Chapter 2 Deacon Pitkin's Offer

 Ben's father had died three months before. He had lost his mother when ten years old, and having neither brother nor sister was left quite alone in the world. At one time his father had possessed¹ a few thousand dollars, but by unlucky investments he had lost nearly all, so that Ben's inheritance amounted to less than four hundred dollars.

 

This thought troubled Mr. Stanton, and on his death-bed he spoke² about it to his son.

 

'I shall leave you almost destitute³, Ben,' he said. 'If I had acted more wisely it would have been different.'

 

'Don't trouble yourself about that, father,' said Ben promptly⁴. 'I am young and strong, and I shall be sure to get along.'

 

'You will have to work hard, and the world is a hard taskmaster.'

 

'I don't feel afraid, father. I am sure I shall succeed.'

 

The dying father was cheered by Ben's confident words. Our hero was strong and sturdy, his limbs active, and his face ruddy with health. He looked like a boy who could get along. He was not a sensitive plant, and not to be discouraged by rebuffs. The father's brow cleared.

 

'I am glad you are not afraid to meet what is in store for you,' he said. 'I believe you will do your part, and God helps those who help themselves.'

 

After his father's death, Ben became an inmate⁵ of his uncle's family while the estate was being settled. He paid for his board partly by work in the shop, and partly by doing chores. This brings us to the day when the conversation detailed⁶ in the first chapter took place.

 

On the following morning Ben was sent on an errand to the village store. On his way he overtook Deacon Pitkin.

 

'Good mornin', Ben!' said the deacon. 'Where are you goin'?'

 

'To the store, sir.'

 

'So am I. Ef you ain't in a hurry, le'ss walk along together.'

 

'All right, sir,' answered Ben. 'I think I know what's comin,' he said to himself.

 

'You're stayin' at your Uncle Job's, ain't you?' asked Deacon Pitkin.

 

'Yes, sir.'

 

'You don't calc'late to keep on there, do you?'

 

'No, sir; he would like to have me stay and work in the shop, but I don't fancy shoemaking.'

 

'Jest so. I wouldn't ef I was you. It's an onsartin business. There's nothin' like farmin' for stiddy work.'

 

'The old man kept me at work pretty stiddy,' thought Ben. 'He'd always find something for me to do.'

 

''Ive been thinkin' that I need a boy about your age to help me on my farm. I ain't so young as I was, and I've got a crick in my back. I don't want a man-'

 

'You'd have to pay him too high wages,' Ben said to himself.

 

'A strong, capable boy like you could give me all the help I need.'

 

'I expect I could,' said Ben demurely⁷.

 

'I was sayin' to Mrs. Pitkin this mornin' that I thought it would be a good plan to take you till you was twenty-one.'

 

'What did she say?' asked Ben, interested.

 

'Waal, she didn't say much,' answered the deacon slowly; 'but I guess she hasn't no objections.'

 

'Didn't she say that I had an awful appetite?' asked Ben, smiling.

 

'She said you was pretty hearty⁸,' answered the deacon, rather surprised at Ben's penetration⁹. 'Boys should curb¹⁰ their appetites.'

 

'I don't think I could curb mine,' said Ben thoughtfully.

 

'I guess there wouldn't be any trouble about that,' returned the deacon, whose meanness ran in a different channel from his wife's, and who took less note of what was eaten at his table. 'Ef you think you'd like to engage, and we could make a bargain, you might begin next week.'

 

'Jest so,' said Ben.

 

The deacon looked at him rather sharply, but Ben didn't appear to intend any disrespect in repeating his favorite phrase.

 

'Did your father leave you much?' inquired Deacon Pitkin.

 

'A few hundred dollars,' said Ben carelessly.

 

'Indeed!' said the deacon, gratified. 'What are you goin' to do with it?'

 

'Uncle Job thinks it would be best to put it in the bank.'

 

'Jest so. It would fetch you some interest every year-enough to clothe you, likely. I'll tell you what I'll do, Ben. I'll give you your board the first year, and your interest will buy your clothes. The second year I'll give you twenty dollars and board, and maybe twenty more the third year.'

 

Ben shook his head.

 

'I guess we can't make a bargain, Deacon Pitkin,' he said.

 

Deacon Pitkin knew that he had made a very mean offer, and felt that he could afford to increase it somewhat; but he was a close hand at a bargain, and meant to get Ben as cheap as he could.

 

'What was you expectin'?' he asked cautiously. 'You must remember that you're only a boy, and can't expect men's wages.'

 

Ben had no idea, as we know, of engaging to work for Deacon Pitkin at all; but he decided¹¹ that the easiest way to avoid it was to put such a value on his services as to frighten the old man.

 

'I am almost as strong as a man,' he said, 'and I can earn a great deal more than my board the first year.'

 

'I might be willin' to give you twenty dollars the first year,' said the deacon.

 

'I've been thinking,' said Ben soberly, 'that I ought to have a hundred and fifty dollars and board the first year.'

 

Deacon Pitkin fairly gasped¹² for breath. He was fairly overpowered by Ben's audacity¹³.

 

'A-hundred-and-fifty-dollars!' he ejaculated, turning his wrinkled face toward our hero.

 

'That's about the figure,' said Ben cheerfully. 'A hundred and fifty dollars and board, or three hundred dollars, and I'll board with my uncle.'

 

'Is the boy crazy?' asked the deacon, in a bewildered tone.

 

'You'd have to pay a man as much as twenty dollars a month,' pursued Ben. 'That's about a hundred dollars a year more.'

 

'Benjamin,' said the deacon solemnly, 'do you want to ruin me?'

 

'No, sir, I hope not,' answered our hero innocently.

 

'Then why do you ask such an unheard-of price?'

 

'I think I'm worth it,' said Ben.

 

'Boys haven't much jedgment,' said the deacon. 'You'd better let me talk over this matter with your Uncle Job.'

 

'It won't be any use, Deacon Pitkin. Uncle Job won't interfere¹⁴ with me.'

 

'You can't get such wages anywhere. You'll have to work for less.'

 

'Perhaps I can't get my price in Hampton,' said Ben.

 

'Of course you can't. There ain't no one goin' to pay you men's wages.'

 

'Perhaps you are right, Deacon Pitkin. In that case, my mind is made up.'

 

'What will you do?' asked the deacon, showing some curiosity.

 

'I'll leave town.'

 

'It's a resky thing, Benjamin. You ain't old enough to take care of yourself.'

 

'I think I can do it. Deacon Pitkin. I am not afraid to try. Still, if you'll give me a hundred and fifty dollars and board--'

 

'You must think I'm crazy,' said the deacon hastily. 'I don't throw money away that way.'

 

'Then I'm afraid we can't make a bargain, deacon. Here is the store, and I'll bid you good morning.'

 

'If you think better of my offer, you can let me know, Benjamin. You can talk it over with your uncle.'

 

'All right, sir. If you think better of mine, just let me know within a week, or I may be gone from Hampton.'

 

'That's a cur'us boy,' said the deacon meditatively¹⁵. 'He's got the most conceited¹⁶ idea of his vally to work of any boy I ever came across. A hundred and fifty dollars and board! What'll Mrs. Pitkin say when I tell her? She ain't much sot on the boy's comin' anyway. She thinks he's too hearty; but I don't mind that, so much. He's strong and good to work, an' he's the only boy in town that would suit me.'

 

'I wonder what the deacon thinks of me,' soliloquized Ben. 'I thought I should scare him a little when I named my price. If I'd thought he would take me at that figure, I'd have said more. It wouldn't suit me to work for him at all.'

 

In the evening Deacon Pitkin came over to see Job Stanton, and renewed his offer for Ben's services.

 

'The boy's got wild idees about pay,' he said; 'but boys haven't much jedgment. You're a sensible man, Mr. Stanton, and you and me can make a fair bargain.'

 

'It won't be of much use, Deacon Pitkin. Ben's got his idees, an' he sticks to 'em.'

 

'But you're his uncle. You can make him see his true interest.'

 

'Ben's young,' said Job, suspending his work; 'but he's got to look out for himself. He may make mistakes, but I've promised not to interfere. I've got confidence in him that he'll come out right in the end. Truth is, deacon, he don't want to work at farmin', and that's why he asked you such a steep price. He knew you wouldn't agree to give it.'

 

This put the matter in a new light, and Deacon Pitkin reluctantly concluded that he must abandon the idea of obtaining Ben as a helper on his farm. 

1 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

2 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。

3 destitute   

adj.缺乏的；穷困的

参考例句：

• They were destitute of necessaries of life.他们缺少生活必需品。
• They are destitute of common sense.他们缺乏常识。

4 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。

5 inmate   

n.被收容者；(房屋等的)居住人；住院人

参考例句：

• I am an inmate of that hospital.我住在那家医院。
• The prisoner is his inmate.那个囚犯和他同住一起。

6 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

7 demurely   

adv.装成端庄地，认真地

参考例句：

• "On the forehead, like a good brother,'she answered demurely. "吻前额，像个好哥哥那样，"她故作正经地回答说。 来自飘（部分）
• Punctuation is the way one bats one's eyes, lowers one's voice or blushes demurely. 标点就像人眨眨眼睛，低声细语，或伍犯作态。 来自名作英译部分

8 hearty   

adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的

参考例句：

• After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了，他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
• We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。

9 penetration   

n.穿透，穿人，渗透

参考例句：

• He is a man of penetration.他是一个富有洞察力的人。
• Our aim is to achieve greater market penetration.我们的目标是进一步打入市场。

10 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

12 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 audacity   

n.大胆，卤莽，无礼

参考例句：

• He had the audacity to ask for an increase in salary.他竟然厚着脸皮要求增加薪水。
• He had the audacity to pick pockets in broad daylight.他竟敢在光天化日之下掏包。

14 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

15 meditatively   

adv.冥想地

参考例句：

• The old man looked meditatively at the darts board. 老头儿沉思不语，看着那投镖板。 来自英汉文学
• "Well,'said the foreman, scratching his ear meditatively, "we do need a stitcher. “这--"工头沉思地搔了搔耳朵。 "我们确实需要一个缝纫工。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

16 conceited   

adj.自负的，骄傲自满的

参考例句：

• He could not bear that they should be so conceited.他们这样自高自大他受不了。
• I'm not as conceited as so many people seem to think.我不像很多人认为的那么自负。