CHAPTER XX RUDOLPH FINDS TONY

Four days afterward¹ Rudolph arrived in the town where Tony was employed. He had not been drawn² thither³ by any clew, but by pure accident.

He put up for the night at the hotel where our hero had found work. He enrolled⁴ himself on the register as “Obadiah Latham, Philadelphia.”

“Can thee give me a room, friend?” he inquired.

Certainly, sir,” was the polite reply. “Here, Henry, show this gentleman up to No. 6. No. 6 is one of our best rooms, Mr. Latham.”

“I thank thee,” said the tramp.

The Quakers are always polite,” said the bookkeeper. “They are good pay, too, and never give any trouble. I wish we had more of them stop here.”

“If all your customers were of that description, your bar wouldn’t pay very well.”

“That is true.”

But later in the evening the speaker was obliged to change his opinion.

The Quaker came to the bar and asked:

“Will thee give me a glass of brandy?”

“Sir!” said the barkeeper, astounded⁵.

A glass of brandy!” repeated Rudolph, irritably⁶.

I beg pardon, sir, but I was surprised. I did not know that gentlemen of your faith ever drank liquor.”

“Thee is right,” said the tramp, recollecting⁷ himself. “It is only for my health. Thee may make it strong, so that I may feel better soon.”

Rudolph drained the glass, and then, after a little hesitation⁸, he said:

“I feel better. Will thee mix me another glass, and a little stronger?”

A stronger glass was given him.

The barkeeper looked at him shrewdly.

Quaker as he is, he is evidently used to brandy,” he said to himself. “If he wasn’t, those two glasses would have upset him.”

But Rudolph did not appear to be upset.

He put his broad-brimmed hat more firmly on his head, and went outside. He decided⁹ to take a walk about the village. He little suspected that Tony was in the stable yard in the rear of the hotel.

He walked on for perhaps a quarter of a mile, and then leaned against a fence to rest. As he stood here two boys passed him slowly, conversing¹⁰ as they walked.

“I was surprised, Sam, at Tony Rugg’s licking you,” said the first.

He couldn’t do it again,” said Sam, sullenly¹¹.

Rudolph’s attention was at once drawn.

Boys,” he asked, “did thee mention the name of Tony Rugg?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Does thee know such a boy?”

“Yes, sir. He is working at the hotel. He got my place away from me,” said Sam. “Do you know him?”

“I once knew such a boy.”

Rudolph was very much elated at what he had heard.

Well, good luck has come to me at last,” he said to himself. “The young scoundrel, is found, and now I must consider how to get him into my hands once more.”

The Quaker, to designate him according to his present appearance, at once made his way back to the hotel.

There can’t be two Tony Ruggs in this world,” he said to himself. “I am sure this is the boy.”

On reaching the hotel he sauntered out to the stable yard in the rear of the house. His eyes lighted with pleasure, for he at once caught sight of Tony, standing¹² beside James, the hostler.

There comes old Broadbrim,” said James, in a low voice. “The barkeeper told me he took two stiff horns of brandy. He’s a queer sort of Quaker.”

Tony gave a glance at the tramp but entertained no suspicion of his not being what he represented. Rudolph came nearer. His disguise had been so successful that he felt perfectly¹³ safe from discovery.

Does thee keep many horses?” he asked.

Yes, sir; we have twelve.”

“That is a large number. Yea, verily, it is.”

“Well, it is. There’s a good deal of carting to do for the hotel; besides Mr. Porter keeps a livery stable. Was you ever this way before?” asked James.

“Nay, verily.”

“Are you going away to-morrow morning?”

“Nay, friend, I think I shall tarry a day or two. Is that lad thy son?”

“Tony, he asks if you are my son,” said James, laughing. “No, his name is Tony Rugg, while mine is James Woodley.”

“Anthony, was thee born in this town?” asked the tramp, boldly defying detection.

No, sir,” answered Tony. “I only came here a few weeks ago.”

“I’d like to choke the boy. I can hardly keep my hands off him,” thought Rudolph. “But I’d better be going. He is looking at me closely.”

“Good-night,” he said, and the two responded civilly.

Well, Tony, what do you think of Broadbrim?”

“I don’t know, there’s something in his voice that sounds familiar to me.”

“Perhaps you may have met him somewhere.”

“No; I never met any Quaker before.”

“Well, there’s stranger likenesses sometimes. Did I ever tell you my adventure out in Maine?”

“No, what was it?”

“I went down East to see a sister of mine that is married down near Augusta. When, as I was goin’ through Portland, a woman came up and made a great ado about my deserting her. She took me for her husband, and came near having me arrested for desertion. You see, I and her husband was alike as two peas, that’s what some of her neighbors said.”

“How did you get off?”

“Luckily I had documents in my pocket showing who I was. Besides, my brother-in-law happened to be in the city, and he identified me.”

Rudolph sat in the public room of the hotel for a time, and then he went up to his room, partly to be out of the way of possible recognition, partly to think how he could manage to get Tony into his clutches once more.

He had a back room, the window of which looked out upon the stable yard. He seated himself at this window, and could easily see and hear all that passed there.

Tony and the hostler were lounging about, the latter smoking a clay pipe, their work being done for the day.

Tony,” said the hostler, “I almost forgot to tell you you’re to go to Thornton to-morrow.”

“What for?”

“There’s a top-buggy Mr. Porter has sold to a man there. You’re to take it over, and lead the horse back.”

“All right. I’d just as leave go as stay here. Can I find the road easily?”

“There’s no trouble about that. Part of it runs through the woods—about a mile, I should say.”

“Did Mr. Porter say when he wanted me to start?”

“About nine o’clock; by that time you’ll be through with your chores.”

Rudolph heard this conversation with pleasure.

It’s the chance I was waiting for,” he said to himself. “I’ll lie in wait for him as he comes back.”

1 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

2 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

3 thither   

adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的

参考例句：

• He wandered hither and thither looking for a playmate.他逛来逛去找玩伴。
• He tramped hither and thither.他到处流浪。

4 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 astounded   

v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶

参考例句：

• His arrogance astounded her. 他的傲慢使她震惊。
• How can you say that? I'm absolutely astounded. 你怎么能说出那种话？我感到大为震惊。

6 irritably   

ad.易生气地

参考例句：

• He lost his temper and snapped irritably at the children. 他发火了，暴躁地斥责孩子们。
• On this account the silence was irritably broken by a reproof. 为了这件事，他妻子大声斥责，令人恼火地打破了宁静。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

7 recollecting   

v.记起，想起( recollect的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Once wound could heal slowly, my Bo Hui was recollecting. 曾经的伤口会慢慢地愈合，我卜会甾回忆。 来自互联网
• I am afraid of recollecting the life of past in the school. 我不敢回忆我在校过去的生活。 来自互联网

8 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 conversing   

v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I find that conversing with her is quite difficult. 和她交谈实在很困难。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They were conversing in the parlor. 他们正在客厅谈话。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 sullenly   

不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地

参考例句：

• 'so what?" Tom said sullenly. “那又怎么样呢？”汤姆绷着脸说。
• Emptiness after the paper, I sIt'sullenly in front of the stove. 报看完，想不出能找点什么事做，只好一人坐在火炉旁生气。

12 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。

13 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。