CHAPTER XXVII. AN UNEXPECTED FRIEND.

 Three days and nights passed, and Jasper was still in confinement¹. Three times a day Nathan came to bring him his meals. Each time he asked our hero:

 

"Are you ready to join our friends?"

 

And each time Jasper answered:

 

"No!"

 

"You must like staying here," said the old man.

 

"I am very tired of it," said Jasper, with a sigh.

 

"You can come out any time," said Nathan.

 

"Let me out now, then."

 

"Oh, no, my dear young friend," said Nathan, shaking his head, "not until you accept Jack²'s offer."

 

"Good heavens!" thought Jasper, "can it be possible that in the middle of a great city I can be imprisoned³ like this, with hundreds passing the house every hour? I wish I could be heard outside."

 

But this was impossible, owing to the peculiar⁴ situation of the room. The prospects⁵ of our young hero were certainly gloomy enough. But there's an old saying that the darkest hour is just before the dawn, and deliverance was nearer than Jasper supposed.

 

On the fourth day, at noon, Jasper heard steps ascending⁶ the stairs. He supposed it to be the old man, with his dinner, and he looked up listlessly as the sliding-door was opened. But instead of the wrinkled face of Nathan he beheld⁷ the fresh face of a young girl, apparently⁸ about sixteen years of age. She regarded the prisoner with curiosity and surprise.

 

"Here's your dinner," she said.

 

"Thank you," said Jasper. "Where is the old man that generally comes up?"

 

"Uncle Nathan? Oh, he's gone out for a little while."

 

"He's your uncle, then?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Do you live here?"

 

"I've only just come. He sent for me. What do they keep you here for?" she asked, her face expressing curiosity. "Are you sick?"

 

"I'm sick of being cooped up here."

 

"Then why do you stay?"

 

"Because I have to. Your uncle won't let me out."

 

"Why not?"

 

"Hasn't he told you?"

 

"No. He only told me to bring up your dinner. I thought it was a man. I didn't know it was a boy."

 

"You want to know why I am confined here?"

 

"Yes, if you'll tell me."

 

"It is because your uncle is afraid I'll inform the police against him and the men who come here."

 

"I don't know much about them. Are they bad people, then?"

 

"I am afraid they are. They do things that make them liable to be arrested."

 

"What! my uncle, too?" asked the girl, who appeared to be startled.

 

"I am not sure about him, but I feel sure about two men who come here. Their names are Jack and Bill."

 

"I know. I have seen them both. One is a young man, the other must be near fifty. He's stout⁹."

 

"Yes."

 

"How long do you think they will keep you here?"

 

"Until I agree to join them in breaking the laws."

 

"That's too bad," said the girl, compassionately¹⁰. "Isn't it awful to be shut up there?"

 

"Yes, it is. I've been here three or four days, and it seems as many weeks. Don't you think you could help me to escape?" asked Jasper, in a lower tone.

 

The girl looked frightened.

 

"I wouldn't dare to," she said.

 

"Wouldn't you, if you were sure your uncle wouldn't find out?"

 

"Yes, I would," she answered, heartily¹¹.

 

"Don't you think you could manage it?" asked Jasper, eagerly.

 

"I don't know. I wish I could," she answered, with evident sincerity¹².

 

"Nancy!" called the old man's voice from below, sharply, "hasn't that boy got through yet?"

 

"Coming, uncle," she answered.

 

"I'll speak with you again when I bring up your supper," she said, as she hurried down stairs.

 

She left Jasper eager and excited. At last he had made a friend in the camp of his enemies, and there was hope ahead.

1 confinement   

n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限

参考例句：

• He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。
• The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。

2 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

3 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

4 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

5 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

6 ascending   

adj.上升的，向上的

参考例句：

• Now draw or trace ten dinosaurs in ascending order of size.现在按照体型由小到大的顺序画出或是临摹出10只恐龙。

7 beheld   

v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

8 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。

10 compassionately   

adv.表示怜悯地，有同情心地

参考例句：

• The man at her feet looked up at Scarlett compassionately. 那个躺在思嘉脚边的人同情地仰望着她。 来自飘（部分）
• Then almost compassionately he said,"You should be greatly rewarded." 接着他几乎带些怜悯似地说：“你是应当得到重重酬报的。” 来自辞典例句

11 heartily   

adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很

参考例句：

• He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。
• The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

12 sincerity   

n.真诚，诚意；真实

参考例句：

• His sincerity added much more authority to the story.他的真诚更增加了故事的说服力。
• He tried hard to satisfy me of his sincerity.他竭力让我了解他的诚意。