CHAPTER XII. THE PROFITS OF MINING.

 A few evenings later Ben and Bradley were sitting just outside the cabin¹ as the twilight² deepened³.

 

"It doesn't seem as if this was our last night in the old shanty," said Jake Bradley, taking the pipe from his mouth. "It ain't a palace, but I shall kinder hate to leave it."

 

"I've got to feel very much at home here myself, Jake; still, I should like to get somewhere where it isn't quite so far out of the world."

 

"There's something in that, Ben."

 

"I haven't heard anything from home for a good many weeks; I wish I knew whether my uncle's family are all well."

 

"How many is there in the family, Ben?"

 

"There's Uncle Job and Aunt Hannah and Cousin Jennie."

 

[Pg 101]"That's just what I thought," said Jake.

 

"I don't understand you," said Ben, puzzled. "What did you think?"

 

"I thought there was a Cousin Jennie."

 

Our hero laughed, and, it may be, blushed⁴ a little. "What made you think that?"

 

"There generally is, I notice," said Mr. Bradley, eagerly. "Is Cousin Jennie pretty?"

 

"To be sure she is."

 

"I thought that too, Ben."

 

"What are you driving at, Jake?"

 

"I was sure there was some one besides the old folks that you was anxious about."

 

"Well, you happen to be right," said Ben, laughing. "But I must tell you that Jennie is only fourteen, and I am only sixteen."

 

"You'll both of you be older some day, Ben. But there's a matter that we must settle before we go."

 

"What's that?"

 

"About the gold we have found since we've been here. We must have some arrangement about dividin' it."

 

[Pg 102]"We sha'n't quarrel about that, Jake."

 

"No, there's no danger of that. That'll be easy enough. We'll divide it into two piles, one for you, and the other for me."

 

"Jake, I have no right to half of it. You ought to have two-thirds."

 

"I'd like to argy that matter, Ben. Why should I have two-thirds?"

 

"Because you earned it. You understood mining better than I."

 

"We're equal partners, Ben. I stick to that, and I mean to have my way. I've been making a little calculation⁵, and I reckon⁶ there's nigh on to a thousand dollars for the two of us."

 

"As much as that, Jake?" said Ben, eagerly.

 

"I reckon there is, though I can't justly tell."

 

"It doesn't seem possible I can be worth five hundred dollars," said Ben, thoughtfully⁷. "We've only been here four weeks. That makes a hundred and twenty-five dollars a week."

 

"So it does. That's pretty high pay for a boy."

 

"Before I left home," said Ben, "there was an[Pg 103] old farmer, Deacon Pitkins, who wanted to hire me for a year. What do you think he offered me?"

 

"How much?"

 

"Twenty dollars a year and board," answered Ben.

 

"I reckon you did better to come to Californy."

 

"It looks so now. How the old deacon would stare if he knew how I had been prospering⁸ at the mines! I wish there was any way of sending part of this money home. I would like to make a present to Uncle Job."

 

"When you get to 'Frisco you won't have any trouble about sendin' it."

 

"Uncle Job thought it was very risky⁹ for a boy like me to leave home and seek my fortune in California. I would like to prove to him that I didn't make a mistake."

 

"It's likely you haven't, Ben," said Bradley cautiously¹⁰, "but you ain't out of the woods yet. I hope things will go on as well as they have, and you'll be able to carry a pile home. But we've got to start in good season to-morrow, and we may as well turn in and go to sleep."

 

1 cabin   

n.(结构简单的)小木屋；船舱，机舱

参考例句：

• They threw up a new cabin in a couple of hours.在几小时之内他们就建起了一座新的小屋。
• It's very hot in the cabin;let's go on deck.舱室内很热，我们到甲板上去吧。

2 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

3 deepened   

v.变深，加深( deepen的过去式和过去分词 )；加浓

参考例句：

• Their friendship soon deepened into love. 他们的友谊很快发展成为爱情。
• The gloom deepened as the election results came in. 选举结果陆续传来，失败的情绪越来越重。

4 Blushed   

n. 脸红，外观 vi. 泛红，羞愧

参考例句：

• She blushed at the mention of her lover's name. 她因说到她情人的名字而脸红。
• He blushed when the pretty girl gave him the eye. 那位漂亮的女孩向他抛媚眼时，他脸红了。

5 calculation   

n.计算；计算结果

参考例句：

• The machine will read out the result of the calculation.机器将读出计算结果。
• He is absorbed in the calculation of that difficult maths problem.他全神贯注地在算那道数学难题。

6 reckon   

vt.计算，估计，认为；vi.计（算），判断，依靠

参考例句：

• Don't reckon upon your relatives to help you out of trouble.不要指望你的亲戚会帮助你摆脱困境。
• I reckon that he is rather too old to marry again.我认为他的年龄太大，不太适于再婚。

7 thoughtfully   

ad.考虑周到地

参考例句：

• She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. 她若有所思地抚摩着下巴。
• The man pulled thoughtfully at his pipe before commenting on our proposal. 那人若有所思地吸了口烟，然后就我们的建议发表自己的见解。

8 prospering   

成功，兴旺( prosper的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Our country is thriving and prospering day by day. 祖国日益繁荣昌盛。
• His business is prospering. 他生意兴隆。

9 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

10 cautiously   

adv.小心地，谨慎地；小心翼翼；翼翼

参考例句：

• She walked cautiously up the drive towards the door. 她小心翼翼地沿着车道向门口走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》