CHAPTER XXVI. BOUGHT OFF.

 Bolton's reply did not quite suit Mr. Ray, but he felt that if he said too much about the will it would give it an exaggerated importance in the eyes of the man before him. So he answered carelessly, "Oh, very well! The document is of no value, and though I should prefer to have it, I won't insist. I will give you the hundred dollars, but I wish it understood that it is all I can give you at any time. Don't apply to me again, for it will be of no use."

 

"I understand," said Bolton, non-committally.

 

"Shall I give you a check?"

 

"I could do better with the money. My name is not known now at any bank."

 

"Well, I think I can accommodate you. I believe I have that sum in my desk."

 

He opened a drawer in his secretary, and produced a hundred dollars in crisp new bills. They had been taken from the bank the day before for a different purpose.

 

Bolton took them joyfully¹. It was long since he had had so much money in his possession. He had been his own worst enemy. Once a prosperous lawyer, he had succumbed² to the love of drink, and gradually lost his clients and his position. But he had decided³ to turn over a new leaf, and he saw in this money the chance to reinstate himself, and in time recover his lost position.

 

"Thank you," he said; but while there was relief there was no gratitude⁴ in his tone.

 

"And now," said Stephen Ray, "I must ask you to leave me. I have important business to attend to. You will excuse me if I suggest it would be better to go away--to a distance--and try to build yourself up somewhere where you are not known."

 

"I might go to Savannah."

 

"Yes, to Savannah, if you think it will be to your advantage," said Ray with equanimity⁵.

 

The other noticed his manner, and he said to himself, "He is willing to have me visit Savannah. It is clear that Ernest did not die there."

 

Benjamin Bolton left the house in a pleasant frame of mind. It was not the sum which he had received that exhilarated him. He looked upon it only as the first instalment. It was clear that Stephen Ray feared him, for he was not an open-handed man, and would not have parted with his money unnecessarily.

 

Bolton had not arranged his campaign, but he was determined⁶ to raise himself in the world by playing on the fears of the man he had just visited.

 

"I wonder," he said to himself, "whether Dudley Ray's son is really dead. He was a strong and healthy boy, and he may still be living."

 

This was a point not easy to ascertain⁷.

 

He went to a restaurant and obtained a substantial meal, of which he stood very much in need. Then he went out for a stroll. He did not propose to leave the place yet.

 

As he was walking along he met Clarence Ray again, but not now on his bicycle. The boy recognized him.

 

"Are you going to stay in town?" asked Clarence, curiously⁸.

 

"Not long."

 

"Did you get through your business with pa?"

 

"Yes, for the present. By the way, I suppose you know that you have a cousin about your own age. I used to know him and his father."

 

"Did you? His father is dead."

 

"So I have understood. Do you happen to know where the son is?"

 

"Somewhere out West, I think."

 

Bolton pricked⁹ up his ears. So it seemed that Stephen Ray had deceived him.

 

"I would give five dollars to know where he is," he said slowly.

 

"Have you got five dollars?" Clarence asked, doubtfully.

 

By way of answer Bolton took a roll of bills from his pocket. They were those which Stephen Ray had given him.

 

"Do you mean it?" asked Clarence, in a more respectful tone. Since Bolton had money, he regarded him differently.

 

"Yes, I mean it."

 

"Why didn't you ask pa?"

 

"He never liked the boy nor his father, and I don't think he would tell me."

 

"That is true. He didn't like either of them."

 

"I suppose you couldn't find out for me?" said Bolton, tentatively.

 

"I don't know but I could," answered Clarence, briskly.

 

He had a special use for five dollars, and it struck him that he might just as well earn the money offered by the stranger.

 

"If you could, I would cheerfully pay you the five dollars. You see I used to know Ernest Ray and his father, and I would be pleased to meet Ernest again."

 

"Just so," said Clarence, complaisantly. "How long are you going to remain in town?"

 

"I did think of going to Elmira to-night, but I think on the whole I will stay at the hotel here till to-morrow morning."

 

"That will give me time to find out," said Clarence.

 

"All right! You had better not ask your father, for he is so prejudiced I don't think he would tell you."

 

"That's so. He will be going out this evening, and then I will search in his desk. I saw a letter there once in which the boy's name was mentioned. But I say, if you've got money why don't you buy some new clothes? You look awfully¹⁰ shabby."

 

"Your suggestion is a good one," said Bolton, smiling. "Come to look at myself I do appear shabby. But then I'm no dude. I dare say when you rode into me this morning you took me for a tramp."

 

"Well, you did look like one."

 

"That's so. I can't blame you."

 

"Shall I find you at the hotel this evening?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Then I'll see what I can do."

 

About seven o'clock Squire¹¹ Ray went out to attend to a business meeting, and Clarence was left in possession of the study. He locked the door and began to ransack¹² his father's desk. At length he succeeded in his quest.

 

Benjamin Bolton was sitting in the public room of the hotel an hour later smoking a cigar, and from time to time looking towards the door. Presently Clarence entered, and went up to him.

 

"Have you got it?" asked Bolton, eagerly.

 

"Yes," nodded Clarence.

 

He took a piece of paper from his vest pocket and handed it to Bolton.

 

It read thus: "Ernest Ray, Oak Forks, Iowa."

 

"How did you get it?" asked Bolton.

 

"I found a letter in pa's desk from an old man named Peter Brant, asking pa for some money for the boy, who was living with him."

 

"When was that letter written?"

 

"About two years ago."

 

"Thank you. This gives me a clue. Come out of doors and I will give you what I promised. It isn't best that any one should think we had dealings together."

 

Five minutes later Clarence started for home, happy in the possession of a five-dollar bill.

 

"I never paid any money more cheerfully in my life," mused¹³ Bolton. "Now I must find the boy!"

1 joyfully   

adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地

参考例句：

• She tripped along joyfully as if treading on air. 她高兴地走着，脚底下轻飘飘的。
• During these first weeks she slaved joyfully. 在最初的几周里，她干得很高兴。

2 succumbed   

不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死

参考例句：

• The town succumbed after a short siege. 该城被围困不久即告失守。
• After an artillery bombardment lasting several days the town finally succumbed. 在持续炮轰数日后，该城终于屈服了。

3 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。

4 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

5 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。

6 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。

7 ascertain   

vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清

参考例句：

• It's difficult to ascertain the coal deposits.煤储量很难探明。
• We must ascertain the responsibility in light of different situtations.我们必须根据不同情况判定责任。

8 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。

9 pricked   

刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛

参考例句：

• The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry. 厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
• He was pricked by his conscience. 他受到良心的谴责。

10 awfully   

adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地

参考例句：

• Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
• I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

11 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。

12 ransack   

v.彻底搜索，洗劫

参考例句：

• He began to ransack his mother's workbox for a piece of thread.他要找一根线,开始翻腾妈妈的针线盒。
• She ransack my apartment for the bankbook.她在我公寓里到处搜索寻找存折。

13 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