CHAPTER VI THE PLACE OF CHANCE

At eleven o’clock that morning Jeanne found herself seated beside the blue-eyed, laughing Merry in the front row of chairs of a big, bare salesroom. Before them was a long, high platform. Back of the platform, piled to the ceiling, was an odd assortment¹ of boxes, bales, bags, trunks and bundles, the week’s accumulation of articles lost or rejected in the offices of a great express company.

The place was half filled when they arrived. All the front seats were taken save two. From these, hats mysteriously disappeared as Merry approached. She nodded Jeanne to one chair and chose another for herself.

“Those men saved seats for us,” Jeanne whispered in surprise. “Do ladies always get front seats?”
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“Never!” Merry shook her head vigorously. “Ladies are no good. They bid too high. After that they make a fuss because they’ve robbed themselves.”

“But you?”

“I’m no lady! Me?” The Irish girl drew herself up proudly. “I’m a buyer. They all know me, these men.

“Look, Weston!” She had turned to the man at her left. “This is Petite Jeanne. She’s going to buy, just one lot. You’ll lay off, won’t you?”

“Does she belong to the union?” The ruddy-faced German grinned.

“Sure,” Merry laughed back.

“All right, we’ll lay off, won’t we?” He turned to the man at his side.

“Certainly.” The one who spoke² seemed as much out of place there as did Petite Jeanne. He was young and, in a way, handsome. His features were regular, his forehead high. But about his eyes was a look of dissatisfaction.
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“His life is a story, an interesting story,” Jeanne told herself. “I’d love to read it.” To this little French girl the world was a stage indeed, and all men actors. She was to learn more of the ways of those who haunt auction³ sales ere the day was done.

Had some great artist come upon that scene, he would surely have hidden himself away behind boxes and bundles, to peer through some narrow crack and prepare a hasty sketch⁴ which must in time be developed into an immortal⁵ work of art. There they were, Jeanne and Merry, like two beings from another world; two glowing spots of color, one orange, one bright purple, against a dull tide of brown, gray and black. The scene about them was grim and sordid⁶. It spoke of the cluttered⁷ stalls of Maxwell Street where the poor of the city quarrel over the rags that must serve them in lieu of garments, and of grim, stark⁸ tenements⁹ where men struggle in vain for warmth and bread.
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There were deep lines in the faces of those who ranged themselves, tier on tier, behind the girls, waiting patiently for the show, which was a weekly auction, to begin. And yet there was to be seen in many a pair of eyes a glint of pleasurable anticipation¹⁰.

“Look at them,” Merry whispered, allowing her glance to sweep the growing throng¹¹. “They are gamblers; gamblers all.”

“Gamblers!” Jeanne voiced her astonishment¹².

“They are. You shall see. And this is a gambling¹³ institution. The auctioneer will tell them they are gambling. Perhaps you will hear him say it. ‘It’s not what you can make, but what you stand to lose.’ He says that. And yet they bid.

“You will hear them very soon, bidding six dollars, seven, eight for three packages. What’s in the packages? They are wrapped tight. Not one of them can know. They bet their money that the packages will increase their meager¹⁴ pile of money.”

“And do they?”

“Very seldom. Oh, yes, sometimes there are fine new goods, silk stockings, dresses, shoes. They can’t all be bad.
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“But then, too, you may pay real money for a worthless bundle of rags or a handful of broken dishes.

“So you see,” she added with a sigh, “it’s the call of the gambler that brings them here.”

“And you,” said Jeanne, “do you also gamble?”

“Very seldom. I buy only what I can see. To-day there are lamps, good ones, and not badly broken. I shall buy them. I can see two new traveling bags. If they are empty they will sell for very little.

“But if they are full—” She threw back her shoulders and smiled. “Then you shall see how they will bid. For in their dreams they see in those bags, lost in the express by other people, a fortune in watches, diamonds and silks.

“And what will they find? A few moth¹⁵ eaten garments, some old letters, a book or two, and some worthless trinkets. Did you ever pack your treasures in a traveling bag? Never.

“But when men are poor—” She sighed again. “They will gamble, for they have little to lose and always dream of gaining much. And after all, what is life without dreams?”
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“Dreams! Ah, yes!” Jeanne answered. “And shall we not gamble a wee bit to-day?”

“Just a wee bit.” Merry squeezed her hand. “One small package for you and one for me.”

“Yes, yes, let’s do!” the little French girl whispered eagerly, “For this is my luckee day.”

1 assortment   

n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集

参考例句：

• This shop has a good assortment of goods to choose from.该店各色货物俱全，任君选择。
• She was wearing an odd assortment of clothes.她穿着奇装异服。

2 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。

3 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

4 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

5 immortal   

adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的

参考例句：

• The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。
• The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽！

6 sordid   

adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的

参考例句：

• He depicts the sordid and vulgar sides of life exclusively.他只描写人生肮脏和庸俗的一面。
• They lived in a sordid apartment.他们住在肮脏的公寓房子里。

7 cluttered   

v.杂物，零乱的东西零乱vt.( clutter的过去式和过去分词 )；乱糟糟地堆满，把…弄得很乱；（以…） 塞满…

参考例句：

• The room is cluttered up with all kinds of things. 零七八碎的东西放满了一屋子。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The desk is cluttered with books and papers. 桌上乱糟糟地堆满了书报。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

9 tenements   

n.房屋，住户，租房子( tenement的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Here were crumbling tenements, squalid courtyards and stinking alleys. 随处可见破烂的住房、肮脏的庭院和臭气熏天的小胡同。 来自辞典例句
• The tenements are in a poor section of the city. 共同住宅是在城中较贫苦的区域里。 来自辞典例句

10 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

11 throng   

n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集

参考例句：

• A patient throng was waiting in silence.一大群耐心的人在静静地等着。
• The crowds thronged into the mall.人群涌进大厅。

12 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。

13 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

14 meager   

adj.缺乏的，不足的，瘦的

参考例句：

• He could not support his family on his meager salary.他靠微薄的工资无法养家。
• The two men and the woman grouped about the fire and began their meager meal.两个男人同一个女人围着火，开始吃起少得可怜的午饭。

15 moth   

n.蛾，蛀虫

参考例句：

• A moth was fluttering round the lamp.有一只蛾子扑打着翅膀绕着灯飞。
• The sweater is moth-eaten.毛衣让蛀虫咬坏了。