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首页 » 儿童英文小说 » Adrift in New York » CHAPTER XIX. AN ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE.
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CHAPTER XIX. AN ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE.
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 While Dodger1 had no discomfort2 to complain of, it occurred to him that Florence would be alarmed by his long absence, for now it seemed certain that he would have to remain overnight.
 
If only he could escape he would take care not to fall into such a trap again.
 
He went to the window and looked out, but the distance to the ground was so great—for the room was on the third floor—that he did not dare to imperil his life by attempting a descent.
 
If there had been a rope at hand he would not have felt afraid to make the attempt.
 
He examined the bed to see if it rested upon cords, but there were slats instead.
 
As has already been said, there were no houses near by.
 
That part of the city had not been much settled, and it was as solitary4 as it is in the outskirts5 of a country village.
 
If he could only reveal his position to some person outside, so as to insure interference, he might yet obtain his freedom.
 
With this thought he tore a blank leaf from one of the books in the room, and hastily penciled the following lines:
 
“I am kept a prisoner in this house. I was induced to come here by a trick. Please get some one to join you, and come and demand my release.”
 
Some weeks before Dodger could not have written so creditable a note, but he had greatly improved since he had been under the influence and instruction of Florence.
 
Dodger now posted himself at the window and waited anxiously for some one to pass, so that he might attract his attention and throw down the paper.
 
He had to wait for fifteen minutes. Then he saw approaching a young man, not far from twenty-one, who looked like a young mechanic, returning from his daily work.
 
Now was Dodger’s opportunity. He put his head out of the window and called out:
 
“Hello, there!”
 
The young man looked and saw him at the window.
 
“What do you want?” he asked.
 
“Catch this paper, and read what there is on it.” He threw down the leaf, which, after fluttering in the gentle evening breeze, found its way to the ground and was picked up.
 
After reading it, the young man looked up and said: “I’ll go around to the door and inquire.”
 
He was as good as his word. He went to the outer door and rang the bell.
 
Julius came to the door.
 
“What’s wanted, boss?” he said.
 
“You’ve got a boy locked up in a room.”
 
“Who told you, boss?”
 
“He threw down a paper to me, telling me he was kept a prisoner.”
 
“What did he say?” asked Julius.
 
The young man read the note aloud.
 
“What have to say to that, you black imp3?” he demanded, sternly.
 
The ready wit of Julius served him in this emergency.
 
“Dat boy is crazy as a loon6, boss!” he answered, readily. “We have to keep him shut up for fear he’ll kill some of us.”
 
“You don’t say!” ejaculated the young mechanic. “He don’t look like it.”
 
“No, he don’t; dat’s a fact, boss. Fact is, dat boy is the artfullest lunytick you ever seed. He tried to kill his mother last week.”
 
“Is that true?”
 
“Dat’s so, boss. And all de while he looks as innocent as a baby. If I was to let him out he’d kill somebody, sure.”
 
“I never would have believed it,” said the young man.
 
“If you want to take the risk, boss, you might go up and see him. I believe he’s got a carvin’-knife about him, but I don’t dare to go up and get it away. It would be as much as this niggah’s life is worth.”
 
“No,” answered the young man, hastily. “I don’t want to see him. I never did like crazy folks. I’m sorry I gave you the trouble to come to the door.”
 
“Oh, no trouble, boss.”
 
“I guess I’ve fixed7 dat boy!” chuckled8 Julius. “Ho, ho! he can’t get ahead of old Julius! Crazy as a loon, ho, ho!”
 
Dodger waited anxiously for the young man to get through his interview. He hoped that he would force his way up to the third floor, draw the bolt, and release him from his imprisonment9.
 
He kept watch at the window, and when the young man reappeared, he looked at him eagerly. “Did you ask them to let me out?” he shouted. The other looked up at him with an odd expression of suspicion and repulsion.
 
“You’re better off where you are,” he said, rather impatiently.
 
“But they have locked me up here.”
 
“And reason enough, too!”
 
“What makes you say that?”
 
“Because you’re crazy as a loon.”
 
“Did the black man say that?” inquired Dodger, indignantly.
 
“Yes, he did—said you tried to kill your mother, and had a carving-knife hidden in the room.”
 
“It’s a lie—an outrageous10 lie!” exclaimed Dodger, his eyes flashing.
 
“Don’t go into one of your tantrums,” said the man, rather alarmed; “it won’t do any good.”
 
“But I want you to understand that I am no more crazy than you are.”
 
“Sho? I know better. Where’s your carving-knife?”
 
“I haven’t got any; I never had any. That negro has been telling you lies. Just go to the door again, and insist on seeing me.”
 
“I wouldn’t dast to. You’d stab me,” said the man, fearfully.
 
“Listen to me!” said Dodger, getting out of patience. “I’m not crazy. I’m a newsboy and baggage-smasher. An old man got me to bring his valise here, and then locked me up. Won’t you go around to the station-house and send a policeman here?”
 
“I’ll see about it,” said the young man, who did not believe a word that Dodger had said to him.
 
“He won’t do it!” said Dodger to himself, in a tone of discouragement. “That miserable11 nigger has made him believe I am a lunatic. I’ll have him up, anyway.”
 
Forthwith he began to pound and kick so forcibly, that Julius came upstairs on a run, half inclined to believe that Dodger had really become insane.
 
“What do you want, boy?” he inquired from outside the door.
 
“I want you to unbolt the door and let me out.”
 
“I couldn’t do it, nohow,” said Julius. “It would be as much as my place is worth.”
 
“I will give you a dollar—five dollars—if you will only let me out. The man who brought me here is a bad man, who is trying to cheat his cousin—a young lady—out of a fortune.”
 
“Don’t know nothin’ ’bout that,” said Julius.
 
“He has no right to keep me here.”
 
“Don’t know nothin’ ’bout that, either. I’m actin’ accordin’ to orders.”
 
“Look here,” said Dodger, bethinking himself of what had just happened. “Did you tell that young man who called here just now that I was crazy?”
 
Julius burst into a loud guffaw12.
 
“I expect I did,” he laughed. “Said you’d got a long carvin’-knife hid in de room.”
 
“What made you lie so?” demanded Dodger, sternly.
 
“Couldn’t get rid of him no other way. Oh, how scared he looked when I told him you tried to kill your mother.”
 
And the negro burst into another hearty13 laugh which exasperated14 Dodger exceedingly.
 
“How long is Mr. Waring going to keep me here? Did he tell you?” Dodger asked, after a pause.
 
“No; he didn’t say.”
 
“When is he coming here again?”
 
“Said he’d come to-morrow most likely.”
 
“Will you bring me a light?”
 
“Couldn’t do it. You’d set the house on fire.”
 
It seemed useless to prolong the conversation.
 
Dodger threw himself on the bed at an early hour, but he did not undress, thinking there might possibly be a chance to escape during the night.
 
But the morning came and found him still a prisoner, but not in the solitary dwelling15.

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1 dodger Ku9z0c     
n.躲避者;躲闪者;广告单
参考例句:
  • They are tax dodgers who hide their interest earnings.他们是隐瞒利息收入的逃税者。
  • Make sure she pays her share she's a bit of a dodger.她自己的一份一定要她付清--她可是有点能赖就赖。
2 discomfort cuvxN     
n.不舒服,不安,难过,困难,不方便
参考例句:
  • One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。
  • She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。
3 imp Qy3yY     
n.顽童
参考例句:
  • What a little imp you are!你这个淘气包!
  • There's a little imp always running with him.他总有一个小鬼跟着。
4 solitary 7FUyx     
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士
参考例句:
  • I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
  • The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际,显得十分壮美。
5 outskirts gmDz7W     
n.郊外,郊区
参考例句:
  • Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
  • They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。
6 loon UkPyS     
n.狂人
参考例句:
  • That guy's a real loon.那个人是个真正的疯子。
  • Everyone thought he was a loon.每个人都骂他神经。
7 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
8 chuckled 8ce1383c838073977a08258a1f3e30f8     
轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
  • She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情,她就轻轻地暗自发笑。
9 imprisonment I9Uxk     
n.关押,监禁,坐牢
参考例句:
  • His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
  • He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。
10 outrageous MvFyH     
adj.无理的,令人不能容忍的
参考例句:
  • Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
  • Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。
11 miserable g18yk     
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的
参考例句:
  • It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他,这是可耻的。
  • Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。
12 guffaw XyUyr     
n.哄笑;突然的大笑
参考例句:
  • All the boys burst out into a guffaw at the joke.听到这个笑话,男孩子们发出一阵哄笑。
  • As they guffawed loudly,the ticket collector arrived.他们正哈哈大笑的时候,检票员到了。
13 hearty Od1zn     
adj.热情友好的;衷心的;尽情的,纵情的
参考例句:
  • After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了,他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
  • We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。
14 exasperated ltAz6H     
adj.恼怒的
参考例句:
  • We were exasperated at his ill behaviour. 我们对他的恶劣行为感到非常恼怒。
  • Constant interruption of his work exasperated him. 对他工作不断的干扰使他恼怒。
15 dwelling auzzQk     
n.住宅,住所,寓所
参考例句:
  • Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
  • He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。


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