"There—there, that will do. Now leave me, my good girl—that will do," before she, with a curtsey at every step, withdrew.
"Well," she said, as she went down stairs. "If I tell misses of this, I'm a Prussian. Oh, dear, I keeps it to myself and says nothing to nobody, excepting to my Thomas as is in the horse-guards. Ah, he is a nice fellow, and out o' this I'll make him a present of a most elegant watch-ribbon, that he can put a bullet at the end of, and let it hang out of his fob all as if he had a real watch in his pocket."
"Humph!" said Todd. "I have bought her good opinion cheap. It was well worth ten-and-sixpence not to have the servant watching me, with, for all I know to the contrary, eyes of suspicion—well worth it."
It was not very often that Todd indulged himself with a cup of tea. Something stronger was commonly more congenial to his appetite; but upon this occasion, after his long sleep, the tea had upon him a most refreshing2 effect, and he took it with real pleasure. Mrs. Hardman, in consideration of the guinea she had received beforehand, had done him justice, as far as the quality of the tea was concerned, and he had it good.
"Well," he said, after his third cup, "I did not think that there was so much virtue3 in a cup of tea, after all; but of a surety, I feel wonderfully refreshed at it. How the wind blows."
The wind did, indeed, blow, for all the while that Todd was taking his tea it banged and buffeted4 against the window at such a rate, that it was really quite a fearful thing to listen to it.
A couple of candles had been lighted and brought into the room, but the gale5 without soon laid hold of their little flames, and tossed them about so, that they gave but a dim and sepulchral6 kind of light.
Todd rose again, and went to the window—again he placed his face close to the pane7 of glass, and shading his eyes with his hands, he looked out. A dashing rain was falling.
"They say that when the rain comes the wind moderates," he muttered; "but I see no signs of that, yet, it is almost a gale already."
At that moment there came such a gust8 of wind howling down the street, that Todd mechanically withdrew his head, as though it were some tangible9 enemy come to seek him.
"Always something to foil me here," he said; "always something; but out I must go. Let it look as strange as it may, I cannot stay a night in this house, for if I were to do so, that would involve the staying a day likewise; and it would be this time to-morrow before I dared venture abroad; and who knows what awful things might happen in that space of time? No, I must go to-night. I must go to-night."
He could not help feeling that his going out while the weather was in such a state would excite a great amount of wonder in the house; but that was a minor10 event in comparison to what might possibly ensue from remaining, so he put on his hat.
Tap—tap! came against the panel of his door.
Todd muttered an awful oath, and then said,—
"Come in."
Mrs. Hardman entered the room.
"I hope I don't intrude11 upon you, sir, but I was so very anxious to know if the tea was just as you like it, sir?"
"Oh, yes—yes. I am going out a little way, my good madam. Only a little way."
"Out, sir?"
"Yes, and why not?—why not? Oh, dear me! How bad my cough is to be sure, to-night. Eugh!—eugh!"
"Goodness gracious! my dear sir, you will not think of venturing out to-night? Oh, sir!"
"Why not, madam?"
"The wind, sir—the rain, sir—and the wind and the rain together, sir. Oh, dear! It isn't a night to turn out a dog in, not that I like dogs, but I beg, sir, you won't think of it. Only listen, sir. How it does blow, to be sure!"
"Madam!" said Todd, putting on a solemn look, "I must go. It is my duty to go."
"Your duty, sir?"
"Yes. Whenever the wind blows and the rain comes down, I put a quantity of small change in my pocket, and I go out to see what objects of distress12 in the streets I can relieve. It is then that I feel myself called upon in the sacred name of heavenly charity to see to the wants of my poorer fellow-creatures. It is then that I can find many a one whom I can make happy and comfortable for a brief space, at all events; and that's the way that I am always, you see, madam, with a bad cold."
"Not at all, madam, not at all. It is one's duty, and nothing else. I feel bound to do it. But I shall want a little something for supper. A nice boiled chicken, if you please, and you will be so good as to get it for me, madam. Take this guinea, if you please, and we can talk about the change, you know, when I want anything else, my good madam."
"My word!" thought Mrs. Hardman. "He is a wonderful lodger14, for he forgets all about his change. I feel that it would only vex15 the poor old gentleman to remind him of it, and that I do not feel justified16 in doing. A-hem! yes, sir. Oh, certainly, I will get the finest chicken, sir, that can be had."
"Do so, madam, do so. Now I'm going."
"Oh, Lord! there's a gust of wind!"
"I like it—I like it."
"And there's a dash of rain!"
"So much the better. Delightful17, delightful, my dear madam, I shall find plenty of poor objects to relieve to-night. Under gateways18, I shall find them, crouching19 upon door-steps, and shivering on spots where a little shelter can be found from the inclemency20 of the weather. This is my time to try and do a little good with that superfluous21 wealth which Providence22 has given me."
Mrs. Hardman made no further opposition23 to the benevolent24 intentions of a lodger who continually forgot his change, and Todd fairly left the house.
Little did the landlady25 think, while she was grasping at the guineas, that there was a reward of a thousand pounds for the apprehension26 of her lodger, and that it would every penny-piece of it have been duly paid to her at the Treasury27, if she could but have managed to lock him in a room until the officers of justice could be sent for, to pounce29 upon him and load him with irons, and take him off to prison.
But poor Mrs. Hardman had really no idea of how near she was to fortune; and when the street-door closed upon Todd, she little suspected that she shut out such a sum as one thousand pounds sterling30 along with him.
"That is managed so far," said Todd, as he shrank and cowed before the storm-laden gale that dashed in his face the rain, as he reached the corner of the street.
There Todd paused, for a new fear came across him. It was that no waterman would venture upon the river with him on such a night; and yet after reasoning with himself a little time, he said—
"Watermen are human, and they love gold as much as any one else. After all, it only resolves itself into a question of how much I will pay."
Full of this idea, which, in its way, was a tolerably just one, he sneaked31 down the Strand32 until he got right to Charing33 Cross. He had thought of going down one of the quiet streets near that place, and taking a boat there; but now he considered that he would have a much better chance by going as far as Westminster Bridge; and, accordingly, despite the rain and the wind, he made his way along Whitehall, and reached the bridge.
A few watermen were lounging about at the head of the stairs. They had little enough expectation of getting a fare at such a time, and upon such a day. One of them, however, seeing Todd pause, went up to him, and spoke—
"You didn't want a boat, did you, sir?"
"Why, yes," said Todd, "I did; but, I suppose, you are all afraid to earn a couple of guineas?"
"A couple of guineas?"
"Yes, or three, for the matter of that; one more or less don't matter to me; but it may to you."
"Indeed, it does, sir. You are right enough there. But where do you want to go to sir? Up or down?"
"To Greenwich."
Todd thought if he mentioned Gravesend, he might frighten the man at once.
"Greenwich? Whew!" The waterman perpetrated a long whistle; and then, shaking his head, he said—"I'm very much afraid, sir, that it isn't a question of guineas that will settle that; but I will speak to my mate. Halloa Jack34!—Jack! I say, old boy, where are you?"
"Here you are," said an old weather-beaten man coming up the steps. "I've only been making the little craft fast. What is the row now, Harry35—eh?"
"No row, old mate; but this here gentleman offers a matter of three guineas for a cruise to Greenwich."
"Ay, and why not, Harry?"
"Why not? Don't you hear how it's blowing?"
"Yes, I do, Harry; but it won't blow long. I've seen more gales36 than you have, lad, and I tell you that this one is all but over. The rain, in another quarter of an hour, will beat it all down. It's fast going now. It will be a wet night, and a dark night; but it won't blow, nor it won't be cold."
"If you say as much as that, Jack," said the younger waterman, "I will swear to it."
The old man smiled, as he added—
"Ah, dear me, yes, and so you may, Harry. I haven't been so long out of doors that I don't know the fancies of the weather. I can tell you a'most what it's a going to do beforehand, better than it knows itself. There, don't you hear how it's coming in puffs37, now, the wind, and each one is a bit fainter nor the one as comed afore it? Lord bless you, it's nothing! We shall get a wet jacket, that's all; and if so be, sir, as you really do want a cruise down to Greenwich, come on, and Harry and me will soon manage it for you."
These words were very satisfactory to Todd. He had no objection in the world to its being rather a bad night on the river; but he certainly had a great objection to risking his life. Discomfort38 was a thing that gave him no concern. He knew well that that would pass away.
"If you are willing," he said, "let us, then, start at once, and I will not hold you to your bargain if the weather should happen to turn very bad. We can, in such a case, easily, I dare say, put in at some of the numerous stairs on one side or other of the river."
"There will be no need of that, sir," said the old waterman. "If you go, and if you choose to go all the way, we will put you on shore at Greenwich."
"How about London Bridge?" said the younger man, in a tone of some anxiety.
"Better than usual," said Jack. "It is just the time to shoot it nicely, for the tide will be at a point, and won't know exactly whether to go one way or the other."
"It's all right, then?"
"It is."
Todd himself had had his suspicions that the passage of old London Bridge would be one of no ordinary difficulty on such a night as that, but he knew that if the tide was at that point which the old man mentioned, that it might be passed with the most perfect safety, and it was a matter of no small gratification to him to hear from such a competent authority that such was the fact just then.
"Let us go at once," he said.
"All's right, sir. Our wherry is just at the foot of the stairs, here. I will pull her in, Harry."
The old man ran down the slippery stairs with the activity of a boy, and as Todd and Harry followed him, the latter said, in quite a confidential39 tone of voice—
Todd Encounters Great Perils On The River Thames.
"I am glad to hear it."
"Yes, sir, and so am I. Now I thought I knew something, and I shouldn't have ventured to take you, or if I had, it would have been with rather a faint heart; but now that the old man, sir, says it's all right, I feel as comfortable as needs be in the matter."
By this time they had reached the foot of the steps, which was being laved by the tide, and there the old man had the boat safely in hand.
"Now for it, sir," he said. "Jump in."
Todd did so, and the younger waterman followed him. He and his aged28 companion immediately took their places, and Todd stretched himself in the stern of the little craft.
The rain now came down in absolute torrents42 as the boat was pushed off by the two watermen into the middle of the stream.
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1
profuse
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| adj.很多的，大量的，极其丰富的 | |
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refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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3
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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4
buffeted
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| 反复敲打( buffet的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续猛击； 打来打去； 推来搡去 | |
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5
gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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sepulchral
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| adj.坟墓的，阴深的 | |
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pane
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| n.窗格玻璃，长方块 | |
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gust
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| n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发 | |
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9
tangible
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| adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的 | |
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10
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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11
intrude
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| vi.闯入；侵入；打扰，侵扰 | |
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12
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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13
apron
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| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
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lodger
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| n.寄宿人，房客 | |
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vex
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| vt.使烦恼，使苦恼 | |
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16
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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18
gateways
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| n.网关( gateway的名词复数 )；门径；方法；大门口 | |
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19
crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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20
inclemency
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| n.险恶，严酷 | |
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21
superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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22
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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benevolent
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| adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的 | |
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landlady
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| n.女房东，女地主 | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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treasury
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| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
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28
aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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pounce
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| n.猛扑；v.猛扑，突然袭击，欣然同意 | |
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sterling
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| adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑) | |
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31
sneaked
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| v.潜行( sneak的过去式和过去分词 )；偷偷溜走；（儿童向成人）打小报告；告状 | |
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strand
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| vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地） | |
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charing
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| n.炭化v.把…烧成炭，把…烧焦( char的现在分词 )；烧成炭，烧焦；做杂役女佣 | |
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34
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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gales
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| 龙猫 | |
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puffs
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| n.吸( puff的名词复数 )；（烟斗或香烟的）一吸；一缕（烟、蒸汽等）；（呼吸或风的）呼v.使喷出( puff的第三人称单数 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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38
discomfort
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| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
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confidential
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| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
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perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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41
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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42
torrents
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| n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断 | |
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