Chapter 3 Luke Forms A Resolution

 As Luke read this letter his pleasant face became stern in its expression. They had indeed been cruelly wronged. The large sum of which they had been defrauded¹ would have insured them comfort and saved them from many an anxiety. His mother would not have been obliged to take in sewing, and he himself could have carried out his cherished design of obtaining a college education.

 

This man in whom his father had reposed² the utmost confidence had been false to his trust. He had kept in his own hands the money which should have gone to the widow and children of his dying friend. Could anything be more base?

 

"Mother," said Luke, "this man Thomas Butler must be a villain³."

 

Yes, Luke; he has done us a great wrong."

 

"He thought, no doubt, that we should never hear of this money."

 

"I almost wish I had not, Luke. It is very tantalizing⁴ to think how it would have improved our condition."

 

"Then you are sorry to receive the letter, mother?"

 

"No, Luke. It seems like a message from the dead, and shows me how good and thoughtful your poor father was to the last. He meant to leave us comfortable."

 

"But his plans were defeated by a rascal⁵. Mother, I should like to meet and punish this Thomas Butler."

 

"Even if you should meet him, Luke, you must be prudent⁶. He is probably a rich man."

 

"Made so at our expense," added Luke, bitterly.

 

"And he would deny having received anything from your father."

 

"Mother," said Luke, sternly and deliberately⁷, "I feel sure that I shall some day meet this man face to face, and if I do it will go hard if I don't force him to give up this money which he has falsely converted to his own use."

 

The boy spoke⁸ with calm and resolute⁹ dignity hardly to be expected in one so young, and with a deep conviction that surprised his mother.

 

"Luke," she said, "I hardly know you to-night. You don't seem like a boy. You speak like a man."

 

"I feel so. It is the thought of this man triumphant¹⁰ in his crime, that makes me feel older than I am. Now, mother, I feel that I have a purpose in life. It is to find this man, and punish him for what he has done, unless he will make reparation."

 

Mrs. Walton shook her head. It was not from her that Luke had inherited his independent spirit. She was a fond mother, of great amiability¹¹, but of a timid shrinking disposition¹², which led her to deprecate any aggressive steps.

 

"Promise me not to get yourself into any trouble, Luke," she said, "even if you do meet this man."

 

"I can't promise that, mother, for I may not be able to help it. Besides, I haven't met him yet, and it isn't necessary to cross a bridge till you get to it. Now let us talk of something else."

 

"How much did you make to-day, Luke?" asked Bennie, his young brother, seven years old.

 

"I didn't make my fortune, Bennie. Including the morning papers, I only made sixty cents."

 

"That seems a good deal to me, Luke," said his mother. "I only made twenty-five. They pay such small prices for making shirts."

 

"I should think they did. And yet you worked harder and more steadily¹³ than I did."

 

"I have worked since morning, probably about eight hours."

 

"Then you have made only three cents an hour. What a shame!"

 

"If I had a sewing-machine, I could do more, but that is beyond our means."

 

"I hope soon to be able to get you one, mother. I can pay something down and the rest on installments¹⁴."

 

"That would be quite a relief, Luke."

 

"If you had a sewing-machine, perhaps I could help you," suggested Bennie.

 

"I should hardly dare to let you try, Bennie. Suppose you spoiled a shirt. It would take off two days' earnings¹⁵. But I'll tell you what you can do. You can set the table and wash the dishes, and relieve me in that way."

 

"Or you might take in washing," said Luke, with a laugh. "That pays better than sewing. Just imagine how nice it would look in an advertisement in the daily papers: A boy of seven is prepared to wash and iron for responsible parties. Address Bennie Walton, No. 161-1/2 Green Street."

 

"Now you are laughing at me, Luke," said Bennie, pouting¹⁶. "Why don't you let me go out with you and sell papers?"

 

"I hope, Bennie," said Luke, gravely, "you will never have to go into the street with papers. I know what it is, and how poor boys fare. One night last week, at the corner of Monroe and Clark Streets, I saw a poor little chap, no older than you, selling papers at eleven o'clock. He had a dozen papers which he was likely to have left on his hands, for there are not many who will buy papers at that hour."

 

"Did you speak to him, Luke?" asked Benny, interested.

 

"Yes; I told him he ought to go home. But he said that if he went home with all those papers unsold, his stepfather would whip him. There were tears in the poor boy's eyes as he spoke."

 

"What did you do, Luke?"

 

"I'll tell you what I did, Bennie. I thought of you, and I paid him the cost price on his papers. It wasn't much, for they were all penny papers, but the poor little fellow seemed so relieved."

 

"Did you sell them yourself, Luke?"

 

"I sold four of them. I went over to Madison Street, and stood in front of McVicker's Theater just as the people were coming out. It so happened that four persons bought papers, so I was only two cents out, after all. You remember, mother, that was the evening I got home so late."

 

"Yes, Luke, I felt worried about you. But you did right. I am always glad to have you help those who are worse off than we are. How terribly I should feel if Bennie had to be out late in the streets like that!"

 

"There are many newsboys as young, or at any rate not much older. I have sometimes seen gentlemen, handsomely dressed, and evidently with plenty of money, speak roughly to these young boys. It always makes me indignant. Why should they have so easy a time, while there are so many who don't know where their next meal is coming from? Why, what such a man spends for his meals in a single day would support a poor newsboy in comfort for a week."

 

"My dear Luke, this is a problem that has puzzled older and wiser heads than yours. There must always be poor people, but those who are more fortunate ought at least to give them sympathy. It is the least acknowledgment they can make for their own more favored lot."

 

"I am going out a little while this evening, mother."

 

"Very well, Luke. Don't be late."

 

"No, mother, I won't. I want to call on a friend of mine, who is sick."

 

"Who it is, Luke?"

 

"It is Jim Norman. The poor boy took cold one day, his shoes were so far gone. He has a bad cough, and I am afraid it will go hard with him.

 

"Is he a newsboy, too, Luke?" asked Bennie Walton.

 

"No; he is a bootblack."

 

"I shouldn't like to black boots."

 

"Nor I, Bennie; but if a boy is lucky there is more money to be made in that business."

 

"Where does he live?" asked Mrs. Walton.

 

"On Ohio Street, not very far from here. There's another boy I know lives on that street Tom Brooks¹⁷; but he isn't a friend of mine. He wanted me to keep five dollars, and treat him and some other boys to an evening at the theater, and a supper afterwards."

 

"I hope you won't associate with him, Luke."

 

"Not more than I can help."

 

Luke took his hat and went downstairs into the street.

 

In the hall he met Nancy. She waylaid¹⁸ him with an eager look on her face.

 

"Who was the letter from, Luke?" she asked.

 

"From a friend of the family, who is now dead," answered Luke, gravely.

 

"Good gracious! How could he write it after he was dead?" ejaculated Nancy.

 

"It was given to a person to mail who forgot all about it, and carried it in his pocket for a year."

 

"My sakes alive! If I got a letter from a dead man it would make me creep all over. No wonder your ma came near faintin'." 

1 defrauded   

v.诈取，骗取( defraud的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He defrauded his employers of thousands of dollars. 他诈取了他的雇主一大笔钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He defrauded them of their money. 他骗走了他们的钱。 来自辞典例句

2 reposed   

v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Mr. Cruncher reposed under a patchwork counterpane, like a Harlequin at home. 克朗彻先生盖了一床白衲衣图案的花哨被子，像是呆在家里的丑角。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• An old man reposed on a bench in the park. 一位老人躺在公园的长凳上。 来自辞典例句

3 villain   

n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因

参考例句：

• He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
• The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。

4 tantalizing   

adj.逗人的；惹弄人的；撩人的；煽情的v.逗弄，引诱，折磨( tantalize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• This was my first tantalizing glimpse of the islands. 这是我第一眼看见的这些岛屿的动人美景。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We have only vague and tantalizing glimpses of his power. 我们只能隐隐约约地领略他的威力，的确有一种可望不可及的感觉。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

5 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。

6 prudent   

adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的

参考例句：

• A prudent traveller never disparages his own country.聪明的旅行者从不贬低自己的国家。
• You must school yourself to be modest and prudent.你要学会谦虚谨慎。

7 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

8 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。

9 resolute   

adj.坚决的，果敢的

参考例句：

• He was resolute in carrying out his plan.他坚决地实行他的计划。
• The Egyptians offered resolute resistance to the aggressors.埃及人对侵略者作出坚决的反抗。

10 triumphant   

adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的

参考例句：

• The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
• There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。

11 amiability   

n.和蔼可亲的，亲切的，友善的

参考例句：

• His amiability condemns him to being a constant advisor to other people's troubles. 他那和蔼可亲的性格使他成为经常为他人排忧解难的开导者。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• I watched my master's face pass from amiability to sternness. 我瞧着老师的脸上从和蔼变成严峻。 来自辞典例句

12 disposition   

n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署

参考例句：

• He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。
• He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。

13 steadily   

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。

14 installments   

部分( installment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The first two installments were pretty close together in 1980. 第一次和节二次提款隔得很近，都是在1980年提的。
• You have an installments sales contract. 你已经订立了一份分期付款的买卖契约了。

15 earnings   

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%。

16 pouting   

v.撅（嘴）( pout的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The child sat there pouting. 那孩子坐在那儿，一副不高兴的样子。 来自辞典例句
• She was almost pouting at his hesitation. 她几乎要为他这种犹犹豫豫的态度不高兴了。 来自辞典例句

17 brooks   

n.小溪( brook的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks gave the business when Haas caught him with his watch. 哈斯抓到偷他的手表的布鲁克斯时，狠狠地揍了他一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ade and Brooks exchanged blows yesterday and they were severely punished today. 艾德和布鲁克斯昨天打起来了，今天他们受到严厉的惩罚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 waylaid   

v.拦截，拦路( waylay的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I got waylaid on my way here. 我在来这里的路上遭到了拦路抢劫。
• He was waylaid by thieves. 他在路上被抢了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》