Chapter 7

 “Hello, Billy! Who's your good-looking friend?” Rosythe was in full sail before a breeze of his own making.

How could I answer. “Why—er—”

The stranger spoke¹. “They call me Carpenter.”

“Ah!” said the critic. “Mr. Carpenter, delighted to meet you.” He gave the stranger a hearty² grip of the hand. “Are you on location?”

“Location?” said the other; and Rosythe shot an arrow of laughter towards me. Perhaps he knew about the vagaries³ of my Aunt Caroline; anyhow, he would have a fantastic tale to tell about me, and was going to exploit it to the limit!

I made a pitiful attempt to protect my dignity. “Mr. Carpenter has just arrived,” I began&&

“Just arrived, hey?” said the critic. “Oviparous, viviparous, or oviviparous?” He raised his hand; actually, in the glory of his wit, he was going to clap the stranger on the shoulder!

But his hand stayed in the air. Such a look as came on Carpenter's face! “Hush!” he commanded. “Be silent!” And then: “Any man will join in laughter; but who will join in disease?”

“Hey?” said Rosythe; and it was my turn to grin.

“Mr. Carpenter has just done me a great service,” I explained. “I got badly mauled in the mob—”

“Oh!” cried the other. “At the Excelsior Theatre!” Here was something to talk about, to cover his bewilderment. “So you were in it! I was watching them just now.”

“Are they still at it?”

“Sure thing!”

“A fine set of boobs,” I began—

“Boobs, nothing!” broke in the other. “What do you suppose they're doing?”

“Saving us from Hun propaganda, so they told me.”

“The hell of a lot they care about Hun propaganda! They are earning five dollars a head.”

“What?”

“Sure as you're born!”

“You really know that?”

“Know it? Pete Dailey was at a meeting of the Motion Picture Directors' Association last night, and it was arranged to put up the money and hire them. They're a lot of studio bums⁴, doing a real mob scene on a real location!”

“Well, I'll be damned!” I said. “And what about the police?”

“Police?” laughed the critic. “Would you expect the police to work free when the soldiers are paid? Why, Jesus Christ——”

“I beg pardon?” said Carpenter.

“Why—er—” said Rosythe; and stopped, completely bluffed⁵.

“You ought not swear,” I remarked, gravely; and then, “I must explain. I got pounded by that mob; I was knocked quite silly, and this gentleman found me, and healed me in a wonderful way.”

“Oh!” said the critic, with genuine interest. “Mind cure, hey? What line?”

I was about to reply, but Carpenter, it appeared, was able to take care of himself. “The line of love,” he answered, gently.

“See here, Rosythe,” I broke in, “I can't stand on the street. I'm beginning to feel seedy again. I think I'll have a taxi.”

“No,” said the critic. “Come with me. I'm on the way to pick up the missus. Right around the corner—a fine place to rest.” And without further ado he took me by the arm and led me along. He was a good-hearted chap inside; his rowdyisms were just the weapons of his profession. We went into an office building, and entered an elevator. I did not know the building, or the offices we came to. Rosythe pushed open a door, and I saw before me a spacious⁶ parlor⁷, with birds of paradise of the female sex lounging in upholstered chairs. I was led to a vast plush sofa, and sank into it with a sigh of relief.

The stranger stood beside me, and put his hand on my head once more. It was truly a miracle, how the whirling and roaring ceased, and peace came back to me; it must have shown in my face, for the moving picture critic of the Western City “Times” stood watching me with a quizzical smile playing over his face. I could read his thoughts, as well as if he had uttered them: “Regular Svengali stuff, by God!”

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 hearty   

adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的

参考例句：

• After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了，他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
• We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。

3 vagaries   

n.奇想( vagary的名词复数 )；异想天开；异常行为；难以预测的情况

参考例句：

• The vagaries of fortune are indeed curious.\" 命运的变化莫测真是不可思议。” 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• The vagaries of inclement weather conditions are avoided to a certain extent. 可以在一定程度上避免变化莫测的恶劣气候影响。 来自辞典例句

4 bums   

n. 游荡者，流浪汉，懒鬼，闹饮，屁股 adj. 没有价值的，不灵光的，不合理的 vt. 令人失望，乞讨 vi. 混日子，以乞讨为生

参考例句：

• The other guys are considered'sick" or "bums". 其他的人则被看成是“病态”或“废物”。
• You'll never amount to anything, you good-for-nothing bums! 这班没出息的东西，一辈子也不会成器。

5 bluffed   

以假象欺骗，吹牛( bluff的过去式和过去分词 )； 以虚张声势找出或达成

参考例句：

• Hung-chien bluffed, "You know perfectly well yourself without my telling you." 鸿渐摆空城计道：“你心里明白，不用我说。”
• In each case the hijackers bluffed the crew using fake grenades. 每一个案例中，劫机者都用了假手榴弹吓唬机组人员。

6 spacious   

adj.广阔的，宽敞的

参考例句：

• Our yard is spacious enough for a swimming pool.我们的院子很宽敞，足够建一座游泳池。
• The room is bright and spacious.这房间很豁亮。

7 parlor   

n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅

参考例句：

• She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
• Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店？