Jackson。Yes,sir。[Exit。
OldMorton(takingupSTARBOTTLE’Snote)。"MissMorriswillarriveto-night。"Andyethesawheronlyyesterday。Thisisnotlikehermother:no。Shewouldneverhaveforgivenandforgottensoquickly。Perhapssheknewnotmysinandhermother’swrongs;
perhapsshehas——has——CHRISTIANforgiveness(sarcastically);
perhaps,likemyprodigal,shewillbeimmaculatelyperfect。Well,well:atleastherpresencewillmakemyhomelesslonely。"Anattendantandchild。"Achild!Ah,ifHE,myboy,myAlexander,werestillachild,Imightwarmthiscold,coldheartinhissunshine!StrangethatIcannotreconstructfromthisdutiful,submissive,obedient,industriousAlexander,——thisredeemedoutcast,thissonwhosharesmylife,myfortunes,myheart,——thefoolish,wilful,thoughtless,idleboy,thatoncedefiedme。I
remember(musing,withasmile)howthelittlerascal,ha,ha!oncestruckme,——STRUCKME!——whenIcorrectedhim:ha,ha!(Rubbinghishandswithamusement,andthensuddenlybecominggraveandlugubrious。)No,no。Thesearethewhisperingsoftheflesh。WhyshouldIfindfaultwithhimforbeingallthatarighteousconversiondemands,——allthatIaskedandprayedfor?No,AlexanderMorton:itisyou,YOU,whoarenotyetregenerate。ItisYOUwhoareungratefultoHimwhoblessedyou,toHimwhoseguidinghandledyouto——
EnterJACKSON。
Jackson。DonJoseCastro。
EnterDONJOSE。
DonJose。Athousandpardons,senor,forinterruptingyouinthehoursofbusiness;butitis——itisofbusinessIwouldspeak。
(Lookingaround。)
OldMorton(toJACKSON)。Youcanretire。(ExitJACKSON。)Beseated,Mr。Castro:Iamatyourservice。
DonJose。Itisofyour——yourson——
OldMorton。OurfirmisMorton&Son:inbusinessweareone,Mr。
Castro。
DonJose。Bueno!ThentoyouastohimIwillspeak。HereisaletterIreceivedyesterday。Ithassignificance,importanceperhaps。But,whateveritis,itissomethingforyou,notme,toknow。IfIamwrongedmuch,DonAlexandro,you,you,arewrongedstillmore。ShallIreadit?Good。(Reads。)"ThemantowhomyouhaveaffiancedyourdaughterisnotthesonofAlexanderMorton。Haveacare。IfIdonotprovehimanimpostorattheendofsixdays,believemeone,andnotyourtruefriendandservant,Concho。"Insixdays,DonAlexandro,theyearofprobationisover,andIhavepromisedmydaughter’shandtoyourson。(HandslettertoMORTON。)
OldMorton(ringingbell)。Isthatall,Mr。Castro?
DonJose。All,Mr。Castro?Carramba!isitnotenough?
EnterJACKSON。
OldMorton(toJACKSON)。Youhavekeptarecordofthisbusinessduringthelasteighteenmonths。Lookatthisletter。(Handingletter。)Isthehandwritingfamiliar?
Jackson(takingletter)。Can’tsay,sir。Theformistheoldone。
OldMorton。Howmanysuchlettershaveyoureceived?
Jackson。Fourhundredandforty-one,sir。Thisisthefourhundredandforty-secondapplicationforyourson’sposition,sir。
DonJose。Pardon。Thisisnotanapplication:itisonlyinformationorcaution。
OldMorton(toJACKSON)。Howmanylettersofinformationorcautionhavewereceived?
Jackson。Thismakessevenhundredandeighty-one,sir。
OldMorton。How,sir!(Quickly。)Therewerebutsevenhundredandseventy-ninelastnight。
Jackson。Begpardon,sir!ThegentlemanwhocarriedMr。Alexander’svalisefromtheboatwasthesevenhundredandeightieth。
OldMorton。Explainyourself,sir。
Jackson。Heimpartedtome,whilereceivinghisstipend,thefactthathedidnotbelieveyoungMr。Alexanderwasyourson。Anhourlater,sir,healsoimpartedtomeconfidentiallythathebelievedyouwerehisfather,andrequestedtheloanoffivedollars,toberepaidbyyou,toenablehimtopurchaseacleanshirt,andappearbeforeyouinrespectablecondition。Hewaitedforyouanhour,andexpressedsomeindignationthathehadnotanequalshowwithotherstothrowhimselfintoyourarms。
DonJose(rising,aside,andupliftinghishands)。Carramba!
TheseAmericanosareoftheDevil!(Aloud。)Enough,DonAlexandro!
Thenyouthinkthisletterisonlyworth——
OldMorton。Onemoment。Icanperhapstellyouexactlyitsmarketvalue。(ToJACKSON。)Goon,sir。
Jackson。Athalf-pastten,sir,thenbeingslightlyundertheinfluenceofliquor,heacceptedthepriceofadeckpassagetoStockton。
OldMorton。Howmuchwasthat,sir?
Jackson。Fiftycents。
OldMorton。Exactlyso!Thereyouhave,sir(toDONJOSE),themarketvalueoftheinformationyouhavereceived。Iwouldadviseyou,asabusinessmatter,nottopaymore。Asabusinessmatter,youcanatanytimedrawuponusfortheamount。(ToJACKSON。)
AdmitMr。Capper。[ExitJACKSON。
DonJose(risingwithdignity)。Thisisaninsult,DonAlexandro。
OldMorton。Youarewrong,Mr。Castro:itisBUSINESS;sought,I
believe,byyourself。Nowthatitistransacted,Ibegyoutodinewithmeto-morrowtomeetmyniece。Nooffence,sir,nooffence。
Come,come!Business,youknow,business。
DonJose(relaxing)。Beitso!Iwillcome。(Aside。)TheseAmericanos,theseAmericanos,areoftheDevil!(Aloud。)Adios。
(Going。)Ihear,byreport,thatyouhavemetwiththemisfortuneofaseriouslossbyrobbery?
OldMorton(aside)。Soourmishapisknowneverywhere。(Aloud。)
Noseriousmisfortune,Mr。Castro,evenifwedonotrecoverthemoney。Adios。
[ExitDonJose。
OldMorton。Thestiff-neckedPapist!Thatheshoulddare,forthesakeofhisblack-browed,frowarddaughter,to——questionthefaithonwhichIhavepinnedmyfuture!Well,withGod’sblessing,I
gavehimsomewholesomediscipline。IfitwerenotformycovenantwithAlexander——andnoblyhehasfulfilledhispart,——IshouldforbidhisalliancewiththebloodofthisspyingJesuit。
EnterMr。JACKSON,leadinginCAPPER。
Jackson。Policeman,sir。[Exit。
Capper(turningsharply)。Who’sthatman?
OldMorton。Jackson,clerk。
Capper。Umph!Beenherelong?
OldMorton。Ayear。Hewasappointedbymyson。
Capper。Knowanythingofhispreviouslife?
OldMorton(stiffly)。Ihavealreadytoldyouheisanappointeeofmyson’s。
Capper。Yes!(Aside。)"Likemaster,likeman。"(Aloud。)Well,tobusiness。Wehaveworkeduptherobbery。Wehavereachedtwoconclusions,——one,thattheworkwasnotdonebyprofessionals;theother,consequentuponthis,thatyoucan’trecoverthemoney。
OldMorton。Excuseme,sir,butIdonotseethelastconclusion。
Capper。Thenlisten。Theprofessionalthiefhasonlyoneortwowaysofdisposingofhisplunder,andthesewaysarealwayswellknowntous。Good!Yourstolencoinhasnotbeendisposedofintheregularway,throughtheusualhandswhichwecouldatanytimeseize。Ofthiswearesatisfied。
OldMorton。Howdoyouknowit?
Capper。Inthisway。TheonlyclewwehavetotheidentificationofthemissingmoneyweretwoboxesofMexicandoubloons。
OldMorton(aside)。Mr。Castro’sspecialdeposit!Hemayhavereasonforhisinterest。(Aloud。)Goon。
Capper。Itisacoinrareincirculationintheinterior。Thenightaftertherobbery,thedealerofamonte-tableinSacramentopaidoutfivethousanddollarsindoubloons。Hedeclareditwastakeninatthetable,andcouldnotidentifytheplayers。Ofcourse,OFCOURSE!Sofar,yousee,youarehelpless。Wehaveonlyestablishedonefact,thattherobberis——is——(significantly)
agambler。
OldMorton(quietly)。Theregulartradeofthethiefseemstometobeoflittleimportanceifyoucannotidentifyhim,orrecovermymoney。Butgoon,sir,goon:oristhisall?
Capper(aside)。Theoldfoolisblind。Thatisnatural。(Aloud。)
Itisnotall。Thecrimewilldoubtlessberepeated。Themanwhohasaccesstoyourvaults,whohastakenonlythirtythousanddollarswhenhecouldhavesecuredhalfamillion,——thisman,whohasalreadygambledthatthirtythousandaway,——willnotstopthere。Hewillinadayortwo,perhapsto-day,trytoretrievehislossesoutofYOURcapital。Iamheretopreventit。
OldMorton(becominginterested)。How?
Capper。Giveme,forforty-eighthours,freeaccesstothisbuilding。Letmeconcealmyselfsomewhere,anywhere,withinthesewalls。Letitbewithouttheknowledgeofyourclerks,evenofYOURSON!
OldMorton(proudly)。Mr。AlexanderMortonisabsentto-day。
Thereisnootherreasonwhyheshouldnotbeheretoconsenttotheactsofhispartnerandfather。
Capper(quickly)。Verygood。Itisonlytoinsureabsolutesecrecy。
OldMorton(aside)。Anotherrobberymightexciteasuspicion,worseforourcreditthanouractualloss。Thereisasignificantearnestnessaboutthisman,thatawakensmyfears。IfAlexanderwereonlyhere。(Aloud。)Iaccept。(CAPPERhasbeentryingdoorsR。andL。)
Capper。Whatroomisthis?(AtR。)
OldMorton。Myson’s:Iwouldprefer——
Capper。Andthis?(AtL。)
OldMorton。Mine,sir;ifyouchoose——
Capper(lockingdoor,andputtingkeyinhispocket)。Thiswilldo。Obligemebymakingthenecessaryarrangementsinyourcounting-room。
OldMorton(hesitatingandaside)。Heisright:perhapsitisonlyprudence,andIamsavingAlexanderadditionalcareandannoyance。
[Exit。
EnterMR。SHADOWcautiously,C。
Shadow(inalispingwhispertoCAPPER)。I’vegotthelithtoftheclerkthcomplete。
Capper(triumphantly)。Putitinyourpocket,Shadow。Wedon’tcareforthelackeysnow:weareafterthemaster。
Shadow。Eh!themathter?
Capper。Yes:themaster,——theyoungmaster,thereclaimedson,thereformedprodigal!ha,ha!——theyoungmanwhocompensateshimselfforallthisausteredevotiontobusinessandprinciplebydippingintotheoldman’svaultswhenhewantsapasear:eh,Shadow?
That’sthemanwe’reafter。Lookhere!Inevertookanystockinthatyoungman’sreformation。Yedon’tteacholdsportslikehimnewtricks。They’reabadlot,fatherandson,——eh,Shadow?——andhe’sachipoftheoldblock。Ispottedhimbeforethisrobbery,beforewewereevercalledinhereprofessionally。I’vehadmyeyeonAlexanderMorton,aliasJohnOakhurst;and,whenIfoundtheoldman’sdoubloonsrakedoveramonte-tableatSacramento,Iknewwheretolookforthethief。Eh,Shadow?
Shadow(aside)。Heithenormouth,thithMithterCapper。
EnterOLDMORTON。
OldMorton。Ihavearrangedeverything。Youwillnotbedisturbedorsuspectedhereinmyprivateoffice。Eh!(LookingatSHADOW。)
Whohasslippedinhere?
Capper。OnlymyShadow,Mr。Morton;butIcanridmyselfevenofthat。(CrossestoSHADOW。)Takethiscardtotheoffice,andwaitforfurtherorders。Vanish,Shadow![ExitSHADOW。
EnterJACKSON。
Jackson。Mr。Alexanderhascomein,sir。(OLDMORTONandCAPPER
start。)
OldMorton。Whereishe?
Jackson。Inhisprivateroom,sir。
OldMorton。Enough:youcango。
[ExitJACKSON。
Capper(crossingtoMORTON)。Remember,youhavegivenyourpledgeofsecrecy。Beware!Yourhonor,yourproperty,thecreditandreputationofyourbank,areatstake。
OldMorton(afterapauseofhesitation,withdignity)。Igaveyoumyword,sir,whilemysonwasnotpresent。Ishallsavemyselffrombreakingmywordwithyou,orconcealinganythingfromhim,bywithdrawingmyself。Forthenexttwenty-fourhours,thisroom(pointingtoprivateroomR。)isyours。
Eachregardstheother。ExitOLDMORTONC。,asCAPPERexitinprivateroomR。Afterapause,doorofroomL。opens,andHARRY
YORKappears,slightlyintoxicated,followedbyJOHNOAKHURST。
HarryYork(lookingaround)。ByJove!Morton,butyou’vegotthingsinstylehere。Andthisyer’sthegov’nor’sdesk;andhereoldPraisegodBarebonessitsoppositeye。Lookyer,oldboy(throwinghimselfinchair),Ikinallowhowitcomeseasyforyetorunthisbank,forit’saboutasexciting,thesetimes,asfarowastoyein’49,whenIfirstknewyeasJackOakhurst;buthowtheDevilyoucansitoppositethatstiffembodimentofalltheTenCommandments,daybyday,damnit!that’swotGETSme!Why,thefirstdayIcamehereonbusiness,theoldmanfrozemesothatI
couldn’tthawadepositoutofmypocket。Itchillsmetothinkofit。
Oakhurst(hastily)。IsupposeIamaccustomedtohim。Butcome,Harry:letmewarmyou。(OpensdoorofsafeL。,anddiscoverscupboard,decanter,andglasses。)
York(laughing)。ByJove!undertheoldman’sverynose。Jack,thisislikeyou。(Takesadrink。)Well,oldboy,thisislikeoldtimes。Butyoudon’tdrink?
Oakhurst。No,norsmoke。Thefactis,Harry,I’vetakenayear’spledge。I’vesixdaysstilltorun;afterthat(gloomily),why(witharecklesslaugh),IshallbeJackOakhurstagain。
York。Lord!tothinkofyourturningouttobeanybody’sson,Jack!——leastofall,HIS!(Pointingtochair。)
Oakhurst(laughingrecklessly)。NotmorestrangethanthatI
shouldfindHarryYork,thespendthriftofPokerFlat,therichandrespectedMr。York,producemerchantofSanFrancisco。
York。Yes;but,myboy,youseeIdidn’tstrikeit——inarichfather。Igaveupgambling,married,andsettleddown,savedmymoney,investedalittlehereandthere,and——workedforit,Jack,damnme,——workedforitlikeadamnedhorse!
Oakhurst(aside)。True,thisisnotwork。
York。Butthatain’tmybusinesswithyenow,oldboy:it’sthis。
You’vehadsometrialsandtroublesinthebanklately,——adefalcationofagentsoneday,arobberynext。It’sluck,myboy,luck!butyeknowpeoplewilltalk。Youdon’tmindmysayin’thatthere’srumors’round。Theoldman’smightyunpopularbecausehe’sasaint;andfolksdon’tentirelyfancyyoubecauseyouusedtobethereverse。Well,Jack,itamountsto’boutthis:I’vewithdrawnmyaccountfromParkinson’s,inSacramento,andI’vegotaprettyheavybalanceonhand——nighontwohundredthousand——inbondsandcertificateshere;andifitwillhelpyouovertheroughplaces,oldboy,asadeposit,yeritis(drawingpocket-book。)
Oakhurst(greatlyaffected,butendeavoringtoconcealit)。Thankyou,Harry,oldfellow——but——
York(quickly)。Iknow:I’lltaketherisk,abusinessrisk。
You’llstandbymeallyoucan,oldboy;you’llmakeitpayallyoucan;andifyouloseit——why——allright!
Oakhurst(embarrassed)。AsadepositwithMorton&Son,drawingtwopercentmonthlyinterest——
York。DamnMorton&Son!I’llbackitwithJackOakhurst,themanIknow。
Oakhurst(advancingslowly)。I’lltakeit,Harry。
York(extendinghishand)。It’sasquaregame,Jack!
Oakhurst(seizinghishandwithrepressedemotion)。It’sasquaregame,HarryYork,ifIlive。
York。ThenI’lltravel。Good-night,oldboy。I’llsendmyclerkaroundinthemorningtoputthingsright。Good-night(going)。
Oakhurst(graspingYORK’Shand)。Onemoment——no——nothing!Good-
night。[ExitYORK。
OAKHURSTfollowshimtodoor,andthenreturnstodesk,throwinghimselfinchair,andburyinghisfaceinhishands。
Oakhurst(withdeepfeeling)。Itneededbutthistofillthemeasureofmydegradation。Ihavebornethesuspicionsoftheoldman’senemies,thehalf-pitying,half-contemptuoussympathyofhisfriends,evenhisowncold,heartless,fanaticalfulfilmentofhissenseofduty;butTHIS——thisconfidencefromonewhohadmostreasontoscornme,thistrustfromonewhoknewmeasIWAS,——thisisthehardestburden。Andhe...剩余内容请长按扫描二维码或下载丁香书院APP继续免费看:
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