CHAPTER IX. BESSIE BENTON.

 Tom called the next day at the hospital, and left ten dollars, finding this to be the right amount for Jacob's coffin¹. He took a last look at the old man, so long his companion, and then, feeling that he could do no more, went on his way. He next went to a railroad office, on Broadway, and bought a through-ticket to Cincinnati. This was the city where, according to Jacob's story, his father had been in business, and he himself had been born. His inquiries² for the uncle who had defrauded³ him must commence here.

 

Having taken his seat in the cars, he was led to make an examination of his pocket-book. He found it, by no means, well filled. A hundred dollars had seemed to him a good deal of money, but he had expended⁴ half of it for clothes. His railway ticket, and the money he left at the hospital, consumed thirty dollars more, and he had, therefore, but twenty dollars left.

 

"That ain't much to set up as a gentleman on," said Tom to himself. "I didn't know it cost so much to get along; I'll have to go to work afore long."

 

Tom was not in the least daunted⁵, however; he had always been accustomed to earn his living, and didn't doubt that he could do it now.

 

He had little money, but he had his wits and two strong arms, and he thought he could keep out of the poor-house. No anxious fears for the future marred⁶ the pleasure which the journey afforded him. With an eye of interest he regarded the rich and productive country through which the train was speeding at the rate of twenty-five miles an hour.

 

There is more than one route from New York to Cincinnati, a fact of which Tom knew nothing, and it was only by accident that he had selected that which led through Buffalo⁷. He stopped over a night at this enterprising city, and at an early hour entered the cars to go on to the chief city in Ohio. The passengers were nearly all seated. In fact, every seat was occupied, except that beside Tom, when a stout⁸, elderly gentleman entered the car, followed by an attractive young girl of fourteen.

 

"There don't seem to be any seats, Bessie," he said.

 

"Here's one, uncle," said the young lady, indicating the seat of which our hero occupied half.

 

"Is this seat engaged, young man?" asked the old gentleman.

 

Tom looked up, and, seeing that a pretty girl was to sit beside him, answered, with alacrity⁹:

 

"No, sir."

 

"Then, Bessie, you may as well sit down here. I am very sorry you must take this long journey alone. I thought, till the last moment, that Mr. Armstrong was going."

 

"Oh! never mind, uncle; I can get along well enough."

 

"But it don't seem right; I am afraid your father will blame me."

 

"Perhaps," said Bessie, with a little coquettish glance at Tom, whom she privately¹⁰ thought a very good-looking boy; "perhaps this young gentleman will look after me."

 

The old gentleman looked dubious¹¹, and would have preferred a person of more maturity¹². Still, there was no choice, and he said:

 

"Young man, are you going to Cincinnati?"

 

"Yes, sir," said Tom.

 

"Then, if it won't be too much trouble, I will ask you to look after my niece a little. I am unable to go with her myself."

 

"All right, sir; I'll do it," said Tom, in a confident tone.

 

"There goes the bell, uncle," said Bessie. "You'd better go, or you will be carried along with us."

 

The old gentleman bent¹³ over and kissed his niece. Our hero thought he should have been willing to relieve him of the duty. The young girl beside him looked so fresh and pretty that, though he was too young to fall in love, he certainly did feel considerable pleasure in the thought that she was to be his companion in a journey of several hundred miles. It gave him a feeling of importance, being placed in charge of her, and he couldn't help wondering whether he would have got the chance if he had been dressed in his old street suit.

 

"There's a good deal in clo's," thought Tom, philosophically¹⁴. "It makes all the difference between a young gentleman and a bootblack."

 

"Would you like to sit by the window?" he asked, by way of being sociable¹⁵ and polite.

 

"Oh, no! I can see very well from here," said the young lady. "Do you come from Buffalo?"

 

"No; I am from New York."

 

"I never was there; I should like to go very much. I have heard that Central Park is a beautiful place."

 

"Yes, it's a bully¹⁶ place," said Tom.

 

Bessie laughed.

 

"That's a regular boy's word," she said. "Miss Wiggins, our teacher, was always horrified¹⁷ when she heard any of us girls use it. I remember one day I let it out without thinking, and she heard it. 'Miss Benton,' said she, 'never again let me hear you employ that inelegant expression. That a young lady under my charge should, even once, have been guilty of such a breach¹⁸ of propriety¹⁹, mortifies²⁰ me extremely.'"

 

Bessie pursed up her pretty lips, and imitated the manner of the prim²¹ schoolmistress, to the great amusement of our hero.

 

"Is that the way she talked?" he asked.

 

"Yes; and she glared at me through her spectacles. She looked like a beauty, with her tall bony figure, and thin face. Did you ever go to boarding-school?"

 

"No," said Tom; "nor to any other," he might almost have added.

 

"You wouldn't like it, though boys' boarding-schools may be better than girls'. I have been two years at Miss Wiggins' boarding-school, in Buffalo. Now I'm going home, on a vacation, and I really hope papa won't send me there again."

 

"Do you live in Cincinnati?"

 

"Yes—that is, papa does. Are you going to stay there long?"

 

"I think I shall live there," said Tom, who fancied it would be agreeable to live in the same city with Bessie Benton.

 

"Oh, I hope you will! Then you could come and see us."

 

"That would be bully," Tom was about to say, but it occurred to him that it would be in better taste to say: "I should like to very much."

 

"Have you finished your education?" asked Bessie.

 

"There wasn't much to finish," thought Tom, but he said, aloud:

 

"Maybe I'll study a little more."

 

"Where did you study?" asked the persevering²² Bessie.

 

"I've been to Columbia College," said Tom, after a little pause.

 

So he had been up to the college grounds, but I am afraid he intended Bessie to believe something else.

 

"Then you must know a great deal," said Bessie. "Do you like Latin and Greek very much?"

 

"Not very much," said Tom.

 

"I never went farther than the Latin verbs. They're tiresome²³, ain't they?"

 

"I'll bet they are," said Tom, who wouldn't have known a Latin verb from a Greek noun.

 

"I suppose they come easier to boys. Were you long in college?"

 

"Not long."

 

"I suppose you were a Freshman²⁴?"

 

"Yes," said Tom, hazarding a guess.

 

"Don't the Sophomores²⁵ play all sorts of tricks on the Freshmen²⁶?"

 

"Awful," said Tom, who found it safest to chime in with the remarks of the young lady.

 

"I had a cousin at Yale College," continued Bessie. "When he was a Freshman, the Sophomores broke into his room one night, blindfolded²⁷ him, and carried him off somewhere. Then they made him smoke a pipe, which made him awful sick, and poured a pail of water over his head. Did they ever do such things to you?"

 

"No, they wouldn't dare to," said our hero.

 

"You couldn't help yourself."

 

"Yes, I could; I'd put a head on them."

 

"I don't know what Miss Wiggins would say if she should hear you talk. She'd have a fit."

 

"What did I say?" he asked, innocently.

 

"You said you'd put a head on them."

 

"So I would."

 

"Only it is a very inelegant expression, as Miss Wiggins says."

 

"If you don't like it, I won't say it any more."

 

"Oh! I don't care," said Bessie, laughing. "You needn't be afraid I'll have a fit. I ain't such a model of propriety as that. Perhaps I shall be some time, when I get to be a stiff old maid like Priscilla Wiggins."

 

"You won't be that."

 

"How do you know?" said Bessie, saucily²⁸.

 

"You don't look like it."

 

"Don't I? Perhaps nobody will marry me," she said, demurely²⁹.

 

"If nobody else will, send for me!" said Tom, blushing immediately at his unexpected boldness.

 

"Am I to regard that as a proposal?" asked Bessie, her eyes sparkling with fun.

 

"Yes, if you want to," said Tom, manfully.

 

"I'm sure I'm very much obliged," said the young lady. "I won't forget it, and, if nobody else will have me, I'll send for you."

 

"She's a trump," he thought, but fortunately didn't make use of a word which would have been highly objectionable to Miss Wiggins.

1 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

2 inquiries   

n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。
• I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 defrauded   

v.诈取，骗取( defraud的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He defrauded his employers of thousands of dollars. 他诈取了他的雇主一大笔钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He defrauded them of their money. 他骗走了他们的钱。 来自辞典例句

4 expended   

v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽

参考例句：

• She expended all her efforts on the care of home and children. 她把所有精力都花在料理家务和照顾孩子上。
• The enemy had expended all their ammunition. 敌人已耗尽所有的弹药。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 daunted   

使（某人）气馁，威吓( daunt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was a brave woman but she felt daunted by the task ahead. 她是一个勇敢的女人，但对面前的任务却感到信心不足。
• He was daunted by the high quality of work they expected. 他被他们对工作的高品质的要求吓倒了。

6 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

7 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

9 alacrity   

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。

10 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

11 dubious   

adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
• He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

12 maturity   

n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期

参考例句：

• These plants ought to reach maturity after five years.这些植物五年后就该长成了。
• This is the period at which the body attains maturity.这是身体发育成熟的时期。

13 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

14 philosophically   

adv.哲学上；富有哲理性地；贤明地；冷静地

参考例句：

• He added philosophically that one should adapt oneself to the changed conditions. 他富于哲理地补充说，一个人应该适应变化了的情况。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Harry took his rejection philosophically. 哈里达观地看待自己被拒的事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 sociable   

adj.好交际的，友好的，合群的

参考例句：

• Roger is a very sociable person.罗杰是个非常好交际的人。
• Some children have more sociable personalities than others.有些孩子比其他孩子更善于交际。

16 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。

17 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

18 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

19 propriety   

n.正当行为；正当；适当

参考例句：

• We hesitated at the propriety of the method.我们对这种办法是否适用拿不定主意。
• The sensitive matter was handled with great propriety.这件机密的事处理得极为适当。

20 mortifies   

v.使受辱( mortify的第三人称单数 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等）

参考例句：

21 prim   

adj.拘泥形式的，一本正经的；n.循规蹈矩，整洁；adv.循规蹈矩地，整洁地

参考例句：

• She's too prim to enjoy rude jokes!她太古板，不喜欢听粗野的笑话！
• He is prim and precise in manner.他的态度一本正经而严谨

22 persevering   

a.坚忍不拔的

参考例句：

• They will only triumph by persevering in their struggle against natural calamities. 他们只有坚持与自然灾害搏斗，才能取得胜利。
• Success belongs to the persevering. 胜利属于不屈不挠的人。

23 tiresome   

adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的

参考例句：

• His doubts and hesitations were tiresome.他的疑惑和犹豫令人厌烦。
• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors.他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。

24 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

25 sophomores   

n.（中等、专科学校或大学的）二年级学生( sophomore的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We are freshmen and they are sophomores. 我们是一年级学生，他们是二年级学生。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Over half the students in the course are sophomores. 听这门课的一大半是二年级学生。 来自辞典例句

26 freshmen   

n.（中学或大学的）一年级学生( freshman的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We are freshmen and they are sophomores. 我们是一年级学生，他们是二年级学生。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• University freshmen get lots of razzing, but they like the initiation. 大一新生受各种嘲弄，但是他们对这种入门经验甘之如饴。 来自辞典例句

27 blindfolded   

v.（尤指用布）挡住（某人）的视线( blindfold的过去式 )；蒙住（某人）的眼睛；使不理解；蒙骗

参考例句：

• The hostages were tied up and blindfolded. 人质被捆绑起来并蒙上了眼睛。
• They were each blindfolded with big red handkerchiefs. 他们每个人的眼睛都被一块红色大手巾蒙住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

28 saucily   

adv.傲慢地，莽撞地

参考例句：

• The servants likewise used me saucily, and had much ado to keep their hands off me. 有几个仆人对我很无礼，要他们的手不碰我是很难的。 来自辞典例句

29 demurely   

adv.装成端庄地，认真地

参考例句：

• "On the forehead, like a good brother,'she answered demurely. "吻前额，像个好哥哥那样，"她故作正经地回答说。 来自飘（部分）
• Punctuation is the way one bats one's eyes, lowers one's voice or blushes demurely. 标点就像人眨眨眼睛，低声细语，或伍犯作态。 来自名作英译部分