When she next saw Harold she said, "I tried not to hear your conversation with Mr. Stover, but you both got to talking so loudly that I could not help it. Harold, I am certainly proud of you."
"I would have liked to have had the job but not at the price they asked. I will get along some way. If I can't make a living as an architect I can go to work on the railroad section."
"I have faith that you will succeed as an architect, but I would much prefer to have a friend of mine an honorable section hand than a dishonorable architect, no matter how successful he might be in his profession."
"Ruth," he said, "it is good to have a friend like you. You are different from so many girls who think so much of display and veneer3. You think more of the things that are really worth while."
"I feel that I do not deserve all that, Harold. My father deserves a great deal of credit for whatever views of life I have that enable me to appraise4 people by a better standard than bank accounts, automobiles5, clothes, painted faces, and dance steps. He has always laid great stress on the value of character. Often I have heard him say, 'The real gold of life is not to be found in mines or at the end of the rainbow but in hearts that are true to friends and loyal to the best interests of life.'"
"That is certainly a noble sentiment. How is your father?"
"I don't see much change in him. He worries so much because he can't remember the man who stole his money. Ever since he had that dream he really believes that some man in whom he had confidence and to whom he had shown the combination of the safe really robbed him. (Of course it is only a delusion6.) His bank stock, the only property he had except the home, was turned over to satisfy his debts."
"Ruth, in whom did your father have a great deal of confidence?"
"Do you mean in a business way? Well, there were a number of men in Zala for whose honesty and ability he had great respect. Of the men out of town with whom he had business relations, I believe he trusted Mr. Stover more than any other."
"Ruth, who was the cashier of the bank in which your father was president?"
"His name is Dick Watson."
"Where is he now?"
"I don't know. He left Wilford Springs when Mr. Stover bought my father's interest, and I have not heard of him since."
"No, my father's account at the bank tallied8 with his personal pass book. His bank stock was sold to Mr. Stover, as you know."
"What did Watson do with his stock?"
"He owned only a small amount of stock, and it also was purchased by Mr. Stover."
"What kind of a looking fellow is this man, Watson?"
"He is fairly good looking."
Harold laughed. "When you ask a girl about a man's looks she answers: 'Handsome, good looking, fairly good looking, homely9, ugly or ugly as a mud fence.'"
"That's because we think so much of looks, I presume," she said, laughing, "or it may be because we are so limited in descriptive powers, but since you do not like my general statement I will try to be a little more specific. He is about five feet nine or ten inches in height, has light brown hair and dark blue eyes, his nose is rather prominent, when he smiles he displays a row of exceedingly white, even teeth. Is that sufficient?"
"Very good. I believe you will be able to develop your descriptive powers."
"Why should I?"
"Well you may want to write novels some day."
"If I do I will have you for one of the characters. You will be my hero."
"I see that you will not succeed as a novelist."
"Why?"
"You have already shown sufficiently10 poor judgment11 in selecting a character to condemn12 you as a novelist; however, you might succeed as descriptive writer. I will test you a little farther. Did the man Watson have any peculiarities13?"
"Nothing that I remember, except he lisped slightly."
"Speaking of descriptions," he remarked, "there is a scene that I would like to have descriptive power to describe."
They were walking through the City's Natural Park and had come suddenly upon a little lake surrounded by wooded hills. It was the first of October, and nature's artist had tinted14 the foliage15 a rich golden hue16. Two couples in row boats were rowing along the shaded side of the lake while shimmering17 light was reflected from the opposite side. The deep green of the grass which bordered the lake, the gold of the tree foliage, the blue of the sky above and the passing clouds mirrored in the water blended in a harmonious18 picture that no lover of beauty could fail to admire.
"Isn't it beautiful!" Ruth exclaimed.
"Yes, as Riley says, 'A picture that no painter has the colorin' to mock.'"
They walked on down a winding19 road, through the woods and around the hills. Ruth began humming, "There's a long, long trail a winding into the land of my dreams."
"That song has a lot of truth in it," he remarked. "The road is often a long one, and the night seems so long while waiting."
"Yes, but the song also expresses the pleasure that many enjoy while pursuing the dreams and traveling with 'you.' It depends a lot on who the 'you' is."
It was a pleasant October afternoon and there were many people riding and strolling through the park. Harold was thankful that it was cool enough for him to wear his light overcoat.
A car honked20 behind them and they stepped out of the road. Golter drove past. He lifted his hat and spoke21 very distantly. Ruth had declined an invitation to go riding with him that afternoon.
"Your special friend," Harold remarked.
"Don't put too much emphasis on the special if you would be exact in your expression," she replied.
As they were leaving the park they met two young ladies.
"Why, Ruth, for the land sakes! I haven't seen you for a coon's age."
"Mable, I certainly am glad to see you! What are you doing here?"
"I am visiting my cousin. Miss Babcock, my cousin, Miss Welty."
"And allow me to introduce my friend, Mr. King."
After the formal recognitions of the introductions, Ruth said, "Mable, I haven't seen you since you moved to the capital."
"No. This is the first time I have been any place."
Mable Finch22 and Ruth had been friends at Zala. Soon after Ruth came to Wilford Springs, Mable had moved with her parents to the state capital.
"How are your folk?"
"They are well. Father sticks right to business. Mother and I tried to get him to go to the Shriners' convention this summer, but he thinks that the business wouldn't run if he were away."
"Is your father still in the hotel business?"
"Yes; you couldn't get him to do anything else. He is planning to build the largest and finest hotel in the city."
"Will he build soon?"
"Yes, he expects to consider plans at once."
Harold and Miss Welty had walked a short distance away to look at a petrified23 tree that had recently been donated to the park and were out of hearing.
"He is a splendid fellow and a very dear friend."
"He certainly looks good."
"Mable, I want you to visit me while you are here."
"I wish I could, but it will be impossible. I just ran down for the week-end with my cousin, but I'll tell you what I want you to do. Will you do it?"
"Well," said Ruth, "it will depend just a little on what it is."
"I want you to go home with me for a visit. This week we are to have our fall musical festival."
"I am going to surprise you by accepting the invitation. That is, provided I can get off at the bank where I work."
Harold and Mable's cousin now rejoined them and the four left the park with the crowd that was now homeward bound.
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1
courageously
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| ad.勇敢地，无畏地 | |
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bribe
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| n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通 | |
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veneer
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| n.(墙上的)饰面，虚饰 | |
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appraise
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| v.估价，评价，鉴定 | |
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automobiles
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| n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 ) | |
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delusion
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| n.谬见，欺骗，幻觉，迷惑 | |
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defrauded
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| v.诈取，骗取( defraud的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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tallied
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| v.计算，清点( tally的过去式和过去分词 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合 | |
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homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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condemn
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| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
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peculiarities
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| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
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tinted
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| adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词 | |
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foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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shimmering
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| v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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harmonious
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| adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的 | |
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winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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honked
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| v.（使）发出雁叫似的声音，鸣（喇叭），按（喇叭）( honk的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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spoke
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| 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 | |
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finch
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| n.雀科鸣禽(如燕雀，金丝雀等) | |
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petrified
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| adj.惊呆的；目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆，使惊呆；变僵硬；使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词) | |
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swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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giggled
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| v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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