注册
正文 目录 文库目录 文库收藏 中文百科 Wiki百科
非洲的百万富翁|Millionaire in Africa

第十章　纸牌游戏|Chapter X The Episode of the Game of Poker

属类： 双语小说 【分类】双语小说 -[作者: 格兰特-艾伦] 阅读：[13529]
《非洲的百万富翁》讲述了骗子克雷上校与查尔斯爵士斗智斗勇的故事.克雷上校通过伪装成不同的身份,如墨西哥先知,小牧师理查德·佩普洛·布拉巴宗,施莱尔马赫教授等欺骗查尔斯,令查尔斯防不胜防.而案情的揭露则是通过克雷上校在事后给查尔斯发来的羞辱信,把他实施作案的过程揭露出来的.最终,克雷上校受到了法律的制裁
《 字+字- 行+行- 页+页- 字+字- 行+行- 页+页- 》
-

我们第二天坐伦斯勒—萨拉托加列车离开乔治湖时，查尔斯长叹一声：“西摩，我再也不化名成什么彼得·波特了，我受够这些伪装了。既然我们知道克雷上校现在就在美国，那么再怎么装也没什么用，所以我还是安心地享受我应有的待遇和尊敬吧，这是我这种身份和地位的人该得的。”

1
-

“即便在这片共和的土地上，你在大多数情况下也都能享受得到（酒店职员那是算个例外）。”我立刻接过话。

2
-

依我之愚见，要是为了能够完全确保摆摆架子就能够享受到劳埃德保险社AI标准的船只，还是让我做一回生而自由的美国公民吧。

3
-

于是在接下来的四个月中，我们周游各州，从缅因州到加利福尼亚州，从俄勒冈州到佛罗里达州，用的全是我们的真名。“落实一下做礼拜的事情。”查尔斯这么打趣地说——或者换句话说，就是调查一下铁路、辛迪加、工矿还有畜牧场的经营和控制情况。我们俩什么都打听。经过我们的调查，正如查尔斯进一步指出的，那些骚扰约伯儿子们的士巴人，貌似已经一股脑全都移民到了堪萨斯州还有内布拉斯加州，那几千头牲畜也似乎像克雷上校一样，在打烙印之前从草原上凭空消失了。

4
-

不管怎么说，我们很幸运，没有遇到克雷上校的骚扰，想必他定是乘了什么魔毯去了其他某个欢乐地了。

5
-

直到阴冷的十月，我们才安全回到纽约，准备返回英国。这么长时间以来，克雷上校没来劫财（查尔斯对此正暗自高兴——不过，我却不这么认为），这对我内兄的身心大有裨益。他现在生龙活虎，兴致颇高，甚至都有点担心克雷上校是不是染上了黄热病——当时黄热病正在新奥尔良市肆虐——或者担心他是不是把自己吃坏了。我们也差点吃坏了身子，胡吃海喝，什么都往肚子里塞，什么蛤蜊汤、淡水龟、软壳蟹、泽西桃、帆背潜鸭、卡托巴酒、酸浆、白兰地鸡尾酒、草莓酥饼、冰激凌、玉米烤饼，还有一种俗称为“僵尸复活”的酒饮。不管怎么说，查尔斯回到纽约时心情很不错。由于担心在这个了不起的城市受到克雷上校的算计，他便欣然接受了他的兄弟温古德的邀请，先在他那儿待上几天，然后再住进在第五大道尽头新建成的宏伟的参议员宫殿；温古德是内华达州的参议员，也是位百万富翁。

6
-

“西，在那儿，至少我可以保证自己的安全，”他满腹牢骚，脸上挂着疲惫的笑容，“不管怎样，温古德不会骗我——当然，平时做生意是另一码事。”

7
-

鲍斯—纳格特会堂（大家都这么叫）也许是第五大道上最漂亮的理查森风格的上流宅邸。我们在那儿待了一个星期，十分高兴。用绳量给我们的地界，坐落在佳美之处。我们抵达那儿的当天晚上，温古德为我们办了一场小型单身派对。他知道查尔斯这次旅行没有带夫人同行，便猜到了查尔斯希望头一天晚上来个非正式的派对，打打牌，抽抽烟，而不用费神去理会女眷们，虽然她们在场会让晚会添彩不少，但多少也会让男士们放不开手脚。

8
-

那天晚上算上我们一共只有七位客人——温古德说，加上他自己刚好八人，这个数字不错。他是位暴发户——暴发户中资历最浅的——传统排外的纽约社交圈称他为“有钱的僭据人”。他开始“发迹”不到十年，因此他像其他美国人一样，急切地想“被文化冲昏头脑”。他作为文学赞助人，还邀请了英国文学界的著名诗人阿尔杰农·克雷亚德先生，他是西部乡村小说中野蔷薇派的领军人物，刚刚抵达纽约。

9
-

“你在伦敦肯定闻其大名了吧？”我们在等客人就餐时，他笑着问查尔斯。

10
-

“没听说过，”查尔斯不冷不热地回了一句，“我可没那份荣幸。你也知道，我们不是一个圈子的人。”

11
-

温古德参议员的脸上掠过一丝奇怪的表情，我发现他完全误解了我内兄的意思。查尔斯想表达的当然是，克雷亚德先生只是伦敦文学界还有波西米亚那个圈子的，而他自己本人则在有钱人和政客这个更高级别的圈子内活动。不过，那位参议员已经习惯了从新富的角度看问题，觉得查尔斯的意思是，大名鼎鼎的克雷亚德先生所在的那个上流团体，他查尔斯还没有资格加入。这自然使得温古德对克雷亚德这位文学之交的敬意又增添了几分。

12
-

诗人进来时已经迟到了两分钟。即使我们没见过《海滨杂志》上他本人各时期的肖像，也能一眼就看出他是位真正的诗人：充满激情的双眸，秀美的嘴唇，一缕灰色鬈发搭在宽阔的额头前，一脸和善的笑容在斑白胡须的映衬下更显真挚，可以看到两排整齐洁白的牙齿。诗人在前一天晚上才抵达纽约，其他大部分客人早在第二天下午莲花俱乐部举办的招待会上见过克雷亚德，所以只有我和查尔斯需要引见。他一身普通晚礼服，没有任何纨绔习气，不过扣眼上戴了一朵蓝色小花，不知何名。他透过眼镜打量着查尔斯，远远地鞠了一躬，衬衫的胸部正中央有一大块钻石闪闪发光，至少可以看出，野蔷薇派（世人因为他那首著名的史诗而这么称呼）靠着诗歌发了一笔财。后来，他略微向我们解释，实际上他来纽约是为了处理自己的版税问题。“我那最后一部作品，”他说，“那些穷光蛋只给八百英镑。这谁能受得了？现代诗人要与时俱进，只有给了适当的激励，才能放声歌唱，所以我大老远过来看看这是怎么一回事。大家都明白，只要给钱，诗人就会为你歌唱。”

13
-

“跟我一样，”查尔斯说道，找到一个双方的共同点，“我对矿山感兴趣；我同你一样，大老远过来也是为了我的‘特许使用费’问题。”

14
-

诗人又把眼镜戴上，把查尔斯浑身上下仔细打量了一番。“哦。”他拖着长调咕哝了一声，一个字也没多说。不过，不知怎的，所有人都觉得查尔斯颜面尽失。吃晚饭时，我看到温古德急急忙忙调换了标记座位的桌签。显然他一开始安排查尔斯紧挨着诗人坐着，现在调整之后，他把诗人放在了一位铁路大王和一名杂志编辑中间。我内兄一句话都没说，这种情况我极少碰到。

15
-

诗人就餐期间的举止极为古怪，他总是不合时宜地引诗摘句。

16
-

“先生，要烤羊羔还是炖火鸡？”仆人问道。

17
-

“玛丽有只小羊羔，”诗人道，“我就学学玛丽吧！”

18
-

查尔斯还有参议员觉得这话说得有失身份。

19
-

不管怎样，晚餐后，查尔斯喝了一些上好的罗德尔红酒，就又开始高谈阔论起来，变得活跃、八卦。诗人讲了一些伦敦文学界的趣事，引得众人大笑不止——至少有两件事，我从未听说过。查尔斯倍感压力，也分享一些逸事来愉悦众人。他那天心情很好。他平日里不怎么爱开玩笑，不过只要他乐意，就能展示出自己冷幽默的一面，虽然严格地讲不免粗俗，但绝对有意思。就在那天晚上，他喝了几杯温古德的上等香槟——美国最上乘的香槟——就开始添油加醋地描述克雷上校是如何想尽各种办法来骗他的。他说的话可不像我的文字这么坦诚、准确，好多最有意思的细节都跳过了——原因很明显，因为有损他的形象，而对他好几次差点抓住上校时所表现出来的机智则夸大其词。不过，由于查尔斯的虚荣天性，他讲起来有些闪烁其词、添枝加叶，但他讲得还是绝对滑稽——只讲这些事荒唐可笑的一面，而不讲损失惨重的一面，这在他还是头一遭。他环顾在座的诸位，还表示，这四年来克雷上校从他身上骗走的钱财，远比不上由于失手而在伦敦股票交易所一天的损失。他说这话，大概是想对纽约的这些实力派传达这一信息：为了能享受克雷上校追随他而带来的乐趣和刺激，这点小痛小痒的损失，他倒也乐意牺牲。

20
-

诗人很高兴。“查尔斯爵士，你是个有血性的汉子，”他说，“崇尚勇气与冒险，我倒想一睹英国人这一优良传统！不过，话又说回来，这家伙身上肯定有些为人称道的地方。我得就这些故事做些笔记，要创作一则冒险故事；这都是些不错的素材。”

21
-

“我也不清楚自己到底适不适合做小说的主人公。”查尔斯扬扬自得地小声说道。显然，诗人实际上并不是这个意思。

22
-

“我的意思是，让克雷上校做主人公。”诗人冷冷地回敬道。

23
-

“啊，你们玩弄笔墨的人都这样，”查尔斯接过话，语气缓和了些，“你们都暗地里同情那些无赖。”

24
-

“这也比同情股票交易所那些最见不得人的投机行为要强。”诗人冷冷地反呛了一句。

25
-

在场的其他人都不自在地笑了。那位铁路大王扭了扭身子。温古德赶忙转换话题，不过查尔斯不肯善罢甘休。

26
-

“不过，你得听听最后的结局，”他说道，“这还不是最糟的。那人最坏的一点，就是他还是个伪君子。他上一次骗完我之后——就在这儿骗的我，就在美国骗的我——他给我写了这么一封信。”他接着讲了一通夸肯鲍斯那件事，中间零零碎碎夹杂着些许纯粹他自己个人的臆想。

27
-

当查尔斯提到夸肯鲍斯夫人时，诗人笑了。“已婚女士最不好的一点，”他说，“就是——你不能娶她们；未婚女士最不好的一点就是——她们想嫁给你。”不过，说到那封信时，诗人的眼睛一直盯着我内兄。查尔斯不幸地曲解了信中的内容，这一点我不得不承认。即便这样，信中还是流露出了一些善意。不过，查尔斯最后说道：“因此，那个无赖让自己成了一个爱发牢骚的杂种，一个让人唾弃的伪善者，一个完完全全彻头彻尾的浑球儿。”

28
-

“难道你不觉得，”诗人不慌不忙地插话道，很有风度，“他也许说的是真话？你不觉得有一丝悔恨触动了他的灵魂？——你不觉得残存的一些良知让他也诚心地对待一个信任自己的人？我有一种观点：即便最无耻的无赖，内心也总会有好的一面。我发现，他们常常能一直让女性爱自己，并且对自己忠诚。”

29
-

“哈！我早就说过！”查尔斯嗤之以鼻，“我早就说过，搞文学的人总是对无赖有一种见不得人的想法。”

30
-

“也许你说得对，”诗人冷笑道，“因为你我都是凡人。咱们中间谁要是问心无愧，没有什么罪过，那就先站出来教训教训我吧！”说完他就在一边赌气，闭口不言。

31
-

我们起身离桌，拿上雪茄，转身去吸烟室。那个房间是摩尔风格的装潢，富丽堂皇，配的是东方风格的墙幔。温古德参议员在那儿同查尔斯谈些富矿带、大农场，还有一些其他振奋人心的饭后谈资；那位杂志编辑则时而插话问个相关的问题，时而也说个古怪而讽刺的类似事件。很明显，他心中想的是以后要把这些发表出来。只有阿尔杰农·克雷亚德一个人坐在一旁想着心事，一句话不说，一只手托着下巴，眉头紧锁，眼睛盯着火炉中的灰烬。顺便说一句，他手上戴了一个稀奇古怪的戒指，一眼就能认出是埃及人或伊特鲁里亚人造的，上面镶的宝石向外凸起，琢面很大。他只是在打惠斯特桥牌的时候突然冒了一句话。

32
-

“霍金斯当伯爵了。”查尔斯说道，说的是伦敦某位相识。

33
-

“他何德何能？”参议员问道。

34
-

“会造假呗！”诗人刻薄地答道。

35
-

“荣耀名誉，这一切太容易。”杂志编辑插话道。

36
-

“查尔斯爵士靠耍滑头也弄了两个。”诗人补充道。

37
-

夜幕快要降临时，温古德参议员提议玩一玩瑞典扑克，这是一种容易上手的游戏——此时诗人虽说不是怒发冲冠，但也依旧郁郁寡欢。这游戏是根据过去的赌博游戏演化而来的，最近在西方社会非常流行，不过在座的众人，除了那位万事通诗人还有杂志编辑，几乎无人了解。后来才知道，温古德之所以提议玩这个游戏，是因为他当天下午在莲花俱乐部听克雷亚德说，这是他最喜欢的娱乐消遣。不过，他此刻不愿意玩。他说自己没钱，而其他诸位都是富翁，自己为什么要把十几首漂亮的十四行诗赚来的钱拱手让给百万富翁，好让他们在金碧辉煌的百万富翁的宫殿上再添一砖加一瓦呢？此外，他正在写一首颂诗，称赞共和国的简朴。民主党参议员宅邸的简单朴素让他不禁想到了登塔图斯、法比家族，还有卡美卢斯。温古德隐隐地感到他在取笑自己，不过仍然坚持诗人一定要同这些金融家一起玩玩牌。“你可以不叫牌，”他说，“多少次都行。你可以把赌注下得低一些，或者随便碰碰运气，你随意。这个游戏很民主，除了庄家，其他人自己决定下多大的注。你要是不想坐庄，可以不坐。”

38
-

“哦，要是你这么坚持，”克雷亚德懒洋洋地，透着一股不情愿，慢悠悠地说，“我就不得不从命了，要不然会扫了你的兴。不过，你可记住，我是诗人，我有神秘的灵感。”

39
-

这些纸牌，为了方便辨认，除了牌面上有花色和点数，角上也有花色和点数。一开始，我们的赌注很小。诗人很少下注，每次下注——几英镑——他总输，很奇怪。他想用古西班牙金币或古威尼斯金币下注，费了不少劲才说服他用美元。查尔斯最后隔着牌桌看着他，那时赌注在快速增加，都用现钱。纸币在绿色桌布上厚厚地摞着。“喂，”他低语道，有些挑衅，“你的灵感呢？阿波罗不管你了吗？”

40
-

查尔斯能用上这么经典的暗指，这够稀奇的，老实说，我自己都觉得不可思议（后来发现，他看了当晚的《评论家》杂志的一篇评论，现学现卖）。不过，诗人微微一笑。

41
-

“没有哇，”他平静地答道，“我现在正在酝酿灵感。灵感来的时候，肯定让你吃不了兜着走。”

42
-

接下来的一局，查尔斯坐庄发牌，诗人下注，和之前一样，不让别人看到。他下注时，一副绅士派头。让我们万万没想到的是，他抽出一沓钞票，平和地说道：“现在灵感来了。‘心不在焉’这个词刚好，我押五千。”当然是五千美元，换成英国货币约一千英镑——对一名以写作为生的人来讲，这是个大赌注。

43
-

查尔斯笑了笑，摊了牌，诗人也亮了牌——于是赢了一千英镑。

44
-

“运气不错嘛！”查尔斯低声说道，虽然输了钱不高兴，但他仍装出一副若无其事的样子。

45
-

“灵感嘛！”诗人沉思道，又变得心不在焉起来。

46
-

查尔斯再次发牌。虽然诗人的一双死鱼眼在盯着发牌，思绪却不知飞到哪儿去了。他嘴唇翕动着，念念有词。“郊游、水手、行走，”他咕哝着，“凑够三个了。对了，还有杨柳，‘柳’的意思是留。这下就大功告成了。月桂、画眉这两个词押韵押得不好。用‘郊游’试试，你觉得怎么样？”

47
-

“下不下注？”查尔斯接过话，口气严厉，把诗人拉回了现实。

48
-

诗人一惊。“不下，你们继续。”他回应道，低头看牌，又陷入沉思。我们又看到他双唇在颤抖，听到他念道：“西海边心不在焉的守望者/我比你更拥护共和/多年后，我前来看你/少女的誓言是否仍还铭记/如花似锦的年纪/誓做自由妻——”

49
-

“下不下注？”查尔斯再次试探着打断他。

50
-

“下，五千，”诗人在半睡半醒中回答，把自己面前的一堆纸币推上前去，嘴上一直没闲着，“来日誓做自由妻。‘来日’，‘来日’，这个词乏味得连五块钱都不值得下。”

51
-

查尔斯再次亮牌，诗人又赢了。查尔斯把钱推过去，诗人心不在焉地揽了过来，好像在注视着无际的远方，问谁能借他铅笔还有纸。有几行难得的诗句，他要记下来，否则很可能就忘了。

52
-

“这是在打牌，”查尔斯厉声说道，“你能不能只专注一件事？”

53
-

诗人望了他一眼，脸上挂着同情的笑容。“早就给你说了，我有灵感，”他说，“诗和灵感形影不离。你的钱我不能想赢多快就赢多快，除非我打牌的时候作作诗。每每我想到好词好句，我都要赌一赌运气。你没发现吗，我靠着‘心不在焉’这个词赢了一千，靠‘如花似锦’又赢了一千。要是我为‘来日’这词下注，我肯定会输。懂不懂我这套规则？”

54
-

“要我说，这纯粹是瞎扯，”查尔斯回应道，“不管这些，接着打牌。规则是给蠢货准备的——却是为了迎合智者。靠这种瞎想，你早晚会输。”

55
-

诗人继续道：“此生誓做自由妻。”

56
-

“下注！”查尔斯厉声喊道，我们都下了注。

57
-

“此生，”诗人咕哝道，“此后余生。这个词够妙。我押一万美元，查尔斯爵士，押‘此生’这个词。”

58
-

大家都亮了牌，有输有赢，诗人则赢了两千英镑。

59
-

“我身上没带这么多钱，”查尔斯说道，语气严肃而恼怒，他输牌时通常都是这种语气，“不过——我明天会把钱给你结清。”

60
-

“再来一局？”主人问道，满脸堆笑。

61
-

“谢谢，还是算了吧！”查尔斯答道，“克雷亚德先生的灵感来得太是时候了。他的运气太好了，参议员先生，我不玩了。”

62
-

就在此时，一名仆人进来了，手托一个托盘，上面有一个信封，里面装了一封短笺。“是给克雷亚德先生的，”他说，“送信人说十分紧急。”

63
-

克雷亚德赶忙撕开信封。能看出来他很焦虑，脸立刻就白了。

64
-

“抱……抱歉，”他说道，“我……我现在必须马上回去了。我妻子病危——发作得很突然。参议员先生，请原谅。查尔斯爵士，你明天再报仇吧。”

65
-

很明显，他说话时有些哽咽。我们觉得他最起码是个重感情的人。他显然有些害怕，再也无法冷静。他在恍惚中同各位握手道别，接着便冲下楼梯找自己的风衣。就在他关上前门的那一刻，又来了一位客人，两人在玄关擦肩而过。

66
-

“各位先生，好哇，”他张口道，“咱们被骗了，知道吗？从莲花俱乐部说起，我们接纳为俱乐部名誉会员的那个人，并不是阿尔杰农·克雷亚德。他是位招摇撞骗的骗子。今晚来的电报说，阿尔杰农·克雷亚德在英格兰的家中，现在已经病危。”

67
-

查尔斯倒抽了一口长气。“克雷上校，”他叫道，声音很大，“他这次又把我骗了。没时间了，赶紧追，先生们！赶紧追！”

68
-

我们之前从未有过如此唾手可得的一个机会，去抓那令人敬畏的骗子，收拾他一顿。我们便一股脑儿三步并作两步奔下楼梯，冲到第五大道上。那位冒牌诗人只在我们前面一百码的距离，并发现事情已经败露了。不过，他是位跑步健将。考虑到年龄还有体重，我跑起来也不慢，在后面狂奔追赶。他在一个拐角转了弯，前方无路可逃，浪费了一些时间，他又发疯似的迅速折回。我想到自己正在追捕的是这么一个名声显赫的罪犯就感到兴奋，便又加了一把劲儿——气喘吁吁地追上了他。他穿了件轻薄的风衣，我用手一把抓住，喊道：“终于抓到你了，克雷上校，你逃不了了！”

69
-

他转过身看着我。“哈，记不记得那百分之十！”他一边挣扎一边喊道，“是你干的，对不对？先生，你永远、永远别想抓住我！”说时迟，那时快，他在说话的空当儿，把双臂向后并拢，想让风衣滑掉；风衣是新做的，袖子里面是平滑的丝衬，一下子就滑掉了。他这一下让我猝不及防，脚下也没站稳。我抓着他的外套，外套一掉我便仰面向后倒去，滚进了街上的泥浆里，背摔得很疼。那克雷上校不安地笑了笑，便穿着晚礼服全速逃跑，在街角一转便不见了踪影。

70
-

过了一会儿，我才缓过气，从地上爬起来，看看自己的伤势如何。这时，查尔斯还有其他人都已赶到，我向他们说明了事情经过。我对查尔斯的事情如此上心——胳膊摔破了，那件不错的晚礼服也毁了，我的内兄非但没有称赞我几句，反而冷冷地说，既然只差那么一点就能抓住了，我就应该把他抓住的。

71
-

“至少，我拿到了他的外套，”我说，“这也许会给我们提供一点线索。”我手里拿着那件外套一瘸一拐、摇摇晃晃地往回走，身上摔得青一块紫一块。

72
-

我们开始检查那外套，不过上面没有找到裁缝的名字。衣服后背处裁缝借以标榜自己手艺的带子被小心地撕掉了，取而代之的是一条纯黑的带子，没有任何字迹。我们又搜了搜胸前的口袋，找到了一块手帕，是用最好的细麻纱做的，也没留下什么名字。再看看两侧的口袋——哈，这是什么？我喜出望外，掏出一张纸。是一张短笺——这是一个真正有价值的发现——就是刚刚仆人在参议员家中递给他的那张短笺。

73
-

我们一口气读完。

74
-

亲爱的保罗，我早就跟你说过，这样太冒险，为什么不听我一劝呢？你就不该冒充现实中的人物。我刚刚碰巧瞧了一眼酒店的自动电报机，打算看看克罗地多普公司今天的行情怎样。你猜我在从英格兰发过来的电报中看到了什么消息？阿尔杰农·克雷亚德先生，就是那位大名鼎鼎的诗人，现在在德文郡家中的床上病死了。现在整个纽约都知晓了此事。就说我病危，立刻回来，一分钟都不要耽误。别回酒店，我正在转移咱们的东西，到玛丽家找我。

75
-

你忠心的，

76
-

玛格特

77
-

“这张短笺非常重要！”查尔斯说道，“它给了我们一条线索。其他的先不管，现在我们知道了两件事：他的真名叫保罗，皮卡迪特夫人的真名叫玛格特。”

78
-

我又搜了搜口袋，找到一枚戒指。显然，他发现我在追他时，就把这两样东西塞到了口袋里，在扭扯中忘了这事，或者说根本顾不上了。

79
-

我仔细地看了看，这就是他玩瑞典扑克时戴在手上的那枚戒指，中间镶有一枚合成的大宝石，有好几个面，像金字塔一样向中间突起。一共有八个面，有些面上是祖母绿、紫水晶，或绿松石，不过有一面——与佩戴者的眼睛成直角的那一面——根本不是什么珠宝，而是一块非常小的凸面镜。我一下子明白了他这葫芦里卖的什么药。我内兄发牌时，他就漫不经心地把手搭在桌上，当通过镜面折射，看到自己的点数与花色比查尔斯的要好时，就来了“灵感”，便信心十足地为自己的运气下注——或者说为自己的内幕信息下注。同样，我确信他那样子奇怪的眼镜是个高倍的放大镜，在这种把戏中助了他一臂之力。于是，我们又发了一次牌，试了一下——我戴上戒指，即便裸眼也都能每次认出发给我的牌的点数与花色。

80
-

“好哇，这跟作弊差不多。”参议员说道，后退了一步。他想向我们表明，即便是在美国的偏远西部地区的投机者也会有个底线。

81
-

“说得对，”杂志编辑应和道，“为自己的牌技下注合规合法，为自己的运气下注是没有头脑，为自己的内幕信息下注是——”

82
-

“不讲道德。”我提示了一下。

83
-

“说得非常好。”杂志编辑接过话。

84
-

“骗法很简单，”查尔斯插话道，“换成其他人，我早就识破了。但是他喋喋不休地说着自己的灵感，把我的注意力引开了，这就是那个无赖的障眼法。他用一般骗子的手段来转移你的注意力——他这一招用得太好了，等你发现他的真实意图，一切都无可挽回了。”

85
-

我们让纽约警方追寻克雷上校，不过，当然他又同以往一样，已经化作曼哈顿的一缕轻烟，立刻消失得无影无踪，一丝线索都没有。“玛丽家”，我们得到的是个不全的地址。

86
-

我们又在纽约等了整整两星期，一点消息都没有，没找到什么“玛丽家”。唯一能表明克雷上校在这个城市的东西，是他按惯例写来的羞辱信。内容如下：

87
-

哎，那位一直上当受骗的：

88
-

自从咱们在乔治湖见面以后，我就回了伦敦，不过马上又回来了。实际上，我在伦敦有笔买卖要做，现在已经做完了。英国警方的高度戒备又让我像天上伟大的猎户座一样，“缓缓地向西移动”。我又回到美国，是想看看你是否仍有悔恨之心。刚到的那天，我就碰到了温古德参议员，便接受了他的热情邀请，纯粹是想看看我上次给你的信对你的影响有多大。结果，我发现你还是相当冥顽不灵，并且固执地误解我的初衷，于是我决定再给你来个小小的教训。这次差一点就失败了，我承认这个意外事件让我紧张了一把。现在我即将彻底罢手，在萨里郡安顿下来度过余生。我打算再略微骗你一次，事成之后，克雷上校就会像辛辛纳图斯一样，弃甲归田。到时候，你就不必再提心吊胆。我已为余生准备得差不多了，不像你那么贪得无厌。现在我意识到要成为一名好公民，得及早收手，以便给那些更年轻、更有资格的无赖更多的机会。咱们共同经历的愉快冒险，我今后定会常常愉悦地回味一番。既然你拿到了我的外套，还有一枚戒指，一封对我来讲十分重要的信件，咱们就算扯平了，我也就体面地罢手了。

89
-

衷心祝愿你的，

90
-

诗人库斯伯特·克雷

91
-

“这就是他一贯的风格！”查尔斯说道，“说是要再最后骗我一次，算是给我一个警告。即便他这么做了，我为什么要信他的话？他那种无赖说这些话，当然也可能就是为了故意让我放松警惕。”

92
-

就我而言，我十分赞同“玛格特”的话。当上校不得不冒充某位知名人士时，我觉得他已经基本黔驴技穷了，最好还是到萨里郡安度余生吧。

93
-

不过，杂志编辑把这一切总结成了一句话：“勤劳和能力创造财富，这是瞎扯，千万别信。人生就像打牌，成功源自两个因素——一个是机会，另一个就是作弊。”

94
-

“Seymour，”my brother-in-law said, with a deep-drawn sigh, as we left Lake George next day by the Rennselaer and Saratoga Railroad，“no more Peter Porter for me, if you please！I’m sick of disguises. Now that we know Colonel Clay is here in America, they serve no good purpose；so I may as well receive the social consideration and proper respect to which my rank and position naturally entitle me.”

1

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“And which they secure for the most part（except from hotel clerks），even in this republican land，”I answered briskly.

2

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

For in my humble opinion, for sound copper-bottomed snobbery, registered A1 at Lloyd’s, give me the free-born American citizen.

3

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

We travelled through the States, accordingly, for the next four months, from Maine to California, and from Oregon to Florida, under our own true names，“Confirming the churches，”as Charles facetiously put it—or in other words, looking into the management and control of railways, syndicates, mines, and cattle-ranches. We inquired about everything.And the result of our investigations appeared to be, as Charles further remarked, that the Sabeans who so troubled the sons of Job seemed to have migrated in a body to Kansas and Nebraska, and that several thousand head of cattle seemed mysteriously to vanish，à la Colonel Clay, into the pure air of the prairies just before each branding.

4

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

However, we were fortunate in avoiding the incursions of the Colonel himself, who must have migrated meanwhile on some enchanted carpet to other happy hunting-grounds.

5

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

It was chill October before we found ourselves safe back in New York, en route for England. So long a term of freedom from the Colonel’s depredations（as Charles fondly imagined—but I will not anticipate）had done my brother-in-law’s health and spirits a world of good；he was so lively and cheerful that he began to fancy his tormentor must have succumbed to yellow fever, then raging in New Orleans, or eaten himself ill, as we nearly did ourselves, on a generous mixture of clam-chowder, terrapin, soft-shelled crabs, Jersey peaches, canvas-backed ducks, Catawba wine, winter cherries, brandy cocktails, strawberry-shortcake, ice-creams, corn-dodger, and a judicious brew commonly known as a Colorado corpse-reviver.However that may be, Charles returned to New York in excellent trim；and, dreading in that great city the wiles of his antagonist, he cheerfully accepted the invitation of his brother millionaire, Senator Wrengold of Nevada, to spend a few days before sailing in the Senator’s magnifcent and newly-fnished palace at the upper end of Fifth Avenue.

6

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“There, at least, I shall be safe, Sey，”he said to me plaintively, with a weary smile.“Wrengold, at any rate, won’t try to take me in—except, of course, in the regular way of business.”

7

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

Boss-Nugget Hall（as it is popularly christened）is perhaps the handsomest brown stone mansion in the Richardsonian style on all Fifth Avenue. We spent a delightful week there.The lines had fallen to us in pleasant places.On the night we arrived Wrengold gave a small bachelor party in our honour.He knew Sir Charles was travelling without Lady Vandrift, and rightly judged he would prefer on his frst night an informalparty, with cards and cigars, instead of being bothered with the charming, but still somewhat hampering addition of female society.

8

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

The guests that evening were no more than seven, all told, ourselves included—making up, Wrengold said, that perfect number, an octave. He was a nouveau riche himself—the newest of the new—commonly known in exclusive old-fashioned New York society as the Gilded Squatter；for he“struck his reef”no more than ten years ago；and he was therefore doubly anxious, after the American style, to be“just dizzy with culture.”In his capacity of M?cenas, he had invited amongst others the latest of English literary arrivals in New York—Mr.Algernon Coleyard, the famous poet, and leader of the Briar-rose school of West-country fction.

9

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“You know him in London, of course?”he observed to Charles, with a smile, as we waited dinner for our guests.

10

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“No，”Charles answered stolidly.“I have not had that honour. We move, you see, in different circles.”

11

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

I observed by a curious shade which passed over Senator Wrengold’s face that he quite misapprehended my brother-in-law’s meaning. Charles wished to convey, of course, that Mr.Coleyard belonged to a mere literary and Bohemian set in London, while he himself moved on a more exalted plane of peers and politicians.But the Senator, better accustomed to the new-rich point of view, understood Charles to mean that he had not the entrée of that distinguished coterie in which Mr.Coleyard posed as a shining luminary.Which naturally made him rate even higher than before his literary acquisition.

12

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

At two minutes past the hour the poet entered. Even if we had not been already familiar with his portrait at all ages in The Strand Magazine, we should have recognised him at once for a genuine bard by his impassioned eyes, his delicate mouth, the artistic twirl of one gray lockupon his expansive brow, the grizzled moustache that gave point and force to the genial smile, and the two white rows of perfect teeth behind it.Most of our fellow-guests had met Coleyard before at a reception given by the Lotus Club that afternoon, for the bard had reached New York but the previous evening；so Charles and I were the only visitors who remained to be introduced to him.The lion of the hour was attired in ordinary evening dress, with no foppery of any kind, but he wore in his buttonhole a dainty blue flower whose name I do not know；and as he bowed distantly to Charles, whom he surveyed through his eyeglass, the gleam of a big diamond in the middle of his shirt-front betrayed the fact that the Briar-rose school, as it was called（from his famous epic），had at least succeeded in making money out of poetry.He explained to us a little later, in fact, that he was over in New York to look after his royalties.“The beggars，”he said，“only gave me eight hundred pounds on my last volume.I couldn’t stand that, you know；for a modern bard, moving with the age, can only sing when duly wound up；so I’ve run across to investigate.Put a penny in the slot, don’t you see, and the poet will pipe for you.”

13

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“Exactly like myself，”Charles said, fnding a point in common.“I’m interested in mines；and I, too, have come over to look after my royalties.”

14

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

The poet placed his eyeglass in his eye once more, and surveyed Charles deliberately from head to foot.“Oh，”he murmured slowly. He said not a word more；but somehow, everybody felt that Charles was demolished.I saw that Wrengold, when we went in to dinner, hastily altered the cards that marked their places.He had evidently put Charles at frst to sit next the poet；he varied that arrangement now, setting Algernon Coleyard between a railway king and a magazine editor.I have seldom seen my respected brother-in-law so completely silenced.

15

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

The poet’s conduct during dinner was most peculiar. He kept quotingpoetry at inopportune moments.

16

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“Roast lamb or boiled turkey, sir?”said the footman.

17

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“Mary had a little lamb，”said the poet.“I shall imitate Mary.”

18

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

Charles and the Senator thought the remark undignifed.

19

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

After dinner, however, under the mellowing influence of some excellent Roederer, Charles began to expand again, and grew lively and anecdotal. The poet had made us all laugh not a little with various capital stories of London literary society—at least two of them, I think, new ones；and Charles was moved by generous emulation to contribute his own share to the amusement of the company.He was in excellent cue.He is not often brilliant；but when he chooses, he has a certain dry vein of caustic humour which is decidedly funny, though not perhaps strictly without being vulgar.On this particular night, then, warmed with the admirable Wrengold champagne—the best made in America—he launched out into a full and embroidered description of the various ways in which Colonel Clay had deceived him.I will not say that he narrated them in full with the same frankness and accuracy that I have shown in these pages；he suppressed not a few of the most amusing details—on no other ground, apparently, than because they happened to tell against himself；and he enlarged a good deal on the surprising cleverness with which several times he had nearly secured his man；but still, making all allowances for native vanity in concealment and addition, he was distinctly funny—he represented the matter for once in its ludicrous rather than in its disastrous aspect.He observed also, looking around the table, that after all he had lost less by Colonel Clay in four years of persecution than he often lost by one injudicious move in a single day on the London Stock Exchange；while he seemed to imply to the solid men of New York, that he would cheerfully sacrifce such a feabite as that, in return for the amusement andexcitement of the chase which the Colonel had afforded him.

20

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

The poet was pleased.“You are a man of spirit, Sir Charles，”he said.“I love to see this fne old English admiration of pluck and adventure！The fellow must really have some good in him, after all. I should like to take notes of a few of those stories；they would supply nice material for basing a romance upon.”

21

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“I hardly know whether I’m exactly the man to make the hero of a novel，”Charles murmured, with complacence. And he certainly didn’t look it.

22

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“I was thinking rather of Colonel Clay as the hero，”the poet responded coldly.

23

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“Ah, that’s the way with you men of letters，”Charles answered, growing warm.“You always have a sneaking sympathy with the rascals.”

24

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“That may be better，”Coleyard retorted, in an icy voice，“than sympathy with the worst forms of Stock Exchange speculation.”

25

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

The company smiled uneasily. The railway king wriggled.Wrengold tried to change the subject hastily.But Charles would not be put down.

26

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“You must hear the end, though，”he said.“That’s not quite the worst. The meanest thing about the man is that he’s also a hypocrite.He wrote me such a letter at the end of his last trick—here, positively here, in America.”And he proceeded to give his own version of the Quackenboss incident, enlivened with sundry imaginative bursts of pure Vandrift fancy.

27

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

When Charles spoke of Mrs. Quackenboss the poet smiled.“The worst of married women，”he said，“is—that you can’t marry them；the worst of unmarried women is—that they want to marry you.”But when it came to the letter, the poet’s eye was upon my brother-in-law.Charles, I must fain admit, garbled the document sadly.Still, even so, some gleam of good feeling remained in its sentences.But Charles ended all by saying，“So, to crown his misdemeanours, the rascal shows himself a whining cur and a disgusting Pharisee.”

28

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“Don’t you think，”the poet interposed, in his cultivated drawl，“he may have really meant it?Why should not some grain of compunction have stirred his soul still?—some remnant of conscience made him shrink from betraying a man who confded in him?I have an idea, myself, that even the worst of rogues have always some good in them. I notice they often succeed to the end in retaining the affection and fdelity of women.”

29

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“Oh, I said so！”Charles sneered.“I told you you literary men have always an underhand regard for a scoundrel.”

30

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“Perhaps so，”the poet answered.“For we are all of us human. Let him that is without sin among us cast the frst stone.”And then he relapsed into moody silence.

31

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

We rose from table. Cigars went round.We adjourned to the smoking-room.It was a Moorish marvel, with Oriental hangings.There, Senator Wrengold and Charles exchanged reminiscences of bonanzas and ranches and other exciting post-prandial topics；while the magazine editor cut in now and again with a pertinent inquiry or a quaint and sarcastic parallel instance.It was clear he had an eye to future copy.Only Algernon Coleyard sat brooding and silent, with his chin on one hand, and his brow intent, musing and gazing at the embers in the freplace.The hand, by the way, was remarkable for a curious, antique-looking ring, apparently of Egyptian or Etruscan workmanship, with a projecting gem of several large facets.Once only, in the midst of a game of whist, he broke out with a single comment.

32

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“Hawkins was made an earl，”said Charles, speaking of some London acquaintance.

33

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“What for?”asked the Senator.

34

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“Successful adulteration，”said the poet tartly.

35

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“Honours are easy，”the magazine editor put in.

36

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“And two by tricks to Sir Charles，”the poet added.

37

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

Towards the close of the evening, however—the poet still remaining moody, not to say positively grumpy—Senator Wrengold proposed a friendly game of Swedish poker. It was the latest fashionable variant in Western society on the old gambling round, and few of us knew it, save the omniscient poet and the magazine editor.It turned out afterwards that Wrengold proposed that particular game because he had heard Coleyard observe at the Lotus Club the same afternoon that it was a favourite amusement of his.Now, however, for a while he objected to playing.He was a poor man, he said, and the rest were all rich；why should he throw away the value of a dozen golden sonnets just to add one more pinnacle to the gilded roofs of a millionaire’s palace?Besides, he was half-way through with an ode he was inditing to Republican simplicity.The pristine austerity of a democratic senatorial cottage had naturally inspired him with memories of Dentatus, the Fabii, Camillus.But Wrengold, dimly aware he was being made fun of somehow, insisted that the poet must take a hand with the fnanciers.“You can pass, you know，”he said，“as often as you like；and you can stake low, or go it blind, according as you’re inclined to.It’s a democratic game；every man decides for himself how high he will play, except the banker；and you needn’t take bank unless you want it.”

38

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“Oh, if you insist upon it，”Coleyard drawled out, with languid reluctance，“I’ll play, of course. I won’t spoil your evening.But remember, I’m a poet；I have strange inspirations.”

39

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

The cards were“squeezers”—that is to say, had the suit and the number of pips in each printed small in the corner, as well as over the face, for ease of reference. We played low at frst.The poet seldom staked；and when he did—a few pounds—he lost, with singular persistence.He wanted to play for doubloons or sequins, and could with difficulty be induced to condescend to dollars.Charles looked across at him at last；the stakes by that time were fast rising higher, and we played for ready money.Notes lay thick on the green cloth.“Well，”he murmured provokingly，“how about your inspiration?Has Apollo deserted you?”

40

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

It was an unwonted flight of classical allusion for Charles, and I confess it astonished me.（I discovered afterwards he had cribbed it from a review in that evening’s Critic.）But the poet smiled.

41

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“No，”he answered calmly，“I am waiting for one now. When it comes, you may be sure you shall have the beneft of it.”

42

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

Next round, Charles dealing and banking, the poet staked on his card, unseen as usual. He staked like a gentleman.To our immense astonishment he pulled out a roll of notes, and remarked, in a quiet tone，“I have an inspiration now.Half-hearted will do.I go fve thousand.”That was dollars, of course；but it amounted to a thousand pounds in English money—high play for an author.

43

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

Charles smiled and turned his card. The poet turned his—and won a thousand.

44

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“Good shot！”Charles murmured, pretending not to mind, though he detests losing.

45

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“Inspiration！”the poet mused, and looked once more abstracted.

46

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

Charles dealt again. The poet watched the deal with boiled-fishy eyes.His thoughts were far away.His lips moved audibly.“myrtle, and kirtle, and hurtle，”he muttered.“They’ll do for three.Then there’s turtle, meaning dove；and that finishes the possible.Laurel and coral make a very bad rhyme.Try myrtle；don’t you think so?”

47

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“Do you stake?”Charles asked, severely, interrupting his reverie.

48

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

The poet started.“No, pass，”he replied, looking down at his card, and subsided into muttering. We caught a tremor of his lips again, and heard something like this：“Not less but more republican than thou, Half-hearted watcher by the Western sea, After long years I come to visit thee, And test thy fealty to that maiden vow, That bound thee in thy budding prime For Freedom’s bride—”

49

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“Stake?”Charles interrupted, inquiringly, again.

50

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“Yes, fve thousand，”the poet answered dreamily, pushing forward his pile of notes, and never ceasing from his murmur：“For Freedom’s bride to all succeeding time. Succeeding；succeeding；weak word, succeeding.Couldn’t go fve dollars on it.”

51

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

Charles turned his card once more. The poet had won again.Charles passed over his notes.The poet raked them in with a far-away air, as one who looks at infnity, and asked if he could borrow a pencil and paper.He had a few priceless lines to set down which might otherwise escape him.

52

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“This is play，”Charles said pointedly.“Will you kindly attend to one thing or the other?”

53

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

The poet glanced at him with a compassionate smile.“I told you I had inspirations，”he said.“They always come together. I can’t win your money as fast as I would like, unless at the same time I am making verses.Whenever I hit upon a good epithet, I back my luck, don’t you see?I won a thousand on Half-hearted and a thousand on budding；if I were to back succeeding, I should lose, to a certainty.You understand my system?”

54

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“I call it pure rubbish，”Charles answered.“However, continue. Systems were made for fools—and to suit wise men.Sooner or later you must lose at such a stupid fancy.”

55

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

The poet continued.“For Freedom’s bride to all ensuing time.”

56

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“Stake！”Charles cried sharply. We each of us staked.

57

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“Ensuing，”the poet murmured.“To all ensuing time. First-rate epithet that.I go ten thousand, Sir Charles, on ensuing.”

58

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

We all turned up. Some of us lost, some won；but the poet had secured his two thousand sterling.

59

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“I haven’t that amount about me，”Charles said, in that austerely nettled voice which he always assumes when he loses at cards；“but—I’ll settle it with you to-morrow.”

60

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“Another round?”the host asked, beaming.

61

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“No, thank you，”Charles answered；“Mr. Coleyard’s inspirations come too pat for my taste.His luck beats mine.I retire from the game, Senator.”

62

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

Just at that moment a servant entered, bearing a salver, with a small note in an envelope.“For Mr. Coleyard，”he observed；“and the messenger said, urgent.”

63

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

Coleyard tore it open hurriedly. I could see he was agitated.His face grew white at once.

64

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“I—I beg your pardon，”he said.“I—I must go back instantly. My wife is dangerously ill—quite a sudden attack.Forgive me, Senator.Sir Charles, you shall have your revenge to-morrow.”

65

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

It was clear that his voice faltered. We felt at least he was a man of feeling.He was obviously frightened.His coolness forsook him.He shook hands as in a dream, and rushed downstairs for his dust-coat.Almost as he closed the front door, a new guest entered, just missing him in the vestibule.

66

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“Halloa, you men，”he said，“we’ve been taken in, do you know?It’s all over the Lotus. The man we made an honorary member of the club to-day is not Algernon Coleyard.He’s a blatant impostor.There’s a telegram come in on the tape to-night saying Algernon Coleyard is dangerously illat his home in England.”

67

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

Charles gasped a violent gasp.“Colonel Clay！”he shouted, aloud.“And once more he’s done me. There’s not a moment to lose.After him, gentlemen！after him！”

68

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

Never before in our lives had we had such a close shave of catching and fxing the redoubtable swindler. We burst down the stairs in a body, and rushed out into Fifth Avenue.The pretended poet had only a hundred yards’start of us, and he saw he was discovered.But he was an excellent runner.So was I, weight for age；and I dashed wildly after him.He turned round a corner；it proved to lead nowhere, and lost him time.He darted back again, madly.Delighted with the idea that I was capturing so famous a criminal, I redoubled my efforts—and came up with him, panting.He was wearing a light dust-coat.I seized it in my hands.“I’ve got you at last！”I cried；“Colonel Clay, I’ve got you！”

69

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

He turned and looked at me.“Ha, old Ten Per Cent！”he called out, struggling.“It’s you, then, is it?Never, never to you, sir！”And as he spoke, he somehow flung his arms straight out behind him, and let the dust-coat slip off, which it easily did, the sleeves being new and smoothly silk-lined. The suddenness of the movement threw me completely off my guard, and off my legs as well.I was clinging to the coat and holding him.As the support gave way I rolled over backward, in the mud of the street, and hurt my back seriously.As for Colonel Clay, with a nervous laugh, he bolted off at full speed in his evening coat, and vanished round a corner.

70

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

It was some seconds before I had suffciently recovered my breath to pick myself up again, and examine my bruises. By this time Charles and the other pursuers had come up, and I explained my condition to them.Instead of commending me for my zeal in his cause—which had cost me a barked arm and a good evening suit—my brother-in-law remarked, withan unfeeling sneer, that when I had so nearly caught my man I might as well have held him.

71

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“I have his coat, at least，”I said.“That may afford us a clue.”And I limped back with it in my hands, feeling horribly bruised and a good deal shaken.

72

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

When we came to examine the coat, however, it bore no maker’s name；the strap at the back, where the tailor proclaims with pride his handicraft, had been carefully ripped off, and its place was taken by a tag of plain black tape without inscription of any sort. We searched the breast-pocket.A handkerchief, similarly nameless, but of finest cambric.The side-pockets—ha, what was this?I drew a piece of paper out in triumph.It was a note—a real fnd—the one which the servant had handed to our friend just before at the Senator’s.

73

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

We read it through breathlessly：—

74

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“DARLING PAUL，—I told you it was too dangerous.You should have listened to me.You ought never to have imitated any real person.I happened to glance at the hotel tape just now, to see the quotations for Cloetedorps to-day, and what do you think I read as part of the latest telegram from England?‘Mr.Algernon Coleyard, the famous poet, is lying on his death-bed at his home in Devonshire.’By this time all New York knows.Don’t stop one minute.Say I’m dangerously ill, and come away at once.Don’t return to the hotel.I am removing our things.Meet me at Mary’s.Your devoted，

75

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

MARGOT.”

76

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“This is very important，”Charles said.“This does give us a clue. We know two things now：his real name is Paul—whatever else it may be, andMadame Picardet’s is Margot.”

77

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

I searched the pocket again, and pulled out a ring. Evidently he had thrust these two things there when he saw me pursuing him, and had forgotten or neglected them in the heat of the mêlée.

78

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

I looked at it close. It was the very ring I had noticed on his fnger while he was playing Swedish poker.It had a large compound gem in the centre, set with many facets, and rising like a pyramid to a point in the middle.There were eight faces in all, some of them composed of emerald, amethyst, or turquoise.But one face—the one that turned at a direct angle towards the wearer’s eye—was not a gem at all, but an extremely tiny convex mirror.In a moment I spotted the trick.He held this hand carelessly on the table while my brother-in-law dealt；and when he saw that the suit and number of his own card mirrored in it by means of the squeezers were better than Charles’s, he had“an inspiration，”and backed his luck—or rather his knowledge—with perfect confdence.I did not doubt, either, that his odd-looking eyeglass was a powerful magnifer which helped him in the trick.Still, we tried another deal, by way of experiment—I wearing the ring；and even with the naked eye I was able to distinguish in every case the suit and pips of the card that was dealt me.

79

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“Why, that was almost dishonest，”the Senator said, drawing back. He wished to show us that even far-Western speculators drew a line somewhere.

80

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“Yes，”the magazine editor echoed.“To back your skill is legal；to back your luck is foolish；to back your knowledge is—”

81

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“Immoral，”I suggested.

82

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“Very good business，”said the magazine editor.

83

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“It’s a simple trick，”Charles interposed.“I should have spotted it if it had been done by any other fellow. But his patter about inspirationput me clean off the track.That’s the rascal’s dodge.He plays the regular conjurer’s game of distracting your attention from the real point at issue—so well that you never fnd out what he’s really about till he’s sold you irretrievably.”

84

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

We set the New York police upon the trail of the Colonel；but of course he had vanished at once, as usual, into the thin smoke of Manhattan. Not a sign could we find of him.“Mary’s，”we found an insuffcient address.

85

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

We waited on in New York for a whole fortnight. Nothing came of it.We never found“Mary’s.”The only token of Colonel Clay’s presence vouchsafed us in the city was one of his customary insulting notes.It was conceived as follows：—

86

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“O ETERNAL GULLIBLE！—Since I saw you on Lake George, I have run back to London, and promptly come out again.I had business to transact there, indeed, which I have now completed；the excessive attentions of the English police sent me once more, like great Orion，“sloping slowly to the west.”I returned to America in order to see whether or not you were still impenitent.On the day of my arrival I happened to meet Senator Wrengold, and accepted his kind invitation solely that I might see how far my last communication had had a proper effect upon you.As I found you quite obdurate, and as you furthermore persisted in misunderstanding my motives, I determined to read you one more small lesson.It nearly failed；and I confess the accident has affected my nerves a little.I am now about to retire from business altogether, and settle down for life at my place in Surrey.I mean to try just one more small coup；and, when that is finished, Colonel Clay will hang up his sword, like Cincinnatus, and take to farming.You need no longer fear

87

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

me.I have realised enough to secure me for life a modest competence；and as I am not possessed like yourself with an immoderate greed of gain, I recognise that good citizenship demands of me now an early retirement in favour of some younger and more deserving rascal.I shall always look back with pleasure upon our agreeable adventures together；and as you hold my dust-coat, together with a ring and letter to which I attach importance, I consider we are quits, and I shall withdraw with dignity.Your sincere well-wisher，

88

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

CUTHBERT CLAY, Poet.”

89

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

“Just like him！”Charles said，“to hold this one last coup over my head in terrorem. Though even when he has played it, why should I trust his word?A scamp like that may say it, of course, on purpose to disarm me.”

90

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

For my own part, I quite agreed with“Margot.”When the Colonel was reduced to dressing the part of a known personage I felt he had reached almost his last card, and would be well advised to retire into Surrey.

91

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

But the magazine editor summed up all in a word.“Don’t believe that nonsense about fortunes being made by industry and ability，”he said.“In life, as at cards, two things go to produce success—the frst is chance；the second is cheating.”

92

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
1 ..... 10 11 12
序号 英文/音标 中文解释 更多操作

Colonel

['kɜːnl]

n.上校

brisk

[brɪsk]

adj.敏锐的;活泼的;活跃的;轻快的;凛冽的

prairie

['preəri]

n.大草原

enchant

[ɪn'tʃɑːnt]

v.施魔法;使迷惑;使喜悦;使陶醉

weary

['wɪəri]

adj.疲倦的;厌烦的

hamper

['hæmpə(r)]

vt.妨碍;阻止

York

[jɔːk]

约克郡;〈板球〉使击球员出局

honour

[ˈɒnə]

n.光荣;

luminary

['luːmɪnəri]

n.杰出人物;发光体

penny

['peni]

n.便士;【美】分

royalty

['rɔɪəlti]

n.皇家;皇族

inopportune

[ɪn'ɒpətjuːn]

adj.不合时机的;不适当的

footman

['fʊtmən]

n.男仆;侍应员;步兵;步行者

pluck

[plʌk]

v.摘;猛拉;拔;拨弹(乐器)

complacence

[kəm'pleɪsns]

n.自满

rascal

['rɑːskl]

n.淘气鬼;流氓;坏蛋

retort

[rɪ'tɔːt]

v.反驳;回嘴;反击

hastily

['heɪstɪli]

adv.匆忙地;急速地

fancy

['fænsi]

n. 【C】设想；幻想；空想;

Pharisee

['færɪsiː]

n.1. 法利赛人,2. (P-)伪善者;宗教上的形式主义者

remnant

['remnənt]

n.残余;残剩余;残存者;零头

scoundrel

['skaʊndrəl]

n.无赖

moody

['muːdi]

adj.易怒的;喜怒无常的;情绪化的

whist

[wɪst]

v.嘘;安静

acquaintance

[ə'kweɪntəns]

n.熟人;相识;了解

tart

[tɑːt]

adj. 酸的; 尖酸的; 刻薄的

stake

[steɪk]

n.桩;赌注;利害关系

reluctance

[rɪ'lʌktəns]

n.不愿;勉强;【电】磁阻

Apollo

[ə'pɒləʊ]

n.【希神】阿波罗(太阳神);美男子

crib

[krɪb]

n.婴儿小床;食槽

detest

[dɪ'test]

v.厌恶;痛恨

Muse

[mjuːz]

v.沉思;冥想

myrtle

['mɜːtl]

n.【植】桃金娘科

reverie

['revəri]

n.幻想;白日梦

prime

[praɪm]

①最初的；第一的；基本的；原始的;

inquiringly

[ɪnk'waɪərɪŋlɪ]

adv.诧异地怀疑地.

murmur

['mɜːmə(r)]

n. 低沉连续的声音(如风的沙沙声、流水的淙淙声等);

priceless

['praɪsləs]

adj.无价的

kindly

['kaɪndli]

adj.和蔼的;温和的;爽快的

ensue

[ɪn'sjuː]

v.跟着发生;继起;因而产生

nettle

['netl]

n.荨麻

messenger

['mesɪndʒə(r)]

n.报信者;先兆

agitate

['ædʒɪteɪt]

v.煽动;搅动;焦虑

vestibule

['vestɪbjuːl]

n.门厅;前厅;(列车车厢间的)通廊

telegram

['telɪɡræm]

电报;

sneer

[snɪə(r)]

n.冷笑;嘲笑

bruise

[bruːz]

n.瘀青;擦伤;挫伤

cambric

['kæmbrɪk]

n.细亚麻布或棉布

breathless

['breθləs]

adj.喘不过气来的

thrust

[θrʌst]

v.刺;插入;推挤

pip

[pɪp]

vt. 使(考试)不及格;

speculator

['spekjuleɪtə(r)]

n.投机者;投机商人;思索家

echo

['ekəʊ]

①[C][U]回声；反响；共鸣;

Immoral

[ɪ'mɒrəl]

adj.不道德的

irretrievably

[ˌɪrɪ'triːvəbli]

adv.不可挽回地;无法弥补地;不能恢复地

Manhattan

[mæn'hætn]

n.曼哈顿区(美国纽约市区名);曼哈顿(岛)

customary

['kʌstəməri]

adj.习惯的;惯例的

disarm

[dɪs'ɑːm]

v.放下武器;裁军;解除武装;缓和

felted

['feltɪd]

v. 把 ... 制成毡(使 ... 粘结)

图片译典（一词多图)
我的生词(单词助记)
道德经
论语
孙子兵法
禮記
孟子
尚書
詩經
周易
简典
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

微信小程序

微信公众号

Email:

22745823@qq.com

联系站长：

QQ:22745823

机构翻译

地址翻译

人名翻译

译典登录

译典注册

译典说明

意见反馈

浙ICP备05023696号-8