But how? To what should he turn? He began to consider his resources. First and most available was money. He emptied his pockets, and took account of his worldly wealth. It amounted to one dollar and sixty-five cents, all told.
[76]
“That isn’t much,” thought Gerald. “I shall have to go to work without delay.”
He prepared supper as usual, but had small heart to sit down to it alone. Little as he liked Bradley Wentworth he would have been glad to have his company till he could endure the thought of solitude6. But he was not destined7 to eat by himself. Going to the door of the cabin just as his simple preparations were made, he caught sight of an approaching figure. It was that of a stranger, a strong, robust8 man of little more than thirty, with a florid face and dressed like an English tourist.
“Hallo, there!” called out the stranger, as he caught sight of Gerald.
“Hallo!” responded Gerald.
“Is there any hotel round here?”
“Not that I know of, sir.”
“As I feared. I’ve been wandering round this confounded country till I’ve got lost. It’s a beastly wilderness9, that’s what it is.”
Gerald smiled. His experience of men was limited, and he had never met a British tourist before.
“May I sit down awhile?” went on the newcomer.
There was a long seat built against the cabin, with the wall of the latter for a back.
[77]
“Certainly, sir. I shall be glad of company.”
“Do you live here?”
“Yes, sir. I have lived here for three years.”
“I should think you’d commit suicide, I should, upon my word. Does no one live with you?”
“Not now,” answered Gerald gravely. “My father died two days since.”
“Oh, I beg your pardon, I do indeed,” said the Englishman in a tone of sympathy. “It wasn’t an accident, was it?”
“No, he had long been sick of consumption. I was feeling very lonely, for he was only buried to-day.”
“No; on the contrary I am glad to have company. I was about to sit down to supper. If agreeable I shall be pleased to have you join me.”
“Supper!” repeated the tourist with sudden animation11. “It is the one thing I have been longing12 for. I haven’t eaten a particle of food since morning, and didn’t know where to find any, though my pocket is full of money.”
“I can’t offer you anything very inviting,” said Gerald, as he led the way into the cabin. “I have some fish and potatoes, bread and coffee, but I have neither milk nor butter.”
[78]
“Don’t apologize, my young friend,” interposed the Englishman. “It is a feast fit for the gods. I have an appetite that will make anything palatable13. But where do you get your bread? There can’t be any bakers’ shops in this wilderness.”
“There are not. I make my own bread.”
“You don’t say so! And upon my word it is delicious.”
“It is fortunate that you are hungry,” said Gerald with a smile.
“No, ’pon honor, it isn’t that. It is really better than I often eat at hotels. You really have talent as a cook.”
“I don’t think so. I don’t care for cooking, but have taken it up from necessity.”
The tourist hadn’t exaggerated his appetite. He ate so heartily14 that when the meal was concluded there wasn’t a crumb15 left. All the dishes were empty.
“I ought to apologize for my appetite,” he said, “but I have been rambling16 about ever since breakfast, and I find the air here very stimulating17.”
“Now, if I were only sure of a bed, I should feel quite easy in mind.”
[79]
“I will gladly offer you a bed. This is the first night that I should have been alone, and the solitude depressed19 me.”
“I will accept your kind offer thankfully. But you ought to know whom you are obliging.”
The stranger drew from his pocket a card on which Gerald read the name:
The Hon. Noel Brooke.
“I should be glad to give you my card, Mr. Brooke,” said Gerald, “but here in this wilderness cards are not customary. My name is Gerald Lane.”
“I am delighted to know you, Mr. Lane,” said the tourist offering his hand cordially.
It seemed odd to Gerald to be called “Mr. Lane.”
“If you don’t mind, Mr. Brooke,” he said, “please call me Gerald. I never thought of myself as Mr. Lane.”
“I will do so with pleasure, and it will seem easy and familiar, for I have a Cousin Gerald. His name, too, is not unlike yours. He is Lord Gerald Vane, son of the Marquis of Dunbar.”
“There is one essential difference,” said Gerald.[80] “I am plain Gerald—I can’t call myself a lord.”
“Oh, you are all sovereigns in America,” laughed the Englishman, “and that is higher than the title of lord.”
“Perhaps you are a lord also?” suggested Gerald.
“No, Gerald, not at present. My father has a title, but my elder brother will inherit that. However, that is of little importance here.”
“Have you been long in Colorado, Mr. Brooke?”
“About a month. I was told it was the Switzerland of America. So after visiting your principal cities and having seen your famous Niagara, I pushed on out here, but I didn’t reckon on there being no hotels, or I might have stayed away.”
“There will be plenty of hotels in a few years. There are few settlements as yet.”
“Just so. Excuse my saying so, but until that time comes I should rather keep away. And you have actually lived here for three years?”
“Yes.”
“But why come here when there are plenty of places where you would have enjoyed greater advantages?”
“We came here on account of my father’s[81] health. He was in a consumption, and the dry, clear air of this region is especially favorable for any lung troubles.”
“Did he experience benefit?”
“Yes; he lived three years, when elsewhere he would probably have died in twelve months.”
“But now you won’t stay here? You haven’t got consumption.”
“Not that I am aware of,” answered Gerald with a smile.
“Have you formed any plans?”
“No; I have not had time.”
“You ought to go to New York or Chicago. There would surely be an opening in one of those cities for a clever boy like yourself.”
“Thank you for the compliment. There is one good reason, however, why I cannot follow your advice.”
“Name it.”
“Money is necessary, and my poor father was unable to leave me any.”
“But this cabin?”
“That indeed belongs to me and the eighty acres adjoining, but it would be difficult to sell it, nor do I care to do so. Some day, when the country is more settled, it may be worth much more than at present.”
[82]
“You are right, Gerald. But you are not obliged to remain here. The cabin and the land won’t run away.”
“That’s true. I mean to leave it and go somewhere, but my plans are not formed yet.”
“Then let me help you form them. I want to make a prolonged tour in this country, and I find it beastly dull without a companion. Come with me!”
“But, Mr. Brooke, I am poor. I have less than two dollars in my possession.”
“My dear fellow, what difference does that make?”
“But I can’t travel without money.”
“I offer you a position as my—private secretary, with a salary of—I say now, I don’t know how much to pay you. We’ll call it four pounds a week, twenty dollars in your money, if that is satisfactory.”
“But, Mr. Brooke,” exclaimed Gerald in astonishment20. “I don’t understand the duties of a private secretary, and I can’t possibly be worth that money.”
“You won’t find your duties difficult. I call you my secretary, but you’ll only have to keep me company.”
“I will do that with pleasure, Mr. Brooke.”
[83]
“Then it’s all settled, Gerald. Your hand upon it!”
The two clasped hands, and Gerald felt that this new friend would be a good offset21 for his powerful enemy.
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收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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2
intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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3
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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4
dependence
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| n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属 | |
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redeem
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| v.买回，赎回，挽回，恢复，履行（诺言等） | |
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6
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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7
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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8
robust
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| adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的 | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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10
intrude
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| vi.闯入；侵入；打扰，侵扰 | |
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11
animation
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| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
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12
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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13
palatable
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| adj.可口的，美味的；惬意的 | |
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14
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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15
crumb
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| n.饼屑，面包屑，小量 | |
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16
rambling
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| adj.[建]凌乱的，杂乱的 | |
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17
stimulating
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| adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的 | |
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18
relished
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| v.欣赏( relish的过去式和过去分词 )；从…获得乐趣；渴望 | |
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19
depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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21
offset
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| n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿 | |
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