He never had anything much to say at these times—a[11] dearth9 which by no means applied10 all round. A clerk from a fishing tackle store was delivering a very graphic11 lecture on the difficult art of casting for bass12, and exacted the half guarded attention of the little group.
“The mistake most fishermen make is to whip their rod when they cast—like that.” You saw exactly. “But,” he demonstrated, “the right way is like this—v-e-r-y gently.”
Jerome thought he would like to be able to cast well. “I suppose it’s only a knack13,” he mused14. But how did one go about it to learn the knack? The tackle clerk might have told him, in a general way: application, patience; but Jerome seldom carried his inchoate15 ambitions that far.
Another clerk, though his profession was selling typewriters, had a passion for architecture, and began expatiating16 a trifle thickly across his hard boiled egg. And Jerome followed him with considerable interest, musing17 in much the same strain as before. Still, Jerome had never, at best, felt more than a flirtatious18 interest in architecture, though he had talked some of studying it on the side. Well, when analysed, it proved to be pretty much in a class with many other idle ambitions: for example, the sea. The sea, oddly enough, had come very near amounting to a passion with Jerome Stewart. He had spoken rather grandly once of taking to the high seas. Even to this day a mild penalty pursued him; one of the group, suddenly leaning over to jog his shoulder, urged:
“Come on! You haven’t done your jig19 for months. Boys, are we going to let him sit here and hide his talent?”
The crowd laughed goodnaturedly. “Sure! Out you go! Limber up!” And there was a shuffling20 movement, as though the clerk might be about to find himself precipitated21 on to the sidewalk, where an admiring ring would form.
Jerome, however, had a very well developed sense of his own dignity. He resisted, and the interest waned22; however, it was quite true that he had an accomplishment23. In the dim long ago, a seaman24 at the waterfront had taught him the hornpipe. Those were the brave, adventurous25 days. But[12] after all, he had been content in the end to take up ship chandlery; and it must ever remain not the least of his humiliations that once when the chance came to go out for a day in a fishing tug26 he had grown fatally reluctant at the last moment because, to his land-locked eyes, there was a deal of a sea slopping in. Jerome had come at length to take it modestly for granted that nearly everything in life was more or less unattainable.
As he consumed his bread and cheese, with a generous dessert of home-made cocoanut cake in the offing, the clerk scanned such snatches of relatively27 current news as revealed themselves down the columns of the Chronicle from which his banquet had emerged. This helped him keep posted on the affairs of the great world. Sometimes there would be only advertisements, in which case he knew how to accommodate himself without a struggle. Or it would be the sporting page, and he always liked that. Jerome seldom saw a game, but, like most normal individuals, read the sporting news religiously—almost superstitiously28. Today it was mostly small type about stock and bond matters. Sometimes he wondered dimly about the stock exchange. But after all it was no great matter, one way or another.
Some young lady stenographers, arms linked and lips vocal29 with fun, strolled past, leaving in their wake a havoc30 of masculine eyes. One of the clerks sketchily31 whistled a perfectly32 unsuggestive tune33 suggestively. The little passing thrill subsided34; and then Jerome began thinking about his own affair of the heart. It was a curious thing, but the clerk, although he saw her nearly every day, could never conjure35 in his mind a wholly satisfactory picture of the girl he was going to marry. There was no doubt about his loving her. He loved her very much indeed. Besides, he was very anxious to be married; the desire for a hearth36 of his own “and kiddies” was firmly fixed37 in his soul. But it was always just a little through a haze38 that he saw the girl herself. He could never, for one thing, remember definitely whether she had a dimple; though he knew she was fair, with fresh colour,[13] and that her hair looked like gold when the sun caught it right.
Jerome filled his short little pipe and lighted it. The pipe always gave him a faintly jaunty39 feeling. If he ever thought of his destiny as a bit obscure it was certainly never at such times as this. And at worst, though his destiny obviously lacked a great many things he more or less desired, he wouldn’t be willing to change it for anybody else’s.
The world moved busily on every side, heeding40 him not a bit. Every one, as a matter of fact, had more important things to do than notice a chandlery clerk who wasn’t even sure if his girl had a dimple. What all the world missed, therefore, was a young man of about twenty or so, thin but quite well built, a little unkempt, with a somewhat sallow look. His hair was parted in the middle, and in the back it overlapped41 his collar just a trifle—it was that kind of hair. His clothes had been, in their jeunesse, a bit loud, which would be a weakness belonging to his years and the fact that he was engaged; but they had never fitted any too well, and long continuance of careless carriage had scarcely improved matters in this direction. Finally, he wore a bright tie which was fastened near its extremities42 to his shirt by means of a patent clip. The clip seemed urging his shoulders forward and downward. Yes, upon the whole he seemed pretty obscure; yet it wasn’t that he didn’t want to learn the knack of life, but only that he thought he couldn’t.
Some whistles blew presently, and a city clock boomed. The group on the steps of the candy factory broke up, and Jerome took his way back to the ancient and musty mercantile house with all sorts of things pertaining43 to ships displayed in the windows. He proceeded automatically to a special peg44 and hung up his hat, encountering in the vicinity Mr. Ormand Whitley, the junior partner, indulging in a drink of water at the old-fashioned cooler. Whitley was only seventy-five and decidedly spry yet. He eyed the returning clerk over a crockery cup and very solemnly announced, with a gesture toward the water:
“My boy, that killed off every one once except Noah and a few animals!”
And then he laughed—a laugh which had a bursting start, like the operation of a steam valve. Yes, there was something undeniably frivolous45 about the junior partner, even though, curiously46 enough, his head made one think instantly of the head of some profound Greek philosopher. It might almost have been the head of Socrates.
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1
hazy
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| adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的 | |
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benevolent
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| adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的 | |
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tyrant
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| n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人 | |
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sprawled
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| v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的过去式和过去分词)；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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5
wholesale
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| n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售 | |
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huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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slanting
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| 倾斜的，歪斜的 | |
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8
viands
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| n.食品，食物 | |
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dearth
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| n.缺乏，粮食不足，饥谨 | |
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10
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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graphic
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| adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的 | |
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12
bass
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| n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴 | |
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13
knack
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| n.诀窍，做事情的灵巧的，便利的方法 | |
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14
mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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15
inchoate
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| adj.才开始的，初期的 | |
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expatiating
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| v.详述，细说( expatiate的现在分词 ) | |
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musing
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| n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式 | |
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18
flirtatious
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| adj.爱调情的，调情的，卖俏的 | |
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19
jig
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| n.快步舞（曲）；v.上下晃动；用夹具辅助加工；蹦蹦跳跳 | |
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20
shuffling
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| adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式 | |
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21
precipitated
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| v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀 | |
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waned
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| v.衰落( wane的过去式和过去分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡 | |
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23
accomplishment
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| n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能 | |
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seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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adventurous
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| adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的 | |
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26
tug
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| v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船 | |
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relatively
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| adv.比较...地，相对地 | |
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superstitiously
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| 被邪教所支配 | |
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29
vocal
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| adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目 | |
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30
havoc
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| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
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31
sketchily
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| adv.写生风格地，大略地 | |
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32
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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33
tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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34
subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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35
conjure
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| v.恳求，祈求；变魔术，变戏法 | |
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hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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38
haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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39
jaunty
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| adj．愉快的，满足的；adv.心满意足地，洋洋得意地；n.心满意足；洋洋得意 | |
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40
heeding
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| v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的现在分词 ) | |
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41
overlapped
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| _adj.重叠的v.部分重叠( overlap的过去式和过去分词 )；（物体）部份重叠；交叠；（时间上）部份重叠 | |
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42
extremities
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| n.端点( extremity的名词复数 )；尽头；手和足；极窘迫的境地 | |
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43
pertaining
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| 与…有关系的，附属…的，为…固有的(to) | |
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44
peg
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| n.木栓，木钉；vt.用木钉钉，用短桩固定 | |
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45
frivolous
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| adj.轻薄的；轻率的 | |
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46
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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