Chapter 21 In The Tailor's Power

 "Is that the bill you spoke¹ of, Walton?" asked the tailor, on Harry²'s next visit to the shop.

 

"Yes," said Harry, eagerly. "Where did you get it?"

 

"You can guess."

 

"From Luke Harrison?"

 

"Yes; he paid me, last evening, fifteen dollars on account. This note was among those he paid me."

 

"It is mine. I can swear to it."

 

"The rest of the money was yours, no doubt."

 

"What shall I do, Mr. Merrill?"

 

"The money is yours, and I will restore it to you after seeing Luke. I will send for him to be here at seven o'clock this evening."

 

As Luke was at work in his shop that day, the tailor's boy came in with a note.

 

Luke opened it and read as follows:

 

 

"Will you call at my shop at seven this evening about the pants you ordered?

 

"Henry Merrill."

 

 

"Tell your father I'll come," said Luke.

 

At seven o'clock he entered the tailor's shop once more.

 

"Well, Merrill, what do you want to see me about?" he asked. "Have you cut the pants?"

 

"No."

 

"You haven't? I wanted you to go to work on them at once."

 

"I know; but it was necessary to see you first."

 

"Why--didn't you take the measure right?"

 

"Luke," said Mr. Merrill, looking him steadily³ in the eye, "where did you get that money you paid me?"

 

"Where did I get the money?" repeated Luke, flushing up. "What makes you ask me that question? Isn't it good money? 'Tisn't counterfeit⁴, is it?"

 

"I asked you where you got it from?"

 

"From the man I work for, to be sure," said Luke.

 

"Will you swear to that?"

 

"I don't see the use. Can't you take my word?"

 

"I may as well tell you that Harry Walton recognizes one of the bills as a part of the money he lost."

 

"He does, does he?" said Luke, boldly. "That's all nonsense. Bills all look alike."

 

"This one has a drop of ink just in the center. He remembered having dropped a blot⁵ upon it."

 

"What have I to do with that?"

 

"It is hardly necessary to explain. The evening he lost the money you were with him. Two days after, you pay me one of the bills which he lost," said the tailor.

 

"Do you mean to say I stole 'em?" demanded Luke.

 

"It looks like it, unless you can explain how you came by the blotted⁶ bill."

 

"I don't believe I paid you the bill. Very likely it was some one else."

 

"I thought you would say that, so I called Colman's attention to it. However, if your employer admits paying you the bills, of course you are all right."

 

Luke remembered very well that he was paid in fives, and that such an appeal would do him no good.

 

"Does Walton know this?" he asked, sinking into a chair, and wiping the perspiration⁷ from his brow.

 

"Yes; he suspected you."

 

"I'd like to choke him!" said Luke, fiercely. "The miserly scoundrel!"

 

"It seems to me he is justified⁸ in trying to recover his money. What have you done with the rest of it?"

 

"Tell me what will be done to me," said Luke, sullenly⁹.

 

"I didn't steal it. I only picked it up when he dropped it. He deserves to lose it, for being so careless."

 

"Why didn't you tell him you had found it?"

 

"I meant to give it to him after a while. I only wanted to keep it long enough to frighten him."

 

"That was dangerous, particularly as you used it."

 

"I meant to give him back other money."

 

"I don't think that excuse will avail you in court."

 

"Court of justice!" repeated Luke, turning pale.

 

"He won't have me taken up--will he?"

 

"He will unless you arrange to restore all the money."

 

"I've paid you part of it."

 

"That I shall hand over to him. Have you the rest?"

 

"I've spent a few dollars. I've got eight dollars left."

 

"You had better give it to me."

 

Reluctantly, Luke drew out his pocketbook and passed the eight dollars to Mr. Merrill.

 

"Now when will you pay the rest?"

 

"In a few weeks," said Luke.

 

"That won't do. How much do you earn a week?"

 

"Fifteen dollars."

 

"How much do you pay for board?"

 

"Four dollars."

 

"Then you will be able to pay eleven dollars at the end of this week."

 

"I can't get along without money," said Luke.

 

"You will have to till you pay back the money, unless you prefer appearing before a court of justice."

 

Luke was just going out when the tailor called him back.

 

"I believe you owe me thirty dollars. When are you going to pay it?"

 

"I can't pay it yet a while," said Luke.

 

"I think you had better," said the tailor quietly.

 

"I'll pay you as soon as I can."

 

"You make eleven dollars a week over and above your board and spend it on drink, billiards¹⁰ and fast horses. You are fully¹¹ able to pay for your clothes promptly¹² and I advise you to do it."

 

"I'll pay you as soon as I can."

 

"If you neglect to do it, I may as well tell you that I shall let it be known that you stole Walton's pocketbook."

 

An expression of alarm overspread Luke's face, and he hastily made the required promise. But he added, "I didn't steal it. I only found it."

 

"The whole story would be told, and people might think as they pleased. But it is much better for you to avoid all this by paying your bills."

 

Luke Harrison left the tailor's shop in a very unhappy and disgusted frame of mind.

 

"If I had the sense to wait till it blew over," he said to himself, "I should have escaped all this: I didn't think Merrill would act so mean. Now I'm in for paying his infernal bill besides. It's too bad."

 

Just then he came upon Frank Heath, who hailed him.

 

"Luke, come and play a game of billiards."

 

"If you'll promise not to beat me. I haven't got a cent of money."

 

"You haven't? What have you done with those bills you had this afternoon?"

 

"I've paid 'em over to Merrill," said Luke, hesitating.

 

"He was in a deuced stew¹³ about his bill."

 

"When are your pants going to be ready?"

 

"I don't know," said Luke, with a pang¹⁴ of sorrow.

 

"Merrill's making them, isn't he?"

 

"He says he won't till I pay the whole bill."

 

"Seems to me your credit ain't very good, Luke."

 

"It's good enough, be he's hard up for money. I guess he's going to fail. If you'll lend me a couple of dollars, I'll go around and have a game."

 

Frank Heath laughed.

 

"You'll have to go to some one else, Luke," he said.

 

Luke passed a disagreeable evening. Cut off by his want of money from his ordinary amusements, and depressed¹⁵ by the thought that things would be no better till he had paid his bills, he lounged about, feeling that he was a victim of ill luck. It did not occur to him that that ill luck was of his own bringing. 

1 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。

2 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。

3 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

4 counterfeit   

vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的

参考例句：

• It is a crime to counterfeit money.伪造货币是犯罪行为。
• The painting looked old but was a recent counterfeit.这幅画看上去年代久远，实际是最近的一幅赝品。

5 blot   

vt.弄脏（用吸墨纸）吸干；n.污点，污渍

参考例句：

• That new factory is a blot on the landscape.那新建的工厂破坏了此地的景色。
• The crime he committed is a blot on his record.他犯的罪是他的履历中的一个污点。

6 blotted   

涂污( blot的过去式和过去分词 )； （用吸墨纸）吸干

参考例句：

• She blotted water off the table with a towel. 她用毛巾擦干桌上的水。
• The blizzard blotted out the sky and the land. 暴风雪铺天盖地而来。

7 perspiration   

n.汗水；出汗

参考例句：

• It is so hot that my clothes are wet with perspiration.天太热了，我的衣服被汗水湿透了。
• The perspiration was running down my back.汗从我背上淌下来。

8 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

9 sullenly   

不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地

参考例句：

• 'so what?" Tom said sullenly. “那又怎么样呢？”汤姆绷着脸说。
• Emptiness after the paper, I sIt'sullenly in front of the stove. 报看完，想不出能找点什么事做，只好一人坐在火炉旁生气。

10 billiards   

n.台球

参考例句：

• John used to divert himself with billiards.约翰过去总打台球自娱。
• Billiards isn't popular in here.这里不流行台球。

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

12 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

13 stew   

n.炖汤，焖，烦恼；v.炖汤，焖，忧虑

参考例句：

• The stew must be boiled up before serving.炖肉必须煮熟才能上桌。
• There's no need to get in a stew.没有必要烦恼。

14 pang   

n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷

参考例句：

• She experienced a sharp pang of disappointment.她经历了失望的巨大痛苦。
• She was beginning to know the pang of disappointed love.她开始尝到了失恋的痛苦。

15 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。