CHAPTER XXVIII — COLEMAN'S LITTLE PLAN

 Though Coleman went to bed late, he awoke early. He had the power of awaking at almost any hour that he might fix. He was still quite fatigued¹, but having an object in view, overcame his tendency to lie longer, and swiftly dressing² himself, went downstairs. Luke was still sleeping, and did not awaken³ while his companion was dressing.

 

Coleman went downstairs and strolled up to the clerk's desk,

 

"You're up early," said that official.

 

"Yes, it's a great nuisance, but I have a little business to attend to with a man who leaves Chicago by an early train. I tried to find him last night, but he had probably gone to some theater. That is what has forced me to get up so early this morning."

 

"I am always up early," said the clerk.

 

"Then you are used to it, and don't mind it. It is different with me."

 

Coleman bought a cigar, and while he was lighting⁴ it, remarked, as if incidentally:

 

"By the way, did my young friend leave my money with you last evening?"

 

"He left a package of money with me, but he didn't mention it was yours."

 

"Forgot to, I suppose. I told him to leave it here, as I was going out to the theater, and was afraid I might have my pocket picked. Smart fellows, those pickpockets⁵. I claim to be rather smart myself, but there are some of them smart enough to get ahead of me.

 

"I was relieved of my pocketbook containing over two hundred dollars in money once. By Jove! I was mad enough to knock the fellow's head off, if I had caught him."

 

"It is rather provoking."

 

"I think I'll trouble you to hand me the money the boy left with you, as I have to use some this morning."

 

Mr. Coleman spoke⁶ in an easy, off-hand way, that might have taken in some persons, but hotel clerks are made smart by their positions.

 

"I am sorry, Mr. Coleman," said the clerk, "but I can only give it back to the boy."

 

"I commend your caution, my friend," said Coleman, "but I can assure you that it's all right. I sent it back by Luke when I was going to the theater, and I meant, of course, to have him give my name with it. However, he is not used to business, and so forgot it."

 

"When did you hand it to him?" asked the clerk, with newborn suspicion.

 

"About eight o'clock. No doubt he handed it in as soon as he came back to the hotel."

 

"How much was there?"

 

This question posed Mr. Coleman, as he had no idea how much money Luke had with him.

 

"I can't say exactly," he answered. "I didn't count it. There might have been seventy-five dollars, though perhaps the sum fell a little short of that."

 

"I can't give you the money, Mr. Coleman," said the clerk, briefly⁷. "I have no evidence that it is yours."

 

"Really, that's ludicrous," said Coleman, with a forced laugh. "You don't mean to doubt me, I hope," and Madison Coleman drew himself up haughtily⁸.

 

"That has nothing to do with it. The rule of this office is to return money only to the person who deposited it with us. If we adopted any other rule, we should get into no end of trouble."

 

"But, my friend," said Coleman, frowning, "you are putting me to great inconvenience. I must meet my friend in twenty minutes and pay him a part of this money."

 

"I have nothing to do with that," said the clerk.

 

"You absolutely refuse, then?"

 

"I do," answered the clerk, firmly. "However, you can easily overcome the difficulty by bringing the boy down here to authorize⁹ me to hand you the money."

 

"It seems to me that you have plenty of red tape here," said Coleman, shrugging his shoulders. "However, I must do as you require."

 

Coleman had a bright thought, which he proceeded to carry into execution.

 

He left the office and went upstairs. He was absent long enough to visit the chamber¹⁰ which he and Luke had occupied together. Then he reported to the office again.

 

"The boy is not dressed," he said, cheerfully. "However, he has given me an order for the money, which, of course, will do as well."

 

He handed a paper, the loose leaf of a memorandum¹¹ book, on which were written in pencil these words:

 

"Give my guardian¹², Mr. Coleman, the money I left on deposit at the office. LUKE LARKIN."

 

"That makes it all right, doesn't it?" asked Coleman, jauntily¹³. "Now, if you'll be kind enough to hand me my money at once, I'll be off."

 

"It won't do, Mr. Coleman," said the clerk. "How am I to know that the boy wrote this?"

 

"Don't you see his signature?"

 

The clerk turned to the hotel register, where Luke had enrolled¹⁴ his name.

 

"The handwriting is not the same," he said, coldly.

 

"Oh, confound it!" exclaimed Coleman, testily¹⁵. "Can't you understand that writing with a pencil makes a difference?"

 

"I understand," said the clerk, "that you are trying to get money that does not belong to you. The money was deposited a couple of hours sooner than the time you claim to have handed it to the boy—just after you and the boy arrived."

 

"You're right," said Coleman, unabashed. "I made a mistake."

 

"You cannot have the money."

 

"You have no right to keep it from me," said Coleman, wrathfully.

 

"Bring the boy to the office and it shall be delivered to him; then, if he chooses to give it to you, I have nothing to say."

 

"But I tell you he is not dressed."

 

"He seems to be," said the clerk, quietly, with a glance at the door, through which Luke was just entering.

 

Coleman's countenance¹⁶ changed. He was now puzzled for a moment. Then a bold plan suggested itself. He would charge Luke with having stolen the money from him.

1 fatigued   

adj. 疲乏的

参考例句：

• The exercises fatigued her. 操练使她感到很疲乏。
• The President smiled, with fatigued tolerance for a minor person's naivety. 总统笑了笑，疲惫地表现出对一个下级人员的天真想法的宽容。

2 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

3 awaken   

vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起

参考例句：

• Old people awaken early in the morning.老年人早晨醒得早。
• Please awaken me at six.请于六点叫醒我。

4 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

5 pickpockets   

n.扒手( pickpocket的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Crowded markets are a happy hunting ground for pickpockets. 拥挤的市场是扒手大展身手的好地方。
• He warned me against pickpockets. 他让我提防小偷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

8 haughtily   

adv. 傲慢地, 高傲地

参考例句：

• She carries herself haughtily. 她举止傲慢。
• Haughtily, he stalked out onto the second floor where I was standing. 他傲然跨出电梯，走到二楼，我刚好站在那儿。

9 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

10 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

11 memorandum   

n.备忘录，便笺

参考例句：

• The memorandum was dated 23 August,2008.备忘录上注明的日期是2008年8月23日。
• The Secretary notes down the date of the meeting in her memorandum book.秘书把会议日期都写在记事本上。

12 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

13 jauntily   

adv.心满意足地；洋洋得意地；高兴地；活泼地

参考例句：

• His straw hat stuck jauntily on the side of his head. 他那顶草帽时髦地斜扣在头上。 来自辞典例句
• He returned frowning, his face obstinate but whistling jauntily. 他回来时皱眉蹙额，板着脸，嘴上却快活地吹着口哨。 来自辞典例句

14 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 testily   

adv. 易怒地, 暴躁地

参考例句：

• He reacted testily to reports that he'd opposed military involvement. 有报道称他反对军队参与，对此他很是恼火。 来自柯林斯例句

16 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。