CHAPTER XXXIV. FATHER AND SON—CONCLUSION.

 "It's Nelson an' Miss Gertrude I want to see," those in the sick chamber¹ heard Mrs. Kennedy exclaim. "An' I want to see 'em at once. I have great news for 'em."

 

"I'll go," said Nelson, and slipped downstairs, followed by Gertrude. They found Mrs. Kennedy in a state of high excitement. Her faded bonnet² was on one ear, and she walked the floor rapidly.

 

"Oh, my! Upon me soul, I can't belave it!" she burst out. "It's like a dream, Nelson, so it is."

 

"What is like a dream, Mrs. Kennedy?"

 

"The story I have to tell, Nelson. Poor, poor man! but it was all for the best—wid that crime on his mind."

 

"What are you talking about?" put in Gertrude.

 

"I'm talkin' av poor Sam Pepper, Miss Gertrude. He's dead."

 

[Pg 267]

 

"Dead!" burst out Gertrude and Nelson simultaneously³.

 

Mrs. Kennedy nodded her head half a dozen times.

 

"Yes, dead; cut to pieces on the elevated railroad, at the station close to me little stand. He died wid me a-holdin' av his hand."

 

"It's too bad," murmured Nelson. "Poor fellow! he had some ways about him that I liked."

 

"But it's not that I came about," went on Mrs. Kennedy. "Whin they brought the poor man to the sidewalk to wait for an ambulance, I stayed by him, and he says to me, says he, 'Mrs. Kennedy, I have something on me mind,' says he. 'I want to tell it to you,' says he. So says I, 'What is it?' Says he, 'It's about Nelson. He's a good boy,' says he. 'And I aint done right by him. Tell him I stole him from his father, and that his father is Mr. Mark Horton, Miss Gertrude's uncle.'"

 

"Mark Horton my father!" gasped⁴ Nelson, and the room seemed to go round and round in a bewildering whirl. "He my father! Can it be true?"

 

"It must be true!" cried Gertrude.

 

"And he says, too, 'Beware of Homer Bulson. He is a thief—he robbed his uncle's safe.[Pg 268] I caught him at it. He has his uncle's will, too,' says poor Pepper. 'He wants to git hold of all the money,' says he."

 

"Yes, I know Homer Bulson is a rascal," said Nelson. "But this other news——" He sank in a chair.

 

"Then you are David Horton, Nelson!" cried Gertrude. "I am indeed very glad of it. I know of no one I would like more for a cousin."

 

"David Horton!" came a hollow voice from the doorway⁵, and Mr. Horton staggered in. "Can this be possible? It must be! See, I recognize his face now. Yes, yes; you are my son David! Come to me!" And he held out his arms.

 

Nelson came forward slowly, then of a sudden he reached forth⁶, and grasped Mark Horton's hands tightly.

 

"I—I suppose it's true," he faltered⁷. "But it will take me a long time to—to get used to it."

 

"My little David had just such eyes and hair as you have," went on Mark Horton, as he still held Nelson closely to him. "And your face reminds me greatly of your mother. There can be no mistake. You are my own little David."

 

[Pg 269]

 

"Well, I'm glad that I'm not Nelson, the nobody, any longer," stammered⁸ our young hero. He could scarcely talk intelligibly⁹, he felt so queer.

 

"My own cousin David!" said Gertrude, and she, too, embraced him.

 

"Well, I always thought we'd be something to each other, Gertrude," said he. "But, come to think of it, if I am David Horton, then Homer Bulson is a cousin, too."

 

"Unfortunately, yes."

 

"Do not fear! He shall not come between you," said Mark Horton. "My eyes are being opened to his schemes."

 

"Sure an' he's a snake in the grass," burst out Mrs. Kennedy.

 

She had scarcely spoken when there was another arrival at the mansion¹⁰, and Homer Bulson came in.

 

On seeing the assembled company, he was nearly struck dumb. He looked from one to another in open-mouthed and speechless amazement¹¹.

 

"Why—er—how did you get here?" he questioned at last, addressing Gertrude.

 

"That is my affair, Mr. Bulson," she answered coldly.

 

"And you?" he added, turning sharply to our[Pg 270] hero. "You have no business in a gentleman's house."

 

"Homer!" exclaimed Mark Horton, and shook his fist at his nephew.

 

"Hush¹², uncle! We will deal with him," remonstrated¹³ Gertrude. "Pray, do not excite yourself."

 

"I have business here," said our hero dryly, realizing that he had a great advantage over Bulson. "You hardly expected to see Gertrude come back from Lakewood so soon, did you?"

 

"I—er—I know nothing of Lakewood," stammered Bulson.

 

"That proves you have a wonderfully short memory, Homer Bulson."

 

"I won't listen to you. You get right out of this house."

 

"I won't get out."

 

"Then I'll call an officer, and have you put out."

 

"If you call an officer, you'll be the one to go with him," returned our hero calmly. "Homer Bulson, your game is played to the end, and you have lost."

 

"Boy, you talk in riddles¹⁴."

 

"Then I'll explain myself. You plotted to drive Gertrude from this house, and you [Pg 271]succeeded. Then you plotted against your uncle, and had Gertrude made a prisoner at Lakewood."

 

"Stuff and nonsense!"

 

"It is the truth. Perhaps you'll deny next that you ever knew Sam Pepper."

 

"Why, has that fool come here?" roared Bulson, in a rage. "I told him——" He stopped short in confusion.

 

"Sam Pepper is dead—killed on the elevated railroad. Before he died he confessed several things, and, among others, what a villain¹⁵ you were."

 

"Ah! and what else?"

 

"He said I was the son of Mr. Horton here."

 

At this Homer Bulson grew as pale as death. He clutched at a table, then sank heavily on a near-by chair.

 

"It is—is false," he muttered, but his looks belied¹⁶ his words.

 

"It is true," broke in Mark Horton. "The boy is my son. This Sam Pepper was merely Pepperill Sampson in disguise. Homer, you are a villain!"

 

"Uncle Mark——"

 

"No, I won't listen to you. I listened before; now I am done. If you ever try to lift a finger[Pg 272] against Gertrude or David, I will cut you off without a penny."

 

"But—but——"

 

"I am having the wine which you gave me examined. If I find that it was doctored—well, you had better be missing, that's all," added Mark Horton sternly. "I am willing to do much to avoid a family scandal, but I will not stand too much."

 

"Who—who has the wine?"

 

"The doctor."

 

At this piece of information Homer Bulson leaped to his feet.

 

"It's an outrage¹⁷! I won't stand it!" he shouted. "You are all plotting against me!" And so speaking, he ran to the hall, picked up his silk hat, and hastily rushed from the mansion.

 

"Shall I go after him?" questioned our hero.

 

"No; let him go," returned the retired¹⁸ merchant.

 

"But he will never come back—you may be certain of that."

 

"So much the better, for then all scandal will be avoided, and we will be very well rid of him."

 

"Yes; let him go," added Gertrude. [Pg 273]"Possibly he will repent¹⁹ and turn over a new leaf."

 

"All right! Give him the chance," murmured the boy, and then turning to his father, he added: "I guess I can afford to be generous when I've gained a father, and such a cousin as Gertrude!"

 

A few words more, and then we will bring this story of life in New York City to a close.

 

As anticipated, Homer Bulson fled from the city without delay, and nothing was heard of him for months, when it was learned that he had joined an exploring expedition bound for South Africa. A year later he sent a long letter to his uncle, stating that he was in the mines of the Transvaal, and doing fairly well. He added that he bitterly repented²⁰ of his wrongdoings, and hoped his uncle and the others would forgive him. To this Mr. Horton replied that he would forgive him if he continued to make a man of himself, and this Bulson did, within his limited ability.

 

Great was George Van Pelt's astonishment²¹ when he learned that Nelson was Mr. Horton's lost son. At first he refused to believe what was told him.

 

[Pg 274]

 

"You are lucky," he said at last. "You won't want the news stand any longer."

 

"No," said our hero. "I'm going to give my share to Paul Randall. And what is more, I'll pay that money we borrowed from Mr. Amos Barrow; so neither of you will have any debt hanging over you."

 

Our hero was as good as his word, and not only did he clear the news stand, but some time later he purchased a better fruit-and-candy stand for Mrs. Kennedy, and also a first-class flower stand for Gladys Summers.

 

"You're a fine young gentleman," said Mrs. Kennedy. "A fine boy, Nelson—beggin' your pardon, Master David."

 

"I'm not used to the name yet," laughed our hero. "I guess I will be Nelson the Newsboy for a long time to come among my old friends."

 

"I am very thankful to you," said Gladys. "That flower stand is just what I wanted." And she gave Nelson her sweetest smile.

 

Nothing had been heard of the Victory or of Billy Darnley. The ship sailed to the West Indies and to South America, and from there to the Pacific, and whatever became of the bully²² David Horton never learned, nor did he care. Len Snocks drifted to Jersey²³ City, and then to[Pg 275] the West, and became a tramp, and was at last killed while stealing a ride on a freight train.

 

As soon as it was discovered how Mr. Horton had been slowly poisoned, the doctor set to work to counteract²⁴ the effects of the drugs. Gertrude, our hero, and Mrs. Conroy took turns in caring for the sick man, and before very long he began to show signs of rapid improvement.

 

"It is like some terrible nightmare," he explained one day, when walking out, with Gertrude on one side of him and David on the other. "I was not myself at all."

 

"No, you were not yourself," said Gertrude. "But you soon will be." And she was right. By the following spring Mark Horton was a comparatively well man.

 

These events all occurred a number of years ago, and since that time several important things have happened to our hero. As soon as his identity was established he was provided with a private tutor, who taught him for several years and prepared him for Columbia College. He passed through college with flying colors,, and then took up civil engineering, and to-day he is building large bridges for a leading railroad company. He is doing well, and is [Pg 276]devoted to his work. He lives with his father and his cousin and is very happy. But even in his happiness it is not likely that he will ever forget the days when he was "Nelson the Newsboy."

THE END.

1 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

2 bonnet   

n.无边女帽；童帽

参考例句：

• The baby's bonnet keeps the sun out of her eyes.婴孩的帽子遮住阳光，使之不刺眼。
• She wore a faded black bonnet garnished with faded artificial flowers.她戴着一顶褪了色的黑色无边帽，帽上缀着褪了色的假花。

3 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

4 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

6 forth   

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。

7 faltered   

（嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃

参考例句：

• He faltered out a few words. 他支吾地说出了几句。
• "Er - but he has such a longhead!" the man faltered. 他不好意思似的嚅嗫着：“这孩子脑袋真长。”

8 stammered   

v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He stammered most when he was nervous. 他一紧张往往口吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Barsad leaned back in his chair, and stammered, \"What do you mean?\" 巴萨往椅背上一靠，结结巴巴地说，“你是什么意思？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

9 intelligibly   

adv.可理解地，明了地，清晰地

参考例句：

• The foreigner spoke to us quite intelligibly. 这个外国人对我们讲的话理解很好。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Logically or intelligibly ordered or presented; coherent. 有逻辑或理性地排列或表现的；协调的。 来自互联网

10 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

11 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

12 hush   

int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静

参考例句：

• A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
• Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去！

13 remonstrated   

v.抗议( remonstrate的过去式和过去分词 )；告诫

参考例句：

• They remonstrated with the official about the decision. 他们就这一决定向这位官员提出了抗议。
• We remonstrated against the ill-treatment of prisoners of war. 我们对虐待战俘之事提出抗议。 来自辞典例句

14 riddles   

n.谜（语）( riddle的名词复数 )；猜不透的难题，难解之谜

参考例句：

• Few riddles collected from oral tradition, however, have all six parts. 但是据收集的情况看，口头流传的谜语很少具有这完整的六部分。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗
• But first, you'd better see if you can answer riddles. 但是你首先最好想想你会不会猜谜语。 来自辞典例句

15 villain   

n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因

参考例句：

• He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
• The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。

16 belied   

v.掩饰( belie的过去式和过去分词 )；证明（或显示）…为虚假；辜负；就…扯谎

参考例句：

• His bluff exterior belied a connoisseur of antiques. 他作风粗放，令人看不出他是古董鉴赏家。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her smile belied her true feelings. 她的微笑掩饰了她的真实感情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 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。

18 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

19 repent   

v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔

参考例句：

• He has nothing to repent of.他没有什么要懊悔的。
• Remission of sins is promised to those who repent.悔罪者可得到赦免。

20 repented   

对（自己的所为）感到懊悔或忏悔( repent的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He repented his thoughtlessness. 他后悔自己的轻率。
• Darren repented having shot the bird. 达伦后悔射杀了那只鸟。

21 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

22 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• 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。

23 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。

24 counteract   

vt.对…起反作用，对抗，抵消

参考例句：

• The doctor gave him some medicine to counteract the effect of the poison.医生给他些药解毒。
• Our work calls for mutual support.We shouldn't counteract each other's efforts.工作要互相支持，不要互相拆台。