小说搜索     点击排行榜   最新入库
首页 » 儿童英文小说 » Rough and Ready » CHAPTER IV. A FORTUNATE MEETING.
选择底色: 选择字号:【大】【中】【小】
CHAPTER IV. A FORTUNATE MEETING.
关注小说网官方公众号(noveltingroom),原版名著免费领。
 "Where are we going, Rufus?" asked Rose, as they left the subterranean1 shop.
"That's what I'm trying to think, Rose," said her brother, not a little perplexed2.
To tell the truth, Rough and Ready had acted from impulse, and without any well-defined plan in his mind. He had resolved to take Rose from her old home, if it deserved the name, and for reasons which the reader will no doubt pronounce sufficient; but he had not yet had time to consider where they should live in future.
This was a puzzling question.
If the newsboy had been a capitalist, or in receipt of a handsome income, the question would have been a very simple one. He would only need to have bought a "Morning Herald," and, from the long list of boarding and lodging3 houses, have selected one which he judged suitable. But his income was small, and he had himself and his sister to provide for. He knew that it must be lonely for Rose to pass the greater part of the day without him; yet it seemed to be necessary. If only there was some suitable person for her to be with. The loss of her mother was a great one to Rose, for it left her almost without a companion.
So Rough and Ready knit his brows in perplexing thought.
"I can't tell where we'd better go, Rose, yet," he said at last. "We'll have to look round a little, and perhaps we'll come across some good place."
"I hope it'll be some place where father won't find us," said Rose.
"Don't call him father," said the newsboy, hastily. "He isn't our father."
"No," said Rose, "I know that,—that is not our own father."
"Do you remember our own father, Rose? But of course you don't, for you were only a year old when he died."
"How old were you, Rufus?"
"I was nine."
"Tell me about father. Mother used to tell me about him sometimes."
"He was always kind and good. I remember his pleasant smile whenever he came home. Once he was pretty well off; but he failed in business, and had to give up his store, and, soon after, he died, so that mother was left destitute4. Then she married Mr. Martin."
"What made her?"
"It was for our sake, Rose. She thought he would give us a good home. But you know how it turned out. Sometimes I think mother might have been alive now, if she hadn't married him."
"Oh, I wish she was," said Rose, sighing.
"Well, Rose, we won't talk any more of Mr. Martin. He hasn't got any more to do with us. He can take care of himself, and we will take care of ourselves."
"I don't know, Rufie," said the little girl; "I'm afraid he'll do us some harm."
"Don't be afraid, Rose; I aint afraid of him, and I'll take care he don't touch you."
The little girl's apprehensions5 were not without good reason. They had not done with this man Martin. He was yet to cause them considerable trouble. What that trouble was will be developed in the course of the story. Our business now is to follow the course of the two orphans6.
They had reached and crossed the City Hall Park, and now stood on the Broadway pavement, opposite Murray Street.
"Are we going to cross Broadway, Rufus?" asked his little sister.
"Yes, Rose. I've been thinking you would feel more comfortable to be as far away from our old room as possible. If we can get a lodging on the west side of Broadway somewhere, we shan't be so apt to meet Mr. Martin. You'd like that better, wouldn't you?"
"Oh, yes, I should like that better."
"Now we'll cross. Keep firm hold of my hand Rose, or you'll get run over."
During the hours of daylight, except on Sunday, there is hardly a pause in the long line of vehicles of every description that make their way up and down the great central thoroughfare of the city. A quick eye and a quick step are needed to cross in safety. But the practised newsboy found no difficulty. Dodging7 this way and that, he led his sister safely across.
"Let us go up Broadway, Rufus," said the little girl, who, living always in the eastern part of the city, was more used to Chatham Street and the Bowery than the more fashionable Broadway.
"All right, Rose. We can turn off higher up."
So the newsboy walked up Broadway, on the west side, his little sister clinging to his arm. Occasionally, though they didn't know it, glances of interest were directed towards them. The attractive face of little Rose, set off by her neat attire8, and the frank, open countenance9 of our young hero, who looked more manly10 in his character of guardian11 to his little sister, made a pleasant impression upon the passers-by, or at least such as could spare a thought from the business cares which are apt to engross12 the mind to the exclusion13 of everything.
"If I only had two such children!" thought a childless millionaire, as he passed with a hurried step. His coffers were full of gold, but his home was empty of comfort and happiness. He might easily have secured it by diverting a trifling14 rill, from his full stream of riches, to the channel of charity; but this never entered his mind.
So the children walked up the street, jostled by hurrying multitudes, little Rose gazing with childish interest at the shop windows, and the objects they presented. As for Rough and Ready, Broadway was no novelty to him. His busy feet had traversed every portion of the city, or at least the lower part, and he felt at home everywhere. While his sister was gazing at the shop windows, he was engaged in trying to solve the difficult question which was still puzzling him,—"Where should he find a home for his sister?"
The solution of the question was nearer than he anticipated.
As they passed a large clothing-house, the little girl's attention was suddenly attracted to a young woman, who came out of the front entrance with a large bundle under her arm.
"O Miss Manning," she cried, joyfully15, "how do you do?"
"What, little Rose!" exclaimed the seamstress, a cordial smile lighting16 up her face, pale from confinement17 and want of exercise.
"How are you, Miss Manning?" said the newsboy, in an off-hand manner.
"I am glad to see you, Rufus," said the young woman, shaking hands with him. "How you have grown!"
"Have I?" said Rough and Ready, pleased with what he regarded as a compliment. "I'm glad I'm getting up in the world that way, if I can't in any other."
"Do you sell papers now, Rufus?"
"Yes. I expect all the newspaper editors would fail if I didn't help 'em off with their papers."
"You are both looking fresh and rosy18."
"Particularly Rose," said the newsboy, laughing. "But you are not looking very well, Miss Manning."
"Oh, I'm pretty well," said the seamstress; "but I don't get much chance to get out into the air."
"You work too hard."
"I have to work hard," she replied, smiling faintly. "Sewing is not very well paid, and it costs a great deal to live. Where are you living now?"
"We are not living anywhere," said Rose.
"We are living on Broadway just at present," said Rough and Ready.
The seamstress looked from one to the other in surprise, not understanding what they meant.
"Where is your father now?" she asked.
"I have no father," said the newsboy.
"Is Mr. Martin dead, then?"
"No, he's alive, but he isn't my father, and I won't own him as such. If you want to know where he is, I will tell you. He is lying drunk on the floor of a room on Leonard Street, or at least he was half an hour ago."
The newsboy spoke19 with some bitterness, for he never could think with any patience of the man who had embittered20 the last years of his mother's life, and had that very morning nearly deprived his little sister of the clothing which he had purchased for her.
"Have you left him, then?" asked the seamstress.
"Yes, we have left him, and we do not mean to go near him again."
"Then you mean to take the whole care of your little sister, Rufus?"
"Yes."
"It is a great responsibility for a boy like you."
"It is what I have been doing all along. Mr. Martin hasn't earned his share of the expenses. I've had to take care of us both, and him too, and then he didn't treat us decently. I'll tell you what he did this morning."
Here he told the story of the manner in which his little sister had been robbed of her dress.
"You don't think I'd stand that, Miss Manning, do you?" he said, lifting his eyes to hers.
"No, Rufus; it seemed hard treatment. So you're going to find a home somewhere else?"
"Yes."
"Where do you expect to go?"
"Well, that is what puzzles me," said the newsboy. "I want some place in the west part of the city, so as to be out of Martin's way. Where do you live?"
"In Franklin Street, not far from the river."
"Is it a good place?"
"As good as I can expect. You know that I am poor as well as you."
"Is there any chance for us in the house?" asked Rufus, with a sudden idea touching21 the solution of the problem that had troubled him.
"No, there is no room vacant, I believe," said the seamstress, thoughtfully. "If there were only Rose, now," she added, "I could take her into the room with me."
"That's just the thing," said Rufus, joyfully. "Rose, wouldn't you like to be with Miss Manning? Then you would have company every day."
"Yes," said Rose, "I should like it ever so much; but where would you be?" she asked, doubtfully.
"I'll go to the Newsboys' Lodging House to sleep, but I'll come every afternoon and evening to see you. I'll give Miss Manning so much a week for your share of the expenses, and then I'll feel easy about you. But wouldn't she be a trouble to you, Miss Manning?"
"A trouble," repeated the seamstress. "You don't know how much I shall enjoy her company. I get so lonely sometimes. If you'll come with me now, I'll show you my room, and Rose shall find a home at once."
Much relieved in mind, Rough and Ready, with his sister still clinging to his arm, followed the seamstress down Franklin Street towards her home near the river.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 subterranean ssWwo     
adj.地下的,地表下的
参考例句:
  • London has 9 miles of such subterranean passages.伦敦像这样的地下通道有9英里长。
  • We wandered through subterranean passages.我们漫游地下通道。
2 perplexed A3Rz0     
adj.不知所措的
参考例句:
  • The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛,走了又回来,犹豫不决,总怕上当受骗。
  • The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。
3 lodging wRgz9     
n.寄宿,住所;(大学生的)校外宿舍
参考例句:
  • The bill is inclusive of the food and lodging. 账单包括吃、住费用。
  • Where can you find lodging for the night? 你今晚在哪里借宿?
4 destitute 4vOxu     
adj.缺乏的;穷困的
参考例句:
  • They were destitute of necessaries of life.他们缺少生活必需品。
  • They are destitute of common sense.他们缺乏常识。
5 apprehensions 86177204327b157a6d884cdb536098d8     
疑惧
参考例句:
  • He stood in a mixture of desire and apprehensions. 他怀着渴望和恐惧交加的心情伫立着。
  • But subsequent cases have removed many of these apprehensions. 然而,随后的案例又消除了许多类似的忧虑。
6 orphans edf841312acedba480123c467e505b2a     
孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
  • Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。
7 dodging dodging     
n.避开,闪过,音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 );回避
参考例句:
  • He ran across the road, dodging the traffic. 他躲开来往的车辆跑过马路。
  • I crossed the highway, dodging the traffic. 我避开车流穿过了公路。 来自辞典例句
8 attire AN0zA     
v.穿衣,装扮[同]array;n.衣着;盛装
参考例句:
  • He had no intention of changing his mode of attire.他无意改变着装方式。
  • Her attention was attracted by his peculiar attire.他那奇特的服装引起了她的注意。
9 countenance iztxc     
n.脸色,面容;面部表情;vt.支持,赞同
参考例句:
  • At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
  • I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地,仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。
10 manly fBexr     
adj.有男子气概的;adv.男子般地,果断地
参考例句:
  • The boy walked with a confident manly stride.这男孩以自信的男人步伐行走。
  • He set himself manly tasks and expected others to follow his example.他给自己定下了男子汉的任务,并希望别人效之。
11 guardian 8ekxv     
n.监护人;守卫者,保护者
参考例句:
  • The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
  • The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。
12 engross 0ZEzS     
v.使全神贯注
参考例句:
  • I go into bookshops and engross myself in diet books and cookbooks.我走进书店,聚精会神地读关于饮食的书以及食谱。
  • If there was one piece of advice I would offer to improve your reading rate it would be simply to engross yourself in the material you are studying.如果让我给你一个忠告来提高你的阅读速度的话,那就是全神贯注的研究你的资料。
13 exclusion 1hCzz     
n.拒绝,排除,排斥,远足,远途旅行
参考例句:
  • Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
  • He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球,其他运动一概不参加。
14 trifling SJwzX     
adj.微不足道的;没什么价值的
参考例句:
  • They quarreled over a trifling matter.他们为这种微不足道的事情争吵。
  • So far Europe has no doubt, gained a real conveniency,though surely a very trifling one.直到现在为止,欧洲无疑地已经获得了实在的便利,不过那确是一种微不足道的便利。
15 joyfully joyfully     
adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地
参考例句:
  • She tripped along joyfully as if treading on air. 她高兴地走着,脚底下轻飘飘的。
  • During these first weeks she slaved joyfully. 在最初的几周里,她干得很高兴。
16 lighting CpszPL     
n.照明,光线的明暗,舞台灯光
参考例句:
  • The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
  • The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。
17 confinement qpOze     
n.幽禁,拘留,监禁;分娩;限制,局限
参考例句:
  • He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。
  • The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。
18 rosy kDAy9     
adj.美好的,乐观的,玫瑰色的
参考例句:
  • She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作,生活看上去很美好。
  • She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。
19 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。
20 embittered b7cde2d2c1d30e5d74d84b950e34a8a0     
v.使怨恨,激怒( embitter的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • These injustices embittered her even more. 不公平使她更加受苦。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The artist was embittered by public neglect. 大众的忽视于那位艺术家更加难受。 来自《简明英汉词典》
21 touching sg6zQ9     
adj.动人的,使人感伤的
参考例句:
  • It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
  • His letter was touching.他的信很感人。


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