小说搜索     点击排行榜   最新入库
首页 » 儿童英文小说 » From Farm to Fortune or Nat Nason's Strange Experience » CHAPTER X OUT OF WORK ONCE MORE
选择底色: 选择字号:【大】【中】【小】
CHAPTER X OUT OF WORK ONCE MORE
关注小说网官方公众号(noveltingroom),原版名著免费领。
 During the time that he worked in the wholesale1 paper establishment Nat wrote a long letter to Sam Price, telling his friend of his adventures since leaving home, and asking for news from the farm. A few days later an answer came back, which ran as follows:
 
"I got your letter and found it very interesting. I hope you make your fortune in the city. It's certainly a fine place to go to, and maybe I'll try it myself some day. Country life is awful slow, and work is mighty2 hard. I have been hoeing corn to-day till my back aches ready to fall apart.
 
"Your uncle was awful mad to think you had run away, and madder still when he found you had sold the cow. He thought you were hiding in Cleveland, and he stayed in that city three days before he gave up the search. He claims that the cow belonged to him—that he took it for board and clothing for you, and he also sticks to it that you tried to burn down his barn. He says he is going to make it hot for you if he ever finds you. You can make sure I shan't tell him where you are."
 
Nat read the letter with keen interest, not once but several times, and shook his head slowly over the communication.
 
"I suppose Uncle Abner will always think I set fire to the barn," he thought. "Wish I could catch the person who really did do it. Must have been some tramp who was sleeping there and using a pipe."
 
At the end of the third week's work Nat had seven dollars saved, of which amount he was reasonably proud. But now came a setback3 for which he was not prepared.
 
"We have sold this concern to another party," said one of the proprietors5 to him. "After Saturday your services will be no longer required."
 
"Won't the new bosses need me?"
 
"No, for they have all the help of their own that they can use. Only our head bookkeeper will remain."
 
This was on Thursday, and during the balance of the week our hero looked around in his spare hours for another position, but without success. Monday morning found him doing nothing.
 
"As you said, it is not so easy to get a hold," said he to Dick. "Still, I don't feel quite so green as when I first reached New York. I at least know something about the streets and the stores."
 
Nat lost no time in looking for another place. But nothing turned up Monday or Tuesday, and Wednesday it rained so hard that he did not go out until after noon. Then he visited a fashionable wholesale jewelry6 establishment. Here he was asked to wait, while one of the proprietors interviewed a young man who had come in ahead of our hero.
 
The young man was dressed as a perfect dude, with a light checked suit, and very light gloves. He spoke7 with a drawl, and Nat heard every word that he said.
 
"What is your business, sir?" asked the jeweler.
 
"I believe, sir," said the young gentleman, "that you advertised for a—aw—a secretary."
 
"A clerk, yes, sir."
 
"Aw, all the same. Well, sir—aw—if we can agree upon terms, I should be—aw—flattered to proffer8 my services."
 
"Ah, indeed!" And the jeweler raised his eyebrows9 slightly.
 
"Yes, sir. You will be pleased to learn that all my connections—aw—move in the first circles."
 
"Undoubtedly10 that is very gratifying. But you mentioned terms. May I ask you what you expect?"
 
"Well, sir, perhaps a couple of thousand or so, a year. Then, I should wish to make certain stipulations—aw—as to the time I'm employed."
 
"Go on."
 
"For example, I never—aw—get up very early. I think it injures the health. But I think I could manage to get to the office by ten in the morning."
 
"I see."
 
"Then, I should want—aw—to have Saturday afternoons to myself, both in winter and summer. I always go to the theater matinées—so many—aw—pretty girls there," continued the dude.
 
"And what else?"
 
"I should not want to work later than five in the afternoon. Excessive labor11 is injurious to the health."
 
"Perhaps that is true."
 
"Then I should—aw—wish it understood that I could have five or six weeks off in the summer, so that I can visit the springs or the seashore," continued the dude. "Is that satisfactory?"
 
"I suppose it would be, to you," answered the jeweler.
 
"I think so."
 
"It wouldn't satisfy us at all."
 
"Really! That is too bad!"
 
"We want a man here who can work, and who is not afraid of long hours, and who doesn't set quite such a high figure on his services. You'll never fill the bill in the wide world. Good-day!"
 
"Really!" murmured the dude, and after staring at the jeweler, he turned on his heel and left in utter disgust. Several who had overheard the interview laughed out-right.
 
"What a perfect fool!" thought Nat. "I wonder if anybody will ever give him anything to do?"
 
"What can I do for you, young man?" asked the jeweler, turning to the boy.
 
"I am looking for work, sir."
 
"Are your expectations as high as those of the chap who just left?"
 
"No, sir. I am willing to work hard and I am not afraid of long hours."
 
"Then you are not a dude?"
 
"No, sir. Do I look like one?"
 
"You look like a country lad."
 
"I came from the country about a month ago. I've been working for Trumbull & Davison, the paper dealers12. But they have sold out to another firm and don't need me any longer."
 
"I see. Well, I am sorry for you, for you look bright and honest. But I need somebody with experience in the jewelry line."
 
"Then you haven't any place that I can fill?"
 
"No, I—but hold on. I'll tell you what I might do. Do you know anything about horses?"
 
"Yes, sir."
 
"And about a garden?"
 
"Yes, sir. I was brought up on a farm."
 
"I need a man around my country home in New Jersey13. I might try you there, at twelve dollars a month and your board."
 
Again Nat's face fell.
 
"Thank you, but I want to get something to do in the city," said he. "I am tired of farm life."
 
"Then I can't give you anything," and the jeweler turned away.
 
During the remainder of the day Nat visited several other stores and offices. But everywhere he received the same answer—that he was too late and the position advertised was already filled.
 
"Perhaps I did wrong not to take that position over in New Jersey," he thought, on his way to his boarding house. "But I don't want to go back to farm work if I can help it."
 
Two additional days passed, and still Nat found nothing to do, although he tramped from Forty-second Street clear down to the Battery several times. Then he obtained a job which lasted three days and paid him but two dollars.
 
"This isn't earning a living," he reasoned. "Unless I do better I'll have to try selling papers or blacking boots."
 
One morning he did try selling papers, under the tutorship of Dick, but the effort was not a success. By noon he had earned exactly nineteen cents and had sixteen papers still on hand.
 
"I guess you wasn't cut out for a newsboy," said Dick, frankly14. "What you want to do is, to get a steady job in a store or office."
 
"Yes, but the jobs are mighty scarce," answered Nat.
 
A week passed, and the country boy could find nothing more to do that was steady. One day he helped a man distribute bills, and on another occasion he carried out packages for a florist15, and the two jobs brought him in just a dollar. By this time the soles were worn from his shoes and he had to have them mended.
 
"Making one's way in the city isn't so easy after all," he thought one night, as he sat in his little room, on the edge of the bed. He had been counting up his money and found that he had but a little over four dollars left.
 
"I'll have to give Mrs. Talcott three and a half of that," he continued, "and that will leave me sixty-five cents. I've got to hustle16 or I'll be high and dry by next week."
 
Nat hustled17 all of the next week, but without results. In one store the proprietor4 was unusually harsh to him, and he came back to Mrs. Talcott's house more downcast than ever.
 
"I guess they don't want me in New York after all," he mused18. "If I can't get something to do I can't stay here, for Mrs. Talcott can't afford to keep me. I'll have to starve!"
 
He was so disheartened that he did not feel like eating. Immediately after the meal he went to his little room. Then, of a sudden he thought of the letter Paul Hampton had given him.
 
"I may as well open that," he reasoned. "Goodness knows I am short enough of funds, and pretty well discouraged too."
 
The letter was in his pocket, still pinned fast, and he brought it forth19 and gazed at it speculatively20.
 
"It would be just like him to put a five-dollar bill in it," he thought.
 
With his penknife he slit21 the envelope open, and looked inside. It contained a slip of paper and another slip, of a green color.
 
"A bill, as sure as I'm in this room!" he ejaculated. "I don't suppose it's less than a five, and maybe it's a ten. If he—well I declare!"
 
Nat rushed to the window to look at the bill, and then with a gasp22 he sank back on the only chair which the little bedroom contained. He could scarcely believe the evidence of his senses.
 
The bank bill was one for a hundred dollars.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 wholesale Ig9wL     
n.批发;adv.以批发方式;vt.批发,成批出售
参考例句:
  • The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物,以零售价卖出。
  • Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。
2 mighty YDWxl     
adj.强有力的;巨大的
参考例句:
  • A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
  • The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。
3 setback XzuwD     
n.退步,挫折,挫败
参考例句:
  • Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
  • She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。
4 proprietor zR2x5     
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。
5 proprietors c8c400ae2f86cbca3c727d12edb4546a     
n.所有人,业主( proprietor的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • These little proprietors of businesses are lords indeed on their own ground. 这些小业主们,在他们自己的行当中,就是真正的至高无上的统治者。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
  • Many proprietors try to furnish their hotels with antiques. 许多经营者都想用古董装饰他们的酒店。 来自辞典例句
6 jewelry 0auz1     
n.(jewllery)(总称)珠宝
参考例句:
  • The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
  • Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。
7 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
8 proffer FBryF     
v.献出,赠送;n.提议,建议
参考例句:
  • He rose and proffered a silver box full of cigarettes.他站起身,伸手递过一个装满香烟的银盒子。
  • I proffer to lend him one.我表示愿意借他一个。
9 eyebrows a0e6fb1330e9cfecfd1c7a4d00030ed5     
眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
  • His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。
10 undoubtedly Mfjz6l     
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。
11 labor P9Tzs     
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。
12 dealers 95e592fc0f5dffc9b9616efd02201373     
n.商人( dealer的名词复数 );贩毒者;毒品贩子;发牌者
参考例句:
  • There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
  • The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败,与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。
13 jersey Lp5zzo     
n.运动衫
参考例句:
  • He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
  • They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致,都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。
14 frankly fsXzcf     
adv.坦白地,直率地;坦率地说
参考例句:
  • To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说,我一点也不赞成这个主意。
  • Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说,我不反对改革。
15 florist vj3xB     
n.花商;种花者
参考例句:
  • The florist bunched the flowers up.花匠把花捆成花束。
  • Could you stop at that florist shop over there?劳驾在那边花店停一下好不好?
16 hustle McSzv     
v.推搡;竭力兜售或获取;催促;n.奔忙(碌)
参考例句:
  • It seems that he enjoys the hustle and bustle of life in the big city.看起来他似乎很喜欢大城市的热闹繁忙的生活。
  • I had to hustle through the crowded street.我不得不挤过拥挤的街道。
17 hustled 463e6eb3bbb1480ba4bfbe23c0484460     
催促(hustle的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • He grabbed her arm and hustled her out of the room. 他抓住她的胳膊把她推出房间。
  • The secret service agents hustled the speaker out of the amphitheater. 特务机关的代理人把演讲者驱逐出竞技场。
18 mused 0affe9d5c3a243690cca6d4248d41a85     
v.沉思,冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 );沉思自语说(某事)
参考例句:
  • \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们,”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道:‘我们这是在干什么?” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
19 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
20 speculatively 6f786a35f4960ebbc2f576c1f51f84a4     
adv.思考地,思索地;投机地
参考例句:
  • He looked at her speculatively. 他若有所思的看着她。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She eyed It'speculatively as a cruel smile appeared on her black lips. 她若有所思地审视它,黑色的嘴角浮起一丝残酷的微笑。 来自互联网
21 slit tE0yW     
n.狭长的切口;裂缝;vt.切开,撕裂
参考例句:
  • The coat has been slit in two places.这件外衣有两处裂开了。
  • He began to slit open each envelope.他开始裁开每个信封。
22 gasp UfxzL     
n.喘息,气喘;v.喘息;气吁吁他说
参考例句:
  • She gave a gasp of surprise.她吃惊得大口喘气。
  • The enemy are at their last gasp.敌人在做垂死的挣扎。


欢迎访问英文小说网

©英文小说网 2005-2010

有任何问题,请给我们留言,管理员邮箱:[email protected]  站长QQ :点击发送消息和我们联系56065533