“Why, I’ll explain a little more about it,” replied the customer, turning from Jerome to the old man. “My name’s Xenophon Curry3—you may have heard of me. Here’s my card—here’s two of ’em.” And he drew forth4 a wallet from the pocket of a vast expanse of black and white checked woolen5 vest and took from it two generous bits of pasteboard, which he handed across with a little bustling6 gesture. “You see, I’ve rented a schooner7 called the Skipping Goone—nice name, kind of, isn’t it? As I was just explaining to your young man here, I don’t know just how to go about it to get[24] a crew and so forth, and I suppose—good Lord, yes!” he laughed, “first of all there will have to be a captain! Well, it will come right somehow. I always manage to blunder through. I guess it must be part of my luck!”
Both Jerome and Mr. Whitley were absorbed in the customer’s card, and the latter finally observed: “I see you head an opery troupe8!”
“Yes,” replied Xenophon Curry, drawing in deeply and expanding his ribs9 exactly the way his singers always did when they were going to attack a high note. “We’ve just closed a triumphant10 tour of the States, and now,” he added, with a little fling of his head which can only be described as magnificent, “we’re going to keep right on—west! That’s where the schooner comes in, do you see? I wouldn’t say—no, I wouldn’t say but we might go clear round the world! It’s a wonderful thought, in a way, isn’t it?”
The mouths across the counter were dropped in astonishment11; but Mr. Whitley, being so ancient a pupil in the school of life, possessed12 rather more ballast to withstand the puff13 of unexpected gales14 than did his clerk. He recovered first, and made a very smart remark indeed to the effect that he wouldn’t so much mind going along himself if there were as many pretty chorus girls as some shows carried. He winked15 naughtily. And of course this remark was but the forerunner16 of one of his bursting, infectious laughs, which, once released, ran along quite placidly17. Laughter never seemed to discomfit18 the junior partner in the slightest degree.
When he had sobered sufficiently19, Mr. Whitley began an inventory20 of commission houses. “There’s Silvio’s over the way, and Chiappa’s in Mission street—couldn’t go far wrong. Your steward21, when you find one, will know where to get the best prices.”
“How about Gambini’s?” asked Jerome.
“Oh, there’s no end of ’em,” remarked the old man opulently. For it was, in truth, a neighborhood abounding22 in lures23 for the marketing24 steward. Chicken feathers[25] were forever wafting25 on the whiff of limes and pineapples, and when it rained, mouldy oranges sped down on the muddy breast of gutter26 streams.
Presently the junior partner felt it incumbent27 on him to do a bit more honour to the prodigiousness28 of what the customer had disclosed. “An opery troupe!”
“Yes,” replied Xenophon Curry with warm and lingering affection. “And I want to tell you, gentlemen, I’ve got some of the finest songbirds in captivity29! Next time we play here I’ll send you down some passes.”
“Be sure they’re well toward the front,” stipulated30 the old man. The laugh was crowding in, but he just managed to add: “My eyes aren’t quite as good as they used to be!”
“I suppose,” observed Jerome respectfully, “you’ve been in the business all your life?”
“Almost as far back as I can remember,” the impresario31 assured him. “Lord, gentlemen, you couldn’t get me to give it up for a million dollars! It’s the glory of doing what you’re made to do! I was made for music as sure as God made little green apples! Music—” he poised32 it a moment, quite ecstatically, his eyes raised toward the ceiling, “—that’s what I’m made for!” But then he seemed to realize that emotion was rather carrying him away, and that, after all, here he was in a ship chandlery store, with a clerk and an old man blinking at him behind the counter; so he ended, very simply, and with another of his fine smiles: “I’m sorry to have bothered you about the supplies, but you see I never tried to run a schooner before. Gentlemen, I’ll wish you good day!”
He made them a gallant33 flourish and was about to take his departure, when Jerome suggested: “If you like sir, I could go through the Skipping Goone to see if there’s anything in our line you might need. There usually are a lot of odds34 and ends missing.”
Mr. Whitley showered looks of affection upon his clerk. Yes, he was really an ornament35 to the establishment. But Xenophon Curry looked positively36 radiant.
[26]
“That’s a fine idea, young man! Say, would you? I’ll show you through myself, from top to bottom, upstairs and down!”
Jerome came around the counter and accompanied the impresario to the door. In the street where trucks were thundering endlessly by along the cobblestones, afternoon was on the wane37, foggy and black. On the threshold the man extended a hand.
“I’ll come down here in a cab and pick you up, and we’ll go to the wharf38 together. It’s ’way over somewhere,” he waved vaguely39.
After they had shaken hands the amazing customer hurried off. His whole being seemed to exude40 a fierce yet always benevolent41 energy—the most amazing customer who had ever come into the store. “I’ll be able to tell Stella something’s happened at Oaks-Ferguson’s today!” he mused42; and then he remembered that she’d no longer be interested to know whether things happened there or didn’t.
The look of animation43 faded wanly44, and he felt very much alone. “Maybe I’ll go over anyway and see if she’s ready to make it up,” he thought, as he stood there in the doorway45 beside a swinging shiny oilskin coat and hat, gazing out into the murk of the dying winter day. But another voice within him followed close: “Maybe I won’t, too—anyway not yet awhile.” The first was the voice of the heart, hungry for the return of a girl’s affection; but the second was the voice of a still squirming masculine ego46.
However, could he have known that at this very moment Stella was receiving from the postman an invitation, after all, to Elsa’s dance, and could he have beheld47 the look of rapture48 that came into her face as she realized the good fortune which had befallen her, Jerome would have experienced greater difficulty than ever persuading himself that she was going to be the heavier loser of the two.
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1
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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2
hips
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| abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的 | |
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3
curry
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| n.咖哩粉，咖哩饭菜；v.用咖哩粉调味，用马栉梳，制革 | |
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4
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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woolen
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| adj.羊毛(制)的；毛纺的 | |
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6
bustling
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| adj.喧闹的 | |
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7
schooner
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| n.纵帆船 | |
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8
troupe
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| n.剧团，戏班；杂技团；马戏团 | |
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9
ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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10
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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11
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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12
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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13
puff
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| n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气 | |
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14
gales
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| 龙猫 | |
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15
winked
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| v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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16
forerunner
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| n.前身，先驱（者），预兆，祖先 | |
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17
placidly
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| adv.平稳地，平静地 | |
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18
discomfit
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| v.使困惑，使尴尬 | |
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19
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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20
inventory
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| n.详细目录，存货清单 | |
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21
steward
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| n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员 | |
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22
abounding
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| adj.丰富的，大量的v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的现在分词 ) | |
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23
lures
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| 吸引力，魅力（lure的复数形式） | |
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24
marketing
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| n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西 | |
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25
wafting
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| v.吹送，飘送，（使）浮动( waft的现在分词 ) | |
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26
gutter
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| n.沟，街沟，水槽，檐槽，贫民窟 | |
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27
incumbent
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| adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的 | |
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28
prodigiousness
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| Prodigiousness | |
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29
captivity
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| n.囚禁；被俘；束缚 | |
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30
stipulated
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| vt.& vi.规定；约定adj.[法]合同规定的 | |
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31
impresario
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| n.歌剧团的经理人；乐团指挥 | |
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32
poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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33
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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34
odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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35
ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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36
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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37
wane
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| n.衰微，亏缺，变弱；v.变小，亏缺，呈下弦 | |
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38
wharf
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| n.码头，停泊处 | |
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39
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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40
exude
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| v.(使)流出，(使)渗出 | |
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41
benevolent
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| adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的 | |
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42
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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43
animation
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| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
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44
wanly
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| adv.虚弱地；苍白地，无血色地 | |
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45
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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46
ego
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| n.自我，自己，自尊 | |
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47
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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48
rapture
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| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
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