For the boys to appropriate to their own use money which had been received for their services was, in the eyes of the padrone, a crime of the darkest shade. In fact, if the example were generally followed, it would have made a large diminution3 of his income, though the boys might have been benefited. He listened to Pietro with an ominous4 scowl5, and decided6 to inflict7 condign8 punishment upon the young offenders9.
Meanwhile Phil and Giacomo resumed their wanderings. They no longer hoped to make up the large difference between what they had and the sum they were expected by the padrone to bring. As the evening advanced the cold increased, and penetrated10 through their thin clothing, chilling them through and through. Giacomo felt it the most. By and by he began to sob11 with the cold and fatigue12.
“What is the matter, Giacomo?” asked Phil, anxiously.
“I feel so cold, Filippo—so cold and tired. I wish I could rest.”
The boys were in Printing House Square, near the spot where now stands the Franklin statue.
“If you want to rest, Giacomo,” said Phil, pityingly, “we will go into French’s Hotel a little while.”
“I should like to.”
They entered the hotel and sat down near the heater. The grateful warmth diffused13 itself through their frames, and Giacomo sank back in his seat with a sigh of relief.
“Do you feel better, Giacomo?” asked his comrade.
“Yes, Filippo; I wish I could stay here till it is time to go home.”
“We will, then. We shall get no more money outside.”
“The padrone——”
“Will beat us at any rate. It will be no worse for us. Besides they may possibly ask us to play here.”
“I can play no more to-night, Filippo, I am so tired.”
Phil knew very little of sickness, or he might have seen that Giacomo was going to be ill. Exposure, fatigue, and privation had been too much for his strength. He had never been robust14, and he had been subjected to trials that would have proved hard for one much stronger to bear.
When he had once determined15 to remain in the comfortable hotel, Phil leaned back in his chair also, and decided to enjoy all the comfort attainable16. What though there was a beating in prospect17?
He had before him two or three hours of rest and relief from the outside cold. He was something of a philosopher, and chose not to let future evil interfere18 with present good.
Near the two boys sat two young men—merchants from the interior of New York State, who were making a business visit to the metropolis19.
“Well, Gardner,” said the first, “where shall we go to-night?”
“Why need we go anywhere?”
“I thought you might like to go to some place of amusement.”
“You are right as to that, but the evening will be long and stupid.”
“Oh, we can worry it through. Here, for instance, are two young musicians,” indicating the little fiddlers. “Suppose we get a tune22 out of them?”
“Yes,” said Phil.
“Well, give us a tune, then. Is that your brother?”
“No, he is my comrade.”
“He can play, too.”
“Will you play, Giacomo?”
The younger boy roused himself. The two stood up, and played two or three tunes23 successfully. A group of loungers gathered around them and listened approvingly. When they had finished Phil took off his hat and went the rounds. Some gave, the two first mentioned contributing most liberally. The whole sum collected was about fifty cents.
Phil and Giacomo now resumed their seats. They felt now that they were entitled to rest for the remainder of the evening, since they had gained quite as much as they would have been likely to earn in wandering about the streets. The group that had gathered about them dispersed24, and they ceased to be objects of attention. Fatigue and the warmth of the room gradually affected25 Giacomo until he leaned back and fell asleep.
“I won’t take him till it’s time to go back,” thought Phil.
So Giacomo slept on, despite the noises in the street outside and the confusion incident to every large hotel. As he sat asleep, he attracted the attention of a stout26 gentleman who was passing, leading by the hand a boy of ten.
“Is that your brother?” he asked in a low tone of Phil.
“No, signore; it is my comrade.”
“So you go about together?”
“Yes, sir,” answered Phil, bethinking himself to use English instead of Italian.
“He seems tired.”
“Yes; he is not so strong as I am.”
“Do you play about the streets all day?”
“Yes, sir.”
“How would you like that, Henry?” asked his father to the boy at his side.
“I should like to play about the streets all day,” said Henry, roguishly, misinterpreting the word “play.”
“I think you would get tired of it. What is your name, my boy?”
“Filippo.”
“And what is the name of your friend?”
“Giacomo.”
“Did you never go to school?”
Phil shook his head.
“Would you like to go?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You would like it better than wandering about the streets all day?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Why do you not ask your father to send you to school?”
“My father is in Italy.”
“And his father, also?”
“Si, signore,” answered Phil, relapsing into Italian.
“What do you think of that, Henry?” asked the gentleman. “How should you like to leave me, and go to some Italian city to roam about all day, playing on the violin?”
“I think I would rather go to school.”
“I think you would.”
“Are you often out so late, Filippo? I think that is the name you gave me.”
“Always,” he answered.
“At what time do you go home?”
“At eleven.”
“It is too late for a boy of your age to sit up. Why do you not go home sooner?”
“The padrone would beat me.”
“Who is the padrone?”
“The man who brought me from Italy to America.”
“Poor boys!” said the gentleman, compassionately28. “Yours is a hard life. I hope some time you will be in a better position.”
“Thank you,” he said.
“Good-night, signore.”
An hour passed. The City Hall clock near by struck eleven. The time had come for returning to their mercenary guardian31. Phil shook the sleeping form of Giacomo. The little boy stirred in his sleep, and murmured, “Madre.” He had been dreaming of his mother and his far-off Italian home. He woke to the harsh realities of life, four thousand miles away from that mother and home.
“Have I slept, Filippo?” he asked, rubbing his eyes, and looking about him in momentary32 bewilderment.
“Yes, Giacomo. You have slept for two hours and more. It is eleven o’clock.”
“Then we must go back.”
“Yes; take your violin, and we will go.”
They passed out into the cold street, which seemed yet colder by contrast with the warm hotel they just left, and, crossing to the sidewalk that skirts the park, walked up Centre street.
Giacomo was seized with a fit of trembling. His teeth chattered33 with the cold. A fever was approaching, although neither he nor his companion knew it.
“Are you cold, Giacomo?” asked Phil, noticing how he trembled.
“I am very cold. I feel sick, Filippo.”
“You will feel better to-morrow,” said Phil; but the thought of the beating which his little comrade was sure to receive saddened him more than the prospect of being treated in the same way himself.
They kept on their way, past the Tombs with its gloomy entrance, through the ill-lighted street, scarcely noticed by the policeman whom they passed—for he was accustomed to see boys of their class out late at night—until at last they reached the dwelling34 of the padrone, who was waiting their arrival with the eagerness of a brutal35 nature, impatient to inflict pain.
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1
malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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inhuman
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| adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的 | |
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diminution
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| n.减少；变小 | |
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ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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5
scowl
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| vi.(at)生气地皱眉，沉下脸，怒视；n.怒容 | |
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6
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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7
inflict
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| vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担 | |
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8
condign
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| adj.应得的，相当的 | |
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offenders
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| n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物） | |
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10
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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11
sob
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| n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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13
diffused
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| 散布的，普及的，扩散的 | |
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14
robust
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| adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的 | |
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15
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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attainable
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| a.可达到的，可获得的 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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18
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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19
metropolis
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| n.首府；大城市 | |
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inclement
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| adj.严酷的，严厉的，恶劣的 | |
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21
fiddle
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| n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动 | |
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tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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23
tunes
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| n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调 | |
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24
dispersed
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| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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compassionately
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| adv.表示怜悯地，有同情心地 | |
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29
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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31
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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32
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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33
chattered
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| （人）喋喋不休( chatter的过去式 )； 唠叨； （牙齿）打战； （机器）震颤 | |
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34
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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35
brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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