CHAPTER XXII. DICK RALSTON'S FATHER.

 When Chester followed Mr. Perkins into the great dining room of the Fifth Avenue he was rather dazzled by its size and the glistening¹ appearance of the tables.

 

"I hope you have brought your appetite with you, Chester," said his Western friend. "The Fifth Avenue sets a good table."

 

"My appetite is sure to be good. I was kept so busy to-day that I had hardly time to buy a sandwich for lunch."

 

"All the better! You'll enjoy your meal. As for me, I don't have the appetite I do at home. There's nothing like a tramp on the open prairie to make a man feel peckish."

 

"Have you ever been in New York before, Mr. Perkins?"

 

"Not since I was a boy. I was born up Albany way, and came here when I was about your age. But, Lord, the New York of that day wasn't a circumstance to what it is now. There was no Elevated railroad then, nor horse cars either, for that matter, and where this hotel stands there was a riding school or something of that sort."

 

"Are you going to stay here long?"

 

"I go to Washington to-morrow, stopping at Philadelphia and Baltimore on the way. No. I have no business in Washington, but I think by the time a man is fifty odd he ought to see the capital of his country. I shall shake hands with the President, too, if I find him at home."

 

"Have you ever been further West than Minneapolis?"

 

"Yes, I have been clear out to the Pacific. I've seen the town of Tacoma, where you've got five lots. I shall write out to a friend in Portland to buy me as many. Then we shall both have an interest there."

 

"You think the lots are worth something?"

 

"I know it. When the Northern Pacific Railroad is finished, every dollar your friend spent for his lots will be worth thirty or forty."

 

"I hope your predictions will come true, Mr. Perkins."

 

"Did I hear you speaking of Tacoma?" asked a gentleman on Chester's left hand.

 

"Yes, sir."

 

"I can tell you something about it. I live at Seattle."

 

"Am I right about there being a future for the place?" asked Paul Perkins.

 

"You are. I may say that lots there are already worth twice what they were last week."

 

"How's that?"

 

"Because work on the railroad has been resumed, and there is no doubt now that it will be pushed to completion."

 

"That settles it. I must own property there. I won't wait to write, but will telegraph my friend in Portland to go there at once at my expense, and buy five—no, ten lots. I got that idea from you, Chester, and if I make a profit I shall feel indebted to you."

 

"I shall be glad if it helps fill your pockets, Mr. Perkins."

 

"Come up to my room for a while, Chester," went on the other, "and we will consider what to do. We might go to the theater, but I think I would rather walk about here and there using my eyes. There is plenty to see in New York."

 

"That will suit me, Mr. Perkins."

 

About eight o'clock the two went downstairs. Near the entrance, just inside the hotel, Chester heard himself called by name.

 

Looking up, he recognized Felix Gordon.

 

"Are you going to the theater, Chester?" asked Felix.

 

"No, I think not."

 

"Won't you introduce me to your friend?"

 

"Mr. Perkins, this is Felix Gordon, nephew of our bookkeeper," said Chester, unwillingly².

 

"Hope you are well, Mr. Gordon," said Paul. "Are you fond of the theater?"

 

"Yes, sir," answered Felix, eagerly. "There's a good play at Palmer's. I think you'd like it."

 

"No doubt, but I'd rather see the streets of New York. As you are a friend of Chester, do me the favor to buy yourself a ticket," and Mr. Perkins drew a two-dollar bill from his pocket and tendered it to Felix.

 

"I am ever so much obliged," said Felix, effusively³. "As it is time for the performance to commence, I'll go at once, if you'll excuse me."

 

"Certainly. You don't want to lose the beginning of the play."

 

As Felix started off on a half run, Mr. Perkins said: "Do you know why I was so polite to Felix, who by all accounts isn't your friend at all?"

 

"No, I was rather puzzled."

 

"I wanted to get rid of him. He was probably sent here by his uncle as a spy upon us. Now he is disposed of."

 

"I see you are shrewd," said Chester, laughing.

 

"Yes, I'm a little foxy when there's occasion," rejoined Mr. Perkins. "Now, where shall we go?"

 

I will not undertake to describe the route followed by the two. The city was pretty much all new to the stranger from Minneapolis, and it mattered little where he went.

 

About ten o'clock the two witnessed from a distance a scene between a man of forty and an old, infirm man, apparently⁴ seventy years of age.

 

"The younger man is Ralston, the gambler," said Chester, in excitement, when they were near enough to recognize the figures of the two.

 

"Halt a minute, and let us hear what it is all about," returned Mr. Perkins.

 

"I am hungry," said the old man, pitifully, "and I have no money for a bed. Have pity on me, Dick, and give me something."

 

"You ought not to have come here," returned Ralston, roughly. "Why didn't you stay in the country, where you had a comfortable home?"

 

"In the poorhouse," murmured the old man, sadly.

 

"Well, it's no worse for being a poorhouse, is it?"

 

"But is it right for me to live there when you are rich and prosperous?"

 

"How do you know I am rich and prosperous?"

 

"By your dress. And there's a diamond in your shirt bosom⁶. That must be valuable."

 

"It's about all I own that is valuable. It was a fool's errand that brought you here. You had better go back," and Ralston prepared to go on.

 

"Won't you give me a trifle, Dick?"

 

"Well, take that."

 

"A quarter?"

 

"Yes; it will give you some supper."

 

"But what shall I do for a bed?"

 

"Go to the station house. They'll take in an old man like you."

 

Before the aged⁷ man could renew his application the younger one had disappeared round the corner of the next street.

 

"Follow me, Chester," said Paul Perkins. "I'm going to speak to the old man."

 

He touched him on the shoulder.

 

"Are you in trouble, my friend?" he asked.

 

The old man, looking the picture of despondency in his ragged⁸ suit, and with his long, gray locks floating over his shoulders, turned at the words.

 

"Yes, sir," he said, "I am poor and in trouble, and my heart is sore."

 

"Is the man who has just left you related to you?"

 

"He is my only son."

 

"He doesn't seem kind to you."

 

"No; he cares nothing for his old father."

 

"How did you become so poor?"

 

"He is the cause. When he was turned twenty-one I was worth ten thousand dollars. He forged my name, more than once, and to save him I paid the forged notes. So it happened that I was turned out in my old age from the farm and the home that had been mine for twenty-five years, and in the end I was sent to the poorhouse."

 

"Then he brought all this upon you?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Do you know what he is now?"

 

"He tells me he is in business."

 

"His business is carried on at the gambling⁹ house, so my young friend here assures me. You will get no help from him."

 

"I begin to think so. Perhaps I was foolish to leave my home, poor as it was, and come here to ask help."

 

"How much money will take you home?"

 

"Two dollars."

 

"Here is a ten-dollar bill. Take it, get a meal and a night's lodging¹⁰ and in the morning start for home. It is the best thing you can do. As for your son, you can only leave him to his own devices. A man who will treat his old father as he has treated you will never prosper⁵."

 

"Thank you, sir. I will follow your advice."

 

"I would rather be in your position, old and poor as you are, than in his."

 

"Chester," added Mr. Perkins, as they walked on, "this Ralston is a more contemptible¹¹ rascal¹² than I thought. If my old father were living, I would give half the money I possess. While I had a dollar in my pocket he should share it."

 

"I say the same, Mr. Perkins."

 

When they reached the Fifth Avenue Hotel, Paul Perkins shook hands with Chester.

 

"Good-night," he said. "You won't see me for two weeks, perhaps, but I'll be sure to find you out when I return to the city. I hope you won't have any trouble with that scoundrel in the office."

 

"Thank you, Mr. Perkins, but I am afraid I shall."

 

"Don't mind it if you do. Remember that you will always have a friend in Paul Perkins."

 

1 glistening   

adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Her eyes were glistening with tears. 她眼里闪着晶莹的泪花。
• Her eyes were glistening with tears. 她眼睛中的泪水闪着柔和的光。 来自《用法词典》

2 unwillingly   

adv.不情愿地

参考例句：

• He submitted unwillingly to his mother. 他不情愿地屈服于他母亲。
• Even when I call, he receives unwillingly. 即使我登门拜访，他也是很不情愿地接待我。

3 effusively   

adv.变溢地，热情洋溢地

参考例句：

• We were effusively welcomed by the patron and his wife. 我们受到老板和他妻子的热忱欢迎。 来自辞典例句
• The critics praised her effusively. 评论家们热情洋溢地表扬了她。 来自互联网

4 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

5 prosper   

v.成功，兴隆，昌盛；使成功，使昌隆，繁荣

参考例句：

• With her at the wheel,the company began to prosper.有了她当主管，公司开始兴旺起来。
• It is my earnest wish that this company will continue to prosper.我真诚希望这家公司会继续兴旺发达。

6 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

7 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

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 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

10 lodging   

n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍

参考例句：

• The bill is inclusive of the food and lodging. 账单包括吃、住费用。
• Where can you find lodging for the night? 你今晚在哪里借宿?

11 contemptible   

adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的

参考例句：

• His personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.他气貌不扬，言语粗俗。
• That was a contemptible trick to play on a friend.那是对朋友玩弄的一出可鄙的把戏。

12 rascal   

n.流氓；不诚实的人

参考例句：

• If he had done otherwise,I should have thought him a rascal.如果他不这样做，我就认为他是个恶棍。
• The rascal was frightened into holding his tongue.这坏蛋吓得不敢往下说了。