’Andyou’vebeenpaidforwhatyou’vedone。Come，Mussy，you’dbetternotturnagainstme。You’llnevergetyourchangeoutofthat。Evenifyoumarrythedaughter，thatwon’tgiveyouthemother’smoney。She’llsticktoeveryshillingofittillshedies；andshe’dtakeitwithherthen，ifsheknewhow。’Havingsaidthis，hegotupfromhischair，puthislittlebookintohispocket，andwalkedoutoftheoffice。Hepushedhiswayacrossthecourt，whichwasmorethanordinarilycrowdedwiththeimplementsofBurtonandBangles’trade，andashepassedunderthecoveredwayheencounteredattheentranceanoldwomangettingoutofacab。Theoldwomanwas，ofcourse，MotherVan，asherpartner，MrDobbsBroughtonirreverentlycalledher。’MrsVanSiever，howd’yedo？Letmegiveyouahand。FarefromSouthKensington？Ialwaysgivethefellowthreeshillings。’
’Youdon’tmeantotellmeit’ssixmiles！’Andshetenderedaflorintotheman。
’Can’ttakethat，ma’am，’saidthecabman。
’Can’ttakeit！Butyoumusttakeit。Broughton，justgetapoliceman，willyou？’DobbsBroughtonsatisfiedthedriveroutofhisownpocket，andthecabwasdrivenaway。’Whatdidyougivehim？’saidMrsVanSiever。
’Justanothersixpence。Thereneverisapolicemananywhereabouthere。’
’It’llbeoutofyourownpocket，then，’saidMrsVan。’Butyou’renotgoingaway？’
’ImustbeatCapelCourtbyhalf—pasttwelve；——Imust，indeed。Ifitwasn’trealbusiness，I’dstay。’
’ItoldMusselboro，Ishouldbehere。’
’He’supthere，andheknowsallaboutthebusinessjustaswellasI
do。WhenIfoundthatIcouldn’tstayforyou，Iwentthroughtheaccountwithhim，andit’sallsettled。Goodmorning。I’llseeyouattheWestEndinadayortwo。’ThenhemadehiswayoutintoLombardStreet，andMrsVanSieverpickedherstepsacrosstheyard，andmountedthestairs，andmadeherwayintotheroominwhichMrMusselborowassitting。
’Somebody’sbeensmoking，Gus，’shesaid，almostassoonasshehadenteredtheroom。
’That’snothingnewhere，’hereplied，ashegotupfromhischair。
’There’snogoodbeingdonewhenmensitandsmokeovertheirwork。Isityou，orhe，orbothofyou？’
’Well——itwasBroughtonwassmokingjustnow。Idon’tsmokeofamorningmyself。’
’WhatmadehimgetupandrunawaywhenIcame？’
’HowcanItell，MrsVanSiever，’saidMusselboro，laughing。’Ifhedidrunawaywhenyoucame，Isupposeitwasbecausehedidn’twanttoseeyou。’
’Andwhyshouldn’thewanttoseeme？Gus，Iexpectthetruthfromyou。
Howarethingsgoingonhere？’TothisquestionMrMusselboromadenoimmediateanswer；buttiltedhimselfbackinhischairandtookhishatoff，andputhisthumbsintothearm—holesofhiswaistcoat，andlookedhispatronessfullintheface。’Gus，’shesaidagain，’Idoexpectthetruthfromyou。Howarethingsgoingonhere？’
’There’dbeagoodbusiness——ifhe’donlykeepthingstogether。’
’Buthe’sidle。Isn’theidle？’
’Confoundedlyidle，’saidMusselboro。
’Andhedrinks；——don’thedrinkintheday？’
’Likethemischief——somedays。Butthatisn’ttheworstofit。’
’Andwhatistheworstofit？’
’Newmarket；——that’stherockhe’sgoingtopieceson。’
’Youdon’tmeantosayhetakesthemoneyoutofthebusinessforthat？’
AndMrsVanSiever’sface，assheaskedthequestion，expressedalmostatragichorror。’IfIthoughtthatIwouldn’tgivehimanhour’smercy。’
’Whenamanbetshedoesn’twellknowwhatmoneyheuses。Ican’tsaythathetakesmoneythatisnothisown。SituatedasIam，Idon’tknowwhatishisownandwhatisn’t。IfyourmoneywasinmynameIcouldkeepahandonit；——butasitisnotIcandonothing。Icanseethatwhatisputoutisputoutfairlywell；andwhenIthinkofit，MrsVanSiever，itisquitewonderfulthatwe’velostsolittle。Ithasbeennexttonothing。Thathasbeenmydoing——andthat’saboutallIcando。’
’Youmustknowwhetherhehasusedmymoneyforhisownpurposesornot。’
’Ifyouaskme，Ithinkhehas，’saidMrMusselboro。
’ThenI’llgointoit，andI’llfinditout，andifitisso，assureasmyname’sVanSiever，I’llsewhimup。’Havingutteredwhichterriblethreat，theoldwomandrewachairtothetableandseatedherselffairlydown，asthoughsheweredeterminedtogothroughallthebooksoftheofficebeforeshequittedthatroom。MrsVanSieverinherpresenthabilimentswasnotathingsoterribletolookatasshehadbeeninherwiggeriesatMrsDobbsBroughton’sdinner—table。Hercurlswerelaidasidealtogether，andsheworesimplyafrontbeneathherclosebonnet——andaveryoldfront，too，whichwasnotloudlyoffensivebecauseittoldnolies。Hereyeswereasbright，andherlittlewizenfacewasassharpasever；butthewizenfaceandthebrighteyeswerenotsomuchamissasseentogetherwiththeolddarkbrownsilkdresswhichshenowwore，astheyhadbeenwiththewiggeriesandtheeveningfinery。Evennow，inhermorningcostume，inherwork—a—daybusinessdress，aswemaycallit，shelookedtobeveryold——sooldthatnobodycouldguessherage。Peopleattemptingtoguesswouldsaythatshemustbeatleastovereighty。Andyetshewaswiry，andstrong，andnimble。
Itwasnotbecauseshewasfeeblethatshewasthoughttobeold。Theywhosojudgedofherwereledtotheiropinionbytheextremethinnessofherface，andbythebrightnessofhereyes，joinedtothedepthofthehollowsinwhichtheylay，andtheredmarginbywhichtheyweresurrounded。ItwasnotreallythefactthatMrsVanSieverwassoveryaged，forshehadstillsomeyearstolivebeforeshewouldreacheighty，butthatshewassuchaweirdoldwoman，sosmall，soghastly，andsougly！’I’llsewhimup，ifhe’srobbingme，’shesaid。’Iwillindeed！’AndshestretchedoutherhandtograbattheledgerwhichMusselborohadbeenusing。
’Youwon’tunderstandanythingfromthat，’saidhe，pushingthebookovertoher。
’Youcanexplainittome。’
’That’sallstraightsailing，thatis。’
’Andwheredoeshekeepthefiguresthataren’tstraightsailing？That’sthebookIwanttosee。’
’Thereisnosuchbook。’
’Lookhere，Gus——ifIfindyoudeceivingmeI’llthrowyouoverboardassureasI’malivingwoman。Iwillindeed。I’llhavenomercy。I’vestucktoyou，andmadeamanofyou，andIexpectyoutosticktome。’
’Notmuchofaman，’saidMusselboro，withatouchofscorninhisvoice。
’You’veneverhadashillingyetbutwhatIgaveyou。’
’Yes；Ihave。I’vehadwhatI’veworkedfor——andworkedconfoundedhardtoo。’
’Lookhere，Musselboro；ifyou’regoingtothrowmeover，justtellmeso，andletusbeginfair。’
’I’mnotgoingtothrowyouover。I’vealwaysbeenonthesquarewithyou。Whydon’tyoutrustmeoutandout，andthenIcoulddoadealbetterforyou。Youaskmenowaboutyourmoney。Idon’tknowaboutyourmoney，MrsVanSiever。HowamItoknowanythingaboutyourmoney，MrsVanSeiver？Youdon’tgivemeanypowerofkeepingahanduponDobbsBroughton。IsupposeyouhavesecurityfromDobbsBroughton，butIdon’tknowwhatsecurityyouhave，MrsVanSiever。Heowesyounow915pounds16s2donlastyear’saccount！’
’Whydoesn’thegivemeachequeforthemoney？’
’Hesayshecan’tspareit。Youmayhave500pounds，andtherestwhenhecangiveittoyou。Orhe’llgiveyouhisnote—of—handatfourteendaysonthewhole。’
’Botherthenote—of—hand。WhyshouldItakehisnote—of—hand？’
’Doasyoulike，MrsVanSiever。’
’It’stheinterestonmyownmoney。Whydon’thegiveitme？Isupposehehashadit。’
’Youmustaskhimthat，MrsVanSiever。You’reinpartnershipwithhim，andhecantellyou。Nobodyknowsanyth...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：