“Cheer for us, Kitty, girl. Doubtless this other Joseph Smith needs an accountant and[151] has heard of my skill that way. I was an expert, sir, before I went into business for myself and failed, attempting a commercial line I did not understand,” explained the man, yet losing his own courage as the explanation went on. He had boasted thus of his reputation the better to comfort his wife, but he read no encouragement in the countenance7 of Mr. Wakeman, which grew more forbidding each instant.
“Do not mistake, Mr. Smith. My errand is not of the sort which you appear to expect. My employer—I am myself an expert accountant, and the only one necessary to our business—my employer does not know of my present visit. Some days ago he entrusted8 a private bit of detective work to me, and I have now, I think, brought it to a finish. Why, however, may I ask, did you not reply to our advertisement?”
“I have seen none. This,” waving his hand around the bare apartment, “is hardly the place where the luxury of newspapers may be looked for. What was the advertisement, if you please?”
[152]Mr. Wakeman explained. Explained, added, itemized, and diffused9 himself all over the argument, so to speak, while the faces of his audience grew more and more tense and disturbed. At length he finished:
“That is the way it stands, sir, you see. Your brother John consigned10 this child to my employer, through a mistake in the address. Simply that. Now an old gentleman and—feeble, I may say”— Oh! if Uncle Joe could have heard him! “A feeble old man is not the one to be burdened with other folks’ relations. When I go back to town, now, I’ll be able to report that the missing uncle of this waif has been found at last, and that—Shall I say when you will call to reclaim11 her?”
Father and mother looked into each other’s eyes, one questioning the other, and reading in each but the same answer. Then said Joseph Smith, rightful uncle of our Josephine:
“Spare yourself the trouble, Mr. Wakeman. My brother’s child is our child, as dear and near. Alas12, that I can offer her no better shelter! but it is a safe one and will be more[153] comfortable. I shall soon get a situation; I must soon get one. It is impossible that skill shall go forever unrecognized. In any case the little Josephine must come home to us. Eh, Kitty, girl?”
She answered him valiantly13, seeing through his unusual boastfulness, who was commonly so modest of his own attainments14, and smiling back upon him with the same undaunted courage he brought to their changed life. It was taking bread from her own children’s mouths to do what now she did, yet her step never faltered15 as she walked across to the little cupboard and took from some hidden nook, known only to herself, their last quarter dollar. This she gave to her husband, saying cheerily:
“If you go at once, Joe, you may be home again in time for dinner. I’d like to be prompt with it for I’ve secured a dress to make for a woman in the neighborhood and can begin it to-night. Besides, I’m all impatience16 to see this little Josephine. Think of it, dear, the child who was named for you.[154] How little we dreamed she was right here in our own Baltimore all this time. Go, dear, at once.”
With something like a groan17 the man caught the brave little creature in his arms, and was not ashamed to kiss her then and there before this staring stranger who had brought them this news. Ill or good, which would it prove? Then he put on his hat and went directly away.
Mr. Wakeman followed more slowly. He did not feel as much elated over his success as an amateur detective as he fancied he should feel. He was thinking of many things. Suppose this fellow, who was so down on his luck, this other unknown, insignificant Joseph Smith, should happen to take the fancy of the great Joseph Smith, of whom the world of business stood in such awe18, and that magnate should happen to employ him on certain little matters of his own? Suppose those inquiries19 were directed toward his, Mr. Wakeman’s, own accounts, what would follow? Who could tell? Hmm! Yes, indeed. To prevent any such “happenings” that might prove unpleasant, it[155] would be as well to make a little detour20 around by the office, even though it was after office hours and business all done for that day. In any case the new-found Uncle Joe, the real article, was now en route for 1000 Bismarck Avenue, and it wouldn’t take two to tell the same story. Mr. Wakeman hoped the story would be told, and that child which had caused him so much trouble well out of the way before he again met his master. Then would be quite time enough to look for a reward, such as was due from a multi-millionaire to his trusted and effective man of affairs.
Pondering thus, Mr. Wakeman rode back to town in a livery hack21, while the impecunious22 uncle of the little Californian rode thither23 in a democratic street car. The faster the car sped the more impatient the improvident24 young man became. He wondered if his twin’s little daughter could be half as pretty and interesting as his own small people. He was glad he had never once written John or Helen anything about his business troubles. They supposed him to be doing uncommonly25 well and living[156] in comfort, if not in luxury. Well, if this young Josephine were of the same good stock as her father a little poverty and privation in her youth wouldn’t hurt her; and where, search the wide world over, could any child find a sweeter, better foster-mother than his own Kitty?
When he arrived at Bismarck Avenue, things were already happening there which were out of the ordinary, to say the least. Among the day’s mail had come several letters to one Miss Desire Parkinson Smith, care of Mr. Joseph Smith. These letters had been handed to the master along with his own, and had caused him surprise amounting almost to consternation27.
“Desire Parkinson! Desire Parkinson! And Smith! The combination is remarkable28, if nothing more, Peter,” he exclaimed.
“Yes, suh, Massa Joe. Yes, suh,” returned the also startled negro.
“Do you see these letters?” asked the master.
“Yes, sir,” said the butler.
[157]“Notice the superscription. Ever been any others with the same?”
“Yes, suh, heaps. Most all of them comes to Miss Kimono. Though some is just plain Miss Smith.”
“Hmm! Hmm! This is—this is—disturbing,” admitted Mr. Smith.
Uncle Joe dropped into deep thought and sat so long in profound quiet that Josephine, playing on the carpet near by, folded her hands and watched him anxiously. She had grown to love his stern old face, that was never stern to her, with all the fervor29 of her affectionate heart; and presently she could not refrain from tiptoeing to him and laying her soft fingers tentatively upon his arm. He looked up at her, smiled, and murmured, more to himself than to her:
“Strange, strange. I’ve noticed something, a familiar trick of manner, something unforgotten from boyhood, Aunt Sophronia— Little Josephine, where is your—your nurse?”
“In the sitting-room30 with Mrs. Merriman,[158] Uncle Joe. Shall I call her?” she answered.
“If you will, dear. I’d like to speak with her a moment,” said he.
The ladies were deep in the intricacies of a new lace pattern, and though Miss Kimono rose obediently to the summons Josephine delivered, Mrs. Merriman for once forgot the requirements of etiquette31 and followed without invitation. But Mr. Smith was now too excited to notice this, and so it happened that one of the old gentlewoman’s wishes was gratified without anybody’s connivance32. “May I be there to see,” she had said, and here she was.
“Desire Parkinson, Mr. Smith,” glancing toward the letters lying on his table, replied the nurse. They flung their brief remarks at each other, as though they were tossing balls, thus:
[159]He: “Were you named for anybody in especial?”
She: “For a very dear lady in especial. For my mother’s twin sister.”
He: “She was a Parkinson?”
She: “She was a Parkinson.”
He: “She married a Smith?”
She: “She married a Smith, of Virginia. So did my mother another Smith, of another State. The world is full of them, Mr. Smith. We shall never be lonely because of a dearth35 of our patronymic.” The lady was smiling in great amusement, and, it is possible, the amusement was tinctured by a spice of malice36.
He: “What was your mother’s Christian name, if I may ask?”
She: “Surely you may ask, and I will answer to the best of my ability. Her name was Sophronia.”
He: “Then you and I are—are”—
She: “Bear up, Mr. Smith, we are first cousins.”
He: “You—you knew this before?”
She: “I’ve known it ever since our branch[160] of the family began fighting you to recover their portion of the old family estates in—Virginia!”
The excitement of the moment, so long anticipated by her and undreamed of by him, was tinging37 her cheeks with a little color which made her, for the time being, nearly as handsome as he was and that brought out with distinctness a strong family likeness38. This resemblance was swiftly detected by little Josephine, who caught a hand of each exclaiming:
“Why, you’re just the same as one another, my darling Kimono and my precious Uncle Joe! We’re all folks together? We’re all the same Smith folks together!”
Upon this tableau39 the portières parted, and the dignified40 voice of Peter obtruded41 the announcement:
“Mr. Joseph Smith.”
Utter silence for an instant, then Josephine dropped the hands she was clasping and bounded toward the newcomer, almost screaming her delight:
“Papa! Papa! Papa!”
[161]“My little Joe! John’s one baby daughter! My precious little namesake!”
The mislaid uncle had been found! That truth was evident in the spontaneous recognition of him, by his likeness so strong to his twin, that even the daughter had confounded the pair. A moment later, though, the child had perceived her own mistake and was regarding him more shyly, from the safe refuge of the old Uncle Joe’s knee, which had long since learned to adjust itself to the convenience of small maidens42.
Something prompted Mrs. Merriman and Miss Kimono to withdraw from a scene they dreaded43 might be painful, and they thoughtfully took Josephine away with them. They knew, far better than she, how wonderfully she had grown into the lonely heart of the aged44 millionaire, whose money was so powerless to buy for him what this other, younger Joseph was so rich in. It were kinder and wiser to leave the two uncles alone, and face to face to adjust their complicated affairs as best they might.
[162]Nobody need have feared, though. When folk are honest-minded, and love a common object, such as little Josephine, matters are soon arranged. In half an hour the conference was over, and the child ran back into the library to find the two Uncle Joes standing45 before its window and looking across the pretty square—where the crocuses were peeping through the tender grass and no sign of snow remained—toward a small house on its sunny northeastern corner.
The child slipped in between the two and caught a hand of both, while for an instant each diverted his gaze to her sweet face and smiled upon her. Then began again the deep, well-beloved tones of the old Uncle Joe:
“There, Joseph, that’s the house. It’s empty. I bought it on a speculation46, and fitted it up well. It’s completely furnished, and so nicely I wouldn’t let it to every tenant47 who’s applied48. That will go with the position, in addition to the salary. I’ve been dissatisfied with Mr. Wakeman this long time. He’s too officious, too grasping, too eager. I’m thankful[163] he found you, and will pay him well for it. But that ends his service to me. I’ll give him an advance of wages and shake him. You can enter upon your duties—to-morrow, if you like. I’ll send out a van or two to move in your effects.”
The new Uncle Joe held up his hand.
“Unnecessary, dear Mr. Smith. Our effects could easily be brought in on a pushcart;” yet saying this the man’s smile was neither less bright nor more ashamed. Why should he be ashamed? He had gone down in one battle with the world, but he was up again and ready for another.
The answer, somehow, pleased the elder man. He liked simplicity49, and he liked frankness. Josephine’s new uncle possessed50 both these, with an added cheerfulness which communicated itself to all who met him. He was, or had been, as ready to take his brother’s charge upon his hands in his penury51 as he now seemed to be in his suddenly acquired prosperity.
Looking across the square at the home offered[164] him, his eye kindled52 and his cheek glowed. His figure that had stooped somewhat from the wasted strength due insufficient53 food became erect54, and his whole bearing assumed a military poise55 that was so fondly familiar to the little Californian.
“Oh, my, Uncle Joe! My dear, sweet, new Uncle Joe! You’re more and more like my papa all the time. If you had on his gray, bright-buttony soldier clothes, and his lovely red sash, you would be a regular Company F—er! wouldn’t you? I wish mamma was here, and papa and Doctor Mack and funny big Bridget!”
“So they all shall be some day, Josephine. But first you’ll have to get acquainted with Tom, Dick, Harry56, and Penelope, and the sweetest Aunt Kitty that ever the sun shone on,” he answered heartily57.
Josephine’s brown eyes opened in astonishment58, and she said, with a deprecating look at the old Uncle Joe:
“I’d like to, if you’d like me to, but he—this one—he’d not like me to. He said, he[165] told Michael, that lovely red-headed Michael, that I couldn’t hob-nob—whatever that is—with any Tom, Dick, or Harry who was in the square. Didn’t you, Uncle Joe?”
It pleased the old gentleman that she still retained her familiar name for him, and he lifted her tenderly to his breast, replying:
“Yes, little lassie, I did; but that was before I knew these were real children who were coming to live in my house yonder. Such boys as are brought up by this gentleman, and your own cousins—why, of course, it’s different.”
From her safe place within the first uncle’s arms, she questioned the younger man:
“Have you got all those to your house, Uncle Joe?”
“Yes, little girl. Will you come and live with them when we all move to that pretty house on the corner?” he responded.
Her arm went around her first friend’s neck, and he now didn’t fret59 in the least because it rumpled60 his fresh linen61, as she cuddled her cheek against his, and asked:
[166]“Who’ll live here with you in this big house, first Uncle Joe?”
“Oh, I suppose my colored ‘boys’ only; as before you came,” was his low-toned answer.
“Nobody else?” she continued, in tones equally low.
He sighed: “Who else could, lassie?”
“Why, me! He’s got so many, and it’s only across the square. And Red Kimono, who’s your own cousin, you know. Shall we?”
“If you will, darling,” answered the old man, with moistened eyes.
“Then when papa and mamma come back from that far off red-pickley country maybe they’d be glad to stay, too. Can’t ’lectrickellers find places to earn money in this Baltimore, Uncle Joe?”
“Be sure that your Uncle Joe and I will find your electrician a fine place, little one; and we’ll call Red Kimono by her real name, Cousin Desire, because she was my mother’s twin sister’s child; and we’ll send for big[167] Bridget to wait upon this real Tom, Dick, and Harry combination of youngsters; and—anything you like!” he answered, so gleefully that even Peter scarcely recognized him.
“Will you? Will you? Oh, I love you—I love you! I love you both, both. But isn’t it the twiniest kind of world ever was! Papa and Uncle Joe are twins; and your mamma and Red Kimono’s mamma were twins; and Tom and Dick are twins; and big Bridget’s folks are twins; and—Oh, oh, there’s my darling, red-headed Michael going by! I must call him in, I truly must! Won’t he be the gladdest boy ever lived, to know all about my new cousins that I never saw coming to live and play with us in the square? He hasn’t any child to his house and you haven’t any child but me to yours, Uncle Joe; and the line-fence is down; so nothing’s to hinder Michael and me making another pair of twins, is there?”
Nobody prevented the child’s movement to bring in her first child-friend in that strange city to which she had come, and presently[168] entered the jolly lad, flushed and breathless and a trifle unkempt, as was his habit, but with such a manly62 bearing and such a world of good-fellowship beaming from his freckled63 face, that the new Uncle Joe instantly rejoiced in the prospect64 of such a comrade for his own small lads.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Smith and—Mr. Smith; and is it all just as she says?” demanded the small gentleman from Virginia. “Has the little ‘Express Parcel’ really found her right uncle at last? ’Cause it’s just like a ’Rabian Night’s story, seems to me, and girls—well, girls, you know, they—they’re sometimes silly, ’cept Josephine, maybe.” Then, as if a sudden fear attacked him he turned upon her, firmly admonishing65 her to remember: “If I’m to be your twin, as you say, you’ve got to have no nonsense in it. If I say ‘go in’ when there’s a lot of boys out in the square you’ll have to mind, ’cause they don’t always act polite, you see. Oh, bother! It’s all boys, anyway, isn’t it! I wish there was another girl, to even up”—
[169]“Why, Michael Merriman!” cried Josephine, interrupting her playmate’s long speech. “There is another girl! You forget—how could you forget—Penelope!”
At which the new Uncle Joe threw back his handsome head and laughed as he had not laughed in many a day; for in fancy he could see Miss Penelope, aged seven months, helping66 “Cousin Josephine” to maintain the dignity of their mutual girlhood, as against a square full of rollicking lads.
Presently everybody was laughing, for happiness is delightfully67 infectious, and always even more “catching” than the measles68. Grandma Merriman and Cousin Desire, who had come quietly into the room; the three black “boys” in the hall outside; the two Uncle Joes and Michael; and most heartily, most musically of all, the little San Diegan, who for very joy could not keep still, but went skipping and flying about the room, like a bewilderingly lovely butterfly, demanding between whiles of the person nearest:
“Oh, isn’t it beautiful, beautiful? Aren’t[170] you glad I was a wrong ‘parcel,’ and came to this wrong, splendid, old Uncle Joe?”
“I am,” answered that gentleman, with sweet solemnity; “since your coming has showed me how to deal justly, and love mercy, and find happiness in my barren wealth. God bless you, little ‘Parcel’!”
“Amen, and amen!” echoed the other Uncle Joe, as he went softly and swiftly out, to carry the good news to those whom he loved.
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收听单词发音
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1
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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dispensing
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| v.分配( dispense的现在分词 )；施与；配（药） | |
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insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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debtor
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| n.借方，债务人 | |
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blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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6
impoverished
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| adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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entrusted
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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diffused
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| 散布的，普及的，扩散的 | |
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consigned
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| v.把…置于（令人不快的境地）( consign的过去式和过去分词 )；把…托付给；把…托人代售；丟弃 | |
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reclaim
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| v.要求归还，收回；开垦 | |
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12
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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valiantly
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| adv.勇敢地，英勇地；雄赳赳 | |
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14
attainments
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| 成就，造诣； 获得( attainment的名词复数 )； 达到； 造诣； 成就 | |
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faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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detour
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| n.绕行的路，迂回路；v.迂回，绕道 | |
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hack
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| n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳 | |
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impecunious
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| adj.不名一文的，贫穷的 | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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improvident
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| adj.不顾将来的，不节俭的，无远见的 | |
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uncommonly
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| adv. 稀罕(极，非常) | |
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uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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fervor
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| n.热诚；热心；炽热 | |
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sitting-room
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| n.（BrE）客厅，起居室 | |
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31
etiquette
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| n.礼仪，礼节；规矩 | |
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connivance
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| n.纵容；默许 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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dearth
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| n.缺乏，粮食不足，饥谨 | |
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malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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tinging
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| v.（使）发丁丁声( ting的现在分词 ) | |
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likeness
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| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
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tableau
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| n.画面，活人画（舞台上活人扮的静态画面） | |
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dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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obtruded
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| v.强行向前，强行，强迫( obtrude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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maidens
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| 处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球 | |
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43
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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47
tenant
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| n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用 | |
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48
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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50
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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51
penury
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| n.贫穷，拮据 | |
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52
kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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53
insufficient
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| adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的 | |
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54
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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poise
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| vt./vi. 平衡，保持平衡；n.泰然自若，自信 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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58
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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fret
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| v.(使)烦恼；(使)焦急；(使)腐蚀，(使)磨损 | |
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rumpled
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| v.弄皱，使凌乱( rumple的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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freckled
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| adj.雀斑；斑点；晒斑；（使）生雀斑v.雀斑，斑点( freckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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admonishing
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| v.劝告( admonish的现在分词 )；训诫；（温和地）责备；轻责 | |
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66
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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67
delightfully
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| 大喜，欣然 | |
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measles
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| n.麻疹，风疹，包虫病，痧子 | |
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