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首页 » 儿童英文小说 » Rupert's Ambition » CHAPTER IX. RUPERT BECOMES A BELL-BOY.
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CHAPTER IX. RUPERT BECOMES A BELL-BOY.
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 Rupert found a pleasant home at the house of Mr. Sylvester, but he was anxious as soon as possible to secure employment. His friend was active in his behalf, but the general depression in business was such that there seemed to be no opening anywhere.
 
One evening at supper Mr. Sylvester said: "I have been hoping to find you a place in a wholesale1 establishment in Pearl Street. I learned that one of the younger clerks was about to leave, but he has decided2 to stay six months longer, and, of course, we can't wait as long as that."
 
"No, Mr. Sylvester, it would seem like six years to me."
 
"Even if your wants were all provided for in that time?"
 
"I feel that I ought to be at work, and not[Pg 84] depending on your generosity3. I would rather work for two dollars a week than remain idle."
 
"That is the right spirit, Rupert. You will be glad, then, to hear that I have at last found employment for you."
 
"But I thought you just said——"
 
"That I could not get you a place in Pearl Street. True, but this is a different position—very different. It is that of bell-boy in a hotel."
 
"What are the duties, Mr. Sylvester?"
 
"You will be at the command of the clerk, and will have to run up and downstairs, answering calls from the guests, or carrying messages from the office. In fact, you will be a general utility clerk, and I have no doubt will get terribly tired the first few days."
 
"Never mind. I can stand that. If I make enough to pay my way I shall be satisfied."
 
"You will be better paid than if you were in a mercantile house. You will receive five dollars a week and get your meals at the hotel."
 
Rupert's face brightened.
 
[Pg 85]
 
"Why, that is excellent," he said. "When I was at Tenney & Rhodes' I only received five dollars weekly and had to furnish my own meals."
 
"True, but you were then in the line of promotion4. Here you cannot expect to rise any higher unless you qualify yourself to be a hotel man."
 
"At any rate I am willing to try it. Where is the hotel?"
 
"It is the Somerset House, on lower Broadway. It is not a fashionable hotel, but comfortable and of good reputation. I am somewhat acquainted with the office clerk, who was an old schoolmate of mine, and at my request he has given you this position."
 
"I hope I shall give satisfaction. I shall be a green hand."
 
"The duties are easily understood and learned. If you show that you are desirous of succeeding you will make a good impression, and you will get on well."
 
"When am I to commence work?" asked Rupert.
 
"I will take you down town with me [Pg 86]to-morrow morning, and introduce you to Mr. Malcolm, the clerk. I suppose you will be expected to go to work directly."
 
"I should prefer that."
 
"One thing I must tell you. You will have to secure a room outside, as the employees are not expected to sleep in the hotel. All the rooms are reserved for guests."
 
"What will my hours be?"
 
"From seven in the morning till seven in the evening. By this arrangement you will have your evenings to yourself."
 
Rupert went to bed in good spirits. He was of an active temperament5, and enjoyed occupation. It would be pleasant to him also to feel that he was earning his own living.
 
In the morning Mr. Sylvester went down town with him.
 
The Somerset House was a hotel of moderate size, only five stories in height, which is low for a city hotel. I may as well say here that I have not given the correct name of the hotel for obvious reasons. So far as our story is concerned, the name I have chosen will do as well as any other.
 
[Pg 87]
 
"Those who frequent this hotel are not of the fashionable class," explained Mr. Sylvester, "but it is largely patronized by traveling salesmen and people from the country. The rates are moderate, and those come here who would not feel able to afford the Fifth Avenue or hotels of that grade."
 
The entrance was neat, and Rupert was well pleased with the aspect of his new place of employment.
 
At some distance from the doorway6 was the office, and behind the reading room.
 
"Mr. Malcolm," said Sylvester to a pleasant-looking man of thirty-five, who stood behind a counter, "this is the young man I mentioned to you. He will be glad to fill the position of bell-boy, and from my acquaintance with him I feel quite sure he will suit you. His name is Rupert Rollins."
 
The clerk smiled pleasantly.
 
"We shall soon know each other better," he said. "I hope you are strong, for you will have a good deal of exercise here."
 
"I think I can stand it," said Rupert. "I shall soon get used to it."
 
[Pg 88]
 
"I have a plan of the rooms here," went on the clerk. "Take it and go upstairs and look about you on the different floors. It will be necessary that you should learn the location of the rooms."
 
"I will leave you now, Rupert," said Mr. Sylvester. "You can come back to my house to-night, and to-morrow you can look up a room near the hotel."
 
For the first few days Rupert got very tired. He would have to go upstairs perhaps thirty or forty times during the day, sometimes to the fifth floor. There was an elevator in the Somerset Hotel, but the bell-boys were not allowed to use it.
 
When a guest registered and was assigned to a room on one of the upper floors he was conducted to the elevator, but the bell-boy, carrying his valise, was obliged to walk upstairs, and meet him at the landing-place. Often Rupert felt that there was an injustice7 in this, and that no harm would be done if he were also allowed to use the elevator. However, he was not foolish enough make any complaint, but by his pleasant manners and[Pg 89] cheerful alacrity8 won the good opinion of Mr. Malcolm, the clerk.
 
The Somerset Hotel was on the European and American systems combined. If a guest preferred simply to lodge9 at the hotel he could do so, and take his meals either at the hotel restaurant or in any other.
 
One day a guest registered who was assigned to No. 143, on the fifth floor.
 
To Rupert was assigned the duty of carrying up the valise. He found it unusually heavy, and more than once as he climbed the stairs he felt that he would be glad to reach his destination. At the elevator landing he met the owner of the valise, a middle-aged10 man with a brown, sunburned face.
 
"You found it rather a heavy tug11, didn't you?" he asked, with a smile.
 
"Your clothes seem to be heavy," returned Rupert.
 
"It isn't clothes merely," said the stranger. "I come from Colorado, and I have some specimens12 of quartz13 inside. Here, give me the valise, and lead the way to my room."
 
Rupert did so.
 
[Pg 90]
 
When they reached No. 143 the stranger drew a fifty cent piece from his pocket and handed it to Rupert.
 
"Take it," he said. "You deserve something for carrying such a load."
 
"Thank you, sir," said Rupert. "I don't find many guests so liberal."
 
"Shall I tell you why I am so liberal? It is because when I was a boy, rather older than you, I was for four months a bell-boy in a Chicago hotel."
 
"Were you, indeed, sir?" said Rupert, with interest. "Did you retire on a fortune?"
 
"No; fees were few and far between. However, I saved a little and borrowed a little more, and made my way first to Nevada, and afterwards to Colorado. I have been pretty well prospered14, and now I come home to see my old father and mother in Maine."
 
"I hope you will find them well."
 
"Thank you, my boy, I heartily15 hope so. It is seventeen years since I have seen their dear old faces, and it will be a good day for me when we meet again."
 
[Pg 91]
 
"Are your father and mother both living?"
 
"Both at last accounts."
 
"Then you are luckier than I am. My father is dead."
 
"That is unfortunate. You are young to have lost a parent."
 
"Can I do anything for you, sir? Have you all that you need?"
 
"Yes," answered the guest, with a look at the washstand. "What I want first is water and towels, for I have just got in from a long railroad journey. Those seem to be provided. If I want anything else I will ring."
 
"Fifty cents!" repeated Rupert. "I wish I could be as well paid every time I carry a valise up stairs. Then I should get rich fast."
 
During the second week a tall, thin man with long hair flowing down over his coat collar registered at the Somerset.
 
"No. 119," said the clerk. "Front!"
 
Rupert answered the summons.
 
"Take this gentleman's valise to No. 119."
 
Rupert thought the stranger a very singular-looking man. His long, unkempt locks were of yellowish hue16, and his eyes were[Pg 92] shifty and evasive. But of course in a hotel frequented by all sorts of people, no special attention was paid to any particular guest.
 
Rupert met him upstairs and conducted him to his room.
 
"Take the valise inside," said the guest.
 
Rupert did so, when he was startled by the guest locking the door, making him a prisoner.
 
"Now, boy," he said, his eyes lighted with an insane gleam, "you must prepare to die!"
 
"What?" exclaimed Rupert, startled. "What do you mean?"
 
"I am commanded by God to offer you up as a sacrifice, even as Abraham offered up his son Isaac."
 
As he spoke17 he drew a knife from his breast and advanced toward the hapless bell-boy.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 wholesale Ig9wL     
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。
2 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
3 generosity Jf8zS     
n.大度,慷慨,慷慨的行为
参考例句:
  • We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
  • We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。
4 promotion eRLxn     
n.提升,晋级;促销,宣传
参考例句:
  • The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
  • The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级,加了薪。
5 temperament 7INzf     
n.气质,性格,性情
参考例句:
  • The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。
  • Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。
6 doorway 2s0xK     
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。
7 injustice O45yL     
n.非正义,不公正,不公平,侵犯(别人的)权利
参考例句:
  • They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
  • All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。
8 alacrity MfFyL     
n.敏捷,轻快,乐意
参考例句:
  • Although the man was very old,he still moved with alacrity.他虽然很老,动作仍很敏捷。
  • He accepted my invitation with alacrity.他欣然接受我的邀请。
9 lodge q8nzj     
v.临时住宿,寄宿,寄存,容纳;n.传达室,小旅馆
参考例句:
  • Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗?
  • I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。
10 middle-aged UopzSS     
adj.中年的
参考例句:
  • I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
  • The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。
11 tug 5KBzo     
v.用力拖(或拉);苦干;n.拖;苦干;拖船
参考例句:
  • We need to tug the car round to the front.我们需要把那辆车拉到前面。
  • The tug is towing three barges.那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。
12 specimens 91fc365099a256001af897127174fcce     
n.样品( specimen的名词复数 );范例;(化验的)抽样;某种类型的人
参考例句:
  • Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
  • The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 quartz gCoye     
n.石英
参考例句:
  • There is a great deal quartz in those mountains.那些山里蕴藏着大量石英。
  • The quartz watch keeps good time.石英表走时准。
14 prospered ce2c414688e59180b21f9ecc7d882425     
成功,兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The organization certainly prospered under his stewardship. 不可否认,这个组织在他的管理下兴旺了起来。
  • Mr. Black prospered from his wise investments. 布莱克先生由于巧妙的投资赚了不少钱。
15 heartily Ld3xp     
adv.衷心地,诚恳地,十分,很
参考例句:
  • He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿,就出去找他的马。
  • The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手,热情地和我握手。
16 hue qdszS     
n.色度;色调;样子
参考例句:
  • The diamond shone with every hue under the sun.金刚石在阳光下放出五颜六色的光芒。
  • The same hue will look different in different light.同一颜色在不同的光线下看起来会有所不同。
17 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。


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