Chapter 35 Turning The Tables

 "Now Conrad," said Mrs. Hamilton, "will you tell me by what authority you send away my visitors?"

 

"I didn't suppose you would want to see Ben," stammered¹ Conrad.

 

"Why not?"

 

"After what he has done?"

 

"What has he done?"

 

"He stole your opera glass and pawned² it."

 

"You are mistaken. It was stolen by a different person."

 

Conrad started uneasily, and his mother, who was not in the secret, looked surprised.

 

"I know who took the opera glass," continued Mrs. Hamilton.

 

"Who was it?" asked the housekeeper³.

 

"Your son, I regret to say."

 

"This is a slander⁴!" exclaimed Mrs. Hill angrily. "Cousin Hamilton, that boy has deceived you."

 

"My information did not come from Ben, if that is what you mean."

 

"My son would be incapable⁵ of stealing," continued Mrs. Hill.

 

"I should be glad to think so. It can easily be settled. Let Conrad go with me tomorrow to the pawnbroker⁶ from whom I recovered the glass, and see if he recognizes him."

 

"He would be sure to say it was me," stammered Conrad.

 

"At any rate he told me it was not Ben, who made no opposition⁷ to accompanying me."

 

"I see there is a plot against my poor boy," said Mrs. Hill bitterly.

 

"On the contrary, I shall be glad to believe him innocent. But there is another matter that requires investigation⁸. Conrad, here is a letter which has come for you. Are you willing I should open and read it?"

 

"I don't like to show my letters," said Conrad sullenly⁹.

 

"The boy is right," said his mother, always ready to back up her son.

 

"I have good reason for wishing to know the contents of the letter," said Mrs. Hamilton sternly. "I will not open it, unless Conrad consents, but I will call on the brokers¹⁰ and question them as to their motive¹¹ in addressing it to a boy."

 

Conrad was silent. He saw that there was no escape for him.

 

"Shall I read it?" asked Mrs. Hamilton.

 

"Yes," answered Conrad feebly.

 

The letter was opened.

 

It ran thus:

 

"Mr. Conrad Hill:

 

"You will be kind enough to call at our office at once, and pay commission due us for buying add selling fifty shares Pacific Mail. The fall in the price of the stock, as we have already notified you, exhausted¹² the money you placed in our hands as margin¹³.

 

 

"Yours respectfully,"

"BIRD & BRANT."

 

 

"I hope, Cousin Hamilton, you won't be too hard on the poor boy," said the housekeeper. "He thought he would be able to replace the money."

 

"You and Conrad have done your best to prejudice me against Ben."

 

"You are mistaken," said the housekeeper quickly, showing some evidence of agitation¹⁴.

 

"I have learned that the letter which lured¹⁵ Ben to a gambling¹⁶ house was concocted¹⁷ between you. The letter I have in my possession."

 

"Who told you such a falsehood? If it is Ben--"

 

"It is not Ben, Mrs. Hill. He is as much surprised as you are to learn it now. The letter I submitted to an expert, who has positively¹⁸ identified the handwriting as yours, Mrs. Hill. You were very persistent¹⁹ in your attempts to make me believe than Ben was addicted²⁰ to frequenting gambling houses."

 

"I see you are determined²¹ to believe me guilty," said Mrs. Hill. "Perhaps you think I know about the opera glass and this stock gambling?"

 

"I have no evidence of it, but I know enough to justify²² me in taking a decisive step."

 

Mrs. Hill listened apprehensively²³.

 

"It is this: you and Conrad must leave my house. I can no longer tolerate your presence here."

 

"You send us out to starve?" said the housekeeper bitterly.

 

"No; I will provide for you. I will allow you fifty dollars a month and Conrad half as much, and you can board where you please."

 

"While that boy usurps²⁴ our place?" said Mrs. Hill bitterly.

 

"That is a matter to be decided²⁵ between Ben and myself."

 

"We will go at once," said the housekeeper.

 

"I don't require it. You can stay here until you have secured a satisfactory boarding place."

 

But Conrad and his mother left the house the next morning. They saw that Mrs. Hamilton was no longer to be deceived, and they could gain nothing by staying. There was an angry scene between the mother and son.

 

"Were you mad, Conrad," said his mother, "to steal, where you were sure to be found out? It is your folly²⁶ that has turned Cousin Hamilton against us?"

 

"No; it is that boy. I'd like to wring²⁷ his neck!"

 

"I hope he will come to some bad end," said Mrs. Hill malignantly²⁸. "If he had not come to the house none of this would have happened."

 

Meanwhile Ben and his patroness had a satisfactory conversation.

 

"I hope you are satisfied with my management, Mrs. Hamilton?" said our hero.

 

"You have done wonderfully, Ben. Through you I am the richer by thirty-five thousand dollars at the very least, for the farm would have been dear at five thousand, whereas it was sold for forty thousand."

 

"I am very glad you are satisfied."

 

"You shall have reason to be glad. I intend to pay you a commission for selling the place."

 

"Thank you," said Ben joyfully²⁹.

 

He thought it possible Mrs. Hamilton might give him fifty dollars, and this would have been very welcome.

 

"Under the circumstances, I shall allow you an extra commission--say 10 per cent. How much will 10 per cent. amount to on forty thousand dollars?"

 

"Four thousand," answered Ben mechanically.

 

"Consider yourself worth fourth thousand dollars, then."

 

"But this is too much, Mrs. Hamilton," said Ben, scarcely crediting his good fortune.

 

"Then give half of it to your mother," said Mrs. Hamilton, smiling.

 

"Now we can pay off the mortgage!" exclaimed Ben, joyfully.

 

"What mortgage?"

 

Ben told the story, and it aroused the lively sympathy of his patroness.

 

"As soon as the purchase money is paid," she said, "you shall have you commission, and sooner if it is needed." 

1 stammered   

v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He stammered most when he was nervous. 他一紧张往往口吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Barsad leaned back in his chair, and stammered, \"What do you mean?\" 巴萨往椅背上一靠，结结巴巴地说，“你是什么意思？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

2 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》

3 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。

4 slander   

n./v.诽谤，污蔑

参考例句：

• The article is a slander on ordinary working people.那篇文章是对普通劳动大众的诋毁。
• He threatened to go public with the slander.他威胁要把丑闻宣扬出去。

5 incapable   

adj.无能力的，不能做某事的

参考例句：

• He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
• Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。

6 pawnbroker   

n.典当商，当铺老板

参考例句：

• He redeemed his watch from the pawnbroker's.他从当铺赎回手表。
• She could get fifty dollars for those if she went to the pawnbroker's.要是她去当铺当了这些东西，她是可以筹出50块钱的。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

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 brokers   

n.（股票、外币等）经纪人( broker的名词复数 )；中间人；代理商；（订合同的）中人v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的第三人称单数 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• The firm in question was Alsbery & Co., whiskey brokers. 那家公司叫阿尔斯伯里公司，经销威士忌。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• From time to time a telephone would ring in the brokers' offices. 那两排经纪人房间里不时响着叮令的电话。 来自子夜部分

11 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

12 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

13 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

14 agitation   

n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动

参考例句：

• Small shopkeepers carried on a long agitation against the big department stores.小店主们长期以来一直在煽动人们反对大型百货商店。
• These materials require constant agitation to keep them in suspension.这些药剂要经常搅动以保持悬浮状态。

15 lured   

吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The child was lured into a car but managed to escape. 那小孩被诱骗上了车，但又设法逃掉了。
• Lured by the lust of gold,the pioneers pushed onward. 开拓者在黄金的诱惑下，继续奋力向前。

16 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。

17 concocted   

v.将（尤指通常不相配合的）成分混合成某物( concoct的过去式和过去分词 )；调制；编造；捏造

参考例句：

• The soup was concocted from up to a dozen different kinds of fish. 这种汤是用多达十几种不同的鱼熬制而成的。
• Between them they concocted a letter. 他们共同策划写了一封信。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

19 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

20 addicted   

adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的

参考例句：

• He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
• She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。

21 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

22 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

23 apprehensively   

adv.担心地

参考例句：

• He glanced a trifle apprehensively towards the crowded ballroom. 他敏捷地朝挤满了人的舞厅瞟了一眼。 来自辞典例句
• Then it passed, leaving everything in a state of suspense, even the willow branches waiting apprehensively. 一阵这样的风过去，一切都不知怎好似的，连柳树都惊疑不定的等着点什么。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

24 usurps   

篡夺，霸占( usurp的第三人称单数 )； 盗用； 篡夺，篡权

参考例句：

• The domestic and foreign each big bank also allin abundance usurps the credit card market. 国内外的各大银行也都纷纷强占信用卡市场。

25 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

26 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

27 wring   

n.扭绞；v.拧，绞出，扭

参考例句：

• My socks were so wet that I had to wring them.我的袜子很湿，我不得不拧干它们。
• I'll wring your neck if you don't behave!你要是不规矩，我就拧断你的脖子。

28 malignantly   

怀恶意地； 恶毒地； 有害地； 恶性地

参考例句：

• It was as if Osmond deliberately, almost malignantly, had put the lights out one by one. 仿佛奥斯蒙德怀着幸灾乐祸的心情，在有意识地把灯一盏一盏吹灭。
• Neck of uterus can live after scalelike cell cancer performs an operation malignantly successfully how long? 宫颈鳞状细胞癌恶性做手术成功后能活多久？

29 joyfully   

adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地

参考例句：

• She tripped along joyfully as if treading on air. 她高兴地走着，脚底下轻飘飘的。
• During these first weeks she slaved joyfully. 在最初的几周里，她干得很高兴。