Mr. White, managing director of Punsonby's Store, was a man of simple tastes. He had a horror of extravagance and it was his boast that he had never ridden in a taxi-cab save as the guest of some other person who paid. He travelled by tube or omnibus from the Bayswater Road, where he lived what he described as his private life. He lunched in the staff dining-room, punctiliously1 paying his bill; he dined at home in solitary2 state, for he had neither chick nor child, heir or wife. Once an elder sister had lived with him and had died (according to the popularly accepted idea) of slow starvation, for he was a frugal3 man.
It seems the fate of apparently4 rich and frugal men that they either die and leave their hoardings to the State or else they disappear, leaving behind them monumental debts. The latter have apparently no vices5; even the harassed6 accountant who disentangles their estates cannot discover the channel through which their hundreds of thousands have poured. The money has gone and, if astute7 detectives bring back the defaulter from the pleasant life which the Southern American cities offer to rich idlers, he is hopelessly vague as to the method by which it went.
Mr. Lassimus White was the managing director and general manager of Punsonby's. He held, or was supposed to hold, a third of the shares in that concern, shares which he had inherited from John Punsonby, his uncle, and the founder8 of the firm. He drew a princely salary and a substantial dividend9, he was listed as a debenture10 holder11 and was accounted a rich man.
But Mr. White was not rich. His salary and his dividends12 were absorbed by a mysterious agency which called itself the Union Jack13 Investment and Mortgage Corporation, which paid premiums14 on Mr. White's heavy life insurance and collected the whole or nearly the whole of his income. His secret, well guarded as it was, need be no secret to the reader. Mr. White, who had never touched a playing-card in his life and who grew apoplectic15 at the sin and shame of playing the races, was an inveterate16 gambler. His passion was for Sunken Treasure Syndicates, formed to recover golden ingots from ships of the Spanish Armada; for companies that set forth17 to harness the horse-power of the sea to the services of commerce; for optimistic companies that discovered radium mines in the Ural Mountains--anything which promised a steady three hundred per cent. per annum on an initial investment had an irresistible18 attraction for Mr. White, who argued that some day something would really fulfil expectations and his losses would be recovered.
In the meantime he was in the hands of Moss19 Ibramovitch, trading as the Union Jack Investment and Mortgage Corporation, licensed20 and registered as a moneylender according to law. And being in the hands of this gentleman, was much less satisfactory and infinitely21 more expensive than being in the hands of the bankruptcy22 officials.
In the evening of the day Oliva Cresswell had started working for her new employer, Mr. White stalked forth from his gloomy house and his departure was watched by the two tough females who kept house for him, with every pleasure. He strutted23 eastward24 swinging his umbrella, his head well back, his eyes half-closed, his massive waistcoat curving regally. His silk hat was pushed back from his forehead and the pince-nez he carried, but so seldom wore, swung from the cord he held before him in that dead-mouse manner which important men affect.
He had often been mistaken for a Fellow of the Royal Society, so learned and detached was his bearing. Yet no speculation25 upon the origin of species or the function of the nebulae filled his mind.
At a moment of great stress and distraction26, Dr. van Heerden had arisen above his horizon, and there was something in Dr. van Heerden's manner which inspired confidence and respect. They had met by accident at a meeting held to liquidate27 the Shining Strand28 Alluvial29 Gold Mining Company--a concern which had started forth in the happiest circumstances to extract the fabulous30 riches which had been discovered by an American philanthropist (he is now selling Real Estate by correspondence) on a Southern Pacific island.
Van Heerden was not a shareholder31, but he was intensely interested in the kind of people who subscribe32 for shares in Dreamland Gold mines. Mr. White had attended incognito--his shares were held in the name of his lawyer, who was thinking seriously of building an annex33 to hold the unprofitable scrip.
Mr. White was gratified to discover a kindred soul who believed in this kind of speculation.
It was to the doctor's apartment that he was now walking. That gentleman met him in the entrance and accompanied him to his room. There was a light in the fanlight of Oliva's flat, for she had brought some of her work home to finish, but Mr. Beale's flat was dark.
This the doctor noted34 before he closed his own door, and switched on the light.
"Well, White, have you made up your mind?" he demanded without preliminary.
"I--ah--have and I--ah--have not," said the cautious adventurer. "Forty thousand is a lot of money--a fortune, one might say--yes, a fortune."
"Have you raised it?"
Mr. White sniffed35 his objection to this direct examination.
"My broker36 has very kindly37 realized the debentures--I am--ah--somewhat indebted to him, and it was necessary to secure his permission and--yes, I have the money at my bank."
He gazed benignly38 at the other, as one who conferred a favour by the mere39 bestowal40 of his confidences.
"First, doctor--forgive me if I am a little cautious; first I say, it is necessary that I should know a little more about your remarkable41 scheme, for remarkable I am sure it is."
The doctor poured out a whisky and soda42 and passed the glass to his visitor, who smilingly waved it aside.
"Wine is a mocker," he said, "nothing stronger than cider has ever passed my lips--pray do not be offended."
"And yet I seem to remember that you held shares in the Northern Saloon Trust," said the doctor, with a little curl of his bearded lips.
"That," said Mr. White hastily, "was a purely44 commercial--ah--affair. In business one must exploit even the--ah--sins and weaknesses of our fellows."
"As to my scheme," said the doctor, changing the subject, "I'm afraid I must ask you to invest in the dark. I can promise you that you will get your capital back a hundred times over. I realize that you have heard that sort of thing before, and that my suggestion has all the appearance of a confidence trick, except that I do not offer you even the substantial security of a gold brick. I may not use your money--I believe that I shall not. On the other hand, I may. If it is to be of any use to me it must be in my hands very soon--to-morrow."
He wandered restlessly about the room as he spoke45, and jerked his sentences out now to Mr. White's face, now over his shoulder.
"I will tell you this," he went on, "my scheme within the narrow interpretation46 of the law is illegal--don't mistake me, there is no danger to those who invest in ignorance. I will bear the full burden of responsibility. You can come in or you can stay out, but if you come in I shall ask you never to mention the name of the enterprise to a living soul."
"The Green Rust43 Syndicate?" whispered Mr. White fearfully. "What--ah--is Green Rust?"
"I have offered the scheme to my--to a Government. But they are scared of touching47 it. Scared, by Jove!" He threw up his arms to the ceiling and his voice trembled with passion. "Germany scared! And there was a time when Europe cringed at the clank of the Prussian sword! When the lightest word of Potsdam set ministries48 trembling in Petrograd and London. You told me the other day you were a pacifist during the war and that you sympathized with Prussia in her humiliation49. I am a Prussian, why should I deny it? I glory in the religion of might--I believe it were better that the old civilization were stamped into the mud of oblivion than that Prussian Kultur should be swept away by the licentious50 French, the mercenary English----"
"British," murmured Mr. White.
"And the dollar-hunting Yankees--but I'm making a fool of myself."
With an effort he regained52 his calm.
"The war's over and done with. As I say, I offered my Government my secret. They thought it good but could not help me. They were afraid that the League would come to learn they were supporting it. They'll help me in other ways--innocent ways. If this scheme goes through they will put the full resources of the State at my disposal."
Mr. White rose, groped for his hat and cleared his throat.
"Dr.--ah--van Heerden, you may be sure that I shall--ah--respect your confidence. With your very natural indignation I am in complete sympathy.
"But let us forget, ah--that you have spoken at all about the scheme in any detail--especially in so far as to its legality or otherwise. Let us forget, sir "--Mr. White thrust his hand into the bosom53 of his coat, an attitude he associated with the subtle rhetoric54 of statesmanship. "Let us forget all, save this, that you invite me to subscribe L40,000 to a syndicate for--ah--let us say model dwellings55 for the working classes, and that I am willing to subscribe, and in proof of my willingness will send you by the night's post a cheque for that amount. Good night, doctor."
He shook hands, pulled his hat down upon his head, opened the door and ran into the arms of a man whose hand was at that moment raised to press the electric bell-push by the side of the door.
Both started back.
"Excuse me," mumbled56 Mr. White, and hurried down the stairs.
Dr. van Heerden glared at the visitor, white with rage.
"Come in, you fool!" he hissed57, and half-dragged the man into his room, "what made you leave Scotland?"
"Scotland I hate!" said the visitor huskily. "Sticking a fellow away in the wilds of the beastly mountains, eh? That's not playing the game, my cheery sportsman."
"When did you arrive?" asked van Heerden quickly.
"Seven p.m. Travelled third class! Me! Is it not the most absurd position for a man of my parts--third class, with foul58 and common people--I'd like to rip them all up--I would, by heavens!"
The doctor surveyed the coarse, drink-bloated face, the loose, weak mouth, half-smiled at the vanity of the dangling59 monocle and pointed60 to the decanter.
"You did wrong to come," he said, "I have arranged your passage to Canada next week."
"I'll not go!" said the man, tossing down a drink and wiping his lips with a not over-clean handkerchief. "Curse me, van Heerden, why should I hide and fly like a--a----"
"Like a man who escaped from Cayenne," suggested the doctor, "or like a man who is wanted by the police of three countries for crimes ranging from arson61 to wilful62 murder."
"All fair fights, my dear fellow," he said more mildly, "if I hadn't been a boastful, drunken sot, you wouldn't have heard of 'em--you wouldn't, curse you. I was mad! I had you in my hand like that!" He closed a not over-clean fist under van Heerden's nose. "I saw it all, all, I saw you bullying64 the poor devil, shaking some secret out of him, I saw you knife him----"
"Hush65!" hissed van Heerden. "You fool--people can hear through these walls."
"But there are no windows to see through," leered the man, "and I _saw_! He came out of his death-trance to denounce you, by Jove! I heard him shout and I saw you run in and lay him down--lay him down! Lay him out is better! You killed him to shut his mouth, my bonnie doctor!"
Van Heerden's face was as white as a sheet, but the hand he raised to his lips was without a tremor66.
"You were lucky to find me that night, dear lad," the man went on. "I was in a mind to split on you."
"You have no cause to regret my finding you, Jackson," said the doctor. "I suppose you still call yourself by that name?"
"Yes, Jackson," said the other promptly67. "Jack--son, son of Jack. Fine name, eh--good enough for me and good enough for anybody else. Yes, you found me and done me well. I wish you hadn't. How I wish you hadn't."
"Ungrateful fool!" said van Heerden. "I probably saved your life--hid you in Eastbourne, took you to London, whilst the police were searching for you."
"For me!" snarled68 the other. "A low trick, by the Everlasting69 Virtues----!"
"Don't be an idiot--whose word would they have taken, yours or mine? Now let's talk--on Thursday next you sail for Quebec...."
He detailed70 his instructions at length and the man called Jackson, mellowed71 by repeated visits to the decanter, listened and even approved.
On the other side of the hallway, behind the closed door, Oliva Cresswell, her dining-table covered with papers and books, was working hard.
She was particularly anxious to show Mr. Beale a sample of her work in the morning and was making a fair copy of what she had described to him that afternoon as her "hotel list."
"They are such queer names," she said; "there is one called Scobbs of Red Horse Valley--Scobbs!"
He had laughed.
"Strangely enough, I know Mr. Scobbs, who is quite a personage in that part of the world. He owns a chain of hotels in Western Canada. You mustn't leave him out."
Even had she wished to, or even had the name been overlooked once, she could not have escaped it. For Jonas Scobbs was the proprietor72 of Scobbs' Hotel in Falling Star City; of the Bellevue in Snakefence, of the Palace Hotel in Portage.
After awhile it began to lose its novelty and she accepted the discovery of unsuspected properties of Mr. Scobbs as inevitable73.
She filled in the last ruled sheet and blotted74 it, gathered the sheets together and fastened them with a clip.
She yawned as she rose and realized that her previous night's sleep had been fitful.
She wondered as she began to undress if she would dream of Scobbs or--no, she didn't want to dream of big-headed men with white faces, and the thought awoke a doubt in her mind. Had she bolted the door of the flat? She went along the passage in her stockinged feet, shot the bolts smoothly75 and was aware of voices outside. They came to her clearly through the ventilator above the fanlight.
She heard the doctor say something and then a voice which she had not heard before.
"Don't worry--I've a wonderful memory, by Jove!..."
The murmur51 of the doctor did not reach her, but----
"Yes, yes ... Scobbs' Hotel, Red Horse Valley ... know the place well ... good night, dear old thing...."
A door banged, an uncertain footstep died away in the well of the stairs below, and she was left to recover from her amazement76.
收听单词发音 |
1
punctiliously
|
|
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
solitary
|
|
| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
frugal
|
|
| adj.节俭的，节约的，少量的，微量的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
apparently
|
|
| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
vices
|
|
| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
harassed
|
|
| adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
astute
|
|
| adj.机敏的，精明的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
Founder
|
|
| n.创始者，缔造者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
dividend
|
|
| n.红利，股息；回报，效益 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
debenture
|
|
| n.债券；信用债券；（海关）退税凭单 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
holder
|
|
| n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
dividends
|
|
| 红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
jack
|
|
| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
premiums
|
|
| n.费用( premium的名词复数 )；保险费；额外费用；（商品定价、贷款利息等以外的）加价 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
apoplectic
|
|
| adj.中风的；愤怒的；n.中风患者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
inveterate
|
|
| adj.积习已深的，根深蒂固的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
irresistible
|
|
| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
moss
|
|
| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
licensed
|
|
| adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
infinitely
|
|
| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
bankruptcy
|
|
| n.破产；无偿付能力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
strutted
|
|
| 趾高气扬地走，高视阔步( strut的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
eastward
|
|
| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
speculation
|
|
| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
distraction
|
|
| n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
liquidate
|
|
| v.偿付，清算，扫除；整理，破产 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
strand
|
|
| vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
alluvial
|
|
| adj.冲积的；淤积的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
fabulous
|
|
| adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
shareholder
|
|
| n.股东，股票持有人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
subscribe
|
|
| vi.(to)订阅，订购；同意；vt.捐助，赞助 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
annex
|
|
| vt.兼并，吞并；n.附属建筑物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
noted
|
|
| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
sniffed
|
|
| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
broker
|
|
| n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
kindly
|
|
| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
benignly
|
|
| adv.仁慈地，亲切地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
bestowal
|
|
| 赠与，给与； 贮存 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
remarkable
|
|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
soda
|
|
| n.苏打水；汽水 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
rust
|
|
| n.锈；v.生锈；(脑子)衰退 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
purely
|
|
| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
spoke
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
interpretation
|
|
| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
touching
|
|
| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
ministries
|
|
| （政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
humiliation
|
|
| n.羞辱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
licentious
|
|
| adj.放纵的，淫乱的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
murmur
|
|
| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
regained
|
|
| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
bosom
|
|
| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
rhetoric
|
|
| n.修辞学，浮夸之言语 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
dwellings
|
|
| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
mumbled
|
|
| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
hissed
|
|
| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
foul
|
|
| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
dangling
|
|
| 悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
arson
|
|
| n.纵火，放火 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
wilful
|
|
| adj.任性的，故意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
shuddered
|
|
| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
bullying
|
|
| v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
hush
|
|
| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
tremor
|
|
| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
promptly
|
|
| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
snarled
|
|
| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
everlasting
|
|
| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
detailed
|
|
| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
mellowed
|
|
| （使）成熟( mellow的过去式和过去分词 )； 使色彩更加柔和，使酒更加醇香 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
proprietor
|
|
| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
inevitable
|
|
| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
blotted
|
|
| 涂污( blot的过去式和过去分词 )； （用吸墨纸）吸干 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
smoothly
|
|
| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
amazement
|
|
| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |