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首页 » 儿童英文小说 » Adrift in New York » CHAPTER XXVIII. FLORENCE RECEIVES A LETTER.
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CHAPTER XXVIII. FLORENCE RECEIVES A LETTER.
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 The discovery, through Tim Bolton, that Curtis Waring had a hand in the disappearance1 of Dodger2, partially3 relieved the anxiety of Florence—but only partially.
 
He might be detained in captivity4, but even that was far better than an accident to life or limb.
 
She knew that he would try to get word to her at the earliest opportunity, in order to relieve her fears.
 
But week after week passed, and no tidings came.
 
At length, at the end of ten weeks, a note came to her, written on a rough sheet of paper, the envelope marked by a foreign stamp.
 
It ran thus:
 
“Dear Florence:—I am sure you have worried over my disappearance. Perhaps you thought I was dead, but I was never better in my life. I am on the ship Columbia, bound for San Francisco, around Cape5 Horn; and just now, as one of the officers tells me, we are off the coast of Brazil.
 
“There is a ship coming north, and we are going to hail her and give her letters to carry home, so I hope these few lines will reach you all right. I suppose I am in for it, and must keep on to San Francisco. But I haven’t told you yet how I came here.
 
“It was through a trick of your cousin, Curtis Waring. I haven’t time to tell you about it; but I was drugged and brought aboard in my sleep; when I woke up I was forty miles at sea.
 
“Don’t worry about me, for I have a good friend on board, Mr. Randolph Leslie, who has been a reporter on one of the New York daily papers. He advises me to get something to do in San Francisco, and work till I have earned money enough to get home. He says I can do better there, where I am not known, and can get higher pay. He is giving me lessons every day, and he says I am learning fast.
 
“The ship is almost here, and I must stop. Take good care of yourself, and remember me to Mrs. O’Keefe, and I will write you again as soon as I get to San Francisco.
 
“Dodger.
 
“P. S.—Don’t let on to Curtis that you have heard from me, or he might try to play me some trick in San Francisco.”
 
Florence’s face was radiant when she had read the letter.
 
Dodger was alive, well, and in good spirits. The letter arrived during the afternoon, and she put on her street dress at once and went over to the apple-stand and read the letter to Mrs. O’Keefe.
 
“Well, well!” ejaculated the apple-woman. “So it’s that ould thafe of the worruld, Curtis Waring, that has got hold of poor Dodger, just as Tim told us. It seems mighty6 quare to me that he should want to stale poor Dodger. If it was you, now, I could understand it.”
 
“It seems strange to me, Mrs. O’Keefe,” said Florence, thoughtfully. “I thought it might be because Dodger was my friend, but that doesn’t seem to be sufficient explanation. Don’t you think we ought to show this letter to Mr. Bolton?”
 
“I was going to suggest that same. If you’ll give it to me, Florence, I’ll get Mattie to tend my stand, and slip round wid it to Tim’s right off.”
 
“I will go with you, Mrs. O’Keefe.”
 
Mattie, who was playing around the corner, was summoned.
 
“Now, Mattie, just mind the stand, and don’t be runnin’ away, or them boys will get away wid my whole mornin’s profits. Do you hear?”
 
“Yes, mum.”
 
“And don’t you be eatin’ all the while you are here. Here’s one apple you can have,” and the apple-woman carefully picked out one that she considered unsalable.
 
“That’s specked, Mrs. O’Keefe,” objected Mattie.
 
“And what if it is? Can’t you bite out the specks7? The rest of the apple is good. You’re gettin’ mighty particular.”
 
Mattie bit a piece out of the sound part of the apple, and, when Mrs. O’Keefe was at a safe distance, gave the rest to a lame8 bootblack, and picked out one of the best apples for her own eating.
 
“Bridget O’Keefe is awful mane wid her apples!” soliloquized Mattie, “but I’m too smart for her. Tryin’ to pass off one of her old specked apples on me! If I don’t take three good one I’m a sinner.”
 
Arrived at the front of the saloon, Mrs. O’Keefe penetrated9 the interior, and met Tim near the door.
 
“Have you come in for some whiskey, old lady?” asked Tim, in a jesting tone.
 
“I’ll take that by and by. Florence is outside, and we’ve got some news for you.”
 
“Won’t she come in?”
 
“No; she don’t like to be seen in a place like this. She’s got a letter from Dodger.”
 
“You don’t mean it!” ejaculated Tim, with sudden interest. “Where is he?”
 
“Come out and see.”
 
“Good afternoon, Miss Linden,” said Tim, gallantly10. “So you’ve news from Dodger?”
 
“Yes; here is the letter.”
 
Bolton read it through attentively11.
 
“Curtis is smart,” he said, as he handed it back. “He couldn’t have thought of a better plan for getting rid of the boy. It will take several months for him to reach ’Frisco, and after that he can’t get back, for he won’t have any money.”
 
“Dodger says he will try to save money enough to pay his way back.”
 
“It will take him a good while.”
 
“It doesn’t take long to come back by cars, does it?”
 
“No; but it costs a great deal of money. Why, it may take Dodger a year to earn enough to pay his way back on the railroad.”
 
“A year!” exclaimed Florence, in genuine dismay—“a year, in addition to the time it takes to go out there! Where will we all be at the end of that time?”
 
“Not in jail, I hope,” answered Bolton, jocularly. “I am afraid your uncle will no longer be in the land of the living.”
 
A shadow came over Florence’s face.
 
“Poor Uncle John!” she said, sadly. “It is terrible to think he may die thinking hardly of me.”
 
“Leavin’ his whole fortune to Curtis,” continued Tim.
 
“That is the least thing that troubles me,” said Florence.
 
“A woman’s a queer thing,” said Tim, shrugging his shoulders. “Here’s a fortune of maybe half a million, and half of it rightfully yours, and you don’t give it a thought.”
 
“Not compared with the loss of my uncle’s affections.”
 
“Money is a great deal more practical than affection.”
 
“Perhaps so, from your standpoint, Mr. Bolton,” said Florence, with dignity.
 
“No offense12, miss. When you’ve lived as long as I, you’ll look at things different. Well, I’m glad to hear from the lad. If Curtis had done him any harm, I’d have got even with him if it sent me to jail.”
 
A quiet, determined13 look replaced Tim Bolton’s usual expression of easy good humor. He could not have said anything that would have ingratiated him more with Florence.
 
“Thank you, Mr. Bolton,” she said, earnestly. “I shall always count upon your help. I believe you are a true friend of Dodger——”
 
“And of yours, too, miss——”
 
“I believe it,” she said, with a smile that quite captivated Tim.
 
“If it would be any satisfaction to you, Miss Florence,” he continued, “I’ll give Curtis Waring a lickin’. He deserves it for persecutin’ you and gettin’ you turned out of your uncle’s house.”
 
“Thank you, Mr. Bolton; it wouldn’t be any satisfaction to me to see Curtis injured in any way.”
 
“You’re too good a Christian14, you are, Miss Florence.”
 
“I wish I deserved your praise, but I can hardly lay claim to it. Now, Mr. Bolton, tell me what can I do to help Dodger?”
 
“I don’t see that you can do anything now, as it will be most three months before he reaches ’Frisco. You might write to him toward the time he gets there.”
 
“I will.”
 
“Direct to the post office. I think he’ll have sense enough to ask for letters.”
 
“I wish I could send him some money. I am afraid he will land penniless.”
 
“If he lands in good health you can trust him for makin’ a livin’. A New York boy, brought up as he was, isn’t goin’ to starve where there are papers to sell and errands to run. Why, he’ll light on his feet in ’Frisco, take my word for it.”
 
Florence felt a good deal encouraged by Tim’s words of assurance, and she went home with her heart perceptibly lightened.
 
But she was soon to have trials of her own, which for the time being would make her forgetful of Dodger.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 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。
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 partially yL7xm     
adv.部分地,从某些方面讲
参考例句:
  • The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
  • The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静,宵禁部分解除。
4 captivity qrJzv     
n.囚禁;被俘;束缚
参考例句:
  • A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
  • He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。
5 cape ITEy6     
n.海角,岬;披肩,短披风
参考例句:
  • I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
  • She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。
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 specks 6d64faf449275b5ce146fe2c78100fed     
n.眼镜;斑点,微粒,污点( speck的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Minutes later Brown spotted two specks in the ocean. 几分钟后布朗发现海洋中有两个小点。 来自英汉非文学 - 百科语料821
  • Do you ever seem to see specks in front of your eyes? 你眼睛前面曾似乎看见过小点吗? 来自辞典例句
8 lame r9gzj     
adj.跛的,(辩解、论据等)无说服力的
参考例句:
  • The lame man needs a stick when he walks.那跛脚男子走路时需借助拐棍。
  • I don't believe his story.It'sounds a bit lame.我不信他讲的那一套。他的话听起来有些靠不住。
9 penetrated 61c8e5905df30b8828694a7dc4c3a3e0     
adj. 击穿的,鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式
参考例句:
  • The knife had penetrated his chest. 刀子刺入了他的胸膛。
  • They penetrated into territory where no man had ever gone before. 他们已进入先前没人去过的地区。
10 gallantly gallantly     
adv. 漂亮地,勇敢地,献殷勤地
参考例句:
  • He gallantly offered to carry her cases to the car. 他殷勤地要帮她把箱子拎到车子里去。
  • The new fighters behave gallantly under fire. 新战士在炮火下表现得很勇敢。
11 attentively AyQzjz     
adv.聚精会神地;周到地;谛;凝神
参考例句:
  • She listened attentively while I poured out my problems. 我倾吐心中的烦恼时,她一直在注意听。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She listened attentively and set down every word he said. 她专心听着,把他说的话一字不漏地记下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 offense HIvxd     
n.犯规,违法行为;冒犯,得罪
参考例句:
  • I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
  • His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。
13 determined duszmP     
adj.坚定的;有决心的
参考例句:
  • I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
  • He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
14 Christian KVByl     
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒
参考例句:
  • They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
  • His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。


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