Chapter VIII.

For fully¹ a fortnight after his strange experience in the upper part of the city, Bruce heard nothing from Harry² Van Kuren, the boy whom he had picked up by the roadside and conveyed home. He had hoped, at first, that their chance acquaintance might develop into a permanent friendship, for since his arrival in the city he had associated entirely³ with the men in the fire company and, boy like, he was beginning to pine for the companionship of lads of his own age. Two or three times he had thought of writing a note to Harry to ask him how his foot was getting along, but he had hesitated, for fear he should be looked upon as endeavoring to intrude⁴ upon a boy whose condition in life was, he could not help feeling, very much better than his own. So Bruce, who was an independent, self-respecting lad, determined⁵ to let the other make the first advance, if he desired to continue the acquaintance.

One morning, however, about a fortnight after the first meeting of the two boys, Bruce was surprised and delighted to see Harry march 61into the quarters and come straight up to where he was sitting.

“I suppose you thought I was never coming down here to see you,” said the visitor as he shook Bruce heartily⁶ by the hand, “but the fact is when my father got home that night and found that I had been out without his leave, he put me on bounds for two weeks and said if he caught me going out without permission he would lock me up in the house. I was going to write to you, but writing is an awful bother, so I thought I’d wait until I got off the limit and then come down here and make you a call.”

Bruce was heartily glad to see his visitor, and frankly⁷ told him so, mentioning also the fact that he had almost given up hope of hearing from him again.

“Oh I never forget my friends,” said Harry “and here’s a letter from my father inviting⁸ you come up and spend the afternoon with us to-day.”

With these words he produced from the inside pocket of his jacket a polite and formal letter addressed to Bruce Decker, Esq., and signed “Horace Van Kuren,” in which the writer hoped that Mr. Decker would honor him with his company at dinner that evening, in 62order that he might thank him for the kindness shown to his son some time before.

Bruce felt staggered at the idea of dining in that great, beautiful house, and at first did not know what reply to make; then he bethought him of Charley Weyman and accordingly went up stairs and submitted the letter to him. The latter read it carefully and then said: “You had better go by all means, it’s a good chance for you to get acquainted with those people and they can’t do you any harm.”

“But” said the boy in a diffident, hesitating way, “I’m almost afraid to go up there because I haven’t got any clothes nice enough. This is the best suit I’ve got, and that boy Harry is togged out in beautiful things, and I feel ashamed to go along with him, because of the contrast between us.”

“Nonsense! he wasn’t ashamed to ride in the chief’s wagon⁹ the other day, was he?”

“Why no,” replied the boy, “I never thought of it then, and I don’t think he did either. Anyway he didn’t say anything about it, and now he’s come down to see me, and his father has asked me up to visit them.”

“You’d better go with him,” said the fireman, “and my opinion is that they’ll take you just as you are. Anyway, you can tell by the 63way they treat you, particularly by the way this boy treats you, whether they are the right sort of people or not.”

Bruce accordingly went to Chief Trask, showed him the letter, and asked his permission to go with the boy, and having received it—and it was granted all the more willingly because he was always obedient and industrious¹⁰ himself, and seldom asked any favors,—he carefully washed his hands and face, brushed his clothes and shoes and made ready to start.

Meantime Harry had been examining everything in the building with much interest, and he now called to the other boy to explain to him how the alarms came in, and how the men got off to the fire when they heard the gong. All this was now an old story to the young fire boy who had so familiarized himself with every detail that he was able to give his new friend a complete and graphic¹¹ description of the workings of the system.

Harry wanted to stay until an alarm was sent in so that he might see the company start, but when he found that it might be necessary to wait two days for a fire to occur in their district he gave the plan up, and they started off together. Bruce was relieved to see that in spite of his fine clothes, and generally stylish¹² 64appearance young Van Kuren treated him with as much courtesy as it is possible for one boy to show to another and, so far from making any remarks about their difference in dress, did not seem to notice what sort of a coat his companion wore. As a matter of fact, Harry did notice the coat with its rather shabby sleeves and a good many other little things, for he was a quick-witted observant boy, but he was too well-bred to make any remarks on the subject. Indeed it would be hard to find anywhere a boy of better breeding than this spoiled, willful, impulsive¹³ child of luxury, who was always getting into trouble of one sort or another, was always doing thoughtless and foolish things, and yet was liked by every one who knew him. When he noticed Bruce’s coat, it suggested to him, not the idea of making fun of it, but the wish that he could get him another without hurting his feelings.

Both boys were in high spirits as they trudged¹⁴ along, the one because he had at last found a companion of his own age, the other because he saw a chance to mingle¹⁵ on familiar terms with the men of the fire department, and perhaps to even ride to a fire on the truck with the rest of the company. The New York boy of to-day knows no higher ambition than to 65join the fire department and ride to fires on the swift rolling engine, and Harry Van Kuren was a New York boy through and through.

“Watch me scare that Dutchman!” he cried as they drew near a basement beer saloon, at the door of which a corpulent German was peacefully dozing¹⁶. A pile of kegs stood on the top of a short flight of steps, and with a warning cry of “Look out Dutchy!” Harry toppled the heap over and then seizing his comrade by the hand ran for dear life. The saloon keeper pursued them for a few yards and then gave up the chase, while Harry much elated by his exploit looked around for some other victim for his practical humor.

Bruce, accustomed as he was to the rigid¹⁷ discipline maintained by Chief Trask, was horrified¹⁸ at his companion’s idea of sport, and was glad enough when they reached the elevated station without any further adventures.

A little girl not more than thirteen years old, was standing¹⁹ by the front gate of Mr. Van Kuren’s house when the two boys entered; she had blue eyes, a profusion²⁰ of light hair, which she wore in a single braid down her back, and was altogether extremely pretty and attractive.

66“You’ll catch it when you get into the house,” she remarked to Harry, with a knowing wag of her head.

“What for?” he demanded.

“For going off without letting Mr. Reed know.”

“Oh, bother!” said the boy, “I forgot all about him. He’s my tutor, you see,” he added, turning to Bruce, “and this is my sister Laura.”

Bruce took off his cap and bowed politely to the young girl, and she held out her hand and said, without any apparent reserve or shyness, “I saw you the other day when you brought Harry home; why didn’t you drive up in your wagon to-day? it must be fun to be a fireman; I wish you’d tell me all about it. Harry, you’d better go in the house and see Mr. Reed right off; he’s hopping²¹ mad, and if he don’t get over it before papa comes back, you’ll be locked up for another fortnight. Harry is always getting locked up,” she continued, turning to the visitor, who was listening with considerable surprise to this frank conversation between the brother and sister.

Harry disappeared into the house, saying that he would be out as soon as he had “squared himself with the professor,” and 67Laura took Bruce off to show him the stable where her pony²² was, and the barns and sheds in which were kept cows, pigs, dogs, and even a pair of goats.

1 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

2 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

3 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

4 intrude   

vi.闯入；侵入；打扰，侵扰

参考例句：

• I do not want to intrude if you are busy.如果你忙我就不打扰你了。
• I don't want to intrude on your meeting.我不想打扰你们的会议。

5 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

6 heartily   

adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很

参考例句：

• He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。
• The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

7 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

8 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

9 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

10 industrious   

adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的

参考例句：

• If the tiller is industrious,the farmland is productive.人勤地不懒。
• She was an industrious and willing worker.她是个勤劳肯干的员工。

11 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

12 stylish   

adj.流行的，时髦的；漂亮的，气派的

参考例句：

• He's a stylish dresser.他是个穿着很有格调的人。
• What stylish women are wearing in Paris will be worn by women all over the world.巴黎女性时装往往会引导世界时装潮流。

13 impulsive   

adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的

参考例句：

• She is impulsive in her actions.她的行为常出于冲动。
• He was neither an impulsive nor an emotional man,but a very honest and sincere one.他不是个一冲动就鲁莽行事的人，也不多愁善感.他为人十分正直、诚恳。

14 trudged   

vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He trudged the last two miles to the town. 他步履艰难地走完最后两英里到了城里。
• He trudged wearily along the path. 他沿着小路疲惫地走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 mingle   

vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往

参考例句：

• If we mingle with the crowd,we should not be noticed.如果我们混在人群中，就不会被注意到。
• Oil will not mingle with water.油和水不相融。

16 dozing   

v.打瞌睡,假寐 n.瞌睡

参考例句：

• The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。
• He never falters in his determination. 他的决心从不动摇。

17 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

18 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

19 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

20 profusion   

n.挥霍；丰富

参考例句：

• He is liberal to profusion.他挥霍无度。
• The leaves are falling in profusion.落叶纷纷。

21 hopping   

n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The clubs in town are really hopping. 城里的俱乐部真够热闹的。
• I'm hopping over to Paris for the weekend. 我要去巴黎度周末。

22 pony   

adj.小型的；n.小马

参考例句：

• His father gave him a pony as a Christmas present.他父亲给了他一匹小马驹作为圣诞礼物。
• They made him pony up the money he owed.他们逼他还债。