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CHAPTER XXX. BERT OBTAINS AN IMPORTANT CLEW.
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Mr. Harding was not a literary man, and his papers would hardly have been of any value to a publisher. They consisted principally of letters, some of them ten years old. It seemed to have been a habit of Ralph Harding to keep his letters, though he probably set no great value upon them.214
Bert opened fifteen or twenty, and glanced over them, only to find that they related to matters in which he felt no interest whatever. He began to doubt whether they were even worth the small sum he had paid for them, when all at once he made a discovery. He found a letter dated Lakeville.
"Who can have written him from Lakeville?" he asked himself, and naturally turned the page to read the signature.
His heart beat quickly when he read the name of the writer—Albert Marlowe. It was dated about two years previous, and ran as follows:
Dear Sir: I have received your letter, and am surprised that you should have the boldness to write to me for money. I am sorry to hear that you have been in bad luck, but I presume it is your own fault. You are able to earn good wages, and ought to pay your own way without depending on anybody. Look at me! I was once a common workman like you, but, thanks to my energy and enterprise, I am now the owner of a large factory, and able to live in comparative luxury. I don't know why you should expect me to support you. I have a family of my own to care for, and my first duty is to them.
You intimate that you are in possession of a secret which, if made known, will injure me. I suppose I know what you mean. I don't think, however, that you will find any one to believe what you may say to my disadvantage, and I warn you to be careful what you do, or I may testify that you yourself took the missing bonds. Don't trouble yourself to write to me again, for it will be time thrown away.
Albert Marlowe.
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Underneath1 the signature were a few lines, evidently written by Ralph Harding:
Who would believe that the writer of this letter is a thief, and that the capital on which he started in business was stolen? I bitterly repent2 that I was induced to join in the plot against poor Barton. He—poor fellow—is in exile, afraid to return to his own country, while the man who committed the crime which has shadowed his life, is rich and prosperous, and holds up his head in society. And I—miserable tool that I was—by my
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underneath
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adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面 | |
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repent
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v.悔悟,悔改,忏悔,后悔 | |
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testimony
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n.证词;见证,证明 | |
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implicated
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adj.密切关联的;牵涉其中的 | |
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alas
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int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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bribe
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n.贿赂;v.向…行贿,买通 | |
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guilt
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n.犯罪;内疚;过失,罪责 | |
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contemptible
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adj.可鄙的,可轻视的,卑劣的 | |
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exultation
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n.狂喜,得意 | |
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earnings
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n.工资收人;利润,利益,所得 | |
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prudent
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adj.谨慎的,有远见的,精打细算的 | |
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rehearsal
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n.排练,排演;练习 | |
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hesitation
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n.犹豫,踌躇 | |
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promptly
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adv.及时地,敏捷地 | |
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