Juggles, his partner, was a suave18, slimy, and meekly-mannered man, "with the eye of a serpent and the voice of a dove;" but our present business is with the former, who was a thin round-shouldered individual, with a cold keen face, an impending19 forehead, sunken dark gray eyes, the expression of which varied20 between cunning and solemnity, pride, vulgar assurance, and occasionally restlessness. Shrewd of head and stony21 of heart, he was not quite the kind of man at whose mercy one would wish to be. He had a hard-worked and sometimes worried aspect; but now an abject22 white fear, with an unmistakably hunted expression, came over his face, when one of the clerks from the lower den12 ushered23 in, without much ceremony, Mr. Guilfoyle, who had in his hand a sporting paper, which he was reading as he entered.
"You here again?" exclaimed Sharpus, laying down his pen, and carefully closing the door.
"Yes, by Jove, again!" replied Guilfoyle, with barely a nod, and seating himself with his hat on.
"So soon!" groaned24 Sharpus; and reseating himself, he eyed, with an expression of haggard hate, Guilfoyle, who continued to read from the paper hurriedly, excitedly, and half aloud, some report of a steeplechase.
"The Devil--threw his rider--remounted; at the next fence Raglan took the lead, followed by Fairy and Beauty, and Beau, the Devil lying next; last fence but one taken by the quintette almost simultaneously25, when Raglan, Beauty, and Beau came away together, the first-named winning a very fine race by half a length--Beauty being third, and close upon Beau, but Fairy was nowhere. D--nation! there is a pot of money gone, or not won, which amounts to the same thing in the end!" and crushing up the paper, he threw it on the writing-table of Sharpus.
"Wanting more money?" said the latter, in a hollow voice.
"Precisely26 so; out at the elbows--in low water--phrase it as you will. I have sold even my horse at last," replied the other, folding his arms, and regarding the lawyer mockingly.
"And the ring given you by--by the King of Bavaria?" said Sharpus, with a sickly smile.
"I retain but a paste imitation of that remarkable27 brilliant; and that I may present you as a mark of my regard and esteem28."
"I thought you had made something by a mercantile transaction, as you phrased it, when last on the Continent?"
"So I did; 'the mercantile transaction' being nothing less than breaking the bank at Homburg, by steadily29 and successfully backing the red, and sending home all those who came for wool most decidedly shorn."
"You should have saved some of those ill-gotten gains for future contingencies," said Sharpus.
"How much easier it is to advise and to speculate than to act with care and decision!" sneered30 Guilfoyle.
"I pity your poor wife," said the lawyer, sincerely enough.
"She has no documentary proof that she is such," replied Guilfoyle, angrily. "Pshaw! what is pity? an emotion that is often at war with reason and with sense, too; for a handsome face or a well-turned ankle may make us pity the most undeserving object."
The lawyer sighed, and at that moment sincerely pitied himself; for it had chanced that, in earlier years, an intimacy31 with Guilfoyle led to the latter discovering that which gave him such absolute power as to reduce him--Sharpus--to be his very slave. This was nothing less than the forgery32 of a bill in the name of Guilfoyle; who, before relinquishing33 the privilege of prosecution34, on retiring the document, had obtained a complete holograph confession35 of the act, which he now retained as a wrench36 for money, and held over the head of Sharpus, thereby37 compelling him to act as he pleased. After a minute's silence, during which the two men had been surveying each other, the one with hate and fear, the other with malignant38 triumph, Guilfoyle said, "I did Lady Naseby, as you know, a service at Berlin, when at very low water; being seen with her won me credit, which I failed not to turn to advantage. I followed her and her daughter through all Germany--at Ems, Gerolstein, Baden, and then to Wales, where I was in clover at Craigaderyn. I was a fool to fly my hawks39 at game so high as the peerage; and I feel sure it was that beast of a fellow Hardinge, of the Royal Welsh, who blew the gaff upon me, and prevented me from entering stakes, as I intended to do, for one of the daughters of that horse-and-cow-breeding old Welsh baronet; and they are, bar one, the handsomest girls in England."
"And that one?"
"Is Lady Estelle Cressingham."
Even the ghastly lawyer smiled at his profound assurance.
"Have you no remorse40 when you think of Miss Franklin?"
"No more than you have, when you have sucked a client dry, and leave him to die in the streets," replied Guilfoyle, with his strange dry mocking laugh; "remorse is the word for a fool--the unpunished crime, I have read somewhere, is never regretted. Men mourn the consequences, but never the sin or a crime itself. As for Hardinge, d--n him!" he added, grinding his teeth; "I thought to put a spoke41 in his wheel, by passing off Georgette as his wife, but Taffy came to his aid, and the true story was told; and yet, do you know, there were times when I played my cards exceedingly well with the Cressinghams. Besides, you always represented me to be a man of fortune."
"I have invariably done so," groaned Sharpus.
"And have stumped42 out pretty well to maintain the story, while hinting of--"
"Coal-mines in Labuan, shares in others in Mexico, and all manner of things, to account for the sums wrung43 from me--from my wife and children. But, God help me, I can do no more!"
"Bah! what do they or you want with that villa44 at Hampstead? But you are a good fellow, Sharpus; and, thanks to your assistance, I worked the oracle45 pretty well at Walcot Park for Mr. Henry Hardinge."
"Against him, you mean?"
"Of course; but, unluckily, our story wouldn't stand testing."
"Could you expect it to do so?"
"But I put a hitch46 in his gallop47 there, anyhow. By Jove, I was a great fool not to make love to the old woman, instead of her daughter."
"Meaning Lady Naseby?" said Sharpus, with surprise.
"So Burke and Debrett name her. She is just at that age--twice her daughter's--when the soft sex become remarkably48 soft indeed, and apt to make fools of themselves."
"She would indeed have been one had she listened to you."
"Thanks, old tape-and-parchment; I did not come here for a character, but to show you the state of my cash-book."
Again the lawyer groaned, and Guilfoyle laughed louder than ever. Delight to have a lawyer under his heel rendered him merciless; but even a worm will turn, so Sharpus said sternly, "How have you lived since the last remittance--extortion?"
"Call it as you will," replied the other, putting his glass in his eye, and smilingly switching his leg with his cane49; "I have lived as most men do who live by their wits, and the follies50, or it may be the crimes--O, you wince51!--of others; meeting debts and emergencies as they come, content with the peace or action of the present, and never regretting the past, or fearing the future! With the help of an ace13, king, and queen, when my betting-book or a stroke of billiards52 failed me, and with your great kindness, my dear old Sharpus, I have, till now, always kept my funds far above zero."
"Your life is a great sham--a very labyrinth53 of deceit!" exclaimed the lawyer, furiously.
"And yours, friend Sharpus?"
"Is spent in slaving for my family, and endeavouring to atone54 for, or to buy the concealment55 of, one great error--the error that made you--ay, men such as you--my master!"
Guilfoyle laughed heartily57, and said,
"I require 600l. instantly!"
"Not a penny--not another penny!"
"We shall see. Sharpus, though a bad lot, I know that you are not the utter rogue58 that most of your profession are--"
"Leave my office, scoundrel, or I shall kill you!" said Sharpus, in a low voice of concentrated passion, as he became deadly pale, and a dangerous white gleam came into his stealthy restless eyes, which seemed to search in vain for a weapon.
"If I leave your office it will be for the purpose of laying before the nearest police-magistrate a certain document you may remember to have written; and I am so loth to kill the goose that lays my golden eggs," continued the other, in his quiet mocking tone. "But remember, Mr. Sharpus," he added, in a lofty and bullying59 manner, as he grasped the shoulder of the listener, "that the forgery of a document is not deemed an error in legal practice here, as in Spain or Scotland, but a crime meriting penal60 servitude; and shall I tell you what that means--you, who have now wealth, ease, position, a handsome wife, and several children? You will be torn from all these for ever, as a felon61!"
Drops of perspiration62 poured over the poor wretch's temples as his tormentor63 continued: "Think of being in Millbank, beside the muggy64 Thames, and the years that would find you there, a bondsman and a slave, who for the least misconduct would be lashed65 like a faulty hound, and ironed in a blackhole. Hard work, aggravated66 by the consciousness of infamy67; clad in the gray livery of disgrace; your name effaced68 from the Law List, and for it substituted the letter or number on your prison garb69!"
"For God's sake, hush70!" implored71 the wretched lawyer, in terror, lest the speaker's voice might reach the room of Juggles, or the ears of the clerks below; "hush, and I shall do all you wish."
"Come--that is acting72 like a reasonable being."
"Will 200l. do you--this time?"
"Two hundred devils! I want 600l. at least."
"I shall be ruined with my partner; he must know ere long where all these moneys have gone."
"That is nothing to me; tell him if you dare."
Sharpus burst into tears, and said, piteously,
"At present I can give but 200l.--the rest shall follow."
"Well, you can do something else for me, and I may trouble you no more."
"How?" asked Sharpus, eagerly and incredulously, with a dreary73 and bewildered air.
"Get me some employment, where there is little to do; I hate brain-work."
"Employment!--where? with whom?"
"Civil or military, I care not which."
"Military! impossible--too old. Stay, I have it!" exclaimed the lawyer; "you have been in the Militia74, I know."
"Three months in the Royal Diddlesex."
"What say you to an appointment in Lord Aberdeen's new Land Transport Corps75? It will be easily got--a handsome uniform and great éclat, though the officers are nearly all taken from the ranks. The duties are simple enough--conveyance of baggage, and carrying off the wounded after an action."
"Not to bury the dead?--ugly work that."
"No, no."
"By Jove, I'll go!" he exclaimed, as Sharpus filled up the cheque.
Sharpus strove in vain to conceal56 his delight.
"I have of course done a few things which would hardly bear the 'light of the world's bull's-eye' turned upon them, but the Horse Guards know nothing of them. You have noble and powerful clients, and can do this easily for me. Bravo!" And they actually shook hands over the matter, as if over a bargain.
Sharpus lost no time in using the necessary influence, and--though not exactly a cadet after Mr. Cardwell's heart--this commission was decidedly one without purchase; and on the strength of having been once in the boasted constitutional force, "Henry Hawkesby Guilfoyle, gent., late Lieutenant76, Diddlesex Militia," appeared in the Gazette ere long, as one of twenty-four comets of the long-since disbanded Land Transport Corps, for service in the Crimea.
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1
secluded
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| adj.与世隔绝的；隐退的；偏僻的v.使隔开，使隐退( seclude的过去式和过去分词) | |
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2
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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juggles
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| v.歪曲( juggle的第三人称单数 )；耍弄；有效地组织；尽力同时应付（两个或两个以上的重要工作或活动） | |
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solicitors
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| 初级律师( solicitor的名词复数 ) | |
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edifice
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| n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室) | |
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7
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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dingy
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| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
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spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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meshes
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| 网孔( mesh的名词复数 )； 网状物； 陷阱； 困境 | |
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11
dens
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| n.牙齿，齿状部分；兽窝( den的名词复数 )；窝点；休息室；书斋 | |
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12
den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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13
ace
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| n.A牌；发球得分；佼佼者；adj.杰出的 | |
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14
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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15
hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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16
prospectuses
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| n.章程，简章，简介( prospectus的名词复数 ) | |
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17
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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18
suave
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| adj.温和的；柔和的；文雅的 | |
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19
impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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20
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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21
stony
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| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 | |
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22
abject
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| adj.极可怜的，卑屈的 | |
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23
ushered
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| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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24
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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25
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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26
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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29
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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30
sneered
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| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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31
intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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32
forgery
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| n.伪造的文件等，赝品，伪造（行为） | |
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33
relinquishing
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| 交出，让给( relinquish的现在分词 )； 放弃 | |
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34
prosecution
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| n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营 | |
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35
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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36
wrench
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| v.猛拧；挣脱；使扭伤；n.扳手；痛苦，难受 | |
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37
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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38
malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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39
hawks
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| 鹰( hawk的名词复数 )； 鹰派人物，主战派人物 | |
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40
remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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41
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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42
stumped
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| 僵直地行走，跺步行走( stump的过去式和过去分词 )； 把（某人）难住； 使为难； （选举前）在某一地区作政治性巡回演说 | |
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43
wrung
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| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
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44
villa
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| n.别墅，城郊小屋 | |
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45
oracle
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| n.神谕，神谕处，预言 | |
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46
hitch
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| v.免费搭(车旅行)；系住；急提；n.故障；急拉 | |
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47
gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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48
remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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49
cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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50
follies
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| 罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 ) | |
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51
wince
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| n.畏缩，退避，（因痛苦，苦恼等)面部肌肉抽动；v.畏缩，退缩，退避 | |
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52
billiards
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| n.台球 | |
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53
labyrinth
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| n.迷宫；难解的事物；迷路 | |
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54
atone
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| v.赎罪，补偿 | |
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55
concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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56
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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57
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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58
rogue
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| n.流氓；v.游手好闲 | |
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59
bullying
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| v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈 | |
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60
penal
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| adj.刑罚的；刑法上的 | |
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61
felon
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| n.重罪犯；adj.残忍的 | |
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62
perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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63
tormentor
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| n. 使苦痛之人, 使苦恼之物, 侧幕 =tormenter | |
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64
muggy
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| adj.闷热的；adv.（天气）闷热而潮湿地；n.（天气）闷热而潮湿 | |
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65
lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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66
aggravated
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| 使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火 | |
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67
infamy
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| n.声名狼藉，出丑，恶行 | |
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68
effaced
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| v.擦掉( efface的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；超越；使黯然失色 | |
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69
garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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70
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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71
implored
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| 恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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72
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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73
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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74
militia
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| n.民兵，民兵组织 | |
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75
corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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76
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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