Chapter 15 The Journey

 The nurse walked as far as Broadway, holding Ida by the hand.

 

"Where are we going?" asked the child, timidly. "Are you going to walk all the way?"

 

"No," said the nurse; "not all the way--perhaps a mile. You can walk as far as that, can't you?"

 

"Oh, yes."

 

They walked on till they reached the ferry at the foot of Courtland Street.

 

"Did you ever ride in a steamboat?" asked the nurse, in a tone meant to be gracious.

 

"Once or twice," answered Ida. "I went with Brother Jack¹ once, over to Hoboken. Are we going there now?"

 

"No; we are going to the city you see over the water."

 

"What place is it? Is it Brooklyn?"

 

"No; it is Jersey² City."

 

"Oh, that will be pleasant," said Ida, forgetting, in her childish love of novelty, the repugnance³ with which the nurse had inspired her.

 

"Yes, and that is not all; we are going still further," said the nurse.

 

"Are we going further?" asked Ida, in excitement. "Where are we going?"

 

"To a town on the line of the railroad."

 

"And shall we ride in the cars?" asked Ida.

 

"Yes; didn't you ever ride in the cars?"

 

"No, never."

 

"I think you will like it."

 

"And how long will it take us to go to the place you are going to carry me to?"

 

"I don't know exactly; perhaps three hours."

 

"Three whole hours in the cars! How much I shall have to tell father and Jack when I get back!"

 

"So you will," replied Mrs. Hardwick, with an unaccountable smile--"when you get back."

 

There was something peculiar⁴ in her tone, but Ida did not notice it.

 

She was allowed to sit next the window in the cars, and took great pleasure in surveying the fields and villages through which they were rapidly whirled.

 

"Are we 'most there?" she asked, after riding about two hours.

 

"It won't be long," said the nurse.

 

"We must have come ever so many miles," said Ida.

 

"Yes, it is a good ways."

 

An hour more passed, and still there was no sign of reaching their journey's end. Both Ida and her companion began to feel hungry.

 

The nurse beckoned⁵ to her side a boy, who was selling apples and cakes, and inquired the price.

 

"The apples are two cents apiece, ma'am, and the cakes are one cent each."

 

Ida, who had been looking out of the window, turned suddenly round, and exclaimed, in great astonishment⁶: "Why, Charlie Fitts, is that you?"

 

"Why, Ida, where did you come from?" asked the boy, with a surprise equaling her own.

 

"I'm making a little journey with this lady," said Ida.

 

"So you're going to Philadelphia?" said Charlie.

 

"To Philadelphia!" repeated Ida, surprised. "Not that I know of."

 

"Why, you're 'most there now."

 

"Are we, Mrs. Hardwick?" inquired Ida.

 

"It isn't far from where we're going," she answered, shortly. "Boy, I'll take two of your apples and four cakes. And, now, you'd better go along, for there's somebody over there that looks as if he wanted to buy something."

 

"Who is that boy?" asked the nurse, abruptly⁷.

 

"His name is Charlie Fitts."

 

"Where did you get acquainted with him?"

 

"He went to school with Jack, so I used to see him sometimes."

 

"With Jack?"

 

"Yes, Brother Jack. Don't you know him?"

 

"Oh, yes, I forgot. So he's a schoolmate of Jack?"

 

"Yes, and he's a first-rate boy," said Ida, with whom the young apple merchant was evidently a favorite. "He's good to his mother. You see, his mother is sick most of the time, and can't work much; and he's got a little sister--she ain't more than four or five years old--and Charlie supports them by selling things. He's only sixteen years old; isn't he a smart boy?"

 

"Yes," said the nurse, indifferently.

 

"Sometime," continued Ida, "I hope I shall be able to earn something for father and mother, so they won't be obliged to work so hard."

 

"What could you do?" asked the nurse, curiously⁸.

 

"I don't know as I can do much yet," answered Ida, modestly; "but perhaps when I am older I can draw pictures that people will buy."

 

"Have you got any of your drawings with you?"

 

"No, I didn't bring any."

 

"I wish you had. The lady we are going to see would have liked to see some of them."

 

"Are we going to see a lady?"

 

"Yes; didn't your mother tell you?"

 

"Yes, I believe she said something about a lady that was interested in me."

 

"That's the one."

 

"And shall we come back to New York to-night?"

 

"No; it wouldn't leave us any time to stay."

 

"West Philadelphia!" announced the conductor.

 

"We have arrived," said the nurse. "Keep close to me. Perhaps you had better take hold of my hand."

 

As they were making their way slowly through the crowd, the young apple merchant came up with his basket on his arm.

 

"When are you going back, Ida?" he asked.

 

"Mrs. Hardwick says not till to-morrow."

 

"Come, Ida," said the nurse, sharply. "I can't have you stopping all day to talk. We must hurry along."

 

"Good-by, Charlie," said Ida. "If you see Jack, just tell him you saw me."

 

"Yes, I will," was the reply.

 

"I wonder who that woman is with Ida?" thought the boy. "I don't like her looks much. I wonder if she's any relation of Mr. Harding. She looks about as pleasant as Aunt Rachel."

 

The last-mentioned lady would hardly have felt flattered at the comparison.

 

Ida looked about her with curiosity. There was a novel sensation in being in a new place, particularly a city of which she had heard so much as Philadelphia. As far back as she could remember, she had never left New York, except for a brief excursion to Hoboken; and one Fourth of July was made memorable⁹ by a trip to Staten Island, under the guardianship¹⁰ of Jack.

 

They entered a horse car just outside the depot¹¹, and rode probably a mile.

 

"We get out here," said the nurse. "Take care, or you'll get run over. Now turn down here."

 

They entered a narrow and dirty street, with unsightly houses on each side.

 

"This ain't a very nice-looking street," said Ida.

 

"Why isn't it?" demanded her companion, roughly.

 

"Why, it's narrow, and the houses don't look nice."

 

"What do you think of that house there?" asked Mrs. Hardwick, pointing to a dilapidated-looking structure on the right-hand side of the street.

 

"I shouldn't like to live there," answered Ida.

 

"You wouldn't, hey? You don't like it so well as the house you live in in New York?"

 

"No, not half so well."

 

The nurse smiled.

 

"Wouldn't you like to go in, and look at the house?"

 

"Go in and look at the house?" repeated Ida. "Why should we?"

 

"You must know there are some poor families living there that I am interested in," said Mrs. Hardwick, who appeared amused at something. "Didn't your mother ever tell you that it is our duty to help the poor?"

 

"Oh, yes, but won't it be late before we get to the lady?"

 

"No, there's plenty of time. You needn't be afraid of that. There's a poor man living in this house that I've made a good many clothes for, first and last."

 

"He must be much obliged to you," said Ida.

 

"We're going up to see him now," said her companion. "Take care of that hole in the stairs."

 

Somewhat to Ida's surprise, her guide, on reaching the first landing, opened a door without the ceremony of knocking, and revealed a poor, untidy room, in which a coarse, unshaven man was sitting, in his shirt sleeves, smoking a pipe.

 

"Hello!" exclaimed this individual, jumping up. "So you've got along, old woman! Is that the gal¹²?"

 

Ida stared from one to the other in amazement¹³. 

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

3 repugnance   

n.嫌恶

参考例句：

• He fought down a feelings of repugnance.他抑制住了厌恶感。
• She had a repugnance to the person with whom she spoke.她看不惯这个和她谈话的人。

4 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

5 beckoned   

v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He beckoned to the waiter to bring the bill. 他招手示意服务生把账单送过来。
• The seated figure in the corner beckoned me over. 那个坐在角落里的人向我招手让我过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

7 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

8 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

9 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

10 guardianship   

n. 监护, 保护, 守护

参考例句：

• They had to employ the English language in face of the jealous guardianship of Britain. 他们不得不在英国疑忌重重的监护下使用英文。
• You want Marion to set aside her legal guardianship and give you Honoria. 你要马丽恩放弃她的法定监护人资格，把霍诺丽娅交给你。

11 depot   

n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站

参考例句：

• The depot is only a few blocks from here.公共汽车站离这儿只有几个街区。
• They leased the building as a depot.他们租用这栋大楼作仓库。

12 gal   

n.姑娘，少女

参考例句：

• We decided to go with the gal from Merrill.我们决定和那个从梅里尔来的女孩合作。
• What's the name of the gal? 这个妞叫什么？

13 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。