It will occupy a chapter to itself in my forthcoming work on "Historic Stones," where full details of its weight, size, color, and value may be found. At present I am going to relate an incident in its history which, for obvious reasons, will not be published—which, in fact, I trust the reader will consider related in strict confidence.
I had never seen the stone itself when I began to write about it, and it was not till one evening last spring, while staying with my nephew, Sir Thomas Acton, that I came within measurable distance of it. A dinner party was impending5, and, at my instigation, the Bishop6 of Northchurch and Miss Panton, his daughter and heiress, were among the invited guests.
The dinner was a particularly good one, I remember that distinctly. In fact, I felt myself partly responsible for it, having engaged the new cook—a talented young Italian, pupil of the admirable old chef at my club. We had gone over the menu carefully together, with a result refreshing7 in its novelty, but not so daring as to disturb the minds of the innocent country guests who were bidden thereto.
The first spoonful of soup was reassuring8, and I looked to the end of the table to exchange a congratulatory glance with Leta. What was amiss? No response. Her pretty face was flushed, her smile constrained9, she was talking with quite unnecessary empressement to her neighbor, Sir Harry11 Landor, though Leta is one of those few women who understand the importance of letting a man settle down tranquilly12 and with an undisturbed mind to the business of dining, allowing no topic of serious interest to come on before the relevés, and reserving mere13 conversational14 brilliancy for the entremets.
Guests all right? No disappointments? I had gone through the list with her, selecting just the right people to be asked to meet the Landors, our new neighbors. Not a mere cumbrous county gathering15, nor yet a showy imported party from town, but a skillful blending of both. Had anything happened already? I had been late for dinner and missed the arrivals in the drawing-room. It was Leta's fault. She has got into a way of coming into my room and putting the last touches to my toilet. I let her, for I am doubtful of myself nowadays after many years' dependence16 on the best of valets. Her taste is generally beyond dispute, but to-day she had indulged in a feminine vagary17 that provoked me and made me late for dinner.
"Are you going to wear your sapphire18, Uncle Paul!" she cried in a tone of dismay. "Oh, why not the ruby19?"
"You would have your way about the table decorations," I gently reminded her. "With that service of Crown Derby repoussé and orchids20, the ruby would look absolutely barbaric. Now if you would have had the Limoges set, white candles, and a yellow silk center—"
"Oh, but—I'm so disappointed—I wanted the bishop to see your ruby—or one of your engraved22 gems—"
"My dear, it is on the bishop's account I put this on. You know his daughter is heiress of the great Valdez sapphire—"
"Of course she is, and when he has the charge of a stone three times as big as yours, what's the use of wearing it? The ruby, dear Uncle Paul, please!"
She was desperately24 in earnest I could see, and considering the obligations which I am supposed to be under to her and Tom, it was but a little matter to yield, but it involved a good deal of extra trouble. Studs, sleeve-links, watch-guard, all carefully selected to go with the sapphire, had to be changed, the emerald which I chose as a compromise requiring more florid accompaniments of a deeper tone of gold; and the dinner hour struck as I replaced my jewel case, the one relic25 left me of a once handsome fortune, in my fireproof safe.
The emerald looked very well that evening, however. I kept my eyes upon it for comfort when Miss Panton proved trying.
She was a lean, yellow, dictatorial26 young person with no conversation. I spoke27 of her father's celebrated28 sapphires29. "My sapphires," she amended30 sourly; "though I am legally debarred from making any profitable use of them." She furthermore informed me that she viewed them as useless gauds, which ought to be disposed of for the benefit of the heathen. I gave the subject up, and while she discoursed31 of the work of the Blue Ribbon Army among the Bosjesmans I tried to understand a certain dislocation in the arrangement of the table. Surely we were more or less in number than we should be? Opposite side all right. Who was extra on ours? I leaned forward. Lady Landor on one side of Tom, on the other who? I caught glimpses of plumes32 pink and green nodding over a dinner plate, and beneath them a pink nose in a green visage with a nutcracker chin altogether unknown to me. A sharp gray eye shot a sideway glance down the table and caught me peeping, and I retreated, having only marked in addition two clawlike hands, with pointed21 ruffles33 and a mass of brilliant rings, making good play with a knife and fork. Who was she? At intervals34 a high acid voice could be heard addressing Tom, and a laugh that made me shudder35; it had the quality of the scream of a bird of prey36 or the yell of a jackal. I had heard that sort of laugh before, and it always made me feel like a defenseless rabbit. Every time it sounded I saw Leta's fan flutter more furiously and her manner grow more nervously37 animated38. Poor dear girl! I never in all my recollection wished a dinner at an end so earnestly so as to assure her of my support and sympathy, though without the faintest conception why either should be required.
The ices at last. A menu card folded in two was laid beside me. I read it unobserved. "Keep the B. from joining us in the drawing-room." The B.? The bishop, of course. With pleasure. But why? And how? That's the question, never mind "why." Could I lure39 him into the library—the billiard room—the conservatory40? I doubted it, and I doubted still more what I should do with him when I got him there.
The bishop is a grand and stately ecclesiastic41 of the medi?val type, broad-chested, deep-voiced, martial42 of bearing. I could picture him charging mace43 in hand at the head of his vassals44, or delivering over a dissenter45 of the period to the rack and thumbscrew, but not pottering among rare editions, tall copies and Grolier bindings, nor condescending46 to a quiet cigar among the tree ferns and orchids. Leta must and should be obeyed, I swore, nevertheless, even if I were driven to lock the door in the fearless old fashion of a bygone day, and declare I'd shoot any man who left while a drop remained in the bottles.
The ladies were rising. The lady at the head of the line smirked47 and nodded her pink plumes coquettishly at Tom, while her hawk's eyes roved keen and predatory over us all. She stopped suddenly, creating a block and confusion.
"Ah, the dear bishop! You there, and I never saw you! You must come and have a nice long chat presently. By-by—!" She shook her fan at him over my shoulder and tripped off. Leta, passing me last, gave me a look of profound despair.
"Lady Carwitchet!" somebody exclaimed. "I couldn't believe my eyes."
"Thought she was dead or in penal48 servitude. Never should have expected to see her here," said some one else behind me confidentially49.
"What Carwitchet? Not the mother of the Carwitchet who—"
"Just so. The Carwitchet who—" Tom assented51 with a shrug52. "We needn't go farther, as she's my guest. Just my luck. I met them at Buxton, thought them uncommonly53 good company—in fact, Carwitchet laid me under a great obligation about a horse I was nearly let in for buying—and gave them a general invitation here, as one does, you know. Never expected her to turn up with her luggage this afternoon just before dinner, to stay a week, or a fortnight if Carwitchet can join her." A groan54 of sympathy ran round the table. "It can't be helped. I've told you this just to show that I shouldn't have asked you here to meet this sort of people of my own free will; but, as it is, please say no more about them." The subject was not dropped by any means, and I took care that it should not be. At our end of the table one story after another went buzzing round—sotto voce, out of deference55 to Tom—but perfectly56 audible.
"Carwitchet? Ah, yes. Mixed up in that Rawlings divorce case, wasn't he? A bad lot. Turned out of the Dragoon Guards for cheating at cards, or picking pockets, or something—remember the row at the Cerulean Club? Scandalous exposure—and that forged letter business—oh, that was the mother—prosecution hushed up somehow. Ought to be serving her fourteen years—and that business of poor Farrars, the banker—got hold of some of his secrets and blackmailed57 him till he blew his brains out—"
It was so exciting that I clean forgot the bishop, till a low gasp58 at my elbow startled me. He was lying back in his chair, his mighty59 shaven jowl a ghastly white, his fierce imperious eyebrows60 drooping61 limp over his fishlike eyes, his splendid figure shrunk and contracted. He was trying with a shaken hand to pour out wine. The decanter clattered62 against the glass and the wine spilled on the cloth.
"I'm afraid you find the room too warm. Shall we go into the library?"
He rose hastily and followed me like a lamb.
He recovered himself once we got into the hall, and affably rejected all my proffers63 of brandy and soda64—medical advice—everything else my limited experience could suggest. He only demanded his carriage "directly" and that Miss Panton should be summoned forthwith.
I made the best use I could of the time left me.
"I'm uncommonly sorry you do not feel equal to staying a little longer, my lord. I counted on showing you my few trifles of precious stones, the salvage65 from the wreck66 of my possessions. Nothing in comparison with your own collection."
The bishop clasped his hand over his heart. His breath came short and quick.
"A return of that dizziness," he explained with a faint smile. "You are thinking of the Valdez sapphire, are you not? Some day," he went on with forced composure, "I may have the pleasure of showing it to you. It is at my banker's just now."
Miss Panton's steps were heard in the hall. "You are well known as a connoisseur67, Mr. Acton," he went on hurriedly. "Is your collection valuable? If so, keep it safe; don't trust a ring off your hand, or the key of your jewel case out of your pocket till the house is clear again." The words rushed from his lips in an impetuous whisper, he gave me a meaning glance, and departed with his daughter. I went back to the drawing-room, my head swimming with bewilderment.
"What! The dear bishop gone!" screamed Lady Carwitchet from the central ottoman where she sat, surrounded by most of the gentlemen, all apparently68 well entertained by her conversation. "And I wanted to talk over old times with him so badly. His poor wife was my greatest friend. Mira Montanaro, daughter of the great banker, you know. It's not possible that that miserable69 little prig is my poor Mira's girl. The heiress of all the Montanaros in a black lace gown worth twopence! When I think of her mother's beauty and her toilets! Does she ever wear the sapphires? Has anyone ever seen her in them? Eleven large stones in a lovely antique setting, and the great Valdez sapphire—worth thousands and thousands—for the pendant." No one replied. "I wanted to get a rise out of the bishop to-night. It used to make him so mad when I wore this."
She fumbled70 among the laces at her throat, and clawed out a pendant that hung to a velvet71 band around her neck. I fairly gasped72 when she removed her hand. A sapphire of irregular shape flashed out its blue lightning on us. Such a stone! A true, rich, cornflower blue even by that wretched artificial light, with soft velvety73 depths of color and dazzling clearness of tint74 in its lights and shades—a stone to remember! I stretched out my hand involuntarily, but Lady Carwitchet drew back with a coquettish squeal75. "No! no! You mustn't look any closer. Tell me what you think of it now. Isn't it pretty?"
"Superb!" was all I could ejaculate, staring at the azure76 splendor77 of that miraculous78 jewel in a sort of trance.
She gave a shrill79 cackling laugh of mockery.
"The great Mr. Acton taken in by a bit of Palais Royal gimcrackery! What an advertisement for Bogaerts et Cie! They are perfect artists in frauds. Don't you remember their stand at the first Paris Exhibition? They had imitation there of every celebrated stone; but I never expected anything made by man could delude80 Mr. Acton, never!" And she went off into another mocking cackle, and all the idiots round her haw-hawed knowingly, as if they had seen the joke all along. I was too bewildered to reply, which was on the whole lucky. "I suppose I mustn't tell why I came to give quite a big sum in francs for this?" she went on, tapping her closed lips with her closed fan, and cocking her eye at us all like a parrot wanting to be coaxed81 to talk. "It's a queer story."
I didn't want to hear her anecdote83, especially as I saw she wanted to tell it. What I did want was to see that pendant again. She had thrust it back among her laces, only the loop which held it to the velvet being visible. It was set with three small sapphires, and even from a distance I clearly made them out to be imitations, and poor ones. I felt a queer thrill of self-mistrust. Was the large stone no better? Could I, even for an instant, have been dazzled by a sham84, and a sham of that quality? The events of the evening had flurried and confused me. I wished to think them over in quiet. I would go to bed.
My rooms at the Manor85 are the best in the house. Leta will have it so. I must explain their position for a reason to be understood later. My bedroom is in the southeast angle of the house; it opens on one side into a sitting-room86 in the east corridor, the rest of which is taken up by the suite87 of rooms occupied by Tom and Leta; and on the other side into my bathroom, the first room in the south corridor, where the principal guest chambers88 are, to one of which it was originally the dressing-room. Passing this room I noticed a couple of housemaids preparing it for the night, and discovered with a shiver that Lady Carwitchet was to be my next-door neighbor. It gave me a turn.
The bishop's strange warning must have unnerved me. I was perfectly safe from her ladyship. The disused door into her room was locked, and the key safe on the housekeeper's bunch. It was also undiscoverable on her side, the recess89 in which it stood being completely filled by a large wardrobe. On my side hung a thick sound-proof portière. Nevertheless, I resolved not to use that room while she inhabited the next one. I removed my possessions, fastened the door of communication with my bedroom, and dragged a heavy ottoman across it.
Then I stowed away my emerald in my strong-box. It is built into the wall of my sitting-room, and masked by the lower part of an old carved oak bureau. I put away even the rings I wore habitually90, keeping out only an inferior cat's-eye for workaday wear. I had just made all safe when Leta tapped at the door and came in to wish me good night. She looked flushed and harassed91 and ready to cry. "Uncle Paul," she began, "I want you to go up to town at once, and stay away till I send for you."
"My dear—!" I was too amazed to expostulate.
"We've got a—a pestilence92 among us," she declared, her foot tapping the ground angrily, "and the least we can do is to go into quarantine. Oh, I'm so sorry and so ashamed! The poor bishop! I'll take good care that no one else shall meet that woman here. You did your best for me, Uncle Paul, and managed admirably, but it was all no use. I hoped against hope that what between the dusk of the drawing-room before dinner, and being put at opposite ends of the table, we might get through without a meeting—"
"But, my dear, explain. Why shouldn't the bishop and Lady Carwitchet meet? Why is it worse for him than anyone else?"
"Why? I thought everybody had heard of that dreadful wife of his who nearly broke his heart. If he married her for her money it served him right, but Lady Landor says she was very handsome and really in love with him at first. Then Lady Carwitchet got hold of her and led her into all sorts of mischief93. She left her husband—he was only a rector with a country living in those days—and went to live in town, got into a horrid94 fast set, and made herself notorious. You must have heard of her."
"I heard of her sapphires, my dear. But I was in Brazil at the time."
"I wish you had been at home. You might have found her out. She was furious because her husband refused to let her wear the great Valdez sapphire. It had been in the Montanaro family for some generations, and her father settled it first on her and then on her little girl—the bishop being trustee. He felt obliged to take away the little girl, and send her off to be brought up by some old aunts in the country, and he locked up the sapphire. Lady Carwitchet tells as a splendid joke how they got the copy made in Paris, and it did just as well for the people to stare at. No wonder the bishop hates the very name of the stone."
"How long will she stay here?" I asked dismally95.
"Till Lord Carwitchet can come and escort her to Paris to visit some American friends. Goodness knows when that will be! Do go up to town, Uncle Paul!"
I refused indignantly. The very least I could do was to stand by my poor young relatives in their troubles and help them through. I did so. I wore that inferior cat's eye for six weeks!
It is a time I cannot think of even now without a shudder. The more I saw of that terrible old woman the more I detested96 her, and we saw a very great deal of her. Leta kept her word, and neither accepted nor gave invitations all that time. We were cut off from all society but that of old General Fairford, who would go anywhere and meet anyone to get a rubber after dinner; the doctor, a sporting widower97; and the Duberlys, a giddy, rather rackety young, couple who had taken the Dower House for a year. Lady Carwitchet seemed perfectly content. She reveled in the soft living and good fare of the Manor House, the drives in Leta's big barouche, and Domenico's dinners, as one to whom short commons were not unknown. She had a hungry way of grabbing and grasping at everything she could—the shillings she won at whist, the best fruit at dessert, the postage stamps in the library inkstand—that was infinitely98 suggestive. Sometimes I could have pitied her, she was so greedy, so spiteful, so friendless. She always made me think of some wicked old pirate putting into a peaceful port to provision and repair his battered99 old hulk, obliged to live on friendly terms with the natives, but his piratical old nostrils100 asniff for plunder101 and his piratical old soul longing102 to be off marauding once more. When would that be? Not till the arrival in Paris of her distinguished103 American friends, of whom we heard a great deal. "Charming people, the Bokums of Chicago, the American branch of the English Beauchamps, you know!" They seemed to be taking an unconscionable time to get there. She would have insisted on being driven over to Northchurch to call at the palace, but that the bishop was understood to be holding confirmations104 at the other end of the diocese.
I was alone in the house one afternoon sitting by my window, toying with the key of my safe, and wondering whether I dare treat myself to a peep at my treasures, when a suspicious movement in the park below caught my attention. A black figure certainly dodged105 from behind one tree to the next, and then into the shadow of the park paling instead of keeping to the footpath106. It looked queer. I caught up my field glass and marked him at one point where he was bound to come into the open for a few steps. He crossed the strip of turf with giant strides and got into cover again, but not quick enough to prevent me recognizing him. It was—great heavens!—the bishop! In a soft hat pulled over his forehead, with a long cloak and a big stick, he looked like a poacher.
Guided by some mysterious instinct I hurried to meet him. I opened the conservatory door, and in he rushed like a hunted rabbit. Without explanation I led him up the wide staircase to my room, where he dropped into a chair and wiped his face.
"You are astonished, Mr. Acton," he panted. "I will explain directly. Thanks." He tossed off the glass of brandy I had poured out without waiting for the qualifying soda, and looked better.
"I am in serious trouble. You can help me. I've had a shock to-day—a grievous shock." He stopped and tried to pull himself together. "I must trust you implicitly107, Mr. Acton, I have no choice. Tell me what you think of this." He drew a case from his breast pocket and opened it. "I promised you should see the Valdez sapphire. Look there!"
The Valdez sapphire! A great big shining lump of blue crystal—flawless and of perfect color—that was all. I took it up, breathed on it, drew out my magnifier, looked at it in one light and another. What was wrong with it? I could not say. Nine experts out of ten would undoubtedly108 have pronounced the stone genuine. I, by virtue109 of some mysterious instinct that has hitherto always guided me aright, was the unlucky tenth. I looked at the bishop. His eyes met mine. There was no need of spoken word between us.
"Has Lady Carwitchet shown you her sapphire?" was his most unexpected question. "She has? Now, Mr. Acton, on your honor as a connoisseur and a gentleman, which of the two is the Valdez?"
"Not this one." I could say naught110 else.
"You were my last hope." He broke off, and dropped his face on his folded arms with a groan that shook the table on which he rested, while I stood dismayed at myself for having let so hasty a judgment111 escape me. He lifted a ghastly countenance112 to me. "She vowed113 she would see me ruined and disgraced. I made her my enemy by crossing some of her schemes once, and she never forgives. She will keep her word. I shall appear before the world as a fraudulent trustee. I can neither produce the valuable confided114 to my charge nor make the loss good. I have only an incredible story to tell," he dropped his head and groaned115 again. "Who will believe me?"
"I will, for one."
"Ah, you? Yes, you know her. She took my wife from me, Mr. Acton. Heaven only knows what the hold was that she had over poor Mira. She encouraged her to set me at defiance116 and eventually to leave me. She was answerable for all the scandalous folly117 and extravagance of poor Mira's life in Paris—spare me the telling of the story. She left her at last to die alone and uncared for. I reached my wife to find her dying of a fever from which Lady Carwitchet and her crew had fled. She was raving118 in delirium119, and died without recognizing me. Some trouble she had been in which I must never know oppressed her. At the very last she roused from a long stupor120 and spoke to the nurse. 'Tell him to get the sapphire back—she stole it. She has robbed my child.' Those were her last words. The nurse understood no English, and treated them as wandering; but I heard them, and knew she was sane121 when she spoke."
"What did you do?"
"What could I? I saw Lady Carwitchet, who laughed at me, and defied me to make her confess or disgorge. I took the pendant to more than one eminent jeweler on pretense122 of having the setting seen to, and all have examined and admired without giving a hint of there being anything wrong. I allowed a celebrated mineralogist to see it; he gave no sign—"
"Perhaps they are right and we are wrong."
"No, no. Listen. I heard of an old Dutchman celebrated for his imitations. I went to him, and he told me at once that he had been allowed by Montanaro to copy the Valdez—setting and all—for the Paris Exhibition. I showed him this, and he claimed it for his own work at once, and pointed out his private mark upon it. You must take your magnifier to find it; a Greek Beta. He also told me that he had sold it to Lady Carwitchet more than a year ago."
"It is a terrible position."
"It is. My co-trustee died lately. I have never dared to have another appointed. I am bound to hand over the sapphire to my daughter on her marriage, if her husband consents to take the name of Montanaro."
The bishop's face was ghastly pale, and the moisture started on his brow. I racked my brain for some word of comfort.
"Miss Panton may never marry."
"But she will!" he shouted. "That is the blow that has been dealt me to-day. My chaplain—actually, my chaplain—tells me that he is going out as a temperance missionary123 to equatorial Africa, and has the assurance to add that he believes my daughter is not indisposed to accompany him!" His consummating124 wrath125 acted as a momentary126 stimulant127. He sat upright, his eyes flashing and his brow thunderous. I felt for that chaplain. Then he collapsed128 miserably129. "The sapphires will have to be produced, identified, revalued. How shall I come out of it? Think of the disgrace, the ripping up of old scandals! Even if I were to compound with Lady Carwitchet, the sum she hinted at was too monstrous130. She wants more than my money. Help me, Mr. Acton! For the sake of your own family interests, help me!"
"I beg your pardon—family interests? I don't understand."
"If my daughter is childless, her next of kin10 is poor Marmaduke Panton, who is dying at Cannes, not married, or likely to marry; and failing him, your nephew, Sir Thomas Acton, succeeds."
My nephew Tom! Leta, or Leta's baby, might come to be the possible inheritor of the great Valdez sapphire! The blood rushed to my head as I looked at the great shining swindle before me. "What diabolic jugglery131 was at work when the exchange was made?" I demanded fiercely.
"It must have been on the last occasion of her wearing the sapphires in London. I ought never to have let her out of my sight."
"You must put a stop to Miss Panton's marriage in the first place," I pronounced as autocratically as he could have done himself.
"Not to be thought of," he admitted helplessly. "Mira has my force of character. She knows her rights, and she will have her jewels. I want you to take charge of the—thing for me. If it's in the house she'll make me produce it. She'll inquire at the banker's. If you have it we can gain time, if but for a day or two." He broke off. Carriage wheels were crashing on the gravel132 outside. We looked at one another in consternation133. Flight was imperative134. I hurried him downstairs and out of the conservatory just as the door bell rang. I think we both lost our heads in the confusion. He shoved the case into my hands, and I pocketed it, without a thought of the awful responsibility I was incurring135, and saw him disappear into the shelter of the friendly night.
When I think of what my feelings were that evening—of my murderous hatred136 of that smirking137, jesting Jezebel who sat opposite me at dinner, my wrathful indignation at the thought of the poor little expected heir defrauded138 ere his birth; of the crushing contempt I felt for myself and the bishop as a pair of witless idiots unable to see our way out of the dilemma139; all this boiling and surging through my soul, I can only wonder—Domenico having given himself a holiday, and the kitchen maid doing her worst and wickedest—that gout or jaundice did not put an end to this story at once.
"Uncle Paul!" Leta was looking her sweetest when she tripped into my room next morning. "I've news for you. She," pointing a delicate forefinger140 in the direction of the corridor, "is going! Her Bokums have reached Paris at last, and sent for her to join them at the Grand Hotel."
I was thunderstruck. The longed-for deliverance had but come to remove hopelessly and forever out of my reach Lady Carwitchet and the great Valdez sapphire.
"Why, aren't you overjoyed? I am. We are going to celebrate the event by a dinner party. Tom's hospitable141 soul is vexed142 by the lack of entertainment we had provided her. We must ask the Brownleys some day or other, and they will be delighted to meet anything in the way of a ladyship, or such smart folks as the Duberly-Parkers. Then we may as well have the Blomfields, and air that awful modern Sèvres dessert service she gave us when we were married." I had no objection to make, and she went on, rubbing her soft cheek against my shoulder like the purring little cat she was: "Now I want you to do something to please me—and Mrs. Blomfield. She has set her heart on seeing your rubies143, and though I know you hate her about as much as you do that Sèvres china—"
"What! Wear my rubies with that! I won't. I'll tell you what I will do, though. I've got some carbuncles as big as prize gooseberries, a whole set. Then you have only to put those Bohemian glass vases and candelabra on the table, and let your gardener do his worst with his great forced, scentless144, vulgar blooms, and we shall all be in keeping." Leta pouted145. An idea struck me. "Or I'll do as you wish, on one condition. You get Lady Carwitchet to wear her big sapphire, and don't tell her I wish it."
I lived through the next few days as one in some evil dream. The sapphires, like twin specters, haunted me day and night. Was ever man so tantalized146? To hold the shadow and see the substance dangled147 temptingly within reach. The bishop made no sign of ridding me of my unwelcome charge, and the thought of what might happen in a case of burglary—fire—earthquake—made me start and tremble at all sorts of inopportune moments.
I kept faith with Leta, and reluctantly produced my beautiful rubies on the night of her dinner party. Emerging from my room I came full upon Lady Carwitchet in the corridor. She was dressed for dinner, and at her throat I caught the blue gleam of the great sapphire. Leta had kept faith with me. I don't know what I stammered148 in reply to her ladyship's remarks; my whole soul was absorbed in the contemplation of the intoxicating149 loveliness of the gem23. That a Palais Royal deception150! Incredible! My fingers twitched151, my breath came short and fierce with the lust152 of possession. She must have seen the covetous153 glare in my eyes. A look of gratified spiteful complacency overspread her features, as she swept on ahead and descended154 the stairs before me. I followed her to the drawing-room door. She stopped suddenly, and murmuring something unintelligible155 hurried back again.
Everybody was assembled there that I expected to see, with an addition. Not a welcome one by the look on Tom's face. He stood on the hearthrug conversing156 with a great hulking, high-shouldered fellow, sallow-faced, with a heavy mustache and drooping eyelids157, from the corners of which flashed out a sudden suspicious look as I approached, which lighted up into a greedy one as it rested on my rubies, and seemed unaccountably familiar to me, till Lady Carwitchet tripping past me exclaimed:
"He has come at last! My naughty, naughty boy! Mr. Acton, this is my son, Lord Carwitchet!"
I broke off short in the midst of my polite acknowledgments to stare blankly at her. The sapphire was gone! A great gilt158 cross, with a Scotch159 pebble160 like an acid drop, was her sole decoration.
"I had to put my pendant away," she explained confidentially; "the clasp had got broken somehow." I didn't believe a word.
Lord Carwitchet contributed little to the general entertainment at dinner, but fell into confidential50 talk with Mrs. Duberly-Parker. I caught a few unintelligible remarks across the table. They referred, I subsequently discovered, to the lady's little book on Northchurch races, and I recollected161 that the Spring Meeting was on, and to-morrow "Cup Day." After dinner there was great talk about getting up a party to go on General Fairford's drag. Lady Carwitchet was in ecstasies162 and tried to coax82 me into joining. Leta declined positively163. Tom accepted sulkily.
The look in Lord Carwitchet's eye returned to my mind as I locked up my rubies that night. It made him look so like his mother! I went round my fastenings with unusual care. Safe and closets and desk and doors, I tried them all. Coming at last to the bathroom, it opened at once. It was the housemaid's doing. She had evidently taken advantage of my having abandoned the room to give it "a thorough spring cleaning," and I anathematized her. The furniture was all piled together and veiled with sheets, the carpet and felt curtain were gone, there were new brooms about. As I peered around, a voice close at my ear made me jump—Lady Carwitchet's!
"I tell you I have nothing, not a penny! I shall have to borrow my train fare before I can leave this. They'll be glad enough to lend it."
Not only had the portière been removed, but the door behind it had been unlocked and left open for convenience of dusting behind the wardrobe. I might as well have been in the bedroom.
"Don't tell me," I recognized Carwitchet's growl164. "You've not been here all this time for nothing. You've been collecting for a Kilburn cot or getting subscriptions165 for the distressed166 Irish landlords. I know you. Now I'm not going to see myself ruined for the want of a paltry167 hundred or so. I tell you the colt is a dead certainty. If I could have got a thousand or two on him last week, we might have ended our dog days millionaires. Hand over what you can. You've money's worth, if not money. Where's that sapphire you stole?"
"I didn't. I can show you the receipted bill. All I possess is honestly come by. What could you do with it, even if I gave it you? You couldn't sell it as the Valdez, and you can't get it cut up as you might if it were real."
"If it's only bogus, why are you always in such a flutter about it? I'll do something with it, never fear. Hand over."
"I can't. I haven't got it. I had to raise something on it before I left town."
"Will you swear it's not in that wardrobe? I dare say you will. I mean to see. Give me those keys."
I heard a struggle and a jingle168, then the wardrobe door must have been flung open, for a streak169 of light struck through a crack in the wood of the back. Creeping close and peeping through, I could see an awful sight. Lady Carwitchet in a flannel170 wrapper, minus hair, teeth, complexion171, pointing a skinny forefinger that quivered with rage at her son, who was out of the range of my vision.
"Stop that, and throw those keys down here directly, or I'll rouse the house. Sir Thomas is a magistrate172, and will lock you up as soon as look at you." She clutched at the bell rope as she spoke. "I'll swear I'm in danger of my life from you and give you in charge. Yes, and when you're in prison I'll keep you there till you die. I've often thought I'd do it. How about the hotel robberies last summer at Cowes, eh? Mightn't the police be grateful for a hint or two? And how about—"
The keys fell with a crash on the bed, accompanied by some bad language in an apologetic tone, and the door slammed to. I crept trembling to bed.
This new and horrible complication of the situation filled me with dismay. Lord Carwitchet's wolfish glance at my rubies took a new meaning. They were safe enough, I believed—but the sapphire! If he disbelieved his mother, how long would she be able to keep it from his clutches? That she had some plot of her own of which the bishop would eventually be the victim I did not doubt, or why had she not made her bargain with him long ago? But supposing she took fright, lost her head, allowed her son to wrest173 the jewel from her, or gave consent to its being mutilated, divided! I lay in a cold perspiration174 till morning.
My terrors haunted me all day. They were with me at breakfast time when Lady Carwitchet, tripping in smiling, made a last attempt to induce me to accompany her and keep her "bad, bad boy" from getting among "those horrid betting men."
They haunted me through the long peaceful day with Leta and the tête-à-tête dinner, but they swarmed175 around and beset176 me sorest when, sitting alone over my sitting-room fire, I listened for the return of the drag party. I read my newspaper and brewed177 myself some hot strong drink, but there comes a time of night when no fire can warm and no drink can cheer. The bishop's despairing face kept me company, and his troubles and the wrongs of the future heir took possession of me. Then the uncanny noises that make all old houses ghostly during the small hours began to make themselves heard. Muffled179 footsteps trod the corridor, stopping to listen at every door, door latches180 gently clicked, boards creaked unreasonably181, sounds of stealthy movements came from the locked-up bathroom. The welcome crash of wheels at last, and the sound of the front-door bell. I could hear Lady Carwitchet making her shrill adieux to her friends and her steps in the corridor. She was softly humming a little song as she approached. I heard her unlock her bedroom door before she entered—an odd thing to do. Tom came sleepily stumbling to his room later. I put my head out. "Where is Lord Carwitchet?"
"Haven't you seen him? He left us hours ago. Not come home, eh? Well, he's welcome to stay away. I don't want to see more of him." Tom's brow was dark and his voice surly. "I gave him to understand as much." Whatever had happened, Tom was evidently too disgusted to explain just then.
I went back to my fire unaccountably relieved, and brewed myself another and a stronger brew178. It warmed me this time, but excited me foolishly. There must be some way out of the difficulty. I felt now as if I could almost see it if I gave my mind to it. Why—suppose—there might be no difficulty after all! The bishop was a nervous old gentleman. He might have been mistaken all through, Bogaerts might have been mistaken, I might—no. I could not have been mistaken—or I thought not. I fidgeted and fumed182 and argued with myself till I found I should have no peace of mind without a look at the stone in my possession, and I actually went to the safe and took the case out.
The sapphire certainly looked different by lamplight. I sat and stared, and all but overpersuaded my better judgment into giving it a verdict. Bogaerts's mark—I suddenly remembered it. I took my magnifier and held the pendant to the light. There, scratched upon the stone, was the Greek Beta! There came a tap on my door, and before I could answer, the handle turned softly and Lord Carwitchet stood before me. I whipped the case into my dressing-gown pocket and stared at him. He was not pleasant to look at, especially at that time of night. He had a disheveled, desperate air, his voice was hoarse183, his red-rimmed eyes wild.
"I beg your pardon," he began civilly enough. "I saw your light burning, and thought, as we go by the early train to-morrow, you might allow me to consult you now on a little business of my mother's." His eyes roved about the room. Was he trying to find the whereabouts of my safe? "You know a lot about precious stones, don't you?"
"So my friends are kind enough to say. Won't you sit down? I have unluckily little chance of indulging the taste on my own account," was my cautious reply.
"But you've written a book about them, and know them when you see them, don't you? Now my mother has given me something, and would like you to give a guess at its value. Perhaps you can put me in the way of disposing of it?"
"I certainly can do so if it is worth anything. Is that it?" I was in a fever of excitement, for I guessed what was clutched in his palm. He held out to me the Valdez sapphire.
How it shone and sparkled like a great blue star! I made myself a deprecating smile as I took it from him, but how dare I call it false to its face? As well accuse the sun in heaven of being a cheap imitation. I faltered184 and prevaricated185 feebly. Where was my moral courage, and where was the good, honest, thumping186 lie that should have aided me? "I have the best authority for recognizing this as a very good copy of a famous stone in the possession of the Bishop of Northchurch." His scowl187 grew so black that I saw he believed me, and I went on more cheerily: "This was manufactured by Johannes Bogaerts—I can give you his address, and you can make inquiries188 yourself—by special permission of the then owner, the late Leone Montanaro."
"Hand it back!" he interrupted (his other remarks were outrageous189, but satisfactory to hear); but I waved him off. I couldn't give it up. It fascinated me. I toyed with it, I caressed190 it. I made it display its different tones of color. I must see the two stones together. I must see it outshine its paltry rival. It was a whimsical frenzy191 that seized me—I can call it by no other name.
"Would you like to see the original? Curiously192 enough, I have it here. The bishop has left it in my charge."
The wolfish light flamed up in Carwitchet's eyes as I drew forth4 the case. He laid the Valdez down on a sheet of paper, and I placed the other, still in its case, beside it. In that moment they looked identical, except for the little loop of sham stones, replaced by a plain gold band in the bishop's jewel. Carwitchet leaned across the table eagerly, the table gave a lurch193, the lamp tottered194, crashed over, and we were left in semidarkness.
"Don't stir!" Carwitchet shouted. "The paraffin is all over the place!" He seized my sofa blanket, and flung it over the table while I stood helpless. "There, that's safe now. Have you candles on the chimney-piece? I've got matches."
He looked very white and excited as he lit up. "Might have been an awkward job with all that burning paraffin, running about," he said quite pleasantly. "I hope no real harm is done." I was lifting the rug with shaking hands. The two stones lay as I had placed them. No! I nearly dropped it back again. It was the stone in the case that had the loop with the three sham sapphires!
Carwitchet picked the other up hastily. "So you say this is rubbish?" he asked, his eyes sparkling wickedly, and an attempt at mortification195 in his tone.
"Utter rubbish!" I pronounced, with truth and decision, snapping up the case and pocketing it. "Lady Carwitchet must have known it."
"Ah, well, it's disappointing, isn't it? Good-by, we shall not meet again."
I shook hands with him most cordially. "Good-by, Lord Carwitchet. So glad to have met you and your mother. It has been a source of the greatest pleasure, I assure you."
I have never seen the Carwitchets since. The bishop drove over next day in rather better spirits. Miss Panton had refused the chaplain.
"It doesn't matter, my lord," I said to him heartily196. "We've all been under some strange misconception. The stone in your possession is the veritable one. I could swear to that anywhere. The sapphire Lady Carwitchet wears is only an excellent imitation, and—I have seen it with my own eyes—is the one bearing Bogaerts's mark, the Greek Beta."
The End
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1
cardinal
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| n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的 | |
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2
pawned
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| v.典当，抵押( pawn的过去式和过去分词 )；以（某事物）担保 | |
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3
eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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4
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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8
reassuring
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| a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的 | |
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9
constrained
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| adj.束缚的,节制的 | |
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10
kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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11
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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12
tranquilly
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| adv. 宁静地 | |
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13
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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14
conversational
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| adj.对话的，会话的 | |
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15
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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16
dependence
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| n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属 | |
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17
vagary
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| n.妄想，不可测之事，异想天开 | |
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18
sapphire
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| n.青玉，蓝宝石；adj.天蓝色的 | |
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19
ruby
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| n.红宝石，红宝石色 | |
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20
orchids
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| n.兰花( orchid的名词复数 ) | |
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21
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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22
engraved
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| v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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23
gem
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| n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel | |
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24
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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25
relic
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| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
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26
dictatorial
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| adj. 独裁的，专断的 | |
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27
spoke
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| 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 | |
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28
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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29
sapphires
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| n.蓝宝石，钢玉宝石( sapphire的名词复数 )；蔚蓝色 | |
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30
Amended
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| adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词 | |
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31
discoursed
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| 演说（discourse的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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32
plumes
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| 羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物 | |
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33
ruffles
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| 褶裥花边( ruffle的名词复数 ) | |
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34
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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35
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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36
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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37
nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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38
animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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39
lure
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| n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引 | |
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40
conservatory
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| n.温室，音乐学院；adj.保存性的，有保存力的 | |
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41
ecclesiastic
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| n.教士，基督教会；adj.神职者的，牧师的，教会的 | |
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42
martial
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| adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的 | |
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43
mace
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| n.狼牙棒，豆蔻干皮 | |
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44
vassals
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| n.奴仆( vassal的名词复数 )；（封建时代）诸侯；从属者；下属 | |
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45
dissenter
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| n.反对者 | |
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46
condescending
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| adj.谦逊的,故意屈尊的 | |
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47
smirked
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| v.傻笑( smirk的过去分词 ) | |
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48
penal
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| adj.刑罚的；刑法上的 | |
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49
confidentially
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| ad.秘密地，悄悄地 | |
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50
confidential
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| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
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51
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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52
shrug
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| v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
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53
uncommonly
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| adv. 稀罕(极，非常) | |
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54
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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55
deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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56
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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57
blackmailed
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| 胁迫，尤指以透露他人不体面行为相威胁以勒索钱财( blackmail的过去式 ) | |
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58
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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59
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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60
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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61
drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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62
clattered
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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63
proffers
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| v.提供，贡献，提出( proffer的第三人称单数 ) | |
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64
soda
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| n.苏打水；汽水 | |
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65
salvage
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| v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救 | |
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66
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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67
connoisseur
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| n.鉴赏家，行家，内行 | |
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68
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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69
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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70
fumbled
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| （笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下 | |
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71
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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72
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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73
velvety
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| adj. 像天鹅绒的, 轻软光滑的, 柔软的 | |
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74
tint
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| n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色 | |
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75
squeal
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| v.发出长而尖的声音；n.长而尖的声音 | |
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76
azure
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| adj.天蓝色的，蔚蓝色的 | |
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77
splendor
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| n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌 | |
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78
miraculous
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| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
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79
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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80
delude
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| vt.欺骗；哄骗 | |
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81
coaxed
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| v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的过去式和过去分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱 | |
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82
coax
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| v.哄诱，劝诱，用诱哄得到，诱取 | |
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83
anecdote
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| n.轶事，趣闻，短故事 | |
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84
sham
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| n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的) | |
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85
manor
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| n.庄园，领地 | |
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86
sitting-room
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| n.（BrE）客厅，起居室 | |
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87
suite
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| n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员 | |
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88
chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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89
recess
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| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
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90
habitually
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| ad.习惯地，通常地 | |
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91
harassed
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| adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词 | |
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92
pestilence
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| n.瘟疫 | |
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93
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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94
horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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95
dismally
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| adv.阴暗地，沉闷地 | |
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96
detested
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| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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97
widower
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| n.鳏夫 | |
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98
infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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99
battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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100
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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101
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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102
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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103
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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104
confirmations
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| 证实( confirmation的名词复数 )； 证据； 确认； （基督教中的）坚信礼 | |
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105
dodged
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| v.闪躲( dodge的过去式和过去分词 )；回避 | |
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106
footpath
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| n.小路，人行道 | |
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107
implicitly
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| adv. 含蓄地, 暗中地, 毫不保留地 | |
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108
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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109
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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110
naught
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| n.无，零 [=nought] | |
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111
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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112
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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113
vowed
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| 起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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114
confided
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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115
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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116
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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117
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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118
raving
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| adj.说胡话的；疯狂的，怒吼的；非常漂亮的；令人醉心[痴心]的v.胡言乱语(rave的现在分词)n.胡话；疯话adv.胡言乱语地；疯狂地 | |
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119
delirium
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| n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋 | |
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120
stupor
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| v.昏迷；不省人事 | |
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121
sane
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| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
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122
pretense
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| n.矫饰，做作，借口 | |
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123
missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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124
consummating
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| v.使结束( consummate的现在分词 )；使完美；完婚；（婚礼后的）圆房 | |
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125
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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126
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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127
stimulant
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| n.刺激物，兴奋剂 | |
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128
collapsed
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| adj.倒塌的 | |
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129
miserably
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| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
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130
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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131
jugglery
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| n.杂耍，把戏 | |
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132
gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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133
consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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134
imperative
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| n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的 | |
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135
incurring
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| 遭受，招致，引起( incur的现在分词 ) | |
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136
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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137
smirking
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| v.傻笑( smirk的现在分词 ) | |
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138
defrauded
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| v.诈取，骗取( defraud的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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139
dilemma
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| n.困境，进退两难的局面 | |
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140
forefinger
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| n.食指 | |
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141
hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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142
vexed
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| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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143
rubies
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| 红宝石( ruby的名词复数 )； 红宝石色，深红色 | |
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144
scentless
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| adj.无气味的，遗臭已消失的 | |
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145
pouted
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| v.撅（嘴）( pout的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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146
tantalized
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| v.逗弄，引诱，折磨( tantalize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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147
dangled
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| 悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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148
stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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149
intoxicating
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| a. 醉人的,使人兴奋的 | |
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150
deception
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| n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计 | |
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151
twitched
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| vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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152
lust
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| n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望 | |
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153
covetous
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| adj.贪婪的，贪心的 | |
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154
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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155
unintelligible
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| adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的 | |
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156
conversing
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 ) | |
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157
eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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158
gilt
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| adj.镀金的；n.金边证券 | |
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159
scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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160
pebble
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| n.卵石，小圆石 | |
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161
recollected
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| adj.冷静的；镇定的；被回忆起的；沉思默想的v.记起，想起( recollect的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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162
ecstasies
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| 狂喜( ecstasy的名词复数 )； 出神； 入迷； 迷幻药 | |
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163
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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164
growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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165
subscriptions
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| n.（报刊等的）订阅费( subscription的名词复数 )；捐款；（俱乐部的）会员费；捐助 | |
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166
distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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167
paltry
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| adj.无价值的，微不足道的 | |
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168
jingle
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| n.叮当声，韵律简单的诗句；v.使叮当作响，叮当响，押韵 | |
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169
streak
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| n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动 | |
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170
flannel
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| n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服 | |
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171
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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172
magistrate
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| n.地方行政官，地方法官，治安官 | |
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173
wrest
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| n.扭，拧，猛夺；v.夺取，猛扭，歪曲 | |
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174
perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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175
swarmed
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| 密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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176
beset
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| v.镶嵌；困扰，包围 | |
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177
brewed
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| 调制( brew的过去式和过去分词 )； 酝酿； 沏（茶）； 煮（咖啡） | |
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178
brew
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| v.酿造，调制 | |
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179
muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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180
latches
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| n.（门窗的）门闩( latch的名词复数 )；碰锁v.理解( latch的第三人称单数 )；纠缠；用碰锁锁上（门等）；附着（在某物上） | |
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181
unreasonably
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| adv. 不合理地 | |
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182
fumed
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| 愤怒( fume的过去式和过去分词 )； 大怒； 发怒； 冒烟 | |
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183
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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184
faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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185
prevaricated
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| v.支吾( prevaricate的过去式和过去分词 )；搪塞；说谎 | |
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186
thumping
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| adj.重大的，巨大的；重击的；尺码大的；极好的adv.极端地；非常地v.重击(thump的现在分词)；狠打；怦怦地跳；全力支持 | |
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187
scowl
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| vi.(at)生气地皱眉，沉下脸，怒视；n.怒容 | |
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188
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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189
outrageous
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| adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的 | |
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190
caressed
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| 爱抚或抚摸…( caress的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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191
frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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192
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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193
lurch
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| n.突然向前或旁边倒；v.蹒跚而行 | |
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194
tottered
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| v.走得或动得不稳( totter的过去式和过去分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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195
mortification
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| n.耻辱，屈辱 | |
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196
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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