CHAPTER XIX. A NEW HOME.

"Did you wish to see Mr. Lawton about something important?" asked Mrs. Mead¹.

"Yes, I wish to ask his advice. I have lost my place."

"At Mr. Little's store?"

"Yes."

"I never liked Mr. Little. I am glad Willie has another position."

"Have you a small room vacant, Mrs. Mead? I have left Mr. Little's house also, and I must find a room somewhere."

"I have a small hall bedroom on the third floor."

"What rent do you charge?"

"Two dollars a week, usually, but to you I will make it a dollar and a half."

"Then I will take it. Can I go up at once and leave my valise?"

"Yes; I will show the way."

[Pg 160]

The room was small, as Mrs. Mead had described it, but it was scrupulously² clean. Scott felt that he would be very well satisfied with it, if only he could continue to pay the rent. It was certainly pleasanter than the room he had occupied at Ezra Little's.

"You must dine with us to-night, Mr. Walton," said Mrs. Mead, hospitably³. "Willie will be glad to see you, and then you can tell us how you came to leave the store."

As soon as he was settled, Scott went out and began to look for a position. He bought a morning paper, and looked over the advertisements of "Help Wanted."

He took down several names, and began to call in rotation⁴. In several instances he found the places already filled. In one place he was offered two dollars and a half a week, which he knew it would be idle to accept, as it would do little more than pay his room rent.

In one place he was asked where he had worked last.

"At Little's dry-goods store on Eighth Avenue," he answered.

"Why did you leave?"

"Because of a disagreement with Mr. Little."

[Pg 161]

"I don't think we shall require your services," said the merchant, coldly.

He turned away, as if to intimate that the conference was at an end.

Scott was depressed⁵. He saw that any explanation he might give of his leaving his former place would only injure him. Yet, almost everywhere the question would be asked.

This made him feel all the more that he had been very unjustly treated by Ezra Little. He had been required to plead guilty to a theft which he had not committed, and to replace the money lost with money of his own. He had very properly declined to do this, and now he was thrown out of employment, with very little chance of securing another place.

Several days passed, and Scott must have made application for a hundred situations. But his luck did not improve. One obstacle was a general business depression which made employers averse⁶ to hiring new employees.

And all the while his scanty⁷ funds were diminishing. He sought out cheap restaurants and limited his orders to the barest necessities, but still his money melted away till at length he was reduced to fifty cents. Besides, his week was about[Pg 162] out and he would be called upon to pay a second week's rent.

This was, of course, out of the question. Poor Scott was deeply perplexed⁸. He began to think it would have been better if he had complied with Ezra Little's demand for the five-dollar bill. It was about gone now, and he was without an income.

He chanced to be passing the Gilsey House at four o'clock in the afternoon, when he heard his name called.

Looking up, he recognized the familiar face of Justin Wood, whom he had not met for some weeks.

"I am glad to see you once more, Scott," said the young man, cordially. "Why haven't you called upon me?"

"I did call once, but I did not find you in."

"It must have been when I was making a short visit to Philadelphia. But now come in, and give an account of yourself. How does it happen that you are in the streets at this hour?"

"Because, Mr. Wood," answered Scott, gravely, "I have lost my place."

"Then you have a story to tell. Come in, and tell me all about it."

[Pg 163]

He led the way into the hotel, and Scott followed him into the reading room.

"Now take a seat at the window," said Justin Wood, pointing to an armchair, "and tell me why you were discharged."

Scott told the story in as few words as possible.

"This money which Mr. Little wished you to give up was a part of what you recovered from that swindler at Staten Island, I presume?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then I could certify⁹ to its belonging to you. Do you wish me to do so?"

"I don't want to go back to Mr. Little's if I can find another place. Besides, it will still be said that the pocketbook was found in my room."

"Have you any idea who put it there?"

"Yes, I think it was put there by Loammi."

"That is my own conclusion."

"But I don't see how I can bring it home to him."

"There will be a difficulty. If you get evidence of his having changed a five-dollar bill about that time, now——"

"I don't see how I can do that. It happened a week since."

"Where are you living now?"

[Pg 164]

"I have a room on West Sixteenth Street, at the house of a Mrs. Mead, but I shall have to leave it to-morrow."

"Why?"

"Because I have no money to pay the rent for a second week."

"How much is it?"

"A dollar and a half."

"I might be willing to lend you as much as that," said Justin Wood, smiling.

"Thank you, sir, but I shall need money to buy my meals besides."

"Then I think I shall have to come to your assistance."

Justin Wood put his hand in his pocket, and drew out two five-dollar bills.

"That will tide you over for the present," he said.

"But," said Scott, "ought I accept so much? I don't know when I shall be able to repay you."

"Then we had better consider it a gift."

"Thank you very much, sir."

"It is hardly worth mentioning," he said. "If it will do you good I am glad. Now, you must come in and take some dinner with me. I have[Pg 165] eaten nothing since breakfast, and am almost famished¹⁰."

The young man ordered a plain, but most appetizing dinner, to which Scott and himself did equal justice. Scott, too, had eaten nothing since breakfast, and that breakfast had been a meager¹¹ one.

After dinner the two friends hailed a car and went uptown. They spent an hour in Central Park.

Mr. Wood proposed to walk back, and Scott accompanied him.

"Would you mind if I called at Mr. Little's house?" asked Scott. "There may be a letter for me from Cousin Seth."

"Do so, by all means, Scott."

Scott rang the bell, and the door was opened by Ellen. Her eye brightened when she saw Scott, whom she liked much better than Loammi.

"I am glad to see you, Scott," she said. "And where are you living, now?"

"I am boarding on West Sixteenth Street."

"And have you got another place?"

"Not yet. I suppose you heard why I left the house."

"Yes, I did, and it's a shame."

[Pg 166]

"Did you hear that Mrs. Little's pocketbook was found in my room?"

"Yes, I did, and I know who put it there."

"Who was it?" asked Scott, eagerly.

"Only an hour before, I myself saw Loammi coming out of your chamber¹². He pretended that he went there expecting to see you."

"Did you tell Mr. Little that?"

"No; but I will if you want me to."

"I may ask you to do it some time. Do you think Loammi took the money?"

"I do that. All this week he's been unusually flush of cash. It's easy to guess where it came from."

"And I have had to suffer for his theft. Oh, by the way, Ellen, has any letter come here for me?"

"There was one came this morning. I'll get it for you."

Scott looked at the postmark of the letter, and saw that it was from Chicago.

1 mead   

n.蜂蜜酒

参考例句：

• He gave me a cup of mead.他给我倒了杯蜂蜜酒。
• He drank some mead at supper.晚饭时他喝了一些蜂蜜酒。

2 scrupulously   

adv.一丝不苟地；小心翼翼地，多顾虑地

参考例句：

• She toed scrupulously into the room. 她小心翼翼地踮着脚走进房间。 来自辞典例句
• To others he would be scrupulously fair. 对待别人，他力求公正。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史

3 hospitably   

亲切地，招待周到地，善于款待地

参考例句：

• At Peking was the Great Khan, and they were hospitably entertained. 忽必烈汗在北京，他们受到了盛情款待。
• She was received hospitably by her new family. 她的新家人热情地接待了她。

4 rotation   

n.旋转；循环，轮流

参考例句：

• Crop rotation helps prevent soil erosion.农作物轮作有助于防止水土流失。
• The workers in this workshop do day and night shifts in weekly rotation.这个车间的工人上白班和上夜班每周轮换一次。

5 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

6 averse   

adj.厌恶的；反对的，不乐意的

参考例句：

• I don't smoke cigarettes,but I'm not averse to the occasional cigar.我不吸烟，但我不反对偶尔抽一支雪茄。
• We are averse to such noisy surroundings.我们不喜欢这么吵闹的环境。

7 scanty   

adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的

参考例句：

• There is scanty evidence to support their accusations.他们的指控证据不足。
• The rainfall was rather scanty this month.这个月的雨量不足。

8 perplexed   

adj.不知所措的

参考例句：

• The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。
• The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。

9 certify   

vt.证明，证实；发证书(或执照)给

参考例句：

• I can certify to his good character.我可以证明他品德好。
• This swimming certificate is to certify that I can swim one hundred meters.这张游泳证是用以证明我可以游100米远。

10 famished   

adj.饥饿的

参考例句：

• When's lunch?I'm famished!什么时候吃午饭？我饿得要死了！
• My feet are now killing me and I'm absolutely famished.我的脚现在筋疲力尽，我绝对是极饿了。

11 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。

12 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。