The doctor had refused to advise further without direct consultation1. “I must see the man,” he said decisively.
“Simeon Tetlow!” he said thoughtfully, but smiling a little. “Why did n’t you tell me at first it was Sim Tetlow?”
“Do you know him?” asked John.
“I knew him years ago, in college. He was n’t what he is now—more human blood. I knew him pretty well up to the time he was married.”
John looked up. “I did n’t know he was married!”
“A beautiful woman,” said the doctor, “too good for him—She died the next year—and the baby—That was twenty years ago and more........ So it’s Sim! I might have guessed. There is n’t a man in a thousand miles that fits the case as he does—Driving himself to death!”
The young man waited directions.
“Send him to me,” said the doctor. “He ’ll come—Yes. He won’t mind seeing me!” He laughed a little.
John started for home with lighter3 heart. Simeon would obey the great doctor—and all would be well. He even slept a little on the way. But when the train reached Bay-port, it was not yet three o’clock. He hesitated as he left the station. He had not expected to reach home before morning and his mother was not expecting him. She would be sure to waken—perhaps lie awake the rest of the night. He turned his steps toward the “R. and Q.” office building. There was a cushioned settle in the little upper office; he had had it brought in lately—in the hope that Simeon would use it. He would spend the rest of the night there, and be on hand in the morning.
He turned the key noiselessly in the lock and went in. The great building lay silent and shadowy as he made his way from room to room, up flight after flight of long stairs, guided only by the sense of touch and familiarity. The darkness about him seemed filled with whispers—plots, counterplots. He felt them vaguely4, as he climbed—yet with a certain serenity5 of heart. Simeon would see Dr. Blake. All would be right. Let the master of the road once be master of himself and the shadows would melt. He crossed the upper loft6 and went into the little room. The air was stifling7, after the freshness outside, and he threw open the windows, leaning out to breathe deep. He heard the roar of the engine coming into the yard on the still air and saw the lights gleam through the smoke.
It was a wonderful night. The deep September sky twinkled with stars and far below him, the city, dark and mysterious and sad, lifted its glimmering8 lamps. They broke the darkness, luminous9, faint—like some inner meaning. The youth looking down had a sudden, quickened sense of power, vast issues, mighty10 interests. The city slept at his feet, beautiful, relaxed. Fold upon fold of darkness wrapped it round and his heart went out to it—helpless there in the darkness—and in its midst, Simeon—asleep or awake—waiting the new day. A fresh loyalty11 to the man swelled12 within him. The sleeping city touched him in a way he could not name—its mighty power cradled in the night in sleep.
He threw himself on the couch and slept.
It was the lightest click... but he sat up, his eyes fixed14 on darkness. The lock clicked again and the door swung open. He felt it move softly through the black, and close again. A footstep crossed the floor. John waited. He was leaning forward, staring before him, his slow mind wrestling with the sounds that came and went, lightly. He was unarmed. He had only his hands; he clinched15 them a little and felt the muscles swell13 behind them. He was not altogether defenceless!
The sounds puzzled him. They were methodical, deliberate—not as if finding out the way, but as if accustomed to the place and to darkness. ... Simeon Tetlow, himself?—The thought flashed at him and drew back. ... A light stole through the gloom—the focused glow of the electric pocket candle on a desk across the room—Simeon’s desk.
John leaned forward, holding his breath.
... Behind the candle, a vague form—a massive head and shoulders, bending above the lock of the desk.... The key was fitted in and the top lifted. Then, for the first time, the man seemed to hesitate, his head turning itself a little in the shadow and waiting, as if disturbed. The glow of the candle suddenly went out and the steps moved stealthily. John straightened himself—the clinched hand ready.... The steps receded16 slowly and a hand fumbled17 at the open window, lowering it without sound and drawing down the thick shade. The man moved to the other window and closed it. The youth on the lounge caught the muttered sound of his own name, as if in imprecation.... Then the steps again. ... And suddenly the soft candle—shining in the dark.
The man reached into the half-gloom of the desk for a ledger18. He seemed to know without hesitation19 which he wanted. He opened it and fell to work, apparently20 in the middle of a page, the sinister21 eye of the candle traveling up and down the columns, the scratching pen transcribing22 figures to a kind of muttered accompaniment.
John recognized the book, in the shadowy light.... He ought not to have left it there. He had more than half guessed this thing before.... So this was the reason why Hemenway & Hill countermanded23 their order for fifty cars, a week ago, and Gardner & Hutchinson changed their mind about shipping24 their wheat the thirtieth... and this thing had been going on for weeks?—months?... No, it was only within six weeks that the book had been tampered25 with.... His mind ran back over the time, fitting each coincidence in place.... So this was it! It was state prison for the man.... But suppose he were not arrested?... Suppose he were let to go free—in fear of his life.... John, watching, gauged26 the man, sitting there in the night, his busy pen writing his own doom27.... He should go on sending the reports. The enemy should have their bulletin from day to day, but it should be compiled by John Bennett. The scribe should have only the work of copying.... It might save time if the arrangement were completed now. He moved his hand a trifle toward the wall behind him, groping a little. The next minute the room was a blaze of light and the man at the desk was on his feet, stifling a quick cry—blinking at the looping bulbs of light. He made a swift step toward the door; but some one, broad-shouldered and smiling, stood against it.
“Sit down, Harrington,” said John quietly.
The man’s hands swung out blindly. Then they fell to his sides. He was panting a little, as if he had come a long distance. But his eyes were fixed on John’s face with a little sneer28. “Think you ’re clever, don’t you!” he said doggedly29.
“I wish I were,” said John, “though it does n’t seem to have done you much good,” he added after a moment.
The man’s fingers were fumbling30 at the desk, striving to gather up and destroy the papers jotted31 with figures.
“Let those alone!” said John.
The fingers ceased their work, but they still moved restlessly, playing on the air. The sudden fright had done its work.... Quietly, bit by bit, John laid the plan before him.
“Do you dare not to?” asked the young man.
There was silence in the room.
“All right.” It was crafty33, with a sullen34 note just below the surface. “You give me the figures and I ’ll copy ’em and send ’em.”
“I will send them,” said John slowly, “and so long as you play fair, no one else knows it. But if you betray us by one breath—I give the matter over to President Tetlow—”
John smiled a little, looking down at him. So it was still a name to conjure36 with! His mind wandered inconsequently to the bag of eggs on the high shelf and the egg-beater hanging on its nail behind the cupboard door. The man little knew that they were President Tetlow. He was still a terror to evil doers. “One breath—and I tell him!” said John sternly.
The man shrank a little. “I ’ll do it,” he said. He, himself, could not have accounted for the fear that held him. He knew that the president of the “R. and Q.” road was a broken man; he had sworn it to the manager of the C. B. and L.; but none the less he was afraid. A phrase that he had heard long since, stirred in his mind—“You don’t cross Sim Tetlow and live!” He wanted to live—the assistant bookkeeper—he desired earnestly to live—and to prosper37. He had done his best for years—Yet it seemed always to evade38 him.
“I ’ll do it all right for you—I ’ll act on the square,” he said magnanimously.
“Oh, no—You ’ll do what you have to,” said John.
A sudden hatred39 of this young man flared40 in the assistant bookkeeper’s heart. Then he remembered the look in Nixon’s face—manager of the C. B. and L.—the day he had seen him last. It struck him that the two looks were curiously41 alike. “I hate Nixon!” he said viciously, “I ’ll be glad to get one on him.”
“Does n’t he pay you well?” asked John.
“All right. Keep it your affair,” said John. “He ’ll pay you—same as ever—and you ’re to take it.”
The man stared at him. His jaw43 had dropped a little. He moved toward the door. “You ’re a deep un. I don’t want anything to do with you.... I can’t face Nixon—every month, I tell you. He’d kill me!”
“You face him—or Simeon Tetlow,” John said. “You take your choice.” He moved back from the door and the man stepped toward it. He opened it quickly and went out. The sound of his footsteps, hurrying as if pursued, died away in the outer loft.
The young man stood for a moment looking thoughtfully at the disordered desk. Then he gathered up the papers and returned the ledger to its place. He locked the desk and turned off the blaze of light before he opened the windows. He stood looking down at the city in the mysterious night. Then he threw himself on the couch and slept till the morning.
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1
consultation
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| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
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2
demurred
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| v.表示异议，反对( demur的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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3
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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4
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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5
serenity
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| n.宁静，沉着，晴朗 | |
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6
loft
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| n.阁楼，顶楼 | |
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7
stifling
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| a.令人窒息的 | |
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8
glimmering
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| n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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9
luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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10
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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11
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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12
swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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13
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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14
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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15
clinched
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| v.（尤指两人）互相紧紧抱[扭]住( clinch的过去式和过去分词 )；解决（争端、交易），达成（协议） | |
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16
receded
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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17
fumbled
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| （笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下 | |
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18
ledger
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| n.总帐，分类帐；帐簿 | |
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19
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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20
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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21
sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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22
transcribing
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| （用不同的录音手段）转录( transcribe的现在分词 )； 改编（乐曲）（以适应他种乐器或声部）； 抄写； 用音标标出（声音） | |
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23
countermanded
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| v.取消（命令），撤回( countermand的过去分词 ) | |
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24
shipping
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| n.船运（发货，运输，乘船） | |
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25
tampered
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| v.窜改( tamper的过去式 )；篡改；（用不正当手段）影响；瞎摆弄 | |
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26
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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27
doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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28
sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
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29
doggedly
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| adv.顽强地，固执地 | |
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30
fumbling
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| n. 摸索,漏接 v. 摸索,摸弄,笨拙的处理 | |
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31
jotted
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| v.匆忙记下( jot的过去式和过去分词 )；草草记下，匆匆记下 | |
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32
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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33
crafty
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| adj.狡猾的，诡诈的 | |
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34
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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35
cowering
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| v.畏缩，抖缩( cower的现在分词 ) | |
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36
conjure
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| v.恳求，祈求；变魔术，变戏法 | |
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37
prosper
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| v.成功，兴隆，昌盛；使成功，使昌隆，繁荣 | |
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38
evade
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| vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避 | |
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39
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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40
Flared
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| adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词 | |
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41
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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42
writhed
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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43
jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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