Manuel and Roberto left the station together.
“Are you going to begin your old life all over again?” asked Roberto. “Why don’t you make up your mind once and for all to go to work?”
“Where? I’m no good at hunting for a job. Do you know anything I could get? Some printing shop....”
“Would you be willing to go in as an apprentice1, without any pay?”
“Yes. What will it be?”
“If you’ve no objections, I’ll take you this instant to the head of a certain newspaper. Come along.”
They ascended2 to the Plaza3 de San Marcial, then went on through the Calle de los Reyes to the Calle de San Bernardo; reaching the Calle del Pez they entered a house. They knocked at a door on the main floor; a scrawny woman appeared, informing them that the gentleman whom Roberto had called for was asleep and had left word not to be disturbed.
“I’m a friend of his,” answered Roberto. “I’ll wake him up.”
The two made their way through a corridor to a[126] dark room that reeked4 foully5 with iodoform. Roberto knocked.
“Sandoval!”
“What’s the trouble? What’s the matter?” shouted a powerful voice.
“It’s I; Roberto.”
There came the sounds of a man in his underclothes stepping out of bed and opening the shutters6 of the balcony; then they could see him return to his spacious7 bed.
He was a man of about forty, chubby-cheeked, corpulent, with a black beard.
“What’s the time?” he asked, stretching his limbs.
“Ten.”
“The devil, you say! As early as that? I’m glad you woke me; I’ve so many things to do. Shout down the corridor for me, will you.”
Roberto yelled a sonorous8 “Eh!” whereupon a painted girl walked into the room in evident ill-humor.
“Go fetch my clothes,” ordered Sandoval, and with an effort he sat up in bed, yawned stupidly and began to scratch his arms.
“Well, you remember you told me the other day that you needed a boy in the office. I’ve brought you this one.”
“Why, man, I’ve already hired another.”
“Then there’s nothing to be done.”
“But I believe they need one at the printing shop.”
“Sánchez Gómez doesn’t think much of me.”
[127]
“I’ll talk to him. He can’t refuse me this.”
“Will you forget?”
“No, no I’ll not.”
“Bah! Write him; that would be better.”
“Very well. I’ll write him.”
“No. This very moment. Just a few words.”
As they spoke10, Manuel observed the room with intense curiosity; it was unbelievably upset and filthy11. The furniture comprised—the bed, a commode, an iron washstand, a shelf and two broken chairs. The commode and the shelf were heaped with papers and books whose binding12 was falling away. On the chairs lay petticoats and dresses. The floor was littered with cigar stubs, scraps13 of newspaper and pieces of absorbent cotton that had been used in some cure or other. Under the table reposed15 an iron wash bowl that had been converted into a brasier and was full of ashes and cinders16.
When the servant-girl returned with Sandoval’s shirt and outer garments he got up in his drawers and began a search amidst his papers for a cake of soap, finally locating it. He washed himself in the basin of the washstand, which was brimming with dirty water wherein swam wisps of woman’s hair.
Sandoval went out into the corridor in his drawers, basin in hand, then returned, washed, and began to dress.
[128]
Here and there on the books lay a grimy comb, a broken toothbrush reddened with blood from gums, a collar edged with dirt, a rice-powder box full of dents19 with the puff20 black and hardened.
After Sandoval had dressed he became transformed in Manuel’s eyes; he took on an air of distinction and elegance21. He wrote the letter that was asked of him, whereupon Roberto and Manuel left the house.
“He’s in there cursing away at us,” commented Roberto.
“Why?”
“Because he’s as lazy as a Turk. He’ll forgive anything except being made to work.”
Again they found themselves on the Calle de San Bernardo, and entered a lane that cut across. They paused before a tiny structure that jutted22 out from the line of the other buildings.
“This is the printing-shop,” said Roberto.
Manuel looked about him. Not a sign, no lettering, no indication whatsoever23 that this was a printery. Roberto thrust aside a little gate and they walked into a gloomy cellar that received its scanty24 light through the doorway25 leading to a dank, dirty patio26. A recently whitewashed27 partition that bore the imprints28 of fingers and entire hands divided this basement into two compartments30. In the first were packed a heap of dustladen objects; the other, the inner one, seemed to have been varnished31 black; a window gave it light; nearby rose a narrow, slippery stairway that disappeared into the ceiling. In the middle of this second compartment29 a bearded fellow,[129] dark and thin, was mounted beside a large press, placing the paper, which there appeared as white as snow, over the bed of the machine; another man was receiving it. In a corner the oil motor that supplied the power to the press was toiling33 painfully on.
Manuel and Roberto climbed the stairway to a long, narrow room which received light through two windows that looked into the patio.
Against the wall of the room, and in the middle as well, stood the printer’s cases, over which hung several electric lights wrapped in newspaper cones34 that served as shades.
Three men and a boy were at work before the cases; one of the men, a lame35 fellow in a long blue smock, a derby, with a sour face and spectacles on his nose, was pacing up and down the room.
Roberto greeted the lame fellow and handed him Sandoval’s letter. The man took the letter and growled36 ill-naturedly:
“I don’t know why they come to me with matters of this kind. Damn it all!...”
“This is the youngster who is to learn the trade,” interrupted Roberto, coldly.
“Are you in bad humor today?”
“I’m as I darn please.... This cursed daily grind.... It drives me to desperation.... Understand?”
“Indeed, I do,” replied Roberto, adding, in a stage “aside” such as is heard by the entire auditorium,[130] “What patience one requires with this animal!”
“This is certainly a joke,” continued the cripple, unheedful of the “aside.” “Suppose the kid does want to learn the trade. What’s that got to do with me? And suppose he has nothing to eat? How does that concern me? Let him go to the deuce out of here ... and good riddance.”
“Are you going to teach him or not, Se?or Sánchez? I’m a busy man and have no time to waste.”
“Ah! No time to waste! Then clear out, my fine fellow. I don’t need you here at all. Let the kid remain. You’re in the way here.”
“Thanks. You stay here,” said Roberto to Manuel. “They’ll tell you what you have to do.”
Manuel stood perplexed39; he saw his friend disappear, looked around him in every direction, and seeing that nobody paid any attention to him, he walked over to the stairway and descended40 two steps.
“Eh! Where are you going?” shouted the lame man after him. “Do you want to learn the trade or not? What do you call this?”
Manuel was more confused than ever.
“Hey, you, Yaco,” shouted the cripple, turning to one of the men at the cases. “Teach this kid the case.”
The man he had called,—a puny41 fellow, very swarthy, with a black beard,—was working away with astonishing rapidity. He cast an indifferent glance in Manuel’s direction and resumed his work.
The youngster stood there motionless. Seeing[131] him thus, the other typesetter, a blond young fellow with a sickly look, turned to his bearded companion jestingly and said to him in a queer sing-song:
“Ah, Yaco! Why don’t you teach the boy the position of the letters?”
“Teach him yourself,” retorted he whom they called Yaco.
“Ah, Yaco, I see that the law of Moses makes you people very selfish, Yaco. You don’t want to waste any time, do you, Yaco?”
The bearded compositor glared at his companion with a sinister42 look; the blond fellow burst into laughter and then showed Manuel where the various letters of the alphabet were to be found; then he brought over a column of used type which he had drawn43 quickly from an iron form, and said:
“Now you’re to distribute every letter back into its proper box.”
Manuel began the task at an exceedingly slow pace.
The blond compositor wore a long blue smock and a derby perched on one side of his head. Bent14 over the case, his eyes very close to his copy, with his composing-stick in his left hand, he set up one line after the other with astonishing speed; his right hand leaped dizzyingly from box to box.
Often he would pause to light a cigarette, look at his bearded companion and in a very jovial44 tone ask him a question,—either a very silly one or such as admits of no possible reply,—to which the other[132] man answered only with a sinister glance from his black eyes.
It struck twelve; everybody ceased working and went out. Manuel was left alone in the shop. At first he had harbored the hope that he would be given something to eat; then he came to the realization45 that nobody had given himself any concern as to his food. He reconnoitred the place; nothing in the premises46, unfortunately, was edible47; he wondered whether, if he were to remove the ink from the surface of the rollers, they would be palatable48, but he arrived at no decision.
Yaco returned at two; shortly after came the blond young man, whose name was Jesús, and the work was resumed. Manuel continued distributing the type, and Jesús and Yaco, setting.
The cripple corrected galleys49, inked them, drew proof by placing paper on them and striking it with a mallet50, after which, with a pair of tweezers51, he would extract certain letters and replace them with others.
At midafternoon Jesús quit setting type and changed work. He took the galleys, which were tied around with twine52, loosened them, shaped them into columns, placed them in an iron chase and locked them with quoins.
The form was carried off by one of the pressmen of the basement who returned with it inside of an hour. Jesús replaced some of the columns with others and the form was again removed. Shortly afterward53 the same operation was repeated.
After working away until seven the men were[133] about to leave, when Manuel went over to Jesús and asked:
“Won’t the boss give me anything to eat?”
“Ho! The idea!”
“I haven’t any money; I didn’t even have any breakfast.”
“You didn’t? See here. Come along with me.”
They left the printing-shop together and entered a hovel on the Calle de Silva, where Jesús ate. The blond young man engaged in conversation with the proprietor54 and then came over to Manuel, saying:
“You’ll get your meals here on tick. I’ve told him I’ll be responsible for you. Now see to it that you don’t be up to any knavish55 tricks.”
“Don’t worry.”
“Very good. Let’s go inside. It’s my treat today.”
The waiter brought them a platter of bread, stew57 and wine. As they ate, Jesús recounted in humorous fashion a number of anecdotes58 relating to the proprietor of the printing-shop, to the journalists, and, above all, to Yaco, the fellow with the beard, who was a Jew, a very good fellow, but as stingy and sordid59 as they come.
When they had finished their supper, Jesús asked Manuel:
“Have you a place to sleep?”
“No.”
[134]
“There must be some corner in the printing-shop.”
They returned to the shop and the compositor asked the cripple to let Manuel sleep in some corner.
“Damn it all!” exclaimed the cripple, “this is going to become a regular Mountain Shelter. Such a band of ragamuffins! The lame fellow may be an ill-humoured cuss but everybody comes here just the same. You bet.”
Grumbling61, as was his wont62, the cripple opened a dingy63 sty that was reached by ascending64 several stairways; it was cluttered65 with engravings wrapped in sheets. He pointed66 to a corner where some excelsior and a few old cloaks were heaped.
Manuel slept like a prince in this hole.
On the next day the owner sent him down to the basement.
“Just watch what this fellow is doing, and you do the same,” he instructed, pointing to the thin, bearded man who stood on the platform of the press.
The man was taking a sheet of paper from a pile and placing it upon the feed board; at once the grippers reached forward and seized the sheet with the certainty of fingers; at a movement of the wheel the machine would swallow the paper and within a moment the sheet would issue, printed on one side, and some small sticks, like the ribs67 of a fan, would deposit it upon the fly table. Manuel very soon acquired the necessary skill.
The proprietor arranged that Manuel should[135] work mornings at the cases, and afternoons and part of the night at the press, paying him for this a daily wage of six reales. During the afternoons it was fairly possible to stand the toil32 in the cellar; at night it was beyond endurance. Between the gasoline motor and the oil lamps the air was asphyxiating68.
After a week in the place, Manuel had become intimate with Jesús and Yaco.
Jesús advised Manuel to apply himself to the cases and learn as soon as possible how to set type.
“At least you’ll be sure of making a living.”
“But it’s very hard,” said Manuel.
“Bah, man. Once you get used to it, it’s far easier than rolling off a log.”
Manuel worked away at the cases whenever he could, trying his best to acquire speed; some nights he actually set up lines, and how proud it made him afterward to see them in print!
Jesús amused himself by teasing the Jew, mimicking69 his manner of speech. They had both been living for some months in the same tenement70, Yaco (his real name was Jacob) with his family and Jesús with his two sisters.
Jesús delighted to drive Jacob out of all patience and hear him utter picturesque71 maledictions in his soft, mellifluous72 language with its long-drawn s’s.
According to Jesús, at Jacob’s home his wife, his father-in-law and he himself spoke the weirdest73 jargon74 imaginable,—a mixture of Arabic and archaic75 Spanish that sounded exceedingly rare.
“Do you remember, Yaco,” Jesús would ask, imitating[136] the Jew’s pronunciation, “when you brought your wife, Mesoda, that canary? And she asked you: ‘Ah, Yaco, what sort of bird is this with yellow wings?’ And you answered her: ‘Ah, Mesoda! This bird is a canary and I have brought it for you.’”
Jacob, seeing everybody laugh at him, would cast a terrible glance at Jesús and cry out:
“Wretch that you are! May you be struck by a dart76 that blots77 out your name from the book of the living!”
“And when Mesoda said to you,” continued Jesús, “‘Stay here, Yaco, stay with me. Ah, Yaco, how ill I am! I have a dove in my heart, a hammer on each breast and a fish on my neck. Call my baba; have her bring me a twig78 of letuario, Yaco!’”
These domestic intimacies79, thus treated in jest, exasperated80 Jacob; hearing them, he lost his temper completely and his imprecations outdistanced those of Camilla.
“You have no respect for the family, you dog,” he would conclude.
“The family!” Jesús would retort. “The first thing a fellow should do is forget it. Parents, brothers and sisters, uncles, aunts and cousins,—what are they all but a botheration? The first thing a man should learn is to disobey his parents and have no belief in God.”
“Silence, you infidel, silence! May your sides fill up with watery81 vapor82 and your heart be consumed with fire. May the black broom sweep you off if you continue such blasphemies.”
[137]
Jesús would greet these curses with laughter, and after having allowed Jacob to vent83 his wrath84, would add:
“A couple of thousand years ago, this animal who’s nothing but a printer today would have been a prophet, and would be in the Bible together with Matthew, Zabulon and all that small fry.”
“Don’t talk nonsense,” snarled Jacob.
When the discussion was over, Jesús would say to him:
“You know very well, Yaco, that a chasm85 yawns between your ideas and mine; but despite all that, if you’ll accept the invitation of a Christian86, I invite you to a glass.”
Jacob would nod acceptance.
点击收听单词发音
1 apprentice | |
n.学徒,徒弟 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 ascended | |
v.上升,攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 plaza | |
n.广场,市场 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 reeked | |
v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的过去式和过去分词 );散发臭气;发出难闻的气味 (of sth);明显带有(令人不快或生疑的跡象) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 foully | |
ad.卑鄙地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 shutters | |
百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 ); (照相机的)快门 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 spacious | |
adj.广阔的,宽敞的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8 sonorous | |
adj.响亮的,回响的;adv.圆润低沉地;感人地;n.感人,堂皇 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9 queried | |
v.质疑,对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 );询问 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10 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: |
|
|
11 filthy | |
adj.卑劣的;恶劣的,肮脏的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12 binding | |
有约束力的,有效的,应遵守的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13 scraps | |
油渣 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14 bent | |
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15 reposed | |
v.将(手臂等)靠在某人(某物)上( repose的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16 cinders | |
n.煤渣( cinder的名词复数 );炭渣;煤渣路;煤渣跑道 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17 humbly | |
adv. 恭顺地,谦卑地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
18 snarled | |
v.(指狗)吠,嗥叫, (人)咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 );咆哮着说,厉声地说 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
19 dents | |
n.花边边饰;凹痕( dent的名词复数 );凹部;减少;削弱v.使产生凹痕( dent的第三人称单数 );损害;伤害;挫伤(信心、名誉等) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
20 puff | |
n.一口(气);一阵(风);v.喷气,喘气 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
21 elegance | |
n.优雅;优美,雅致;精致,巧妙 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
22 jutted | |
v.(使)突出( jut的过去式和过去分词 );伸出;(从…)突出;高出 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
23 whatsoever | |
adv.(用于否定句中以加强语气)任何;pron.无论什么 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
24 scanty | |
adj.缺乏的,仅有的,节省的,狭小的,不够的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
25 doorway | |
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
26 patio | |
n.庭院,平台 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
27 whitewashed | |
粉饰,美化,掩饰( whitewash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
28 imprints | |
n.压印( imprint的名词复数 );痕迹;持久影响 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
29 compartment | |
n.卧车包房,隔间;分隔的空间 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
30 compartments | |
n.间隔( compartment的名词复数 );(列车车厢的)隔间;(家具或设备等的)分隔间;隔层 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
31 varnished | |
浸渍过的,涂漆的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
32 toil | |
vi.辛劳工作,艰难地行动;n.苦工,难事 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
33 toiling | |
长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 ); 艰难缓慢地移动,跋涉 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
34 cones | |
n.(人眼)圆锥细胞;圆锥体( cone的名词复数 );球果;圆锥形东西;(盛冰淇淋的)锥形蛋卷筒 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
35 lame | |
adj.跛的,(辩解、论据等)无说服力的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
36 growled | |
v.(动物)发狺狺声, (雷)作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 );低声咆哮着说 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
37 spat | |
n.口角,掌击;v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
38 blasphemies | |
n.对上帝的亵渎,亵渎的言词[行为]( blasphemy的名词复数 );侮慢的言词(或行为) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
39 perplexed | |
adj.不知所措的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
40 descended | |
a.为...后裔的,出身于...的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
41 puny | |
adj.微不足道的,弱小的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
42 sinister | |
adj.不吉利的,凶恶的,左边的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
43 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
44 jovial | |
adj.快乐的,好交际的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
45 realization | |
n.实现;认识到,深刻了解 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
46 premises | |
n.建筑物,房屋 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
47 edible | |
n.食品,食物;adj.可食用的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
48 palatable | |
adj.可口的,美味的;惬意的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
49 galleys | |
n.平底大船,战舰( galley的名词复数 );(船上或航空器上的)厨房 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
50 mallet | |
n.槌棒 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
51 tweezers | |
n.镊子 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
52 twine | |
v.搓,织,编饰;(使)缠绕 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
53 afterward | |
adv.后来;以后 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
54 proprietor | |
n.所有人;业主;经营者 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
55 knavish | |
adj.无赖(似)的,不正的;刁诈 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
56 shack | |
adj.简陋的小屋,窝棚 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
57 stew | |
n.炖汤,焖,烦恼;v.炖汤,焖,忧虑 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
58 anecdotes | |
n.掌故,趣闻,轶事( anecdote的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
59 sordid | |
adj.肮脏的,不干净的,卑鄙的,暗淡的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
60 banter | |
n.嘲弄,戏谑;v.取笑,逗弄,开玩笑 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
61 grumbling | |
adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
62 wont | |
adj.习惯于;v.习惯;n.习惯 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
63 dingy | |
adj.昏暗的,肮脏的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
64 ascending | |
adj.上升的,向上的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
65 cluttered | |
v.杂物,零乱的东西零乱vt.( clutter的过去式和过去分词 );乱糟糟地堆满,把…弄得很乱;(以…) 塞满… | |
参考例句: |
|
|
66 pointed | |
adj.尖的,直截了当的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
67 ribs | |
n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 );(船或屋顶等的)肋拱;肋骨状的东西;(织物的)凸条花纹 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
68 asphyxiating | |
v.渴望的,有抱负的,追求名誉或地位的( aspirant的现在分词 );有志向或渴望获得…的人 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
69 mimicking | |
v.(尤指为了逗乐而)模仿( mimic的现在分词 );酷似 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
70 tenement | |
n.公寓;房屋 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
71 picturesque | |
adj.美丽如画的,(语言)生动的,绘声绘色的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
72 mellifluous | |
adj.(音乐等)柔美流畅的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
73 weirdest | |
怪诞的( weird的最高级 ); 神秘而可怕的; 超然的; 古怪的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
74 jargon | |
n.术语,行话 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
75 archaic | |
adj.(语言、词汇等)古代的,已不通用的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
76 dart | |
v.猛冲,投掷;n.飞镖,猛冲 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
77 blots | |
污渍( blot的名词复数 ); 墨水渍; 错事; 污点 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
78 twig | |
n.小树枝,嫩枝;v.理解 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
79 intimacies | |
亲密( intimacy的名词复数 ); 密切; 亲昵的言行; 性行为 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
80 exasperated | |
adj.恼怒的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
81 watery | |
adj.有水的,水汪汪的;湿的,湿润的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
82 vapor | |
n.蒸汽,雾气 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
83 vent | |
n.通风口,排放口;开衩;vt.表达,发泄 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
84 wrath | |
n.愤怒,愤慨,暴怒 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
85 chasm | |
n.深坑,断层,裂口,大分岐,利害冲突 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
86 Christian | |
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
欢迎访问英文小说网 |