“I am glad to see you,” he said. “I will come to business at once, as I am particularly engaged this morning. Is there any way in which I can serve you?”
“I think you told me you were a cooper.”
“Yes sir.”
“Does this yield you a good support?”
“In good times it pays me two dollars a day. Lately it has been depressed2, and for a time paid me but a dollar and a half.”
“That is uncertain. It may be some months first.”
“And, in the mean time, you are willing to undertake some other employment?”
“Yes, sir. I have no objection to any honest employment.”
Mr. Merriam reflected a moment.
“Just at present,” he said, “I have nothing to offer except the post of porter. If that will suit you, you can enter upon the duties to-morrow.”
“I shall be very glad to take it, sir. Anything is better than idleness.”
“Your compensation shall be the same that you have been accustomed to earn by your trade,—two dollars a day.”
“I only received that in the best times,” said Timothy, conscientiously4.
“Your services will be worth it. I will expect you, then, to-morrow morning at eight. You are married, I suppose?”
“Yes, sir. I am blessed with a good wife.”
“I am glad of that. Stay a moment.”
The merchant went to his desk, and presently returned with a scaled envelope.
“Give that to your wife,” he said.
The interview terminated, and the cooper went home, quite elated by his success. His present engagement would enable him to bridge over the dull time, and save him from incurring5 debt, of which he had a just horror.
“Just in time,” said Mrs. Crump. “We've got an apple-pudding to-day.”
“You haven't forgotten what I like, Mary.”
“There's no knowing how long you will be able to afford puddings,” said Aunt Rachel. “To my mind it's extravagant6 to have meat and pudding both, when a month hence you may be in the poor-house.”
“Tut, Rachel, nobody grudges9 you anything here,” said her brother, “and as to the poor-house, I've got some good news to tell you that will put that thought out of your heads.”
“What is it?” asked Mrs. Crump, looking up brightly.
“I have found employment.”
“Not at your trade?”
“No, but at something else, which will pay equally well, till trade revives.”
Here he told the story of the chance by which he was enabled to serve Mr. Merriam, and of the engagement to which it had led.
“You are, indeed, fortunate,” said Mrs. Crump. “Two dollars a day, and we've got nearly the whole of the money that came with this dear child. How rich we shall be!”
“Well, Rachel, where are your congratulations?” asked the cooper of his sister, who, in subdued10 sorrow, was eating her second slice of pudding.
“I don't see anything so very fortunate in being engaged as a porter,” said Rachel, lugubriously11. “I heard of a porter, once, who had a great box fall upon him and crush him; and another, who committed suicide.”
The cooper laughed.
“So, Rachel, you conclude that one or the other is the inevitable12 lot of all who are engaged in this business.”
“It is always well to be prepared for the worst,” said Rachel, oracularly.
“But not to be always looking for it,” said her brother.
“It'll come, whether you look for it or not,” returned his sister, sententiously.
“Then, suppose we spend no thoughts upon it, since, according to your admission, it's sure to come either way.”
Rachel pursued her knitting, in severe melancholy13.
“Won't you have another piece of pudding, Timothy?” asked Mrs. Crump.
“I don't care if I do, Mary, it's so good,” said the cooper, passing his plate. “Seems to me it's the best pudding you ever made.”
“You've got a good appetite, that is all,” said Mrs. Crump, modestly.
“By the way, Mary,” said the cooper, with a sudden thought, “I quite forgot that I have something for you.”
“For me?”
“Yes, from Mr. Merriam.”
“But he don't know me,” said Mrs. Crump, in surprise.
“At any rate, he asked me if I were married, and then handed me this envelope for you. I am not quite sure whether I ought to allow gentlemen to write letters to my wife.”
Mrs. Crump opened the envelope with considerable curiosity, and uttered an exclamation14 of surprise, as a bank-note fluttered to the carpet.
“By gracious, mother,” said Jack, springing to get it, “you're in luck. It's a hundred dollar bill.”
“So it is, I declare,” said Mrs. Crump, joyfully15. “But, Timothy, it isn't mine. It belongs to you.”
“Merriam's a trump17, and no mistake,” said Jack. “By the way, father, when you see him again, won't you just insinuate18 that you have a son? Ain't we in luck, Aunt Rachel?”
“I never knew Aunt Rachel to be jolly but once,” said Jack, under his breath; “and that was at a funeral.”
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1
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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2
depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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3
revival
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| n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振 | |
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4
conscientiously
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| adv.凭良心地；认真地，负责尽职地；老老实实 | |
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5
incurring
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| 遭受，招致，引起( incur的现在分词 ) | |
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6
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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7
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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8
grudge
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| n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做 | |
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9
grudges
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| 不满，怨恨，妒忌( grudge的名词复数 ) | |
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10
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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11
lugubriously
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12
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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13
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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14
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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15
joyfully
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| adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地 | |
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16
savings
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| n.存款，储蓄 | |
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17
trump
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| n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭 | |
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18
insinuate
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| vt.含沙射影地说，暗示 | |
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19
haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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