Chapter 17 A Strange Visitor

 "Did you come to rob me?" repeated Mr. Browning, as he stood facing the tramp, whom he had brought to the light from under the bed.

 

There was an eager, questioning look on the face of the tramp, as he stared at the gentleman upon whose privacy he had intruded--not a look of fear, but a look of curiosity. Thomas Browning misinterpreted it. He thought the man was speechless from alarm.

 

"Have you nothing to say for yourself?" demanded Browning, sternly.

 

The answer considerably¹ surprised him.

 

"Why, pard, it's you, is it?" said the man, with the air of one to whom a mystery was made plain.

 

"What do you mean by your impertinence?" asked the respectable Mr. Browning, angrily.

 

"Well, that's a good one! Who'd have thought that this 'ere mansion² belonged to my old friend and pard?"

 

"What do you mean? Are you crazy, fellow?"

 

"No, I ain't crazy, as I know of, but I'm flabbergasted--that's what I am."

 

"Have done with this trifling³ and tell me why I shouldn't hand you over to the police?"

 

"I guess you won't do that, Tom Butler!" returned the burglar, coolly.

 

Browning stared in surprise and dismay at hearing his old name pronounced by this unsavory specimen⁴ of humanity.

 

"Who are you?" he demanded, quickly.

 

"Don't you know me?"

 

"No, I don't. I never saw you before. I don't associate with men of your class."

 

"Hear him now!" chuckled⁵ the tramp, in an amazed tone. "Why, Tom Butler, you an' me used to be pards. Don't you remember Jack⁶ King? Why, we've bunked⁷ together, and hunted for gold together, and almost starved together; but that was in the old days."

 

Browning looked the amazement⁸ he felt.

 

"Are you really Jack King?" he ejaculated, sinking back into an easy-chair, and staring hard at his unexpected visitor.

 

"I'm the same old coon, Tom, but I'm down at the heel, while you--do you really own this fine house, and these elegant fixin's?"

 

"Yes," answered Browning, mechanically.

 

"Well, you've fared better than I. I've been goin' down, down, till I've got about as far down as I can get."

 

"And you have become a burglar?"

 

"Well, a man must live, you know."

 

"You could work."

 

"Who would give such a lookin' man as I any work?"

 

"How did you get in?"

 

"That's my secret! You mustn't expect me to give myself away."

 

"And you had no idea whose house you were in?"

 

"I was told it belonged to a Mr. Browning."

 

"I am Mr. Browning--Thomas Browning."

 

"You! What has become of Butler?"

 

"I had good substantial reasons for changing my name--there was money in it, you understand."

 

"I'd like to change my own name on them terms. And now, Tom Butler, what are you going to do for me?"

 

Mr. Browning's face hardened. He felt no sympathy for the poor wretch⁹ with whom he had once been on terms of intimacy¹⁰. He felt ashamed to think that they had ever been comrades, and he resented the tone of familiarity with which this outcast addressed him--a reputable citizen, a wealthy capitalist, a man whose name had been more than once mentioned in connection with the mayor's office.

 

"I'll tell you what I ought to do," he said, harshly.

 

"Well?"

 

"I ought to call a policeman, and give you in charge for entering my house as a burglar."

 

"You'd better not do that," he said without betraying alarm.

 

"Why not? Why should I not treat you like any other burglar?"

 

"Because--but I want to ask you a question."

 

"What did you do with that money Walton gave you on his deathbed?"

 

"What do you mean?" he faltered¹¹.

 

"Just what I say. What did you do with Walton's money?"

 

"I am at a loss to understand your meaning."

 

"No, you are not. However, I am ready to explain. On his deathbed Walton gave you ten thousand dollars to carry to his wife and family. Did you do it?"

 

"Who told you this?"

 

"It is unnecessary for me to say. It is enough that I know it. At the time you were poor enough. You might have had a few hundred dollars of your own, but certainly not much more. Now--it isn't so many years ago--I find you a rich man. Of course, I have my own ideas of how this came about."

 

"Do you mean to accuse me of dishonesty?" demanded Browning, angrily.

 

"I don't accuse you of anything. I am only thinking of what would be natural under the circumstances. I'm not an angel myself, Tom Butler, and I can't say but the money might have miscarried if it had been handed to me instead of to you. I wish it had; I wouldn't be the miserable-looking wretch I am now."

 

"Walton handed me some money," said Browning, cautiously--"not ten thousand dollars--and I handed it to his family."

 

"Where did they live?"

 

"In a country town," he answered, glibly¹².

 

"I was thinking I might run across Mrs. Walton some day," he said, significantly. "She would be glad to see me, as I knew her late husband in California."

 

"She is dead," said Browning, hastily.

 

"Dead! How long since?"

 

"She died soon after she heard of her husband's death. Died of grief, poor woman!"

 

"Were there no children?"

 

"Yes, there was a girl, but she was adopted by a relative in Massachusetts."

 

"I don't believe a word of it!" thought Jack King. "He wants to put me off the scent¹³."

 

"Humph! And you gave the wife the money?"

 

"Of course."

 

"I may meet the girl some time; I might advertise for any of the family."

 

"Do you think they would be glad to see you?"

 

"They might help me, and I stand in need of help."

 

"There is no need of that. You are an old comrade in distress¹⁴. I haven't forgotten the fact, though I pretended to, to try you. Here's a five-dollar bill. I'll let you out of the house myself. Considering how you entered it, you may count yourself lucky."

 

"That's all right, as far as it goes, Tom, but I want to remind you of a little debt you owe me. When you were out of luck at Murphy's diggings I lent you twenty-five dollars, which you have never paid back."

 

"I had forgotten it."

 

"I haven't. That money will come mighty¹⁵ convenient just now. It will buy me a better-looking suit, second hand, and make a different man of me. With it I can get a place and set up for a respectable human being."

 

"Here's the money," said Browning, reluctantly drawing the additional bills from his wallet. "Now that we are square, I hope you won't annoy me by further applications. I might have sent you out of the house under very different circumstances."

 

"You were always considerate, Tom," said the tramp, stowing away the bills in the pocket of his ragged¹⁶ vest. "May I refer to you if I apply for a situation?"

 

"Yes; but remember I am Thomas Browning. I prefer not to have it known that my name was ever Butler."

 

"All right! Now, if you'll do me the favor of showing me the door I'll leave you to your slumbers¹⁷."

 

"It's very awkward, that man's turning up," muttered Browning, as he returned from letting out his unsavory visitor. "How could he have heard about Walton's money?"

1 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

2 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

3 trifling   

adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的

参考例句：

• They quarreled over a trifling matter.他们为这种微不足道的事情争吵。
• So far Europe has no doubt, gained a real conveniency,though surely a very trifling one.直到现在为止,欧洲无疑地已经获得了实在的便利，不过那确是一种微不足道的便利。

4 specimen   

n.样本，标本

参考例句：

• You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。
• This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。

5 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

6 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

7 bunked   

v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的过去式和过去分词 )；空话，废话

参考例句：

• He bunked with a friend for the night. 他和一个朋友同睡一张床过夜。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We bunked in an old barn. 我们将就着睡在旧谷仓里。 来自辞典例句

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 wretch   

n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人

参考例句：

• You are really an ungrateful wretch to complain instead of thanking him.你不但不谢他，还埋怨他，真不知好歹。
• The dead husband is not the dishonoured wretch they fancied him.死去的丈夫不是他们所想象的不光彩的坏蛋。

10 intimacy   

n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行

参考例句：

• His claims to an intimacy with the President are somewhat exaggerated.他声称自己与总统关系密切，这有点言过其实。
• I wish there were a rule book for intimacy.我希望能有个关于亲密的规则。

11 faltered   

（嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃

参考例句：

• He faltered out a few words. 他支吾地说出了几句。
• "Er - but he has such a longhead!" the man faltered. 他不好意思似的嚅嗫着：“这孩子脑袋真长。”

12 glibly   

adv.流利地，流畅地；满口

参考例句：

• He glibly professed his ignorance of the affair. 他口口声声表白不知道这件事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He put ashes on his head, apologized profusely, but then went glibly about his business. 他表示忏悔，满口道歉，但接着又故态复萌了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

13 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

14 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

15 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

16 ragged   

adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的

参考例句：

• A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
• Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。

17 slumbers   

睡眠，安眠( slumber的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His image traversed constantly her restless slumbers. 他的形象一再闯进她的脑海，弄得她不能安睡。
• My Titan brother slumbers deep inside his mountain prison. Go. 我的泰坦兄弟就被囚禁在山脉的深处。