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首页 » 儿童英文小说 » Andy Gordon The Fortunes of A Young Janitor » CHAPTER XXXIV. WHAT MR. DODGE DID IN JEFFERSON.
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CHAPTER XXXIV. WHAT MR. DODGE DID IN JEFFERSON.
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 Andy had no previous intimation that he would be called upon to drive Mr. Dodge1 over to Jefferson, but he was very glad to do so.
When they were fairly started, Mr. Dodge said:
“Henry, probably Mr. and Mrs. Brackett will cross-examine you on our return, to learn where I went and what I did. They are very curious on that subject—so much so that Mr. Brackett offered to drive me over himself.”
“I won’t tell them,” said Andy, very promptly2.
“You might find it a little awkward to refuse,” said the old man, “and for this reason I will not tell you precisely3.”{201}
“That will be the best way,” answered Andy, who was not troubled by idle curiosity.
“I will only say that the business I have to do will help prepare the way for our departure.”
“I am glad of that, sir, for I don’t much enjoy being in Mr. Brackett’s employment.”
“It will soon be over, Henry, and I will take care that you lose nothing by what you are doing in my behalf.”
“I don’t want to be paid for that, Uncle Simon.”
“Have you heard from your mother since you came here?”
“No, sir; I have not dared to write, for fear the letter might be seen by Mr. Brackett or his wife.”
“You shall have an opportunity of writing from Jefferson. We will drive directly to the hotel and put up our team. You can write your letter in the hotel while I am out attending to my business.”
Andy was very glad of this permission, for he knew that his mother would feel anxious till she had heard of his safe arrival.
When the team was disposed of, Andy entered the hotel office.
Jefferson was the shire town of the county, and was therefore at times the resort of a considerable number of visitors. For this reason it required and possessed4 a very commodious5 hotel.{202}
At the desk Andy saw a pleasant-looking boy of about his own age, whose name, as he afterward6 learned, was George Tierney. The boy looked social and friendly, and he addressed him.
“Can you let me have a sheet of paper and an envelope?” he asked.
“Certainly,” said George, briskly. “Do you want to write a letter?”
“Yes, I should like to do so.”
“You will find a table and ink in there,” said George, pointing to a small room leading from the office. “Of course you will want a postage stamp.”
“Yes, I would like one.”
George produced one, and Andy paid for it. Then our hero, who had thought of a plan for carrying on a correspondence with his mother, asked:
“Would you be willing to do me a favor?”
“Of course I would,” said George, pleasantly—“that is, unless you want to borrow a thousand dollars,” he added, with a laugh. “I could not oblige you there.”
“It isn’t anything of that kind. I want to know if I may have a letter directed to me in your care?”
“Of course; but why don’t you have it sent to where you live?”
“There is an objection which I can’t mention just now.”
“Where do you live?”{203}
“Over at Cato. I am working for Mr. Brackett, a farmer.”
George whistled.
“I thought so when I saw you with Mr. Dodge,” he said. “I worked there once myself.”
“You did? How long did you stay?” inquired Andy, with interest.
“I stood it a week,” laughed George, “and then left. I came here, where I have an excellent place. Mr. Jones, the landlord, treats me tiptop.”
“I should think you’d like it a good deal better.”
“Can’t you get a better place?” asked George, in a tone of sympathy.
“I am willing to stay for the present,” said Andy. “Mr. Dodge is kind to me.”
“Yes, he is a kind man. If Brackett had been as good, I would have stayed longer, though I only got fifty cents a week. Did you ever hear of such mean pay?”
“That’s what I get myself,” answered Andy.
“You won’t get rich on it very soon.”
“No, I don’t expect to.”
Andy went into the adjoining room and wrote his letter. He had finished it, and given it to George Tierney to mail, when Mr. Dodge returned.
Though the old gentleman did not mention the nature of the business in which he had been{204} engaged, we may state that he had been to the office of the lawyer with whom he had for years been on friendly and confidential7 terms, and there executed a will, which gave his entire property, invested in stocks and bonds, to his niece, Mrs. Gordon, in trust for Andy, to become the property of our hero when he should have attained8 his majority. He named the lawyer as his executor.
“There,” he said, when the document was duly signed and attested9, “that takes a burden from my mind.”
“What would the Bracketts say if they knew what you have done this day?” said the lawyer, smiling; for between him and his client there were no secrets.
“They have no right to feel disappointed,” said the old man, “for I have acted very generously by them. I gave them half of all I had, and I didn’t wait till my death to do it.”
“You have dealt a good deal more generously by them than I would have done,” said the lawyer, emphatically.
“If it were to do over again, I would act differently; but what is done can’t be undone10. Perhaps it is all for the best.”
On the way home Mr. Dodge seemed to be in unusually good spirits. As he had said to the lawyer, he felt that a burden had been lifted from his mind. He had made his will and provided that his property should go where he{205} wished it to go, and felt no further anxiety on that point.
But if he felt no anxiety, Mr. and Mrs. Brackett did.
They felt that something was in the wind. Mr. Dodge must have some object in going to Jefferson and refusing the company of his son-in-law, and even of dear Tommy.
They waited impatiently for the return of the team, and were on the alert when it drove into the yard.
“Did you have a pleasant ride, father?” asked Brackett.
“Yes, Jeremiah, thank you.”
“Did you attend to all your business, or will you want the horse another day?”
“I didn’t say I went on business,” said the old man, shrewdly. “I may want the horse another day. Here is your money, Jeremiah.”
Mr. Brackett extended his hand with alacrity11, and took the proffered12 two dollars and a half, which he put in his pocket.
“You can have it any time, father,” he said. “I’m always ready to oblige you.”
Mr. Dodge went into the house, leaving Andy in the hands of his son-in-law.
“Did father call round much over in Jefferson, Henry?” asked Mr. Brackett, with an assumption of careless indifference13.
“No, sir,” answered Andy, demurely14.
“Where did he go?” pursued Brackett, in{206} the same tone, but with an expression of restrained eagerness.
“He drove right to the hotel,” answered Andy.
“Yes, but after that?”
“He put up the horse there, and left me there.”
“He did!” ejaculated Brackett, disappointed.
“Yes.”
“Did he leave the hotel?”
“Yes, but he didn’t tell me where he went.”
Brackett looked hard at Andy, to see if he were keeping anything back, but our hero’s manner was perfectly15 honest and sincere, and he was forced to conclude that the boy knew nothing more than himself of Mr. Dodge’s errand.
“I didn’t think father was so sharp,” said Brackett to his wife. “He wouldn’t let the boy know where he went.”
But Mr. Brackett had his curiosity satisfied, after all. One of his neighbors had been over to Jefferson the same afternoon, and reported to the farmer that he had seen Mr. Dodge coming out of the office of Mr. Brief, the lawyer.
“What was he doing there?” thought Brackett, perplexed16. “Did he make a will? That’s what I would like to know.”
But that was a question more easily asked than answered.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 dodge q83yo     
v.闪开,躲开,避开;n.妙计,诡计
参考例句:
  • A dodge behind a tree kept her from being run over.她向树后一闪,才没被车从身上辗过。
  • The dodge was coopered by the police.诡计被警察粉碎了。
2 promptly LRMxm     
adv.及时地,敏捷地
参考例句:
  • He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
  • She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。
3 precisely zlWzUb     
adv.恰好,正好,精确地,细致地
参考例句:
  • It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
  • The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。
4 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。
5 commodious aXCyr     
adj.宽敞的;使用方便的
参考例句:
  • It was a commodious and a diverting life.这是一种自由自在,令人赏心悦目的生活。
  • Their habitation was not merely respectable and commodious,but even dignified and imposing.他们的居所既宽敞舒适又尊严气派。
6 afterward fK6y3     
adv.后来;以后
参考例句:
  • Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏,然后吃饭。
  • Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来,这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。
7 confidential MOKzA     
adj.秘(机)密的,表示信任的,担任机密工作的
参考例句:
  • He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
  • We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。
8 attained 1f2c1bee274e81555decf78fe9b16b2f     
(通常经过努力)实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 ); 达到; 获得; 达到(某年龄、水平、状况)
参考例句:
  • She has attained the degree of Master of Arts. 她已获得文学硕士学位。
  • Lu Hsun attained a high position in the republic of letters. 鲁迅在文坛上获得崇高的地位。
9 attested a6c260ba7c9f18594cd0fcba208eb342     
adj.经检验证明无病的,经检验证明无菌的v.证明( attest的过去式和过去分词 );证实;声称…属实;使宣誓
参考例句:
  • The handwriting expert attested to the genuineness of the signature. 笔迹专家作证该签名无讹。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Witnesses attested his account. 几名证人都证实了他的陈述是真实的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 undone JfJz6l     
a.未做完的,未完成的
参考例句:
  • He left nothing undone that needed attention.所有需要注意的事他都注意到了。
11 alacrity MfFyL     
n.敏捷,轻快,乐意
参考例句:
  • Although the man was very old,he still moved with alacrity.他虽然很老,动作仍很敏捷。
  • He accepted my invitation with alacrity.他欣然接受我的邀请。
12 proffered 30a424e11e8c2d520c7372bd6415ad07     
v.提供,贡献,提出( proffer的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She proffered her cheek to kiss. 她伸过自己的面颊让人亲吻。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He rose and proffered a silver box full of cigarettes. 他站起身,伸手递过一个装满香烟的银盒子。 来自辞典例句
13 indifference k8DxO     
n.不感兴趣,不关心,冷淡,不在乎
参考例句:
  • I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
  • He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。
14 demurely demurely     
adv.装成端庄地,认真地
参考例句:
  • "On the forehead, like a good brother,'she answered demurely. "吻前额,像个好哥哥那样,"她故作正经地回答说。 来自飘(部分)
  • Punctuation is the way one bats one's eyes, lowers one's voice or blushes demurely. 标点就像人眨眨眼睛,低声细语,或伍犯作态。 来自名作英译部分
15 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
16 perplexed A3Rz0     
adj.不知所措的
参考例句:
  • The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛,走了又回来,犹豫不决,总怕上当受骗。
  • The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。


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