CHAPTER XXXVI. DAN MAKES A DISCOVERY.

 Dan's eyes sparkled¹ with joy at the success of his plan.

 

"Now tell me," he said, drawing the newsboy aside to a place where they would not be overheard².

 

"First give me my car fare."

 

"All right. Here's a quarter. Never mind the change."

 

"You've made a fortun' by fiddling³, you have," said the newsboy, in surprise.

 

"I am not a fiddler. I am a detective."

 

The newsboy whistled.

 

"You're a young one."

 

"Never mind that. Go ahead with your story."

 

The newsboy described his following Hartley to Donovan's.

 

Hartley went in, and he directly afterward⁴.

 

"What sort of a place is it?" asked Dan.

 

"It's a saloon."

 

"Perhaps he only went in for a drink," suggested Dan, uneasily⁵.

 

[Pg 261]

 

"No, he didn't call for nothing to drink. I saw him take out some money and give to the man and the woman."

 

"What man and what woman?"

 

"They was the Donovans."

 

"How long did you stay?"

 

"Ten minutes. I axed old Donovan to buy a paper, and he wouldn't. Then I sat down for a minute, makin' believe I was tired. They looked at me, but I didn't appear to be noticin' 'em, and they let me stay."

 

"Did you see anything of a little girl?" asked Dan, eagerly.

 

"Yes, there was a little gal⁶ came in. The woman called her Katy."

 

Dan's spirits sank. It was Mrs. Donovan's daughter, he feared, not the child he was seeking.

 

"How did she look? How old was she?"

 

"About five or six years old."

 

He added a description of the little girl which quite revived⁷ Dan's hopes, for it answered in every respect to Althea.

 

"Did you hear the little girl say anything?"

 

"Yes, she told her mother she wanted to see Dan."

 

Dan's eyes glistened⁸. It was Althea, after all.

 

"It's all right," he said. "You needn't tell me any more. You're a trump⁹."

 

"Have you found out what you want to know?"

 

[Pg 262]

 

"Yes. Have you anything to do for the next two hours?"

 

"No."

 

"Then I'll pay you another dollar to go to the place with me. I think I could find it myself, but I can't take any chances. And don't say a word about what you have seen."

 

"I won't. Is this little gal your sister?"

 

"She is my adopted sister, and she has been stolen from us."

 

"Then I'd be willing to help you for nothing. I've got a little sister about her size. If anybody stole her, I'd mash¹⁰ him!"

 

"Come along, then."

 

The two boys boarded a car, and in forty minutes got out.

 

"That's the place," said the newsboy, pointing out Donovan's, only a few rods away.

 

"All right. You'd better leave me now, or you may be remembered, and that would lead them to suspect me. Here's your money, and thank you."

 

"I hope you'll find your sister."

 

"Thank you. If I do, it'll be through your help."

 

Dan did not at once enter Donovan's. He stopped in the street, and began to sing "Viva Garibaldi."

 

Two or three boys gathered about him, and finally a[Pg 263] couple of men. One of them handed him a three-cent piece.

 

"Grazio, signor," said Dan, pulling off his hat.

 

"What part of Italy do you come from?" asked one of the men.

 

"Si, signor, I come from Italy," answered Dan, not considering it prudent¹¹ to understand too well.

 

"Oh, he don't understand you. Come along."

 

"His hair doesn't look like that of most Italians."

 

"Pooh! I'd know him for an Italian boy anywhere."

 

At this moment the door of the saloon opened, and Dan, putting his violin under his arm, entered.

1 sparkled   

v.发火花，闪耀( sparkle的过去式和过去分词 )；（饮料）发泡；生气勃勃，热情奔放，神采飞扬

参考例句：

• Her jewellery sparkled in the candlelight. 烛光下，她的首饰光彩熠熠。
• Her eyes sparkled with excitement. 她的眼睛由于兴奋而发亮。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 overheard   

adj. 串音的, 偶而听到的 动词overhear的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• We talked quietly so as not to be overheard. 我们低声交谈，以免别人听到。
• I told Lucy the news under my breath, but Joyce overheard me. 我低声地把这个消息告诉露西，可还是被乔伊斯听到了。

3 fiddling   

微小的

参考例句：

• He was fiddling with his keys while he talked to me. 和我谈话时他不停地摆弄钥匙。
• All you're going to see is a lot of fiddling around. 你今天要看到的只是大量的胡摆乱弄。 来自英汉文学 - 廊桥遗梦

4 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

5 uneasily   

adv. 不安地, 局促地

参考例句：

• I wondered uneasily if anything had happened to the children. 我忐忑不安地揣测孩子们是不是出了什么事。
• They looked unsure and shifted uneasily from foot to foot. 他们看上去没有把握，站在那儿左右脚换来换去不安地晃着。

6 gal   

n.姑娘，少女

参考例句：

• We decided to go with the gal from Merrill.我们决定和那个从梅里尔来的女孩合作。
• What's the name of the gal? 这个妞叫什么？

7 revived   

adj.再生的v.恢复( revive的过去式和过去分词 )；苏醒；使再生效；回忆起

参考例句：

• The flowers soon revived in water. 这些花见了水很快就活过来了。
• The temperance [dry; anti-alcohol] movement revived in the city. 这个城市的禁酒运动又活跃起来了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 glistened   

v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Pearls of dew glistened on the grass. 草地上珠露晶莹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Her eyes glistened with tears. 她的眼里闪着泪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

10 mash   

n.麦芽浆，糊状物，土豆泥；v.把…捣成糊状，挑逗，调情

参考例句：

• He beat the potato into a mash before eating it.他把马铃薯捣烂后再吃。
• Whiskey,originating in Scotland,is distilled from a mash of grains.威士忌源于苏格兰，是从一种大麦芽提纯出来的。

11 prudent   

adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的

参考例句：

• A prudent traveller never disparages his own country.聪明的旅行者从不贬低自己的国家。
• You must school yourself to be modest and prudent.你要学会谦虚谨慎。