CHAPTER XXXVIII. A SCENE AT OMAHA.

 Paul had good reason to exult¹ in the success of his mission. He had certainly done well for his employer, for he had sold out his mining property at a profit of seven thousand dollars, while as for himself he had two thousand dollars to show as the recompense of his shrewdness.

Our hero did not immediately leave Custer City, but looked about him, as instructed by Mr. Bradford. The result was that he purchased a new mine, paying three thousand dollars, one thousand being on his own account, the other two-thirds on behalf of his employer. This he left in charge of his new friend, Jim Scott, and, when matters had been fully² arranged, started on his way home.

At Omaha Paul decided³ to stop over for twenty-four hours, having a little business to attend to for Mr. Bradford.

He applied⁴ at a hotel for accommodations.

"I am sorry," said the landlord, "that I can't give you a room by yourself. I am crowded."

[Pg 262]Paul hesitated, for he didn't like sharing the room of a total stranger.

"Are the other hotels in the city likely to be full?" he asked.

"More than likely. Still, you can try."

However, Paul didn't care to take the time for searching, when there was such a slight chance of success.

"Where can you put me?" he asked.

"In No. 37. There is one gentleman there, who seems quiet; I don't think he will disturb you."

"Are there two beds?"

"Yes."

"Then I suppose I may as well make it do."

Paul was accordingly shown up to No. 37. He found that it was what is called a double room. That is, there were two beds in it.

"Where is the other gentleman?" he asked.

"He won't be in till late in the evening," was the reply.

"Do you happen to remember his name?" Paul inquired.

"John Davenport."

"Where does he hail from?"

"Kansas City."

"Probably he is all right," thought our hero,[Pg 263] "though I don't quite like the idea of rooming with a complete stranger. Well, I will take the room."

It was about the middle of the afternoon. Paul deposited his carpet-bag in the room, but what articles of value he had he left for safe keeping in the office of the hotel, as prudent⁵ travelers generally do, at any rate when they find themselves paired off with strangers.

Deferring⁶ his business to the next day, Paul took a walk about the streets and made himself familiar with the outward appearance of a city which has become one of the most important on the transcontinental route. He admired the new high-school building, built on the site of the old capitol, with its spire⁷ rising nearly two hundred feet above the street, the elegant private dwellings⁸ on the hill, and perhaps more than all, the huge railroad bridge that spans the Missouri River. Everywhere he marked signs of prosperity and enterprise, and he felt that it must be inspiring to live where growth is so rapid.

He used his time well, and went back to the hotel to supper.

About nine o'clock, feeling fatigued⁹ with his journey, he decided to go up stairs to bed, so as to feel quite refreshed the next day.

The room was empty, his roommate, Mr. Davenport, of Kansas City, not having arrived.

Paul undressed and got into bed. How long he had[Pg 264] slept he did not know, but he woke all at once, and from his bed looked on a sight which instantly awakened¹⁰ him thoroughly¹¹.

A man was exploring his carpet-bag, which for convenience he had deposited on the table, in search, no doubt, of valuables.

"What are you doing there?" demanded Paul, sitting up in bed.

The man turned suddenly, and revealed to Paul the well known features of Luke Denton.

1 exult   

v.狂喜，欢腾；欢欣鼓舞

参考例句：

• Few people would not exult at the abolition of slavery.奴隶制被废除了，人们无不为之欢乐鼓舞。
• Let's exult with the children at the drawing near of Children's Day.六一儿童节到了，让我们陪着小朋友们一起欢腾。

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 decided   

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。

4 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

5 prudent   

adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的

参考例句：

• A prudent traveller never disparages his own country.聪明的旅行者从不贬低自己的国家。
• You must school yourself to be modest and prudent.你要学会谦虚谨慎。

6 deferring   

v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的现在分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从

参考例句：

• Recently, the Supreme Court has focused on an additional reason for deferring to administrative agencies. 最近，最高法院强调了尊重行政机构的另一种理由。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Think of it as deferring part of the compiler's job to runtime. 可以认为这是将编译器的部分工作延迟到了运行时。 来自互联网

7 spire   

n.(教堂)尖顶，尖塔，高点

参考例句：

• The church spire was struck by lightning.教堂的尖顶遭到了雷击。
• They could just make out the spire of the church in the distance.他们只能辨认出远处教堂的尖塔。

8 dwellings   

n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The development will consist of 66 dwellings and a number of offices. 新建楼区将由66栋住房和一些办公用房组成。
• The hovels which passed for dwellings are being pulled down. 过去用作住室的陋屋正在被拆除。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 fatigued   

adj. 疲乏的

参考例句：

• The exercises fatigued her. 操练使她感到很疲乏。
• The President smiled, with fatigued tolerance for a minor person's naivety. 总统笑了笑，疲惫地表现出对一个下级人员的天真想法的宽容。

10 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。