It was, however, no ordinary occasion. The bicentenary loomed17 but a year ahead, and a movement was on foot to mark the epoch18 with an adequate statue of our pious19 founder. A special meeting was to be held at the school-house, and Raffles had been specially20 invited by the new head master, a man of his own standing21, who had been in the eleven with him up at Cambridge. Raffles had not been near the old place for years; but I had never gone down since the day I left; and I will not dwell on the emotions which the once familiar journey awakened22 in my unworthy bosom24. Paddington was alive with Old Boys of all ages—but very few of ours—if not as lively as we used to make it when we all landed back for the holidays. More of us had moustaches and cigarettes and "loud" ties. That was all. Yet of the throng25, though two or three looked twice and thrice at Raffles, neither he nor I knew a soul until we had to change at the junction26 near our journey's end, when, as I say, it was I who recognized Nipper Nasmyth at sight.
The man was own son of the boy we both remembered. He had grown a ragged27 beard and a moustache that hung about his face like a neglected creeper. He was stout28 and bent29 and older than his years. But he spurned30 the platform with a stamping stride which even I remembered in an instant, and which was enough for Raffles before he saw the man's face.
"The Nipper it is!" he cried. "I could swear to that walk in a pantomime procession! See the independence in every step: that's his heel on the neck of the oppressor: it's the nonconformist conscience in baggy31 breeches. I must speak to him, Bunny. There was a lot of good in the old Nipper, though he and I did bar each other."
And in a moment he had accosted32 the man by the boy's nickname, obviously without thinking of an affront33 which few would have read in that hearty34 open face and hand.
"My name's Nasmyth," snapped the other, standing upright to glare.
"Forgive me," said Raffles undeterred. "One remembers a nickname and forgets all it never used to mean. Shake hands, my dear fellow! I'm Raffles. It must be fifteen years since we met."
"At least," replied Nasmyth coldly; but he could no longer refuse Raffles his hand. "So you are going down," he sneered36, "to this great gathering37?" And I stood listening at my distance, as though still in the middle fourth.
"Rather!" cried Raffles. "I'm afraid I have let myself lose touch, but I mean to turn over a new leaf. I suppose that isn't necessary in your case, Nasmyth?"
He spoke11 with an enthusiasm rare indeed in him: it had grown upon Raffles in the train; the spirit of his boyhood had come rushing back at fifty miles an hour. He might have been following some honorable calling in town; he might have snatched this brief respite38 from a distinguished39 but exacting40 career. I am convinced that it was I alone who remembered at that moment the life we were really leading at that time. With me there walked this skeleton through every waking hour that was to follow. I shall endeavor not to refer to it again. Yet it should not be forgotten that my skeleton was always there.
"It certainly is not necessary in my case," replied Nasmyth, still as stiff as any poker41. "I happen to be a trustee."
"Of the school?"
"Like my father before me."
"I congratulate you, my dear fellow!" cried the hearty Raffles—a younger Raffles than I had ever known in town.
"I don't know that you need," said Nasmyth sourly.
"But it must be a tremendous interest. And the proof is that you're going down to this show, like all the rest of us."
"No, I'm not. I live there, you see."
And I think the Nipper recalled that name as he ground his heel upon an unresponsive flagstone.
"But you're going to this meeting at the school-house, surely?"
"I don't know. If I do there may be squalls. I don't know what you think about this precious scheme Raffles, but I..."
The ragged beard stuck out, set teeth showed through the wild moustache, and in a sudden outpouring we had his views. They were narrow and intemperate42 and perverse as any I had heard him advocate as the firebrand of the Debating Society in my first term. But they were stated with all the old vim43 and venom44. The mind of Nasmyth had not broadened with the years, but neither had its natural force abated45, nor that of his character either. He spoke with great vigor46 at the top of his voice; soon we had a little crowd about us; but the tall collars and the broad smiles of the younger Old Boys did not deter35 our dowdy47 demagogue. Why spend money on a man who had been dead two hundred years? What good could it do him or the school? Besides, he was only technically48 our founder. He had not founded a great public school. He had founded a little country grammar school which had pottered along for a century and a half. The great public school was the growth of the last fifty years, and no credit to the pillar of piety49. Besides, he was only nominally50 pious. Nasmyth had made researches, and he knew. And why throw good money after a bad man?
"Are there many of your opinion?" inquired Raffles, when the agitator51 paused for breath. And Nasmyth beamed on us with flashing eyes.
"Not one to my knowledge as yet," said he. "But we shall see after to-morrow night. I hear it's to be quite an exceptional gathering this year; let us hope it may contain a few sane53 men. There are none on the present staff, and I only know of one among the trustees!"
Raffles refrained from smiling as his dancing eye met mine.
"I can understand your view," he said. "I am not sure that I don't share it to some extent. But it seems to me a duty to support a general movement like this even if it doesn't take the direction or the shape of our own dreams. I suppose you yourself will give something, Nasmyth?"
"Give something? I? Not a brass54 farthing!" cried the implacable banker. "To do so would be to stultify55 my whole position. I cordially and conscientiously56 disapprove57 of the whole thing, and shall use all my influence against it. No, my good sir, I not only don't subscribe58 myself, but I hope to be the means of nipping a good many subscriptions59 in the bud."
I was probably the only one who saw the sudden and yet subtle change in Raffles—the hard mouth, the harder eye. I, at least, might have foreseen the sequel then and there. But his quiet voice betrayed nothing, as he inquired whether Nasmyth was going to speak at next night's meeting. Nasmyth said he might, and certainly warned us what to expect. He was still fulminating when our train came in.
"Then we meet again at Philippi," cried Raffles in gay adieu. "For you have been very frank with us all, Nasmyth, and I'll be frank enough in my turn to tell you that I've every intention of speaking on the other side!"
It happened that Raffles had been asked to speak by his old college friend, the new head master. Yet it was not at the school-house that he and I were to stay, but at the house that we had both been in as boys. It also had changed hands: a wing had been added, and the double tier of tiny studies made brilliant with electric light. But the quad61 and the fives-courts did not look a day older; the ivy62 was no thicker round the study windows; and in one boy's castle we found the traditional print of Charing63 Cross Bridge which had knocked about our studies ever since a son of the contractor64 first sold it when he left. Nay65, more, there was the bald remnant of a stuffed bird which had been my own daily care when it and I belonged to Raffles. And when we all filed in to prayers, through the green baize door which still separated the master's part of the house from that of the boys, there was a small boy posted in the passage to give the sign of silence to the rest assembled in the hall, quite identically as in the dim old days; the picture was absolutely unchanged; it was only we who were out of it in body and soul.
On our side of the baize door a fine hospitality and a finer flow of spirits were the order of the night. There was a sound representative assortment66 of quite young Old Boys, to whom ours was a prehistoric67 time, and in the trough of their modern chaff68 and chat we old stagers might well have been left far astern of the fun. Yet it was Raffles who was the life and soul of the party, and that not by meretricious70 virtue71 of his cricket. There happened not to be another cricketer among us, and it was on their own subjects that Raffles laughed with the lot in turn and in the lump. I never knew him in quite such form. I will not say he was a boy among them, but he was that rarer being, the man of the world who can enter absolutely into the fun and fervor of the salad age. My cares and my regrets had never been more acute, but Raffles seemed a man without either in his life.
He was not, however, the hero of the Old Boys' Match, and that was expected of him by all the school. There was a hush72 when he went in, a groan73 when he came out. I had no reason to suppose he was not trying; these things happen to the cricketer who plays out of his class; but when the great Raffles went on to bowl, and was hit all over the field, I was not so sure. It certainly failed to affect his spirits; he was more brilliant than ever at our hospitable74 board; and after dinner came the meeting at which he and Nasmyth were to speak.
It was a somewhat frigid75 gathering until Nasmyth rose. We had all dined with our respective hosts, and then repaired to this business in cold blood. Many were lukewarm about it in their hearts; there was a certain amount of mild prejudice, and a greater amount of animal indifference76, to be overcome in the opening speech. It is not for me to say whether this was successfully accomplished77. I only know how the temperature of that meeting rose with Nipper Nasmyth.
And I dare say, in all the circumstances of the case, his really was a rather vulgar speech. But it was certainly impassioned, and probably as purely78 instinctive79 as his denunciation of all the causes which appeal to the gullible80 many without imposing81 upon the cantankerous82 few. His arguments, it is true, were merely an elaboration of those with which he had favored some of us already; but they were pointed83 by a concise84 exposition of the several definite principles they represented, and barbed with a caustic85 rhetoric86 quite admirable in itself. In a word, the manner was worthy23 of the very foundation it sought to shake, or we had never swallowed such matter without a murmur87. As it was, there was a demonstration88 in the wilderness89 when the voice ceased crying. But we sat in the deeper silence when Raffles rose to reply.
I leaned forward not to lose a word. I knew my Raffles so well that I felt almost capable of reporting his speech before I heard it. Never was I more mistaken, even in him! So far from a gibe90 for a gibe and a taunt91 for a taunt, there never was softer answer than that which A. J. Raffles returned to Nipper Nasmyth before the staring eyes and startled ears of all assembled. He courteously92 but firmly refused to believe a word his old friend Nasmyth had said—about himself. He had known Nasmyth for twenty years, and never had he met a dog who barked so loud and bit so little. The fact was that he had far too kind a heart to bite at all. Nasmyth might get up and protest as loud as he liked: the speaker declared he knew him better than Nasmyth knew himself. He had the necessary defects of his great qualities. He was only too good a sportsman. He had a perfect passion for the weaker side. That alone led Nasmyth into such excesses of language as we had all heard from his lips that night. As for Raffles, he concluded his far too genial93 remarks by predicting that, whatever Nasmyth might say or think of the new fund, he would subscribe to it as handsomely as any of us, like "the generous good chap" that we all knew him to be.
Even so did Raffles disappoint the Old Boys in the evening as he had disappointed the school by day. We had looked to him for a noble raillery, a lofty and loyal disdain94, and he had fobbed us off with friendly personalities95 not even in impeccable taste. Nevertheless, this light treatment of a grave offence went far to restore the natural amenities96 of the occasion. It was impossible even for Nasmyth to reply to it as he might to a more earnest onslaught. He could but smile sardonically98, and audibly undertake to prove Raffles a false prophet; and though subsequent speakers were less merciful the note was struck, and there was no more bad blood in the debate. There was plenty, however, in the veins99 of Nasmyth, as I was to discover for myself before the night was out.
You might think that in the circumstances he would not have attended the head master's ball with which the evening ended; but that would be sadly to misjudge so perverse a creature as the notorious Nipper. He was probably one of those who protest that there is "nothing personal" in their most personal attacks. Not that Nasmyth took this tone about Raffles when he and I found ourselves cheek by jowl against the ballroom100 wall; he could forgive his franker critics, but not the friendly enemy who had treated him so much more gently than he deserved.
"I seem to have seen you with this great man Raffles," began Nasmyth, as he overhauled101 me with his fighting eye. "Do you know him well?"
"Intimately."
"I remember now. You were with him when he forced himself upon me on the way down yesterday. He had to tell me who he was. Yet he talks as though we were old friends."
"What does that matter? I am glad to say I had too much self-respect, and too little respect for Raffles, ever to be a friend of his then. I knew too many of the things he did," said Nipper Nasmyth.
His fluent insults had taken my breath. But in a lucky flash I saw my retort.
"You must have had special opportunities of observation, living in the town," said I; and drew first blood between the long hair and the ragged beard; but that was all.
"So he really did get out at nights?" remarked my adversary103. "You certainly give your friend away. What's he doing now?"
I let my eyes follow Raffles round the room before replying. He was waltzing with a master's wife—waltzing as he did everything else. Other couples seemed to melt before them. And the woman on his arm looked a radiant girl.
"I meant in town, or wherever he lives his mysterious life," explained Nasmyth, when I told him that he could see for himself. But his clever tone did not trouble me; it was his epithet104 that caused me to prick105 my ears. And I found some difficulty in following Raffles right round the room.
"I thought everybody knew what he was doing; he's playing cricket most of his time," was my measured reply; and if it bore an extra touch of insolence106, I can honestly ascribe that to my nerves.
"And is that all he does for a living?" pursued my inquisitor keenly.
"You had better ask Raffles himself," said I to that. "It's a pity you didn't ask him in public, at the meeting!"
But I was beginning to show temper in my embarrassment107, and of course that made Nasmyth the more imperturbable108.
"Really, he might be following some disgraceful calling, by the mystery you make of it!" he exclaimed. "And for that matter I call first-class cricket a disgraceful calling, when it's followed by men who ought to be gentlemen, but are really professionals in gentlemanly clothing. The present craze for gladiatorial athleticism109 I regard as one of the great evils of the age; but the thinly veiled professionalism of the so-called amateur is the greatest evil of that craze. Men play for the gentlemen and are paid more than the players who walk out of another gate. In my time there was none of that. Amateurs were amateurs and sport was sport; there were no Raffleses in first-class cricket then. I had forgotten Raffles was a modern first-class cricketer: that explains him. Rather than see my son such another, do you know what I'd prefer to see him?"
I neither knew nor cared: yet a wretched premonitory fascination110 held me breathless till I was told.
"I'd prefer to see him a thief!" said Nasmyth savagely111; and when his eyes were done with me, he turned upon his heel. So that ended that stage of my discomfiture112.
It was only to give place to a worse. Was all this accident or fell design? Conscience had made a coward of me, and yet what reason had I to disbelieve the worst? We were pirouetting on the edge of an abyss; sooner or later the false step must come and the pit swallow us. I began to wish myself back in London, and I did get back to my room in our old house. My dancing days were already over; there I had taken the one resolution to which I remained as true as better men to better vows113; there the painful association was no mere69 sense of personal unworthiness. I fell to thinking in my room of other dances ... and was still smoking the cigarette which Raffles had taught me to appreciate when I looked up to find him regarding me from the door. He had opened it as noiselessly as only Raffles could open doors, and now he closed it in the same professional fashion.
"I missed Achilles hours ago," said he. "And still he's sulking in his tent!"
"I have been," I answered, laughing as he could always make me, "but I'll chuck it if you'll stop and smoke. Our host doesn't mind; there's an ash-tray provided for the purpose. I ought to be sulking between the sheets, but I'm ready to sit up with you till morning."
"We might do worse; but, on the other hand, we might do still better," rejoined Raffles, and for once he resisted the seductive Sullivan. "As a matter of fact, it's morning now; in another hour it will be dawn; and where could day dawn better than in Warfield Woods, or along the Stockley road, or even on the Upper or the Middle? I don't want to turn in, any more than you do. I may as well confess that the whole show down here has exalted114 me more than anything for years. But if we can't sleep, Bunny, let's have some fresh air instead."
"Has everybody gone to bed?" I asked.
"Long ago. I was the last in. Why?"
"Only it might sound a little odd, our turning out again, if they were to hear us."
Raffles stood over me with a smile made of mischief115 and cunning; but it was the purest mischief imaginable, the most innocent and comic cunning.
"They shan't hear us at all, Bunny," said he. "I mean to get out as I did in the good old nights. I've been spoiling for the chance ever since I came down. There's not the smallest harm in it now; and if you'll come with me I'll show you how it used to be done."
"But I know," said I. "Who used to haul up the rope after you, and let it down again to the minute?"
Raffles looked down on me from lowered lids, over a smile too humorous to offend.
"My dear good Bunny! And do you suppose that even then I had only one way of doing a thing? I've had a spare loophole all my life, and when you're ready I'll show you what it was when I was here. Take off those boots, and carry your tennis-shoes; slip on another coat; put out your light; and I'll meet you on the landing in two minutes."
He met me with uplifted finger, and not a syllable116; and down-stairs he led me, stocking soles close against the skirting, two feet to each particular step. It must have seemed child's play to Raffles; the old precautions were obviously assumed for my entertainment; but I confess that to me it was all refreshingly117 exciting—for once without a risk of durance if we came to grief! With scarcely a creak we reached the hall, and could have walked out of the street door without danger or difficulty. But that would not do for Raffles. He must needs lead me into the boys' part, through the green baize door. It took a deal of opening and shutting, but Raffles seemed to enjoy nothing better than these mock obstacles, and in a few minutes we were resting with sharp ears in the boys' hall.
"Through these windows?" I whispered, when the clock over the piano had had matters its own way long enough to make our minds quite easy.
"How else?" whispered Raffles, as he opened the one on whose ledge52 our letters used to await us of a morning.
"And then through the quad—"
"And over the gates at the end. No talking, Bunny; there's a dormitory just overhead; but ours was in front, you remember, and if they had ever seen me I should have nipped back this way while they were watching the other."
His finger was on his lips as we got out softly into the starlight. I remember how the gravel118 hurt as we left the smooth flagged margin119 of the house for the open quad; but the nearer of two long green seats (whereon you prepared your construe120 for the second-school in the summer term) was mercifully handy; and once in our rubber soles we had no difficulty in scaling the gates beyond the fives-courts. Moreover, we dropped into a very desert of a country road, nor saw a soul when we doubled back beneath the outer study windows, nor heard a footfall in the main street of the slumbering121 town. Our own fell like the night-dews and the petals122 of the poet; but Raffles ran his arm through mine, and would chatter123 in whispers as we went.
"So you and Nipper had a word—or was it words? I saw you out of the tail of my eye when I was dancing, and I heard you out of the tail of my ear. It sounded like words, Bunny, and I thought I caught my name. He's the most consistent man I know, and the least altered from a boy. But he'll subscribe all right, you'll see, and be very glad I made him."
I whispered back that I did not believe it for a moment. Raffles had not heard all Nasmyth had said of him. And neither would he listen to the little I meant to repeat to him; he would but reiterate124 a conviction so chimerical125 to my mind that I interrupted in my turn to ask him what ground he had for it.
"I've told you already," said Raffles. "I mean to make him."
"But how?" I asked. "And when, and where?"
"'And I think that the field of Philippi
Was where Caesar came to an end;
But who gave old Brutus the tip, I
Can't comprehend!'
"You may have forgotten your Shakespeare, Bunny, but you ought to remember that."
"The theatre of war," he answered—"and here we are at the stage door!"
Raffles had stopped suddenly in his walk. It was the last dark hour of the summer night, but the light from a neighboring lamppost showed me the look on his face as he turned.
"I think you also inquired when," he continued. "Well, then, this minute—if you will give me a leg up!"
And behind him, scarcely higher than his head, and not even barred, was a wide window with a wire blind, and the name of Nasmyth among others lettered in gold upon the wire.
"You're never going to break in?"
"This instant, if you'll, help me; in five or ten minutes, if you won't."
"Surely you didn't bring the—the tools?"
"Not the whole outfit129, Bunny. But you never know when you mayn't want one or two. I'm only thankful I didn't leave the lot behind this time. I very nearly did."
"I must say I thought you would, coming down here," I said reproachfully.
"But you ought to be glad I didn't," he rejoined with a smile. "It's going to mean old Nasmyth's subscription60 to the Founder's Fund, and that's to be a big one, I promise you! The lucky thing is that I went so far as to bring my bunch of safekeys. Now, are you going to help me use them, or are you not? If so, now's your minute; if not, clear out and be—"
"Not so fast, Raffles," said I testily130. "You must have planned this before you came down, or you would never have brought all those things with you."
"My dear Bunny, they're a part of my kit131! I take them wherever I take my evening-clothes. As to this potty bank, I never even thought of it, much less that it would become a public duty to draw a hundred or so without signing for it. That's all I shall touch, Bunny—I'm not on the make to-night. There's no risk in it either. If I am caught I shall simply sham132 champagne133 and stand the racket; it would be an obvious frolic after what happened at that meeting. And they will catch me, if I stand talking here: you run away back to bed—unless you're quite determined134 to 'give old Brutus the tip!'"
Now we had barely been a minute whispering where we stood, and the whole street was still as silent as the tomb. To me there seemed least danger in discussing the matter quietly on the spot. But even as he gave me my dismissal Raffles turned and caught the sill above him, first with one hand and then with the other. His legs swung like a pendulum135 as he drew himself up with one arm, then shifted the position of the other hand, and very gradually worked himself waist-high with the sill. But the sill was too narrow for him; that was as far as he could get unaided; and it was as much as I could bear to see of a feat136 which in itself might have hardened my conscience and softened137 my heart. But I had identified his doggerel138 verse at last. I am ashamed to say that it was part of a set of my very own writing in the school magazine of my time. So Raffles knew the stuff better than I did myself, and yet scorned to press his flattery to win me over! He had won me: in a second my rounded shoulders were a pedestal for those dangling139 feet. And before many more I heard the old metallic140 snap, followed by the raising of a sash so slowly and gently as to be almost inaudible to me listening just below.
Raffles went through hands first, disappeared for an instant, then leaned out, lowering his hands for me.
"Come on, Bunny! You're safer in than out. Hang on to the sill and let me get you under the arms. Now all together—quietly does it—and over you come!"
No need to dwell on our proceedings141 in the bank. I myself had small part in the scene, being posted rather in the wings, at the foot of the stairs leading to the private premises142 in which the manager had his domestic being. But I made my mind easy about him, for in the silence of my watch I soon detected a nasal note overhead, and it was resonant143 and aggressive as the man himself. Of Raffles, on the contrary, I heard nothing, for he had shut the door between us, and I was to warn him if a single sound came through. I need scarcely add that no warning was necessary during the twenty minutes we remained in the bank. Raffles afterward144 assured me that nineteen of them had been spent in filing one key; but one of his latest inventions was a little thick velvet145 bag in which he carried the keys; and this bag had two elastic146 mouths, which closed so tightly about either wrist that he could file away, inside, and scarcely hear it himself. As for these keys, they were clever counterfeits147 of typical patterns by two great safe-making firms. And Raffles had come by them in a manner all his own, which the criminal world may discover for itself.
When he opened the door and beckoned148 to me, I knew by his face that he had succeeded to his satisfaction, and by experience better than to question him on the point. Indeed, the first thing was to get out of the bank; for the stars were drowning in a sky of ink and water, and it was a comfort to feel that we could fly straight to our beds. I said so in whispers as Raffles cautiously opened our window and peeped out. In an instant his head was in, and for another I feared the worst.
"What was that, Bunny? No, you don't, my son! There's not a soul in sight that I can see, but you never know, and we may as well lay a scent149 while we're about it. Ready? Then follow me, and never mind the window."
With that he dropped softly into the street, and I after him, turning to the right instead of the left, and that at a brisk trot150 instead of the innocent walk which had brought us to the bank. Like mice we scampered151 past the great schoolroom, with its gable snipping152 a paler sky than ever, and the shadows melting even in the colonnade153 underneath154. Masters' houses flitted by on the left, lesser155 landmarks156 on either side, and presently we were running our heads into the dawn, one under either hedge of the Stockley road.
"Did you see that light in Nab's just now?" cried Raffles as he led.
"No; why?" I panted, nearly spent.
"It was in Nab's dressing-room.
"Yes?"
"I've seen it there before," continued Raffles. "He never was a good sleeper157, and his ears reach to the street. I wouldn't like to say how often I was chased by him in the small hours! I believe he knew who it was toward the end, but Nab was not the man to accuse you of what he couldn't prove."
I had no breath for comment. And on sped Raffles like a yacht before the wind, and on I blundered like a wherry at sea, making heavy weather all the way, and nearer foundering158 at every stride. Suddenly, to my deep relief, Raffles halted, but only to tell me to stop my pipes while he listened.
"It's all right, Bunny," he resumed, showing me a glowing face in the dawn. "History's on its own tracks once more, and I'll bet you it's dear old Nab on ours! Come on, Bunny; run to the last gasp159, and leave the rest to me."
I was past arguing, and away he went. There was no help for it but to follow as best I could. Yet I had vastly preferred to collapse160 on the spot, and trust to Raffles's resource, as before very long I must. I had never enjoyed long wind and the hours that we kept in town may well have aggravated161 the deficiency. Raffles, however, was in first-class training from first-class cricket, and he had no mercy on Nab or me. But the master himself was an old Oxford162 miler, who could still bear it better than I; nay, as I flagged and stumbled, I heard him pounding steadily163 behind.
"Come on, come on, or he'll do us!" cried Raffles shrilly164 over his shoulder; and a gruff sardonic97 laugh came back over mine. It was pearly morning now, but we had run into a shallow mist that took me by the throat and stabbed me to the lungs. I coughed and coughed, and stumbled in my stride, until down I went, less by accident than to get it over, and so lay headlong in my tracks. And old Nab dealt me a verbal kick as he passed.
But Raffles himself had abandoned the flight on hearing my downfall, and I was on hands and knees just in time to see the meeting between him and old Nab. And there stood Raffles in the silvery mist, laughing with his whole light heart, leaning back to get the full flavor of his mirth; and, nearer me, sturdy old Nab, dour167 and grim, with beads168 of dew on the hoary169 beard that had been lamp-black in our time.
"So I've caught you at last!" said he. "After more years than I mean to count!"
"Then you're luckier than we are, sir," answered Raffles, "for I fear our man has given us the slip."
"Your man!" echoed Nab. His bushy eyebrows170 had shot up: it was as much as I could do to keep my own in their place.
"We were indulging in the chase ourselves," explained Raffles, "and one of us has suffered for his zeal171, as you can see. It is even possible that we, too, have been chasing a perfectly172 innocent man."
"Not to say a reformed character," said our pursuer dryly. "I suppose you don't mean a member of the school?" he added, pinking his man suddenly as of yore, with all the old barbed acumen173. But Raffles was now his match.
"That would be carrying reformation rather far, sir. No, as I say, I may have been mistaken in the first instance; but I had put out my light and was looking out of the window when I saw a fellow behaving quite suspiciously. He was carrying his boots and creeping along in his socks—which must be why you never heard him, sir. They make less noise than rubber soles even—that is, they must, you know! Well, Bunny had just left me, so I hauled him out and we both crept down to play detective. No sign of the fellow! We had a look in the colonnade—I thought I heard him—and that gave us no end of a hunt for nothing. But just as we were leaving he came padding past under our noses, and that's where we took up the chase. Where he'd been in the meantime I have no idea; very likely he'd done no harm; but it seemed worth while finding out. He had too good a start, though, and poor Bunny had too bad a wind."
"You should have gone on and let me rip," said I, climbing to my feet at last.
"As it is, however, we will all let the other fellow do so," said old Nab in a genial growl. "And you two had better turn into my house and have something to keep the morning cold out."
You may imagine with what alacrity174 we complied; and yet I am bound to confess that I had never liked Nab at school. I still remember my term in his form. He had a caustic tongue and fine assortment of damaging epithets175, most of which were levelled at my devoted176 skull177 during those three months. I now discovered that he also kept a particularly mellow178 Scotch179 whiskey, an excellent cigar, and a fund of anecdote180 of which a mordant181 wit was the worthy bursar. Enough to add that he kept us laughing in his study until the chapel182 bells rang him out.
As for Raffles, he appeared to me to feel far more compunction for the fable183 which he had been compelled to foist184 upon one of the old masters than for the immeasurably graver offence against society and another Old Boy. This, indeed, did not worry him at all; and the story was received next day with absolute credulity on all sides. Nasmyth himself was the first to thank us both for our spirited effort on his behalf; and the incident had the ironic185 effect of establishing an immediate186 entente187 cordiale between Raffles and his very latest victim. I must confess, however, that for my own part I was thoroughly188 uneasy during the Old Boys' second innings, when Raffles made a selfish score, instead of standing by me to tell his own story in his own way. There was never any knowing with what new detail he was about to embellish189 it: and I have still to receive full credit for the tact190 that it required to follow his erratic191 lead convincingly. Seldom have I been more thankful than when our train started next morning, and the poor, unsuspecting Nasmyth himself waved us a last farewell from the platform.
"Lucky we weren't staying at Nab's," said Raffles, as he lit a Sullivan and opened his Daily Mail at its report of the robbery. "There was one thing Nab would have spotted192 like the downy old bird he always was and will be."
"What was that?"
"The front door must have been found duly barred and bolted in the morning, and yet we let them assume that we came out that way. Nab would have pounced193 on the point, and by this time we might have been nabbed ourselves."
It was but a little over a hundred sovereigns that Raffles had taken, and, of course, he had resolutely194 eschewed195 any and every form of paper money. He posted his own first contribution of twenty-five pounds to the Founder's Fund immediately on our return to town, before rushing off to more first-class cricket, and I gathered that the rest would follow piecemeal196 as he deemed it safe. By an odd coincidence, however, a mysterious but magnificent donation of a hundred guineas was almost simultaneously197 received in notes by the treasurer198 of the Founder's Fund, from one who simply signed himself "Old Boy." The treasurer happened to be our late host, the new man at our old house, and he wrote to congratulate Raffles on what he was pleased to consider a direct result of the latter's speech. I did not see the letter that Raffles wrote in reply, but in due course I heard the name of the mysterious contributor. He was said to be no other than Nipper Nasmyth himself. I asked Raffles if it was true. He replied that he would ask old Nipper point-blank if he came up as usual to the Varsity match, and if they had the luck to meet. And not only did this happen, but I had the greater luck to be walking round the ground with Raffles when we encountered our shabby friend in front of the pavilion.
"My dear fellow," cried Raffles, "I hear it was you who gave that hundred guineas by stealth to the very movement you denounced. Don't deny it, and don't blush to find it fame. Listen to me. There was a great lot in what you said; but it's the kind of thing we ought all to back, whether we strictly199 approve of it in our hearts or not."
"Exactly, Raffles, but the fact is—"
"I know what you're going to say. Don't say it. There's not one in a thousand who would do as you've done, and not one in a million who would do it anonymously200."
"But what makes you think I did it, Raffles?"
"Everybody is saying so. You will find it all over the place when you get back. You will find yourself the most popular man down there, Nasmyth!"
I never saw a nobler embarrassment than that of this awkward, ungainly, cantankerous man: all his angles seemed to have been smoothed away: there was something quite human in the flushed, undecided, wistful face.
"I never was popular in my life," he said. "I don't want to buy my popularity now. To be perfectly candid201 with you, Raffles—"
"Don't! I can't stop to hear. They're ringing the bell. But you shouldn't have been angry with me for saying you were a generous good chap, Nasmyth, when you were one all the time. Good-by, old fellow!"
But Nasmyth detained us a second more. His hesitation202 was at an end. There was a sudden new light in his face.
Raffles was a thoughtful man as we went to our seats. He saw nobody, would acknowledge no remark. Neither did he attend to the cricket for the first half-hour after lunch; instead, he eventually invited me to come for a stroll on the practice ground, where, however, we found two chairs aloof204 from the fascinating throng.
"I am not often sorry, Bunny, as you know," he began. "But I have been sorry since the interval205. I've been sorry for poor old Nipper Nasmyth. Did you see the idea of being popular dawn upon him for the first time in his life?"
"I did; but you had nothing to do with that, my dear man."
Raffles shook his head over me as our eyes met. "I had everything to do with it. I tried to make him tell the meanest lie. I made sure he would, and for that matter he nearly did. Then, at the last moment, he saw how to hedge things with his conscience. And his second hundred will be a real gift."
"You mean under his own name—"
"And with his own free-will. My good Bunny, is it possible you don't know what I did with the hundred we drew from that bank!"
"I knew what you were going to do with it," said I. "I didn't know you had actually got further than the twenty-five you told me you were sending as your own contribution."
"And you actually thought that came out of his money?"
"Naturally."
"In my name?"
"I thought so."
Raffles stared at me inscrutably for some moments, and for some more at the great white numbers over the grand-stand.
"We may as well have another look at the cricket," said he. "It's difficult to see the board from here, but I believe there's another man out."
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1
raffles
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| n.抽彩售物( raffle的名词复数 )v.以抽彩方式售（物）( raffle的第三人称单数 ) | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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banking
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| n.银行业，银行学，金融业 | |
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resounding
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| adj. 响亮的 | |
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stigma
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| n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头 | |
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swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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7
whatsoever
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| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
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8
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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9
custodian
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| n.保管人，监护人；公共建筑看守 | |
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10
perverse
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| adj.刚愎的；坚持错误的，行为反常的 | |
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11
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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12
fervor
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| n.热诚；热心；炽热 | |
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13
dominant
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| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
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14
jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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15
whim
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| n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想 | |
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16
Founder
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| n.创始者，缔造者 | |
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17
loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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18
epoch
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| n.(新)时代；历元 | |
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19
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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20
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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21
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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22
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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23
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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24
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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25
throng
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| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
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26
junction
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| n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站 | |
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27
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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29
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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30
spurned
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| v.一脚踢开，拒绝接受( spurn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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31
baggy
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| adj.膨胀如袋的，宽松下垂的 | |
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32
accosted
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| v.走过去跟…讲话( accost的过去式和过去分词 )；跟…搭讪；（乞丐等）上前向…乞讨；（妓女等）勾搭 | |
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33
affront
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| n./v.侮辱，触怒 | |
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34
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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35
deter
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| vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住 | |
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36
sneered
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| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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37
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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38
respite
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| n.休息，中止，暂缓 | |
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39
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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40
exacting
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| adj.苛求的，要求严格的 | |
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41
poker
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| n.扑克；vt.烙制 | |
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42
intemperate
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| adj.无节制的，放纵的 | |
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43
vim
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| n.精力，活力 | |
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44
venom
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| n.毒液，恶毒，痛恨 | |
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45
abated
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| 减少( abate的过去式和过去分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼） | |
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46
vigor
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| n.活力，精力，元气 | |
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47
dowdy
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| adj.不整洁的；过旧的 | |
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48
technically
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| adv.专门地，技术上地 | |
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49
piety
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| n.虔诚，虔敬 | |
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50
nominally
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| 在名义上，表面地； 应名儿 | |
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51
agitator
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| n.鼓动者；搅拌器 | |
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52
ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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53
sane
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| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
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54
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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55
stultify
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| v.愚弄；使呆滞 | |
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56
conscientiously
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| adv.凭良心地；认真地，负责尽职地；老老实实 | |
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57
disapprove
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| v.不赞成，不同意，不批准 | |
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58
subscribe
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| vi.(to)订阅，订购；同意；vt.捐助，赞助 | |
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59
subscriptions
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| n.（报刊等的）订阅费( subscription的名词复数 )；捐款；（俱乐部的）会员费；捐助 | |
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60
subscription
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| n.预订，预订费，亲笔签名，调配法，下标（处方） | |
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61
quad
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| n.四方院；四胞胎之一；v.在…填补空铅 | |
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62
ivy
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| n.常青藤，常春藤 | |
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63
charing
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| n.炭化v.把…烧成炭，把…烧焦( char的现在分词 )；烧成炭，烧焦；做杂役女佣 | |
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64
contractor
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| n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌 | |
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65
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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66
assortment
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| n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集 | |
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67
prehistoric
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| adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的 | |
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68
chaff
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| v.取笑，嘲笑；n.谷壳 | |
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69
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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70
meretricious
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| adj.华而不实的，俗艳的 | |
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71
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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72
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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73
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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74
hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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75
frigid
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| adj.寒冷的，凛冽的；冷淡的；拘禁的 | |
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76
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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77
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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78
purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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79
instinctive
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| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
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80
gullible
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| adj.易受骗的；轻信的 | |
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81
imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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82
cantankerous
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| adj.爱争吵的，脾气不好的 | |
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83
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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84
concise
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| adj.简洁的，简明的 | |
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85
caustic
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| adj.刻薄的，腐蚀性的 | |
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86
rhetoric
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| n.修辞学，浮夸之言语 | |
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87
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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88
demonstration
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| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
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89
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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90
gibe
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| n.讥笑；嘲弄 | |
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91
taunt
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| n.辱骂，嘲弄；v.嘲弄 | |
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92
courteously
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| adv.有礼貌地，亲切地 | |
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93
genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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94
disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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95
personalities
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| n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 ) | |
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96
amenities
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| n.令人愉快的事物；礼仪；礼节；便利设施；礼仪( amenity的名词复数 )；便利设施；（环境等的）舒适；（性情等的）愉快 | |
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97
sardonic
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| adj.嘲笑的，冷笑的，讥讽的 | |
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98
sardonically
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| adv.讽刺地，冷嘲地 | |
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99
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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100
ballroom
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| n.舞厅 | |
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101
overhauled
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| v.彻底检查( overhaul的过去式和过去分词 )；大修；赶上；超越 | |
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102
nettled
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| v.拿荨麻打，拿荨麻刺（nettle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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103
adversary
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| adj.敌手，对手 | |
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104
epithet
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| n.（用于褒贬人物等的）表述形容词，修饰语 | |
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105
prick
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| v.刺伤，刺痛，刺孔；n.刺伤，刺痛 | |
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106
insolence
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| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
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107
embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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108
imperturbable
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| adj.镇静的 | |
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109
athleticism
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| n.运动竞赛，崇尚运动，竞技热 | |
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110
fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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111
savagely
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| adv. 野蛮地，残酷地 | |
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112
discomfiture
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| n.崩溃；大败；挫败；困惑 | |
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113
vows
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| 誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿 | |
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114
exalted
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| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
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115
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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116
syllable
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| n.音节；vt.分音节 | |
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117
refreshingly
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| adv.清爽地，有精神地 | |
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118
gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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119
margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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120
construe
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| v.翻译，解释 | |
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121
slumbering
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| 微睡，睡眠（slumber的现在分词形式） | |
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122
petals
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| n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 ) | |
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123
chatter
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| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
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124
reiterate
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| v.重申，反复地说 | |
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125
chimerical
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| adj.荒诞不经的，梦幻的 | |
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126
quotation
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| n.引文，引语，语录；报价，牌价，行情 | |
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127
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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128
jingled
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| 喝醉的 | |
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129
outfit
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| n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装 | |
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130
testily
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| adv. 易怒地, 暴躁地 | |
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131
kit
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| n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物 | |
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132
sham
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| n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的) | |
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133
champagne
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| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
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134
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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135
pendulum
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| n.摆，钟摆 | |
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136
feat
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| n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的 | |
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137
softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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138
doggerel
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| n.拙劣的诗，打油诗 | |
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139
dangling
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| 悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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140
metallic
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| adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的 | |
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141
proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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142
premises
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| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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143
resonant
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| adj.(声音)洪亮的，共鸣的 | |
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144
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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145
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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146
elastic
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| n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的 | |
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147
counterfeits
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| v.仿制，造假( counterfeit的第三人称单数 ) | |
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148
beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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149
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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150
trot
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| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 | |
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151
scampered
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| v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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152
snipping
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| n.碎片v.剪( snip的现在分词 ) | |
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153
colonnade
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| n.柱廊 | |
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154
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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155
lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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156
landmarks
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| n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址） | |
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157
sleeper
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| n.睡眠者，卧车，卧铺 | |
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158
foundering
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| v.创始人( founder的现在分词 ) | |
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159
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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160
collapse
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| vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷 | |
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161
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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162
Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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163
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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164
shrilly
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| 尖声的； 光亮的，耀眼的 | |
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165
growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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166
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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167
dour
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| adj.冷酷的，严厉的；（岩石）嶙峋的；顽强不屈 | |
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168
beads
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| n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链 | |
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169
hoary
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| adj.古老的；鬓发斑白的 | |
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170
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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171
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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172
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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173
acumen
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| n.敏锐，聪明 | |
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174
alacrity
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| n.敏捷，轻快，乐意 | |
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175
epithets
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| n.（表示性质、特征等的）词语( epithet的名词复数 ) | |
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176
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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177
skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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178
mellow
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| adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟 | |
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179
scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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180
anecdote
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| n.轶事，趣闻，短故事 | |
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181
mordant
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| adj.讽刺的；尖酸的 | |
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182
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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183
fable
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| n.寓言；童话；神话 | |
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184
foist
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| vt.把…强塞给，骗卖给 | |
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185
ironic
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| adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的 | |
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186
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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187
entente
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| n.协定；有协定关系的各国 | |
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188
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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189
embellish
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| v.装饰，布置；给…添加细节，润饰 | |
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190
tact
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| n.机敏，圆滑，得体 | |
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191
erratic
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| adj.古怪的，反复无常的，不稳定的 | |
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192
spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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193
pounced
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| v.突然袭击( pounce的过去式和过去分词 )；猛扑；一眼看出；抓住机会（进行抨击） | |
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194
resolutely
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| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
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195
eschewed
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| v.（尤指为道德或实际理由而）习惯性避开，回避( eschew的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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196
piecemeal
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| adj.零碎的；n.片，块；adv.逐渐地；v.弄成碎块 | |
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197
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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198
treasurer
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| n.司库，财务主管 | |
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199
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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200
anonymously
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| ad.用匿名的方式 | |
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201
candid
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| adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的 | |
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202
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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203
odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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204
aloof
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| adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的 | |
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205
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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206
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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