The furniture was limited to articles of prime necessity. There was a stove, a table, three chairs, a row of shelves containing a few articles of crockery and tinware, and a bed in the far corner of the room, on which rested a man with ragged2 gray beard and hair, a face long and thin, and coal-black eyes.
It was evident he was sick unto death. His parchment-colored skin was wrinkled; from time to time he coughed so violently as to rack his slight frame, and his hand, thin and wrinkled, as it rested on the quilt that covered him, shook as with palsy.
It was hard to tell how old the man was. He looked over seventy, but there were indications that he had aged3 prematurely4.
There was one other person in the room whose appearance contrasted strongly with that of the old man—a boy of sixteen, with brown hair, ruddy cheeks, hazel eyes, an attractive yet firm and resolute5 face, and an appearance of manliness6 and self-reliance. He was well dressed, and would have passed muster7 upon the streets of a city. 6
“How do you feel, Uncle Peter?” he asked as he stood by the bedside.
“I shall never feel better, Ernest,” said the old man in a hollow voice.
“Don’t say that, uncle,” said Ernest in a tone of concern.
There seemed little to connect him in his strong, attractive boyhood with the frail8 old man, but they had lived together for five years, and habit was powerful.
“Yes, Ernest, I shall never rise from this bed.”
“Isn’t there anything I can get for you, uncle?”
“Is there—is there anything left in the bottle?” asked Peter wistfully.
Ernest walked to the shelf that held the dishes, and took from a corner a large black bottle. It seemed light, and might be empty. He turned the contents into a glass, but there was only a tablespoonful of whisky.
“It is almost all gone, Uncle Peter; will you have this much?”
“Yes,” answered the old man tremulously.
He drained it, and gave a sigh of satisfaction.
“I wish there were more.”
“It goes to the right spot. It puts strength into me.”
“Shall I go to the village and buy more?”
“I—I don’t know——”
“I can get back very soon.”
“Very well; go, like a good boy.”
“I shall have to trouble you for some money, Uncle Peter.”
“Go to the trunk. You will find some.”
There was a small hair trunk in another corner. Ernest knew that this was meant, and he lifted the lid.
There was a small wooden box at the left-hand side. Opening this, Ernest saw three five-dollar gold pieces.
“There are but three gold pieces, uncle,” he announced, looking toward the bed. 7
“Take one of them, Ernest.”
“I wonder if that is all the money he has left?” thought Ernest.
He rose and went to the door.
“I won’t be gone long, uncle,” he said. He followed a path which led from the door in an easterly direction to the village. It was over a mile away, and consisted of a few scattering12 houses, a blacksmith’s shop and a store.
It was to the store that Ernest bent13 his steps. It was a one-story structure, as were most of the buildings in the village. There was a sign over the door which read:
JOE MARKS,
Groceries and Family Supplies.
Joe stood behind the counter; there were two other men in the store, one tall, gaunt, of the average Western type, with a broad-brimmed soft felt hat on his head and the costume of a hunter; he looked rough, but honest and reliable, that was more than could be said of the other. He may best be described as a tramp, a man who looked averse14 to labor15 of any kind, a man without a settled business or home, who cared less for food than drink, and whose mottled face indicated frequent potations of whisky.
Ernest looked at this man as he entered. He didn’t remember to have met him before, nor was there anything to attract him in his appearance.
“How are you, Ernest?” said Joe Marks cordially. “How’s Uncle Peter?”
“He’s pretty bad, Joe. He thinks he’s going to die.”
“Not so bad as that, surely?”
“Yes, I guess he’s right. He’s very weak.”
“Well, he’s a good age. How old is he?”
“I don’t know. He never told me.”
“He’s well on to seventy, I’m thinking. But what can I do for you?”
“You may fill this bottle; Uncle Peter is weak, he thinks it will put new life in him.” 8
“So it will, Ernest; there’s nothing like good whisky to make an old man strong, or a young man, for that matter.”
It is easy to see that Joe did not believe in total abstinence.
“I don’t drink myself!” said Ernest, replying to the last part of Joe’s remark.
“You’ve drunk your share, I’m thinking,” said Luke Robbins, the tall hunter.
“Not yet,” returned the tramp. “I haven’t had my share yet. There’s lots of people that has drunk more’n me.”
“Why haven’t you drunk your share? You hadn’t no objections, I reckon?”
“I hadn’t the money,” said the tramp sadly. “I’ve never had much money. I ain’t lucky.”
“If you had more money, you might not be living now. You’d have drunk yourself to death.”
“If I ever do commit suicide, that’s the way I’d like to die,” said the tramp.
Joe filled the bottle from a keg behind the counter and handed it to Ernest. The aroma17 of the whisky was diffused18 about the store, and the tramp sniffed19 it eagerly. It stimulated20 his desire to indulge his craving21 for drink. As Ernest, with the bottle in his hand, prepared to leave, the tramp addressed him.
“Say, young feller, ain’t you goin’ to shout?”
“What do you mean?”
“Ain’t you goin’ to treat me and this gentleman?” indicating Luke Robbins.
“No,” answered Ernest shortly. “I don’t buy it as drink, but as medicine.”
“I need medicine,” urged the tramp, with a smile.
“I don’t,” said the hunter. “Don’t you bother about us, my boy. If we want whisky we can buy it ourselves.”
“I can’t,” whined22 the tramp. “If I had as much money as you”—for he had noticed that Ernest had 9 changed a gold piece—“I’d be happy, but I’m out of luck.”
Ernest paid no attention to his words, but left the store and struck the path homeward.
“What’s that boy?” asked the tramp.
“It’s Ernest Ray.”
“Where’d he get that gold?”
“He lives with his uncle, a mile from the village.”
“Is his uncle rich?”
“Is he goin’ to die?”
“That’s what the boy says.”
“And the boy’ll get all his money?”
“It’s likely.”
Joe and Luke Robbins laughed.
“You’d make a pretty guardian,” said Luke.
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1
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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2
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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3
aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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4
prematurely
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| adv.过早地，贸然地 | |
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5
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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6
manliness
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| 刚毅 | |
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7
muster
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| v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册 | |
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8
frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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9
invalid
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| n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的 | |
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10
posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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11
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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12
scattering
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| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
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13
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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14
averse
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| adj.厌恶的；反对的，不乐意的 | |
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15
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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16
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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17
aroma
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| n.香气，芬芳，芳香 | |
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18
diffused
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| 散布的，普及的，扩散的 | |
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19
sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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20
stimulated
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| a.刺激的 | |
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21
craving
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| n.渴望,热望 | |
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22
whined
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| v.哀号( whine的过去式和过去分词 )；哀诉，诉怨 | |
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23
miser
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| n.守财奴，吝啬鬼 (adj.miserly) | |
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guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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