MOTIVE1 V. OPPORTUNITY
M r. Petherick cleared his throat rather more importantly than usual.
“I am afraid my little problem will seem rather tame to you all,” he said apologetically, “after the sensationalstories we have been hearing. There is no bloodshed in mine, but it seems to me an interesting and rather ingeniouslittle problem, and fortunately I am in the position to know the right answer to it.”
“It isn’t terribly legal, is it?” asked Joyce Lemprière. “I mean points of law and lots of Barnaby v Skinner in theyear 1881, and things like that.”
Mr. Petherick beamed appreciatively at her over his eyeglasses.
“No, no, my dear young lady. You need have no fears on that score. The story I am about to tell is a perfectlysimple and straightforward3 one and can be followed by any layman4.”
“No legal quibbles, now,” said Miss Marple, shaking a knitting needle at him.
“Certainly not,” said Mr. Petherick.
“Ah well, I am not so sure, but let’s hear the story.”
“It concerns a former client of mine. I will call him Mr. Clode—Simon Clode. He was a man of considerablewealth and lived in a large house not very far from here. He had had one son killed in the War and this son had leftone child, a little girl. Her mother had died at her birth, and on her father’s death she had come to live with hergrandfather who at once became passionately5 attached to her. Little Chris could do anything she liked with hergrandfather. I have never seen a man more completely wrapped up in a child, and I cannot describe to you his griefand despair when, at the age of eleven, the child contracted pneumonia6 and died.
“Poor Simon Clode was inconsolable. A brother of his had recently died in poor circumstances and Simon Clodehad generously offered a home to his brother’s children—two girls, Grace and Mary, and a boy, George. But thoughkind and generous to his nephew and nieces, the old man never expended7 on them any of the love and devotion he hadaccorded to his little grandchild. Employment was found for George Clode in a bank nearby, and Grace married aclever young research chemist of the name of Philip Garrod. Mary, who was a quiet, self-contained girl, lived at homeand looked after her uncle. She was, I think, fond of him in her quiet undemonstrative way. And to all appearancesthings went on very peacefully. I may say that after the death of little Christobel, Simon Clode came to me andinstructed me to draw up a new will. By this will, his fortune, a very considerable one, was divided equally betweenhis nephew and nieces, a third share to each.
“Time went on. Chancing to meet George Clode one day I inquired for his uncle, whom I had not seen for sometime. To my surprise George’s face clouded over. ‘I wish you could put some sense into Uncle Simon,’ he saidruefully. His honest but not very brilliant countenance8 looked puzzled and worried. ‘This spirit business is gettingworse and worse.’
“‘What spirit business?’ I asked, very much surprised.
“Then George told me the whole story. How Mr. Clode had gradually got interested in the subject and how on thetop of this interest he had chanced to meet an American medium, a Mrs. Eurydice Spragg. This woman, whom Georgedid not hesitate to characterize as an out and out swindler, had gained an immense ascendancy9 over Simon Clode. Shewas practically always in the house and many séances were held in which the spirit of Christobel manifested itself tothe doting10 grandfather.
“I may say here and now that I do not belong to the ranks of those who cover spiritualism with ridicule11 and scorn. Iam, as I have told you, a believer in evidence. And I think that when we have an impartial12 mind and weigh theevidence in favour of spiritualism there remains13 much that cannot be put down to fraud or lightly set aside. Therefore,as I say, I am neither a believer nor an unbeliever. There is certain testimony14 with which one cannot afford to disagree.
“On the other hand, spiritualism lends itself very easily to fraud and imposture15, and from all young George Clodetold me about this Mrs. Eurydice Spragg I felt more and more convinced that Simon Clode was in bad hands and thatMrs. Spragg was probably an imposter of the worst type. The old man, shrewd as he was in practical matters, wouldbe easily imposed on where his love for his dead grandchild was concerned.
“Turning things over in my mind I felt more and more uneasy. I was fond of the young Clodes, Mary and George,and I realized that this Mrs. Spragg and her influence over their uncle might lead to trouble in the future.
“At the earliest opportunity I made a pretext16 for calling on Simon Clode. I found Mrs. Spragg installed as anhonoured and friendly guest. As soon as I saw her my worst apprehensions17 were fulfilled. She was a stout18 woman ofmiddle age, dressed in a flamboyant19 style. Very full of cant20 phrases about ‘Our dear ones who have passed over,’ andother things of the kind.
“Her husband was also staying in the house, Mr. Absalom Spragg, a thin lank21 man with a melancholy22 expressionand extremely furtive23 eyes. As soon as I could, I got Simon Clode to myself and sounded him tactfully on the subject.
He was full of enthusiasm. Eurydice Spragg was wonderful! She had been sent to him directly in answer to a prayer!
She cared nothing for money, the joy of helping24 a heart in affliction was enough for her. She had quite a mother’sfeeling for little Chris. He was beginning to regard her almost as a daughter. Then he went on to give me details—howhe had heard his Chris’s voice speaking—how she was well and happy with her father and mother. He went on to tellother sentiments expressed by the child, which in my remembrance of little Christobel seemed to me highly unlikely.
She laid stress on the fact that ‘Father and Mother loved dear Mrs. Spragg.’
“‘But, of course,’ he broke off, ‘you are a scoffer25, Petherick.’
“‘No, I am not a scoffer. Very far from it. Some of the men who have written on the subject are men whosetestimony I would accept unhesitatingly, and I should accord any medium recommended by them respect andcredence. I presume that this Mrs. Spragg is well vouched26 for?’
“Simon went into ecstasies27 over Mrs. Spragg. She had been sent to him by Heaven. He had come across her at thewatering place where he had spent two months in the summer. A chance meeting, with what a wonderful result!
“I went away very dissatisfied. My worst fears were realized, but I did not see what I could do. After a good dealof thought and deliberation I wrote to Philip Garrod who had, as I mentioned, just married the eldest28 Clode girl, Grace.
I set the case before him—of course, in the most carefully guarded language. I pointed29 out the danger of such awoman gaining ascendancy over the old man’s mind. And I suggested that Mr. Clode should be brought into contact ifpossible with some reputable spiritualistic circles. This, I thought, would not be a difficult matter for Philip Garrod toarrange.
“Garrod was prompt to act. He realized, which I did not, that Simon Clode’s health was in a very precariouscondition, and as a practical man he had no intention of letting his wife or her sister and brother be despoiled30 of theinheritance which was so rightly theirs. He came down the following week, bringing with him as a guest no other thanthe famous Professor Longman. Longman was a scientist of the first order, a man whose association with spiritualismcompelled the latter to be treated with respect. Not only a brilliant scientist; he was a man of the utmost uprightnessand probity31.
“The result of the visit was most unfortunate. Longman, it seemed, had said very little while he was there. Twoséances were held—under what conditions I do not know. Longman was noncommittal all the time he was in thehouse, but after his departure he wrote a letter to Philip Garrod. In it he admitted that he had not been able to detectMrs. Spragg in fraud, nevertheless his private opinion was that the phenomena32 were not genuine. Mr. Garrod, he said,was at liberty to show this letter to his uncle if he thought fit, and he suggested that he himself should put Mr. Clode intouch with a medium of perfect integrity.
“Philip Garrod had taken this letter straight to his uncle, but the result was not what he had anticipated. The oldman flew into a towering rage. It was all a plot to discredit33 Mrs. Spragg who was a maligned34 and injured saint! Shehad told him already what bitter jealousy35 there was of her in this country. He pointed out that Longman was forced tosay he had not detected fraud. Eurydice Spragg had come to him in the darkest hour of his life, had given him help andcomfort, and he was prepared to espouse36 her cause even if it meant quarrelling with every member of his family. Shewas more to him than anyone else in the world.
“Philip Garrod was turned out of the house with scant37 ceremony; but as a result of his rage Clode’s own healthtook a decided38 turn for the worse. For the last month he had kept to his bed pretty continuously, and now there seemedevery possibility of his being a bedridden invalid39 until such time as death should release him. Two days after Philip’sdeparture I received an urgent summons and went hurriedly over. Clode was in bed and looked even to my layman’seye very ill indeed. He was gasping40 for breath.
“‘This is the end of me,’ he said. ‘I feel it. Don’t argue with me, Petherick. But before I die I am going to do myduty by the one human being who has done more for me than anyone else in the world. I want to make a fresh will.’
“‘Certainly,’ I said, ‘if you will give me your instructions now I will draft out a will and send it to you.’
“‘That won’t do,’ he said. ‘Why, man, I might not live through the night. I have written out what I want here,’ hefumbled under his pillow, ‘and you can tell me if it is right.’
“He produced a sheet of paper with a few words roughly scribbled42 on it in pencil. It was quite simple and clear. Heleft ?5000 to each of his nieces and nephew, and the residue43 of his vast property outright44 to Eurydice Spragg ‘ingratitude and admiration46.’
“I didn’t like it, but there it was. There was no question of unsound mind, the old man was as sane47 as anybody.
“He rang the bell for two of the servants. They came promptly48. The housemaid, Emma Gaunt, was a tall middle-aged49 woman who had been in service there for many years and who had nursed Clode devotedly50. With her came thecook, a fresh buxom52 young woman of thirty. Simon Clode glared at them both from under his bushy eyebrows53.
“‘I want you to witness my will. Emma, get me my fountain pen.’
“Emma went over obediently to the desk.
“‘Not that left-hand drawer, girl,’ said old Simon irritably54. ‘Don’t you know it is in the right-hand one?’
“‘No, it is here, sir,’ said Emma, producing it.
“‘Then you must have put it away wrong last time,’ grumbled55 the old man. ‘I can’t stand things not being kept intheir proper places.’
“Still grumbling56 he took the pen from her and copied his own rough draught57, amended58 by me, onto a fresh piece ofpaper. Then he signed his name. Emma Gaunt and the cook, Lucy David, also signed. I folded the will up and put itinto a long blue envelope. It was necessarily, you understand, written on an ordinary piece of paper.
“Just as the servants were turning to leave the room Clode lay back on the pillows with a gasp41 and a distorted face.
I bent59 over him anxiously and Emma Gaunt came quickly back. However, the old man recovered and smiled weakly.
“‘It is all right, Petherick, don’t be alarmed. At any rate I shall die easy now having done what I wanted to.’
“Emma Gaunt looked inquiringly at me as if to know whether she could leave the room. I nodded reassuringly60 andshe went out—first stopping to pick up the blue envelope which I had let slip to the ground in my moment of anxiety.
She handed it to me and I slipped it into my coat pocket and then she went out.
“‘You are annoyed, Petherick,’ said Simon Clode. ‘You are prejudiced, like everybody else.’
“‘It is not a question of prejudice,’ I said. ‘Mrs. Spragg may be all that she claims to be. I should see no objectionto you leaving her a small legacy61 as a memento62 of gratitude45; but I tell you frankly63, Clode, that to disinherit your ownflesh and blood in favour of a stranger is wrong.’
“With that I turned to depart. I had done what I could and made my protest.
“Mary Clode came out of the drawing room and met me in the hall.
“‘You will have tea before you go, won’t you? Come in here,’ and she led me into the drawing room.
“A fire was burning on the hearth64 and the room looked cosy65 and cheerful. She relieved me of my overcoat just asher brother, George, came into the room. He took it from her and laid it across a chair at the far end of the room, thenhe came back to the fireside where we drank tea. During the meal a question arose about some point concerning theestate. Simon Clode said he didn’t want to be bothered with it and had left it to George to decide. George was rathernervous about trusting to his own judgment66. At my suggestion, we adjourned67 to the study after tea and I looked overthe papers in question. Mary Clode accompanied us.
“A quarter of an hour later I prepared to take my departure. Remembering that I had left my overcoat in thedrawing room, I went there to fetch it. The only occupant of the room was Mrs. Spragg, who was kneeling by the chairon which the overcoat lay. She seemed to be doing something rather unnecessary to the cretonne cover. She rose witha very red face as we entered.
“‘That cover never did sit right,’ she complained. ‘My! I could make a better fit myself.’
“I took up my overcoat and put it on. As I did so I noticed that the envelope containing the will had fallen out ofthe pocket and was lying on the floor. I replaced it in my pocket, said goodbye, and took my departure.
“On arrival at my office, I will describe my next actions carefully. I removed my overcoat and took the will fromthe pocket. I had it in my hand and was standing68 by the table when my clerk came in. Somebody wished to speak tome on the telephone, and the extension to my desk was out of order. I accordingly accompanied him to the outer officeand remained there for about five minutes engaged in conversation over the telephone.
“When I emerged, I found my clerk waiting for me.
“‘Mr. Spragg has called to see you, sir. I showed him into your office.’
“I went there to find Mr. Spragg sitting by the table. He rose and greeted me in a somewhat unctuous69 manner, thenproceeded to a long discursive70 speech. In the main it seemed to be an uneasy justification71 of himself and his wife. Hewas afraid people were saying etc., etc. His wife had been known from her babyhood upwards72 for the pureness of herheart and her motives73.?.?. and so on and so on. I was, I am afraid, rather curt74 with him. In the end I think he realizedthat his visit was not being a success and he left somewhat abruptly75. I then remembered that I had left the will lying onthe table. I took it, sealed the envelope, and wrote on it and put it away in the safe.
“Now I come to the crux76 of my story. Two months later Mr. Simon Clode died. I will not go into long-windeddiscussions, I will just state the bare facts. When the sealed envelope containing the will was opened it was found tocontain a sheet of blank paper.”
He paused, looking round the circle of interested faces. He smiled himself with a certain enjoyment77.
“You appreciate the point, of course? For two months the sealed envelope had lain in my safe. It could not havebeen tampered78 with then. No, the time limit was a very short one. Between the moment the will was signed and mylocking it away in the safe. Now who had had the opportunity, and to whose interests would it be to do so?
“I will recapitulate79 the vital points in a brief summary: The will was signed by Mr. Clode, placed by me in anenvelope—so far so good. It was then put by me in my overcoat pocket. That overcoat was taken from me by Maryand handed by her to George, who was in full sight of me whilst handling the coat. During the time that I was in thestudy Mrs. Eurydice Spragg would have had plenty of time to extract the envelope from the coat pocket and read itscontents and, as a matter of fact, finding the envelope on the ground and not in the pocket seemed to point to herhaving done so. But here we come to a curious point: she had the opportunity of substituting the blank paper, but nomotive. The will was in her favour, and by substituting a blank piece of paper she despoiled herself of the heritage shehad been so anxious to gain. The same applied80 to Mr. Spragg. He, too, had the opportunity. He was left alone with thedocument in question for some two or three minutes in my office. But again, it was not to his advantage to do so. Sowe are faced with this curious problem: the two people who had the opportunity of substituting a blank piece of paperhad no motive for doing so, and the two people who had a motive had no opportunity. By the way, I would not excludethe housemaid, Emma Gaunt, from suspicion. She was devoted51 to her young master and mistress and detested81 theSpraggs. She would, I feel sure, have been quite equal to attempting the substitution if she had thought of it. Butalthough she actually handled the envelope when she picked it up from the floor and handed it to me, she certainly hadno opportunity of tampering82 with its contents and she could not have substituted another envelope by some sleight83 ofhand (of which anyway she would not be capable) because the envelope in question was brought into the house by meand no one there would be likely to have a duplicate.”
He looked round, beaming on the assembly.
“Now, there is my little problem. I have, I hope, stated it clearly. I should be interested to hear your views.”
To everyone’s astonishment84 Miss Marple gave vent85 to a long and prolonged chuckle86. Something seemed to beamusing her immensely.
“What is the matter, Aunt Jane? Can’t we share the joke?” said Raymond.
“I was thinking of little Tommy Symonds, a naughty little boy, I am afraid, but sometimes very amusing. One ofthose children with innocent childlike faces who are always up to some mischief87 or other. I was thinking how lastweek in Sunday School he said, ‘Teacher, do you say yolk88 of eggs is white or yolk of eggs are white?’ And MissDurston explained that anyone would say ‘yolks of eggs are white, or yolk of egg is white’—and naughty Tommysaid: ‘Well, I should say yolk of egg is yellow!’ Very naughty of him, of course, and as old as the hills. I knew thatone as a child.”
“Very funny, my dear Aunt Jane,” Raymond said gently, “but surely that has nothing to do with the veryinteresting story that Mr. Petherick has been telling us.”
“Oh yes, it has,” said Miss Marple. “It is a catch! And so is Mr. Petherick’s story a catch. So like a lawyer! Ah, mydear old friend!” She shook a reproving head at him.
“I wonder if you really know,” said the lawyer with a twinkle.
Miss Marple wrote a few words on a piece of paper, folded them up and passed them across to him.
Mr. Petherick unfolded the paper, read what was written on it and looked across at her appreciatively.
“My dear friend,” he said, “is there anything you do not know?”
“I knew that as a child,” said Miss Marple. “Played with it too.”
“I feel rather out of this,” said Sir Henry. “I feel sure that Mr. Petherick has some clever legal legerdemain89 up hissleeve.”
“Not at all,” said Mr. Petherick. “Not at all. It is a perfectly2 fair straightforward proposition. You must not pay anyattention to Miss Marple. She has her own way of looking at things.”
“We should be able to arrive at the truth,” said Raymond West a trifle vexedly. “The facts certainly seem plainenough. Five persons actually touched that envelope. The Spraggs clearly could have meddled90 with it but equallyclearly they did not do so. There remains the other three. Now, when one sees the marvellous ways that conjurers haveof doing a thing before one’s eyes, it seems to me that the paper could have been extracted and another substituted byGeorge Clode during the time he was carrying the overcoat to the far end of the room.”
“Well, I think it was the girl,” said Joyce. “I think the housemaid ran down and told her what was happening andshe got hold of another blue envelope and just substituted the one for the other.”
Sir Henry shook his head. “I disagree with you both,” he said slowly. “These sort of things are done by conjurers,and they are done on the stage and in novels, but I think they would be impossible to do in real life, especially underthe shrewd eyes of a man like my friend Mr. Petherick here. But I have an idea—it is only an idea and nothing more.
We know that Professor Longman had just been down for a visit and that he said very little. It is only reasonable tosuppose that the Spraggs may have been very anxious as to the result of that visit. If Simon Clode did not take theminto his confidence, which is quite probable, they may have viewed his sending for Mr. Petherick from quite anotherangle. They may have believed that Mr. Clode had already made a will which benefited Eurydice Spragg and that thisnew one might be made for the express purpose of cutting her out as a result of Professor Longman’s revelations, oralternatively, as you lawyers say, Philip Garrod had impressed on his uncle the claims of his own flesh and blood. Inthat case, suppose Mrs. Spragg prepared to effect a substitution. This she does, but Mr. Petherick coming in at anunfortunate moment she had no time to read the real document and hastily destroys it by fire in case the lawyer shoulddiscover his loss.”
Joyce shook her head very decidedly.
“She would never burn it without reading it.”
“The solution is rather a weak one,” admitted Sir Henry. “I suppose—er—Mr. Petherick did not assist Providencehimself.”
The suggestion was only a laughing one, but the little lawyer drew himself up in offended dignity.
“A most improper91 suggestion,” he said with some asperity92.
“What does Dr. Pender say?” asked Sir Henry.
“I cannot say I have any very clear ideas. I think the substitution must have been effected by either Mrs. Spragg orher husband, possibly for the motive that Sir Henry suggests. If she did not read the will until after Mr. Petherick haddeparted, she would then be in somewhat of a dilemma93, since she could not own up to her action in the matter.
Possibly she would place it among Mr. Clode’s papers where she thought it would be found after his death. But why itwasn’t found I don’t know. It might be a mere94 speculation95 this—that Emma Gaunt came across it—and out ofmisplaced devotion to her employers—deliberately destroyed it.”
“I think Dr. Pender’s solution is the best of all,” said Joyce. “Is it right, Mr. Petherick?”
The lawyer shook his head.
“I will go on where I left off. I was dumbfounded and quite as much at sea as all of you are. I don’t think I shouldever have guessed the truth—probably not—but I was enlightened. It was cleverly done too.
“I went and dined with Philip Garrod about a month later and in the course of our after-dinner conversation hementioned an interesting case that had recently come to his notice.”
“‘I should like to tell you about it, Petherick, in confidence, of course.’
“‘Quite so,’ I replied.
“‘A friend of mine who had expectations from one of his relatives was greatly distressed96 to find that that relativehad thoughts of benefiting a totally unworthy person. My friend, I am afraid, is a trifle unscrupulous in his methods.
There was a maid in the house who was greatly devoted to the interests of what I may call the legitimate97 party. Myfriend gave her very simple instructions. He gave her a fountain pen, duly filled. She was to place this in a drawer inthe writing table in her master’s room, but not the usual drawer where the pen was generally kept. If her master askedher to witness his signature to any document and asked her to bring him his pen, she was to bring him not the rightone, but this one which was an exact duplicate of it. That was all she had to do. He gave her no other information. Shewas a devoted creature and she carried out his instructions faithfully.’
“He broke off and said:
“‘I hope I am not boring you, Petherick.’
“‘Not at all,’ I said. ‘I am keenly interested.’
“Our eyes met.
“‘My friend is, of course, not known to you,’ he said.
“‘Of course not,’ I replied.
“‘Then that is all right,’ said Philip Garrod.
“He paused then said smilingly, ‘You see the point? The pen was filled with what is commonly known asEvanescent Ink—a solution of starch98 in water to which a few drops of iodine99 has been added. This makes a deep blue-black fluid, but the writing disappears entirely100 in four or five days.’”
Miss Marple chuckled101.
“Disappearing ink,” she said. “I know it. Many is the time I have played with it as a child.”
And she beamed round on them all, pausing to shake a finger once more at Mr. Petherick.
“But all the same it’s a catch, Mr. Petherick,” she said. “Just like a lawyer.”
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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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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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straightforward
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| adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的 | |
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layman
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| n.俗人，门外汉，凡人 | |
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passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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pneumonia
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expended
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| v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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ascendancy
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doting
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ridicule
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| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
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impartial
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| adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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imposture
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| n.冒名顶替，欺骗 | |
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pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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apprehensions
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| 疑惧 | |
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flamboyant
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cant
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lank
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melancholy
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furtive
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helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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scoffer
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| 嘲笑者 | |
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vouched
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ecstasies
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| 狂喜( ecstasy的名词复数 )； 出神； 入迷； 迷幻药 | |
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eldest
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pointed
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despoiled
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probity
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phenomena
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discredit
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| vt.使不可置信；n.丧失信义；不信，怀疑 | |
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maligned
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| vt.污蔑，诽谤（malign的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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espouse
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| v.支持，赞成，嫁娶 | |
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scant
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| adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略 | |
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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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invalid
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| n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的 | |
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gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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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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residue
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| n.残余，剩余，残渣 | |
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outright
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| adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的 | |
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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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sane
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| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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middle-aged
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| adj.中年的 | |
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devotedly
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| 专心地； 恩爱地； 忠实地； 一心一意地 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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buxom
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| adj.（妇女）丰满的，有健康美的 | |
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eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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irritably
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| ad.易生气地 | |
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grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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grumbling
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| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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Amended
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| adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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reassuringly
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| ad.安心，可靠 | |
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legacy
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| n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西 | |
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memento
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| n.纪念品，令人回忆的东西 | |
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frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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cosy
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| adj.温暖而舒适的，安逸的 | |
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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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adjourned
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| （使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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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unctuous
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| adj.油腔滑调的，大胆的 | |
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discursive
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| adj.离题的，无层次的 | |
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justification
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| n.正当的理由；辩解的理由 | |
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upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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curt
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| adj.简短的，草率的 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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crux
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| adj.十字形；难事，关键，最重要点 | |
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enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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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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recapitulate
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| v.节述要旨，择要说明 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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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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tampering
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| v.窜改( tamper的现在分词 )；篡改；（用不正当手段）影响；瞎摆弄 | |
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83
sleight
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| n.技巧，花招 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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chuckle
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| vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑 | |
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mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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yolk
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| n.蛋黄，卵黄 | |
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legerdemain
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| n.戏法，诈术 | |
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meddled
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| v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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improper
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| adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的 | |
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asperity
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| n.粗鲁，艰苦 | |
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dilemma
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| n.困境，进退两难的局面 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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98
starch
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| n.淀粉；vt.给...上浆 | |
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iodine
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| n.碘，碘酒 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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101
chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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