CHAPTER XVII. NICK CARTER MISCALCULATES.

 At seven o’clock on the evening of the twenty-fourth the dining room of the Hotel Windermere presented a scene of animation¹. The big hotel was fairly well filled, and most of its guests, as well as many outsiders, seemed to be on hand.

 

At a table in one of the little alcoves² sat a quietly dressed gentleman in evening clothes. A close-clipped, iron-gray mustache adorned³ his lips, and the hair on his temples was tinged⁴ with gray, which contrasted with the deep tan of his hands and neck. He was known in the hotel as Thomas Mortimer, a wealthy traveler and sportsman.

 

From where he sat, Nick—as we may as well call him—could see the table at which Crawford and Stone usually seated themselves. He had been in the hotel constantly, and had kept a sharp watch on Stone’s movements, but the miner’s actions had puzzled him not a little. Several times he had met Stone stalking along the corridor or in the lobby, his brows knitted, and his lips moving as if he were talking to himself.

 

Nick had been too clever to thrust his companionship on the man, and Stone did not even know that “Mortimer” had a room so near to his own. It was not part of the detective’s policy to allow Stone, or the more subtle-minded Follansbee, to have a chance to penetrate⁵ his disguise.

 

So far, however, he had not been able to find out anything that was likely to help him in his self-imposed task of guarding the life of Winthrop Crawford. Follansbee had not reappeared at the Windermere, and although there was every possibility that Stone had been holding some sort of communication with the scoundrelly physician, the detective had not been able to discover the means by which he did so.

 

Crawford, on his part, had been busy. Several men had called on him at the hotel, evidently to urge the advantage of certain investments, and one or two had been closeted with the miner for several hours. It was obvious that he was trying to find a safe channel for some of his money, and probably at the same time seek an outlet⁶ for his own energies. He was not a man who would be likely to settle down and be content to do nothing.

 

 

James Stone, however, seemed to be of a different type, or else his insane suspicions of his former partner kept him in a state of mind which prevented him from seeking new business responsibilities.

 

Nick noted⁷ that Stone was the first to take his seat at the table. Crawford did not put in an appearance until a few minutes later, and by that time his partner had already finished the first course. The two men exchanged a few monosyllables as the meal went on, and as soon as he had finished, Stone rose with only the curtest of nods to his partner.

 

Nick had already signed the waiter’s slip, but had been toying with a little fruit. He rose and followed Stone, but without any sign of hurrying. His man used the stairs, and the detective followed in the elevator, reaching the second floor ahead of his quarry⁸.

 

Nick’s room, number twenty, occupied an angle of the corridor, its door being almost opposite the elevator, while those leading to the rooms occupied by Stone and Crawford were just around the corner.

 

When the detective entered his room, he left his door slightly ajar, and a few moments later he heard Stone’s footsteps, as the miner passed and went on round the angle. Nick gently closed his door and crossed his room to the window, without turning on the lights.

 

The window looked out into a big courtyard of the Windermere, and from it, by glancing sharply to his right, Nick could see the window of Crawford’s bedroom, and also that of Stone’s, both of which were not on a line with his, but at right angles.

 

 

Peering out through the darkness, he saw a light leap up suddenly in Stone’s room, and presently the shadow of a man appeared on the shade.

 

The moving shadowgraph was significant. The detective inferred from Stone’s actions that he must be putting on a light overcoat.

 

“He seems to be going out again,” the detective commented mentally. “And in that case, I’d better go ahead again.”

 

He stepped back from the window, hurriedly snapped on the electric lights, and secured his own hat and walking stick. That done, he left the room, locked the door behind him, and made for the stairs. No one followed, and he concluded that something had delayed Stone.

 

The detective slowed down and leisurely⁹ entered the lobby. He seated himself there after buying a paper at the news stand; but ten minutes passed without any sign of James Stone.

 

“What is keeping him?” he wondered. “Can it be that he sneaked¹⁰ out through one of the other entrances?”

 

The thought was a disagreeable one, and Nick decided¹¹ to put it to the test at once, without further delay. He climbed the stairs once more, hurriedly entered his own room, and crossed to the window.

 

A glance to the right told him that his suspicion was well founded. There was no light in Stone’s room now, and it was obvious that the tall miner had left.

1 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

2 alcoves   

n.凹室( alcove的名词复数 )；（花园）凉亭；僻静处；壁龛

参考例句：

• In the alcoves on either side of the fire were bookshelves. 火炉两边的凹室里是书架。 来自辞典例句
• Tiny streams echo in enormous overhanging alcoves. 小溪流的回声在巨大而突出的凹壁中回荡。 来自互联网

3 adorned   

[计]被修饰的

参考例句：

• The walls were adorned with paintings. 墙上装饰了绘画。
• And his coat was adorned with a flamboyant bunch of flowers. 他的外套上面装饰着一束艳丽刺目的鲜花。

4 tinged   

v.（使）发丁丁声( ting的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• memories tinged with sadness 略带悲伤的往事
• white petals tinged with blue 略带蓝色的白花瓣

5 penetrate   

v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解

参考例句：

• Western ideas penetrate slowly through the East.西方观念逐渐传入东方。
• The sunshine could not penetrate where the trees were thickest.阳光不能透入树木最浓密的地方。

6 outlet   

n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄

参考例句：

• The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
• Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 quarry   

n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找

参考例句：

• Michelangelo obtained his marble from a quarry.米开朗基罗从采石场获得他的大理石。
• This mountain was the site for a quarry.这座山曾经有一个采石场。

9 leisurely   

adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的

参考例句：

• We walked in a leisurely manner,looking in all the windows.我们慢悠悠地走着，看遍所有的橱窗。
• He had a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work.他从容的吃了早餐，高兴的开车去工作。

10 sneaked   

v.潜行( sneak的过去式和过去分词 )；偷偷溜走；（儿童向成人）打小报告；告状

参考例句：

• I sneaked up the stairs. 我蹑手蹑脚地上了楼。
• She sneaked a surreptitious glance at her watch. 她偷偷看了一眼手表。

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。