CHAPTER XLIV. CONCLUSION.

 Mr. Emanuel Manson was considerably¹ surprised to see Paul walk into the office the morning after his arrival. He was not aware that our hero was still in Mr. Bradford's employ. Though it had been at first suggested that Mrs. Palmer should come weekly to receive a part of Paul's salary, Mr. Bradford afterward² decided³ to give his young agent a hundred dollars in advance, which was placed in his mother's hands, and obviated⁴ the necessity of her calling. Seeing and hearing nothing of Paul, therefore, Mr. Manson naturally concluded that he had been discharged, and was seeking for employment elsewhere.

"Good-morning, Mr. Manson!" said Paul, politely.

"What, you here again?" exclaimed Manson, by no means pleased.

"Yes, I am here again."

"It was hardly worth your while to come," said the book-keeper, with a sneer⁵. "We have no vacancy⁶."

Paul smiled, for he saw what was meant.

[Pg 293]"Is Julius here still?" he asked.

"Yes, he is, and likely to stay. You needn't flatter yourself you can step into his place."

"I haven't the slightest wish to do so," said Paul, good-naturedly.

"Because you are so prosperous, I suppose," sneered⁷ Manson.

"You've hit it, Mr. Manson. I am too prosperous to wish to interfere⁸ with Julius."

"What are you doing?" asked the book-keeper, not without some curiosity.

"I have been traveling for a house in this city."

"Indeed! It was a fortunate house."

"I agree with you, Mr. Manson. I have done very well for them."

"You travel! I'd as soon send a baby."

"I dare say you would. Is Mr. Bradford in?"

"Yes, but he is busy."

"Nevertheless, I will venture to disturb him."

"You'd better not; he won't like it."

But Paul had already opened the door of the inner office, and stood in the presence of Mr. Bradford.

"Bless my soul, Paul! I am glad to see you," said the manufacturer, rising and shaking hands cordially with our hero. "When did you arrive?"

"Yesterday afternoon, and I tried to get a chance to call, but——"

[Pg 294]"Of course, your mother wanted to see you. It's all right. Now let me know all about your trip."

Paul gave a summary of results, and his employer listened with evident surprise and approval.

"You have done splendidly," he said. "I did not dream of realizing so much for the mine. And you got the better of Fox, too. I value that as much as I do the money you have made for me. Besides your wages, I shall make you a present of five hundred dollars, to show my appreciation⁹ of your services."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Bradford, but I have been handsomely rewarded by another party," and he mentioned the two thousand dollars paid him by Jim Scott.

"I am all the more pleased," said Mr. Bradford.

"I was not sure whether I ought to accept it," said Paul.

"You were right in doing so, since it was neither given nor promised till after you had sold the mine. That, however, will make no difference with my gift."

As he spoke¹⁰, he wrote a check for $500 and handed it to Paul, who expressed his gratitude¹¹ warmly.

"I have also," Paul continued, "made an investment for you and myself."

"What is that?"

"I had an opportunity to purchase a promising[Pg 295] mine for three thousand dollars. I secured two-thirds for you, and one-third for myself."

"So it seems we are partners, Paul," said Mr. Bradford, smiling.

"Yes, sir, as far as that goes."

"Very well. I ratify¹² your action."

At this moment a telegraph boy appeared with a dispatch, which he handed to Mr. Brandford.

"What's this?" said the manufacturer. "Who is Jim Scott?"

"The man I left in charge of our mine."

"Read that, then."

Paul took the telegram and read:

"Your mine is developing richly. Will you sell for fifteen thousand dollars?"

Paul's eyes sparkled with delight, not alone at his prospective¹³ profit, but at this proof of his financial shrewdness.

"Well, Paul, what shall we do?" asked the manufacturer, smiling. "It is your affair, and you shall decide."

"We might sell half on that basis," suggested Paul. "Very good. Write the dispatch, and it shall be sent at once. Moreover, I will consider you half-owner, and you shall give me back that check for five hundred dollars. Then we shall have each invested one thousand five hundred dollars."

[Pg 296]"Thank you very much, Mr. Bradford, I can hardly believe this is real."

It was indeed hard to realize that besides the thousand dollars which remained to him after the investment, he would receive three thousand seven hundred and fifty for the sale of half his share, and retain the other half, which was probably worth quite as much more. It was probably no exaggeration to say that he was worth eight thousand dollars, while three months since he was glad when he managed to earn eight or ten dollars a week as a train boy.

"By the way, Paul," said the manufacturer, "I hope you won't retire from business, now you are rich."

"I should not like to be idle, sir."

"I will engage you to travel for my firm, then, and your compensation will depend on your success. Will that suit you?"

"Yes, sir; I can ask for nothing better. When shall I report for service?"

"You may come here daily to get acquainted with the details of our trade. I shall not send you out again for a few weeks."

As Paul passed out of the office, the book-keeper said:

"Well, won't Mr. Bradford take you on again?"

[Pg 297]"I have never been out of Mr. Bradford's employment," answered Paul, smiling.

"What!" ejaculated Manson. "You don't mean to say you have been traveling for our firm?"

"That is just what I do say. When I gave up my position to Julius, I was promoted to traveling salesman."

"Well, well, I never heard the like. Mr. Bradford must be crazy."

Paul smiled, and went out. It was not long before the book-keeper found how Paul stood, and his manner changed accordingly—not from friendship, but from policy.

As I write, Paul is nearing his twenty-first birthday. On the day he attains¹⁴ his majority he is to be admitted into the firm as junior partner. He is worth fully¹⁵ twenty thousand dollars, and with his business capacity bids fair eventually to become very rich. He has bought a comfortable house for his mother, who, I need hardly say, does not need now to take in sewing. Near them live Grace and her artist husband. They have recently returned from Italy, where Frederic Vernon studied art enthusiastically, and with success. He no longer paints portraits, but devotes his attention to general art.

Mrs. Sheldon is still a widow, and content to remain so. She is thankful now for the narrow escape she[Pg 298] had from Major Ashton, who would have dissipated her fortune and made her wretched. Though she did not approve Grace's choice of a husband, she became reconciled long ago, and is an almost daily visitor at Mrs. Vernon's happy home.

Stephen Palmer's temporary prosperity was owing to a connection with counterfeiters. He fled the country to avoid arrest, going first to Canada. Once he wrote in great distress¹⁶ to Paul, and our hero sent him a hundred dollars. For the sake of the relationship, Paul would gladly set him up in some business; but Stephen is a ne'er-do-well, and will probably never amount to anything.

Mr. Manson, the book-keeper, is still at his post, but Julius was long ago succeeded by another boy. He proved too idle and careless even for his uncle to tolerate. He envies Paul's success, but will never emulate¹⁷ the diligence and fidelity¹⁸ which made it possible.
 

THE END.

1 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

2 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

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 obviated   

v.避免，消除（贫困、不方便等）( obviate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

5 sneer   

v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语

参考例句：

• He said with a sneer.他的话中带有嘲笑之意。
• You may sneer,but a lot of people like this kind of music.你可以嗤之以鼻，但很多人喜欢这种音乐。

6 vacancy   

n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺

参考例句：

• Her going on maternity leave will create a temporary vacancy.她休产假时将会有一个临时空缺。
• The vacancy of her expression made me doubt if she was listening.她茫然的神情让我怀疑她是否在听。

7 sneered   

讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sneered at people who liked pop music. 他嘲笑喜欢流行音乐的人。
• It's very discouraging to be sneered at all the time. 成天受嘲讽是很令人泄气的。

8 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

9 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

10 spoke   

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。

11 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

12 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。

13 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

14 attains   

（通常经过努力）实现( attain的第三人称单数 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况）

参考例句：

• This is the period at which the body attains maturity. 这是身体发育成熟的时期。
• The temperature a star attains is determined by its mass. 恒星所达到的温度取决于它的质量。

15 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。

16 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

17 emulate   

v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿

参考例句：

• You must work hard to emulate your sister.你必须努力工作，赶上你姐姐。
• You must look at the film and try to emulate his behavior.你们必须观看这部电影，并尽力模仿他的动作。

18 fidelity   

n.忠诚，忠实；精确

参考例句：

• There is nothing like a dog's fidelity.没有什么能比得上狗的忠诚。
• His fidelity and industry brought him speedy promotion.他的尽职及勤奋使他很快地得到晋升。