CHAPTER XVII. PAUL DEFENDS HIS MOTHER.

 To say that Stephen was astonished hardly expresses the truth.

He stood with open mouth, staring at our hero, as if panic-stricken by his sudden appearance.

"Where did you come from?" he asked, amazement¹ prevailing² over every other sensation.

"From the next room, where I heard your contemptible³ attempt to extort⁴ money from my mother."

At another time Stephen would have resented this speech, but now he was anxious to find out what had happened to his friend, and how Paul had managed to escape the snare⁵ that had been so carefully laid for him.

"How long have you been at home?" he asked.

"I got home at the usual time. What makes you ask?"

"Did anything happen to-day?" asked Stephen.

Foolishly he was betraying himself, and Paul saw clearly that he knew of the plot, even if he were not concerned in it.

[Pg 132]He resolved that Stephen should betray himself yet further.

"What should happen?" he asked.

"I heard you were arrested for theft," said Stephen.

"What kind of theft?"

"Stealing a wallet."

"Where did you hear it?"

"Never mind!" answered Stephen, sullenly⁶. "I heard it, and that's enough."

"It seems then you were misinformed."

"Didn't you have any trouble at all?" asked Stephen, perplexed⁷.

"Yes, something happened. A man pretended that I had stolen his wallet."

"Didn't I say so!" Stephen exclaimed, triumphantly⁸.

"This Dutchman——" proceeded the train boy.

"Dutchman!" said Stephen, hastily. "I thought it was a Quaker."

"Now I think of it, it was a Quaker," said Paul, quietly.

"What made you say Dutchman?"

"I wanted to find out how much you knew about it. Did you know this Quaker?"

"Did I know the Quaker? I don't know any Quakers."

[Pg 133]"I thought you might. In that case, you won't feel any interest in knowing what became of him."

"Did—did anything happen to him?" asked Stephen, in alarm.

"You seem anxious," said Paul, keenly.

"Don't trifle with me, boy. Tell me what happened to him. As you've told part of the story you may as well tell the rest."

"He proved to be no Quaker at all," said Paul. "If he was a friend of yours, as I conclude, I think you will have a chance to see him in court to-morrow."

"Arrested!" gasped⁹ Stephen, in dismay.

"Yes, his plan didn't succeed. It is probably a disappointment to him and to you, but it serves you both right for conspiring¹⁰ against a boy."

"Who said I had anything to do with it?" asked Stephen.

"You have let it out yourself. I don't want any further proof."

"After this base conspiracy¹¹ against your step-brother, Stephen Palmer," said the widow, with dignity, "I hope you will have the decency¹² to stay away. Had you behaved with any decent regard to the tie that exists between us, I would not say this——"

"You'll repent¹³ this, Mrs. Palmer!" said Stephen,[Pg 134] his face showing the malice¹⁴ he felt. "You treat me like a dog, you and your son there. I'll be even with you yet."

He left the room and the house, slamming the door behind him, but he did not renew his demand for money.

1 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

2 prevailing   

adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的

参考例句：

• She wears a fashionable hair style prevailing in the city.她的发型是这个城市流行的款式。
• This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.这反映了社会上盛行的态度和价值观。

3 contemptible   

adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的

参考例句：

• His personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.他气貌不扬，言语粗俗。
• That was a contemptible trick to play on a friend.那是对朋友玩弄的一出可鄙的把戏。

4 extort   

v.勒索，敲诈，强要

参考例句：

• The blackmailer tried to extort a large sum of money from him.勒索者企图向他勒索一大笔钱。
• They absolutely must not harm the people or extort money from them.严格禁止坑害勒索群众。

5 snare   

n.陷阱，诱惑，圈套；（去除息肉或者肿瘤的）勒除器；响弦，小军鼓；vt.以陷阱捕获，诱惑

参考例句：

• I used to snare small birds such as sparrows.我曾常用罗网捕捉麻雀等小鸟。
• Most of the people realized that their scheme was simply a snare and a delusion.大多数人都认识到他们的诡计不过是一个骗人的圈套。

6 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。

7 perplexed   

adj.不知所措的

参考例句：

• The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。
• The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。

8 triumphantly   

ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地

参考例句：

• The lion was roaring triumphantly. 狮子正在发出胜利的吼叫。
• Robert was looking at me triumphantly. 罗伯特正得意扬扬地看着我。

9 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 conspiring   

密谋( conspire的现在分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They were accused of conspiring against the king. 他们被指控阴谋反对国王。
• John Brown and his associates were tried for conspiring to overthrow the slave states. 约翰·布朗和他的合伙者们由于密谋推翻实行奴隶制度的美国各州而被审讯。

11 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

12 decency   

n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重

参考例句：

• His sense of decency and fair play made him refuse the offer.他的正直感和公平竞争意识使他拒绝了这一提议。
• Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。

13 repent   

v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔

参考例句：

• He has nothing to repent of.他没有什么要懊悔的。
• Remission of sins is promised to those who repent.悔罪者可得到赦免。

14 malice   

n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋

参考例句：

• I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
• There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。