Chapter 29 Harry Becomes A ＂Bondholder＂

When Harry¹ entered the office of Mr. Wheeler, the lawyer was engaged with a client. He nodded pleasantly to our hero, and said:

"I shall be at leisure very soon. You will find the morning paper on that table."

When his interview with the client was over, he beckoned² to Harry to approach.

"Well," he said, "thanks to your good management, we have triumphantly³ succeeded. The stolen property is recovered, and the thieves are in custody⁴."

"It was not so much good management as good luck," said Harry.

"Partly both; but, however that may be, the owner of the property authorizes⁵ me to make a substantial acknowledgment for the service you have rendered him. Let me see--the reward offered was two hundred and fifty dollars."

"That's too much, sir."

"The gentleman who gives it does not think so. Indeed, he authorizes me to somewhat exceed it. In this envelope"--here the lawyer produced a large-size package--"you will find two one-hundred-dollar government bonds and one fifty. The value of the three, at present prices, is nearer three hundred dollars than two hundred and fifty. I need not caution you to take good care of them."

"Are they for me?" asked Harry, his cheeks flushing with pleasure.

"Yes; they are six per cent. bonds, and will bring you fifteen dollars a year in interest--not quite enough to live upon," the lawyer added, with a smile, "but something to add to your income."

"I can hardly realize that I am worth so much money," said Harry, as he took the package and put it into his inside coat pocket.

"Have you a watch?" asked Mr. Wheeler.

"No, sir," replied Harry, in surprise.

"I thought not; and I, therefore, ask you to accept one as a gift, not from my client, but from me."

He produced a handsome silver watch, manufactured at Waltham, with a silver chain attached.

Now, Harry had long wanted a watch, but the prospect⁶ of obtaining one before he was of age had seemed very remote. At the moment, I think, the present of the watch gratified him as much as that of the bonds, though the latter were ten times as valuable.

"It is beautiful," he said; "but, Mr. Wheeler, why should you give me a present? The bonds were not yours."

"That is true, but they were under my charge, and I should have been seriously troubled had they not been recovered. Take the watch, my boy, and I hope it will please you as much to receive it as it does me to give it."

"Thank you, sir," said Harry, warmly. "It seems to me there is no end to my good fortune."

"Continue to deserve it, my boy, and I think it will continue. I must bid you good-morning now, as I have another appointment."

"Good-morning, sir, and thank you."

"By the way," the lawyer added, "I shall bear you in mind, and, should I have any work which I think you can do, I will send for you."

"I shall be glad to serve you in any way, sir."

So saying, Harry left the office. He was so much in a hurry to show his present at home that, though it was still early, he decided⁷ to take the next train, which would bring him home about noon.

His mother and Mr. Wilkins had just seated themselves at the dinner table when Harry entered.

"What! home already, Harry?" asked his mother, in surprise.

"I judge from your tone, mother, that you haven't got enough dinner for me," said Harry, gayly.

"If that's the case, I'll eat a little less," said Uncle Obed. "But why didn't you stay longer?"

"Because I got through with my business, and thought I might as well come home," answered Harry.

By this time his mother's eyes happened to fall on the silver chain displayed across his vest.

"What is that, Harry?" she asked.

Harry drew out the watch, with pardonable pride.

"Where did you get it?" asked his mother, in amazement⁸.

"A lawyer in New York gave it to me."

"But what lawyer do you know, my son?" asked his mother, more and more bewildered.

"That isn't all, mother. Look at that!"

Harry drew out the package of bonds, and displayed them to his astonished mother.

She at once concluded that he had found them.

"They are not yours, Harry," she said. "If you found them, you must restore them to the owner."

"So I will, Mrs. Gilbert. I give these bonds to you, and recommend you to take good care of them."

"What does all this mean, Harry? You cannot give away what does not belong to you."

Harry felt that it was time to explain, and he did so. It was necessary to begin with the account of Philip's treatment of him in the wood.

Mrs. Gilbert was very indignant, and she spoke⁹ warmly.

"It was shameful¹⁰!" she said. "To leave you there alone in the dark wood, tied hand and foot! The boy ought to be served in the same way himself!"

"Wait till I get through my story, mother," he said, "and perhaps you will find that Philip got into a little trouble of his own."

So he continued his story, and told, finally, of how he found Philip Ross bound, and trembling for his life, in the cabin of Ralph Temple.

"Served him right," said Mrs. Gilbert, satisfactorily.

"As things have turned out, I can afford to overlook his past meanness. He has suffered punishment, though not at my hands."

"If I had known that you were mixed up with burglars, I should have felt very anxious, Harry."

"I know it, and that is why I didn't tell you. However, all's well that ends well. The tin box is found, the robbers are caught, and I have a rich mother."

As he spoke, he put the bonds into his mother's hands.

"But, Harry, they are yours. I cannot accept them."

"Take care of them, at any rate, mother, and use the interest. I shall like it better than to keep them myself."

"You are a good boy, Harry," said Uncle Obed. "I like to see boys think considerable of their mothers. And now, if you are both ready for dinner, I am."

"Excuse me, Mr. Wilkins. I was so intent upon Harry's story that I am afraid the dinner is cold."

They sat down to dinner, and the meal was a very happy one, even if the dishes were somewhat cold. Harry's good luck put them all in fine spirits.

After dinner Harry went out into the village, in the direction of the store.

I suspect he wanted to show his watch, as most boys do when for the first time they become the proud possessor of one.

On the way he met Philip Ross and James Congreve. The latter he had not seen since they parted in the wood.

"There's our young captive, Philip," said Congreve.

"He's got a watch. At any rate, I see a watch chain," said Philip, whose curiosity was excited.

"Hello!" called out Congreve, as they met; "where did you get that watch?"

"I don't see wherein my having a watch should concern you; but I do know, after the contemptible¹¹ treatment I received at your hands yesterday, your questions deserve no notice from me. But, as matters turned out so well, I can afford to swallow my indignation."

"It was rather a mean trick, leaving you bound in the wood," said Congreve, candidly¹². "I wouldn't have done it, except to oblige Philip."

"Has he told you how he liked being tied himself?"

Congreve looked, in surprise, at Philip. The latter had not chosen to say anything about his own adventure in Temple's hut.

When Harry told the story, not omitting to mention that he had compelled Philip to beg his pardon before he released him, Congreve burst into hearty¹³ laughter, while Philip stood by, angry and ashamed.

"That's the best joke I ever heard," said Congreve. "I wish I had been there to see."

"I thought you were my friend," said Philip, indignantly.

"I laugh at my friends sometimes," said Congreve. "What a splendid joke!"

Philip didn't see it in that light, and was so mortified¹⁴ that he didn't give Congreve an opportunity to ask further about the watch, but hurriedly moved on. All the remainder of the afternoon he passed in a sullen¹⁵ frame of mind.

1 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

2 beckoned   

v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He beckoned to the waiter to bring the bill. 他招手示意服务生把账单送过来。
• The seated figure in the corner beckoned me over. 那个坐在角落里的人向我招手让我过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 triumphantly   

ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地

参考例句：

• The lion was roaring triumphantly. 狮子正在发出胜利的吼叫。
• Robert was looking at me triumphantly. 罗伯特正得意扬扬地看着我。

4 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

5 authorizes   

授权，批准，委托( authorize的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The dictionary authorizes the two spellings 'traveler' and 'traveller'. 字典裁定traveler和traveller两种拼法都对。
• The dictionary authorizes the two spellings "honor" and "honour.". 字典裁定 honor 及 honour 两种拼法均可。

6 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

9 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。

10 shameful   

adj.可耻的，不道德的

参考例句：

• It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。
• We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。

11 contemptible   

adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的

参考例句：

• His personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.他气貌不扬，言语粗俗。
• That was a contemptible trick to play on a friend.那是对朋友玩弄的一出可鄙的把戏。

12 candidly   

adv.坦率地，直率而诚恳地

参考例句：

• He has stopped taking heroin now,but admits candidly that he will always be a drug addict.他眼下已经不再吸食海洛因了,不过他坦言自己永远都是个瘾君子。
• Candidly,David,I think you're being unreasonable.大卫，说实话我认为你不讲道理。

13 hearty   

adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的

参考例句：

• After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了，他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
• We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。

14 mortified   

v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等）

参考例句：

• She was mortified to realize he had heard every word she said. 她意识到自己的每句话都被他听到了，直羞得无地自容。
• The knowledge of future evils mortified the present felicities. 对未来苦难的了解压抑了目前的喜悦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 sullen   

adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的

参考例句：

• He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。
• Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐，因为昨晚没睡好。