CHAPTER XXIII. AN UNSUCCESSFUL QUEST.

 From the tenement¹ where Billy Darnley lived Nelson made his way to where Len Snocks resided.

 

This home in the tenements² was in strong contrast to that of the Darnleys. There were but three rooms, but each was as clean and bright as hard work could make them.

 

A small, trim-looking woman carrying a baby in her arms answered his knock. This proved to be Mrs. Snocks. In the rooms were several other children of various ages.

 

"No, I haven't seen Len since last night," she said, in reply to our hero's question. "He went off with another boy named Billy Darnley."

 

"Did he say where he was going or when he would be back?"

 

"He did not. I am anxious about him, too. He never stayed away all night before. What do you want of him?"

 

[Pg 177]

 

"He and Billy Darnley robbed my news stand last night."

 

"Robbed your stand!" Mrs. Snocks grew very pale. "Can this be true?"

 

"Yes, ma'am, it is." And Nelson gave the particulars once more.

 

"Too bad!" cried the woman, and, dropping on a kitchen chair, she covered her face with her apron³.

 

Nelson saw that she was suffering keenly, and felt sorry for her.

 

"It's that Darnley boy," she said presently. "He is a bad egg and is leading our Len astray. My husband and I have warned Len time and time again to let Billy alone; but he won't mind, and Billy leads him into all kinds of mischief⁴."

 

"Well, I'm sorry for you, ma'am, but we have got to have our stuff back."

 

"How much was it worth?"

 

"About seventy-five dollars."

 

"Oh, dear! I'm sure I don't know what to do."

 

"Is your husband to work?"

 

"No; he hasn't had any work for several months. Wait; I'll call him."

 

Mrs. Snocks went to a rear window and called to somebody in the courtyard below. Soon Mr.[Pg 178] Snocks appeared. He was an iron molder, but looked far from healthy.

 

"Stole from your stand," he said, after listening to his wife and Nelson. "This is the worst yet."

 

"It's Billy Darnley's fault," put in the wife.

 

"He hasn't any business to go with Billy, Mary. That rascal⁵ will lead him to prison."

 

"You're right there," said our hero.

 

"I don't know what to do," went on Mr. Snocks, to Nelson. "I'd square this up, only I'm out of work, and haven't more than two or three dollars to my name."

 

"We have three dollars and twenty-five cents," said the wife. "You can have that." And she brought out a well-worn pocketbook.

 

Her manner touched the newsboy to the heart.

 

"No, I won't take your last cent," he said. "You'll need it for yourself and the children. Only if you see Len, try to get back the goods or the money he got for them."

 

"We'll do that—don't fear," said Mr. Snocks. "And I'll thrash him everlastingly⁶ in the bargain."

 

No more could be accomplished⁷ at the Snockses' home, and soon Nelson was on his way back to the stand.

 

[Pg 179]

 

"What luck?" questioned George Van Pelt⁸, as soon as he appeared.

 

"Not much," he answered, and told his story. "We'll never hear from old Darnley," he added. "But perhaps we'll get something from the Snockses."

 

"I'm glad you didn't take that woman's last dollar," said Van Pelt. "We're not as hard up as all that, even if we have been almost cleaned out."

 

Fortunately for the partners they had paid all bills promptly⁹ since taking charge of the stand, so their credit was good. On the following morning Van Pelt went around and explained the situation to several wholesale¹⁰ dealers¹¹, and also to the news company, and succeeded in getting a fresh supply of goods on thirty and sixty days' time.

 

"We've got to hustle¹² to make it up," he said.

 

"Well, I'm in the business to hustle," answered Nelson, with a grim smile. "I never yet was idle, as far back as I can remember."

 

"Always sold newspapers?"

 

"Mostly. Once in a while I blacked boots and carried baggage, but not very often."

 

"Are you related to Sam Pepper?"

 

"I don't think I am."

 

[Pg 180]

 

"Hasn't he ever told you anything about yourself?"

 

"He has and again he hasn't. He told me some things that I don't believe are true, George."

 

"Humph! Well, I wouldn't trust him too much."

 

"I don't trust him at all, since the time he tried to help Mr. Bulson against Miss Gertrude."

 

"It's queer that Bulson is so possessed¹³ to marry Miss Horton, when she doesn't care for him."

 

"I guess the reason is that Bulson is afraid Mr. Horton will relent and take Miss Gertrude back, and then she'll come in for half the money, after all. He is so piggish that he wants to get it all."

 

"Mr. Horton ought to be told how Bulson is acting¹⁴."

 

"Miss Gertrude says he is a strange man and won't believe what anybody says about his nephew."

 

"He must be strange, or he wouldn't turn such a nice young lady as Miss Horton out of doors," said Van Pelt feelingly. He had met Gertrude several times and was much interested in her.

 

[Pg 181]

 

On the week following Mrs. Kennedy was served with a notice to quit her apartments, as the tenement was to be torn down. She and Gertrude hunted up other rooms, not far from Nelson's stand. These were bright and cheerful and a very great improvement over those vacated.

 

"And I will feel safer," said Gertrude. "For I fancy Homer Bulson knew the other home and often watched me going in and coming out."

 

Gertrude was right in her surmise¹⁵. Homer Bulson was watching her very closely and laying his plans to make her his own, in spite of herself.

 

But when everything was in readiness to make a move, he found to his chagrin¹⁶ that the rooms were empty and the building was being torn down.

 

"Hang the luck, anyhow!" he muttered sulkily. "Now where in the world shall I look for her?"

 

He questioned several people in the neighborhood, but nobody seemed to be able to give him any information.

 

The truth of the matter was Mrs. Kennedy had requested her friends to say nothing to a gentleman in a silk hat who asked about [Pg 182]Gertrude, and for this reason they were accordingly mum.

 

"Never mind, I'll find her sooner or later," Bulson told himself. "And then my next move will surely surprise her."

1 tenement   

n.公寓；房屋

参考例句：

• They live in a tenement.他们住在廉价公寓里。
• She felt very smug in a tenement yard like this.就是在个这样的杂院里，她觉得很得意。

2 tenements   

n.房屋，住户，租房子( tenement的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Here were crumbling tenements, squalid courtyards and stinking alleys. 随处可见破烂的住房、肮脏的庭院和臭气熏天的小胡同。 来自辞典例句
• The tenements are in a poor section of the city. 共同住宅是在城中较贫苦的区域里。 来自辞典例句

3 apron   

n.围裙；工作裙

参考例句：

• We were waited on by a pretty girl in a pink apron.招待我们的是一位穿粉红色围裙的漂亮姑娘。
• She stitched a pocket on the new apron.她在新围裙上缝上一只口袋。

4 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

5 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。

6 everlastingly   

永久地，持久地

参考例句：

• Why didn't he hold the Yankees instead of everlastingly retreating? 他为什么不将北军挡住，反而节节败退呢？
• "I'm tired of everlastingly being unnatural and never doing anything I want to do. "我再也忍受不了这样无休止地的勉强自己，永远不能赁自己高兴做事。

7 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

8 pelt   

v.投掷，剥皮，抨击，开火

参考例句：

• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。
• Crowds started to pelt police cars with stones.人群开始向警车扔石块。

9 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

10 wholesale   

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。

11 dealers   

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。

12 hustle   

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。

13 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

14 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

15 surmise   

v./n.猜想，推测

参考例句：

• It turned out that my surmise was correct.结果表明我的推测没有错。
• I surmise that he will take the job.我推测他会接受这份工作。

16 chagrin   

n.懊恼；气愤；委屈

参考例句：

• His increasingly visible chagrin sets up a vicious circle.他的明显的不满引起了一种恶性循环。
• Much to his chagrin,he did not win the race.使他大为懊恼的是他赛跑没获胜。