“Great Heaven! what is the matter, Miss Hattie?” he cried, as he saw her face turn whiter and whiter, and her tall, graceful1 form totter2 and reel as if stricken by a fearful blow.
“My mother is dying,” she gasped3, “and I far away, with forgiveness not passed between us,” and she sank shivering into the chair from which she had arisen.
And now, in a flash of thought, Mr. W—— remembered where he had seen those initials before. They were on the clasp of the portfolio4 which held her drawings. Undoubtedly5 they were the initials of her real name, and all this time she had been to him only Hattie Butler.
“Miss Hattie, how can I assist you? If you desire it, I will escort you anywhere you wish to go, leaving when you desire, waiting for you, and keeping sacredly any secret you may share with me.”
“Oh, Mr. W——, you are so good. Do not believe me wicked, or reveal it, if I tell you that my real name is embraced in those initials—that no wrong doing of my own caused me to hide it under another, but that I sought to escape persistent6 annoyance7 on a subject I may not name now—sought to evade8 a demand which wealthy and worldly parents made of me.”
“Miss Hattie, I would stake my life on your goodness, that every action of your life has been pure, and marked by the noblest of purposes. Now, tell me what I must or can do for you.”
[163]
“Grant me leave to absent myself a little while. It may be two or three days—it can hardly be less—it may be longer, and while I am gone, please go to Mr. Legare’s and explain to him and his family that I was called away at almost a moment’s notice. I must take the four o’clock boat for Boston. I will have time to go to my boarding-house, settle my bill, and then I can take a carriage for the boat.”
“May I not escort you there?”
“For both our sakes, it will be better not. I will be safe in a carriage and in the open light of day. Do not fear. And, Mr. W——, I will, when I come back, if you are not gone to California, tell you all. I will withhold9 nothing from so good, so true a friend. I go to the bedside of a dying mother. That is what that notice calls me to. I will not condemn10 that mother at this hour. But it was her pride and obstinacy11 that forced me into a strange city to earn my daily bread.”
“Do you not need more money?” asked Mr. W——.
“No, sir; I have enough in bills on my person, and some in bank if I needed more; and I hold Mr. Legare’s munificent12 check for those drawings. I need nothing, Mr. W——, but your belief in my honor and truth—your kind sympathy.”
“You have both, dear Miss Hattie—both to the fullest extent. Go, and Heaven shield and bless you. You will surely return?”
“Yes, and take my place here, no matter what occurs. Here will I stay until you return from California, and the result of your mission is made known to me.”
“Thank you, Miss Hattie. I will not detain you longer, for you will have but little time for preparation and to reach the boat. This evening I will go[164] to Mr. Legare’s, and simply explain that you were called away by the sickness of a relative.”
“Thank you; that will be enough. Tell them I will go to see them when I return.”
A grasp of the hand, a tearful good-by, and the honest, noble man, the pure, truthful13 woman, were apart—he standing14 gloomily alone in his office, she on her way, walking fast, toward her boarding-house.
Entering that, she found Biddy, Marguerite, and Miss Scrimp all in the kitchen.
She handed Miss Scrimp the amount of her board for the week, then giving her the additional dollar for her silk dress, she said:
“I pay my part of the proposed subscription15 for the silk dress, Miss Scrimp.” Then turning to Biddy Lanigan, she said: “You have always been very good to me, Biddy. Here is a five dollar bill for you to use as you choose.”
“Long life an’ more power to ye, ye born angel!” cried Biddy; “who could help bein’ kind to the likes o’ you? Sure there’s not a lady in the land can hold her head higher than your own.”
“Thank you, Biddy. Now, Miss Scrimp, I am going away for a few days, and shall lock up my room, for I leave my trunk, books, and everything except my little hand-satchel there.”
“Sakes alive! where be you a-goin’?”
“To visit a sick relative, and I shall return as soon as I can.”
“Sakes alive!”
Those were the last words Hattie heard as she turned and hurried to her room.
Half an hour later she came down dressed in a traveling suit of heavy brown pongee, with a bonnet[165] and shawl literally16 worth more than the entire wardrobe of Miss Scrimp, her dress and her bearing that of a lady.
“Sakes alives! Who’d have thought she had such clothes here,” was Miss Scrimp’s exclamation17, as her “cheapest boarder,” as she had called her more than once, left the door.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
graceful
|
|
| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
totter
|
|
| v.蹒跚， 摇摇欲坠；n.蹒跚的步子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
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： |
|
|
|
|
4
portfolio
|
|
| n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
undoubtedly
|
|
| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
persistent
|
|
| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
annoyance
|
|
| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
evade
|
|
| vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
withhold
|
|
| v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
condemn
|
|
| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
obstinacy
|
|
| n.顽固；（病痛等）难治 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
munificent
|
|
| adj.慷慨的，大方的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
truthful
|
|
| adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
subscription
|
|
| n.预订，预订费，亲笔签名，调配法，下标（处方） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
literally
|
|
| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
exclamation
|
|
| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |