CHAPTER XIV — AN IMPORTANT WITNESS

 The effect of Roland Reed's sudden appearance in the court-room, close upon the doubt expressed as to his existence, was electric. Every head was turned, and every one present looked with eager curiosity at the mysterious stranger. They saw a dark-complexioned, slender, but wiry man, above the middle height, with a pair of keen black eyes scanning, not without sarcastic¹ amusement, the faces turned toward him.

 

Luke recognized him at once.

 

"Thank God!" he ejaculated, with a feeling of intense relief. "Now my innocence² will be made known."

 

Squire³ Duncan was quite taken aback. His face betrayed his surprise and disappointment.

 

"I don't know you," he said, after a pause.

 

"Perhaps not, Mr. Duncan," answered the stranger, in a significant tone, "but I know you."

 

"Were you the man who gave this tin box to the defendant⁴?"

 

"Wouldn't it be well, since this is a court, to swear me as a witness?" asked Roland Reed, quietly.

 

"Of course, of course," said the squire, rather annoyed to be reminded of his duty by this stranger.

 

This being done, Mr. Beane questioned the witness in the interest of his client.

 

"Do you know anything about the tin box found in the possession of Luke Larkin?" he asked.

 

"Yes, sir."

 

"Did you commit it to his charge for safe-keeping?"

 

"I did."

 

"Were you previously⁵ acquainted with Luke?"

 

"I was not."

 

"Was it not rather a singular proceeding⁶ to commit what is presumably of considerable value to an unknown boy?"

 

"It would generally be considered so, but I do many strange things. I had seen the boy by daylight, though he had never seen me, and I was sure I could trust him."

 

"Why, if you desired a place of safe-keeping for your box, did you not select the bank vaults⁸?"

 

Roland Reed laughed, and glanced at the presiding justice.

 

"It might have been stolen," he said.

 

"Does the box contain documents of value?"

 

"The contents are valuable to me, at any rate."

 

"Mr. Beane," said Squire Duncan, irritably⁹, "I think you are treating the witness too indulgently. I believe this box to be the one taken from the bank."

 

"You heard the remark of the justice," said the lawyer. "Is this the box taken from the bank?"

 

"It is not," answered the witness, contemptuously, "and no one knows this better than Mr. Duncan."

 

The justice flushed angrily.

 

"You are impertinent, witness," he said. "It is all very well to claim this box as yours, but I shall require you to prove ownership."

 

"I am ready to do so," said Roland Reed, quietly. "Is that the box on the table?"

 

"It is."

 

"Has it been opened?"

 

"No; the key has disappeared from the bank."

 

"The key is in the hands of the owner, where it properly belongs. With the permission of the court, I will open the box."

 

"I object," said Squire Duncan, quickly.

 

"Permit me to say that your refusal is extraordinary," said Mr. Beane, pointedly¹⁰. "You ask the witness to prove property, and then decline to allow him to do so."

 

Squire Duncan, who saw that he had been betrayed into a piece of folly¹¹, said sullenly¹²: "I don't agree with you, Mr. Beane, but I withdraw my objection. The witness may come forward and open the box, if he can."

 

Roland Reed bowed slightly, advanced to the table, took a bunch of keys from his pocket, and inserting one of the smallest in the lock easily opened the box.

 

Those who were near enough, including the justice, craned their necks forward to look into the box.

 

The box contained papers, certificates of stock, apparently¹³, and a couple of bank-books.

 

"The box missing from the vault⁷ contained government bonds, as I understand, Squire Duncan?" said the lawyer.

 

"Yes," answered the justice, reluctantly.

 

"Are there any government bonds in the box, Mr. Reed."

 

"You can see for yourself, sir."

 

The manner of the witness toward the lawyer was courteous¹⁴, though in the tone in which he addressed the court there had been a scarcely veiled contempt.

 

"I submit, then, that my young client has been guilty of no wrong. He accepted the custody¹⁵ of the box from the rightful owner, and this he had a clear right to do."

 

"How do you know that the witness is the rightful owner of the box?" demanded the justice, in a cross tone. "He may have stolen it from some other quarter."

 

"There is not a shadow of evidence of this," said the lawyer, in a tone of rebuke¹⁶.

 

"I am not sure but that he ought to be held."

 

"You will hold me at your peril¹⁷, Mr. Duncan," said the witness, in clear, resolute¹⁸ tones. "I have a clear comprehension of my rights, and I do not propose to have them infringed¹⁹."

 

Squire Duncan bit his lips. He had only a smattering of law, but he knew that the witness was right, and that he had been betrayed by temper into making a discreditable exhibition of himself.

 

"I demand that you treat me with proper respect," he said angrily.

 

"I am ready to do that," answered the witness, in a tone whose meaning more than one understood. It was not an apology calculated to soothe²⁰ the ruffled²¹ pride of the justice.

 

"I call for the discharge of my young client, Squire Duncan," said the lawyer. "The case against him, as I hardly need say, has utterly²² failed."

 

"He is discharged," said the justice, unwillingly²³.

 

Instantly Luke's friends surrounded him and began to shower congratulations upon him. Among them was Roland Reed.

 

"My young friend," he said, "I am sincerely sorry that by any act of mine I have brought anxiety and trouble upon you. But I can't understand how the fact that you had the box in your possession became known."

 

This was explained to him.

 

"I have a proposal to make to you and your mother," said Roland Reed, "and with your permission I will accompany you home."

 

"We shall be glad to have you, sir," said Mrs. Larkin, cordially.

 

As they were making their way out of the court-room, Melinda Sprague, the cause of Luke's trouble, hurried to meet them. She saw by this time that she had made a great mistake, and that her course was likely to make her generally unpopular. She hoped to make it up with the Larkins.

 

"I am so glad you are acquitted²⁴, Luke," she began effusively²⁵. "I hope, Mrs. Larkin, you won't take offense²⁶ at what I did. I did what I thought to be my duty, though with a bleeding heart. No one is more rejoiced at dear Luke's vindication²⁷."

 

"Miss Sprague," said she, "if you think you did your duty, let the consciousness of that sustain you. I do not care to receive any visits from you hereafter."

 

"How cruel and unfeeling you are, Mrs. Larkin," said the spinster, putting her handkerchief to her eyes.

 

Mrs. Larkin did not reply.

 

Miss Sprague found herself so coldly treated in the village that she shortly left Groveton on a prolonged visit to some relatives in a neighboring town. It is to be feared that the consciousness of having done her duty did not wholly console her. What she regretted most, however, was the loss of the reward which she had hoped to receive from the bank.

1 sarcastic   

adj.讥讽的，讽刺的，嘲弄的

参考例句：

• I squashed him with a sarcastic remark.我说了一句讽刺的话把他给镇住了。
• She poked fun at people's shortcomings with sarcastic remarks.她冷嘲热讽地拿别人的缺点开玩笑。

2 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

3 squire   

n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅

参考例句：

• I told him the squire was the most liberal of men.我告诉他乡绅是世界上最宽宏大量的人。
• The squire was hard at work at Bristol.乡绅在布里斯托尔热衷于他的工作。

4 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

5 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

6 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

7 vault   

n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室

参考例句：

• The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
• The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。

8 vaults   

n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 )；地下室；撑物跳高；墓穴

参考例句：

• It was deposited in the vaults of a bank. 它存在一家银行的保险库里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 irritably   

ad.易生气地

参考例句：

• He lost his temper and snapped irritably at the children. 他发火了，暴躁地斥责孩子们。
• On this account the silence was irritably broken by a reproof. 为了这件事，他妻子大声斥责，令人恼火地打破了宁静。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

10 pointedly   

adv.尖地，明显地

参考例句：

• She yawned and looked pointedly at her watch. 她打了个哈欠，又刻意地看了看手表。
• The demand for an apology was pointedly refused. 让对方道歉的要求遭到了断然拒绝。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

12 sullenly   

不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地

参考例句：

• 'so what?" Tom said sullenly. “那又怎么样呢？”汤姆绷着脸说。
• Emptiness after the paper, I sIt'sullenly in front of the stove. 报看完，想不出能找点什么事做，只好一人坐在火炉旁生气。

13 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

14 courteous   

adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的

参考例句：

• Although she often disagreed with me,she was always courteous.尽管她常常和我意见不一，但她总是很谦恭有礼。
• He was a kind and courteous man.他为人友善，而且彬彬有礼。

15 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

16 rebuke   

v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise

参考例句：

• He had to put up with a smart rebuke from the teacher.他不得不忍受老师的严厉指责。
• Even one minute's lateness would earn a stern rebuke.哪怕迟到一分钟也将受到严厉的斥责。

17 peril   

n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物

参考例句：

• The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
• The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。

18 resolute   

adj.坚决的，果敢的

参考例句：

• He was resolute in carrying out his plan.他坚决地实行他的计划。
• The Egyptians offered resolute resistance to the aggressors.埃及人对侵略者作出坚决的反抗。

19 infringed   

v.违反（规章等）( infringe的过去式和过去分词 )；侵犯（某人的权利）；侵害（某人的自由、权益等）

参考例句：

• Wherever the troops went, they never infringed on the people's interests. 大军过处，秋毫无犯。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He was arrested on a charge of having infringed the Election Law. 他因被指控触犯选举法而被拘捕。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

20 soothe   

v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承

参考例句：

• I've managed to soothe him down a bit.我想方设法使他平静了一点。
• This medicine should soothe your sore throat.这种药会减轻你的喉痛。

21 ruffled   

adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She ruffled his hair affectionately. 她情意绵绵地拨弄着他的头发。
• All this talk of a strike has clearly ruffled the management's feathers. 所有这些关于罢工的闲言碎语显然让管理层很不高兴。

22 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。

23 unwillingly   

adv.不情愿地

参考例句：

• He submitted unwillingly to his mother. 他不情愿地屈服于他母亲。
• Even when I call, he receives unwillingly. 即使我登门拜访，他也是很不情愿地接待我。

24 acquitted   

宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现

参考例句：

• The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
• Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。

25 effusively   

adv.变溢地，热情洋溢地

参考例句：

• We were effusively welcomed by the patron and his wife. 我们受到老板和他妻子的热忱欢迎。 来自辞典例句
• The critics praised her effusively. 评论家们热情洋溢地表扬了她。 来自互联网

26 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

27 vindication   

n.洗冤，证实

参考例句：

• There is much to be said in vindication of his claim.有很多理由可以提出来为他的要求作辩护。
• The result was a vindication of all our efforts.这一结果表明我们的一切努力是必要的。