Chapter 11 Miss Sinclair's Stratagem

 Mr. Campbell had no particular reason to think that Miss Ida Sinclair, registering from Philadelphia, was the ward¹ of whom he was in pursuit. Still, he thought it worth while to find out what he could about her, and managed to waylay² Ben in the corridor of the hotel the next morning.

 

'Good morning, boy!' he said stiffly, not having the art of ingratiating himself with young people.

 

'Good morning, man!' Ben thought of replying, but he thought this would be hardly polite, and said: 'Good morning, sir,' instead.

 

He suspected Mr. Campbell's purpose, and resolved to answer cautiously.

 

'This is a nice hotel,' said the guardian³, resolving to come to the point by degrees.

 

'Yes, sir.'

 

'I suppose you are too young to have traveled much?'

 

'I never traveled much, sir.'

 

'Didn't I see you in the company of a young lady?'

 

'Very likely, sir.'

 

'Your sister, I suppose?'

 

'No, sir.'

 

'A relation, I suppose?'

 

'I call her Cousin Ida,' said Ben truthfully.

 

'Indeed! And she is from Philadelphia?'

 

Ben was placed in a dilemma⁴. He saw that he should be forced to misrepresent, and this he did not like. On the other hand, he could not tell the truth, and so betray Miss Sinclair to her persecutor⁵.

 

'You can tell by looking at the hotel register,' he said coldly.

 

Mr. Campbell judged by Ben's tone that our hero meant to rebuke⁶ his curiosity, and, having really very little idea that he was on the right track, he thought it best to apologize.

 

'Excuse my questions,' he said, 'but I have an idea that I know your cousin.'

 

'In that case,' said Ben, 'if you will tell me your name I will speak to Cousin Ida about it.'

 

Now Mr. Campbell was in a dilemma. If Ida Sinclair were really the ward of whom he was in pursuit, his name would only put her on her guard. He quickly thought of a ruse⁷.

 

'I will send a card,' he said.

 

He stepped to the clerk's desk, and asked for a blank card. After an instant's hesitation⁸, he penciled the name James Vernon, and handed it to Ben.

 

'The young lady may not remember my name,' he said; 'but in an interview I think I can recall it to her recollection. Please give it to your cousin.'

 

'All right, sir.'

 

Ben went up-stairs and tapped for admission at Miss Sinclair's door.

 

'Well, Ben?' she said inquiringly.

 

'Here is a card which a gentleman down-stairs asked me to hand you.'

 

'James Vernon!' repeated the young lady, in surprise. 'Why, I don't know any gentleman of that name.'

 

'He said you might not remember it; but he thought he could recall it to your recollection in a personal interview.'

 

'I don't want a personal interview with any gentleman.'

 

'Not with your guardian?' asked Ben, smiling.

 

'Was the man who handed you this card my guardian?'

 

'Yes; he tried to find out all he could from me; but wasn't very successful. Then he said he thought he knew you, and handed me this card.'

 

'So he thinks to delude⁹ me by masquerading under a false name! He must suspect that I am his ward.'

 

'Of course you won't see him?'

 

'No.'

 

'What shall I say?'

 

'That I don't remember the name, and decline to see him.'

 

'Won't that increase his suspicions?'

 

'I can't help it.'

 

'Very well.'

 

Ben went below; but thought he might as well put off the interview. It was not till afternoon that Mr. Campbell met him again.

 

'Did you deliver my card, boy?' he asked.

 

'My name is Benjamin,' returned our hero, who did not fancy the manner of address.

 

'Very well. Did you deliver my card, Benjamin?'

 

'Yes, sir.'

 

'What did your cousin say?'

 

'That she knew no gentleman or family of your name.'

 

'I did not expect she would remember; but I have reasons for asking an interview.'

 

'You mustn't be offended, sir; but she declines to meet a stranger.'

 

Mr. Campbell was baffled.

 

'She mistakes my motive,' he said, in a tone expressive¹⁰ of annoyance¹¹. 'How long do you stay here?'

 

'I can't say, sir,' said Ben coldly.

 

Mr. Campbell bit his lip and walked away. He did not fancy being foiled by a boy. It occurred to him, however, that by waiting patiently he might see the young lady at dinner. He kept watch, therefore, till he saw Ben entering the dining-room, and then, entering himself, secured a seat near-by. But the young lady, greatly to his chagrin¹², did not appear. Ben observed his vigilant¹³ watch, and after dinner reported to Miss Sinclair.

 

The young lady smiled.

 

'I have thought of a way to deceive him and quiet his suspicions,' she said.

 

Ben looked curious.

 

'If I remain away from the table he will feel sure that I am his ward.'

 

'Yes, I suppose so.'

 

'Listen to my plan, then. I have the New York Herald¹⁴ here, with half a column of advertisements of seamtresses. I will give you a list of three, and you shall engage one to be here early to-morrow morning. Select one with a figure as much like mine as possible.'

 

'All right!'

 

'I see you look puzzled,' said Miss Sinclair, smiling.

 

'I am, a little; I don't know what good that will do.'

 

'Then I will explain. I shall dress the seamstress in one of my own dresses, and let her go to the table with you. Mr. Campbell will naturally suppose that she is Miss Ida Sinclair, and will be satisfied.'

 

'I see! That is splendid!' exclaimed Ben, entering with hearty¹⁵ enthusiasm into the conspiracy¹⁶.

 

It happened, luckily, that the first seamstress on whom he called was sufficiently¹⁷ like Miss Sinclair in figure to justify¹⁸ him in engaging her. He directed her to call at the hotel at eight the next morning without fail. The poor girl was glad to make this engagement, having been without employment for two weeks previous.

 

When she arrived, Miss Sinclair, without confiding¹⁹ too much in her, made known her desire, and the girl, who had had but a scanty²⁰ breakfast, was glad to embrace the opportunity of enjoying the hospitality of a first-class hotel. Miss Sinclair had really work enough to employ her during the day.

 

When Mr. Campbell caught sight of Ben approaching the dining-room in company with a young lady, he advanced eagerly and peered into the young lady's face. He turned away in disappointment.

 

'I have made a fool of myself. It is only a common country girl. I must look elsewhere for my ward.'

 

Directly after breakfast Ben had the satisfaction of seeing the obnoxious²¹ guardian depart in a hack²².

 

'Good-by, Mr. Vernon!' he said politely. 'I see you are leaving the hotel.'

 

'Good-by!' muttered Campbell.

 

'I hope you'll excuse my cousin for not seeing you?'

 

'I don't think she's the one I supposed,' said Campbell. 'It's of no consequence.'

 

Ben hastened to inform Miss Sinclair of her guardian's departure.

 

'Now the field is clear,' said Ida, breathing a sigh of relief.

 

'I say, Ida, you managed him tip-top,' said Ben admiringly. 'I never should have thought of such a plan.'

 

Miss Sinclair smiled faintly.

 

'I don't like to employ deceit,' she said, 'but it seems necessary to fight such an enemy with his own weapons.'

 

'He wanted to deceive you. He put a wrong name on his card.'

 

'That is true, Ben. I must thank you for the manner in which you have aided me in this matter. I should not have known how to act if I had not had you to call upon.'

 

Ben's face brightened.

 

'I am glad to hear you say that, Cousin Ida,' he said. 'You are spending so much money for me that I shall be glad to feel that I have earned some of it.'

 

'Have no trouble on that score, Ben. I foresee that you will continue to be of great service to me. I regard the money expended²³ for you as well invested.'

 

Ben heard this with satisfaction. It naturally gave him a feeling of heightened importance when he reflected that a wealthy heiress had selected him as her escort and right-hand man, and that she was satisfied with her choice.

 

On Saturday morning Miss Sinclair and Ben went on board the California steamer, and when the tide served, they started on their long voyage. 

1 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

2 waylay   

v.埋伏，伏击

参考例句：

• She lingered outside the theater to waylay him after the show.她在戏院外面徘徊想在演出之后拦住他说话。
• The trucks are being waylaid by bandits.卡车被强盗拦了下来。

3 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。

4 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

5 persecutor   

n. 迫害者

参考例句：

• My persecutor impervious to the laughter, continued to strike me. 打我的那个人没有受到笑声的影响，继续打着我。
• I am the persecutor of my self in the wild hunt. 我将自己置身于这狂野的追猎。

6 rebuke   

v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise

参考例句：

• He had to put up with a smart rebuke from the teacher.他不得不忍受老师的严厉指责。
• Even one minute's lateness would earn a stern rebuke.哪怕迟到一分钟也将受到严厉的斥责。

7 ruse   

n.诡计，计策；诡计

参考例句：

• The children thought of a clever ruse to get their mother to leave the house so they could get ready for her surprise.孩子们想出一个聪明的办法使妈妈离家，以便他们能准备给她一个惊喜。It is now clear that this was a ruse to divide them.现在已清楚这是一个离间他们的诡计。

8 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

9 delude   

vt.欺骗；哄骗

参考例句：

• You won't delude him into believing it.你不能诱使他相信此事。
• Don't delude yourself into believing that she will marry you.不要自欺，别以为她会嫁给你。

10 expressive   

adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的

参考例句：

• Black English can be more expressive than standard English.黑人所使用的英语可能比正式英语更有表现力。
• He had a mobile,expressive,animated face.他有一张多变的，富于表情的，生动活泼的脸。

11 annoyance   

n.恼怒，生气，烦恼

参考例句：

• Why do you always take your annoyance out on me?为什么你不高兴时总是对我出气？
• I felt annoyance at being teased.我恼恨别人取笑我。

12 chagrin   

n.懊恼；气愤；委屈

参考例句：

• His increasingly visible chagrin sets up a vicious circle.他的明显的不满引起了一种恶性循环。
• Much to his chagrin,he did not win the race.使他大为懊恼的是他赛跑没获胜。

13 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。

14 herald   

vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎

参考例句：

• In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
• Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。

15 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。

16 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

17 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

18 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

19 confiding   

adj.相信人的，易于相信的v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的现在分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等）

参考例句：

• The girl is of a confiding nature. 这女孩具有轻信别人的性格。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Celia, though confiding her opinion only to Andrew, disagreed. 西莉亚却不这么看，尽管她只向安德鲁吐露过。 来自辞典例句

20 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。

21 obnoxious   

adj.极恼人的，讨人厌的，可憎的

参考例句：

• These fires produce really obnoxious fumes and smoke.这些火炉冒出来的烟气确实很难闻。
• He is the most obnoxious man I know.他是我认识的最可憎的人。

22 hack   

n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳

参考例句：

• He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。
• Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。

23 expended   

v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽

参考例句：

• She expended all her efforts on the care of home and children. 她把所有精力都花在料理家务和照顾孩子上。
• The enemy had expended all their ammunition. 敌人已耗尽所有的弹药。 来自《简明英汉词典》