CHAPTER XVII. OLIVER LOSES HIS PLACE.

O LIVER re-entered the store and went up to Mr. Bond, who was standing¹ behind the counter awaiting his return.

"Have you brought back the receipt?" asked his employer, before he had a chance to speak.

"No, sir."

"Why not?" demanded Bond, frowning.

"There was some mistake, Mr. Bond. The letter you gave me contained no money."

"Contained no money! What do you mean?" exclaimed the storekeeper.

Oliver briefly² related the circumstances, repeating that the letter contained no money.

"Do you mean to tell me such an unblushing falsehood," demanded Ezekiel Bond, "expecting me to believe it?"

"Mr. Bond," said Oliver, with dignity, "it is just as I say. There was no money in the letter."

"Silence!" roared Bond, working himself up into a premeditated excitement. "I tell you I put the money in myself. I think I ought to know whether there was any money in it."

"It is very strange, sir. I saw Mr. Norcross open the letter. If he had taken any bill out, I should have seen it."

"I presume you would," sneered⁴ Bond. "I dare say he did find the letter empty."

Oliver looked puzzled. He was not yet prepared for an accusation⁵. He attributed Mr. Bond's anger to his annoyance⁶ at the loss of twenty dollars. He kept silent, but waited to hear what else his employer had to say.

"I can understand this strange matter," continued Ezekiel, with another sneer³. "I am not altogether a fool, and I can tell you why no bill was found."

"Why, sir?"

"Because you opened the letter and took the money out before you reached the tailor's."

He was about to say more, but Oliver interrupted him by an indignant denial.

"That's a lie, sir!" he said hotly. "I don't care who says it."

"Do you mean to tell me I lie?" exclaimed Ezekiel Bond, purple with rage.

"If you charge me with stealing the money, I do!" said Oliver, his face flaming with just indignation.

"You hear that, John Meadows?" said Ezekiel, turning to his other clerk. "Did you ever hear such impudence⁷?"

John Meadows was not a coward nor a sneak⁸, and he had not the slightest belief in Oliver's guilt⁹. To his credit, he dared manfully to avow¹⁰ it.

"Mr. Bond," he answered, "I don't believe Oliver would do such a thing. I know him well, and I've always found him right side up with care."

"Thank you, John," said Oliver gratefully. "I am glad there is one who believes I am not a thief."

"You don't believe he is guilty because you are honest yourself, John," said Mr. Bond, willing to gain over his older clerk by a little flattery. "But how can it be otherwise? I put the money very carefully in the envelope. Oliver put it in his pocket, and when he hands the letter to Mr. Norcross it is empty."

"Are you sure you put the money in, sir?" asked John.

"Am I sure the sun rose this morning?" retorted Mr. Bond. "Of course, I am certain; and I am morally certain that Oliver took the money. Hark, you! I will give you one chance to redeem¹¹ yourself," he continued, addressing our hero. "Give me back the money and I will forgive you this time."

"Mr. Bond," said Oliver indignantly, "you insult me by speaking in that way! Once for all, I tell you that I don't know anything about the money, and no one who knows me will believe your charge. You may search me if you want to."

"It would do no great good," said Bond sarcastically¹². "You have had plenty of chances to dispose of the money. You could easily pass it over to some confederate."

"Mr. Bond," said Oliver, "I see that you are determined¹³ to have people believe me guilty. I think I understand what it all means. It is a conspiracy¹⁴ to destroy my reputation. You know there was no money in the letter you sent by me."

"Say that again, you young rascal¹⁵, and I will give you a flogging!" shouted Ezekiel Bond, now really angry, for he was conscious that Oliver spoke¹⁶ the truth, and the truth is very distasteful sometimes.

"I don't think you will," retorted our hero undauntedly; "there are policemen in the city, and I should give you in charge."

"You would, would you? I have a great mind to have you arrested for theft."

"Do, if you like. I am willing to have the matter investigated."

It was evident that in attempting to frighten Oliver Mr. Bond had undertaken a difficult job. He would really have liked to give Oliver in charge, but he knew very well that he could prove nothing against him. Besides, he would be exceeding the instructions which Mr. Kenyon had given him, and this he did not venture to do. There was, however, one way of revenge open to him, and this was in strict accordance with his orders.

"I will spare you the disgrace of arrest," he said, "not for your own sake, but for the sake of my esteemed¹⁷ uncle, who will be deeply grieved when he hears of this occurrence. But I cannot consent any longer to retain you in my employment. I will not ask my faithful clerk, John Meadows, to associate with a thief."

"I don't care to remain in your employment, Mr. Bond. I would not consent to, until you retracted¹⁸ your false charge. As to you, John," he continued, turning to John Meadows, with a smile, "I hope you are not afraid to associate with me."

"I guess 'twon't hurt me much," said John courageously¹⁹. "I think Mr. Bond has made a great mistake in suspecting you."

"You judge him by yourself," said Mr. Bond, who chose not to fall out with John. "You may do as you please, but I can no longer employ a suspicious character."

"Good-morning, Mr. Bond," said Oliver proudly. "I will lose no time in relieving you of my presence. John, I will see you to-night."

"One word more," said his employer. "I shall deem it my duty to acquaint my uncle with my reasons for dismissing you. I know it will grieve him deeply."

"I think he will manage to live through it," said Oliver sarcastically. "I shall also send him an account of the occurrence, and he may believe whichever of us he pleases."

Oliver took his hat and left the store.

"I fear he is a hardened young rascal, John," Bond remarked to his remaining clerk, with a hypocritical sigh. "My uncle warned me that I might have trouble with him, when he first placed him here."

"I never saw anything bad in him, Mr. Bond," said John. "I am sorry he is gone."

"He has deceived you, and I am not surprised. He is very artful—exceedingly artful!" repeated Ezekiel, emphasizing the adverb by prolonging its pronunciation. "I don't mind the loss of the money so much as I do losing my confidence in him. So young, and such a reprobate²⁰! It is sad—sad!"

"He does it well," thought John. "What a precious old file he is, to be sure! I don't believe old Kenyon is any better, either. They come of the same stock, and it's a bad one."

Before the store closed for the day, Ezekiel said:

"Shall you see Oliver to-night?"

"I expect to, sir."

"Then I will trouble you to give him this money—six dollars. I owe him for half a week, and it was at that rate my uncle requested me to pay him. Twelve dollars a week! Why, he might have grown rich on that, if he had remained honest."

"I wish you would give me the same chance, Mr. Bond," said John. "I can't rub along very well on eight."

"Don't ask me now, just after I have been robbed of twenty dollars. I can't afford it."

"I wish I could get another place," thought John. "I should like to work for a man I could respect, even if he didn't pay me any more."

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：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

3 sneer   

v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语

参考例句：

• He said with a sneer.他的话中带有嘲笑之意。
• You may sneer,but a lot of people like this kind of music.你可以嗤之以鼻，但很多人喜欢这种音乐。

4 sneered   

讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sneered at people who liked pop music. 他嘲笑喜欢流行音乐的人。
• It's very discouraging to be sneered at all the time. 成天受嘲讽是很令人泄气的。

5 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

6 annoyance   

n.恼怒，生气，烦恼

参考例句：

• Why do you always take your annoyance out on me?为什么你不高兴时总是对我出气？
• I felt annoyance at being teased.我恼恨别人取笑我。

7 impudence   

n.厚颜无耻；冒失；无礼

参考例句：

• His impudence provoked her into slapping his face.他的粗暴让她气愤地给了他一耳光。
• What knocks me is his impudence.他的厚颜无耻使我感到吃惊。

8 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

9 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

10 avow   

v.承认，公开宣称

参考例句：

• I must avow that I am innocent.我要公开声明我是无罪的。
• The senator was forced to avow openly that he had received some money from that company.那个参议员被迫承认曾经收过那家公司的一些钱。

11 redeem   

v.买回，赎回，挽回，恢复，履行（诺言等）

参考例句：

• He had no way to redeem his furniture out of pawn.他无法赎回典当的家具。
• The eyes redeem the face from ugliness.这双眼睛弥补了他其貌不扬之缺陷。

12 sarcastically   

adv.挖苦地，讽刺地

参考例句：

• 'What a surprise!' Caroline murmured sarcastically.“太神奇了!”卡罗琳轻声挖苦道。
• Pierce mocked her and bowed sarcastically. 皮尔斯嘲笑她，讽刺地鞠了一躬。

13 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

14 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

15 rascal   

n.流氓；不诚实的人

参考例句：

• If he had done otherwise,I should have thought him a rascal.如果他不这样做，我就认为他是个恶棍。
• The rascal was frightened into holding his tongue.这坏蛋吓得不敢往下说了。

16 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。

17 esteemed   

adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 )；敬重；认为；以为

参考例句：

• The art of conversation is highly esteemed in France. 在法国十分尊重谈话技巧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He esteemed that he understood what I had said. 他认为已经听懂我说的意思了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 retracted   

v.撤回或撤消( retract的过去式和过去分词 )；拒绝执行或遵守；缩回；拉回

参考例句：

• He made a false confession which he later retracted. 他作了假供词，后来又翻供。
• A caddy retracted his statement. 一个球童收回了他的话。 来自辞典例句

19 courageously   

ad.勇敢地，无畏地

参考例句：

• Under the correct leadership of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, the army and civilians in flooded areas fought the floods courageously, reducing the losses to the minimum. 在中共中央、国务院的正确领导下，灾区广大军民奋勇抗洪，把灾害的损失减少到了最低限度。
• He fought death courageously though his life was draining away. 他虽然生命垂危，但仍然勇敢地与死亡作斗争。

20 reprobate   

n.无赖汉；堕落的人

参考例句：

• After the fall,god begins to do the work of differentiation between his elect and the reprobate.人堕落之后，上帝开始分辨选民与被遗弃的人。
• He disowned his reprobate son.他声明与堕落的儿子脱离关系。