Chapter VI — Mr. Dobson's Visit

 It was a little after five o'clock when Ben entered his humble¹ home. He was in excellent spirits, as may be imagined. His aunt's face, however, presented a decided² contrast to his own.

 

"Well, Benjamin," she said, with a sigh, "I suppose you haven't found anything to do."

 

"No, Aunt Jane, I have been to a picnic."

 

"I don't see how you can have the spirits to go to a picnic when we are on the verge³ of starvation," said Mrs. Bradford reproachfully.

 

"Not so bad as that, Aunt Jane; we won't starve this week, anyway."

 

"Perhaps not; but I look forward to the future."

 

"So do I, Aunt Jane," Ben replied; "but there is this difference between us. You look forward with discouragement, while I look forward hopefully. You know my motto is, Wait and Hope!"

 

"You'll have plenty of waiting to do," his aunt retorted; "but there isn't much to hope for."

 

"Why isn't there?"

 

"I shouldn't think you'd need to be told. You haven't earned a cent to-day, and——"

 

"How do you know I haven't?" demanded Ben, smiling.

 

"How could you? You were going about this morning after a place, and this afternoon you have been at a picnic."

 

"For all that, aunt, I have earned something—more than if I had been at the factory."

 

Mrs. Bradford stared at Ben in astonishment⁴.

 

"How much did you earn, Ben?" asked Tony.

 

"Haven't I done well enough to earn a dollar, Tony?"

 

Mrs. Bradford's face assumed a more cheerful look, for a dollar in that little household would go far.

 

"I don't see how you found time to earn so much, Benjamin," she said.

 

"Now, just suppose, aunt, that I earned two dollars," said Ben, with a merry twinkle in his eyes.

 

This was too much for his aunt to believe.

 

"If supposing would make it so, I should be very glad to suppose; but it won't."

 

"But it's true, aunt."

 

"I can't believe it, Benjamin, unless you've found the money somewhere, and then you will have to return it."

 

"No, I earned it, Aunt Jane, and it's mine fairly."

 

"I am glad to hear it, Benjamin. Is there any chance to earn any more the same way?"

 

"I am afraid not, Aunt Jane. However, I've done even better than I told you. I've earned ten dollars this afternoon."

 

"Benjamin Bradford!" said his aunt sharply. "Do you expect me to believe such a foolish story as that?"

 

Ben laughed, He was not surprised at his aunt's incredulity; he wouldn't have believed that morning that there was any chance of his making so much money.

 

"I don't know as I blame you, Aunt Jane; but if you won't believe me, perhaps you'll believe your own eyes," answered Ben, as he drew forth⁵ the two five-dollar bills from his pocket, and showed them to Mrs. Bradford.

 

"Are they good?" she asked suspiciously.

 

"As good as gold, Aunt Jane; well, not exactly as good as gold, but as good as greenbacks, anyway."

 

"I can't understand it at all," said Mrs. Bradford, in helpless bewilderment.

 

"Then I'll tell you all about it," said Ben; and he did so.

 

"I shall have a high opinion of my legs from this time," he concluded, "for they have earned ten dollars in quicker time than my hands can earn twenty-five cents."

 

Even his aunt, in spite of her despondent⁶ mood, could not help being cheerful over such good fortune as that.

 

"You see, Aunt Jane, that even if I don't earn anything for the next two weeks, we shall be as well off as if I had been working at the factory all the time. So don't worry any more till that time has passed."

 

"You certainly have been very fortunate, Benjamin," Mrs. Bradford was forced to admit.

 

A copious⁷ rain is very apt to be followed by a protracted⁸ drought, and I am sorry to say that this was the case with Ben's luck. Day after day he went about Milltown, seeking for employment, and night after night he returned home disappointed and empty-handed. If it had depended only on himself, his courage would still have kept up; but his aunt's dismal⁹ forebodings affected¹⁰ his spirits. He did not find it quite so easy to wait and hope as he anticipated.

 

Three weeks passed, and Ben was painfully sensible that there was but a dollar in the house.

 

They had just risen from the dinner table on the day when their fortunes were at so low an ebb¹¹, when a knock was heard at the door. A man of about thirty-five, Mr. Jotham Dobson, was admitted. Mr. Dobson was a man with a brisk, business-like air.

 

"Won't you come in, Mr. Dobson?" asked Ben, who had answered the knock.

 

"Is your aunt at home?" inquired Mr. Dobson bruskly.

 

"Yes, sir."

 

"Then, I'll step in a minute, as I want to see her on business."

 

"What business can he possibly have?" thought Ben. "I wish his business lay with me, and that he wanted to employ me."

 

"Good morning, Mrs. Bradford," said Dobson rapidly. "No, thank you, I really haven't the time to sit down; I have a little business with you, that's all."

 

"Perhaps he wants to get me to do some sewing," thought Mrs. Bradford; but she was doomed¹² to be disagreeably disappointed.

 

"Perhaps you are not aware of it," said Mr. Dobson, "but I am the city collector of taxes. I've got your tax bill made out. Let me see—here it is. Will it be convenient for you to pay it to-day?"

 

"How much is it?" faltered¹³ Mrs. Bradford.

 

"Eleven dollars and eighty cents, precisely," answered the collector.

 

Mrs. Bradford looked so doleful that Ben felt called upon to reply.

 

"We can't pay it this morning, Mr. Dobson," he said.

 

"Really, you had better make the effort," said Dobson. "You are aware that the tax is now due, and that one per cent a month will be added for default. That's twelve per cent, a year—pretty heavy."

 

"What shall we do, Benjamin?" asked his aunt, in a crushed tone.

 

"Wait and hope, Aunt Jane."

 

"My friends," said Mr. Dobson persuasively¹⁴, "I really think you'd better make the effort to pay now, and so avoid the heavy interest."

 

"Perhaps," said Ben, "you'll tell us how to pay without money?"

 

"You might borrow it."

 

"All right! I am willing. Mr. Dobson will you be kind enough to lend us twelve dollars to meet this bill?"

 

Mr. Dobson's face changed. It always did when any one proposed to borrow money of him, for he was what people called a "close" man.

 

"I really couldn't do it," he answered. "Money's very scarce with me—particularly scarce. It's all I can do to pay my own taxes."

 

Ben smiled to himself, for he knew how the application would be answered.

 

"Then of course we can't pay at present," he said. "We've tried to borrow, and can't."

 

"I didn't expect you'd try to borrow of me—the tax collector," said Dobson; "even if I had the money, it would be very unprofessional of me to lend you the money."

 

"It would be very unprofessional of us to pay you without money," returned Ben.

 

"I suppose I must call again," said the collector, disappointed.

 

He was disappointed less for the city than for his own account, for he received a percentage on taxes collected.

 

"I suppose you must."

 

"Benjamin, this is awful," said Mrs. Bradford piteously, after Mr. Dobson had retired¹⁵. "What is going to become of us? The city will sell the house for taxes."

 

"They'll wait a year first, at any rate, Aunt Jane; so we won't fret¹⁶ about it yet. There are other things more pressing."

 

"If we don't get some money within a day or two, we must starve, Benjamin."

 

"Something may turn up this afternoon, Aunt Jane. Wait and hope!"

 

Ben put on his hat and went out. In spite of his cheerful answer, he felt rather sober himself.

1 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

2 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。

3 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

4 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

5 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

6 despondent   

adj.失望的，沮丧的，泄气的

参考例句：

• He was up for a time and then，without warning,despondent again.他一度兴高采烈，但忽然又情绪低落下来。
• I feel despondent when my work is rejected.作品被拒后我感到很沮丧。

7 copious   

adj.丰富的，大量的

参考例句：

• She supports her theory with copious evidences.她以大量的例证来充实自己的理论。
• Every star is a copious source of neutrinos.每颗恒星都是丰富的中微子源。

8 protracted   

adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The war was protracted for four years. 战争拖延了四年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We won victory through protracted struggle. 经过长期的斗争，我们取得了胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

10 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

11 ebb   

vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态

参考例句：

• The flood and ebb tides alternates with each other.涨潮和落潮交替更迭。
• They swam till the tide began to ebb.他们一直游到开始退潮。

12 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

13 faltered   

（嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃

参考例句：

• He faltered out a few words. 他支吾地说出了几句。
• "Er - but he has such a longhead!" the man faltered. 他不好意思似的嚅嗫着：“这孩子脑袋真长。”

14 persuasively   

adv.口才好地；令人信服地

参考例句：

• Students find that all historians argue reasonably and persuasively. 学生们发现所有的历史学家都争论得有条有理，并且很有说服力。 来自辞典例句
• He spoke a very persuasively but I smelled a rat and refused his offer. 他说得头头是道，但我觉得有些可疑，于是拒绝了他的建议。 来自辞典例句

15 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

16 fret   

v.(使)烦恼；(使)焦急；(使)腐蚀，(使)磨损

参考例句：

• Don't fret.We'll get there on time.别着急，我们能准时到那里。
• She'll fret herself to death one of these days.她总有一天会愁死的.