CHAPTER XX A LETTER FROM PORTVILLE

 Gerald followed the reporter to the nearest station-house, and gave an account of the robbery. Notes were taken and he was asked, "If we arrest this man will you appear against him?"

 

"I want to leave town to-morrow, if possible."

 

"You will have to stay longer than that. However, we will hurry up the trial."

 

By this time Gerald was hungry.

 

"Is there a restaurant near by?" he said.

 

"Yes. I am going out to lunch myself; you can accompany me."

 

The reporter led the way to Fourteenth Street, where Gerald found a neat and satisfactory restaurant. The robbery had not spoiled his appetite, and he did justice to a generous meal.

 

When they left the restaurant the reporter asked: "Where are you going now?"

 

"I don't know. I have no particular plans."

 

"Then come with me. There has been a fire on Third Avenue, and I am commissioned to inquire particulars of the losses and insurance. It will give you an insight into city life."

 

"I shall be glad to go with you."

 

They visited the scene of the fire, and half an hour was consumed by the reporter in gathering¹ the needed information. Then they walked down the avenue toward Fourteenth Street.

 

All at once Gerald clutched his companion's arm.

 

"Look, Mr. Brown," he said; "there is the man that robbed me!"

 

A few rods in advance, walking with his usual sauntering gait, was Turner, known to Gerald as William Brand.

 

"You are right. That's the man."

 

"What shall I do?"

 

"Keep him in sight till you see a policeman. Then ask to have him arrested."

 

Usually it is said that a policeman is never in sight when he is wanted; but in this case there was an exception. One of the bluecoats turned into Third Avenue from a side street. Gerald darted² forward and touched him on the arm.

 

"What's wanted, sonny?" asked the officer.

 

"I have been robbed of fifty dollars, and there's the man that robbed me."

 

"Are you sure about this? I don't want to make a mistake."

 

By this time the reporter came up.

 

"It's all right, officer," he said. "I know the man."

 

"And who are you, sir?"

 

"A reporter on the Evening——"

 

The policeman regarded him with respect. He felt that it was well for him to keep in with reporters on the daily papers.

 

"All right, sir," he answered. "You will accompany me to the station-house?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Then I'll make the arrest. Keep close at hand."

 

Increasing his pace, the officer caught up with Brand and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned quickly, and when he recognized who it was that had touched him, his face underwent a quick change. But he put on a bold front.

 

"How are you, captain?" he said, with assumed nonchalance³. "You are Officer Benson, are you not?"

 

"No."

 

"I thought you were. Benson is a fine fellow, and an old-time friend of mine."

 

"That's all very well, but I have business with you. You are charged with the robbery of a wallet containing fifty dollars."

 

"This must be a joke!" said Brand, in assumed surprise. "Who makes the charge?"

 

The officer pointed⁴ out Gerald.

 

"Never saw him before in my life!" he exclaimed.

 

"Perhaps you never saw me, Mr. Turner?" struck in the reporter.

 

"Yes; you live in the same house with me."

 

"Exactly. You lured⁵ this boy to your room, and, after robbing him, locked him in. I released him."

 

"Was this the story he told you?"

 

"Yes."

 

"All I can say is, that if he got into my room it was for the purpose of robbery."

 

Gerald was about to make an indignant denial, when the officer said: "You'll have to go with me, Mr. Brandon Turner, or whatever your name is. I am not running a police court. You can defend yourself in the court-room."

 

"But this is an outrage⁶!" blustered⁷ Brand. "To be arrested on a false charge made by a young rascal⁸!"

 

"Come along! I didn't recognize you at first, but I believe you are Jim Hayden, whose picture is in the Rogues⁹' Gallery, in Mulberry Street."

 

In spite of further remonstrance¹⁰, Brand was taken to the police station, and, at Gerald's request, was searched. The missing wallet was found in his pocket, and proved to contain the lost money with the exception of five dollars, which had probably been spent.

 

He was tried the next day, and sentenced to three years in State's prison. Altogether Gerald was delayed three days. Then, with his restored money in his pocket, he started for Chicago. His new friend the reporter accompanied him to the depot¹¹ of the Pennsylvania Railroad at Jersey¹² City.

 

"I wish you good luck, Gerald," he said. "If you triumph over obstacles as you have done here, there is little doubt that you will come out successful in the end. I shall be glad if you will write me a line occasionally."

 

"I will do so, Mr. Brown. You have done me a great service, which I shall not readily forget."

 

Gerald remained two days in Chicago. By Mr. Nugent's advice he put up at the Palmer House, and devoted¹³ a part of his time to looking about the city. He was very much impressed by the bustling¹⁴ activity and energy of the Chicago people. He felt that life there and in New York was very different from the hum-drum existence of Portville. Yet there was no lack of attachment¹⁵ for his native village; and when, on the second day, the clerk handed him a letter with the familiar postmark, he opened it eagerly. The letter, as he surmised¹⁶, was from Richard Childs, to whom alone he had said anything of his destination.

 

This was the letter:

 

"Dear Gerald—It seems odd for me to sit down to write you a letter in Chicago. I cannot realize that you are so far away. What a lot you must have seen already! I only wish I were with you, instead of standing¹⁷ behind the counter in Mr. Tubbs' grocery store.

"You will ask how I like it. Well, I don't like it. It is hard work and long hours, and I don't find much interest in selling butter, sugar and other groceries over the counter. Still, we have had a share of excitement. You will be surprised to hear that your old friend Brandon has been discharged, and a new clerk hired from Dana. You remember the trouble you had, and the charge of stealing which was brought against you. I believe that up to the time of your going away Mr. Tubbs still believed you to be a thief. You can't wonder at it so much, for Brandon was constantly talking against you. But you were not without friends. Mr. Barton, from the savings¹⁸ bank, had an interview with Mr. Tubbs, and persuaded him to lay a trap for Brandon. Two marked bills—fives—were placed in the drawer, and presently one disappeared. I don't know whether Tubbs thought that I had taken it or not, but a day or two later Mr. Sullivan, who keeps the livery-stable, handed one in payment of his grocery bill.

"'Where did you get this five-dollar note?' asked Tubbs.

"'Why, isn't it good?' asked Sullivan.

"'Yes; but I have a reason for asking. I hope you haven't forgotten who gave it to you?'

"'No; I don't have so many fives handed in that I can't remember. That bill was given me by your clerk Brandon. He hired a team to go to Sherborn last Sunday and paid me with this bill.'

"'You could swear to that?'

"'Yes; certainly.'

"Of course this was convincing, and Brandon was summoned. When confronted with the charge he turned pale, and tried to brazen¹⁹ it out, saying that Sullivan was mistaken. But the livery man persisted in his assertion, saying that he noticed a cross in red ink on the bill when he took it. Upon that Brandon was discharged, and I understand his father has agreed to pay Mr. Tubbs fifty dollars to save him from arrest and prosecution²⁰. His successor, Mr. Toner, is a great improvement on him, and is much more satisfactory to me.

"I see your dear stepbrother Abel now and then. He asked me if I had heard from you, knowing our intimacy²¹; but I answered 'No.' He was wondering whether you were still in New York. I could have told him, but I didn't. He isn't very popular in the village. He tries to boss the other boys, but doesn't succeed very well. The boys are getting up a baseball club. He wanted to be captain, but only received one vote—his own. The captain chosen is my honorable self. What do you think of Captain Childs? Sounds great, doesn't it? Write as soon as you can, and let me know what has happened to you.

"Your true friend,

"Richard Childs."

1 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

2 darted   

v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 nonchalance   

n.冷淡，漠不关心

参考例句：

• She took her situation with much nonchalance.她对这个处境毫不介意。
• He conceals his worries behind a mask of nonchalance.他装作若无其事，借以掩饰内心的不安。

4 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

5 lured   

吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The child was lured into a car but managed to escape. 那小孩被诱骗上了车，但又设法逃掉了。
• Lured by the lust of gold,the pioneers pushed onward. 开拓者在黄金的诱惑下，继续奋力向前。

6 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

7 blustered   

v.外强中干的威吓( bluster的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮；（风）呼啸；狂吹

参考例句：

• He blustered his way through the crowd. 他吆喝着挤出人群。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The wind blustered around the house. 狂风呼啸着吹过房屋周围。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 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。

9 rogues   

n.流氓( rogue的名词复数 )；无赖；调皮捣蛋的人；离群的野兽

参考例句：

• 'I'll show these rogues that I'm an honest woman,'said my mother. “我要让那些恶棍知道，我是个诚实的女人。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• The rogues looked at each other, but swallowed the home-thrust in silence. 那些恶棍面面相觑，但只好默默咽下这正中要害的话。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛

10 remonstrance   

n抗议，抱怨

参考例句：

• She had abandoned all attempts at remonstrance with Thomas.她已经放弃了一切劝戒托马斯的尝试。
• Mrs. Peniston was at the moment inaccessible to remonstrance.目前彭尼斯顿太太没功夫听她告状。

11 depot   

n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站

参考例句：

• The depot is only a few blocks from here.公共汽车站离这儿只有几个街区。
• They leased the building as a depot.他们租用这栋大楼作仓库。

12 jersey   

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。

13 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

14 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

15 attachment   

n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附

参考例句：

• She has a great attachment to her sister.她十分依恋她的姐姐。
• She's on attachment to the Ministry of Defense.她现在隶属于国防部。

16 surmised   

v.臆测，推断( surmise的过去式和过去分词 )；揣测；猜想

参考例句：

• From the looks on their faces, I surmised that they had had an argument. 看他们的脸色，我猜想他们之间发生了争执。
• From his letter I surmised that he was unhappy. 我从他的信中推测他并不快乐。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

18 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

19 brazen   

adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的

参考例句：

• The brazen woman laughed loudly at the judge who sentenced her.那无耻的女子冲着给她判刑的法官高声大笑。
• Some people prefer to brazen a thing out rather than admit defeat.有的人不愿承认失败，而是宁肯厚着脸皮干下去。

20 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

21 intimacy   

n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行

参考例句：

• His claims to an intimacy with the President are somewhat exaggerated.他声称自己与总统关系密切，这有点言过其实。
• I wish there were a rule book for intimacy.我希望能有个关于亲密的规则。