Deborah re-entered the judge’s house a stricken woman. Evading1 Reuther, she ran up stairs, taking off her things mechanically on the way. She must have an hour alone. She must learn her first lesson in self-control and justifiable2 duplicity before she came under her daughter’s eyes. She must —
Here she reached her room door and was about to enter, when at a sudden thought she paused and let her eyes wander down the hall, till they settled on another door, the one she had closed behind her the night before, with the deep resolve never to open it again except under compulsion.
Had the compulsion arisen? Evidently, for a few minutes later she was standing3 in one of the dim corners of Oliver’s musty room, reopening a book which she had taken down from the shelves on her former visit. She remembered it from its torn back and the fact that it was an Algebra4. Turning to the fly leaf, she looked again at the names and schoolboy phrases she had seen scribbled5 all over its surface, for the one which she remembered as, I HATE ALGEBRA.
It had not been a very clearly written ALGEBRA, and she would never have given this interpretation6 to the scrawl7, had she been in a better mood. Now another thought had come to her, and she wanted to see the word again. Was she glad or sorry to have yielded to this impulse, when by a closer inspection8 she perceived that the word was not ALGEBRA at all, but ALGERNON, I HATE A ETHERIDGE.— I HATE A. E.— I HATE ALGERNON E. all over the page, and here and there on other pages, sometimes in characters so rubbed and faint as to be almost unreadable and again so pressed into the paper by a vicious pencil-point as to have broken their way through to the leaf underneath9.
The work of an ill-conditioned schoolboy! but — this hate dated back many years. Paler than ever, and with hands trembling almost to the point of incapacity, she put the book back, and flew to her own room, the prey10 of thoughts bitter almost to madness.
It was the second time in her life that she had been called upon to go through this precise torture. She remembered the hour only too well, when first it was made known to her that one in closest relation to herself was suspected of a hideous11 crime. And now, with her mind cleared towards him and readjusted to new developments, this crushing experience of seeing equal indications of guilt12 in another almost as dear and almost as closely knit into her thoughts and future expectations as John had ever been. Can one endure a repetition of such horror? She had never gauged13 her strength, but it did not seem possible. Besides of the two blows, this seemed the heaviest and the most revolting. Then, only her own happiness and honour were involved; now it was Reuther’s; and the fortitude14 which sustained her through the ignominy of her own trouble, failed her at the prospect15 of Reuther’s. And again, the two cases were not equal. Her husband had had traits which, in a manner, had prepared her for the ready suspicion of people. But Oliver was a man of reputation and kindly16 heart; and yet, in the course of time THIS had come, and the question once agitating17 her as to whether Reuther was a fit mate for him had now evolved itself into this: WAS HE A FIT MATE FOR HER?
She had rather have died, nay18, have had Reuther die than to find herself forced to weigh and decide so momentous19 a question.
For, however she might feel about it, not a single illusion remained as to whose hand had made use of John Scoville’s stick to strike down Algernon Etheridge. How could she have when she came to piece the whole story together, and weigh the facts she had accumulated against Oliver with those which had proved so fatal to her husband.
First: the uncontrolled temper of the lad, hints of which she was daily receiving.
Secondly20: his absolute, if unreasonable21, hatred22 of the man thus brutally23 assailed24. She knew what such hatred was and how it eats into an undeveloped mind. She had gone through its agonies herself when she was a young girl, and knew its every stage. With jealousy25 and personal distaste for a start, it was easy to trace the revolt of this boyish heart from the intrusive26, ever present mentor27 who not only shared his father’s affections but made use of them to influence that father against the career he had chosen, in favour of one he not only disliked but for which he lacked all aptitude28.
She saw it all from the moment his pencil dug into the paper these tell-tale words: I HATE OLD E to that awful and final one when the detested29 student fell in the woods and his reign30 over the judgment31, as well as over the heart, of Judge Ostrander was at an end.
In hate, bitter, boiling, long-repressed hate, was found the motive32 for an act so out of harmony with the condition and upbringing of a lad like Oliver. She need look for no other.
But motive goes for little if not supported by evidence. Was it possible, with this new theory for a basis, to reconstruct the story of this crime without encountering the contradiction of some well-known fact?
She would see.
First, this matter of the bludgeon left, as her husband declared, leaning against the old oak in the bottom of the ravine. All knew the tree and just where it stood. If Oliver, in his eagerness to head off Etheridge at the bridge, had rushed straight down into the gully from Ostrander Lane, he would almost strike this tree in his descent. The diagram sketched33 on page 185 [Proofreaders Note: Illustration removed] will make this plain. What more natural, then, than for him to catch up the stick he saw there, even if his mind had not been deliberately34 set on violence. A weapon is a weapon; and an angry man feels easier with something of the kind in hand.
Armed, then, in this unexpected way, but evidently not yet decided35 upon crime (or why his nervous whittling36 of the stick) he turned towards the bridge, following the meandering37 of the stream which in time led him across the bare spot where she had seen the shadow. That it was his shadow no one could doubt who knew all the circumstances, and that she should have leant just long enough from the ruins to mark this shadow and take it for her husband’s — and not long enough to see the man himself and so detect her error, was one of those anomalies of crime which make for judicial38 errors. John skurrying away through the thicket39 towards Claymore, Oliver threading his way down the ravine, and she hurrying away from the ruin above with her lost Reuther in hand! Such was the situation at this critical moment. Afterwards when she came back for the child’s bucket, some power had withheld40 her from looking again into the ravine or she might have been witness to the meeting at the bridge, and so been saved the misery41 and shame of believing as long as she did that the man who intercepted42 Algernon Etheridge at that place was her unhappy husband.
The knife with the broken point, which she had come upon in her search among the lad’s discarded effects, proved only too conclusively43 that it was his hand which had whittled44 the end of the bludgeon; for the bit of steel left in the wood and the bit lost from the knife were to her exact eye of the same size and an undoubted fit.
Oliver’s remorse45, the judge’s discovery of his guilt (a discovery which may have been soon but probably was late — so late that the penalty of the doing had already been paid by the innocent), can only be guessed from the terrible sequel: a son dismissed, a desolated46 home in which the father lived as a recluse47.
How the mystery cleared, as she looked at it! The house barred from guests — the double fence where, hidden from all eyes, the wretched father might walk his dreary48 round when night forbade him rest or memory became a whip of scorpions49 to lash50 him into fury or revolt — the stairs never passed —(how could he look upon rooms where his wife had dreamed the golden dreams of motherhood and the boy passed his days of innocent youth)— aye, and his own closed-up room guarded by Bela from intrusion as long as breath remained to animate51 his sinking body! What was its secret? Why, Oliver’s portrait! Had this been seen, marked as it was for all men’s reprobation52, nothing could have stemmed inquiry53; and inquiry was to be dreaded55 as Judge Ostrander’s own act had shown. Not till he had made his clumsy attempt to cover this memorial of love and guilt and rehanging it, thus hidden, where it would attract less attention, had she been admitted to his room. Alas56! alas! that he had not destroyed it then and there. That, clinging to habits old as his grief and the remorse which had undoubtedly57 devoured58 him for the part he had played in this case of perverted59 justice, he had trusted to a sheet of paper to cover what nothing on earth could cover, once Justice were aroused or the wrath60 of God awakened61.
Deborah shuddered62. Aye, the mystery had cleared, but only to enshroud her spirits anew and make her long with all her bursting heart and shuddering63 soul that death had been her portion before ever she had essayed to lift the veil held down so tightly by these two remorseful64 men.
But was her fault irremediable? The only unanswerable connection between this old crime and Oliver lay in the evidence she had herself collected. As she had every intention of suppressing this evidence, and as she had small dread54 of any one else digging out the facts to which she only possessed65 a clew, might she not hope that any suspicions raised by her inquiries66 would fall like a house of cards when she withdrew her hand from the toppling structure?
She would make her first effort and see. Mr. Black had heard her complaint; he should be the first to learn that the encouragement she had received was so small that she had decided to accept her present good luck without further query67, and not hark back to a past which most people had buried.
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evading
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| 逃避( evade的现在分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出 | |
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justifiable
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| adj.有理由的，无可非议的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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algebra
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| n.代数学 | |
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scribbled
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| v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下 | |
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interpretation
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| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
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scrawl
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| vt.潦草地书写；n.潦草的笔记，涂写 | |
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inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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gauged
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| adj.校准的；标准的；量规的；量计的v.（用仪器）测量( gauge的过去式和过去分词 )；估计；计量；划分 | |
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fortitude
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| n.坚忍不拔；刚毅 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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agitating
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| 搅动( agitate的现在分词 )； 激怒； 使焦虑不安； （尤指为法律、社会状况的改变而）激烈争论 | |
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nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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momentous
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| adj.重要的，重大的 | |
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secondly
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| adv.第二，其次 | |
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unreasonable
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| adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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brutally
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| adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地 | |
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assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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intrusive
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| adj.打搅的；侵扰的 | |
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mentor
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| n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导 | |
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aptitude
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| n.(学习方面的)才能，资质，天资 | |
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detested
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| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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sketched
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| v.草拟（sketch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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whittling
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| v.切，削（木头），使逐渐变小( whittle的现在分词 ) | |
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meandering
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| 蜿蜒的河流，漫步，聊天 | |
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judicial
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| adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的 | |
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thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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withheld
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| withhold过去式及过去分词 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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intercepted
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| 拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻 | |
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conclusively
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| adv.令人信服地，确凿地 | |
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whittled
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| v.切，削（木头），使逐渐变小( whittle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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desolated
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| adj.荒凉的，荒废的 | |
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recluse
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| n.隐居者 | |
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dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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scorpions
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| n.蝎子( scorpion的名词复数 ) | |
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lash
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| v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛 | |
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51
animate
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| v.赋于生命，鼓励；adj.有生命的，有生气的 | |
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52
reprobation
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| n.斥责 | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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54
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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55
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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56
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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59
perverted
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| adj.不正当的v.滥用( pervert的过去式和过去分词 )；腐蚀；败坏；使堕落 | |
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wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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shuddered
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| 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 | |
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shuddering
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| v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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64
remorseful
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| adj.悔恨的 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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query
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| n.疑问，问号，质问；vt.询问，表示怀疑 | |
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