CHAPTER XXV.

As I drew near the shipping-office, I saw the light was still burning bright, and the window-blinds, though drawn¹, allowed it to stream through the space between them and the sash. Few business houses in this section have lights burning at night. I stopped a moment to consider what to do. Of course it was none of my business what took place between Brown and Anderson, but, as the young man had served with me as an officer and had acquitted² himself thoroughly³, I felt some interest and I might confess also a bit of curiosity. I had heard enough to know that there was something irregular with the business of Brown going out with me on that fateful voyage. I believed him innocent of any wrong-doing, but, as it had been Mr. Ropesend himself who had sent him, I was not certain. A young man might do many{280} things which would get him into trouble and still not be a very bad sort of chap. I had committed several little acts in my day that I would not care to repeat, but I never held that I was a great villain⁴ because of them. Ignorance and temptation are factors which the tolerant and trained observer of events must take into consideration. I’ve always noticed that the man who is quick to condemn⁵ is quick to commit crime.

Crime is the practical application of selfishness and the unselfish man does not condemn his fellow. I was prepared to hear Brown own up to some foolish speculation⁶ which involved the firm’s finances, and I went boldly to the side door, the door which opened into the room in which I had seen them talking but a short time before.

Knocking loudly, I listened for further developments. There were sounds of a scuffle, then panting and shuffling⁷ of feet, as when men are struggling in desperate encounter. A loud crash followed this, and then there was a cessation of noises, but the panting breaths of the men continued.{281}

“It’s Gore⁸, let me in,” I cried, pounding again upon the panels and putting the whole weight of my shoulder upon the door.

“I can’t get up, he has me down,” gasped⁹ Brown from somewhere within.

“What’s the matter?” I bawled¹⁰. “Open the door.”

Anderson, probably seeing that I would force an entrance directly, went to the latch¹¹, and in a moment I entered the room. Brown was in the act of rising from the floor. He greeted me with a knowing look.

“Well, what’s the trouble?” I asked.

Anderson gave a deprecatory gesture with both hands and sat down at the desk. He evidently had nothing to say. Brown hesitated while he regained¹² his composure. Then he spoke¹³.

“You know what I went to sea for,” he began, “you know that I was accused of appropriating the firm’s money—”

He stopped a moment, and I nodded.

“Yes,” I said, “I had heard something to that effect.”{282}

“Well, here is the culprit,” said he, and pointed¹⁴ to Anderson.

“I always thought as much,” I said, with some feeling, and as I spoke the man at the table turned upon me.

“See here, Gore,” said he, “you are not wanted in this affair, my father—Mr. Ropes—” Here he stopped a moment.

“He doesn’t know, but as long as you have begun, you might as well tell him all,” said Brown. “Mr. Ropesend is Mr. Anderson’s father, and you will doubtless incur¹⁵ the wrath¹⁶ of the firm if you meddle¹⁷ with this, so you might just as well go.”

“I’ll go if you say so,” I said, “but it looked as though murder was being done when I broke in,” and for the life of me I could not help the following question, “And Miss Anderson is not your sister, then?”

“Thank God, no, she is not,” put in Brown.

“Mr. Ropesend will not care to have any of his sailing-masters taking part in this affair,” said Anderson, coldly. “What you{283} have heard you can keep to yourself. If you don’t you will probably suffer the consequences. Now you can get out, for Mr. Brown and I will settle this matter before we leave here to-night.”

“I fail to see how we can settle it without you making good and confessing everything,” said Brown. “There is hardly room in the firm for both of us, and I’m tired of going to sea.”

Anderson rose from his chair. He was cool and collected, but something in his manner made me think he was on the point of collapse¹⁸.

“You had better go, Mr. Gore,” said he, quietly. “There will be no more disturbance¹⁹, I forgot myself just before you arrived, and I thank you for coming when you did. You can go without fear of any harm to Mr. Brown. Good-bye.”

He held out his hand and I took it. His fingers were cold and, although he was a large and powerful fellow, he shook visibly when I let go. “Good night,” I said, and turned to the door.{284}

“Good night, Gore,” said Brown. “I have your word not to talk about anything you have seen or heard.”

“Yes,” I answered, “good night.” And I went forth²⁰.

1 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

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

2 acquitted   

宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现

参考例句：

• The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
• Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。

3 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

4 villain   

n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因

参考例句：

• He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
• The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。

5 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

6 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

7 shuffling   

adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• Don't go shuffling along as if you were dead. 别像个死人似地拖着脚走。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some one was shuffling by on the sidewalk. 外面的人行道上有人拖着脚走过。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

8 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

9 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 bawled   

v.大叫，大喊( bawl的过去式和过去分词 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物）

参考例句：

• She bawled at him in front of everyone. 她当着大家的面冲他大喊大叫。
• My boss bawled me out for being late. 我迟到，给老板训斥了一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 latch   

n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁

参考例句：

• She laid her hand on the latch of the door.她把手放在门闩上。
• The repairman installed an iron latch on the door.修理工在门上安了铁门闩。

12 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

13 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：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

14 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

15 incur   

vt.招致，蒙受，遭遇

参考例句：

• Any costs that you incur will be reimbursed in full.你的所有花费都将全额付还。
• An enterprise has to incur certain costs and expenses in order to stay in business.一个企业为了维持营业,就不得不承担一定的费用和开支。

16 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

17 meddle   

v.干预，干涉，插手

参考例句：

• I hope he doesn't try to meddle in my affairs.我希望他不来干预我的事情。
• Do not meddle in things that do not concern you.别参与和自己无关的事。

18 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

19 disturbance   

n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调

参考例句：

• He is suffering an emotional disturbance.他的情绪受到了困扰。
• You can work in here without any disturbance.在这儿你可不受任何干扰地工作。

20 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。