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首页 » 儿童英文小说 » Adrift in New York » CHAPTER XXV. FINDING THE CLEW.
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CHAPTER XXV. FINDING THE CLEW.
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 Tim Bolton looked at Florence in undisguised astonishment1.
 
Dodger2!” he repeated. “How should I know? I supposed that you had lured3 him away from me.”
 
“He didn’t like the business you were in. He preferred to make a living in some other way.”
 
“Then why do you ask me where he is?”
 
“Because he did not come home last night. Shure he rooms at my house,” put in Mrs. O’Keefe, “and he hasn’t showed up since——”
 
“And you thought I might have got hold of him?” said Bolton, inquiringly.
 
“Then you are mistaken. I haven’t seen the boy for weeks.”
 
Tim Bolton spoke4 so straightforwardly5 that there was no chance to doubt his word.
 
“When he was living with you, Mr. Bolton,” continued Florence, “did he ever stay away like this?”
 
“No,” answered Bolton. “Dodger was always very regular about comin’ home.”
 
“Then something must have happened to him,” said Florence, anxiously.
 
“He might have got run in,” suggested the apple-woman. “Some of them cops is mighty6 officious.”
 
“Dodger would never do anything to deserve arrest,” Florence said, quickly.
 
“Thrue for you, Florence, but some innersent parties are nabbed. I know of one young man who was standin’ on a strate corner waitin’ for the cars, when a cop came up and arristed him for disorderly conduct.”
 
“But that is shameful7!” said Florence, indignantly.
 
“Thrue for you, my dear. We might go round to the police headquarters and inquire if the boy’s been run in.”
 
“What do you think, Mr. Bolton?” asked Florence.
 
Tim Bolton seemed busy thinking. Finally he brought down his hand forcibly on the bar, and said: “I begin to see through it.”
 
Florence did not speak, but she fixed8 an eager look of inquiry9 on the face of the saloon-keeper.
 
“I believe Curtis Waring is at the bottom of this,” he said.
 
“My cousin!” exclaimed Florence, in astonishment.
 
“Yes, your cousin, Miss Linden.”
 
“But what can he have against poor Dodger! Is it because the boy has taken my part and is a friend to me?”
 
“He wouldn’t like him any better on account of hat; but he has another and a more powerful reason.”
 
“Would you mind telling me what it is? I cannot conceive what it can be.”
 
“At present,” answered Bolton, cautiously, “I prefer to say nothing on the subject. I will only say the boy’s disappearance10 interferes11 with my plans, and I will see if I can’t find out what has become of him.”
 
“If you only will, Mr. Bolton, I shall be so grateful. I am afraid I have misjudged you. I thought you were an enemy of Dodger’s.”
 
“Then you were mistaken. I have had the boy with me since he was a kid, and though I’ve been rough with him at times, maybe, I like him, and I may some time have a chance to show him that old Tim Bolton is one of his best friends.”
 
“I will believe it now, Mr. Bolton,” said Florence, impulsively12, holding out her hand to the burly saloon-keeper.
 
He was surprised, but it was evident that he was pleased, also, and he took the little hand respectfully in his own ample palm, and pressed it in a friendly manner.
 
“There’s one thing more I want you to believe, Miss Linden,” he said, “and that is, that I am your friend, also.”
 
“Thank you, Mr. Bolton. And now let us all work together to find Dodger.”
 
“You can count on me, Miss Linden. If you’ll tell me where you live I’ll send or bring you any news I may hear.”
 
“I live with Mrs. O’Keefe, my good friend, here.”
 
“I haven’t my kyard with me, Tim,” said the apple-woman, “but I’ll give you my strate and number. You know my place of business?”
 
“Yes.”
 
“If you come to me there I’ll let Florence know whatever you tell me. She is not always at home.”
 
The two went away relieved in mind, for, helpless and bewildered as they were, they felt that Tim Bolton would make a valuable ally.
 
When they had gone Tim turned to Hooker and Briggs, who were lounging at a table, waiting for some generous customer to invite them to the bar.
 
“Boys,” said Tim, “has either of you seen anything of Dodger lately?”
 
“No,” answered the two in unison13.
 
“Have you heard anything of him?”
 
“I heard that he was baggage-smashin’ down by the steamboat landings,” said Hooker.
 
“Go down there, both of you, and see if you can see or hear anything of him.”
 
“All right, Tim.”
 
And the two left the saloon and took a westerly route toward the North River piers15.
 
Three hours later they returned.
 
“Have you heard anything?” asked Bolton. “Did you see Dodger?”
 
“No; we didn’t see him.”
 
“But you heard something?”
 
“Yes; we found a boy, a friend of his, that said the last he saw of Dodger was last evenin’.”
 
“Where did he see him?”
 
“Near the pier14 of the Albany boats.”
 
“What was he doin’?”
 
“Carryin’ a valise for a man.”
 
“What kind of a man? How did he look?”
 
“He had gray hair and gray whiskers.”
 
Tim was puzzled by the description.
 
If, as he suspected, Curtis were concerned in the abduction, this man could not have been he.
 
“The man was a passenger by the Albany boat, I suppose?”
 
“No; that was what looked queer. Before the Albany boat came in the man was lyin’ round with his valise, and the boy thought he was goin’ off somewhere. But when the boat came in he just mixed in with the passengers, and came up to the entrance of the pier. Two boys asked to carry his valise, but he shook his head till Dodger came round, and he engaged him right off.”
 
Tim Bolton nodded knowingly.
 
“It was a plan,” he said. “The man wanted to get hold of Dodger. What puzzles me is, that you said he was an old man.”
 
“His hair and beard were gray.”
 
“And Curtis has no beard, and his hair is black.”
 
“But the boy said he didn’t look like an old man, except the hair. He walked off like a young man.”
 
Tim Bolton’s face lighted up with sudden intelligence.
 
“I’ll bet a hat it was Curtis in disguise,” he soliloquized.
 
“That’s all we could find out, Mr. Bolton,” said Briggs, with another longing16 look at the bar.
 
“It is enough! You have earned your whiskey. Walk up, gentlemen!”
 
Hooker and Briggs needed no second invitation.
 
“Will either of you take a note for me to Mrs. O’Keefe? For another drink, of course.”
 
“I will, Tim,” said Hooker, eagerly.
 
“No; take me, Mr. Bolton,” entreated17 Briggs.
 
“You can both go,” said Tim, generously. “Wait a minute, and I’ll have it ready for you.”
 
He found a half sheet of note paper, and scribbled18 on it this message:
 
“Mrs. O’Keefe:—Tell Miss Linden that I have a clew. I am almost surtin her cozen19 has got away with Dodger. He won’t hurt him, but he will get him out of the city. Wen I hear more I will right.
 
“T. Bolton.”

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 astonishment VvjzR     
n.惊奇,惊异
参考例句:
  • They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
  • I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。
2 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。
3 lured 77df5632bf83c9c64fb09403ae21e649     
吸引,引诱(lure的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • The child was lured into a car but managed to escape. 那小孩被诱骗上了车,但又设法逃掉了。
  • Lured by the lust of gold,the pioneers pushed onward. 开拓者在黄金的诱惑下,继续奋力向前。
4 spoke XryyC     
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:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
5 straightforwardly 01da8677c31671527eecbfe6c13f004f     
adv.正直地
参考例句:
  • He hated her straightforwardly, making no effort to conceal it. 他十分坦率地恨她,从不设法加以掩饰。 来自辞典例句
  • Mardi, which followed hard on its heels, was another matter. Mardi begins straightforwardly. 紧跟着出版的《玛地》,却是另一回事。《玛地》开始时平铺直叙。 来自辞典例句
6 mighty YDWxl     
adj.强有力的;巨大的
参考例句:
  • A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
  • The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。
7 shameful DzzwR     
adj.可耻的,不道德的
参考例句:
  • It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己,真不害臊。
  • We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。
8 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。
9 inquiry nbgzF     
n.打听,询问,调查,查问
参考例句:
  • Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
  • The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。
10 disappearance ouEx5     
n.消失,消散,失踪
参考例句:
  • He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
  • Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。
11 interferes ab8163b252fe52454ada963fa857f890     
vi. 妨碍,冲突,干涉
参考例句:
  • The noise interferes with my work. 这噪音妨碍我的工作。
  • That interferes with my plan. 那干扰了我的计划。
12 impulsively 0596bdde6dedf8c46a693e7e1da5984c     
adv.冲动地
参考例句:
  • She leant forward and kissed him impulsively. 她倾身向前,感情冲动地吻了他。
  • Every good, true, vigorous feeling I had gathered came impulsively round him. 我的一切良好、真诚而又强烈的感情都紧紧围绕着他涌现出来。
13 unison gKCzB     
n.步调一致,行动一致
参考例句:
  • The governments acted in unison to combat terrorism.这些国家的政府一致行动对付恐怖主义。
  • My feelings are in unison with yours.我的感情与你的感情是一致的。
14 pier U22zk     
n.码头;桥墩,桥柱;[建]窗间壁,支柱
参考例句:
  • The pier of the bridge has been so badly damaged that experts worry it is unable to bear weight.这座桥的桥桩破损厉害,专家担心它已不能负重。
  • The ship was making towards the pier.船正驶向码头。
15 piers 97df53049c0dee20e54484371e5e225c     
n.水上平台( pier的名词复数 );(常设有娱乐场所的)突堤;柱子;墙墩
参考例句:
  • Most road bridges have piers rising out of the vally. 很多公路桥的桥墩是从河谷里建造起来的。 来自辞典例句
  • At these piers coasters and landing-craft would be able to discharge at all states of tide. 沿岸航行的海船和登陆艇,不论潮汐如何涨落,都能在这种码头上卸载。 来自辞典例句
16 longing 98bzd     
n.(for)渴望
参考例句:
  • Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
  • His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。
17 entreated 945bd967211682a0f50f01c1ca215de3     
恳求,乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • They entreated and threatened, but all this seemed of no avail. 他们时而恳求,时而威胁,但这一切看来都没有用。
  • 'One word,' the Doctor entreated. 'Will you tell me who denounced him?' “还有一个问题,”医生请求道,“你可否告诉我是谁告发他的?” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
18 scribbled de374a2e21876e209006cd3e9a90c01b     
v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 );乱画;草草地写;匆匆记下
参考例句:
  • She scribbled his phone number on a scrap of paper. 她把他的电话号码匆匆写在一张小纸片上。
  • He scribbled a note to his sister before leaving. 临行前,他给妹妹草草写了一封短信。
19 cozen dz2x1     
v.欺骗,哄骗
参考例句:
  • A clever lawyer can cozen the prisoner into an admission of guilt.一个聪明的律师能施小计诱使囚犯承认有罪。
  • Call me cousin,but cozen me not.与我攀亲可以,但欺骗我可不行。


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