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Chapter 21 Continued Ill Luck
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    Rodney set himself to work searching for a new situation. But wherever he called he found Some one ahead of him. At length he saw an advertisement for an entry clerk in a wholesale1 house in Church Street. He applied2 and had the good fortune to please the superintendent3.

    "Where have you worked before?" he asked.

    "At Otis Goodnow's, on Reade Street."

    "How much were you paid there?"

    "Seven dollars a week."

    "Very well, we will start you on that salary, and see if you earn it."

    Rodney was surprised and relieved to find that he was not asked for a recommendation from Mr. Goodnow, knowing that he could not obtain one. He went to work on a Monday morning, and found his duties congenial and satisfactory.

    Seven dollars a week was small, compared with what he had received as a tutor, but he had about two hundred and fifty dollars in the Union Dime4 Savings5 Bank and drew three dollars from this fund every week in order that he might still assist Mike, whose earnings6 were small.

    One of his new acquaintances in the store was James Hicks, a boy about a year older than himself.

    "Didn't you use to work at Otis Goodnow's?" asked James one day when they were going to lunch.

    "Yes."

    "I know a boy employed there. He is older than either of us."

    "Who is it?"

    "Jasper Redwood. Of course you know him."

    "Yes," answered Rodney with a presentiment7 of evil.

    He felt that it would be dangerous to have Jasper know of his present position, but did not venture to give a hint of this to James.

    His fears were not groundless. Only the day after James met Jasper on the street.

    "Anything new?" asked Jasper.

    "Yes; we've got one of your old friends in our store."

    "Who is it?"

    "Rodney Ropes."

    Jasper stopped short, and whistled. He was excessively surprised, as he supposed Rodney still to be Arthur Sargent's tutor.

    "You don't mean it?" he ejaculated.

    "Why not? Is there anything so strange about it?"

    "Yes. Did Ropes bring a recommendation from Mr. Goodnow?"

    "I suppose so. I don't know."

    "If he did, it's forged."

    "Why should it be?"

    "Goodnow wouldn't give him a recommendation."

    "Why wouldn't he?"

    "Because he discharged Ropes. Do you want to know why?"

    "Yes."

    "For stealing articles from the store."

    It was the turn of James Hicks to be surprised.

    "I can't believe it," he said.

    "Its true. Just mention the matter to Ropes, and you'll see he won't deny it."

    "I think there must be some mistake about it. Rodney doesn't look like a fellow that would steal."

    "Oh, you can't tell from appearances -- Rogues8 are always plausible9."

    "Still mistakes are sometimes made. I'd trust Rodney Ropes sooner than any boy I know."

    "You don't know him as well as I do."

    "You don't like him?" said James shrewdly.

    "No I don't. I can't like a thief."

    "You talk as if you had a grudge10 against him."

    "Nothing but his being a thief. Well, what are you going to do about it?"

    "About what?"

    "What I have just told you."

    "I don't feel that I have any call to do anything."

    "You ought to tell your employer."

    "I am no telltale," said James scornfully.

    "Then you will let him stay in the store, knowing him to be a thief?"

    "I don't know him to be a thief. If he steals anything it will probably be found out."

    Jasper urged James to give information about Rodney, but he steadily12 refused.

    "I leave others to do such dirty work," he said, "and I don't think any better of you, let me tell you, for your eagerness to turn the boy out of his position."

    "You are a queer boy."

    "Think so if you like," retorted Hicks. "I might give my opinion of you."

    At this point Jasper thought it best to let the conversation drop. He was much pleased to learn that Rodney had lost his fine position as tutor, and was now in a place from which he might more easily be ousted13.

    As he could not prevail upon James Hicks to betray Rodney he decided14 to write an anonymous15 letter to the firm that employed him.

    The result was that the next afternoon Rodney was summoned to the office.

    "Sit down Ropes," said the superintendent. "For what store did you work before you came into our house?"

    "Otis Goodnow's."

    "Under what circumstances did you leave?"

    "I was accused of theft."

    "You did not mention this matter when you applied for a situation here."

    "No, sir. I ought perhaps to have done so, but I presumed in that case you would not have given me a place."

    "You are right he would not."

    "Nor would I have applied had the charge been a true one. Articles were certainly missing from Mr. Goodnow's stock, but in accusing me they did me a great injustice16."

    "How long since you left Mr. Goodnow's?"

    "Four months."

    "What have you been doing since?"

    "I was acting17 as tutor to the son of Mr. Sargent, of West Fifty Eighth Street."

    "A well known citizen. Then you are a scholar?"

    "Yes, sir, I am nearly prepared for college."

    "Of course he did not know you were suspected of dishonesty."

    "On the contrary he did know it. I told him, and later he received an anonymous letter, notifying him of the fact."

    "We also have received an anonymous letter. Here it is. Do you recognize the hand writing?"

    "Yes," answered Rodney after examining the letter. "It was written by Jasper Redwood."

    "Who is he?"

    "A boy employed by Mr. Goodnow. For some reason he seems to have a spite against me."

    "I admit that it is pretty small business to write an anonymous letter calculated to injure another. Still we shall have to take notice of this."

    "Yes, sir, I suppose so."

    "I shall have to bring it to the notice of the firm. What they may do I don't know. If the matter was to be decided by me I would let you stay."

    "Thank you, sir," said Rodney gratefully.

    "But I am not Mr. Hall. You can go now and I will see you again."

    Rodney left the office fully11 persuaded that his engagement would speedily terminate. He was right; the next day he was sent for again.

    "I am sorry to tell you, Ropes," said the superintendent kindly18 "that Mr. Hall insists upon your being discharged. He is a nervous man and rather suspicious. I spoke19 in your favor but I could not turn him."

    "At any rate I am grateful to you for your friendly effort."

    The superintendent hesitated a moment, and then said: "Will this discharge seriously embarrass you? Are you short of money?"

    "No, sir. I was very liberally paid by Mr. Sargent, and I saved money. I have enough in the savings bank to last me several months, should I be idle so long."

    "I am glad of it. I hope you will remember, my boy, that this is none of my doing. I would gladly retain you. I will say one thing more, should Jasper Redwood ever apply for a situation here, his name will not be considered."

    So Rodney found himself again without a position. It seemed hard in view of his innocence20, but he had confidence to believe that something would turn up for him as before. At any rate he had enough money to live on for some time.

    When Mike Flynn learned the circumstances of his discharge he was very angry.

    "I'd like to meet Jasper Redwood," he said, his eyes flashing. "If I didn't give him a laying out then my name isn't Mike Flynn."

    "I think he will get his desert some time, Mickey, without any help from you or me."

    "Should hope he will. And what'll you do now, Rodney?"

    "I don't know. Sometimes I think it would be well to go to some other city, Boston or Philadelphia, where Jasper can't get on my track."

    "Should hope you won't do it. I can't get along widout you."

    "I will stay here for a few weeks, Mike, and see if anything turns up."

    "I might get you in as a telegraph boy."

    "That wouldn't suit me. It doesn't pay enough."

    Rodney began to hunt for a situation again, but four weeks passed and brought him no success. One afternoon about four o'clock he was walking up Broadway when, feeling tired, he stepped into the Continental21 Hotel at the corner of Twentieth Street.

    He took a seat at some distance back from the door, and in a desultory22 way began to look about him. All at once he started in surprise, for in a man sitting in one of the front row of chairs he recognized Louis Wheeler, the railroad thief who had stolen his box of jewelry23.

    Wheeler was conversing24 with a man with a large flapping sombrero, and whose dress and general appearance indicated that he was a Westerner.

    Rodney left his seat and going forward sat down in the chair behind Wheeler. He suspected that the Western man was in danger of being victimized.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 wholesale Ig9wL     
n.批发;adv.以批发方式;vt.批发,成批出售
参考例句:
  • The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物,以零售价卖出。
  • Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。
2 applied Tz2zXA     
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。
3 superintendent vsTwV     
n.监督人,主管,总监;(英国)警务长
参考例句:
  • He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
  • He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。
4 dime SuQxv     
n.(指美国、加拿大的钱币)一角
参考例句:
  • A dime is a tenth of a dollar.一角银币是十分之一美元。
  • The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。
5 savings ZjbzGu     
n.存款,储蓄
参考例句:
  • I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假,那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
  • By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时,他的存款已全部用完。
6 earnings rrWxJ     
n.工资收人;利润,利益,所得
参考例句:
  • That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
  • Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。
7 presentiment Z18zB     
n.预感,预觉
参考例句:
  • He had a presentiment of disaster.他预感会有灾难降临。
  • I have a presentiment that something bad will happen.我有某种不祥事要发生的预感。
8 rogues dacf8618aed467521e2383308f5bb4d9     
n.流氓( rogue的名词复数 );无赖;调皮捣蛋的人;离群的野兽
参考例句:
  • 'I'll show these rogues that I'm an honest woman,'said my mother. “我要让那些恶棍知道,我是个诚实的女人。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
  • The rogues looked at each other, but swallowed the home-thrust in silence. 那些恶棍面面相觑,但只好默默咽下这正中要害的话。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
9 plausible hBCyy     
adj.似真实的,似乎有理的,似乎可信的
参考例句:
  • His story sounded plausible.他说的那番话似乎是真实的。
  • Her story sounded perfectly plausible.她的说辞听起来言之有理。
10 grudge hedzG     
n.不满,怨恨,妒嫉;vt.勉强给,不情愿做
参考例句:
  • I grudge paying so much for such inferior goods.我不愿花这么多钱买次品。
  • I do not grudge him his success.我不嫉妒他的成功。
11 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
12 steadily Qukw6     
adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地
参考例句:
  • The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
  • Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。
13 ousted 1c8f4f95f3bcc86657d7ec7543491ed6     
驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 ); 革职; 罢黜; 剥夺
参考例句:
  • He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
  • He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。
14 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
15 anonymous lM2yp     
adj.无名的;匿名的;无特色的
参考例句:
  • Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
  • The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。
16 injustice O45yL     
n.非正义,不公正,不公平,侵犯(别人的)权利
参考例句:
  • They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
  • All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。
17 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
参考例句:
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
18 kindly tpUzhQ     
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。
19 spoke XryyC     
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。
20 innocence ZbizC     
n.无罪;天真;无害
参考例句:
  • There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
  • The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。
21 continental Zazyk     
adj.大陆的,大陆性的,欧洲大陆的
参考例句:
  • A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
  • The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。
22 desultory BvZxp     
adj.散漫的,无方法的
参考例句:
  • Do not let the discussion fragment into a desultory conversation with no clear direction.不要让讨论变得支离破碎,成为没有明确方向的漫谈。
  • The constables made a desultory attempt to keep them away from the barn.警察漫不经心地拦着不让他们靠近谷仓。
23 jewelry 0auz1     
n.(jewllery)(总称)珠宝
参考例句:
  • The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
  • Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。
24 conversing 20d0ea6fb9188abfa59f3db682925246     
v.交谈,谈话( converse的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • I find that conversing with her is quite difficult. 和她交谈实在很困难。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • They were conversing in the parlor. 他们正在客厅谈话。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》


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