CHAPTER XIX. ALL ABOARD FOR NEW YORK.

The next day Mark found a letter in the post-office directed to Anthony Taylor. According to custom it appeared in a written list containing the letters of those who had no boxes.

Mark called for it.

"Who is Anthony Taylor?" asked Tom Wyman, who happened to be attending the office for his father.

"Old Anthony," as the boys call him.

"I wonder if there's money in it!" said Tom, holding up the letter, and trying to peep inside.

"That's none of our business," answered Mark.

"Oh, you're mighty¹ virtuous²!" sneered³ Tom. "If there is any money, I'll bet you'll get a share of it."

"I get no money except my wages."

"How much does he pay you?"

"I would rather not tell," returned Mark, with a smile. "You might try to get my place away."

"As if I would work for an old tramp like the hermit⁴!" exclaimed Tom, disdainfully. "I suppose he pays you about a dollar a week."

"That's better than doing nothing, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's better for you. I don't want your place. I shall go to the city when my school days are over."

"I wish you good luck, Tom, whenever you do," said Mark, good-naturedly. "I must hurry along with my letter."

"A letter for you, Mr. Taylor," announced Mark, as he entered the cabin.

"From John Hardy⁵," said the hermit, as he scanned the address.

He opened the letter and read as follows:

"My Dear Old Friend: Your will is drafted and ready for signature. You had better come up to the city, and sign it. I know your reluctance⁶ to leave your forest home, but it will occur to you at once that your signature must be witnessed, and though witnesses might be found in Pocasset, it would involve a degree of publicity⁷ which I presume you would wish to avoid. Here I can easily get it witnessed by my clerks.

"I suggest that you bring the boy, Mark, with you, as he may be of service to you. Moreover, I think it is high time that we spoke⁸ to him of the mission on which you propose to send him.

"Your worthy⁹ nephew, Lyman, called upon me to-day with your letter. He wished me to furnish him with the money needed for his ticket, but I thought it better to send a clerk to purchase the ticket, and see him fairly off. He has just returned, and reports that Lyman is on the way to Chicago. I think you showed considerable shrewdness in securing his removal from this neighborhood. He may return, to be sure, but the chances are that he will spend all the money, and find himself stranded¹⁰ in Chicago. If this compels him to work for a living, no harm will result.
"Your friend as ever.
"John Hardy."

Old Anthony laid down the letter thoughtfully. He was reluctant to go to New York, but saw that it was necessary. His reluctance was diminished by the prospect¹¹ of having Mark's company.

"Mark," he said, "can you go to New York with me to-morrow?"

Mark stared at his employer in amazement¹². The proposal was very unexpected.

"I am obliged to go up on business," explained the hermit. "I wish I could delegate it to you, but I must attend to it myself. It is so long since I have been in a crowd, that I believe I shall need some one to take care of me."

"I shall be very happy to accompany you, sir," said Mark, with alacrity¹³.

"At what time does the morning train leave the station?"

"Nine o'clock, sir."

"Then meet me there at fifteen minutes before the hour."

"All right, sir."

"When shall we return?" asked Mark, after a pause.

"When does the afternoon train leave the city?"

"At three o'clock."

"We will return then."

"I only wanted to tell my mother when to expect me."

It must be admitted that old Anthony looked like an antediluvian¹⁴ figure in his old-fashioned coat, with a short waist and long tails, as he stood on the platform the next morning waiting for the train. Two or three of the village boys laughed rudely, but the hermit was buried in thought, and took no notice of them. Mark, himself, thought his employer looked queer, but he saw nothing to laugh at.

"Are you going to town with old Anthony?" asked one of the boys.

"Yes," answered Mark.

"People will take him for your grandfather."

"I don't mind."

"He looks like a rusty¹⁵ old tramp. His coat looks as if it was made in the year one."

"He has a right to consult his own taste. He has been kind to me, and I don't care to listen to any rude remarks."

"You may buy two tickets, Mark," said the hermit.

Mark did so.

Just as he was leaving the ticket-window, his former employer, Mr. Collins, the shoe manufacturer, took his place.

"Are you going to the city?" he asked.

"Yes, sir."

"Who goes with you?"

"Mr. Taylor."

"Mr. Taylor?"

"The—the hermit."

"Oh!" returned the manufacturer, arching his brows, "are you working for him?"

"Yes, sir."

"You might have been working for me, if you had behaved yourself."

"I am satisfied with the change," answered Mark.

"That boy is impertinent," soliloquized the village magnate. "He can't get much pay from a pauper¹⁶. However, it serves him right. Of course, it is only pride that makes him profess¹⁷ to be satisfied."

Mark would have been surprised, had he known that Mr. Collins was going up to the city to call upon the person with whom the hermit had business. Such was the fact, however. Mr. Collins had applied¹⁸ to Mr. Hardy for a sum of four thousand dollars, mortgaging therefor, his large shoe manufactory, which had originally cost double this sum.

As Mr. Hardy told old Anthony, he had ventured into Wall Street, and the losses he had incurred¹⁹ there, had forced him to raise money in this way.

To-day had been fixed²⁰ by Mr. Hardy for the execution of the papers, and the transfer of the sum required. Twelve o'clock was the hour appointed by Mr. Hardy, for his business with the manufacturer.

"What on earth can carry that old scarecrow up to New York?" thought Mr. Collins, as he eyed curiously²¹ old Anthony, who, with Mark, was seated a few steps in front of him, in the same car. "I suppose he has a pension from some source, and is going to collect it."

It may be remarked that James Collins had never communicated to his father the discovery made in the forest, connected with the pot of gold.

1 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

2 virtuous   

adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的

参考例句：

• She was such a virtuous woman that everybody respected her.她是个有道德的女性，人人都尊敬她。
• My uncle is always proud of having a virtuous wife.叔叔一直为娶到一位贤德的妻子而骄傲。

3 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。

4 hermit   

n.隐士，修道者；隐居

参考例句：

• He became a hermit after he was dismissed from office.他被解职后成了隐士。
• Chinese ancient landscape poetry was in natural connections with hermit culture.中国古代山水诗与隐士文化有着天然联系。

5 hardy   

adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的

参考例句：

• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
• He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。

6 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

7 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

8 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。

9 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

10 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

11 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

12 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

13 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。

14 antediluvian   

adj.史前的，陈旧的

参考例句：

• His ideas are positively antediluvian!他的思想是纯粹的老古董。
• This antediluvian monetary system has now been replaced by the up-to-date monetary system of Japan.这种旧式的金融体系也已经被现代化的日本系统所取代。

15 rusty   

adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的

参考例句：

• The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
• I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用，我的法语又荒疏了。

16 pauper   

n.贫民，被救济者，穷人

参考例句：

• You lived like a pauper when you had plenty of money.你有大把钱的时候，也活得像个乞丐。
• If you work conscientiously you'll only die a pauper.你按部就班地干，做到老也是穷死。

17 profess   

v.声称，冒称，以...为业，正式接受入教，表明信仰

参考例句：

• I profess that I was surprised at the news.我承认这消息使我惊讶。
• What religion does he profess?他信仰哪种宗教？

18 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

19 incurred   

[医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式

参考例句：

• She had incurred the wrath of her father by marrying without his consent 她未经父亲同意就结婚，使父亲震怒。
• We will reimburse any expenses incurred. 我们将付还所有相关费用。

20 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

21 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。