CHAPTER III

 By five o'clock that afternoon the last package of cards for Garrod's shoes had been sent by messenger to H. G. Garrod at the Biltmore Hotel. He was to give a decision next morning. At 5.30 Roger's stenographer¹ tapped him on the shoulder.

 

"Mr. Golden, the superintendent² of the building, to see you."

 

Roger turned around dazedly³.

 

"Oh, how do?"

 

Mr. Golden came directly to the point. If Mr. Halsey intended to keep the office any longer, the little oversight⁴ about the rent had better be remedied right away.

 

"Mr. Golden," said Roger wearily, "everything'll be all right to-morrow. If you worry me now maybe you'll never get your money. After to-morrow nothing'll matter."

 

Mr. Golden looked at the tenant⁵ uneasily. Young men sometimes did away with themselves when business went wrong. Then his eye fell unpleasantly on the initialled suitcase beside the desk.

 

"Going on a trip?" he asked pointedly⁶.

 

"What? Oh, no. That's just some clothes."

 

"Clothes, eh? Well, Mr. Halsey, just to prove that you mean what you say, suppose you let me keep that suitcase until to-morrow noon."

 

"Help yourself."

 

Mr. Golden picked it up with a deprecatory gesture.

 

"Just a matter of form," he remarked.

 

"I understand," said Roger, swinging around to his desk. "Good afternoon."

 

Mr. Golden seemed to feel that the conversation should close on a softer key.

 

"And don't work too hard, Mr. Halsey. You don't want to have a nervous break——"

 

"No," shouted Roger, "I don't. But I will if you don't leave me alone."

 

As the door closed behind Mr. Golden, Roger's stenographer turned sympathetically around.

 

"You shouldn't have let him get away with that," she said. "What's in there? Clothes?"

 

"No," answered Roger absently. "Just all my wife's shoes."

 

He slept in the office that night on a sofa beside his desk. At dawn he awoke with a nervous start, rushed out into the street for coffee, and returned in ten minutes in a panic—afraid that he might have missed Mr. Garrod's telephone call. It was then 6.30.

 

By eight o'clock his whole body seemed to be on fire. When his two artists arrived he was stretched on the couch in almost physical pain. The phone rang imperatively⁷ at 9.30, and he picked up the receiver with trembling hands.

 

"Hello."

 

"Is this the Halsey agency?"

 

"Yes, this is Mr. Halsey speaking."

 

"This is Mr. H. G. Garrod."

 

Roger's heart stopped beating.

 

"I called up, young fellow, to say that this is wonderful work you've given us here. We want all of it and as much more as your office can do."

 

"Oh, God!" cried Roger into the transmitter.

 

"What?" Mr. H. G. Garrod was considerably⁸ startled. "Say, wait a minute there!"

 

But he was talking to nobody. The phone had clattered⁹ to the floor, and Roger, stretched full length on the couch, was sobbing¹⁰ as if his heart would break.

 

1 stenographer   

n.速记员

参考例句：

• The police stenographer recorded the man's confession word by word. 警察局速记员逐字记下了那个人的供词。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A qualified stenographer is not necessarily a competent secretary. 一个合格的速记员不一定就是个称职的秘书。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

3 dazedly   

头昏眼花地，眼花缭乱地，茫然地

参考例句：

• Chu Kuei-ying stared dazedly at her mother for a moment, but said nothing. 朱桂英怔怔地望着她母亲，不作声。 来自子夜部分
• He wondered dazedly whether the term after next at his new school wouldn't matter so much. 他昏头昏脑地想，不知道新学校的第三个学期是不是不那么重要。

4 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

5 tenant   

n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用

参考例句：

• The tenant was dispossessed for not paying his rent.那名房客因未付房租而被赶走。
• The tenant is responsible for all repairs to the building.租户负责对房屋的所有修理。

6 pointedly   

adv.尖地，明显地

参考例句：

• She yawned and looked pointedly at her watch. 她打了个哈欠，又刻意地看了看手表。
• The demand for an apology was pointedly refused. 让对方道歉的要求遭到了断然拒绝。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 imperatively   

adv.命令式地

参考例句：

• Drying wet rice rapidly and soaking or rewetting dry rice kernels imperatively results in severe fissuring. 潮湿米粒快速干燥或干燥籽粒浸水、回潮均会产生严重的裂纹。 来自互联网
• Drying wet rice kernels rapidly, Soaking or Rewetting dry rice Kernels imperatively results in severe fissuring. 潮湿米粒的快速干燥，干燥籽粒的浸水或回潮均会带来严重的裂纹。 来自互联网

8 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。

9 clattered   

发出咔哒声（clatter的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He dropped the knife and it clattered on the stone floor. 他一失手，刀子当啷一声掉到石头地面上。
• His hand went limp and the knife clattered to the ground. 他的手一软，刀子当啷一声掉到地上。

10 sobbing   

<主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的

参考例句：

• I heard a child sobbing loudly. 我听见有个孩子在呜呜地哭。
• Her eyes were red with recent sobbing. 她的眼睛因刚哭过而发红。