CHAPTER XXIX. MR. FAIRCHILD'S TELEGRAM.

 "Tacoma!" repeated the professor. "Who is interested in Tacoma?"

 

"I own five lots of land there," answered Chester.

 

"Then I congratulate you. Lots are rising there, and are destined¹ to go to a still higher point."

 

"How do you account for that?" asked Prof. Hazlitt.

 

"In three months the Northern Pacific Railroad will be completed, and that will give a great impetus² to the growth of the town. I expect to live to see fifty thousand people there. Let me ask how you became possessed³ of these lots?"

 

"They were given to me by a friend now dead."

 

"What was his name?"

 

"Walter Bruce."

 

"Indeed! Why, I own three lots adjoining the Bruce lots. They are among the best located in the town."

 

"Would you advise me to keep them or sell if I have the chance?"

 

"To keep them, by all means. I shall keep mine. If, however, you wish to sell, I will myself pay you five hundred dollars each."

 

"Then I may consider myself worth twenty-five hundred dollars," said Chester, in a tone of satisfaction.

 

"Yes, and more if you are willing to wait."

 

"I think Mr. Bruce only gave twenty-five dollars apiece for them."

 

"Very likely. Mine only cost thirty dollars each."

 

"I shall begin to look upon you as a rich man, Chester," said Arthur Burks.

 

"Only a rich boy," corrected Chester, laughing. "I haven't begun to shave yet."

 

"I think I shall commence next week," remarked Arthur, rubbing his cheek vigorously.

 

"Since you own property in our neighborhood, Mr. Rand," said Prof. Nugent, "why don't you make us a visit?"

 

"I hope to some day when I can afford it," replied Chester, "but I didn't know till you told me just now that my lots were worth more than a trifle."

 

"If ever you do come, don't forget to call on me at the university. It is located in Salem, Oregon. I may be able to take a trip to Tacoma with you."

 

"Thank you, sir. I should like nothing better."

 

The next afternoon Chester chanced to enter the Fifth Avenue Hotel. He went through the corridor and into the reading room to buy a paper. What was his surprise to see his recent acquaintance, Paul Perkins, sitting in an armchair, reading a Minneapolis journal.

 

"Why, Chester!" exclaimed Mr. Perkins, cordially, as he rose and shook Chester's hand vigorously. "It does my heart good to see you. I was intending to call at your office to-morrow."

 

"You wouldn't have found me, Mr. Perkins."

 

"How is that?"

 

"I have been discharged."

 

"By that rascal⁴, Mullins? It's a shame. I must see if I can't find you another position."

 

"Thank you, but it is not necessary. I have a place already."

 

"Good! Is it in the real estate business?"

 

"No, I am engaged on The Ph?nix, a new weekly humorous paper, as one of the regular staff of artists."

 

"Whew! That is good. Do you get fair pay?"

 

"Twenty-five dollars a week."

 

"You don't say so. That is surprising. How much did you get at the other place?"

 

"Five."

 

"Then this is five times as good. You ought to give Mr. Mullins a vote of thanks for bouncing you."

 

"I don't think he meant to benefit me," said Chester, smiling.

 

"Do you have to work hard? What are your hours?"

 

"I have none. I work at home and select my own hours."

 

"Are you through work for the day?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Then you must stay and dine with me. It is four o'clock. We can chat for an hour, and then go to dinner."

 

"Thank you. I will accept with pleasure. Did you have a pleasant journey?"

 

"Yes; but I should have enjoyed it better if you had been with me. I called at the White House and shook hands with the President."

 

"Did you tell him you wanted an office?"

 

"No office for me. I would rather have my own business and be my own master. Washington's a fine city, but give me Minneapolis."

 

"I may call on you in Minneapolis sometime, Mr. Perkins."

 

"I hope you will. You'll find it worth visiting. It's a right smart place, if I do say it."

 

"I have seen a professor from a university in Oregon, and he has given me good news of my lots in Tacoma. I have five, as I think I told you. He offered me five hundred dollars apiece cash down."

 

"Don't you take it! They're going a good deal higher, now that the railroad is nearly completed."

 

"So he told me."

 

"I congratulate you on your good luck, Chester. I am sure you deserve it. But you haven't told me why you were 'bounced.'"

 

"Mr. Mullins said I wasted time in going his errands. It wasn't true, but it was only an excuse to get rid of me. He took his cousin Felix in my place."

 

The two friends went to dinner about six o'clock. At seven they came downstairs and sat in the lobby on a sofa near the door.

 

Through the portal there was a constant ingress and egress⁵ of men—a motley crowd—business men, politicians, professionals and men perhaps of shady character, for a great hotel cannot discriminate⁶, and hundreds pass in and out who are not guests and have no connection with the house.

 

"It is a wonderful place, Chester," said Mr. Perkins. "Everybody seems at home here. I suppose everybody—everybody, at least, who is presentable—in New York comes here sometime during the year."

 

Just then Chester uttered a little exclamation⁷ of surprise. As if to emphasize Mr. Perkins' remark, two persons came in who were very well known to the young artist. They were David Mullins and Dick Ralston.

 

Mullins heard the slight exclamation and turned his head in the direction of the sofa on which Chester and his friend were sitting. So did Ralston.

 

"Why, it's your old boy!" he said.

 

Mullins smiled a little maliciously⁸. He had not heard that Chester had a place.

 

"I suppose you are boarding here," he said, with a little sarcasm⁹.

 

"No, Mr. Mullins, but I have just dined here—with my friend, Mr. Perkins."

 

Mullins inclined his head slightly.

 

"Has he adopted you?" he asked, in a tone bordering on impertinence.

 

"No, sir," answered Mr. Perkins; "but if Chester ever wants me to, I will. At present he is prosperous, and requires no help or adoption¹⁰."

 

"Oh! Have you got a place?" asked Mullins, turning to Chester.

 

"Yes."

 

"In the same business?"

 

"No; I am in the office of a weekly paper."

 

"Oh!" said the bookkeeper, disdainfully. "They pay beggarly salaries at such places."

 

"Then I am favored. I receive more than twice as much as I did in your office."

 

Chester did not care to just state how much he received.

 

"That can't be possible!"

 

"It is a fact, however. Has Mr. Fairchild returned?"

 

"No. Why do you want to know?"

 

"I have no wish to go back, Mr. Mullins. Don't be apprehensive¹¹ of that. I don't wish to disturb Felix."

 

Dick Ralston listened with some interest to the conversation.

 

"It strikes me the kid has come to no harm from being discharged," he said.

 

"I believe this is Mr. Perkins, of Minneapolis?"

 

"Yes, sir," answered the Westerner, eying the gambler with a penetrating¹² glance.

 

"I shall be glad to be your guide if you wish to see something of New York. Will you join us this evening?"

 

"You are very polite, but I have an engagement with Chester."

 

"A mere¹³ boy! He knows nothing about the city."

 

"Still I am satisfied with him."

 

The two passed on and went into the bar-room, where they sat down at a table and ordered some liquid refreshment¹⁴.

 

"Well, Mullins," said the gambler, "I am getting impatient. The days are slipping by, and you have done nothing."

 

"You know what I am waiting for. Yesterday a check for a thousand dollars was paid in at the office, and deposited in the bank to-day."

 

"Good! And then?"

 

"I will send Felix to the bank and draw out sixteen hundred. Will that satisfy you?"

 

"I see, and, according to our arrangement, Felix will hand it to me on his way back to the office, and then swear that it was taken from him by some unknown party. You have coached him, have you?"

 

"Yes. Of course, I had to let him into the secret partially¹⁵, promising¹⁶ him twenty-five dollars for himself."

 

"Ten would have been sufficient."

 

"He would not have been satisfied. We can spare that."

 

"How soon do you expect Fairchild back?"

 

"In three days."

 

But on the morrow Mullins was disconcerted by receiving the following telegram:

 

"Expect me back sometime to-day. Fairchild."

1 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

2 impetus   

n.推动，促进，刺激；推动力

参考例句：

• This is the primary impetus behind the economic recovery.这是促使经济复苏的主要动力。
• Her speech gave an impetus to my ideas.她的讲话激发了我的思绪。

3 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

4 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。

5 egress   

n.出去；出口

参考例句：

• Safe access and egress can be achieved by various methods.可以采用各种方法安全的进入或离开。
• Drains achieve a ready egress of the liquid blood.引流能为血液提供一个容易的出口。

6 discriminate   

v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待

参考例句：

• You must learn to discriminate between facts and opinions.你必须学会把事实和看法区分出来。
• They can discriminate hundreds of colours.他们能分辨上百种颜色。

7 exclamation   

n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词

参考例句：

• He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
• The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号，以引起读者的注意。

8 maliciously   

adv.有敌意地

参考例句：

• He was charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm. 他被控蓄意严重伤害他人身体。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His enemies maliciously conspired to ruin him. 他的敌人恶毒地密谋搞垮他。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 sarcasm   

n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic）

参考例句：

• His sarcasm hurt her feelings.他的讽刺伤害了她的感情。
• She was given to using bitter sarcasm.她惯于用尖酸刻薄语言挖苦人。

10 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

11 apprehensive   

adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的

参考例句：

• She was deeply apprehensive about her future.她对未来感到非常担心。
• He was rather apprehensive of failure.他相当害怕失败。

12 penetrating   

adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的

参考例句：

• He had an extraordinarily penetrating gaze. 他的目光有股异乎寻常的洞察力。
• He examined the man with a penetrating gaze. 他以锐利的目光仔细观察了那个人。

13 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

14 refreshment   

n.恢复，精神爽快，提神之事物；（复数）refreshments:点心，茶点

参考例句：

• He needs to stop fairly often for refreshment.他须时不时地停下来喘口气。
• A hot bath is a great refreshment after a day's work.在一天工作之后洗个热水澡真是舒畅。

15 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

16 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。