CHAPTER XXXI.

 In the evening Pennoyer conducted Florinda to the flat of many fire-escapes. After a period of silent tramping through the great golden avenue and the street that was being repaired, she said, "Penny, you are very good to me."

 

"Why?" said Pennoyer.

 

"Oh, because you are. You—you are very good to me, Penny."

 

"Well, I guess I'm not killing¹ myself."

 

"There isn't many fellows like you."

 

"No?"

 

"No. There isn't many fellows like you, Penny. I tell you 'most everything, and you just listen, and don't argue with me and tell me I'm a fool, because you know that it—because you know that it can't be helped, anyhow."

 

"Oh, nonsense, you kid! Almost anybody would be glad to——"

 

"Penny, do you think she is very beautiful?" Florinda's voice had a singular quality of awe² in it.

 

"Well," replied Pennoyer, "I don't know."

 

"Yes, you do, Penny. Go ahead and tell me."

 

"Well——"

 

"Go ahead."

 

"Well, she is rather handsome, you know."

 

"Yes," said Florinda, dejectedly, "I suppose she is." After a time she cleared her throat and remarked indifferently, "I suppose Billie cares a lot for her?"

 

"Oh, I imagine that he does—in a way."

 

"Why, of course he does," insisted Florinda. "What do you mean by 'in a way'? You know very well that Billie thinks his eyes of her."

 

"No, I don't."

 

"Yes, you do. You know you do. You are talking in that way just to brace³ me up. You know you are."

 

"No, I'm not."

 

"Penny," said Florinda thankfully, "what makes you so good to me?"

 

"Oh, I guess I'm not so astonishingly good to you. Don't be silly."

 

"But you are good to me, Penny. You don't make fun of me the way—the way the other boys would. You are just as good as you can be.—But you do think she is beautiful, don't you?"

 

"They wouldn't make fun of you," said Pennoyer.

 

"But do you think she is beautiful?"

 

"Look here, Splutter, let up on that, will you? You keep harping⁴ on one string all the time. Don't bother me!"

 

"But, honest now, Penny, you do think she is beautiful?"

 

"Well, then, confound it—no! no! no!"

 

"Oh, yes, you do, Penny. Go ahead now. Don't deny it just because you are talking to me. Own up, now, Penny. You do think she is beautiful?"

 

"Well," said Pennoyer, in a dull roar of irritation⁵, "do you?"

 

Florinda walked in silence, her eyes upon the yellow flashes which lights sent to the pavement. In the end she said, "Yes."

 

"Yes, what?" asked Pennoyer sharply.

 

"Yes, she—yes, she is—beautiful."

 

"Well, then?" cried Pennoyer, abruptly⁶ closing the discussion.

 

Florinda announced something as a fact. "Billie thinks his eyes of her."

 

"How do you know he does?"

 

"Don't scold at me, Penny. You—you——"

 

"I'm not scolding at you. There! What a goose you are, Splutter! Don't, for heaven's sake, go to whimpering on the street! I didn't say anything to make you feel that way. Come, pull yourself together."

 

"I'm not whimpering."

 

"No, of course not; but then you look as if you were on the edge of it. What a little idiot!"

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

3 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。

4 harping   

n.反复述说

参考例句：

• Don't keep harping on like that. 别那样唠叨个没完。
• You're always harping on the samestring. 你总是老调重弹。

5 irritation   

n.激怒，恼怒，生气

参考例句：

• He could not hide his irritation that he had not been invited.他无法掩饰因未被邀请而生的气恼。
• Barbicane said nothing,but his silence covered serious irritation.巴比康什么也不说，但是他的沉默里潜伏着阴郁的怒火。

6 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。