Chapter XXXVII — The Dead Alive

 Mr. Brief was considerably¹ surprised when Ben entered his office.

 

"I thought you had gone back to Boston," he said.

 

"I have been back to Boston, Mr. Brief, and returned to Montreal on business."

 

"Didn't you finish up your business here?"

 

"I thought so, sir; but I was mistaken."

 

"I am afraid you are not a very good manager. It looks to me like waste of time. What can I do for you?"

 

"A gentleman came with me, who thinks he would like to have you attend to a little business for him."

 

"Certainly," responded the lawyer bruskly. "I shall be happy to wait on him. Where is he staying?"

 

"At the Windsor."

 

"And you recommended me? I am much obliged to you. What is the gentleman's name?"

 

"Marcus Benton."

 

"Can't say I ever heard of him Is he from Boston?"

 

"He comes from Boston," answered Ben evasively.

 

In the hope of securing a profitable client, Mr. Brief lost no time in seeking the hotel.

 

"Remain here a moment," said Ben, as they entered the office, "and I will let Mr. Benton know you are here."

 

"Certainly," said the lawyer complacently².

 

In five minutes Ben reappeared.

 

"Follow me, if you please, Mr. Brief," he said. "By the way, Mr. Benton says he knows you."

 

"Mr. Benton knows me! It is strange I can't recall him," said Mr. Brief, trying to recollect³.

 

"I think you will remember when you see him."

 

"Possibly; but I have no recollection on any gentleman of that name."

 

Ben and his uncle—to give him a name not strictly⁴ warranted by facts—occupied two rooms adjoining.

 

Ben ushered⁵ the lawyer into his own room, saying, "Mr. Brief, you must prepare for a surprise."

 

When, however, the so-called Marcus Benton entered the room, Mr. Brief sprang to his feet in great amazement⁶.

 

"Can I believe my eyes?" he ejaculated.

 

"I think you can, Mr. Brief," said the old gentleman quietly,

 

"You are Matthew Baldwin."

 

"Precisely⁷."

 

"And you are not dead?"

 

"Do I look as if I were?" asked Mr. Baldwin, smiling.

 

"What does it all mean?" asked Mr. Brief, bewildered.

 

"It means that I wished to try John Tremlett. I wished to ascertain⁸ whether he were worthy⁹ to inherit my fortune. What is your opinion?"

 

"My opinion," said the lawyer, "is that he would run through the property in five years. I am disgusted with him."

 

"How does he spend his money?" inquired Mr. Baldwin.

 

"In every kind of extravagance and every form of dissipation. At the rate he is going on, it is a question, in my mind, whether he or the property would last longer."

 

"I got that idea from my young friend here, who, by the way, knew of me only as Marcus Benton when he came first to see you."

 

"Of course you will resume possession of the property, Mr. Baldwin?"

 

"Such is my intention."

 

"I can give it back into your hands entire, with the exception of nine hundred dollars drawn¹⁰ by Tremlett, and your funeral expenses."

 

"My funeral expense!" exclaimed Mr. Baldwin, in surprise.

 

"Yes; a body was found in the St. Lawrence, which was supposed to be yours. It was buried with proper ceremony."

 

The old man smiled, but there was a certain sadness in the smile.

 

"It is, perhaps, only anticipating things a little," he said. "The expenses shall be allowed."

 

"Of course you wish Mr. Tremlett to be informed without delay."

 

"Yes."

 

"He is to come to my office in an hour."

 

"Can you let me witness the interview?"

 

"Yes, sir. You can conceal¹¹ yourself in the inner room, and I will see him in the outer office, with the door ajar."

 

An hour later John Tremlett swaggered into Mr. Brief's office.

 

"Brief," said he, "I must have some money."

 

"Have you used up the hundred dollars I gave you four days since?"

 

"Every cent."

 

"I am afraid you squandered¹² it."

 

"That is my business, Brief."

 

"You remember the warning I gave you at that time?"

 

"Come, Brief, you can't expect to keep me in leading-strings. I am seeing life, and of course I must pay for it."

 

"A pretty round sum, too."

 

"Oh, well, I am making up for lost time. Old Baldwin kept me so close that I had to live like a hermit¹³ for years. He starved me on eight hundred dollars a year—the stingy old file!"

 

"Apparently¹⁴ you want to live at the rate of ten thousand dollars a year now, Mr. Tremlett."

 

"Well, I can afford it for a year or two."

 

"You seem to forget that your income for the first year is not quite five thousand."

 

"Then my creditors¹⁵ must wait, I am going to have my fling."

 

"It would make Mr. Baldwin turn in his coffin¹⁶ if he were to know how you are wasting his substance."

 

"Very likely it would," said Tremlett, laughing heartily¹⁷; "but there's one comfort, he can't come back to trouble us."

 

"Don't be too sure of that, John Tremlett," said a voice which struck terror to Tremlett's heart, and Mathew Baldwin walked out of the inner office.

 

The young man's face turned as pale as ashes, and his knees knocked together in his fright.

 

"Is it—you—Mr. Baldwin?" he ejaculated.

 

"Yes, it is I—your benefactor¹⁸, the stingy old file, as you so gratefully call me," answered the old man sternly.

 

"Then—you—are—not dead!"

 

"Not at present. How long I may live I cannot say, but long enough, I hope, to do an act of justice."

 

"I am very sorry," stammered¹⁹ Tremlett. "Forgive me, sir."

 

"I may forgive you, because nothing has happened that cannot be remedied; but I shall never again trust you."

 

"Won't you take me back into your service, sir?" entreated²⁰ John Tremlett desperately²¹.

 

"Never!" said Mr. Baldwin emphatically.

 

"What will become of me?" ejaculated the miserable²² young man, shedding maudlin²³ tears. "I am penniless."

 

"I will not wholly cast you off. I will authorize²⁴ Mr. Brief to pay you eight hundred dollars during the next year, in monthly installments²⁵. I hope you will turn over a new leaf."

 

"I will, sir; I will indeed," said Tremlett; but Mr. Baldwin, knowing his past hypocrisy²⁶, did not put much faith in his penitence²⁷.

 

"I hope so, for your own sake," he said briefly²⁸. "You can go now, sir. At the end of a month you can come back, and Mr. Brief will pay you your monthly allowance."

 

"How can I live till then?" asked Tremlett. "Can't he pay it sooner? I have but a dollar left."

 

"Sell some of your jewelry²⁹, that diamond ring, for instance. It will maintain you till the money is payable³⁰."

 

John Tremlett left the office crestfallen³¹, and cursing his foolish prodigality³², which had lost him a fine fortune.

 

"What are your plans, Mr. Baldwin?" asked the lawyer. "Shall you remain in Montreal?"

 

"No, Mr. Brief; there is nothing to keep me here now. I shall make my home in the States. This boy I have tested and found to be true gold. He will not deceive me as John Tremlett has. With him and his aunt I propose to make my home for the little time I have left."

 

"A very fine boy!" said Mr. Brief, regarding Ben in quite a different light now that he was indirectly³³ acknowledged to be a rich man's heir.

 

"I shall leave you to manage my property here, Mr. Brief, for the present at least. You will transmit the income to me as it accrues³⁴."

 

"You shall not repent³⁵ your confidence, sir," said the lawyer. "How soon do you leave the city?"

 

"To-morrow. Will that suit you, Ben?"

 

"Oh, yes, Uncle Matthew."

 

"He is a lucky boy," thought Mr. Brief, as the two went out. "His future is provided for."

 

1 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

2 complacently   

adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地

参考例句：

• He complacently lived out his life as a village school teacher. 他满足于一个乡村教师的生活。
• "That was just something for evening wear," returned his wife complacently. “那套衣服是晚装，"他妻子心安理得地说道。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

3 recollect   

v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得

参考例句：

• He tried to recollect things and drown himself in them.他极力回想过去的事情而沉浸于回忆之中。
• She could not recollect being there.她回想不起曾经到过那儿。

4 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

5 ushered   

v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The secretary ushered me into his office. 秘书把我领进他的办公室。
• A round of parties ushered in the New Year. 一系列的晚会迎来了新年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

8 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。

9 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

10 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

11 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

12 squandered   

v.（指钱，财产等）浪费，乱花( squander的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He squandered all his money on gambling. 他把自己所有的钱都糟蹋在赌博上了。
• She felt as indignant as if her own money had been squandered. 她心里十分生气，好像是她自己的钱给浪费掉了似的。 来自飘（部分）

13 hermit   

n.隐士，修道者；隐居

参考例句：

• He became a hermit after he was dismissed from office.他被解职后成了隐士。
• Chinese ancient landscape poetry was in natural connections with hermit culture.中国古代山水诗与隐士文化有着天然联系。

14 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。

15 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

17 heartily   

adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很

参考例句：

• He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。
• The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

18 benefactor   

n. 恩人，行善的人，捐助人

参考例句：

• The chieftain of that country is disguised as a benefactor this time. 那个国家的首领这一次伪装出一副施恩者的姿态。
• The first thing I did, was to recompense my original benefactor, my good old captain. 我所做的第一件事, 就是报答我那最初的恩人, 那位好心的老船长。

19 stammered   

v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He stammered most when he was nervous. 他一紧张往往口吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Barsad leaned back in his chair, and stammered, \"What do you mean?\" 巴萨往椅背上一靠，结结巴巴地说，“你是什么意思？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

20 entreated   

恳求，乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They entreated and threatened, but all this seemed of no avail. 他们时而恳求，时而威胁，但这一切看来都没有用。
• 'One word,' the Doctor entreated. 'Will you tell me who denounced him?' “还有一个问题，”医生请求道，“你可否告诉我是谁告发他的？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

21 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

22 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

23 maudlin   

adj.感情脆弱的，爱哭的

参考例句：

• He always becomes maudlin after he's had a few drinks.他喝了几杯酒后总是变得多愁善感。
• She continued in the same rather maudlin tone.她继续用那种颇带几分伤感的语调说话。

24 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。

25 installments   

部分( installment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The first two installments were pretty close together in 1980. 第一次和节二次提款隔得很近，都是在1980年提的。
• You have an installments sales contract. 你已经订立了一份分期付款的买卖契约了。

26 hypocrisy   

n.伪善，虚伪

参考例句：

• He railed against hypocrisy and greed.他痛斥伪善和贪婪的行为。
• He accused newspapers of hypocrisy in their treatment of the story.他指责了报纸在报道该新闻时的虚伪。

27 penitence   

n.忏悔，赎罪；悔过

参考例句：

• The thief expressed penitence for all his past actions. 那盗贼对他犯过的一切罪恶表示忏悔。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Of penitence, there has been none! 可是悔过呢，还一点没有！ 来自英汉文学 - 红字

28 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。

29 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

30 payable   

adj.可付的，应付的，有利益的

参考例句：

• This check is payable on demand.这是一张见票即付的支票。
• No tax is payable on these earnings.这些收入不须交税。

31 crestfallen   

adj. 挫败的，失望的，沮丧的

参考例句：

• He gathered himself up and sneaked off,crushed and crestfallen.他爬起来，偷偷地溜了，一副垂头丧气、被斗败的样子。
• The youth looked exceedingly crestfallen.那青年看上去垂头丧气极了。

32 prodigality   

n.浪费，挥霍

参考例句：

• Laughter is easier minute by minute, spilled with prodigality. 笑声每时每刻都变得越来越容易，毫无节制地倾泻出来。 来自辞典例句
• Laughter is easier minute by minute, spilled with prodigality, tipped out at a cheerful word. 笑声每时每刻都变得越来越容易，毫无节制地倾泻出来，只要一句笑话就会引起哄然大笑。 来自英汉文学 - 盖茨比

33 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

34 accrues   

v.增加( accrue的第三人称单数 )；（通过自然增长）产生；获得；（使钱款、债务）积累

参考例句：

• If you put money in the bank, interest accrues. 如你将钱存于银行，则自然生息。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Interest accrues on a bank accout. 银行账户的利息在增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》

35 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。