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CHAPTER XXI. Cayley’s Apology
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“My Dear Mr. Gillingham,
“I gather from your letter that you have made certain discoveries which you may feel it your duty to communicate to the police, and that in this case my arrest on a charge of murder would inevitably1 follow. Why, in these circumstances, you should give me such ample warning of your intentions I do not understand, unless it is that you are not wholly out of sympathy with me. But whether or not you sympathize, at any rate you will want to know—and I want you to know—the exact manner in which Ablett met his death and the reasons which made that death necessary. If the police have to be told anything, I would rather that they too knew the whole story. They, and even you, may call it murder, but by that time I shall be out of the way. Let them call it what they like.
“I must begin by taking you back to a summer day fifteen years ago, when I was a boy of thirteen and Mark a young man of twenty-five. His whole life was make-believe, and just now he was pretending to be a philanthropist. He sat in our little drawing-room, flicking2 his gloves against the back of his left hand, and my mother, good soul, thought what a noble young gentleman he was, and Philip and I, hastily washed and crammed3 into collars, stood in front of him, nudging each other and kicking the backs of our heels and cursing him in our hearts for having interrupted our game. He had decided4 to adopt one of us, kind Cousin Mark. Heaven knows why he chose me. Philip was eleven; two years longer to wait. Perhaps that was why.
“Well, Mark educated me. I went to a public school and to Cambridge, and I became his secretary. Well, much more than his secretary as your friend Beverley perhaps has told you: his land agent, his financial adviser5, his courier, his—but this most of all—his audience. Mark could never live alone. There must always be somebody to listen to him. I think in his heart he hoped I should be his Boswell. He told me one day that he had made me his literary executor—poor devil. And he used to write me the absurdest long letters when I was away from him, letters which I read once and then tore up. The
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inevitably
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adv.不可避免地;必然发生地 | |
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flicking
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(尤指用手指或手快速地)轻击( flick的现在分词 ); (用…)轻挥; (快速地)按开关; 向…笑了一下(或瞥了一眼等) | |
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crammed
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adj.塞满的,挤满的;大口地吃;快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满;填入;临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式) | |
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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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adviser
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n.劝告者,顾问 | |
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futility
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n.无用 | |
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frantic
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adj.狂乱的,错乱的,激昂的 | |
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admiration
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n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕 | |
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gratitude
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adj.感激,感谢 | |
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preened
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v.(鸟)用嘴整理(羽毛)( preen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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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benefactor
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n. 恩人,行善的人,捐助人 | |
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utterly
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adv.完全地,绝对地 | |
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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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futile
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adj.无效的,无用的,无希望的 | |
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exhausted
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adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的 | |
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gallant
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adj.英勇的,豪侠的;(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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pompous
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adj.傲慢的,自大的;夸大的;豪华的 | |
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dressing
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n.(食物)调料;包扎伤口的用品,敷料 | |
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determined
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adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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ingenuity
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n.别出心裁;善于发明创造 | |
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secrecy
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n.秘密,保密,隐蔽 | |
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vices
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缺陷( vice的名词复数 ); 恶习; 不道德行为; 台钳 | |
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thoroughly
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adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地 | |
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vindictiveness
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恶毒;怀恨在心 | |
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animated
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adj.生气勃勃的,活跃的,愉快的 | |
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outrageous
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adj.无理的,令人不能容忍的 | |
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ruffled
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adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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disapproved
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v.不赞成( disapprove的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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acting
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n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的 | |
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retaliation
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n.报复,反击 | |
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worthy
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adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
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fully
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adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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mumbled
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含糊地说某事,叽咕,咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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wastrel
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n.浪费者;废物 | |
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inspector
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n.检查员,监察员,视察员 | |
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deception
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n.欺骗,欺诈;骗局,诡计 | |
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raggedly
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破烂地,粗糙地 | |
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instinctively
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adv.本能地 | |
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artistic
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adj.艺术(家)的,美术(家)的;善于艺术创作的 | |
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secondly
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adv.第二,其次 | |
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killing
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n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财 | |
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concealed
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a.隐藏的,隐蔽的 | |
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smirked
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v.傻笑( smirk的过去分词 ) | |
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catastrophe
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n.大灾难,大祸 | |
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