CHAPTER IV. A DYING GIFT.

 In the morning Walter Bruce came down to breakfast looking pale and sick. He had taken a severe cold from scanty¹ clothing and exposure to the winter weather.

 

"You have a hard cough, Mr. Bruce," said Mrs. Rand, in a tone of sympathy.

 

"Yes, madam; my lungs were always sensitive."

 

When breakfast was over he took his hat and prepared to go.

 

"I thank you very much for your kind hospitality," he began. Then he was attacked by a fit of coughing.

 

"Where are you going. Mr. Bruce?" asked Chester.

 

"I don't know," he answered, despondently². "I came to Wyncombe to see my uncle Silas, but he will have nothing to say to me."

 

Chester and his mother exchanged looks. The same thought was in the mind of each.

 

"Stay with us a day or two," said Mrs. Rand. "You are not fit to travel. You need rest and care."

 

"But I shall be giving you a great deal of trouble."

 

"We shall not consider it such," said Mrs. Rand.

 

"Then I will accept your kind offer, for indeed I am very unwell."

 

Before the end of the day the young man was obliged to go to bed, and a doctor was summoned. Bruce was pronounced to have a low fever, and to be quite unfit to travel.

 

Mrs. Rand and Chester began to feel anxious. Their hearts were filled with pity for the young man, but how could they bear the expense which this sickness would entail³ upon them?

 

"Silas Tripp is his uncle," said Mrs. Rand. "He ought to contribute the expense of his sickness."

 

"I will go and see him," said Chester. So he selected a time when business would be slack in the store, and called in. He found Mr. Trip in a peevish⁴ mood.

 

"How are you, Chester?" he said. "I wish you was back."

 

"Why, Mr. Tripp? You've got Abel Wood in my place."

 

"He ain't of much account," grumbled⁵ Silas. "What do you think he done this mornin'?"

 

"I don't know, sir."

 

"He smashed two dozen eggs, and eggs twenty-two cents a dozen. But I'll take it out of his salary. He's dreadful awkward, that boy!"

 

"Poor Abel!" thought Chester. "I am afraid he won't have much salary coming to him at the end of the week."

 

"You never broke no eggs while you was here, Chester."

 

"No; I don't think I did."

 

"You'd ought to have stayed."

 

"I couldn't stay on the salary you offered. But, Mr. Tripp, I've come here on business."

 

"Hey? What about?"

 

"Your nephew, Walter Bruce, is staying at our house."

 

"Is he?" returned Silas Tripp, indifferently.

 

"And he is sick."

 

"I don't feel no interest in him," said Silas, doggedly⁶.

 

"Are you willing to pay his expenses? He has no money."

 

"No, I ain't," snarled⁷ Silas. "Ef you take him you take him at your own risk."

 

"You wouldn't have us turn him into the street?" said Chester, indignantly.

 

"You can do as you like. It ain't no affair of mine. I s'pose he sent you here."

 

"No, he didn't; and I wouldn't have come if we had been better fixed⁸. But we haven't enough money to live on ourselves."

 

"Then tell him to go away. I never wanted him to come to Wyncombe."

 

"It seems to me you ought to do something for your own nephew."

 

"I can't support all my relations, and I won't," said Silas, testily⁹. "It ain't no use talkin'. Walter Bruce is shif'less and lazy, or he'd take care of himself. I ain't no call to keep him."

 

"Then you won't do anything for him? Even two dollars a week would help him very much."

 

"Two dollars a week!" ejaculated Silas. "You must think I am made of money. Why, two dollars a week would make a hundred and four dollars a year."

 

"That wouldn't be much for a man of your means, Mr. Tripp."

 

"You talk foolish, Chester. I have to work hard for a livin'. If I helped all my shif'less relations I'd end my days in the poorhouse."

 

"I don't think you'll go there from that cause," Chester could not help saying.

 

"I guess not. I ain't a fool. Let every tub stand on its own bottom, I say. But I won't be too hard. Here's twenty-five cents," and Silas took a battered¹⁰ quarter from the money drawer.

 

"Take it and use it careful."

 

"I think we will try to get along without it," said Chester, with a curl of the lip. "I'm afraid you can't afford it."

 

"Do just as you like," said Silas, putting back the money with a sigh of relief, "but don't say I didn't offer to do something for Walter."

 

"No; I will tell him how much you offered to give."

 

"That's a queer boy," said Mr. Tripp, as Chester left the store. "Seems to want me to pay all Walter Bruce's expenses. What made him come to Wyncombe to get sick? He'd better have stayed where he lived, and then he'd have had a claim to go to the poorhouse. He can't live on me, I tell him that. Them Rands are foolish to take him in. They're as poor as poverty themselves, and now they've taken in a man who ain't no claim on them. I expect they thought they'd get a good sum out of me for boardin' him. There's a great many onrasonable people in the world."

 

"I will go and see Mr. Morris, the minister," decided¹¹ the perplexed¹² Chester. "He will tell me what to do."

 

Accordingly he called on the minister and unfolded the story to sympathetic ears.

 

"You did right, Chester," said Mr. Morris. "The poor fellow was fortunate to fall into your hands. But won't it be too much for your mother?"

 

"It's the expense I am thinking of, Mr. Morris. You know I have lost my situation, and mother has no shoes to bind¹³."

 

"I can help you, Chester. A rich lady of my acquaintance sends me a hundred dollars every year to bestow¹⁴ in charity. I will devote a part of this to the young man whom you have so kindly¹⁵ taken in, say at the rate of eight dollars a week."

 

"That will make us feel easy," said Chester gratefully. "How much do you think his uncle offered me?"

 

"I am surprised that he should have offered anything."

 

"He handed me twenty-five cents, but I told him I thought we could get along without it."

 

"And you will. Silas Tripp has a small soul, hardly worth saving. He has made money his god, and serves his chosen deity¹⁶ faithfully."

 

"I wouldn't change places with him for all his wealth."

 

"Some day you may be as rich as he, but I hope, if you are, you will use your wealth better."

 

At the beginning of the third week Walter Bruce became suddenly worse. His constitution was fragile, and the disease had undermined his strength. The doctor looked grave.

 

"Do you think I shall pull through, doctor?" asked the young man.

 

"While there is life there is hope, Mr. Bruce."

 

"That means that the odds¹⁷ are against me?"

 

"Yes, I am sorry to say that you are right."

 

Walter Bruce looked thoughtful.

 

"I don't think I care much for life," he said. "I have had many disappointments, and I know that at the best I could never be strong and enjoy life as most of my age do—I am resigned."

 

"How old are you, Walter?" asked Chester.

 

"Twenty-nine. It is a short life."

 

"Is there anyone you would wish me to notify if the worst comes?"

 

"No, I have scarcely a relative—except Silas Tripp," he added, with a bitter smile.

 

"You have no property to dispose of by will?" asked the doctor.

 

"Yes," was the unexpected answer, "but I shall not make a will. A will may be contested. I will give it away during my life."

 

Chester and the doctor looked surprised. They thought the other might refer to a ring or some small article.

 

"I want everything to be legal," resumed Bruce. "Is there a lawyer in the village?"

 

"Yes, Lawyer Gardener."

 

"Send for him. I shall feel easier when I have attended to this last duty."

 

Within half an hour the lawyer was at his bedside.

 

"In the inside pocket of my coat," said Walter Bruce, "you will find a document. It is the deed of five lots in the town of Tacoma, in Washington Territory. I was out there last year, and having a little money, bought the lots for a song. They are worth very little now, but some time they may be of value."

 

"To whom do you wish to give them?" asked Mr. Gardner.

 

"To this boy," answered Bruce, looking affectionately toward Chester. "He and his have been my best friends."

 

"But your uncle—he is a relative!" suggested Chester.

 

"He has no claim upon me. Lawyer, make out a deed of gift of these lots to Chester Rand, and I will sign it."

 

The writing was completed, Bruce found strength to sign it, and then sank back exhausted¹⁸. Two days later he died. Of course the eight dollars a week from the minister's fund ceased to be paid to the Rands. Chester had not succeeded in obtaining work. To be sure he had the five lots in Tacoma, but he who had formerly¹⁹ owned them had died a pauper²⁰. The outlook was very dark.

 

1 scanty   

adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的

参考例句：

• There is scanty evidence to support their accusations.他们的指控证据不足。
• The rainfall was rather scanty this month.这个月的雨量不足。

2 despondently   

adv.沮丧地，意志消沉地

参考例句：

• It had come to that, he reflected despondently. 事情已经到了这个地步了，他沉思着，感到心灰意懒。 来自辞典例句
• He shook his head despondently. 他沮丧地摇摇头。 来自辞典例句

3 entail   

vt.使承担，使成为必要，需要

参考例句：

• Such a decision would entail a huge political risk.这样的决定势必带来巨大的政治风险。
• This job would entail your learning how to use a computer.这工作将需要你学会怎样用计算机。

4 peevish   

adj.易怒的，坏脾气的

参考例句：

• A peevish child is unhappy and makes others unhappy.一个脾气暴躁的孩子自己不高兴也使别人不高兴。
• She glared down at me with a peevish expression on her face.她低头瞪着我，一脸怒气。

5 grumbled   

抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声

参考例句：

• He grumbled at the low pay offered to him. 他抱怨给他的工资低。
• The heat was sweltering, and the men grumbled fiercely over their work. 天热得让人发昏，水手们边干活边发着牢骚。

6 doggedly   

adv.顽强地，固执地

参考例句：

• He was still doggedly pursuing his studies.他仍然顽强地进行着自己的研究。
• He trudged doggedly on until he reached the flat.他顽强地、步履艰难地走着，一直走回了公寓。

7 snarled   

v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说

参考例句：

• The dog snarled at us. 狗朝我们低声吼叫。
• As I advanced towards the dog, It'snarled and struck at me. 我朝那条狗走去时，它狂吠着向我扑来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

9 testily   

adv. 易怒地, 暴躁地

参考例句：

• He reacted testily to reports that he'd opposed military involvement. 有报道称他反对军队参与，对此他很是恼火。 来自柯林斯例句

10 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

12 perplexed   

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。

13 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。

14 bestow   

v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费

参考例句：

• He wished to bestow great honors upon the hero.他希望将那些伟大的荣誉授予这位英雄。
• What great inspiration wiII you bestow on me?你有什么伟大的灵感能馈赠给我？

15 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

16 deity   

n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物)

参考例句：

• Many animals were seen as the manifestation of a deity.许多动物被看作神的化身。
• The deity was hidden in the deepest recesses of the temple.神藏在庙宇壁龛的最深处。

17 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

18 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

19 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

20 pauper   

n.贫民，被救济者，穷人

参考例句：

• You lived like a pauper when you had plenty of money.你有大把钱的时候，也活得像个乞丐。
• If you work conscientiously you'll only die a pauper.你按部就班地干，做到老也是穷死。