Chapter 35 Throwing Suspicion On Harry

During the day Colonel Ross had no occasion to look into his trunk of securities. Clearly, he had no suspicion that he had met with a loss.

It might strike the reader as curious that Philip began to be impatient to have his father make the discovery. An impending¹ blow always leads to a state of suspense² which is by no means agreeable. When the blow falls, a certain relief is felt. So Philip knew that the discovery would be made sooner or later, and he wanted to have the matter settled, and clear himself at once from suspicion by diverting it to Harry³ Gilbert.

In the hope that his father would find out his loss, he lingered round the house through the afternoon, filling up the time as well as he could. Usually, he would have passed at least a part of the time with James Congreve, but the latter had gone to the city.

"Don't you feel well, Philip?" asked his mother.

"Certainly! What makes you ask?"

"You don't generally stay at home all the afternoon."

"Oh, well, there isn't anything going on in the village."

"Where is that friend of yours who is staying at the hotel?"

"He went away this morning to the city."

"Isn't he coming back?"

"Oh, yes, I suppose so."

"I suppose you feel lonely without him?"

"Yes, mother."

"Have you seen anything of Uncle Obed lately?" asked Mrs. Ross, making a wry⁴ face as she pronounced the word admitting the relationship.

"Yes; I saw him walking with the Gilbert boy the other evening."

"Did you speak to him?"

"No; I just nodded. I don't care about getting intimate with him. I wish he'd leave town."

"As likely as not, he'll use up all his money, and then come on your father for help."

"I hope father won't give him anything, then," said Philip.

"I am willing that he should give him enough to get him back to Illinois. He ought never to have left there. If he thinks we are going to pay his board here, all I can say is that he is very much mistaken," said Mrs. Ross, pressing her thin lips together with emphasis.

"That's the talk, ma! I am glad you don't mean to be imposed upon. I suppose old Wilkins thinks you are soft, and won't see him suffer. You'd better keep a stiff upper lip."

"He will know me better after a while," said Mrs. Ross.

The afternoon wore away, and supper came. Philip partook as usual, and waited afterward⁵ in the confident expectation that his father would open the small trunk. He was not mistaken.

Upon retiring to his special apartment, Colonel Ross took up the trunk, and, producing the key, opened it.

It so happened that he was after some papers, and did not immediately take up the envelope containing the government bonds. Philip was rather afraid he wouldn't, and ventured to remind him of them by a question.

"How many government bonds have you in that envelope, pa?" he asked.

"A little over a thousand dollars," answered Colonel Ross.

"Will you let me look at one? I want to see how it looks."

This question led the colonel to open the envelope. He took out a bond and handed it to Philip.

"Are these coupons⁶?" asked Philip, who knew perfectly⁷ well, but only wanted to fix his father's attention.

"Yes, they are promises to pay interest semiannually. In January and July I cut off one of these little slips, and receive the interest it represents in gold."

"That's very convenient, isn't it?"

"Yes, for I can get the coupons cashed at any bank or broker's office."

Almost mechanically, he began to draw out the bonds and count them. But his air of inattention was quickly replaced by a look of surprise and anxiety. He counted the bonds over again, more deliberately⁸, but each time the number came short two.

"That's strange," he said, in a low tone.

"What is strange, pa?"

"Two bonds seem to be missing," said his father, in a tone of concern.

"I've got one, you know, in my hand."

"Yes, yes. I reckoned that."

"How large were they? Is it much of a loss?"

"One hundred dollars apiece, and each worth a hundred and fifteen dollars, on account of the premium⁹. Do you know anything about them?" and Colonel Ross fixed¹⁰ a piercing eye on his son.

"I, pa? How should I know anything about them? Why, I didn't know exactly how they looked. When did you see them all last?"

"Last evening. I happened to count them then."

"They must have been taken from the trunk since then."

"Then I am almost sure I know how it happened," said Philip, suddenly, as if a light had dawned upon him.

"I should like to have you tell me, then."

"You remember, pa, you left the keys on the desk?"

"Yes; but there was no one here except you," and again the father had suspicion of his son.

"I hope you don't think I'd do such a thing as that?" said Philip, virtuously¹¹. "But I am afraid it is my fault, for I left the outside door unlocked all night. Any one might have come in and stolen the bonds."

"That is true; but why didn't they take more, or all? You didn't see any one round when you went to bed, did you?"

"Yes, I did," answered Philip, with well-feigned eagerness. "Just as I was going to bed, I went into the next room, where the trunk is, and, turning to look out of the window, I was quite startled to see Harry Gilbert's face close to the window. The light shining through the doorway¹² was quite strong enough for him to see the trunk and keys lying on your desk. It's as sure as can be that he took the bonds. You see, he could slip in after I went upstairs, and there was nothing to prevent. He might have been lurking¹³ around when you were examining the bonds last night, and saw you place them back in the envelope."

"What is all this about?" asked Mrs. Ross, entering the room at this point.

It was explained to her, and she instantly adopted her son's view.

"Phil's hit the nail on the head, I do believe," she said. "I didn't think he was so sharp. Colonel Ross, I have no doubt the Gilbert boy took the bonds."

"Then, why didn't he take more?" asked Ross.

"Oh, he got frightened--thought he heard a noise, or perhaps he thought it would not be discovered so quick if he only took two. There are reasons enough."

Philip and Mrs. Ross assumed so confident a tone that Colonel Ross, though at first inclined to discredit¹⁴ the charge, ended by believing it very probable.

"This thing must be attended to," he said. "What are you going to do about it, pa?"

"I shall go before Justice Slocum, and get a warrant to search Widow Gilbert's house. If I find anything, I shall have Harry arrested."

"Now, you're in a scrape, Harry Gilbert," said Philip to himself, exultantly¹⁵.

"I guess I'll go along with you, pa," he said, aloud, "and see if James Congreve has got back from the city."

1 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。

2 suspense   

n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑

参考例句：

• The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
• The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。

3 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。

4 wry   

adj.讽刺的；扭曲的

参考例句：

• He made a wry face and attempted to wash the taste away with coffee.他做了个鬼脸，打算用咖啡把那怪味地冲下去。
• Bethune released Tung's horse and made a wry mouth.白求恩放开了董的马，噘了噘嘴。

5 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

6 coupons   

n.礼券( coupon的名词复数 )；优惠券；订货单；参赛表

参考例句：

• The company gives away free coupons for drinks or other items. 公司为饮料或其它项目发放免费赠券。 来自辞典例句
• Do you have any coupons? 你们有优惠卡吗？ 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语

7 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

8 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

9 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

10 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

11 virtuously   

合乎道德地，善良地

参考例句：

• Pro31:29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. 箴31:29说，才德的女子很多，惟独你超过一切。

12 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

13 lurking   

潜在

参考例句：

• Why are you lurking around outside my house? 你在我房子外面鬼鬼祟祟的，想干什么？
• There is a suspicious man lurking in the shadows. 有一可疑的人躲在阴暗中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

14 discredit   

vt.使不可置信；n.丧失信义；不信，怀疑

参考例句：

• Their behaviour has bought discredit on English football.他们的行为败坏了英国足球运动的声誉。
• They no longer try to discredit the technology itself.他们不再试图怀疑这种技术本身。

15 exultantly   

adv.狂欢地，欢欣鼓舞地

参考例句：

• They listened exultantly to the sounds from outside. 她们欢欣鼓舞地倾听着外面的声音。 来自辞典例句
• He rose exultantly from their profane surprise. 他得意非凡地站起身来，也不管众人怎样惊奇诅咒。 来自辞典例句