Mr. Robbins had answered the first letter from Delphi, under Kit1's careful supervision2, and the acceptance was couched in language ambiguous enough to please even her.
It aroused no suspicions whatever in the minds of Dean Peabody or Miss Daphne. The only question was, who was to meet the child in Chicago. The through express would leave him there, and in order to connect with the Wisconsin trains it was necessary to make the change over to the Northwestern Depot3.
Miss Daphne was far more perturbed4 over it than her brother. One of the latter's favorite mottoes was inscribed5 in old English lettering over his desk:
"Never set in motion forces which
you cannot control."
Having set in motion the coming guest, he believed firmly that an unfaltering Fate would direct his footsteps safely to Delphi. Cassius Cato Peabody had been peculiar7 all his life. He had been a peculiar boy, unsettled, studious, impractical8. Miss Daphne was his younger sister, and ever since her girlhood had tried to give him all the love and encouragement that others refused. She had trotted9 after him faithfully and happily on all of his exploring expeditions. Perhaps one reason why these had been so successful was because somehow she had always managed to surround him with home comforts, even in the wilds of the upper Nile. The Dean had had his regular meals and clean changes of clothing in the shadow of Nineveh's ruins in far Chaldea, just as though he had been in his own domicile.
And perhaps the quaintest10 thing about it all was that Miss Daphne herself, no matter on what particular point of the globe she had happened to pitch her tent, had always retained her courage, although she had faced dangers that the average woman would have fled from. Perhaps she carried in her heart an unfailing faith that Providence11 could not deny her protection when she was enabling the Dean to give the benefit of his great gifts to the world.
Their house stood on the same hill as Hope College, the highest point in the rising ridge12 of bluffs13 along the Lake Shore at Delphi. It was built of dark red brick, a square double edifice15, with long French windows and two rotunda16 shaped wings, somewhat in the French style. A grove17 of pine trees almost hid it from view on its street side, the stately Norway pines that Kit always loved. The back of the house looked directly out over the lake, and the land here was frankly18 left to nature. Trees, grass and underbrush rioted at will, until they suddenly ended on the brow of the bluff14, where there was a sheer declivity19 of sand to the beach. Looking at it from below, Kit afterwards thought it was like a miniature section of the Yosemite, the sand had hardened into such fantastic shapes, and the strata20 in places was so plainly visible.
Mrs. Robbins' telegram arrived the night before Kit herself. It was brief and non-committal.
"Kit arrives union Station, Chicago, Thursday, 10:22 A.M."
"Kit," repeated the Dean. "Humph! Nickname. Superfluous21 and derogatory."
Miss Daphne took the telegram from his desk with a little smile that was almost tremulous with excitement.
"It's probably the diminutive22 for Christopher, brother," she said. "I think it's a nice name. I always liked the legend of St. Christopher. Somebody'll have to meet him down in Chicago. He might lose his head and take the wrong train."
"He's about fourteen, isn't he? Old enough to change from one train to another, and use his tongue if he's in doubt. When I was fourteen, Daphne, I was earning my own living working on a farm, summers, and going to a school in the winter time where we all had to work for our board. Never hurt us a bit. The greatest trait of character you can inculcate in a child is self-reliance."
Miss Daphne had a little way of appearing to listen while her brother expatiated23 on any of his favorite topics. It had grown to be a loving habit with her, and she had a way of answering absently.
"Yes, dear, I'm quite sure of it," which always satisfied him that he had her attention. But now, she sat looking out the window and thinking, a perplexed24 expression on her face. It had not altogether been her desire that the coming child should be a boy, although not one word had she breathed of this to Dean Peabody. Their lives had run in tranquil25 grooves26. Everything about their daily routine was as St. Paul suggested, "Decently and in order."
The determination to take one of the Greenacre brood had been a sudden one. The Dean had been reading somebody's theory about the obligations of age to youth.
"Daphne, my dear," he had remarked one evening, as the two sat quietly in the old library, "we have been leading very narrow, selfish lives, and we will suffer for it as we grow older. We have shut ourselves away from youth. I am seventy-four now, and what heritage am I leaving to the world beyond a few books of reference, and my collections? What I should do is to take some child, still in the impressionable stage, and impart to it all I know."
Miss Daphne glanced up with a little amused twinkle in her eyes.
"But, brother, what about the child? Surely you would require an exceptional child for such an experiment. One who would have the mentality27 to grasp all that you were trying to impart to it."
The Dean cogitated28 over this, pursing his lips and tapping his knuckles29 with his rimless30 eye-glasses.
"Possibly," he granted, "and yet, Daphne, surely there would be far more credit attached to planting the seed of knowledge where it needed much cultivating. It has surprised and amazed me up at the college to find that usually the children who appreciate an education are the farmer boys, and very often the foreign element."
Miss Daphne rocked to and fro gently. She knew her brother well enough to understand that this had become a fixed31 idea with him, and the easiest way out was to find him an impressionable child. And then, it happened that she thought of Elizabeth Ann Robbins, their niece, and all her nestful of young mouths to be satisfied with life's gifts and privileges. She remembered having one letter after the breaking up of the home on Long Island. This had told them of Mr. Robbins' illness and breakdown32. But with the optimism that was inherent in every one of the family, there had been no appeal for aid or cry of despondency over the sudden change in their fortunes.
Several times the Dean had written to Mr. Robbins but always on archaeological topics. Some little point of controversy33 upon which he desired confirmation34. Somehow material needs never seemed to suggest themselves to the Dean. Blessed with absolute self-reliance from his boyhood, he had educated and made a success of himself, and he could not understand how any one could falter6 or repine in the race. Particularly, if Nature had granted them any precious ratio of Peabody blood.
"Do you know, brother," began Miss Daphne, in the bright, abrupt35 little way she had, "I think it would be the right thing if we took one of the Robbins' children. There are four or five of them——"
"Boys or girls?" interrupted the Dean.
"Well, now I'm not quite sure, but if my memory serves me, I think there's a boy amongst them. I know the eldest36 girl is named Jean Daphne, because I've always sent her a silver spoon on her birthday since she was born. They're all of them over ten, I am sure. Why don't you just write to Jerrold and make known your willingness? I am sure they would take it in the spirit in which it was offered."
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1
kit
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| n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物 | |
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supervision
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| n.监督，管理 | |
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depot
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| n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站 | |
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4
perturbed
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| adj.烦燥不安的v.使（某人）烦恼，不安( perturb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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inscribed
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| v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接 | |
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6
falter
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| vi.(嗓音)颤抖，结巴地说；犹豫；蹒跚 | |
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7
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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8
impractical
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| adj.不现实的，不实用的，不切实际的 | |
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9
trotted
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| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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quaintest
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| adj.古色古香的( quaint的最高级 )；少见的，古怪的 | |
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11
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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12
ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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13
bluffs
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| 恐吓( bluff的名词复数 )； 悬崖； 峭壁 | |
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14
bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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15
edifice
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| n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室) | |
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16
rotunda
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| n.圆形建筑物；圆厅 | |
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17
grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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18
frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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19
declivity
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| n.下坡，倾斜面 | |
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20
strata
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| n.地层（复数）；社会阶层 | |
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21
superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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22
diminutive
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| adj.小巧可爱的，小的 | |
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23
expatiated
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| v.详述，细说( expatiate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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24
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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25
tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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26
grooves
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| n.沟( groove的名词复数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏v.沟( groove的第三人称单数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏 | |
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27
mentality
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| n.心理，思想，脑力 | |
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28
cogitated
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| v.认真思考，深思熟虑( cogitate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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29
knuckles
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| n.（指人）指关节( knuckle的名词复数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝v.（指人）指关节( knuckle的第三人称单数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝 | |
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30
rimless
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| adj.无边的 | |
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31
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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32
breakdown
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| n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌 | |
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33
controversy
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| n.争论，辩论，争吵 | |
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34
confirmation
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| n.证实，确认，批准 | |
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35
abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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36
eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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