It was in vain that they told him it would be two full hours before the ship came alongside the Darsena dock. Nothing would part him from his treasures, nothing induce him to allow these half-crazed foreigners to hurl3 his precious luggage overside into those frail-looking skiffs.
When this was suggested to him by a tall young man who called him uncle, the irascible scientist explained with fluency4 and point that the idea was an utterly5 ridiculous one. So Dick Montgomery shrugged6 his broad shoulders, and with a “See you presently,” that hardly interrupted his uncle’s flow of words, beckoned8 to a boatman.
A moment later he had left the ship’s side and was nearing the shore—the Eldorado of his young ambition, the land of gold and legends, the Peru of Pizarro and the Incas. Then the thought of a young girl’s face blotted9 out those dreams to make way for new ones.
The monotonous10 outline of the waterfront brought no disappointment. Little did he care that the city stretched out there before his eyes was little more than a narrow, unbeautiful blur11 along the sea coast, that there were none of those towers, steeples or minarets12 with which our ancient ports beckon7 out to sea that the traveler is welcome. Even when his boat had passed the Mole13, and they drew level with the modern works of the Muelle Darsena, well calculated to excite the interest of a younger engineer, he remained indifferent.
He had asked the boatman where the Calle de Lima lay, and his eyes hardly left the part of the city which had been pointed14 out to him in reply. At the landing stage he threw a hand-full of centavos to his man, and shouldered his way through the press of guides, interpreters, hotel touts15 and other waterside parasites16.
Soon he was before the Calle de Lima, a thoroughfare which seemed to be the boundary line between the old city and the new. Above, to the east, was the business section—streets broad or narrow fronted with big, modern buildings that were the homes of English, French, German, Italian and Spanish firms without number. Below, to the west, a network of tortuous17 rows and alleys18, full of color, with colonnades19 and verandahs encroaching on every available space.
Dick plunged20 into this labyrinth21, shouldered by muscular Chinamen carrying huge loads, and by lazy Indians. Here and there was to be seen a sailor leaving or entering one of the many cafés which opened their doors into the cool bustle22 of the narrow streets. Though it was his first visit to Callao, the young man hardly hesitated in his way. Then he stopped short against a decrepit23 old wall close to a verandah from which came the sound of a fresh young voice, young but very assured.
“Just as you like, se?or,” it said in Spanish. “But at that price your fertilizer can only be of an inferior quality.”
For a few minutes the argument went on within. Then there was an exchange of courteous24 farewells and a door was closed. Dick approached the balcony and looked into the room. Seated before an enormous ledger25 was a young girl, busily engaged in transcribing26 figures into a little note-book attached by a gold chain to the daintiest of waists. Her face, a strikingly beautiful one, was a little set under its crown of coal-black hair as she bent27 over her task. It was not the head of a languorous28 Southern belle—rather the curls of Carmen helmeting a blue-eyed Minerva, a little goddess of reason of today and a thorough business-woman. At last she lifted her head.
“Maria-Teresa?...”
“Dick!”
The heavy green ledger slipped and crashed to the floor, as she ran toward him both hands outstretched.
“Well, and how is business?”
“So, so.... And how are you?... But we did not expect you till to-morrow.”
“We made rather a good passage.”
“And how is May?”
“She’s a very grown-up person now. I suppose you’ve heard? Her second baby was born just before we left.”
“And dear smoky old London?”
“It was raining hard when last I saw it.”
“But where is your uncle?”
“Still on board. He won’t leave his collection.... Does nothing all day but take notes for his next book.... Wait a minute, I’ll come in. Where’s the door? I suppose it would be bad form to climb in through the window? Won’t I be in the way, though? You seem awfully29 busy.”
“I am, but you may come in. Round the corner there, and the first door on your right.”
He followed her indications and found an archway leading into a huge courtyard crowded with Chinese coolies and Quichua Indians. A huge dray, coming from the direction of the harbor, rumbled30 under the archway, and wheeled in the court to let an empty one pass out. People and things seemed to unite in making as much dust and noise as possible.
“So she manages all this,” he reflected as he made his way toward a door at which she had appeared.
“You may kiss me,” she said as she closed the door behind them.
He took her in his arms and held her to him, by far the more troubled of the two. Again it was she who spoke31 first.
“So you really have not forgotten?”
“Could you believe it, dear?”
“Well, you were so long in coming.”
“But I wrote, and...”
“Well, never mind now. It is not too late. I have just refused my fourth suitor, Don Alonso de Cuelar. And father, I think, is furious with me for refusing the most eligible32 young man in Lima.... Well, why don’t you say something?”
“Forgive me, dear.... How is your father? and the kiddies?... I hardly know what I am saying, I am so glad.”
“Father is very well, and very glad to hear that you were coming. To tell the truth though, he is far more interested in your uncle’s visit. He has arranged a meeting at the Geographical33 Society for him. And for the past month he has been thinking and talking of nothing but archaeology34. They have been digging up all sorts of things.”
“And so he has been angry with you?”
“He seems to think he has every reason to be. I am twenty-three and he already sees me an old maid.... It’s awfully funny! Do you know what they call me in Lima now? The Virgin35 of the Sun!”
“What does that mean?”
“Aunt Agnes and Aunt Irene will explain better than I can. It’s something like one of the Vestals—an old Inca legend.”
“H’m, some superstitious36 rot.... But look here, Maria-Teresa, I’m an awful coward. Do you think your father...”
“Of course! He’ll do anything I like if he is asked at the right moment We’ll be married in three months’ time from San Domingo. Truly we will!”
“You dear!... But I’m only a poor devil of an engineer, and he may not think me much of a son-in-law for the Marquis de la Torre.”
“Nonsense, you’re clever, and I make you a gift of the whole of Peru. There’s plenty to do there for an engineer.”
“I can hardly believe my luck, Maria-Teresa! That I—I.... But, tell me, how did it all happen?”
“The old, old way. First you are neighbors, or meet by accident. Then you are friends... just friends, nothing else.... And then...?”
Their hands joined, and they remained thus for a moment, in silence.
Suddenly, a burst of noise came from the courtyard, and a moment later a hurried knock announced the entrance of an excited employee. At the sight of the stranger, he stopped short, but Maria-Teresa told him to speak. Dick, who both understood and spoke Spanish well, listened.
“The Indians are back from the Islands, se?orita. There has been trouble between them and the Chinamen. One coolie was killed and three were badly wounded.”
Maria-Teresa showed no outward sign of emotion. Her voice hardened as she asked:—
“Where did it happen... in the Northern Islands?”
“No, at Chincha.”
“Then Huascar was there?”
“Yes, se?orita. He came back with them, and is outside.”
“Send him in to me.”
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收听单词发音
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1
attested
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| adj.经检验证明无病的，经检验证明无菌的v.证明( attest的过去式和过去分词 )；证实；声称…属实；使宣誓 | |
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2
licensed
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| adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词) | |
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3
hurl
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| vt.猛投，力掷，声叫骂 | |
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4
fluency
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| n.流畅，雄辩，善辩 | |
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5
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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6
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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7
beckon
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| v.(以点头或打手势)向...示意，召唤 | |
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beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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9
blotted
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| 涂污( blot的过去式和过去分词 )； （用吸墨纸）吸干 | |
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10
monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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blur
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| n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚 | |
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12
minarets
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| n.（清真寺旁由报告祈祷时刻的人使用的）光塔( minaret的名词复数 ) | |
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13
mole
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| n.胎块；痣；克分子 | |
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14
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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15
touts
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| n.招徕( tout的名词复数 )；（音乐会、体育比赛等的）卖高价票的人；侦查者；探听赛马的情报v.兜售( tout的第三人称单数 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报 | |
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16
parasites
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| 寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫 | |
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17
tortuous
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| adj.弯弯曲曲的，蜿蜒的 | |
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18
alleys
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| 胡同，小巷( alley的名词复数 )； 小径 | |
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19
colonnades
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| n.石柱廊( colonnade的名词复数 ) | |
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20
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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21
labyrinth
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| n.迷宫；难解的事物；迷路 | |
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22
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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23
decrepit
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| adj.衰老的，破旧的 | |
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courteous
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| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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ledger
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| n.总帐，分类帐；帐簿 | |
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26
transcribing
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| （用不同的录音手段）转录( transcribe的现在分词 )； 改编（乐曲）（以适应他种乐器或声部）； 抄写； 用音标标出（声音） | |
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27
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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28
languorous
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| adj.怠惰的，没精打采的 | |
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29
awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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30
rumbled
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| 发出隆隆声，发出辘辘声( rumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 轰鸣着缓慢行进； 发现…的真相； 看穿（阴谋） | |
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31
spoke
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| 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 | |
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32
eligible
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| adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的 | |
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33
geographical
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| adj.地理的；地区(性)的 | |
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34
archaeology
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| n.考古学 | |
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35
virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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36
superstitious
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| adj.迷信的 | |
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