“You are in trouble, Mr Fitzgerald, I fear,” said Mr Palliser, standing¹ over Burgo as he lay upon the ground. They were now altogether beyond the gaslights, and the evening was dark. Burgo, too, was lying with his face to the ground, expecting that the footsteps which he had heard would pass by him.

“Who is that?” said he, turning round suddenly; but still he was not at once able to recognise Mr Palliser, whose voice was hardly known to him.

“Perhaps I have been wrong in following you,” said Mr Palliser, “but I thought you were in distress², and that probably I might help you. My name is Palliser.”

“Plantagenet Palliser?” said Burgo, jumping up on to his legs and looking close into the other’s face. “By heavens! it is Plantagenet Palliser! Well, Mr Palliser, what do you want of me?”

“I want to be of some use to you, if I can. I and my wife saw you leave the gaming-table just now.”

“Is she here too?”

“Yes — she is here. We are going home, but chance brought us up to the salon³. She seemed to think that you are in distress, and that I could help you. I will, if you will let me.”

Mr Palliser, during the whole interview, felt that he could afford to be generous. He knew that he had no further cause for fear. He had no lingering dread⁴ of this poor creature who stood before him. All that feeling was over, though it was as yet hardly four months since he had been sent back by Mrs Marsham to Lady Monk⁵’s house to save his wife, if saving her were yet possible.

“So she is here, is she — and saw me there when I staked my last chance? I should have had over twenty thousand francs now, if the cards had stood to me.”

“The cards never do stand to any one, Mr Fitzgerald.”

“Never — never — never!” said Burgo. “At any rate, they never did to me. Nothing ever does stand to me.”

“If you want twenty thousand francs — that’s eight hundred pounds, I think — I can let you have it without any trouble.”

“The devil you can!”

“Oh, yes. As I am travelling with my family — ” I wonder whether Mr Palliser considered himself to be better entitled to talk of his family than he had been some three or four weeks back — “As I am travelling with my family, I have been obliged to carry large bills with me, and I can accommodate you without any trouble.”

点击收听单词发音  

1 standing
n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的
参考例句：
After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。 They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 distress
n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛
参考例句：
Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。 Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

3 salon
n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室
参考例句：
Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗？ You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。

4 dread
vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧
参考例句：
We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。 Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

5 monk
n.和尚，僧侣，修道士
参考例句：
The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。 Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

6 nay
adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者
参考例句：
He was grateful for and proud of his son's remarkable,nay,unique performance.他为儿子出色的，不，应该是独一无二的表演心怀感激和骄傲。 Long essays,nay,whole books have been written on this.许多长篇大论的文章，不，应该说是整部整部的书都是关于这件事的。

7 vengeance
n.报复，报仇，复仇
参考例句：
He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。 For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。

8 peremptory
adj.紧急的，专横的，断然的
参考例句：
The officer issued peremptory commands.军官发出了不容许辩驳的命令。 There was a peremptory note in his voice.他说话的声音里有一种不容置辩的口气。

9 eloquence
n.雄辩；口才，修辞
参考例句：
I am afraid my eloquence did not avail against the facts.恐怕我的雄辩也无补于事实了。 The people were charmed by his eloquence.人们被他的口才迷住了。

10 dodging
n.避开，闪过，音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 )；回避
参考例句：
He ran across the road, dodging the traffic. 他躲开来往的车辆跑过马路。 I crossed the highway, dodging the traffic. 我避开车流穿过了公路。 来自辞典例句

11 spoke
n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说
参考例句：
They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。 The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 commissioner
n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员
参考例句：
The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。 He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

13 promising
adj.有希望的，有前途的
参考例句：
The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。 We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

14 accurately
adv.准确地，精确地
参考例句：
It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。 Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

15 surmise
v./n.猜想，推测
参考例句：
It turned out that my surmise was correct.结果表明我的推测没有错。 I surmise that he will take the job.我推测他会接受这份工作。

16 soothe
v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承
参考例句：
I've managed to soothe him down a bit.我想方设法使他平静了一点。 This medicine should soothe your sore throat.这种药会减轻你的喉痛。

17 instigate
v.教唆，怂恿，煽动
参考例句：
His object was to instigate a little rebellion on the part of the bishop.他的目的是，在主教方面煽起一场小小的造反。 It would not prove worthwhile to instigate a nuclear attack.挑起核攻击最终是不值得的。

18 lavish
adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍
参考例句：
He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。 The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

19 expenditure
n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗
参考例句：
The entry of all expenditure is necessary.有必要把一切开支入账。 The monthly expenditure of our family is four hundred dollars altogether.我们一家的开销每月共计四百元。

20 bounty
n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与
参考例句：
He is famous for his bounty to the poor.他因对穷人慷慨相助而出名。 We received a bounty from the government.我们收到政府给予的一笔补助金。

21 tranquil
adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的
参考例句：
The boy disturbed the tranquil surface of the pond with a stick. 那男孩用棍子打破了平静的池面。 The tranquil beauty of the village scenery is unique. 这乡村景色的宁静是绝无仅有的。

22 possessed
adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的
参考例句：
He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。 He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

23 irrational
adj.无理性的，失去理性的
参考例句：
After taking the drug she became completely irrational.她在吸毒后变得完全失去了理性。 There are also signs of irrational exuberance among some investors.在某些投资者中是存在非理性繁荣的征象的。

24 acting
n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的
参考例句：
Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。 During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

25 demurred
v.表示异议，反对( demur的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
At first she demurred, but then finally agreed. 她开始表示反对，但最终还是同意了。 They demurred at working on Sundays. 他们反对星期日工作。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

26 judicious
adj.明智的，明断的，能作出明智决定的
参考例句：
We should listen to the judicious opinion of that old man.我们应该听取那位老人明智的意见。 A judicious parent encourages his children to make their own decisions.贤明的父亲鼓励儿女自作抉择。

27 judiciously
adv.明断地，明智而审慎地
参考例句：
Let's use these intelligence tests judiciously. 让我们好好利用这些智力测试题吧。 来自《简明英汉词典》 His ideas were quaint and fantastic. She brought him judiciously to earth. 他的看法荒廖古怪，她颇有见识地劝他面对现实。 来自辞典例句

28 gambling
n.赌博；投机
参考例句：
They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。 The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

29 discretion
n.谨慎；随意处理
参考例句：
You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。 Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

30 appeased
安抚，抚慰( appease的过去式和过去分词 )； 绥靖（满足另一国的要求以避免战争）
参考例句：
His hunger could only be appeased by his wife. 他的欲望只有他的妻子能满足。 They are the more readily appeased. 他们比较容易和解。

31 discreet
adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的
参考例句：
He is very discreet in giving his opinions.发表意见他十分慎重。 It wasn't discreet of you to ring me up at the office.你打电话到我办公室真是太鲁莽了。

32 expended
v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽
参考例句：
She expended all her efforts on the care of home and children. 她把所有精力都花在料理家务和照顾孩子上。 The enemy had expended all their ammunition. 敌人已耗尽所有的弹药。 来自《简明英汉词典》

33 remitting
v.免除（债务），宽恕( remit的现在分词 )；使某事缓和；寄回，传送
参考例句：
You should fill in the money order carefully before remitting money. 在办理汇款业务前，应准确填写汇款单。 Please wait for invoice detailing shipping costs before remitting your payment. 汇款前请为您的付款详细运费发票等。

34 corps
n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组
参考例句：
The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。 When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。