CHAPTER XXIII. MR. BUNDY IS DISAPPOINTED, AND OLIVER MEETS SOME FRIENDS.

T HE village lay farther up on the hill. Oliver and his companion followed the road, looking about them enquiringly.

"Suppose you find this man, what will you do?" asked Oliver curiously¹.

He had an idea that Nicholas Bundy might pull out a revolver and lay his old enemy dead at his feet. This, in a law-abiding community, might entail² uncomfortable consequences, and he might be deprived of his new friend almost as soon as the friendship had begun.

"I will punish him," said Nicholas, his brow contracting into a frown.

"You won't shoot him?"

"No. I shall bide³ my time, and consider how best to ruin him. If he is rich, I will strip him of his wealth; if he is respected and honored, I will bring a stain upon his name. I will do for him what he has done for me."

The provincialisms which at times disfigured his speech were dropped as he spoke⁴ of his enemy, and his face grew hard and his expression unrelenting.

"How he must hate this man!" thought Oliver.

They stepped into a grocery store on the way, and here Mr. Bundy enquired⁵ for Rupert Jones.

"Do you know any such man?" he asked.

"Oh, yes; he trades here."

Nicholas Bundy's face lighted up with joy.

"Is he a friend of yours?"

"No," he replied hastily. "But I want to see him; that is, if he is the man I mean. Will you describe him?"

The grocer paused, and then said:

"Well, he is about thirty-five years old, and――"

"Only thirty-five?" repeated Nicholas in deep disappointment.

"I don't think he can be any more. He has a young wife."

"Is he tall or short?"

"Quite tall."

"Then it is not the man I mean," said Bundy. "Oliver, come."

As they left the store he said:

"I thought it was too good news to be true. I must search for him longer; but I have nothing else to do. There are many Joneses in the world."

"Yes, but Rupert Jones is not a common name," said Oliver.

"You say right, boy, Rupert is not a common name. That is what encourages me. Well, shall we go back?"

"I think as we are over here we may as well stay a while," said Oliver. "The day is pleasant and we can look upon it as an excursion."

"Just as you say, Oliver. There is no more to be done to-day. Have you never been here before?"

"No."

"I used to come over when I was a clerk. I often engaged a boat at the Battery and rowed down here myself."

"That must have been pleasant."

"If you like rowing we can go back to the ferry pier⁶ and engage a boat for an hour."

"I should like that very much."

"I shall like it also. It is long since I did anything at rowing."

They engaged a stout⁷ row-boat, and rowed out half a mile from shore. Oliver knew something about rowing, as there was a pond in his native village, where he had obtained some practice, generally with Frank Dudley. What was his surprise when bending over the oar⁸ to hear his name called. Looking up, he recognized Frank and Carrie Dudley and their father.

"Why, it's Oliver!" exclaimed Frank joyfully⁹. "Where have you come from, Oliver?"

"From the shore."

"I mean, how do you happen to be here?"

"Only an excursion, Frank. What brings you here? And Carrie, too. I hope you are well, Carrie."

"All the better for meeting you, Oliver," said Carrie, smiling and blushing. "I have been missing you very much."

Oliver was pleased to hear this. What boy would not be pleased to hear such a confession¹⁰ from the lips of a pretty girl?

"I thought Roland would make up for my absence," he said slyly. "He told me when we met the other day what pleasant calls he had at your house."

"The pleasure is all on his side, then," said Carrie, tossing her head. "I hate the sight of him."

"Poor Roland! He is to be pitied!"

"You needn't pity him, Oliver," said Frank. "He loses no opportunity of trying to set us against you. But he hasn't succeeded yet."

"And he won't!" chimed in Carrie, with emphasis.

This conversation scarcely occupied a minute, though it may seem longer. Meanwhile Dr. Dudley and Nicholas Bundy were left out of the conversation. Oliver remembered this, and introduced them."Dr. Dudley," he said, "permit me to introduce my friend, Mr. Bundy."

"I am glad to make the acquaintance of any friend of yours, Oliver. We are just going in. Won't you and Mr. Bundy join us at dinner in the hotel?"

Nicholas Bundy did not in general take kindly¹¹ to new friends, but he saw that Oliver wished the invitation to be accepted, and he assented¹² with a good grace. The boat was turned, and they were soon on land again.

"Who is this man, Oliver?" asked Frank in a low tone.

"He is a new acquaintance, but he has been very kind to me, and I have needed friends."

"Is it true that your step-father has cast you off? Roland has been spreading that report."

"It is true enough."

"What an outrage¹³!" exclaimed Frank indignantly. "But, at least, he makes you an allowance out of your mother's property?"

"He sent me twenty dollars, and let me understand that I was to expect no more of him."

"What an old rascal¹⁴!"

"I hate him!" said Carrie. "I would like to pull his hair."

"That's a regular girl's wish," said Frank, laughing. "Perhaps you can make it do by pulling Roland's, sis."

"I will, when he next says anything against Oliver."

"Look here, Oliver," said Frank, lowering his voice, "if you are in want of money, I've got five dollars at home that I can let you have as well as not. I'll send it in a letter."

"I've got three dollars, Oliver," said Carrie eagerly. "You'll take that, too, won't you?"

Oliver was moved by these offers.

"You are true friends, both of you," he said; "but I have been lucky, and I shall not need to accept your kindness just yet. I have nearly a hundred dollars in my pocket-book, and Mr. Bundy is paying me ten dollars a week for going around with him. But, though I don't need it, I thank you all the same."

"He looks rough," said Carrie, stealing a look at the tall, slouching figure walking beside her father; "but if he is kind, I shall like him."

"He has done more than I have yet told you. He has promised to provide for me as long as I will stay with him."

"He's a good man," said Carrie impulsively¹⁵. "I'm going to thank him."

She went up to Nicholas Bundy and took his rough hand in hers.

"Mr. Bundy," she said, "Oliver tells me you have been very kind to him. I want to thank you for it."

"My little lady," said Nicholas, surprised and pleased, "if I'd been kind, that would pay me; but I've only been kind to myself. I'm alone in the world. I've got no wife nor child, nor a single relation, but I've got enough to keep two on, and as long as Oliver will stay with me he shall want for nothing. He's company to me, and that's what I need."

"I wish you were his step-father instead of Mr. Kenyon."

"What sort of a man is Mr. Kenyon?" asked Nicholas of Dr. Dudley.

"He is a very unprincipled schemer, in my opinion," was the reply. "He has managed to defraud¹⁶ Oliver of his mother's property and cast him penniless on the world."

"He is a scoundrel, no doubt; but I am not sorry for what he has done," replied Mr. Bundy. "But for him I should be a solitary¹⁷ man. Now I have a young friend to keep me company. Let the boy's inheritance go? I will provide for him!"

They dined together, and then Dr. Dudley and his family were obliged to return.

"Shall I give your love to Roland?" asked Frank.

"I think you had better keep it yourself, Frank," and Oliver pressed his hand warmly. "You needn't tell Roland that I am prospering¹⁸, nor his father, either. I prefer, at present, that they should not know it."

They parted, with mutual¹⁹ promises to write at regular intervals²⁰.

1 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。

2 entail   

vt.使承担，使成为必要，需要

参考例句：

• Such a decision would entail a huge political risk.这样的决定势必带来巨大的政治风险。
• This job would entail your learning how to use a computer.这工作将需要你学会怎样用计算机。

3 bide   

v.忍耐；等候；住

参考例句：

• We'll have to bide our time until the rain stops.我们必须等到雨停。
• Bide here for a while. 请在这儿等一会儿。

4 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。

5 enquired   

打听( enquire的过去式和过去分词 )； 询问； 问问题； 查问

参考例句：

• He enquired for the book in a bookstore. 他在书店查询那本书。
• Fauchery jestingly enquired whether the Minister was coming too. 浮式瑞嘲笑着问部长是否也会来。

6 pier   

n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱

参考例句：

• The pier of the bridge has been so badly damaged that experts worry it is unable to bear weight.这座桥的桥桩破损厉害，专家担心它已不能负重。
• The ship was making towards the pier.船正驶向码头。

8 oar   

n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行

参考例句：

• The sailors oar slowly across the river.水手们慢慢地划过河去。
• The blade of the oar was bitten off by a shark.浆叶被一条鲨鱼咬掉了。

9 joyfully   

adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地

参考例句：

• She tripped along joyfully as if treading on air. 她高兴地走着，脚底下轻飘飘的。
• During these first weeks she slaved joyfully. 在最初的几周里，她干得很高兴。

10 confession   

n.自白，供认，承认

参考例句：

• Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
• The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。

11 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

12 assented   

同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The judge assented to allow the prisoner to speak. 法官同意允许犯人申辩。
• "No," assented Tom, "they don't kill the women -- they're too noble. “对，”汤姆表示赞同地说，“他们不杀女人——真伟大！

13 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

14 rascal   

n.流氓；不诚实的人

参考例句：

• If he had done otherwise,I should have thought him a rascal.如果他不这样做，我就认为他是个恶棍。
• The rascal was frightened into holding his tongue.这坏蛋吓得不敢往下说了。

15 impulsively   

adv.冲动地

参考例句：

• She leant forward and kissed him impulsively. 她倾身向前，感情冲动地吻了他。
• Every good, true, vigorous feeling I had gathered came impulsively round him. 我的一切良好、真诚而又强烈的感情都紧紧围绕着他涌现出来。

16 defraud   

vt.欺骗，欺诈

参考例句：

• He passed himself off as the managing director to defraud the bank.他假冒总经理的名义诈骗银行。
• He is implicated in the scheme to defraud the government.他卷入了这起欺骗政府的阴谋。

17 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

18 prospering   

成功，兴旺( prosper的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Our country is thriving and prospering day by day. 祖国日益繁荣昌盛。
• His business is prospering. 他生意兴隆。

19 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

20 intervals   

n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息

参考例句：

• The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴，有阵雨。
• Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。