CHAPTER XXXVI. A THOUSAND DOLLARS REWARD.

 A little awed¹ by the splendid appointments of the merchant's house, Bob and Clip entered, following Mr. Pearson.

 

A stout², pleasant-looking woman of middle age—the housekeeper—appeared at the door of a side room. She darted³ forward, and clasped Maud in a fond embrace.

 

"My darling Maud, how glad I am to see you back!" she said. "I thought we had lost you."

 

"This is the young man who rescued Maud, Margaret," said Mr. Pearson, pointing to Bob.

 

"And he so young! I must kiss him, too!" said Margaret; and, considerably⁴ to our hero's embarrassment⁵, Margaret gave him a resounding⁶ kiss.

 

"This boy also assisted," said Mr. Pearson, indicating Clip, with a smile.[Pg 309]

 

Margaret hesitated a moment—she was not quite prepared to kiss a colored boy—but compromised by shaking his hand cordially.

 

"You look like a nice boy, Clip," she said.

 

"So I is, missus; yah, yah!" responded Clip, laughing.

 

"Now, Margaret, can you give us something to eat?" said Mr. Pearson.

 

"It's all ready, sir. I thought you and Miss Maud would be hungry."

 

"I suspect we are all hungry," said Mr. Pearson, leading the way into a handsome dining-room.

 

"Now, boys, take your seats," he said.

 

Clip felt a little awkward, for he was not used to being a guest at a rich man's table, but he did not allow his bashfulness to interfere⁷ with the gratification of an excellent appetite.

 

When the meal was over, Mr. Pearson invited the boys into his library, and seated himself at a desk.

 

He drew a check-book from a drawer and wrote for a minute. Then he tore off a check, and handed it to Bob.

 

"This is the reward I offered for the return[Pg 310] of my dear daughter," he said. "I have made the check payable⁸ to your order."

 

Bob took it and read as follows:

 

"First National Bank,

 

"Pay to the order of Robert Burton,

 

One Thousand Dollars.

 

"$1000.  John Pearson."

 

"I don't like to take this large sum, Mr. Pearson," said Bob. "I did not rescue your daughter for money."

 

"I am quite aware of that, my dear boy, but it is a pleasure for me to give you this proof of my gratitude⁹. I am sure you will spend it creditably."

 

"I shall find it very useful, sir; and I thank you sincerely. May I ask if you do not deal in wheat?"

 

"That is a part of my business."

 

"I shall have about fourteen hundred bushels to dispose of if I recover my boat."

 

"I will give you two dollars and a quarter a bushel, if it is in good condition."

 

"I accept, sir," answered Bob, promptly¹⁰.[Pg 311] "Now, may I ask your advice as to how to proceed to regain¹¹ possession of the boat?"

 

"When do you expect it to arrive?" asked the merchant.

 

"Probably not till to-morrow, but I can't guess at what part of the day. It depends on how well the thieves succeed in managing the boat."

 

"I will order my carriage and drive round with you to the Central Police Office. The police will take proper measures to recover the boat and arrest the rascals¹² who robbed you of it."

 

"Won't it be too much trouble, sir?"

 

"I shall not count it a trouble, for I shall at the same time be punishing the men who abducted¹³ my dear Maud. They will be tried for both offenses¹⁴, and will probably get a long term of imprisonment¹⁵."

 

In an hour information had been lodged¹⁶ at the Central Police Office, and orders had been given to watch the river, and to keep a good lookout¹⁷ for the boat, of which Bob furnished a description.

 

That night Bob and Clip slept at Mr. Pearson's house, being treated as honored guests.

1 awed   

adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The audience was awed into silence by her stunning performance. 观众席上鸦雀无声，人们对他出色的表演感到惊叹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I was awed by the huge gorilla. 那只大猩猩使我惊惧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 darted   

v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

5 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

6 resounding   

adj. 响亮的

参考例句：

• The astronaut was welcomed with joyous,resounding acclaim. 人们欢声雷动地迎接那位宇航员。
• He hit the water with a resounding slap. 他啪的一声拍了一下水。

7 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

8 payable   

adj.可付的，应付的，有利益的

参考例句：

• This check is payable on demand.这是一张见票即付的支票。
• No tax is payable on these earnings.这些收入不须交税。

9 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

10 promptly   

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。

11 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

12 rascals   

流氓( rascal的名词复数 )； 无赖； （开玩笑说法）淘气的人（尤指小孩）； 恶作剧的人

参考例句：

• "Oh, but I like rascals. "唔，不过我喜欢流氓。
• "They're all second-raters, black sheep, rascals. "他们都是二流人物，是流氓，是恶棍。

13 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

14 offenses   

n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势

参考例句：

• It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

15 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

16 lodged   

v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属

参考例句：

• The certificate will have to be lodged at the registry. 证书必须存放在登记处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Our neighbours lodged a complaint against us with the police. 我们的邻居向警方控告我们。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 lookout   

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。