After that interview in Gray’s Inn, there were more interviews of a like character. Valentine received further instructions from George Sheldon, and got himself posted up in the Haygarthian history, so far as the lawyer’s information furnished the materials for such posting. But the sum total of Mr. Sheldon’s information seemed very little to his coadjutor when the young man looked the Haygarthian business full in the face and considered what he had to do. He felt very much like a young prince in the fairy tale who has been bidden to go forth1 upon an adventurous2 journey in a trackless forest, where if he escape all manner of lurking3 dangers, and remember innumerable injunctions, such as not to utter a single syllable4 during the whole course of his travels, or look over his left shoulder, or pat any strange dog, or gather forest fruit or flower, or look at his own reflection in mirror or water-pool, shining brazen5 shield or jewelled helm, he will ultimately find himself before the gates of an enchanted6 castle, to which he may or may not obtain admittance.
Valentine fancied himself in the position of this favourite young prince. The trackless forest was the genealogy7 of the Haygarths; and in the enchanted castle he was to find the crown of success in the shape of three thousand pounds. Could he marry Charlotte on the strength of those three thousand pounds, if he were so fortunate as to unravel8 the tangled9 skein of the Haygarth history? Ah, no; that black-whiskered stockbroking10 stepfather would ask for something more than three thousand pounds from the man to whom he gave his wife’s daughter.
“He will try to marry her to some rich City swell11, I dare say,” thought Valentine. “I should be no nearer her with three thousand pounds for my fortune than I am without a sixpence. The best thing I can do for her happiness and my own is to turn my back upon her, and devote myself to hunting the Haygarths. It’s rather hard too, just as I have begun to fancy that she likes me a little.”
In the course of those interviews in Gray’s Inn which occurred before Valentine took any active steps in his new pursuit, certain conditions were agreed upon between him and Mr. Sheldon. The first and most serious of these conditions was, that Captain Paget should be in nowise enlightened as to his protégé‘s plans. This was a strong point with George Sheldon. “I have no doubt Paget’s a very good fellow,” he said. (It was his habit to call everybody a good fellow. He would have called Nana Sahib a good fellow, and would have made some good-natured excuse for any peccadilloes12 on the part of that potentate). “Paget’s an uncommonly13 agreeable man, you know; but he is not the man I should care to trust with this kind of secret.” Mr. Sheldon said this with a tone that implied his willingness to trust Captain Paget with every other kind of secret, from the contents of his japanned office-boxes to the innermost mysteries of his soul.
“You see Paget is thick with my brother Phil,” he resumed; “and whenever I find a man thick with my relations, I make it a point to keep clear of that man myself. Relations never have worked well in harness, and never will work well in harness. It seems to be against nature. Now Phil has a dim kind of idea of the game I want to play, in a general way, but nothing more than a dim idea. He fancies I’m a fool, and that I’m wasting my time and trouble. I mean him to stick to that notion. For, you see, in a thing of this kind there’s always a chance of other people cutting in and spoiling a man’s game. Of course, that advertisement I read to you was seen by other men besides me, and may have been taken up. My hope is that whoever has taken it up has gone in for the female branch, and got himself snowed up under a heap of documentary evidence about the Judsons. That’s another reason why we should put our trust in Matthew Haygarth. The Judson line is the obvious line to follow, and there are very few who would think of hunting up evidence for a hypothetical first marriage until they had exhausted14 the Judsons. Now, I rely upon you to throw dust in Paget’s eyes, so that there may be no possibility of my brother getting wind of our little scheme through him.”
“I’ll take care of that,” answered Valentine; “he doesn’t want me just now. He’s in very high feather, riding about in broughams and dining at West-end taverns15. He won’t be sorry to get rid of me for a short time.” “But what’ll be your excuse for leaving town? He’ll be sure to want a reason, you know.”
“I’ll invent an aunt at Ullerton, and tell him I’m going down to stop with her.”
“You’d better not say Ullerton; Paget might take it into his head to follow you down there in order to see what sort of person your aunt was, and whether she had any money. Paget’s an excellent fellow, but there’s never any knowing what that sort of man will do. You’d better throw him off the scent16 altogether. Plant your aunt in Surrey — say Dorking.”
“But if he should want to write to me?”
“Tell him to address to the post-office, Dorking, as your aunt is inquisitive17, and might tamper18 with your correspondence. I daresay his letters will keep.”
“He could follow me to Dorking as easily as to Ullerton.”
“Of course he could,” answered George Sheldon; “but then, you see, at Dorking the most he could find out would be that he’d been made a fool of; whereas if he followed you to Ullerton, he might ferret out the nature of your business there.”
Mr. Hawkehurst perceived the wisdom of this conclusion, and agreed to make Dorking the place of his relative’s abode19.
“It’s very near London,” he suggested thoughtfully; “the Captain might easily run down.”
“And for that very reason he’s all the less likely to do it,” answered the lawyer; “a man who thinks of going to a place within an hour’s ride of town knows he can go any day, and is likely to think of going to the end of the chapter without carrying out his intention. A man who resolves to go to Manchester or Liverpool has to make his arrangements accordingly, and is likely to put his idea into practice. The people who live on Tower-hill very seldom see the inside of the Tower. It’s the good folks who come up for a week’s holiday from Yorkshire and Cornwall who know all about the Crown jewels and John of Gaunt’s armour20. Take my advice, and stick to Dorking.”
Acting21 upon this advice, Valentine Hawkehurst lay in wait for the Promoter that very evening. He went home early, and was seated by a cheery little bit of fire, such as an Englishman likes to see at the close of a dull autumn day, when that accomplished22 personage returned to his lodgings23.
“Deuced tiresome24 work,” said the Captain, as he smoothed the nap of his hat with that caressing25 tenderness of manipulation peculiar26 to the man who is not very clear as to the means whereby his next hat is to be obtained — “deuced slow, brain-belabouring work! How many people do you think I’ve called upon to-day, eh, Val? Seven-and-thirty! What do you say to that? Seven-and-thirty interviews, and some of them very tough ones. I think that’s enough to take the steam out of a man.”
“Do the moneyed swells27 bite?” asked Mr. Hawkehurst, with friendly interest.
“Rather slowly, my dear Val, rather slowly. The mercantile fisheries have been pretty well whipped of late years, and the fish are artful — they are uncommonly artful, Val. Indeed, I’m not quite clear at this present moment as to the kind of fly they’ll rise to most readily. I’m half inclined to be doubtful whether your gaudy28 pheasant-feather, your brougham and lavender-kid business is the right thing for your angler. It has been overdone29, Val, considerably30 overdone; and I shouldn’t wonder if a sober little brown fly — a shabby old chap in a rusty31 greatcoat, with a cotton umbrella under his arm — wouldn’t do the trick better. That sort of thing would look rich, you see, Val — rich and eccentric; and I think on occasions — with a very downy bird — I’d even go so far as a halfp’orth of snuff in a screw of paper. I really think a pinch of snuff out of a bit of paper, taken at the right moment, might turn the tide of a transaction.”
Impressed by the brilliancy of this idea, Captain Paget abandoned himself for the moment to profound meditation32, seated in his favourite chair, and with his legs extended before the cheerful blaze. He always had a favourite chair in every caravanserai wherein he rested in his manifold wanderings, and he had an unerring instinct which guided him in the selection of the most comfortable chair, and that one corner, to be found in every room, which is a sanctuary33 secure from the incursions of Boreas.
The day just ended had evidently not been a lucky one, and the Captain’s gaze was darkly meditative34 as he looked into the ruddy little fire.
“I think I’ll take a glass of cold water with a dash of brandy in it, Val,” he said presently; and he said it with the air of a man who rarely tasted such a beverage35; whereas it was as habitual36 with him to sit sipping37 brandy-and-water for an hour or so before he went to bed as it was for him to light his chamber38 candle. “That fellow Sheldon knows how to take care of himself,” he remarked thoughtfully, when Valentine had procured39 the brandy-and-water. “Try some of that cognac, Val; it’s not bad. To tell you the truth, I’m beginning to get sick of this promoting business. It pays very little better than the India-rubber agency, and it’s harder work. I shall look about me for something fresh, if Sheldon doesn’t treat me handsomely. And what have you been doing for the last day or two?” asked the Captain, with a searching glance at his protégé‘s face. “You’re always hanging about Sheldon’s place; but you don’t seem to do much business with him. You and his brother George seem uncommonly thick.”
“Yes, George suits me better than the stockbroker40. I never could get on very well with your ultra-respectable men. I’m as ready to ‘undertake a dirty job’ as any man; but I don’t like a fellow to offer me dirty work and pretend it’s clean.”
“Ah, he’s been getting you to do a little of the bear business, I suppose,” said the Captain. “I don’t see that your conscience need trouble you about that. Amongst a commercial people money must change hands. I can’t see that it much matters how the change takes place.”
“No, to be sure; that’s a comfortable way of putting it, at any rate. However, I’m tired of going about in the ursine41 guise42, and I’m going to cut it. I’ve an old aunt settled at Dorking who has got a little bit of money to leave, and I think I’ll go and look her up.”
“An aunt at Dorking! I never heard of her before.”
“O yes you have,” answered Mr. Hawkehurst, with supreme43 nonchalance44; “you’ve heard of her often enough, only you’ve a happy knack45 of not listening to other people’s affairs. But you must have been wrapped up in yourself with a vengeance46 if you don’t remember to have heard me speak of my aunt — Sarah.”
“Well, well, it may be so,” murmured the Captain, almost apologetically. “Your aunt Sarah? Ah, to be sure; I have some recollection: is she your father’s sister?”
“No; she’s the sister of my maternal47 grandmother — a great-aunt, you know. She has a comfortable little place down at Dorking, and I can get free quarters there whenever I like; so as you don’t particularly want me just now, I think I’ll run down to her for a week or two.”
The Captain had no objection to offer to this very natural desire on the part of his adopted son; nor did he concern himself as to the young man’s motive48 for leaving London.
收听单词发音 |
1
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
adventurous
|
|
| adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
lurking
|
|
| 潜在 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
syllable
|
|
| n.音节；vt.分音节 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
brazen
|
|
| adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
enchanted
|
|
| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
genealogy
|
|
| n.家系，宗谱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
unravel
|
|
| v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
tangled
|
|
| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
stockbroking
|
|
| n.炒股 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
swell
|
|
| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
peccadilloes
|
|
| n.轻罪，小过失( peccadillo的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
uncommonly
|
|
| adv. 稀罕(极，非常) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
exhausted
|
|
| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
taverns
|
|
| n.小旅馆，客栈，酒馆( tavern的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
scent
|
|
| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
inquisitive
|
|
| adj.求知欲强的，好奇的，好寻根究底的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
tamper
|
|
| v.干预，玩弄，贿赂，窜改，削弱，损害 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
abode
|
|
| n.住处，住所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
armour
|
|
| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
acting
|
|
| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
accomplished
|
|
| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
lodgings
|
|
| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
tiresome
|
|
| adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
caressing
|
|
| 爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
peculiar
|
|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
swells
|
|
| 增强( swell的第三人称单数 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
gaudy
|
|
| adj.华而不实的；俗丽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
overdone
|
|
| v.做得过分( overdo的过去分词 )；太夸张；把…煮得太久；（工作等）过度 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
considerably
|
|
| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
rusty
|
|
| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
meditation
|
|
| n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
sanctuary
|
|
| n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
meditative
|
|
| adj.沉思的，冥想的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
beverage
|
|
| n.(水，酒等之外的)饮料 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
habitual
|
|
| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
sipping
|
|
| v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
chamber
|
|
| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
procured
|
|
| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
stockbroker
|
|
| n.股票（或证券），经纪人（或机构） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
ursine
|
|
| adj.似熊的，熊的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
guise
|
|
| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
supreme
|
|
| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
nonchalance
|
|
| n.冷淡，漠不关心 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
knack
|
|
| n.诀窍，做事情的灵巧的，便利的方法 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
vengeance
|
|
| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
maternal
|
|
| adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
motive
|
|
| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |