“Going to marry the bankers daughter， are you？” said Ben to himself， softly. “Well， I dont know！”
The next morning Jimmy took breakfast at the Adamses. He was going the Little Rock that day to order his weddingsuit and buy something nice for Annabel. That would be the first time he had left town since he came to Elmore. It had been more than a year now since those last professionalprofessional adj.专业的， 职业的 “Jobs”， and he thought he could safely go anywhere.
After breakfast the whole family went for a walk together： Mr. Adams， Annabel， Jimmy， and Annabels married sister with her two little girls， aged five and nine.
They passed by the hotel where Jimmy still stayed， and he ran up to his room and brought his suitcase. Then they went on to the bank. There stood Jimmys horse and buggy and the coachman who was going to drive him the railroad station.
他在马路对面的一家杂货店里，仔细观察着拉尔夫·斯宾塞的一举一动。
“你想和银行家的女儿结婚吗？”本轻声地自言自语道，“噢，这到底是怎么回事！”
第二天早上，在亚当斯先生家早饭后，基米决定去小石城给自己定做结婚礼服，并给安娜贝尔买些好东西。这是他到爱尔摩之后第一次离开。放弃盗窃距今已经一年多了。因此，他觉得自己可以放心大胆地出去了。
吃过早饭后，全家人都出去散步。有亚当斯先生、安娜贝尔、基米以及安娜贝尔已经出嫁的姐姐和她的两个小女儿——一个5岁，一个9岁。
当他们走过基米还租住的那家旅馆时，基米跑进去到自己房间取了他的手提箱。随后，他们向银行走去。那里停着基米的马车和车夫。车夫将送他到火车站。
All went inside the bank—Jimmy included， for Mr. Adamss future soninlaw was welcome anywhere. The clerks were pleased to be greeted by the goodlooking， pleasant young man who was going to marry Miss Annabel.
Jimmy put his suitcase down. Annabel， whose heart was beating with happiness and youth， put on Jimmys hat， and picked up the suitcase. “Dont I look nice？” said Annabel. “My！ Ralph， how heavy it is！ It weighs as much as if it were full of gold bricksbrick n.砖， 砖块， 砖形物.”
“There are a lot of nickel shoehornsshoehorn n.鞋拔 vt.硬塞进 there，” said Jimmy coolly， “that Im going to return. I decided to take them myself so as to avoid unnecessary expenses. Im getting awfully economical.”
The Elmore Bank had just put in a new safe and vault. Mr. Adams was very proud of the vault and insisted that everyone should inspectinspect vt.检查， 视察v.检查 it.
他们走进了银行。亚当斯先生的未来快婿很招人喜欢。职员们都很高兴能和这位文质彬彬、模样英俊的年轻人打招呼，他和安娜贝尔小姐马上就要结婚了。
基米放下手提箱。因为开心，安娜贝尔显得很激动。她戴上了基米的帽子，提起了手提箱。“我这样好看吗？”安娜贝尔说，“我的天，拉尔夫，箱子这么重！里边装的是金砖吧！”
“里边是好多镍制的鞋拔，”基米淡淡地说，“我想把它们全部退回去。我觉得自己带上，可以省不少钱。现在我是尽量精打细算。”
爱尔摩银行刚刚新建了一个新保险柜和地下室。亚当斯先生对此非常满意，一定要每个人都来看看。
The vault was a small one， but it had a new， patented door. It fastened with three steel bolts and had a timelock.
Mr. Adams enthusiasticallyenthusiastically adv.热心地 explained its workings to Mr. Spencer， who， however， didnt seem to take a great interest in it. The two children， May and Agatha， were delighted to see the shining metal and the funny clock.
While they were thus engaged， Ben Price， the detective， walked into the bank and leaned on his elbow， looking casually inside between the railings. He told the cashier that he didnt want anything； he was just waiting for a man he knew.
Suddenly there was a terrible scream from the women. Unseen by the elders， May， the nineyearold girl， while playing with her sister， had shut her in the vault. The old banker sprang to the handle and tugged at it for a moment.
地下室不是很大，但装有一扇新的特制门，门是用三个钢制的螺钉固定着，并安有一把时钟号码锁。
亚当斯先生热心地向斯宾塞先生讲解着它的功能，但对方似乎不是很感兴趣。两个孩子梅和阿佳莎看到闪闪发光的钢门和稀奇古怪的时钟高兴得手舞足蹈。
正当他们热闹的时候，本·普莱斯侦探走进了银行，支着肘部从围栏的缝隙中不经意地朝里看。他对出纳说，他没什么事儿，只是在等一个他认识的人。
突然，地面传来可怕的女人尖叫声。在玩耍的时候，趁大家不注意，9岁的梅把妹妹锁进了地下室。老银行家一个箭步跳到把手旁，用劲拉了几下。
“The door cant be opened，” he cried out. “The clock hasnt been wound.”
Agathas mother screamed again， hystericallyhysterically adv.歇斯底里地.