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首页 » 儿童英文小说 » Adventures of a Telegraph Boy or 'Number 91' » CHAPTER XVII. A QUEER COMPACT.
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CHAPTER XVII. A QUEER COMPACT.
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 James Barclay was very much in earnest in wishing to find his father’s new habitation, for he was convinced that the old man possessed1 a moderate fortune, and he felt that, sooner or later, it would come to him. If in any way he could persuade old Jerry to put it in his hands now, he would be handsomely provided for.
He was not to see Paul until the next morning. He secured lodgings2 at a low hotel on the Bowery, where twenty five cents per night was charged. The accommodation corresponded with the price, but Barclay, fresh from Sing Sing, was not inclined to be fastidious, and congratulated himself that again he was a free man.
He was not unmindful of his business, but was on the lookout3 for a chance to exchange his counterfeit4 bills for good ones.
He strolled into a drinking saloon, and called for a drink. By his side a man, from the country, apparently5, was just paying for a glass of whisky, and in so doing displayed a wallet filled with bills. Barclay felt interested in him at once.
“My friend,” he said, “won’t you drink with me? I hate to drink alone.”
“You’re very polite, stranger, but I—hic—I guess I’m about full.”
“O, you can stand another glass, I am sure.”
“Well, I don’t mind,” hiccoughed the countryman. “You’re a—gen—gentleman.”
[97]
“So are you,” said Barclay, with a wink6 at the barkeeper. “What’ll you have?”
The countryman expressed a wish for whisky straight, and was served with a glass.
Then the two sat down, and engaged in conversation. It was evident from the thick utterance7 of the gentleman of the rural districts, that he was no longer master of himself.
“By the way,” said Barclay, carelessly, “will you do me a favor?”
“I can’t lend you any money,” answered the other, with a remnant of prudence8. “I promised my wife I wouldn’t.”
“O, I don’t want a loan,” said Barclay. “Bless you, I’ve got money enough. But I see you’ve got a number of bills. Couldn’t you change a ten for me?”
The countryman saw no harm in this, and counted out ten dollars in small bills, for which he accepted a nice crisp ten dollar bill, which looked handsome, but, as we know, was not worth the paper it was printed upon.
“Won’t you take another drink in acknowledgment of the favor?” asked Barclay. “It has saved my going to the bank.”
The countryman was already so dizzy, that he had the good sense to refuse, after trying to balance himself on his feet without success.
“Then I’ll bid you good day,” said Barclay, who, for obvious reasons, desired now to terminate the acquaintance.
“Goo’ day,” said the other, in a husky voice.
“That was very well done!” soliloquized Barclay, as he counted the good money and put it by itself in an upper vest pocket. “The fellow’s so drunk that he’ll never know where he got the bad tenner. That’ll do for one day’s work.”
The next morning, a little before the time agreed[98] upon with Paul, he was crossing the City Hall Park, when he unexpectedly met the telegraph boy.
“Good morning, Number 91,” he said. “I was just coming up to the office to look for you.”
“Then you are saved the trouble.”
“Yes; and now what word from my father? Where can I find him?”
“He does not seem willing to see you,” answered Paul.
James Barclay frowned angrily.
“I believe you’re doing this, you young rascal9, keeping me and the old man apart, so you can get hold of his money yourself.”
“You are welcome to think what you like, Mr. Barclay,” said Paul, with spirit. “Good morning!”
“Curse the kid!” muttered Barclay, following the telegraph boy with a vindictive10 glance.
“That’s what I say, too, boss!”
Barclay turned quickly, and found the speaker to be a bootblack, a boy about Paul’s size. It was Tom Rafferty, a boy introduced in the first chapter, with whose attempted imposition upon a smaller boy in the same line of business Paul had forcibly interfered11.
“So you know the kid?” he said, inquiringly.
“I’d ought to,” answered Tom. “Shine yer boots, boss?”
“Yes, I’ll have a shine,” answered Barclay, thinking he might make this boy of service.
“So you don’t like Number 91?”
“No, I don’t,” was the emphatic12 reply.
“What’s the matter with him?”
“He thinks himself above me, jest because he is a telegraph boy, and I am a bootblack.”
“Have you known him long?”
“Ever since he was so high,” said Tom, indicating the height of a boy of six.
[99]
“Do you know the old man he lives with?”
“Know old Jerry? Of course I do. Used to live in the same house, when dad was livin’.”
“So the boy has always lived with him?”
“Ever since I knowed him.”
“Humph! Where do they live now?”
“Round in Pearl Street.”
“No, they don’t. They’ve moved.”
“I didn’t know it. Must ’ave moved lately.”
“Yes, it was. Now, boy—what’s your name?”
“Tom Rafferty.”
“Then, Tom, would you like a job?”
“Wouldn’t I!”
“I want to find out where the boy and the old man live. I’ve got some business with the old man, but he don’t want to see me.”
“Wouldn’t Paul tell you?”
“No.”
“What’s it worth, boss?” asked Tom, with an eye to business.
“It depends on how soon you can find out. How can you find out?”
“I’ll foller Paul when he goes home from the office.”
“That’ll do. Do you think you can find out for me tonight, so as to let me know tomorrow morning?”
“I reckon I can, boss.”
“Meet me here tomorrow morning, and tell me where they live, and I’ll give you a dollar.”
Tom had not been expecting more than a quarter, and was very well pleased with Barclay’s liberality.
“I’ll do it, boss!” he said, striking the box, to indicate that the shine was completed. Apart from the money that was promised him, he was glad to thwart13 Paul, who didn’t want his customer to ascertain14 the address.
[100]
“I’ll meet you here about nine o’clock, and have another shine,” said Barclay, as he slipped ten cents—double pay—into Tom’s hand.
“You’ll find me on hand, and right side up with care,” said Tom. “You’re a gentleman I like to fall in with.”
James Barclay walked away, well pleased with the arrangement he had made.
“There’s more’n one way of finding out what you want to know,” he soliloquized. “The old man ain’t sharp, or else he thinks I ain’t. I’ll give him a call when that troublesome telegraph boy is about his business. Me and the old man will have considerable business to discuss. He’s going to give me a share of his money, or I’ll shake the life out of him. It ain’t pleasant to discipline your dad, but when he don’t treat you like he ought, it’s the only way.”
Tom Rafferty, towards the close of the afternoon, loitered in the neighborhood of the telegraph office where Paul was employed. When Number 91 left the office and betook himself homeward, he did not notice that he was followed at the distance of a few rods by Tom Rafferty.
But such was the case.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 possessed xuyyQ     
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的
参考例句:
  • He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
  • He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。
2 lodgings f12f6c99e9a4f01e5e08b1197f095e6e     
n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍
参考例句:
  • When he reached his lodgings the sun had set. 他到达公寓房间时,太阳已下山了。
  • I'm on the hunt for lodgings. 我正在寻找住所。
3 lookout w0sxT     
n.注意,前途,瞭望台
参考例句:
  • You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
  • It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来,公司的前景可就不妙了。
4 counterfeit 1oEz8     
vt.伪造,仿造;adj.伪造的,假冒的
参考例句:
  • It is a crime to counterfeit money.伪造货币是犯罪行为。
  • The painting looked old but was a recent counterfeit.这幅画看上去年代久远,实际是最近的一幅赝品。
5 apparently tMmyQ     
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎
参考例句:
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
6 wink 4MGz3     
n.眨眼,使眼色,瞬间;v.眨眼,使眼色,闪烁
参考例句:
  • He tipped me the wink not to buy at that price.他眨眼暗示我按那个价格就不要买。
  • The satellite disappeared in a wink.瞬息之间,那颗卫星就消失了。
7 utterance dKczL     
n.用言语表达,话语,言语
参考例句:
  • This utterance of his was greeted with bursts of uproarious laughter.他的讲话引起阵阵哄然大笑。
  • My voice cleaves to my throat,and sob chokes my utterance.我的噪子哽咽,泣不成声。
8 prudence 9isyI     
n.谨慎,精明,节俭
参考例句:
  • A lack of prudence may lead to financial problems.不够谨慎可能会导致财政上出现问题。
  • The happy impute all their success to prudence or merit.幸运者都把他们的成功归因于谨慎或功德。
9 rascal mAIzd     
n.流氓;不诚实的人
参考例句:
  • If he had done otherwise,I should have thought him a rascal.如果他不这样做,我就认为他是个恶棍。
  • The rascal was frightened into holding his tongue.这坏蛋吓得不敢往下说了。
10 vindictive FL3zG     
adj.有报仇心的,怀恨的,惩罚的
参考例句:
  • I have no vindictive feelings about it.我对此没有恶意。
  • The vindictive little girl tore up her sister's papers.那个充满报复心的小女孩撕破了她姐姐的作业。
11 interfered 71b7e795becf1adbddfab2cd6c5f0cff     
v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 );调停;妨碍;干涉
参考例句:
  • Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 emphatic 0P1zA     
adj.强调的,着重的;无可置疑的,明显的
参考例句:
  • Their reply was too emphatic for anyone to doubt them.他们的回答很坚决,不容有任何人怀疑。
  • He was emphatic about the importance of being punctual.他强调严守时间的重要性。
13 thwart wIRzZ     
v.阻挠,妨碍,反对;adj.横(断的)
参考例句:
  • We must thwart his malevolent schemes.我们决不能让他的恶毒阴谋得逞。
  • I don't think that will thwart our purposes.我认为那不会使我们的目的受到挫折。
14 ascertain WNVyN     
vt.发现,确定,查明,弄清
参考例句:
  • It's difficult to ascertain the coal deposits.煤储量很难探明。
  • We must ascertain the responsibility in light of different situtations.我们必须根据不同情况判定责任。


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