Chapter 21 Ben's Savings-Bank

 It was not till an hour afterward¹ that Ben rose from his lowly couch, and, by dint² of violent shaking, succeeded in rousing Bradley.

 

'Come, Bradley, wake up!' he cried. 'The sun is high, and it is time we were on our way.'

 

Bradley stretched himself, took a long breath, and said:

 

'I must have had a long sleep.'

 

'Yes, you dropped off as soon as you lay down, and have slept ever since.'

 

'And did you sleep as soundly?'

 

'No, I was awake twice during the night,' answered Ben.

 

'I don't know how it is, but I am sleepy still. Seems to me I don't stand fatigue³ as well as you. I am sleepy yet, and feel as if I could sleep all the forenoon.'

 

'The effects of the drug,' thought Ben.

 

Ben considered whether he should tell Bradley what had happened during the night. He decided⁴ briefly⁵ to say a few words about it in a whisper, and postpone⁶ a full explanation till later, for their hostess was below, and could hear any loud word that might be uttered. Bradley was instructed that he must claim to have lost five dollars.

 

'But I had a hundred,' said Bradley, feeling in his pockets.

 

'It's all right,' whispered Ben. 'I'll explain by and by. Not a word of the loss till after breakfast.'

 

Bradley was quite bewildered, and utterly⁷ failed to understand the situation. But he had considerable faith in his young companion, and was willing to follow Ben's instructions. They descended⁸ the ladder, Ben in advance.

 

The woman looked at them sharply, to see if they had yet discovered the robbery, but each seemed unconcerned.

 

'They don't know it yet,' she said to herself.

 

'Madam, can you give us some breakfast?' asked Ben politely.

 

'I'll give you such as I have,' said Mrs. Carter, feeling a little remorse⁹ for her husband's theft, and pity for what she supposed their penniless condition.

 

'That will be perfectly¹⁰ satisfactory, and we shall be much obliged to you.'

 

The breakfast was nearly ready in anticipation¹¹ of their needs, and they partook of it heartily¹².

 

Now came the critical moment.

 

Ben thrust his hand into his pocket, appearing to search for his money, and, after a brief space, withdrew it in apparent dismay.

 

'I can't find my money,' he said.

 

Mrs. Carter's face flushed, but she said nothing. She anticipated their suspicion, and was ashamed.

 

'Bradley,' said Ben, 'have you your money?'

 

Jake Bradley repeated the search, and he, too, expressed surprise.

 

'I had it when I went to bed,' he added.

 

'What is it?' asked the woman slowly, turning to them a troubled face. 'Have you lost anything?'

 

'I don't seem to find my money, ma'am,' answered Bradley.

 

'Nor I mine,' said Ben. 'It's curious.'

 

Mrs. Carter could not tell by their manner whether they suspected anything, but she had her story ready. It was an invention, but life with Jack¹³ Carter had left her few compunctions about such a simple matter as telling a lie.

 

'I missed something myself,' she said. 'We don't lock our door of nights, and I reckon some tramp got in last night, when we were asleep, and robbed us all. Have you lost much, you two?'

 

'Not much, ma'am. There wasn't much to take.'

 

'It's a pity. I am sorry it happened under my roof. But we slept very sound last night, Jack and me, and that's the way it must have come.'

 

She looked at them critically, to detect, if she could, whether they suspected her husband or herself, but both the travelers were on their guard.

 

'Did you have much taken, ma'am?' asked Bradley.

 

'No,' she answered hurriedly, rather ashamed of the imposture¹⁴. 'We ain't rich, Jack nor I.'

 

'What I am most sorry for,' said Ben, 'is that we have nothing to pay for our accommodations.'

 

'You're welcome to your lodging¹⁵ and what you've ate,' said the woman sincerely. 'And, if you like, I'll put up some luncheon¹⁶ for you to eat by and by.'

 

'Thank you, ma'am, it will be very acceptable,' answered Bradley.

 

'She's better than her husband,' thought Ben.

 

'After all, we haven't lost much, for we shall get nearly the worth of our lost money.'

 

The woman remarked, with some surprise, that they did not take their loss much to heart.

 

'How do you expect to get along without money?' she could not help asking.

 

'We're used to roughing it, ma'am,' said Bradley. 'I'm an old miner, and I think I can find some of my old chums before long.'

 

By this time luncheon was ready, and they soon left the cabin.

 

Bradley could no longer repress his curiosity.

 

'Now, Ben, tell me all about it,' he said. 'Where is our money?'

 

Ben looked back, to make sure that he would not be overheard, and answered: 'I put it in the bank for security, Jake.'

 

'What do you mean?'

 

'If I am not very much mistaken, we shall find it hidden in a hole in a tree, quarter of a mile away.'

 

'Who put it there?' asked his companion, in surprise.

 

'I did.'

 

'When?'

 

'Last night, about midnight, as near as I can guess.'

 

Ben laughed at his companion's evident perplexity, and told him in detail the story of the night's adventure.

 

'Ben, I'm proud of you,' said Bradley, slapping our hero on the back. 'There are not many grown men that would have known what to do under the circumstances.'

 

'I confess that I was very much puzzled myself,' said Ben modestly. 'I could have done nothing if our honest host hadn't fallen asleep.'

 

'He would feel rather provoked if he knew that nearly all of our money is untouched,' said Bradley; 'that is, if we find it again.'

 

'There's no fear of that,' said Ben. 'Do you see that tree yonder?'

 

'The large one?'

 

'Yes.'

 

'That is my savings-bank.'

 

They quickened their steps till they reached the stately monarch¹⁷ of the forest. Ben quickly thrust his hand into the cavity and drew out the precious parcel which he had committed to it during the night. It was precisely¹⁸ as he had placed it there. No one had touched it.

 

'Now,' said Ben, 'I will give you ninety-five dollars. That is the amount of which I picked your pocket last night.'

 

'You are a pickpocket¹⁹ of the right sort,' said his companion. 'You took my money in order to save it.'

 

Their money recovered, they started on their day's march, and nightfall found them twenty miles nearer their destination. 

1 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

2 dint   

n.由于，靠；凹坑

参考例句：

• He succeeded by dint of hard work.他靠苦干获得成功。
• He reached the top by dint of great effort.他费了很大的劲终于爬到了顶。

3 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

4 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。

5 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

6 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

7 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

8 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

9 remorse   

n.痛恨，悔恨，自责

参考例句：

• She had no remorse about what she had said.她对所说的话不后悔。
• He has shown no remorse for his actions.他对自己的行为没有任何悔恨之意。

10 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。

11 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

12 heartily   

adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很

参考例句：

• He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。
• The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

13 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。

14 imposture   

n.冒名顶替，欺骗

参考例句：

• Soiled by her imposture she remains silent.她背着冒名顶替者的黑锅却一直沉默。
• If they knew,they would see through his imposture straight away.要是他们知道，他们会立即识破他的招摇撞骗行为。

15 lodging   

n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍

参考例句：

• The bill is inclusive of the food and lodging. 账单包括吃、住费用。
• Where can you find lodging for the night? 你今晚在哪里借宿?

16 luncheon   

n.午宴，午餐，便宴

参考例句：

• We have luncheon at twelve o'clock.我们十二点钟用午餐。
• I have a luncheon engagement.我午饭有约。

17 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

18 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

19 pickpocket   

n.扒手；v.扒窃

参考例句：

• The pickpocket pinched her purse and ran away.扒手偷了她的皮夹子跑了。
• He had his purse stolen by a pickpocket.他的钱包被掏了。