There was a neat two-story house standing2 on the principal street in Cedarville, with a pleasant lawn in front, through which, from the gate, a gravelled walk ran to the front door. Mr. Brandon, as I have already said, was a coal-dealer, and in very comfortable circumstances; so that Ben had never known what it was to want anything which he really needed. He was a man of great firmness, and at times severity, and more than once Ben had felt aggrieved3 by his treatment of him. Mrs. Brandon was quite different from her husband, being gentle and kind, and[Pg 138] it was to her that Ben always went for sympathy, in any trouble or difficulty, whether at home or at school.
Mrs. Brandon was sitting at the window with her work in her hand; but it had fallen listlessly in her lap, and on her face was a look of painful preoccupation. Opposite her sat her daughter Mary, Ben's only sister, already referred to.
"Don't worry so, mother," said Mary; "you will make yourself sick."
"I cannot help it, Mary," said Mrs. Brandon. "I can't help worrying about Ben. He has been gone a week now, and Heaven knows what he has suffered. He may be dead."
"No, mother," said Mary, who had more of her father's strength than her mother's gentleness. "He is not dead, you may depend upon that."
"But he had no money, that I know of. How could he live?"
"Ben can take care of himself better than most boys of his age."
"But think of a boy of ten going out in the world by himself!"[Pg 139]
"There are many boys of ten who have to do it, mother."
"What could the poor boy do?"
"He might suffer a little; but if he does, he will the sooner come home."
"I wish he might," said Mrs. Brandon, with a sigh. "I think your father does very wrong not to go after him."
"He wouldn't know where to go. Besides, he has advertised."
"I hope Ben will not see the advertisement. Poor boy! he would feel hurt to think that we cared so little for him as to offer only one dollar for his return."
"He will know you had nothing to do with the advertisement, mother; you may be sure of that."
"Yes, he knows me too well for that. I would give all I have to have him back."
"I want him back too," said Mary. "He is my only brother, and of course I love him; but I don't think it will do him any harm to suffer a little as a punishment for going away."
"You were always hard upon the poor boy, Mary," said Mrs. Brandon.[Pg 140]
"No, I am not hard; but I see his faults, and I want him to correct them. It is you who have been too indulgent."
"If I have been, it is because you and your father have been too much the other way."
There was a brief pause, then Mrs. Brandon said, "Can you think of any place, Mary, where Ben would be likely to go?"
"Yes, I suppose he went to Philadelphia. When a boy runs away from home, he naturally goes to the nearest city."
"I have a great mind to go up to-morrow."
"What good would it do, mother?"
"I might meet him in the street."
"There is not much chance of that. I shouldn't wonder if by this time he had gone to sea."
"Gone to sea!" repeated Mrs. Brandon, turning pale. "What makes you think so? Did he ever speak of such a thing to you?"
"Yes, he once threatened to run away to sea, when I did something that did not suit him."
"Oh, I hope not. I have heard that boys are[Pg 141] treated very badly on board ship. Besides, he might get drowned."
"I am not sure whether a good sea-voyage might not be the best thing for him," said strong-minded Mary.
"But suppose he should be ill-treated?"
"It might take the pride out of him, and make him a better boy."
"I never get much satisfaction from you, Mary. I don't see how you can be so harsh."
"I see we are not likely to agree, mother. But there is a boy coming up the walk with a letter in his hand."
"It may be from Ben," said his mother, rising hastily, and going to the door.
The boy was William Gordon, a school-mate of Ben's, whose disappearance4, long before this time, had been reported throughout the village.
"I was passing the post-office, Mrs. Brandon," he said, "when the postmaster called from the window, and asked me to bring you this letter. I think it is from Ben. The handwriting looks like his."[Pg 142]
She tore it open and read the letter, which is given at length in the last chapter.
"Is it from Ben?" asked William.
"Yes."
"Is he in Philadelphia? I noticed it was mailed there."
"Yes—no—he says he cannot tell us where he is."
"I think he must be in Philadelphia, or the letter would not be mailed there."
"Come in, William. I must go and tell Mary."
"No, thank you, Mrs. Brandon. I am on an errand for my mother. I hope Ben is well?"
"Yes, he says so."
Mrs. Brandon went in, and showed the letter to her daughter.
"There, I told you, mother, you need not be alarmed. He says he is earning his living."
"But it seems so hard for a boy of ten to have to work for his living. What can he do?"
"Oh, there are various things he can do. He might sell papers, for instance."[Pg 143]
"I think I shall go to Philadelphia to-morrow, Mary."
"It won't be of any use, you may depend, mother. He is not in Philadelphia."
"But this letter is posted there."
"That is a proof to me that he is not there. He says he don't want to come back."
Shortly after, Mr. Brandon entered the house.
"We have had a letter from Ben, father," said Mary.
He read the letter, and handed it back without a word.
"What are you going to do about it, Mr. Brandon?" asked his wife.
"What is there to be done?" he asked.
"I think I had better go up to Philadelphia to-morrow."
"What for?"
"I might see him."
"You would be going on a wild-goose chase."
"Then why won't you go?"
"It isn't worth while. If the boy doesn't want to[Pg 144] come home, he may take care of himself if he likes it so well. I shan't run round after him."
"He says he did not do what you punished him for," said Mrs. Brandon, rather deprecatingly, for she was somewhat in awe7 of her husband.
"Of course he would say that. I have heard that before."
"But I don't think he really did."
"I know you have always been foolishly indulgent to him."
"At any rate that cannot be said of you," said his wife, with some spirit.
"No," he answered, rather surprised at such an unusual manifestation8 from his usually acquiescent9 wife; "you are right there, and you might add that I don't mean to be, if he should return."
"I think he would have come home but for that advertisement. You see what he says about it in his letter."
"If I were to write it again, I should write it in the same manner, though perhaps I might not offer so large a sum."
Mrs. Brandon sighed, and ceased speaking. She[Pg 145] knew her husband well enough to see that there was little chance of changing his determination, or softening10 his anger towards Ben.
The next day, when Mr. Brandon returned home to dinner from his coal-wharf, he found Mary seated at the head of the table.
"Where is your mother?" he asked.
"She went to Philadelphia by the middle train," was the answer.
"She has gone on a fool's errand."
"Well, she will be better satisfied after she has been up—and failed to find him."
"Do you think he will ever come back, father?"
"Yes; he will turn up again some day, like a bad penny. He will find that earning his own living is not quite so agreeable as being taken care of at home."
"Suppose he shouldn't come back?"
"So much the worse for him," said Mr. Brandon.
Mr. Brandon spoke12 after his way of speaking, for he was not an affectionate man, nor given to the[Pg 146] softer emotions. He had never given Ben any reason to think he loved him, at least since he was a baby, but appearances are sometimes deceptive13, and he thought more of his son's absence than any one would have supposed. He thought, too, of that sentence in Ben's letter, in which he spoke of being punished for what he did not do, and he admitted to himself, though he would not have done so to his wife, that perhaps he had been unjust to the boy after all. Every day when he turned from his office to go home, it was with the unacknowledged hope that he might find the prodigal14 returned. But in this hope they were all doomed15 to be disappointed. Year after year passed away, and still no tidings from Ben beyond that single letter which we have mentioned.
Mrs. Brandon returned from Philadelphia, as might have been anticipated, disappointed and despondent16. She was very tired, for she had wandered about the streets, looking everywhere, during the four or five hours she was in the city. Once or twice her heart beat high, as she saw in front of her a boy of Ben's size, and dressed as he had been dressed when he left home. But when, with hurry[Pg 147]ing steps she came up with him, she was doomed, in every case, to disappointment.
"I told you it would be no use, mother," said Mary.
"He'll turn up yet some day, mother,—return in rags most likely."
"Come when he may, or how he may, Mary, my arms shall be open to receive him."
But the years passed, and Ben did not come.
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1
professes
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| 声称( profess的第三人称单数 )； 宣称； 公开表明； 信奉 | |
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2
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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3
aggrieved
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| adj.愤愤不平的，受委屈的；悲痛的；（在合法权利方面）受侵害的v.令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式)；令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式和过去分词) | |
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4
disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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5
joyfully
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| adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地 | |
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briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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7
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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8
manifestation
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| n.表现形式；表明；现象 | |
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9
acquiescent
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| adj.默许的，默认的 | |
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10
softening
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| 变软，软化 | |
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11
dissuade
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| v.劝阻，阻止 | |
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12
spoke
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| 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 | |
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13
deceptive
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| adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的 | |
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14
prodigal
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| adj.浪费的，挥霍的，放荡的 | |
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15
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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16
despondent
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| adj.失望的，沮丧的，泄气的 | |
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17
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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