No move more unwise could have been made by the old lawyer — that is, if his intention had been to rid himself of an unwelcome witness. For, finding myself thrust thus suddenly from the scene, I naturally stood still instead of mounting the stairs, and, by standing1 still, discovered that though shut from sight, I was not from sound. Distinctly through the panel of the door, which was much thinner, no doubt, than the old fox imagined, I heard one of the men present shout out:
“Well, that makes the number less by one!”
The murmur2 which followed this remark came plainly to my ears, and, greatly rejoicing over what I considered my good luck, I settled myself on the lowest step of the stairs in the hope of catching3 some word which would reveal to me the mystery of this scene.
It was not long in coming. Old Smead had now his audience before him in good shape, and his next words were of a character to make evident the purpose of this meeting.
“Heirs of Anthony Westonhaugh, deceased,” he began in a sing-song voice strangely unmusical, “I congratulate you upon your good fortune at being at this especial moment on the inner rather than outer side of your amiable4 relative’s front-door. His will, which you have assembled to hear read, is well known to you. By it his whole property — not so large as some of you might wish, but yet a goodly property for farmers like yourselves — is to be divided this night, share and share alike, among such of his relatives as have found it convenient to be present here between the strokes of half-past seven and eight. If some of our friends have failed us through sloth5, sickness, or the misfortune of mistaking the road, they have our sympathy, but they cannot have his dollars.”
“Cannot have his dollars!” echoed a rasping voice which from its smothered6 sound probably came from the bearded lips of the old reprobate7 in the chair.
The lawyer waited for one or two other repetitions of this phrase (a phrase which, for some unimaginable reason, seemed to give him an odd sort of pleasure), then he went on with greater distinctness and a certain sly emphasis, chilling in effect, but very professional:
“Ladies and gentlemen, shall I read this will?”
“No, no! The division! the division! Tell us what we are to have!” rose in a shout about him.
There was a pause. I could imagine the sharp eyes of the lawyer travelling from face to face as each thus gave voice to his cupidity8, and the thin curl of his lips as he remarked in a low, tantalising way:
“There was more in the old man’s clutches than you think.”
A gasp9 of greed shook the partition against which my ear was pressed. Some one must have backed up against the wainscoting since my departure from the room. I found myself wondering which of them it was. Meantime old Smead was having his say, with the smoothness of a man who perfectly10 understands what is required of him.
“Mr. Westonhaugh would not have put you to so much trouble or had you wait so long if he had not expected to reward you amply. There are shares in this bag which are worth thousands instead of hundreds. Now, now stop that! Hands off! hands off! There are calculations to make first. How many of you are there? Count yourselves up.”
“Nine!” called out a voice with such rapacious11 eagerness that the word was almost unintelligible12.
“Nine.” How slowly the old knave13 spoke14! What pleasure he seemed to take in the suspense15 he purposely made as exasperating16 as possible!
“Well, if each one gets his share, he may count himself richer by two hundred thousand dollars than when he came in here to-night.”
Two hundred thousand dollars! They had expected no more than thirty. Surprise made them speechless — that is, for a moment; then a pandemonium17 of hurrahs, shrieks18, and loud-voiced enthusiasm made the room ring till wonder seized them again, and a sudden silence fell, through which I caught a far-off wail19 of grief from the disappointed ones without, which, heard in the dark and narrow place in which I was confined, had a peculiarly weird20 and desolate21 effect.
Perhaps it likewise was heard by some of the fortunate ones within! Perhaps one head, to mark which, in this moment of universal elation22, I would have given a year from my life, turned toward the dark without, in recognition of the despair thus piteously voiced; but if so, no token of the same came to me, and I could but hope that she had shown by some such movement the natural sympathy of her sex.
Meanwhile the lawyer was addressing the company in his smoothest and most sarcastic23 tones.
“Mr. Westonhaugh was a wise man — a very wise man,” he droned. “He foresaw what your pleasure would be, and left a letter for you. But before I read it, before I invite you to the board he ordered to be spread for you in honour of this happy occasion, there is one appeal he bade me make to those I should find assembled here. As you know, he was not personally acquainted with all the children and grandchildren of his many brothers and sisters. Salmon’s sons, for instance, were perfect strangers to him, and all those boys and girls of the Evans’s branch have never been long enough this side of the mountains for him to know their names, much less their temper or their lives. Yet his heirs — or such was his wish, his great wish — must be honest men, righteous in their dealings, and of stainless24 lives. If, therefore, any one among you feels that, for reasons he need not state, he has no right to accept his share of Anthony Westonhaugh’s bounty25, then that person is requested to withdraw before this letter to his heirs is read.”
Withdraw? Was the man a fool? Withdraw? These cormorants26! these suckers of blood! these harpies and vultures! I laughed as I imagined sneaking27 Hector, malicious28 Luke, or brutal29 John responding to this na?ve appeal, and then found myself wondering why no echo of my mirth came from the men themselves. They must have seen much more plainly than I did the ludicrousness of their weak old kinsman’s demand; yet Luke was still, Hector was still, and even John and the three or four others I have mentioned gave forth30 no audible token of disdain31 or surprise. I was asking myself what sentiment of awe32 or fear restrained these selfish souls, when I became conscious of a movement within, which presently resolved itself into a departing footstep.
Some conscience there had been awakened33. Some one was crossing the floor toward the door. Who? I waited in anxious expectancy34 for the word which was to enlighten me. Happily it came soon, and from the old lawyer’s lips.
“You do not feel yourself worthy35?” he queried36, in tones I had not heard from him before. “Why? What have you done that you should forego an inheritance to which these others feel themselves honestly entitled?”
The voice which answered gave both my mind and heart a shock. It was she who had risen at this call —she, the only true-faced person there!
Anxiously I listened for her reply. Alas37! it was one of action rather than speech. As I afterwards heard, she simply opened her long cloak and showed a little infant slumbering38 in her arms.
“This is my reason,” said she. “I have sinned in the eyes of the world, therefore I cannot take my share of Uncle Anthony’s money. I did not know he exacted an unblemished record from those he expected to enrich, or I would not have come.”
The sob39 which followed these last words showed at what a cost she thus renounced40 a fortune of which she, of all present, perhaps, stood in the greatest need; but there was no lingering in her step, and to me, who understood her fault only through the faint sound of infantile wailing41 which accompanied her departure, there was a nobility in her action which raised her in an instant to an almost ideal height of unselfish virtue42.
Perhaps they felt this, too. Perhaps even these hardened men and the more than hardened woman whose presence was in itself a blight43, recognised heroism44 when they saw it; for when the lawyer, with a certain obvious reluctance45, laid his hand on the bolts of the door with the remark, “This is not my work, you know; I am but following out instructions very minutely given me,” the smothered growls46 and grunts47 which rose in reply lacked the venom48 which had been infused into all their previous comments.
“I think our friends out there are far enough withdrawn49 by this time for us to hazard the opening of the door,” the lawyer now remarked. “Madam, I hope you will speedily find your way to some comfortable shelter.”
Then the door opened, and after a moment closed again in a silence which at least was respectful. Yet I warrant there was not a soul remaining who had not already figured in his mind to what extent his own fortune had been increased by the failure of one of their number to inherit.
As for me, my whole interest in the affair was at an end, and I was only anxious to find my way to where this desolate woman faced the mist with her unfed baby in her arms.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
murmur
|
|
| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
catching
|
|
| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
amiable
|
|
| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
sloth
|
|
| n.[动]树懒；懒惰，懒散 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
smothered
|
|
| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
reprobate
|
|
| n.无赖汉；堕落的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
cupidity
|
|
| n.贪心，贪财 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
gasp
|
|
| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
perfectly
|
|
| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
rapacious
|
|
| adj.贪婪的，强夺的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
unintelligible
|
|
| adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
knave
|
|
| n.流氓；（纸牌中的）杰克 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
spoke
|
|
| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
suspense
|
|
| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
exasperating
|
|
| adj. 激怒的 动词exasperate的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
pandemonium
|
|
| n.喧嚣，大混乱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
shrieks
|
|
| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
wail
|
|
| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
weird
|
|
| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
desolate
|
|
| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
elation
|
|
| n.兴高采烈，洋洋得意 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
sarcastic
|
|
| adj.讥讽的，讽刺的，嘲弄的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
stainless
|
|
| adj.无瑕疵的，不锈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
bounty
|
|
| n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
cormorants
|
|
| 鸬鹚，贪婪的人( cormorant的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
sneaking
|
|
| a.秘密的，不公开的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
malicious
|
|
| adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
brutal
|
|
| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
disdain
|
|
| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
awe
|
|
| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
awakened
|
|
| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
expectancy
|
|
| n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
worthy
|
|
| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
queried
|
|
| v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
alas
|
|
| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
slumbering
|
|
| 微睡，睡眠（slumber的现在分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
sob
|
|
| n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
renounced
|
|
| v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
wailing
|
|
| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
virtue
|
|
| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
blight
|
|
| n.枯萎病；造成破坏的因素；vt.破坏，摧残 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
heroism
|
|
| n.大无畏精神，英勇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
reluctance
|
|
| n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
growls
|
|
| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的第三人称单数 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
grunts
|
|
| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的第三人称单数 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说； 石鲈 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
venom
|
|
| n.毒液，恶毒，痛恨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
withdrawn
|
|
| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |