CHAPTER X. A RAILROAD ACQUAINTANCE.

 The distance by rail from Wyncombe to New York is fifty miles. When about eight years of age Chester had made the journey, but not since then. Everything was new to him, and, of course, interesting. His attention was drawn¹ from the scenery by the passage of a train boy through the cars with a bundle of new magazines and papers.

 

"Here is all the magazines, Puck and Judge."

 

"How much do you charge for Puck?" asked Chester, with interest, for it was Puck that had accepted his first sketch².

 

"Ten cents."

 

"Give me one."

 

Chester took the paper and handed the train boy a dime³.

 

Then he began to look over the pages. All at once he gave a start, his face flushed, his heart beat with excitement. There was his sketch looking much more attractive on the fair pages of the periodical than it had done in his pencil drawing. He kept looking at it. It seemed to have a fascination⁴ for him. It was his first appearance in a paper, and it was a proud moment for him.

 

"What are you looking at so intently, my son?" asked the gentleman who sat at his side. He was a man of perhaps middle age, and he wore spectacles, which gave him a literary aspect.

 

"I—I am looking at this sketch," answered Chester, in slight confusion.

 

"Let me see it."

 

Chester handed over the paper and regarded his seat mate with some anxiety. He wanted to see what impression this, his maiden⁵ effort, would have on a staid man of middle age.

 

"Ha! very good!" said his companion, "but I don't see anything very remarkable⁶ about it. Yet you were looking at it for as much as five minutes."

 

"Because it is mine," said Chester, half proudly, half in embarrassment⁷.

 

"Ah! that is different. Did you really design it?"

 

"Yes, sir."

 

"I suppose you got pay for it. I understand Puck pays for everything it publishes."

 

"Yes, sir; I got ten dollars."

 

"Ten dollars!" repeated the gentleman, in surprise. "Really that is very handsome. Do you often produce such sketches⁸?"

 

"I have just begun, sir. That is the first I have had published."

 

"You are beginning young. How old are you?"

 

"I am almost sixteen."

 

"That is young for an artist. Why, I am forty-five, and I haven't a particle of talent in that direction. My youngest son asked me the other day to draw a cow on the slate⁹. I did as well as I could, and what do you think he said?"

 

"What did he say?" asked Chester, interested.

 

"He said, 'Papa, if it wasn't for the horns I should think it was a horse.'"

 

Chester laughed. It was a joke he could appreciate.

 

"I suppose all cannot draw," he said.

 

"It seems not. May I ask you if you live in New York—the city, I mean?"

 

"No, sir."

 

"But you are going there?"

 

"Yes, sir."

 

"To live?"

 

"I hope so. A friend has written advising me to come. He says I will be better placed to do art work, and dispose of my sketches."

 

"Are you expecting to earn your living that way?"

 

"I hope to some time, but not at first."

 

"I am glad to hear it. I should think you would find it very precarious¹⁰."

 

"I expect to work in a real estate office at five dollars a week, and only to spend my leisure hours in art work."

 

"That seems sensible. Have you been living in the country?"

 

"Yes, sir, in Wyncombe."

 

"I have heard of the place, but was never there. So you are just beginning the battle of life?"

 

"Yes, sir."

 

"It has just occurred to me that I may be able to throw some work in your way. I am writing an ethnological work, and it will need to be illustrated¹¹. I can't afford to pay such prices as you receive from Puck and other periodicals of the same class, but then the work will not be original. It will consist chiefly of copies. I should think I might need a hundred illustrations, and I am afraid I could not pay more than two dollars each."

 

A hundred illustrations at two dollars each! Why, that would amount to two hundred dollars, and there would be no racking his brains for original ideas.

 

"If you think I can do the work, sir, I shall be glad to undertake it," said Chester, eagerly.

 

"I have no doubt you can do it, for it will not require an expert. Suppose you call upon me some evening within a week."

 

"I will do so gladly, sir, if you will tell me where you live."

 

"Here is my card," said his companion, drawing out his case, and handing a card to Chester.

 

This was what Chester read:

 

"Prof. Edgar Hazlitt."

 

"Do you know where Lexington Avenue is?" asked the professor.

 

"I know very little about New York. In fact, nothing at all," Chester was obliged to confess.

 

"You will soon find your way about. I have no doubt you will find me," and the professor mentioned the number. "Shall we say next Wednesday evening, at eight o'clock sharp? That's if you have no engagement for that evening," he added, with a smile.

 

Chester laughed at the idea of his having any evening engagements in a city which he had not seen for eight years.

 

"If you are engaged to dine with William Vanderbilt or Jay Gould on that evening," continued the professor, with a merry look, "I will say Thursday."

 

"If I find I am engaged in either place, I think I can get off," said Chester.

 

"Then Wednesday evening let it be!"

 

As the train neared New York Chester began to be solicitous¹² about finding Mr. Conrad in waiting for him. He knew nothing about the city, and would feel quite helpless should the artist not be present to meet him. He left the car and walked slowly along the platform, looking eagerly on all sides for the expected friendly face.

 

But nowhere could he see Herbert Conrad.

 

In some agitation¹³ he took from his pocket the card containing his friend's address, and he could hardly help inwardly reproaching him for leaving an inexperienced boy in the lurch¹⁴. He was already beginning to feel homesick and forlorn, when a bright-looking lad of twelve, with light-brown hair, came up and asked: "Is this Chester Rand?"

 

"Yes," answered Chester, in surprise. "How do you know my name?"

 

"I was sent here by Mr. Conrad to meet you."

 

Chester brightened up at once. So his friend had not forgotten him after all.

 

"Mr. Conrad couldn't come to meet you, as he had an important engagement, so he sent me to bring you to his room. I am Rob Fisher."

 

"I suppose that means Robert Fisher?"

 

"Yes, but everybody calls me Rob."

 

"Are you a relation of Mr. Conrad?"

 

"Yes, I am his cousin. I live just outside of the city, but I am visiting my cousin for the day. I suppose you don't know much about New York?"

 

"I know nothing at all."

 

"I am pretty well posted, and I come into the city pretty often. Just follow me. Shall I carry your valise?"

 

"Oh, no; I am older than you and better able to carry it. What street is this?"

 

"Forty-second Street. We will go to Fifth Avenue, and then walk down to Thirty-fourth Street."

 

"That is where Mr. Conrad lives, isn't it?"

 

"Yes; it is one of the wide streets, like Fourteenth and Twenty-third, and this street."

 

"There are some fine houses here."

 

"I should think so. You live in Wyncombe, don't you?"

 

"Yes; the houses are all of wood there."

 

"I suppose so. Mr. Conrad tells me you are an artist," said Rob, eying his new friend with curiosity.

 

"In a small way."

 

"I should like to see some of your pictures."

 

"I can show you one," and Chester opened his copy of Puck and pointed¹⁵ to the sketch already referred to.

 

"Did you really draw this yourself?"

 

"Yes."

 

"And did you get any money for it?"

 

"Ten dollars," answered Chester, with natural pride.

 

"My! I wish I could get money for drawing."

 

"Perhaps you can some time."

 

Bob shook his head.

 

"I haven't any talent that way."

 

"What house is that?" asked Chester, pointing to the marble mansion¹⁶ at the corner of Thirty-fourth Street.

 

"That used to belong to A. T. Stewart, the great merchant. I suppose you haven't any houses like that in Wyncombe?"

 

"Oh, no."

 

"We will turn down here. This is Thirty-fourth Street."

 

They kept on, crossing Sixth and Seventh Avenues, and presently stood in front of a neat, brownstone house between Seventh and Eighth Avenues.

 

"That is where Mr. Conrad lives," said Rob.

1 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。

2 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

3 dime   

n.（指美国、加拿大的钱币）一角

参考例句：

• A dime is a tenth of a dollar.一角银币是十分之一美元。
• The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。

4 fascination   

n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋

参考例句：

• He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。
• His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。

5 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

6 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

7 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。

8 sketches   

n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概

参考例句：

• The artist is making sketches for his next painting. 画家正为他的下一幅作品画素描。
• You have to admit that these sketches are true to life. 你得承认这些素描很逼真。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

10 precarious   

adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的

参考例句：

• Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
• He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。

11 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

12 solicitous   

adj.热切的，挂念的

参考例句：

• He was so solicitous of his guests.他对他的客人们非常关切。
• I am solicitous of his help.我渴得到他的帮助。

13 agitation   

n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动

参考例句：

• Small shopkeepers carried on a long agitation against the big department stores.小店主们长期以来一直在煽动人们反对大型百货商店。
• These materials require constant agitation to keep them in suspension.这些药剂要经常搅动以保持悬浮状态。

14 lurch   

n.突然向前或旁边倒；v.蹒跚而行

参考例句：

• It has been suggested that the ground movements were a form of lurch movements.地震的地面运动曾被认为是一种突然倾斜的运动形式。
• He walked with a lurch.他步履蹒跚。

15 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

16 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。