The Pontifex bill of costs was made up annually7 in June. As the time drew near for presenting it, more and more clerks were pressed into its service, until at the last everyone found himself engaged, in one way or another, upon this colossal8 account.
When Richard arrived at the office, he found the immense pile of white foolscap sheets upon his table, and next it the still higher pile of blue sheets forming the draft bill. All was finished except the checking of the figures and the final castings. As the cashier and accountant, he was ultimately responsible for this. He parcelled out the sheets, keeping the largest share for himself, and the work began. In every room there was a low muttering of figures, broken by an occasional oath when someone happened to lose the thread of an addition. The principals hovered9 about, full of solicitude10 and encouragement, and, according to custom on such occasions, lunch was served on the premises11 at the firm's expense. Richard continued to add while eating, keeping his head clear and seldom making a mistake; nothing existed for him but the column of pounds, shillings, and pence under his eyes.
The pile of finished sheets grew, and soon the office boys, commanded by Jenkins, were passing the earlier portion of the bill through the copying-press. As the hours went by, the helpers from other departments, no longer required, went back to their own neglected duties, and Richard did the last additions alone. At length the bill was absolutely finished, and he carried it himself to the stationer's to be sewed. In half an hour it came back, and he laid it ceremoniously before Mr. Curpet. The grand total went round the office, leaping from lip to lip like the result of an important parliamentary poll. It was higher than in any previous year by nearly a thousand pounds. Each of the clerks took a personal pride in its bigness, and secretly determined12 to petition for an increase of salary at the first opportunity. They talked together in groups, discussing details, while a comfortable lassitude spread from room to room.
Richard stood by the open window, absently watching the pigeons and the cleaners at the Law Courts opposite. In a corner an office boy, new to his work, was stamping envelopes with slow precision. Jenkins, with one foot on a table, was tying a shoe lace. It had struck six ten minutes ago, and everyone was gone except Mr. Smythe, whose departure Jenkins awaited with impatience13. The hot day subsided14 slowly to a serene15 and lovely evening, and the customary noises of the Strand16 ascended17 to Richard like the pastoral hum of a valley to a dweller18 on a hill, not breaking but rather completing the stillness of the hour. Gradually his brain freed itself from the obsession19 of figures, though he continued to muse20 vaguely21 over the bill, which had just been posted. It would certainly be settled by cheque within a week, for Messrs. Pontifex were invariably prompt. That cheque, which he himself would enter and pay into the bank, amounted to as much as he could earn in twenty years, if he remained a clerk. He tried to imagine the scene in which, at some future date, he would give Mr. Curpet notice of his intention to resign his position, explaining that he preferred to support himself by literature. The ineffable22 sweetness of such a triumph! Could he ever realise it? He could, he must; the alternative of eternal clerkship was not to be endured. His glance fell on Jenkins. That poor, gay, careless, vulgar animal would always be a clerk. The thought filled him with commiseration23, and also with pride. Fancy Jenkins writing a book called "The Psychology24 of the Suburbs"!
"I'm going to smoke," Jenkins said; "be blowed to Bertie dear." (Mrs. Smythe had once addressed her husband in the office as "Bertie dear," and thenceforth that had been his name among the staff.) Richard made no answer. When a minute later Jenkins, discreetly25 directing his puffs26 to the open window, asked him for the titles of one or two of Zola's novels in English, and their price, he gave the required information without turning round and in a preoccupied27 tone. It was his wish at that moment to appear dreamy. Perhaps a hint of the intellectual difference between them would suggest itself even to Jenkins. Suddenly a voice that seemed to be Mr. Smythe's came from the other side of the glass partition which separated the room from the general corridor.
"Jenkins, what the devil do you mean by smoking in the office?" The pipe vanished instantly, and Jenkins faced his accuser in some confusion, only to find that he had been victimised. It was Mr. Aked.
"You're as gassy as ever, I see," Jenkins said with a shade of annoyance28. Mr. Aked laughed, and then began to cough badly, bending forward with flushed cheeks.
"Surely you shouldn't have left the house to-day," Richard said, alarmed.
"Why not?" The retort was almost fierce.
"You're not fit."
"Fiddlesticks! I've only got a bit of a cough."
Richard wondered what he had called for.
Jenkins began to discuss with him the shortcomings of Mr. Smythe as an employer, and when that fruitful subject had been exhausted29 there was a silence.
"Coming home?" Mr. Aked asked Richard, who at once prepared to leave.
"What mash?"
"Why, the girl you said you were going to see yesterday afternoon."
"Oh, no, of course not. Do you know, Mr. Aked, he's begun his little games with the women. These fellows from the country—so shy and all that—they're regular cautions when you come to know them." But Mr. Aked made no response.
"I was thinking you might as well come down to-morrow night instead of Friday," he said quietly to Richard, who had busied himself with the locking of a safe.
"To-morrow? Certainly, I shall be very glad," Richard answered. Evidently Mr. Aked was as eager as himself to make a beginning of the book. No doubt that was why he had called. Surely, together they would accomplish something notable!
Jenkins had climbed on a lofty stool. He gave vent33 to a whistle, and the other two observed that his features were twisted into an expression of delirious34 mirth.
"Aha! aha!" he grinned, looking at Richard. "I begin to perceive. You're after the pretty niece, eh, Master Larch? And a nice plump little thing she is, too! She came here once to fetch uncle home."
"It's not the first time I've had to do that, nor the second," he said. "I suppose you never will learn to behave yourself." Jenkins could easily have thrashed the old man—he really looked old to-day—and no consideration for the latter's age would have restrained him from doing so, had not the habit of submission36 acquired during those years when Mr. Aked ruled the outer office proved stronger than his rage. As it was, he took up a safe position behind the stool and contented37 himself with words.
"You're a beauty, you are!" he began. "How's the red-haired A. B. C. girl getting on? You know, the one that lost her place at the Courts' restaurant through you. If she hadn't been a fool, she'd have brought an action for breach38 of promise. And how many more are there? I wonder—"
Mr. Aked made an uncertain dart39 after him, but he vanished through the doorway40, only to encounter Mr. Smythe. With a rather servile "'d afternoon, sir," to the latter, Mr. Aked walked rapidly out of the office.
"What the devil are you all up to?" Mr. Smythe inquired crossly. "Is Aked after money, Larch?"
"Not at all, Mr. Smythe. He only called to see me."
"You are a friend of his, are you?"
"Well, I know him."
"H'm! Jenkins, come and take a letter."
As Richard hurried down into the court, he felt exceedingly angry with Mr. Aked. Why could not the man be more dignified41? Everyone seemed to treat him with contempt, and the cause was not altogether obscure. He had no dignity. Richard felt personally aggrieved42.
Neither of them spoke43 of the recent incident as they walked down to the Temple station. Mr. Aked, indeed, said nothing; a fit of coughing occupied him. Somehow Richard's faith in "The Psychology of the Suburbs" had lessened44 a little during the last half-hour.
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1
watchfully
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| 警惕地，留心地 | |
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expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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transacted
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| v.办理（业务等）( transact的过去式和过去分词 )；交易，谈判 | |
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irreproachably
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| adv.不可非难地，无过失地 | |
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apprehensively
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| adv.担心地 | |
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negligence
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| n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意 | |
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annually
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| adv.一年一次，每年 | |
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colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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hovered
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| 鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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solicitude
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| n.焦虑 | |
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premises
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| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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14
subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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strand
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| vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地） | |
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ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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dweller
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| n.居住者，住客 | |
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obsession
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| n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感) | |
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muse
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| n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感 | |
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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ineffable
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| adj.无法表达的，不可言喻的 | |
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commiseration
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| n.怜悯，同情 | |
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psychology
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| n.心理，心理学，心理状态 | |
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discreetly
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| ad.(言行)审慎地，慎重地 | |
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26
puffs
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| n.吸( puff的名词复数 )；（烟斗或香烟的）一吸；一缕（烟、蒸汽等）；（呼吸或风的）呼v.使喷出( puff的第三人称单数 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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27
preoccupied
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| adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) | |
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28
annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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larch
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| n.落叶松 | |
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31
mash
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| n.麦芽浆，糊状物，土豆泥；v.把…捣成糊状，挑逗，调情 | |
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32
nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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33
vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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delirious
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| adj.不省人事的，神智昏迷的 | |
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35
cuffed
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| v.掌打，拳打( cuff的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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36
submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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dart
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| v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲 | |
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40
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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41
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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42
aggrieved
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| adj.愤愤不平的，受委屈的；悲痛的；（在合法权利方面）受侵害的v.令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式)；令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式和过去分词) | |
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43
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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44
lessened
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| 减少的，减弱的 | |
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