Chapter 9 At the Astor House

 As they walked up to the hotel together, Miss Sinclair said: 'You are probably surprised at what has taken place, but I have strong reasons for acting¹ as I have done.'

 

'I don't doubt it, Miss Sinclair,' returned Ben.

 

'It is desirable that I should tell you-'

 

'Don't tell me anything unless you like, Miss Sinclair. I am not troubled with curiosity.'

 

'Thank you, but in the confidential² relations which we are to hold toward each other, it is necessary that you should understand my position. I will reserve my explanation, however, till we reach the hotel.'

 

'We are to stop at the Astor House?'

 

'Yes, and I wish you to put down my name and your own on the register, and obtain two rooms as near together as convenient.'

 

'Very well, Miss Sinclair.'

 

'You may put me down as from-well, from Philadelphia.'

 

'All right. Shall I put myself down from Philadelphia, too?'

 

'Not unless you choose. Your native village will answer. By the way, you are to pass for my cousin, and it will be better, therefore, that you should call me by my first name-Ida.'

 

'I wouldn't take the liberty but for your wishing it.'

 

'I do wish it-otherwise it would be difficult to pass you off as my cousin.'

 

'All right, Miss Sinclair-I mean Ida.'

 

'That is better. I shall call you Ben.'

 

'You couldn't very well call me Mr. Stanton,' said our hero, smiling.

 

'Not very well. But here we are at the hotel. We will go in together. I will go to the ladies' parlor³, and you can join me there after securing rooms at the office.'

 

'Very well-Ida.'

 

Of course Ben was not used to city hotels, and he was a little afraid that he should not go to work properly, but he experienced no difficulty. He stepped up to the desk, and said to the clerk:

 

'I should like to engage rooms for my cousin and myself.'

 

The clerk pushed the register toward him.

 

Ben inscribed⁴ the names. At first he could not remember his companion's last name, and it made him feel awkward. Fortunately it came to him in time.

 

'We can give you rooms on the third floor. Will that do?'

 

'Yes, sir, I think so. We would like to be near together.'

 

'Very well. I can give you two rooms directly opposite to each other.'

 

'That will do, sir.'

 

The clerk touched a bell, and a porter presented himself:

 

'Here are the keys of sixty-six and sixty-eight,' said the hotel clerk. 'Take this young gentleman's luggage to sixty-six, and show the lady with him to number sixty-eight.'

 

Ben followed the porter, pausing at the door of the ladies' parlor, where his companion awaited him.

 

'Come, Ida,' he said, feeling a little awkward at addressing Miss Sinclair so familiarly. 'The servant is ready to show us our rooms.'

 

'Very well, Ben,' said Miss Sinclair, smiling. She did not seem so nervous now.

 

As the clerk had said, the rooms were directly opposite each other. They were large and very comfortable in appearance. As Miss Sinclair entered her room she said:

 

'Join me in the ladies' parlor in fifteen minutes, Ben. I have something to say to you.'

 

Ben looked around him with considerable satisfaction. He had only left home that morning; he had met with a severe disappointment, and yet he was now fortunate beyond his most sanguine⁵ hopes. He had heard a great deal of the Astor House, which in Hampton and throughout the country was regarded at that time as the most aristocratic hotel in New York, and now he was actually a guest in it. Moreover, he was booked for a first-class passage to California.

 

'It's like the Arabian Nights,' thought Ben, 'and Miss Sinclair must be a fairy.'

 

He took out his scanty⁶ wardrobe from the carpetbag, and put it away in one of the drawers of the bureau.

 

'I might just as well enjoy all the privileges of the hotel,' he said to himself.

 

He took out his brush and comb, and brushed his hair. Then he locked the door of No. 66 and went down-stairs to the ladies' parlor.

 

He did not have to wait long. In five minutes Miss Sinclair made her appearance.

 

'Ben,' she said, 'here is the check for my trunk. You may take it down to the office and ask them to send for it. Then come back and I will acquaint you with some things I wish you to know.'

 

Ben speedily reappeared, and at Miss Sinclair's request sat down beside her on a sofa.

 

'You must know, Ben,' she commenced, 'that I am flying from my guardian⁷.'

 

'I hope it's all right,' said Ben, rather frightened. He was not sure but he was making himself liable to arrest for aiding and abetting⁸ Miss Sinclair's flight.

 

'You have no cause for alarm. He has no legal control over me, though by the terms of my father's will he retains charge of my property till I attain⁹ my twenty-fifth year. Before this, fourteen months must elapse. Meanwhile he is exerting all his influence to induce me to marry his son, so that the large property of which I am possessed¹⁰ may accrue¹¹ to the benefit of his family.'

 

'He couldn't force you to marry his son, could he?' asked Ben.

 

'No, but he has made it very disagreeable to me to oppose him, and has even gone so far as to threaten me with imprisonment¹² in a madhouse if I do not yield to his persuasions¹³.'

 

'He must be a rascal¹⁴!' said our hero indignantly.

 

'He is,' said Miss Sinclair quietly.

 

'I don't see how he can do such things in a free country.'

 

'He has only to buy over two unscrupulous physicians, and in a large city that can easily be done. On their certificate of my insanity¹⁵ I might any day be dragged to a private asylum¹⁶ and confined there.'

 

'I don't wonder you ran away, Ida.'

 

'I feel perfectly¹⁷ justified¹⁸ in doing so. Liberty and the control of my own person are dear to me, and I mean to struggle for them.'

 

'What makes you think of going to California? is it because it is so far off?'

 

'Partly; but there is another reason,' said Miss Sinclair. 'I will not conceal¹⁹ from you that there is a person there whom I wish to meet.'

 

'Is it a young man?' asked Ben shrewdly.

 

'You have guessed it. Richard Dewey is the son of a former bookkeeper of my father. He is poor, but he is a gentleman, and there is a mutual²⁰ attachment²¹ between us. Indeed, he asked my guardian's consent to his suit, but he was repelled²² with insult, and charged with being a fortune-hunter. That name would better apply to my guardian and his precious son.'

 

'Is Mr. Dewey in California?'

 

'Yes; he went out there some months since. He promised to write me regularly, but I have not heard a word from him. I know very well that he has written, and that my guardian has suppressed his letters.'

 

'That is shameful²³!' said Ben warmly.

 

'It is indeed; but with your help I think I can circumvent²⁴ Mr. Campbell yet.'

 

'Mr. Campbell is your guardian, I suppose, Ida?'

 

'Yes.'

 

'You may reply upon me to help you in every way possible, Miss Sinclair.'

 

'Ida,' corrected the young lady.

 

'I mean Ida.'

 

'That's right, Cousin Ben.'

 

Now that Miss Sinclair's veil was removed, our hero could see that she was very pretty, and perhaps he felt all the more proud of being selected as her escort. But on one point he was in the dark.

 

'May I ask you a question, Ida?' he said. 'How is it that you have chosen me-a stranger, and so young-as your escort? I am only a green country boy.'

 

'Partly because I like your looks; you look honest and trustworthy.'

 

'Thank you, but I am only a boy.'

 

'That's all the better for me. It would not do for me to accept the escort of a man, and it would be awkward for me to propose it even if it would do.'

 

'At any rate, I am lucky to be selected. I hope you will be satisfied with me.'

 

'I feel sure of it.'

 

'You are spending a great deal of money for me.'

 

'You may feel surprised that I have so much money to spend independent of my guardian, but he has control only of the property left by my father. My mother left me thirty thousand dollars, of which I am sole mistress.'

 

'That is lucky for you.'

 

'Under present circumstances-yes.'

 

Here two ladies entered the parlor, and the conversation was suspended.

 

'I believe I will go in to dinner now,' said Miss Sinclair. 'Will you come, Ben?'

 

'I ate dinner an hour ago.' 'Then you can go where you please. Meet me here at six o'clock.' 'All right, Ida.'

1 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

2 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

3 parlor   

n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅

参考例句：

• She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
• Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店？

4 inscribed   

v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接

参考例句：

• His name was inscribed on the trophy. 他的名字刻在奖杯上。
• The names of the dead were inscribed on the wall. 死者的名字被刻在墙上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 sanguine   

adj.充满希望的，乐观的，血红色的

参考例句：

• He has a sanguine attitude to life.他对于人生有乐观的看法。
• He is not very sanguine about our chances of success.他对我们成功的机会不太乐观。

6 scanty   

adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的

参考例句：

• There is scanty evidence to support their accusations.他们的指控证据不足。
• The rainfall was rather scanty this month.这个月的雨量不足。

7 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

8 abetting   

v.教唆（犯罪）( abet的现在分词 )；煽动；怂恿；支持

参考例句：

• On Earth, unknowingly abetting a criminal doesn't merit this kind of punishment. 在地球上，不知不觉地帮助罪犯并不构成这种惩罚。 来自电影对白
• "By aiding and abetting murder, the Taliban regime is committing murder." 援助和唆使谋杀的塔利班政权与杀人犯同罪。 来自互联网

9 attain   

vt.达到，获得，完成

参考例句：

• I used the scientific method to attain this end. 我用科学的方法来达到这一目的。
• His painstaking to attain his goal in life is praiseworthy. 他为实现人生目标所下的苦功是值得称赞的。

10 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。

11 accrue   

v.(利息等)增大，增多

参考例句：

• Ability to think will accrue to you from good habits of study.思考能力将因良好的学习习惯而自然增强。
• Money deposited in banks will accrue to us with interest.钱存在银行，利息自生。

12 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

13 persuasions   

n.劝说，说服（力）( persuasion的名词复数 )；信仰

参考例句：

• To obtain more advertisting it needed readers of all political persuasions. 为获得更多的广告，它需要迎合各种政治见解的读者。 来自辞典例句
• She lingered, and resisted my persuasions to departure a tiresome while. 她踌躇不去，我好说歹说地劝她走，她就是不听。 来自辞典例句

14 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。

15 insanity   

n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐

参考例句：

• In his defense he alleged temporary insanity.他伪称一时精神错乱，为自己辩解。
• He remained in his cell,and this visit only increased the belief in his insanity.他依旧还是住在他的地牢里，这次视察只是更加使人相信他是个疯子了。

16 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

17 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

18 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

19 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

20 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

21 attachment   

n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附

参考例句：

• She has a great attachment to her sister.她十分依恋她的姐姐。
• She's on attachment to the Ministry of Defense.她现在隶属于国防部。

22 repelled   

v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开

参考例句：

• They repelled the enemy. 他们击退了敌军。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The minister tremulously, but decidedly, repelled the old man's arm. 而丁梅斯代尔牧师却哆里哆嗦地断然推开了那老人的胳臂。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

23 shameful   

adj.可耻的，不道德的

参考例句：

• It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。
• We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。

24 circumvent   

vt.环绕，包围；对…用计取胜，智胜

参考例句：

• Military planners tried to circumvent the treaty.军事策略家们企图绕开这一条约。
• Any action I took to circumvent his scheme was justified.我为斗赢他的如意算盘而采取的任何行动都是正当的。