CHAPTER XVII. — TIM IS UNMASKED.

 Before Sam had gone far Tim Brady managed to throw himself in his way.

 

"Where are you goin', now?" he asked. "Have you been to the bank?"

 

"Yes," answered Sam. "I lost one of them checks."

 

"You don't say!" said hypocritical Tim.

 

"It was the twelve-hundred-dollar one."

 

"What did the boss say? Did he blow you up?" inquired Tim, puzzled by Sam's cheerful manner.

 

"Yes; I'm 'bounced.'"

 

"You don't seem to care much," said Tim, watching him curiously¹.

 

"No, I don't. I'm tired of the old place."

 

"What are you goin' to do? Are you goin' back to boot blackin'?"

 

"No," answered Sam, scornfully; "I should say not."

 

"You ain't goin' to retire on a fortune, are you?"

 

"Look here, Tim," said Sam, displaying a roll of bills. "What do you say to that?"

 

"Did you save all that?" asked Tim, in great astonishment².

 

"No; Mr. Dalton just gave it to me."

 

"Give it to you when he 'bounced' you?"

 

"Yes; you see, I found his little boy in the street one day, and took him home. He give me a place for that, and now that I'm sacked he's give me this money."

 

"I say, Sam, you're in luck. How much is there?"

 

"Twenty-five dollars."

 

"You couldn't lend a feller five dollars?" said Tim, insinuatingly³.

 

"Yes, I could," answered Sam, cooly; "but I won't."

 

"Why not?"

 

"I want it all myself."

 

"You might let me have a little," pleaded Tim.

 

"I'll give you a square meal," said Sam, "but I can't do no more. I'm goin' to Boston."

 

"What's put in into your head to go to Boston?"

 

"You have."

 

"Well, I hope you'll like it better than I do."

 

"Which way would you go?" asked Sam.

 

"Fall River line. They're got nice steamers."

 

"When do they go?"

 

"Five o'clock."

 

"All right. I'll go this afternoon."

 

"You'll be comin' back soon," said Tim.

 

"Maybe I will, but I want to see the place. I ain't never traveled much, and now I'm goin'."

 

"You'd better stay, and take me to Tony Pastor's to-night."

 

Sam shook his head.

 

"Oh, yes, you'd like me to spend all my money on you; but I don't see it."

 

"You needn't be so afraid. I've got some money, too," said Tim, nettled⁴.

 

"You've got fifty cents, I s'pose."

 

"Does that look like fifty cents?"

 

Tim displayed the ten dollars he had received from Mr. Dalton for restoring the lost check.

 

Sam was astonished beyond measure.

 

"Where did you get that money?" he asked.

 

"It's some I had over when I failed,"

 

"And with all that money in your pocket you asked me for five dollars!" exclaimed Sam, with justifiable⁵ indignation.

 

"Why shouldn't I? Haven't you got more than I have?"

 

Tim began to see that he had made a mistake in proclaiming his riches; especially when Sam added that he might buy his own dinner—that he wasn't going to treat him.

 

"You promised you would," said Tim.

 

"I didn't know you had so much money. I thought you was hard up. You're a fraud."

 

"So are you," said Tim, resentfully.

 

"I don't want no more to do with you."

 

Tim was nettled. He wanted to be revenged, and his secret slipped out.

 

"You needn't feel so big," he said. "I got you 'bounced.'"

 

Here was much cause for astonishment.

 

"You got me 'bounced'?" repeated Sam, in surprise.

 

"Yes, I did. I found that check you dropped, and took it round to your boss. He give me this ten dollars, and 'bounced' you."

 

This was too much for Sam's equanimity⁶. That a boy who had so injured him should try to wheedle⁷ money and a treat out of him struck him as so atrocious, that he felt action to be imperative⁸. A sudden movement of the foot upset Tim; and Sam, without waiting to see how he relished⁹ his downfall, fled round a corner before Tim could retaliate¹⁰.

 

"He's the meanest boy I ever knew!" thought our retreating hero. "He got me sacked, and then wanted me to treat him. I guess he won't ask me again."

 

Sam was still determined¹¹ to go to Boston that afternoon. Before he went he wanted to say good-by to Henry Martin, and, as the boat would sail before business hours was over, he decided¹² to go round to the store where he was employed.

 

Henry was just leaving the store on an errand when Sam came up. It was the first time they had met since Henry's discovery of Sam's attempt to appropriate his savings¹³. He could hardly be expected to feel very friendly toward him.

 

"I'll walk along with you, Henry," said Sam; "I want to talk with you."

 

"And I want to talk with you," said Henry, coldly. "I've found out all about my bankbook."

 

"Have you?" replied Sam, disconcerted.

 

"Yes; I've found out that you opened my trunk and took it out, then went to the bank and tried to get twenty dollars on it. And all the while you were rooming with me, and pretending to be my friend."

 

Sam felt conscience-stricken. The enormity of his act flashed upon him. Still, he wanted to extenuate¹⁴ his conduct.

 

"It's true, Henry," he admitted, "and I ought to be ashamed of myself. But I didn't get any money, after all, and I returned the book to you."

 

"I know that; but it was only because they wouldn't let you have anything on it."

 

"Don't think too hard of me, Henry," said Sam.

 

"I can't help thinking hard of you. You wanted to rob me."

 

"I only wanted to borrow the money."

 

"Without my leave."

 

"I meant to return it to you as soon as I could. The fact is, Henry, I was awful hard up."

 

"That's your own fault. As for returning the money, I hope you don't think me quite such a fool as to believe that."

 

Sam was really disturbed. He saw that Henry was perfectly¹⁵ justified¹⁶ in being angry, and that his representation was the correct one.

 

"I'm very sorry I did it," he said. "I hope you'll forgive me."

 

"I'll forgive you, but we can no longer occupy the same room. I will move out and leave the room to you, or you can move out and leave the room to me."

 

"I'll move, Henry. That's what I came to speak to you about. I came to bid you good-by."

 

"There is no need of saying good-by. We shall see each other again."

 

"No, we shan't—for a good while, anyway. I'm just goin' to Boston."

 

"What?" exclaimed Henry in astonishment.

 

"I'm goin' on this afternoon."

 

"Why, Sam, what's up?"

 

Sam explained.

 

"I don't know whether it's a good plan," said Henry, when he had ended.

 

"Nor I," said Sam; "but I'm goin', anyway. If I don't like it, I'll come back somehow. Good-by!"

 

"Good-by, and good luck, Sam!" said Henry, offering his hand.

 

"Sam's a strange boy!" he said to himself, as he pursued his way alone. "It's hard to tell how he's coming out. I hope he'll get wiser as he grows older."

1 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

2 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

3 insinuatingly   

参考例句：

• Corell said insinuatingly,"Are you afraid, Colonel?" 科雷尔很婉转地说：“你害怕了吗，上校？” 来自辞典例句

4 nettled   

v.拿荨麻打，拿荨麻刺（nettle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• My remarks clearly nettled her. 我的话显然惹恼了她。
• He had been growing nettled before, but now he pulled himself together. 他刚才有些来火，但现在又恢复了常态。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛

5 justifiable   

adj.有理由的，无可非议的

参考例句：

• What he has done is hardly justifiable.他的所作所为说不过去。
• Justifiable defense is the act being exempted from crimes.正当防卫不属于犯罪行为。

6 equanimity   

n.沉着，镇定

参考例句：

• She went again,and in so doing temporarily recovered her equanimity.她又去看了戏，而且这样一来又暂时恢复了她的平静。
• The defeat was taken with equanimity by the leadership.领导层坦然地接受了失败。

7 wheedle   

v.劝诱，哄骗

参考例句：

• I knew he was trying to wheedle me into being at his beck and call.我知道这是他拉拢我，好让我俯首贴耳地为他效劳。
• They tried to wheedle her into leaving the house.他们想哄骗她离开这屋子。

8 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

9 relished   

v.欣赏( relish的过去式和过去分词 )；从…获得乐趣；渴望

参考例句：

• The chaplain relished the privacy and isolation of his verdant surroundings. 牧师十分欣赏他那苍翠的环境所具有的幽雅恬静，与世隔绝的气氛。 来自辞典例句
• Dalleson relished the first portion of the work before him. 达尔生对眼前这工作的前半部分满有兴趣。 来自辞典例句

10 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。

11 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。

12 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。

13 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

14 extenuate   

v.减轻，使人原谅

参考例句：

• Nothing can extenuate his crime.他的罪责无法减轻。
• Because of extenuating circumstances,the court acquitted him of the crime.因考虑到情有可原，法庭判他无罪。

15 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

16 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。