CHAPTER IV. AN ODD COUPLE.

 When Dan's excitement was over, he felt that he had won a barren victory. He had certainly been badly treated, and was justified¹ in yielding to his natural indignation; but for all that he had acted unwisely.

 

Nathan Gripp had not refused payment, he had only postponed² it, and as he had the decided³ advantage, which money always has when pitted against labor⁴, it would have been well to have been conciliatory. Now Gripp would undoubtedly⁵ annoy him with further delay, and refuse to give Mrs. Mordaunt any further work.

 

"I suppose I've acted like a fool," said Dan to himself, with compunction. "My spunk⁶ is always getting the better of me, and I am afraid poor mother will have to suffer. Well, there's no use crying for spilt milk; I must see what I can do to mend matters."

 

While these thoughts were passing through Dan's mind he found himself passing the clothing [Pg 32]establishment of Jackson & Co., who were special rivals of Mr. Gripp.

 

"Perhaps I can get some work for mother here," thought Dan. "I'll try, at any rate."

 

He entered, and looking about him, attracted the attention of a clerk.

 

"Do you want something in our line to-day?" asked the clerk, pleasantly.

 

"Yes, I do," said Dan, "if you're giving things away; but as I've got a note of ten thousand dollars to meet to-morrow, I can't pay anything out."

 

"Your credit ought to be good," said the salesman, smiling, "but we don't trust."

 

"All right," said Dan; "I may as well proceed to business. My mother makes vests for amusement. Can you give her any work?"

 

"I will speak to Mr. Jackson. One of our hands is sick, and if your mother understands how to do the work, we may be able to give her some."

 

The young man went to the rear of the store, and returned with the proprietor⁷.

 

"Has your mother any experience?" asked the proprietor, a big man, with sandy whiskers.

 

He was an Englishman, as any one might see, and a decided improvement on Nathan Gripp, whom he cordially hated.

 

[Pg 33]

 

"Yes, sir; she has been making vests for the last two years."

 

"For whom has she been working?"

 

"For Nathan Gripp."

 

"Humph! Has Gripp discharged her?"

 

"No, sir; she has discharged him."

 

Mr. Jackson laughed, and nodded to his salesman. He rather enjoyed this allusion⁸ to his rival.

 

"Then she didn't like Gripp?"

 

"No, sir. He paid her starvation wages and made her wait for the money. He's a mean fellow."

 

"I don't admire him much myself," said the Englishman. "How much now did he pay for vest-making?"

 

"Twenty cents apiece."

 

"We don't pay much more ourselves. There is so much competition that we have to sell low."

 

"Mother would rather make for you at eighteen cents than for Gripp for twenty," said Dan.

 

Mr. Jackson was pleased, but he said, by way of drawing out Dan:

 

"How do you know but I am a mean skinflint, too?"

 

"You don't look like one," said the boy.

 

Mr. Jackson smiled graciously.

 

"Joseph," said he, "have we any vests ready for making?"

 

[Pg 34]

 

"Yes, sir. We have some bundles of half a dozen each."

 

"Take this boy's name and address and give him one. My boy, we will pay your mother twenty-five cents each, but we expect good work."

 

"You will be satisfied, sir," said Dan, confidently, and he left the store in excellent spirits.

 

"It's turned out right, after all," thought he; "but I am afraid we shall miss the money old Gripp owed mother. I don't know how we are going to pay the rent to-morrow. We shall be over two dollars short unless something turns up."

 

Dan carried the bundle of work home, and told his mother what had happened. She was pleased with the increase of pay, but that was in the future. It would be a week before she could collect any pay from Jackson & Co., and the landlord would not wait.

 

"I wish I could think of some way of raising money," said Dan, putting his face between his hands and looking thoughtful. "If you only had some jewels, mother, that we could raise money on now, we would be all right."

 

"I have nothing but my wedding-ring," said Mrs. Mordaunt, sadly.

 

"You must keep that, mother. Don't part with that unless you are obliged to."

 

[Pg 35]

 

"I would rather not, Dan, but if there is no other way——"

 

"There must be another way. I will find another way. Just don't think of it any more, mother. When does the landlord come?"

 

"Generally between twelve and one."

 

"Then we shall have all the forenoon to forage⁹ round in. It's only two dollars and a half we want. I ought to be able to raise two dollars and a half."

 

"That is a great deal of money to us now, Dan."

 

"I wonder whether Shorty wouldn't lend it to me?" said Dan, reflectively.

 

"Who is Shorty, my son?"

 

"He is a little hump-backed dwarf¹⁰ that keeps a cigar stand down on Broadway, not far from Trinity Church. He has a good trade, and doesn't waste his money. Yes, I will ask Shorty."

 

"I hope he will be willing to grant your request, Dan."

 

"I hope so, too. He's a good-natured fellow, Shorty is, and he'll do it, if he can. I'll see him the first thing to-morrow morning."

 

Somewhat cheered by Dan's confident tone, Mrs. Mordaunt went to sleep as early as usual, forgetting the trouble possibly in store.

 

The next morning, before selling his papers, Dan went round to Shorty's stand.

 

[Pg 36]

 

"Good-morning, Dan," said the dwarf, in a singularly melodious¹¹ voice.

 

"Good-morning, Shorty. I thought I'd find you here."

 

"Yes, I begin business early."

 

"I am going to ask a favor of you," said Dan, abruptly¹².

 

"What is it, Dan?"

 

"Our rent's due to-day, and we are two dollars and a half short. I can make the fifty cents before noon. Can you lend me two dollars till I am able to pay it?"

 

To Dan's dismay Shorty shook his head.

 

"I wish I could, Dan, but there's something in the way."

 

"If you're afraid I won't pay you back, you needn't think of that. I never went back on a fellow that lent me money yet."

 

"I am not afraid of trusting you, Dan, but I haven't got the money."

 

"I understand," said Dan, coldly, for he suspected this to be a subterfuge¹³.

 

"No, you don't understand," said Shorty, eagerly. "You think what I say is a sham¹⁴, but you wouldn't if you knew all."

 

"If I knew all," repeated Dan, surprised.

 

"Yes, I shall have to tell you. I didn't mean to, but I don't want you to misunderstand me. The fact[Pg 37] is, Dan," Shorty added, sheepishly, "I've got more than myself to provide for now."

 

"What? You don't mean to say?" ejaculated Dan.

 

"I was married yesterday, Dan," said the cigar dealer¹⁵, almost apologetically, "and I've been buying furniture, and the fact is, I haven't got a cent to spare."

 

"Of course you haven't," said Dan. "I never dreamed of this. Is your wife—about your size?"

 

"No, Dan, she's rather tall. There she is, crossing the street. Do you see her?"

 

Dan looked, and saw a tall woman, of twenty-five or thereabouts, approaching the cigar stand. She was very plain, with a large mouth and a long, aquiline¹⁶ nose.

 

"That's my wife," said the cigar dealer, regarding his tall partner with evident pride. "Julia, my dear, this is my friend, Dan Mordaunt."

 

"Glad to see any friend of my husband," said the lady, in a deep, hoarse¹⁷ voice, which might have been mistaken for a man's. "He must come and see us."

 

"So I will, thank you," answered Dan, surveying the female grenadier with a wondering glance.

 

"We live at No. — Varick street, Dan, and I shall be very glad to see you any evening."

 

"By gracious!" said Dan to himself, "that's the queerest match I ever heard of. She might take[Pg 38] Shorty up in her arms and carry him off. I don't think he'll beat her very often," and Dan smiled at the thought.

 

The morning wore away, and at eleven o'clock Dan had earned forty cents. He began to get discouraged. There didn't seem to be much prospect¹⁸ of raising the rent before twelve o'clock.

1 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

2 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

3 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。

4 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

5 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

6 spunk   

n.勇气，胆量

参考例句：

• After his death,the soldier was cited for spunk.那位士兵死后因作战勇敢而受到表彰。
• I admired her independence and her spunk.我敬佩她的独立精神和勇气。

7 proprietor   

n.所有人；业主；经营者

参考例句：

• The proprietor was an old acquaintance of his.业主是他的一位旧相识。
• The proprietor of the corner grocery was a strange thing in my life.拐角杂货店店主是我生活中的一个怪物。

8 allusion   

n.暗示，间接提示

参考例句：

• He made an allusion to a secret plan in his speech.在讲话中他暗示有一项秘密计划。
• She made no allusion to the incident.她没有提及那个事件。

9 forage   

n.(牛马的)饲料，粮草；v.搜寻，翻寻

参考例句：

• They were forced to forage for clothing and fuel.他们不得不去寻找衣服和燃料。
• Now the nutritive value of the forage is reduced.此时牧草的营养价值也下降了。

10 dwarf   

n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小

参考例句：

• The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
• The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。

11 melodious   

adj.旋律美妙的，调子优美的，音乐性的

参考例句：

• She spoke in a quietly melodious voice.她说话轻声细语，嗓音甜美。
• Everybody was attracted by her melodious voice.大家都被她悦耳的声音吸引住了。

12 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

13 subterfuge   

n.诡计；藉口

参考例句：

• European carping over the phraseology represented a mixture of hypocrisy and subterfuge.欧洲在措词上找岔子的做法既虚伪又狡诈。
• The Independents tried hard to swallow the wretched subterfuge.独立党的党员们硬着头皮想把这一拙劣的托词信以为真。

14 sham   

n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的)

参考例句：

• They cunningly played the game of sham peace.他们狡滑地玩弄假和平的把戏。
• His love was a mere sham.他的爱情是虚假的。

15 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

16 aquiline   

adj.钩状的，鹰的

参考例句：

• He had a thin aquiline nose and deep-set brown eyes.他长着窄长的鹰钩鼻和深陷的褐色眼睛。
• The man has a strong and aquiline nose.该名男子有强大和鹰鼻子。

17 hoarse   

adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的

参考例句：

• He asked me a question in a hoarse voice.他用嘶哑的声音问了我一个问题。
• He was too excited and roared himself hoarse.他过于激动，嗓子都喊哑了。

18 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。