章节正文
and got him to give you a place in pa's store."
"I deny that I got round him," returned Phil
warmly. "I had the good luck to do him a favor."
"I suppose you have come after money?" said
Alonzo coarsely.
"I sha'n't ask you for any, at any rate," said Phil
angrily.
"No; it wouldn't do any good," said Alonzo;
"and it's no use asking ma, either. She says you are
an adventurer, and have designs on Uncle Oliver because
he is rich."
"I shall not ask your mother for any favor," said
Phil, provoked. "I am sorry not to meet your uncle."
"I dare say!" sneered Alonzo.
Just then a woman, poorly but neatly dressed,
came down stairs. Her face was troubled. Just
behind her came Mrs. Pitkin, whose face wore a
chilly and proud look.
"Mr. Carter has left the city, and I really don't
know when he will return," Phil heard her say. "If
he had been at home, it would not have benefited
you. He is violently prejudiced against you, and
would not have listened to a word you had to say."
"I did not think he would have harbored resentment
so long," murmured the poor woman. "He
never seemed to me to be a hard man."
Phil gazed at the poorly dressed woman with a
surprise which he did not attempt to conceal, for in
her he recognized the familiar figure of his landlady.
What could she have to do in this house? he asked
himself.
"Mrs. Forbush!" he exclaimed.
"Philip!" exclaimed Mrs. Forbush, in a surprise as
great as his own, for she had never asked where her
young lodger worked, and was not aware that he
was in the employ of her cousin's husband and well
acquainted with the rich uncle whom she had not
seen for years.
"Do you know each other?" demanded Mrs. Pitkin,
whose turn it was to be surprised.
"This young gentleman lodges in my house,"
answered Mrs. Forbush.
"Young gentleman!" repeated Alonzo, with a
mocking laugh.
Philip looked at him sternly. He had his share
of human nature, and it would have given him satisfaction
to thrash the insolent young patrician, as
Alonzo chose to consider himself.
"And what do you want here, young man?" asked
Mrs. Pitkin in a frosty tone, addressing Phil of
course.
"I wished to see Mr. Carter," answered Phil.
"Really, Mr. Carter seems to be very much in
request!" sneered Mrs. Pitkin. "No doubt he will be
very much disappointed when he hears what he has
lost. You will have to go to Florida to see him, I
think, however." She added, after a pause: "It
will not be well for either of you to call again. Mr.
Carter will understand the motive of your calls."
"How cruel you are, Lavinia!" said Mrs. Forbush
sadly.
"My name is Mrs. Pitkin!" said that lady frigidly.
"You have not forgotten that we are cousins,
surely?"
"I do not care to remember it, Mrs. Forbush.
Good-day."
There was no alternative but for Mrs. Forbush to
say "good-day" also, and to descend the steps.
Philip joined her in the street.
"Are you really the cousin of Mrs. Pitkin?" he
asked.
"Yes," answered Mrs. Forbush. "I bear the same
relationship to Mr. Carter that she does. We were
much together as girls, and were both educated at
the same expensive schools. I offended my relatives
by marrying Mr. Forbush, whose fault was
that he was poor, and chiefly, I think, through the
efforts of Lavinia Pitkin I was cast out by the family.
But where did you meet Uncle Oliver?"
Philip explained the circumstances already known
to the reader.
"Mr. Carter seems to me to be a kind-hearted
man," he said. "I don't believe he would have cast
you off if he had not been influenced by other
parties."
"So I think," said Mrs. Forbush. "I will tell
you," she continued, after a pause, "what drew me
here this afternoon. I am struggling hard to keep
my head above water, Mr. Brent, but I find it hard
to meet my expenses. I cannot meet my rent due
to-morrow within fifteen dollars, and I dared to
hope that if I could meet Uncle Oliver face to face
and explain matters to him, he would let me have
the money."
"I am sure he would," said Phil warmly.
"But he is in Florida, and will probably remain
there for a month or two at least," said Mrs. Forbush,
sighing. But even if he were in the city I
suppose Lavinia would do all in her power to keep
us apart."
"I have no doubt she would, Mrs. Forbush.
Though she is your cousin, I dislike her very
much."
"I suppose the boy with whom you were talking
was her son Alonzo?"
"Yes; he is about the most disagreeable boy I
ever met. Both he and his mother seem very much
opposed to my having an interview with your
uncle."
"Lavinia was always of a jealous and suspicious
disposition," said Mrs. Forbush. "I have not seen
Alonzo since he was a baby. He is two years older
than my Julia. He was born before I estranged my
relatives by marrying a poor man."
"What are you going to do, Mrs. Forbush, about
the rent?" asked Phil, in a tone of sympathy.
"I don't know. I shall try to get the landlord to
wait, but I don't know how he will feel about it."
"I wish I had plenty of money. I would gladly
lend you all you need."
"I am sure you would, Philip," said Mrs. Forbush.
"The offer does me good, though it is not
accompanied by the ability to do what your good
heart dictates. I feel that I am not without
friends."
"I am a very poor one," said Phil. "The fact is,
I am in trouble myself. My income is only five
dollars a week, and my expenses are beyond that.
I don't know how I am going to keep up."
"You may stay with me for three dollars a week,
if you cannot pay four," said Mrs. Forbush, forgetting
her own troubles in her sympathy with our
hero.
"No, Mrs. Forbush, you can't afford it. You need
money as much as I do, and perhaps more; for you
have more than yourself to support."
"Yes, poor Julia!" sighed the mother. "She is
born to a heritage of poverty. Heaven only knows
how we are going to get along."
"God will provide for us, Mrs. Forbush," said
Philip. "I don't know how it is, but in spite of my
troubles I feel cheerful. I have a confidence that
things will come out well, though I cannot possibly
imagine how."
"You are young, and youth is more inclined to be
hopeful than maturer years. However, I do not
wish to dampen your cheerfulness. Keep it, and let
it comfort you."
If Phil could have heard the conversation that
took place between Mrs. Pitkin and Alonzo after
their departure, he might have felt less hopeful.
"It is dreadfullyannoying that that woman
should turn up after all these years!" said Mrs. Pitkin,
in a tone of disgust.
"Is she really your cousin, ma?" asked Alonzo.
"Yes, but she disgraced herself by a low marriage,
and was cast off."
"That disposes of her, then?"
"I don't know. If she could meet Uncle Oliver, I
am afraid she would worm herself into his confidence
and get him to do something for her. Then
it is unfortunate that she and that boy have fallen
in with each other. She may get him to speak to
Uncle Oliver in her behalf."
"Isn't he working for pa?"
"Yes."
"Why don't you get pa to discharge him while
Uncle Oliver is away?"
"Well thought of, Alonzo! I will speak to your
father this very evening."
CHAPTER XXII.
PHIL IS "BOUNCED."
Saturday, as is usual in such establishments,
was pay-day at the store of Phil's employers.
The week's wages were put up in small envelopes
and handed to the various clerks.
When Phil went up to the cashier to get his
money he put it quietly into his vest-pocket.
Daniel Dickson, the cashier, observing this, said:
"Brent, you had better open your envelope."
Rather surprised, Phil nevertheless did as requested.
In the envelope, besides the five-dollar bill
representing his week's salary, he found a small slip of
paper, on which was written these ominous words:
"Your services will not be required after this week."
Appended to this notice was the name of the firm.
Phil turned pale, for to him, embarrassed as he
was, the loss of his place was a very serious matter.
"What does this mean, Mr. Dickson?" he asked
quickly.
"I can't inform you," answered the cashier,
smiling unpleasantly, for he was a selfish man who
sympathized with no one, and cared for no one as
long as he himself remained prosperous.
"Who handed you this paper?" asked Phil.
"The boss."
"Mr. Pitkin?"
"Of course."
Mr. Pitkin was still in his little office, and Phil
made his way directly to him.
"May I speak to you, sir?" asked our hero.
"I deny that I got round him," returned Phil
warmly. "I had the good luck to do him a favor."
"I suppose you have come after money?" said
Alonzo coarsely.
"I sha'n't ask you for any, at any rate," said Phil
angrily.
"No; it wouldn't do any good," said Alonzo;
"and it's no use asking ma, either. She says you are
an adventurer, and have designs on Uncle Oliver because
he is rich."
"I shall not ask your mother for any favor," said
Phil, provoked. "I am sorry not to meet your uncle."
"I dare say!" sneered Alonzo.
Just then a woman, poorly but neatly dressed,
came down stairs. Her face was troubled. Just
behind her came Mrs. Pitkin, whose face wore a
chilly and proud look.
"Mr. Carter has left the city, and I really don't
know when he will return," Phil heard her say. "If
he had been at home, it would not have benefited
you. He is violently prejudiced against you, and
would not have listened to a word you had to say."
"I did not think he would have harbored resentment
so long," murmured the poor woman. "He
never seemed to me to be a hard man."
Phil gazed at the poorly dressed woman with a
surprise which he did not attempt to conceal, for in
her he recognized the familiar figure of his landlady.
What could she have to do in this house? he asked
himself.
"Mrs. Forbush!" he exclaimed.
"Philip!" exclaimed Mrs. Forbush, in a surprise as
great as his own, for she had never asked where her
young lodger worked, and was not aware that he
was in the employ of her cousin's husband and well
acquainted with the rich uncle whom she had not
seen for years.
"Do you know each other?" demanded Mrs. Pitkin,
whose turn it was to be surprised.
"This young gentleman lodges in my house,"
answered Mrs. Forbush.
"Young gentleman!" repeated Alonzo, with a
mocking laugh.
Philip looked at him sternly. He had his share
of human nature, and it would have given him satisfaction
to thrash the insolent young patrician, as
Alonzo chose to consider himself.
"And what do you want here, young man?" asked
Mrs. Pitkin in a frosty tone, addressing Phil of
course.
"I wished to see Mr. Carter," answered Phil.
"Really, Mr. Carter seems to be very much in
request!" sneered Mrs. Pitkin. "No doubt he will be
very much disappointed when he hears what he has
lost. You will have to go to Florida to see him, I
think, however." She added, after a pause: "It
will not be well for either of you to call again. Mr.
Carter will understand the motive of your calls."
"How cruel you are, Lavinia!" said Mrs. Forbush
sadly.
"My name is Mrs. Pitkin!" said that lady frigidly.
"You have not forgotten that we are cousins,
surely?"
"I do not care to remember it, Mrs. Forbush.
Good-day."
There was no alternative but for Mrs. Forbush to
say "good-day" also, and to descend the steps.
Philip joined her in the street.
"Are you really the cousin of Mrs. Pitkin?" he
asked.
"Yes," answered Mrs. Forbush. "I bear the same
relationship to Mr. Carter that she does. We were
much together as girls, and were both educated at
the same expensive schools. I offended my relatives
by marrying Mr. Forbush, whose fault was
that he was poor, and chiefly, I think, through the
efforts of Lavinia Pitkin I was cast out by the family.
But where did you meet Uncle Oliver?"
Philip explained the circumstances already known
to the reader.
"Mr. Carter seems to me to be a kind-hearted
man," he said. "I don't believe he would have cast
you off if he had not been influenced by other
parties."
"So I think," said Mrs. Forbush. "I will tell
you," she continued, after a pause, "what drew me
here this afternoon. I am struggling hard to keep
my head above water, Mr. Brent, but I find it hard
to meet my expenses. I cannot meet my rent due
to-morrow within fifteen dollars, and I dared to
hope that if I could meet Uncle Oliver face to face
and explain matters to him, he would let me have
the money."
"I am sure he would," said Phil warmly.
"But he is in Florida, and will probably remain
there for a month or two at least," said Mrs. Forbush,
sighing. But even if he were in the city I
suppose Lavinia would do all in her power to keep
us apart."
"I have no doubt she would, Mrs. Forbush.
Though she is your cousin, I dislike her very
much."
"I suppose the boy with whom you were talking
was her son Alonzo?"
"Yes; he is about the most disagreeable boy I
ever met. Both he and his mother seem very much
opposed to my having an interview with your
uncle."
"Lavinia was always of a jealous and suspicious
disposition," said Mrs. Forbush. "I have not seen
Alonzo since he was a baby. He is two years older
than my Julia. He was born before I estranged my
relatives by marrying a poor man."
"What are you going to do, Mrs. Forbush, about
the rent?" asked Phil, in a tone of sympathy.
"I don't know. I shall try to get the landlord to
wait, but I don't know how he will feel about it."
"I wish I had plenty of money. I would gladly
lend you all you need."
"I am sure you would, Philip," said Mrs. Forbush.
"The offer does me good, though it is not
accompanied by the ability to do what your good
heart dictates. I feel that I am not without
friends."
"I am a very poor one," said Phil. "The fact is,
I am in trouble myself. My income is only five
dollars a week, and my expenses are beyond that.
I don't know how I am going to keep up."
"You may stay with me for three dollars a week,
if you cannot pay four," said Mrs. Forbush, forgetting
her own troubles in her sympathy with our
hero.
"No, Mrs. Forbush, you can't afford it. You need
money as much as I do, and perhaps more; for you
have more than yourself to support."
"Yes, poor Julia!" sighed the mother. "She is
born to a heritage of poverty. Heaven only knows
how we are going to get along."
"God will provide for us, Mrs. Forbush," said
Philip. "I don't know how it is, but in spite of my
troubles I feel cheerful. I have a confidence that
things will come out well, though I cannot possibly
imagine how."
"You are young, and youth is more inclined to be
hopeful than maturer years. However, I do not
wish to dampen your cheerfulness. Keep it, and let
it comfort you."
If Phil could have heard the conversation that
took place between Mrs. Pitkin and Alonzo after
their departure, he might have felt less hopeful.
"It is dreadfullyannoying that that woman
should turn up after all these years!" said Mrs. Pitkin,
in a tone of disgust.
"Is she really your cousin, ma?" asked Alonzo.
"Yes, but she disgraced herself by a low marriage,
and was cast off."
"That disposes of her, then?"
"I don't know. If she could meet Uncle Oliver, I
am afraid she would worm herself into his confidence
and get him to do something for her. Then
it is unfortunate that she and that boy have fallen
in with each other. She may get him to speak to
Uncle Oliver in her behalf."
"Isn't he working for pa?"
"Yes."
"Why don't you get pa to discharge him while
Uncle Oliver is away?"
"Well thought of, Alonzo! I will speak to your
father this very evening."
CHAPTER XXII.
PHIL IS "BOUNCED."
Saturday, as is usual in such establishments,
was pay-day at the store of Phil's employers.
The week's wages were put up in small envelopes
and handed to the various clerks.
When Phil went up to the cashier to get his
money he put it quietly into his vest-pocket.
Daniel Dickson, the cashier, observing this, said:
"Brent, you had better open your envelope."
Rather surprised, Phil nevertheless did as requested.
In the envelope, besides the five-dollar bill
representing his week's salary, he found a small slip of
paper, on which was written these ominous words:
"Your services will not be required after this week."
Appended to this notice was the name of the firm.
Phil turned pale, for to him, embarrassed as he
was, the loss of his place was a very serious matter.
"What does this mean, Mr. Dickson?" he asked
quickly.
"I can't inform you," answered the cashier,
smiling unpleasantly, for he was a selfish man who
sympathized with no one, and cared for no one as
long as he himself remained prosperous.
"Who handed you this paper?" asked Phil.
"The boss."
"Mr. Pitkin?"
"Of course."
Mr. Pitkin was still in his little office, and Phil
made his way directly to him.
"May I speak to you, sir?" asked our hero.
- conceal [kən´si:l]
vt.藏；隐瞒 (初中英语单词) - florida [´flɔridə] n.佛罗里达 (初中英语单词)
- motive [´məutiv] n.动机；主题 a.运动的 (初中英语单词)
- descend [di´send] v.下来，下降 (初中英语单词)
- expensive [ik´spensiv] a.费钱的，昂贵的 (初中英语单词)
- chiefly [´tʃi:fli] ad.主要地；尤其 (初中英语单词)
- dislike [dis´laik] vt.&n.不喜爱，厌恶 (初中英语单词)
- interview [´intəvju:] n.&vt.接见；会见；交谈 (初中英语单词)
- jealous [´dʒeləs] a.妒忌的 (初中英语单词)
- landlord [´lændlɔ:d] n.地主；房东；店主 (初中英语单词)
- ability [ə´biliti] n.(办事)能力；才干 (初中英语单词)
- income [´inkʌm] n.收入，所得 (初中英语单词)
- sympathy [´simpəθi] n.同情，怜悯 (初中英语单词)
- poverty [´pɔvəti] n.贫穷(乏，瘠)；不足 (初中英语单词)
- cheerful [´tʃiəful] a.快乐的；高兴的 (初中英语单词)
- departure [di´pɑ:tʃə] n.离开，出发 (初中英语单词)
- dreadfully [dredfuli] ad.可怕地；糟透地 (初中英语单词)
- unfortunate [ʌn´fɔ:tʃunit] a.不幸的，运气差的 (初中英语单词)
- working [´wə:kiŋ] a.工人的；劳动的 (初中英语单词)
- discharge [dis´tʃɑ:dʒ] vt.&n.卸货；释放；解雇 (初中英语单词)
- nevertheless [,nevəðə´les] conj.&ad.然而；不过 (初中英语单词)
- envelope [´envələup] n.信封，封皮 (初中英语单词)
- selfish [´selfiʃ] a.自私的，利己的 (初中英语单词)
- violently [´vaiələntli] ad.强暴地；猛烈地 (高中英语单词)
- repeated [ri´pi:tid] a.反复的；重复的 (高中英语单词)
- sternly [´stə:nli] ad.严厉地；坚定地 (高中英语单词)
- thrash [θræʃ] v.打(谷)；(用棍)痛打 (高中英语单词)
- disagreeable [,disə´gri:əbl] a.令人不悦的 (高中英语单词)
- adventurer [əd´ventʃərə] n.冒险者 (英语四级单词)
- poorly [´puəli] a.不舒服的 ad.贫穷地 (英语四级单词)
- frosty [´frɔsti] a.霜冻的；冷淡的 (英语四级单词)
- alternative [ɔ:l´tə:nətiv] a.二中选一的 n.选择 (英语四级单词)
- heritage [´heritidʒ] n.遗产，继承物 (英语四级单词)
- cashier [kæ´ʃiə] n.出纳员 (英语四级单词)
- ominous [´ɔminəs] a.不祥的；预示的 (英语四级单词)
- insolent [´insələnt] a.傲慢的；无礼的 (英语六级单词)
- patrician [pə´triʃən] n.(古罗马)贵族 (英语六级单词)
- cheerfulness [´tʃiəfulnis] n.高兴，愉快 (英语六级单词)
- annoying [ə´nɔiiŋ] a.使人气恼的；讨厌的 (英语六级单词)
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章节正文
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