CHAPTER XVI. BEN MEETS AN OLD FRIEND.

 Ben had about half an hour to wait for the arrival of the steamer. Among the passengers who crossed the plank¹ from the steamer to the pier² was a gentleman of middle age, and a boy about a year younger than Ben. The boy had a carpet-bag in his hand; the father, for such appeared to be the relationship, carried a heavy valise, besides a small bundle.

 

"Want your baggage carried?" asked Ben, varying his usual address.

 

The gentleman hesitated a moment.

 

"You'd better let him take it, father," said the boy.

 

"Very well, you may take this;" and the valise was passed over to Ben.

 

"Give me the bag too," said Ben, addressing the boy.[Pg 181]

 

"No, I'll take that. You'll have all you want to do, in carrying the valise."

 

They crossed the street, and here the gentleman stood still, evidently undecided about something.

 

"What are you thinking about, father?"

 

"I was thinking," the gentleman said, after a slight pause, "what I had better do."

 

"About what?"

 

"I have two or three errands in the lower part of the city, which, as my time is limited, I should like to attend to at once."

 

"You had better do it, then."

 

"What I was thinking was, that it would not be worth while for you to go round with me, carrying the baggage."

 

"Couldn't I go right up to Cousin Mary's?" asked his son.

 

"I am afraid you might lose the way."

 

"This boy will go with me. I suppose he knows the way all about the city. Don't you?" he asked, turning to Ben.

 

"Where do you want to go?" asked Ben.

 

"To No.—Madison Avenue."[Pg 182]

 

"Yes, I can show you the way there well enough, but it's a good way off."

 

"You can both take the cars or stage when you get up to the Astor House."

 

"How will that do?" asked Charles, for this was his name.

 

"I think that will be the best plan. This boy can go with you, and you can settle with him for his services. Have you got money enough?"

 

"Yes, plenty."

 

"I will leave you here, then."

 

Left to themselves, it was natural that the two boys should grow social. So far as clothing went, there was certainly a wide difference between them. Ben was attired³ as described in the first chapter. Charles, on the other hand, wore a short sack of dark cloth, a white vest, and gray pants. A gold chain, depending from his watch-pocket, showed that he was the possessor of a watch. His whole appearance was marked by neatness and good taste. But, leaving out this difference, a keen observer might detect a considerable resemblance in the features of the two boys. Both had dark hair, black eyes, and the con[Pg 183]tour of the face was the same. I regret to add, however, that Ben's face was not so clean as it ought to have been. Among the articles contributed by the boys who lived in the room under the wharf⁴, a washstand had not been considered necessary, and it had been long since Ben had regarded washing the face and hands as the first preparation for the labors⁵ of the day.

 

Charles Marston looked at his companion with some interest and curiosity. He had never lived in New York, and there was a freshness and novelty about life in the metropolis⁶ that was attractive to him.

 

"Is this your business?" he asked.

 

"What,—smashin' baggage?" inquired Ben.

 

"Is that what you call it?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Well, is that what you do for a living?"

 

"Yes," said Ben. "It's my profession, when I aint attendin' to my duties as a member of the Common Council."

 

"So you're a member of the city government?" asked Charles, amused.

 

"Yes."[Pg 184]

 

"Do you have much to do that way?"

 

"I'm one of the Committee on Wharves," said Ben. "It's my business to see that they're right side up with care; likewise that nobody runs away with them in the night."

 

"How do you get paid?"

 

"Well, I earn my lodgin' that way just now," said Ben.

 

"Have you always been in this business?"

 

"No. Sometimes I've sold papers."

 

"How did you like that?"

 

"I like baggage-smashin' best, when I get enough to do. You don't live in the city, do you?"

 

"No, I live just out of Boston,—a few miles."

 

"Ever been in New York before?"

 

"Once. That was four years ago. I passed through on the way from Pennsylvania, where I used to live."

 

"Pennsylvania," repeated Ben, beginning to be interested. "Whereabouts did you live there,—in Philadelphy?"

 

"No, a little way from there, in a small town named Cedarville."[Pg 185]

 

Ben started, and he nearly let fall the valise from his hand.

 

"What's the matter?" asked Charles.

 

"I came near fallin'," said Ben, a little confused. "What's your name?" he asked, rather abruptly⁷.

 

"Charles Marston."

 

Ben scanned intently the face of his companion. He had good reason to do so, for though Charles little suspected that there was any relationship between himself and the ragged⁸ and dirty boy who carried his valise, the two were own cousins. They had been school-mates in Cedarville, and passed many a merry hour together in boyish sport. In fact Charles had been Ben's favorite playmate, as well as cousin, and many a time, when he lay awake in such chance lodgings⁹ as the street provided, he had thought of his cousin, and wished that he might meet him again. Now they had met most strangely; no longer on terms of equality, but one with all the outward appearance of a young gentleman, the other, a ragged and ignorant street boy. Ben's heart throbbed¹⁰ painfully when he saw that his cousin regarded him as a stranger,[Pg 186] and for the first time in a long while he felt ashamed of his position. He would not for the world have revealed himself to Charles in his present situation; yet he felt a strong desire to learn whether he was still remembered. How to effect this without betraying his identity he hardly knew; at length he thought of a way that might lead to it.

 

"My name's shorter'n yours," he said.

 

"What is it?" asked Charles.

 

"It's Ben."

 

"That stands for Benjamin; so yours is the longest after all."

 

"That's so, I never thought of that. Everybody calls me Ben."

 

"What's your other name?"

 

Ben hesitated. If he said "Brandon" he would be discovered, and his pride stood in the way of that. Finally he determined¹¹ to give a false name; so he answered after a slight pause, which Charles did not notice, "My other name is Hooper,—Ben Hooper. Didn't you ever know anybody of my name?"

 

"What,—Ben Hooper?"[Pg 187]

 

"No, Ben."

 

"Yes. I had a cousin named Ben."

 

"Is he as old as you?" asked Ben, striving to speak carelessly.

 

"He is older if he is living; but I don't think he is living."

 

"Why, don't you know?"

 

"He ran away from home when he was ten years old, and we have never seen him since."

 

"Didn't he write where he had gone?"

 

"He wrote one letter to his mother, but he didn't say where he was. That is the last any of us heard from him."

 

"What sort of a chap was he?" inquired Ben. "He was a bad un, wasn't he?"

 

"No, Ben wasn't a bad boy. He had a quick temper though; but whenever he was angry he soon got over it."

 

"What made him run away from home?"

 

"His father punished him for something he didn't do. He found it out afterwards; but he is a stern man, and he never says anything about him. But I guess he feels bad sometimes. Father says[Pg 188] he has grown old very fast since my cousin ran away."

 

"Is his mother living,—your aunt?" Ben inquired, drawn¹² on by an impulse he could not resist.

 

"Yes, but she is always sad; she has never stopped mourning for Ben."

 

"Did you like your cousin?" Ben asked, looking wistfully in the face of his companion.

 

"Yes, he was my favorite cousin. Poor Ben and I were always together. I wish I knew whether he were alive or not."

 

"Perhaps you will see him again some time."

 

"I don't know. I used to think so; but I have about given up hopes of it. It is six years now since he ran away."

 

"Maybe he's turned bad," said Ben. "S'posin' he was a ragged baggage-smasher like me, you wouldn't care about seein' him, would you?"

 

"Yes, I would," said Charles, warmly. "I'd be glad to see Ben again, no matter how he looked, or how poor he might be."

 

Ben looked at his cousin with a glance of wistful[Pg 189] affection. Street boy as he was, old memories had been awakened¹³, and his heart had been touched by the sight of the cousin whom he had most loved when a young boy.

 

"And I might be like him," thought Ben, looking askance at the rags in which he was dressed, "instead of a walkin' rag-bag. I wish I was;" and he suppressed a sigh.

 

It has been said that street boys are not accessible to the softer emotions; but Ben did long to throw his arm round his cousin's neck in the old, affectionate way of six years since. It touched him to think that Charlie held him in affectionate remembrance. But his thoughts were diverted by noticing that they had reached the Astor House.

 

"I guess we'd better cross the street, and take the Fourth Avenue cars," he said. "There's one over there."

 

"All right!" said Charles. "I suppose you know best."

 

There was a car just starting; they succeeded in getting aboard, and were speedily on their up town.

1 plank   

n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目

参考例句：

• The plank was set against the wall.木板靠着墙壁。
• They intend to win the next election on the plank of developing trade.他们想以发展贸易的纲领来赢得下次选举。

2 pier   

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。

3 attired   

adj.穿着整齐的v.使穿上衣服，使穿上盛装( attire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The bride was attired in white. 新娘穿一身洁白的礼服。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It is appropriate that everyone be suitably attired. 人人穿戴得体是恰当的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 wharf   

n.码头，停泊处

参考例句：

• We fetch up at the wharf exactly on time.我们准时到达码头。
• We reached the wharf gasping for breath.我们气喘吁吁地抵达了码头。

5 labors   

v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转

参考例句：

• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors. 他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。 来自辞典例句
• Farm labors used to hire themselves out for the summer. 农业劳动者夏季常去当雇工。 来自辞典例句

6 metropolis   

n.首府；大城市

参考例句：

• Shanghai is a metropolis in China.上海是中国的大都市。
• He was dazzled by the gaiety and splendour of the metropolis.大都市的花花世界使他感到眼花缭乱。

7 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

8 ragged   

adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的

参考例句：

• A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
• Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。

9 lodgings   

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。

10 throbbed   

抽痛( throb的过去式和过去分词 )； （心脏、脉搏等）跳动

参考例句：

• His head throbbed painfully. 他的头一抽一跳地痛。
• The pulse throbbed steadily. 脉搏跳得平稳。

11 determined   

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。

12 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

13 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》