Chapter 28 Mrs. Hill's Malice

 At this moment there was a low knock on the door.

 

"Come in!" said Mrs. Hamilton.

 

Mrs. Hill, the housekeeper¹, glided² in, with her usual stealthy step.

 

"I really beg pardon for intruding," she said, with a slight cough, "but I thought perhaps I might throw light on the matter Mr. Lynx is investigating."

 

"Well?" said the detective, eying her attentively³.

 

"I had occasion to go into Ben's room to see if the girl had put things in order, when my attention was drawn⁴ to a ticket upon the bureau. You can tell whether it is of importance," and she handed it, with an air of deference⁵, to Mr. Lynx.

 

"What is it?" asked Mrs. Hamilton.

 

"It is a pawn⁶ ticket," answered Mr. Lynx attentively.

 

"Let me see it, please!"

 

Mrs. Hamilton regarded it with mingled⁷ pain and incredulity.

 

"I need not say," continued the housekeeper, "that I was surprised and saddened at this evidence of the boy's depravity. Cousin Hamilton has been so kind to him that it seems like the height of ingratitude⁸."

 

"May I ask, madam," said Mr. Lynx, "if your suspicions had fastened on this boy, Ben, before you found the pawn ticket?"

 

"To tell the truth, they had."

 

"And what reason had you for forming such suspicions?"

 

"I knew that the boy frequented gambling⁹ houses, and, of course, no salary, however large, would be sufficient for a boy with such habits."

 

Mrs. Hamilton did not speak, which somewhat embarrassed Mrs. Hill. Mr. Lynx, however, was very affable, and thanked her for her assistance.

 

"I felt it my duty to assist Cousin Hamilton," said she, "though I am sorry for that ungrateful boy. I will now withdraw, and leave you to confer together."

 

Mrs. Hill would like to have been invited to remain, but such an invitation was not given.

 

"What do you think, Mr. Lynx?" asked Mrs. Hamilton.

 

"I think your housekeeper does not like Ben Barclay," he answered dryly.

 

"And you don't think him guilty?" she asked eagerly.

 

"No; the boy isn't fool enough, first, to give his own name at the pawnbroker's, and next, to leave the ticket exposed in his room."

 

"How then did it come there?"

 

Mr. Lynx was saved the trouble of answering by another tap on the door.

 

"Who is it now?" he said.

 

He stepped to the door, and opening it, admitted Susan.

 

"What is it, Susan," asked Mrs. Hamilton, in some surprise.

 

"Did Mrs. Hill bring you a pawn ticket, ma'am?"

 

"And what do you know about it?" demanded Mr. Lynx brusquely.

 

"And did she say she found it on Master Ben's bureau?"

 

"Yes, Susan," said the mistress; "what can you tell us about it?"

 

"I can tell you this, ma'am, that I saw Master Conrad steal into the room this morning, and put it there with his own hands."

 

"Ha! this is something to the purpose." said the detective briskly.

 

"Are you sure of this, Susan?" asked Mrs. Hamilton, evidently shocked.

 

"I can take my Bible oath of it, ma'am; and it's my belief that he's tryin' to get Master Ben into trouble."

 

"Thank you, Susan," said her mistress. "You have done not only Ben, but myself, a valuable service. You can go. I will see that you do not regret it."

 

"Don't tell Mrs. Hill that I told you, or she'd be my enemy for life!"

 

"I will see to that."

 

As Susan left the room, Mr. Lynx said:

 

"You won't require my services any longer. It is clear enough who pawned¹¹ the glass."

 

"You mean--"

 

"I mean the boy Conrad, whose mother was so anxious to fix the guilt¹⁰ upon your young secretary. If you have the slightest doubt about it, invite the young gentleman to accompany you to Simpson's to redeem¹² the opera glass."

 

"I will." 

1 housekeeper   

n.管理家务的主妇，女管家

参考例句：

• A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
• She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

2 glided   

v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔

参考例句：

• The President's motorcade glided by. 总统的车队一溜烟开了过去。
• They glided along the wall until they were out of sight. 他们沿着墙壁溜得无影无踪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 attentively   

adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神

参考例句：

• She listened attentively while I poured out my problems. 我倾吐心中的烦恼时，她一直在注意听。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She listened attentively and set down every word he said. 她专心听着，把他说的话一字不漏地记下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

5 deference   

n.尊重，顺从；敬意

参考例句：

• Do you treat your parents and teachers with deference?你对父母师长尊敬吗？
• The major defect of their work was deference to authority.他们的主要缺陷是趋从权威。

6 pawn   

n.典当，抵押，小人物，走卒；v.典当，抵押

参考例句：

• He is contemplating pawning his watch.他正在考虑抵押他的手表。
• It looks as though he is being used as a political pawn by the President.看起来他似乎被总统当作了政治卒子。

7 mingled   

混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系]

参考例句：

• The sounds of laughter and singing mingled in the evening air. 笑声和歌声交织在夜空中。
• The man and the woman mingled as everyone started to relax. 当大家开始放松的时候，这一男一女就开始交往了。

8 ingratitude   

n.忘恩负义

参考例句：

• Tim's parents were rather hurt by his ingratitude.蒂姆的父母对他的忘恩负义很痛心。
• His friends were shocked by his ingratitude to his parents.他对父母不孝，令他的朋友们大为吃惊。

9 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

10 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

11 pawned   

v.典当，抵押( pawn的过去式和过去分词 )；以（某事物）担保

参考例句：

• He pawned his gold watch to pay the rent. 他抵当了金表用以交租。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has redeemed her pawned jewellery. 她赎回了当掉的珠宝。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 redeem   

v.买回，赎回，挽回，恢复，履行（诺言等）

参考例句：

• He had no way to redeem his furniture out of pawn.他无法赎回典当的家具。
• The eyes redeem the face from ugliness.这双眼睛弥补了他其貌不扬之缺陷。