Chapter 12 The New Boarder

 Harry¹ found himself in a room about twenty-five feet by twenty. The floor was covered with scraps² of leather. Here stood a deep wooden box containing a case of shoes ready to send off. There was a stove in the center, in which, however, as it was a warm day, no fire was burning. There were three persons present. One, a man of middle age, was Mr. James Leavitt, the proprietor³ of the shop. His son Robert, about seventeen, worked at an adjoining bench. Tom Gavitt, a journeyman, a short, thick-set man of thirty, employed by Mr. Leavitt, was the third.

 

The three looked up as Harry entered the shop.

 

"I have a letter for Mr. Leavitt," said our hero.

 

"That is my name," said the eldest⁴ of the party.

 

Harry advanced, and placed it in his hands.

 

"Where did you get this letter?"

 

"At the post office."

 

"I can't call you by name. Do you live about here?"

 

"No, I came from Granton."

 

No further questions were asked just then, as Mr. Leavitt, suspending work, opened the letter.

 

"It's from your Uncle Benjamin," he said, addressing Robert. "Let us see what he has to say."

 

He read the letter in silence.

 

"What does he say, father?" asked Robert.

 

"He says he shall be ready to take you the first of September. That's in six weeks--a little sooner than we calculated. I wish it were a little later, as work is brisk, and I may find it difficult to fill your place without paying more than I want to."

 

"I guess you can pick up somebody," said Robert, who was anxious to go to Boston as soon as possible.

 

"Won't you hire me?" asked Harry, who felt that the time had come for him to announce his business.

 

Mr. Leavitt looked at him more attentively⁵.

 

"Have you ever worked in a shop?"

 

"No, sir."

 

"It will take you some time to learn pegging⁶."

 

"I'll work for my board till I've learned."

 

"But you won't be able to do all I want at first."

 

"Suppose I begin now," said Harry, "and work for my board till your son goes away. By that time I can do considerable."

 

"I don't know but that's a good idea," said Mr. Leavitt. "What do you think, Bob?"

 

"Better take him, father," said Robert, who felt that it would facilitate his own plans.

 

"How much would you want after you have learned?" asked the father.

 

"I don't know; what would be a fair price," said Harry.

 

"I'll give you three dollars a week and board," said Mr. Leavitt, after a little consideration--"that is, if I am satisfied with you."

 

"I'll come," said Harry, promptly⁷. He rapidly calculated that there would be about twenty weeks for which he would receive pay before the six months expired, at the end of which the cow must be paid for. This would give him sixty dollars, of which he thought he should be able to save forty to send or carry to his father.

 

"How did you happen to come to me?" asked Mr. Leavitt, with some curiosity.

 

"I heard at the post office that your son was going to the city to work, and I thought I could get in here."

 

"Is your father living?"

 

"Yes, my father and mother both."

 

"What business is he in?"

 

"He is a farmer; but his farm is small, and not very profitable."

 

"So you thought you would leave home and try something else?"

 

"Yes, sir."

 

"Well, we will try you at shoemaking. Robert, you can teach him what you know about pegging."

 

"Come here," said Robert. "What is your name?"

 

"Harry Walton."

 

"How old are you?"

 

"Fifteen."

 

"Did you ever work much?"

 

"Yes, on a farm."

 

"Do you think you'll like shoemaking better?"

 

"I don't know yet, but I think I shall. I like almost anything better than farming."

 

"And I like almost anything better than pegging. I began when I was only twelve years old, and I'm sick of it."

 

"What kind of store is it you are going into?"

 

"Dry goods. My uncle, Benjamin Streeter, mother's brother, keeps a dry goods store on Washington street. It'll be jolly living in the city."

 

"I don't know," said Harry thoughtfully. "I think I like a village just as well."

 

"What sort of a place is Granton, where you come from?"

 

"It's a farming town. There isn't any village at all."

 

"There isn't much going on here."

 

"There'll be more than in Granton. There's nothing to do there but to work on a farm."

 

"I shouldn't like that myself; but the city's the best of all"

 

"Can you make more money in a store than working in a shoe shop?"

 

"Not so much at first, but after you've got learned there's better chances. There's a clerk, that went from here ten years ago, that gets fifty dollars a week."

 

"Does he?" asked Harry, to whose rustic⁸ inexperience this seemed like an immense salary. "I didn't think any clerk ever got so much."

 

"They get it often if they are smart," said Robert.

 

Here he was wrong, however. Such cases are exceptional, and a city fry goods clerk, considering his higher rate of expense, is no better off than many country mechanics. But country boys are apt to form wrong ideas on this subject, and are in too great haste to forsake⁹ good country homes for long hours of toil¹⁰ behind a city counter, and a poor home in a dingy¹¹, third-class city boarding house. It is only in the wholesale¹² houses, for the most part, that high salaries are paid, and then, of course, only to those who have shown superior energy and capacity. Of course some do achieve success and become rich; but of the tens of thousand who come from the country to seek clerkships, but a very small proportion rise above a small income.

 

"I shall have a start," Robert proceeded, "for I go into my uncle's store. I am to board at his house, and get three dollars a week."

 

"That's what your father offers me," said Harry.

 

"Yes; you'll earn more after a while, and I can now; but I'd rather live in the city. There's lots to see in the city--theaters, circuses, and all kinds of amusements."

 

"You won't have much money to spend on theaters," said Harry, prudently¹³.

 

"Not at first, but I'll get raised soon."

 

"I think I should try to save as much as I could."

 

"Out of three dollars a week?"

 

"Yes."

 

"What can you save out of that?"

 

"I expect to save half of it, perhaps more."

 

"I couldn't do that. I want a little fun."

 

"You see my father's poor. I want to help him all I can."

 

"That's good advice for you, Bob," said Mr. Leavitt.

 

"Save up money, and help me."

 

Robert laughed.

 

"You'll have to wait till I get bigger pay," he said.

 

"Your father's better off than mine," said Harry.

 

"Of course, if he don't need it, that makes a difference."

 

Here the sound of a bell was heard, proceeding¹⁴ from the house.

 

"Robert," said his father "go in and tell your mother to put an extra seat at the table. She doesn't know that we've got a new boarder."

 

He took off his apron¹⁵, and washed his hands. Tom Gavitt followed his example, but didn't go into the house of his employer. He lived in a house of his own about five minutes' walk distant, but left the shop at the same time. In a country village the general dinner hour is twelve o'clock--a very unfashionably early hour--but I presume any of my readers who had been at work from seven o'clock would have no difficulty in getting up a good appetite at noon.

 

Robert went in and informed his mother of the new boarder. It made no difference, for the table was always well supplied.

 

"This is Harry Walton, mother," said Mr. Leavitt, "our new apprentice¹⁶. He will take Bob's place when he goes."

 

"I am glad to see you," said Mrs. Leavitt, hospitably¹⁷.

 

"You may sit here, next to Robert."

 

"What have you got for us to-day, mother?" asked her husband.

 

"A picked-up dinner. There's some cold beef left over from yesterday, and I've made an apple pudding."

 

"That's good. We don't want anything better."

 

So Harry thought. Accustomed to the painful frugality¹⁸ of the table at home, he regarded this as a splendid dinner, and did full justice to it.

 

In the afternoon he resumed work in the shop under Robert's guidance. He was in excellent spirits. He felt that he was very fortunate to have gained a place so soon, and determined¹⁹ to write home that same evening. 

1 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

2 scraps   

油渣

参考例句：

• Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
• A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。

3 proprietor   

n.所有人；业主；经营者

参考例句：

• The proprietor was an old acquaintance of his.业主是他的一位旧相识。
• The proprietor of the corner grocery was a strange thing in my life.拐角杂货店店主是我生活中的一个怪物。

4 eldest   

adj.最年长的，最年老的

参考例句：

• The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。

5 attentively   

adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神

参考例句：

• She listened attentively while I poured out my problems. 我倾吐心中的烦恼时，她一直在注意听。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She listened attentively and set down every word he said. 她专心听着，把他说的话一字不漏地记下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 pegging   

n.外汇钉住，固定证券价格v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的现在分词 )；使固定在某水平

参考例句：

• To write a novel,one must keep pegging away at it consistently. 要写小说，必须不断辛勤劳动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She was pegging the clothes out on the line to dry. 她正在把衣服夹在晒衣绳上晾干。 来自辞典例句

7 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

8 rustic   

adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬

参考例句：

• It was nearly seven months of leisurely rustic living before Michael felt real boredom.这种悠闲的乡村生活过了差不多七个月之后,迈克尔开始感到烦闷。
• We hoped the fresh air and rustic atmosphere would help him adjust.我们希望新鲜的空气和乡村的氛围能帮他调整自己。

9 forsake   

vt.遗弃，抛弃；舍弃，放弃

参考例句：

• She pleaded with her husband not to forsake her.她恳求丈夫不要抛弃她。
• You must forsake your bad habits.你必须革除你的坏习惯。

10 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。

11 dingy   

adj.昏暗的，肮脏的

参考例句：

• It was a street of dingy houses huddled together. 这是一条挤满了破旧房子的街巷。
• The dingy cottage was converted into a neat tasteful residence.那间脏黑的小屋已变成一个整洁雅致的住宅。

12 wholesale   

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。

13 prudently   

adv. 谨慎地，慎重地

参考例句：

• He prudently pursued his plan. 他谨慎地实行他那计划。
• They had prudently withdrawn as soon as the van had got fairly under way. 他们在蓬车安全上路后立即谨慎地离去了。

14 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

15 apron   

n.围裙；工作裙

参考例句：

• We were waited on by a pretty girl in a pink apron.招待我们的是一位穿粉红色围裙的漂亮姑娘。
• She stitched a pocket on the new apron.她在新围裙上缝上一只口袋。

16 apprentice   

n.学徒，徒弟

参考例句：

• My son is an apprentice in a furniture maker's workshop.我的儿子在一家家具厂做学徒。
• The apprentice is not yet out of his time.这徒工还没有出徒。

17 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。

18 frugality   

n.节约，节俭

参考例句：

• We must build up our country with industry and frugality.我们必须勤俭建国。
• By frugality she managed to get along on her small salary.凭着节俭，她设法以自己微薄的薪水生活。

19 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。