special thought of his father's old clerk, he chanced to pass by the counter where dress goods were sold. His face lighted up with malicious⁵ joy when he saw Benton measuring off a dress pattern for a lady. He stopped until the salesman was at leisure. Then, stepping up to the counter, he said, "Good morning, Mr. Benton."

 

Benton certainly was not pleased to see his old persecutor⁶. Perhaps his countenance⁷ expressed his feelings as he answered, "Good morning, Julian."

 

"So it is here you are employed?"

 

"Yes, as you see."

 

[Pg 217]

 

"Did you come here directly from pa's store?"

 

"Yes. How did you find out that I was here?"

 

"I didn't find out till just now."

 

"Can I do anything for you? Do you wish to buy anything in my line?"

 

"No. I came in for some neckties. Do you ever see anything of Rupert Rollins?"

 

"Yes, he has a room at my house."

 

"Oho, I didn't know that. That accounts for his interest in you."

 

"I am glad he has an interest in me. He is a very good friend of mine."

 

"A poor boy like him isn't much of a friend. He can't do much for you."

 

"He got me this position."

 

"Did he?" said Julian, in some surprise.

 

"Yes."

 

Benton might have told Julian that Rupert owned two valuable lots in Harlem, but he thought it more proper that Rupert himself should make it known whenever he saw fit.

 

"Well, so long. I may see you again before long."

 

[Pg 218]

 

"I am not in the least desirous of it," thought Benton, but he answered civilly.

 

"Well, pa," said Julian, at dinner, "I saw your old clerk, Benton, to-day."

 

"Did you, indeed," said Mr. Lorimer, interested. "Is he out of work?"

 

"No; he's employed in a Grand Street store."

 

"Did you speak to him?"

 

"Yes."

 

"How did he appear?"

 

"He was better dressed than when he worked for you."

 

"I mean was he cordial?"

 

"Not very. I don't think he was very glad to see me. Good reason why."

 

"I wonder whether he is well paid?"

 

"I didn't ask him, for I knew he wouldn't tell me if I did. I have no doubt he gets a good deal more than what you paid him."

 

"They must have taken him without a recommendation," mused⁸ Lorimer.

 

"You wouldn't give him a recommendation, would you?"

 

"No, I should have to say that he was insubordinate and gave me trouble."

 

[Pg 219]

 

Julian Lorimer could be depended upon to act meanly and maliciously⁹, without any scruples¹⁰ of conscience. Two days later Mr. Benton was summoned to the superintendent¹¹'s room.

 

"You wished to see me, sir?" he said.

 

"Yes. I wish to show you a letter which the firm has received."

 

Henry Benton took the proffered¹² letter, and read with what feelings can be imagined the following communication:

 

"Gentlemen—

 

"In visiting your store yesterday I saw a Mr. Benton behind the dress goods counter who used to work in our, that is, my father's store. I was surprised that you should employ him. He brought no recommendation from us, or if he presented one it was forged. My father found him unsatisfactory, and was quite glad to get rid of him. He is a poor man, and I don't want to injure him, but I thought it only right that I should tell you what my father thinks of him. He would not tell us where he was going, and it was only by chance that I found out.

 

Yours truly, 

"Julian Lorimer."

 

"Well, Mr. Wilson, I have read the letter,"[Pg 220] said Benton. "Is there anything you would like to ask me in reference to it?"

 

"Is the writer correct in his statements?"

 

"So far from it that his father asked me to stay longer, and offered me an additional dollar a week."

 

"Did you have any trouble when in Mr. Lorimer's store?"

 

"Yes; this boy Julian, who has nothing to do with the business, interfered¹³ with my work and was very insolent¹⁴. I rebuked¹⁵ him and he succeeded in getting his father to discharge me. Afterward¹⁶ his father revoked¹⁷ the dismissal and wished me to stay. But I had already a situation offered me here, and I declined. I hope this letter will not prejudice you against me."

 

"By no means. Even without your explanation I understood pretty well the character of the writer of the note."

 

"Shall you answer it?"

 

"Yes; I have a curiosity to see the boy."

 

Julian Lorimer smiled with satisfaction when he received a letter inviting¹⁸ him to call at the Grand Street store.

 

[Pg 221]

 

"Things are working as I desired," he said to himself. "I think, Mr. Benton, your career will be brief, and you will soon be looking for another position."

 

He entered the store about ten o'clock, and took good care to walk by the counter behind which Mr. Benton was employed. The latter saw him, but after his interview with the superintendent he did not feel anxious.

 

"I am Julian Lorimer," announced Julian, as he entered the presence of the superintendent.

 

"You wrote us a letter, I believe?"

 

"Yes, sir."

 

"In relation to a clerk in our employ?"

 

"Yes. Mr. Benton."

 

"He used to work for your father?"

 

"Yes, sir. He was in father's employ rather more than a year."

 

"He stayed some time, then?"

 

"Yes; father didn't want to discharge him as he had a family."

 

"Very considerate on your father's part, certainly," said Mr. Wilson, in a peculiar¹⁹ tone, in which Julian did not detect the sarcasm²⁰.

 

[Pg 222]

 

"On the whole, your father did not find him satisfactory? What was the matter? Isn't he a good salesman?"

 

"Pretty fair," answered Julian. "Nothing alarming."

 

"Then what fault did he find with him? I suppose he was honest?"

 

"Yes, so far as we know."

 

"And still your father found him unsatisfactory. There must have been some cause of complaint?"

 

"He was impudent²¹," said Julian. "He felt too large for his position."

 

"Was he impudent to your father?"

 

"No."

 

"To whom, then?"

 

"To me."

 

"Oh, to you. Were you employed in the store?"

 

"No, sir."

 

"Then I don't see how you could have come in contact with him."

 

"I used to go into the store sometimes. That was very natural, as it was my father's store."

 

[Pg 223]

 

"And on one of these occasions he was impudent to you?"

 

"Yes, sir."

 

"This is a serious charge. What would you advise me to do? Do you think I ought to discharge him?"

 

"I will only say this, that my father would not have him in the store."

 

"You said in your letter that you did not wish to injure him. If he should be discharged that would certainly be an injury."

 

"Yes, sir, I suppose so," answered Julian, with hesitation²².

 

He was puzzled and could not understand what Mr. Wilson was driving at.

 

"I will send for Mr. Benton."

 

When Benton came into the presence of the superintendent, Mr. Wilson said,

 

"Mr. Benton, this boy, Mr. Julian Lorimer, has been bringing charges against you."

 

"I am not surprised to hear it, sir."

 

"He says you did not treat him respectfully when you were in his father's store; that, in short, you were impudent to him."

 

"There is some truth in my not treating[Pg 224] him respectfully. He came up to my counter and interfered with my work."

 

"You were aware that he was Mr. Lorimer's son?"

 

"Oh, yes, sir."

 

"And yet you rebuked or snubbed him?"

 

"Yes, sir."

 

"He thinks that a serious matter. He thinks I ought to discharge you. My own feeling is that you treated him just right."

 

Julian looked paralyzed.

 

"And to make up to you for his malicious attempt to injure you, I will raise your salary two dollars a week."

 

"Thank you, sir."

 

"As for you, young man, I don't wish to see you in the store again. James, you may show Mr. Lorimer out."

 

Julian lost no time in getting out of the place. He had never felt so humiliated²³ before. It would be hard to describe his blended rage and mortification²⁴. It was certainly aggravating²⁵ to reflect that he had only succeeded in raising Mr. Benton's salary.

1 mortified   

v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等）

参考例句：

• She was mortified to realize he had heard every word she said. 她意识到自己的每句话都被他听到了，直羞得无地自容。
• The knowledge of future evils mortified the present felicities. 对未来苦难的了解压抑了目前的喜悦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 humiliate   

v.使羞辱，使丢脸[同]disgrace

参考例句：

• What right had they to bully and humiliate people like this?凭什么把人欺侮到这个地步呢？
• They pay me empty compliments which only humiliate me.他们虚情假意地恭维我，这只能使我感到羞辱。

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 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

5 malicious   

adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的

参考例句：

• You ought to kick back at such malicious slander. 你应当反击这种恶毒的污蔑。
• Their talk was slightly malicious.他们的谈话有点儿心怀不轨。

6 persecutor   

n. 迫害者

参考例句：

• My persecutor impervious to the laughter, continued to strike me. 打我的那个人没有受到笑声的影响，继续打着我。
• I am the persecutor of my self in the wild hunt. 我将自己置身于这狂野的追猎。

7 countenance   

n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同

参考例句：

• At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
• I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地，仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。

8 mused   

v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事）

参考例句：

• \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们，”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道：‘我们这是在干什么？” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

9 maliciously   

adv.有敌意地

参考例句：

• He was charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm. 他被控蓄意严重伤害他人身体。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His enemies maliciously conspired to ruin him. 他的敌人恶毒地密谋搞垮他。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 scruples   

n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 )；顾虑，顾忌v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• I overcame my moral scruples. 我抛开了道德方面的顾虑。
• I'm not ashamed of my scruples about your family. They were natural. 我并未因为对你家人的顾虑而感到羞耻。这种感觉是自然而然的。 来自疯狂英语突破英语语调

11 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

12 proffered   

v.提供，贡献，提出( proffer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She proffered her cheek to kiss. 她伸过自己的面颊让人亲吻。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He rose and proffered a silver box full of cigarettes. 他站起身，伸手递过一个装满香烟的银盒子。 来自辞典例句

13 interfered   

v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉

参考例句：

• Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 insolent   

adj.傲慢的，无理的

参考例句：

• His insolent manner really got my blood up.他那傲慢的态度把我的肺都气炸了。
• It was insolent of them to demand special treatment.他们要求给予特殊待遇，脸皮真厚。

15 rebuked   

责难或指责( rebuke的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The company was publicly rebuked for having neglected safety procedures. 公司因忽略了安全规程而受到公开批评。
• The teacher rebuked the boy for throwing paper on the floor. 老师指责这个男孩将纸丢在地板上。

16 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

17 revoked   

adj.[法]取消的v.撤销，取消，废除( revoke的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It may be revoked if the check is later dishonoured. 以后如支票被拒绝支付，结算可以撤销。 来自辞典例句
• A will is revoked expressly. 遗嘱可以通过明示推翻。 来自辞典例句

18 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

19 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

20 sarcasm   

n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic）

参考例句：

• His sarcasm hurt her feelings.他的讽刺伤害了她的感情。
• She was given to using bitter sarcasm.她惯于用尖酸刻薄语言挖苦人。

21 impudent   

adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的

参考例句：

• She's tolerant toward those impudent colleagues.她对那些无礼的同事采取容忍的态度。
• The teacher threatened to kick the impudent pupil out of the room.老师威胁着要把这无礼的小学生撵出教室。

22 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

23 humiliated   

感到羞愧的

参考例句：

• Parents are humiliated if their children behave badly when guests are present. 子女在客人面前举止失当，父母也失体面。
• He was ashamed and bitterly humiliated. 他感到羞耻，丢尽了面子。

24 mortification   

n.耻辱，屈辱

参考例句：

• To my mortification, my manuscript was rejected. 使我感到失面子的是：我的稿件被退了回来。
• The chairman tried to disguise his mortification. 主席试图掩饰自己的窘迫。

25 aggravating   

adj.恼人的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• How aggravating to be interrupted! 被打扰，多令人生气呀！
• Diesel exhaust is particularly aggravating to many susceptible individuals. 许多体质敏感的人尤其反感柴油废气。