【英文读物】Ben's Nugget A Boy's Search For Fortune.docx

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1、【英文读物】Bens Nugget A Boys Search For FortunePREFACE. Bens Nugget is the concluding volume of the Pacific Series. Though it is complete in itself, and may be read independently, the chief characters introduced will be recognized as old friends by the readers of The Young Explorer, the volume just prec

2、eding, not omitting Ki Sing, the faithful Chinaman, whose virtues may go far to diminish the prejudice which, justly or unjustly, is now felt toward his countrymen. Though Ben Stanton may be considered rather young for a miner, not a few as young as he drifted to the gold-fields in the earlyPg 8 day

3、s of California. Mining is carried on now in a very different manner, and I can hardly encourage any of my young readers to follow his example in seeking fortune so far from home. New York, May 19, 1882.CHAPTER I. THE MOUNTAIN-CABIN. Whats the news, Ben? You didnt happen to bring an evenin paper, di

4、d you? The speaker was a tall, loose-jointed man, dressed as a miner in a garb that appeared to have seen considerable service. His beard was long and untrimmed, and on his head he wore a Mexican sombrero. This was Jake Bradley, a rough but good-hearted miner, who was stretched carelessly upon the g

5、round in front of a rude hut crowning a high eminence in the heart of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Pg 14Ben Stanton, whom he addressed, was a boy of sixteen, with a pleasant face and a manly bearing. No, Jake, he answered with a smile, I didnt meet a newsboy. There aint many in this neighborhood, I

6、reckon, said Bradley. I tell you, Ben, Id give an ounce of dust for a New York or Boston paper. Who knows what may have happened since weve been confined here in this lonely mountain-hut? Uncle Sam may have gone to war, for aught we know. Prhaps the British may be bombarding New York this moment. I

7、guess not, said Ben, smiling. I dont think it likely myself, said Bradley, filling his pipe. Still, there may be some astonishin news if we could only get hold of it. I dont think we can complain, Jake, said Ben, turning to a pleasanter subject. Weve made considerable money out of Mr. Deweys claim.

8、Thats so. The three weeks weve spent here havent been thrown away, by a long chalk. We shall be pretty well paid for accommodatin Dick Dewey by stayin and takin care of him. Pg 15How much gold-dust do you think were got, Mr. Bradley? What! exclaimed Bradley, taking the pipe from his mouth; hadnt you

9、 better call me the Honorable Mr. Bradley, and done with it? Dont you feel acquainted with me yet, that you put the handle on to my name? Excuse me, Jake, said Ben; thats what I meant to say, but I was thinking of Mr. Dewey and thats how I happened to call you Mister. Thats a different matter. Dicks

10、 got a kind of dignity, so that it seems natural to call him Mister; but as for me, Im Jake Bradley, not a bad sort of fellow, but I dont wear store-cloes, and Id rather be called Jake by them as know me well. All right, Jake; but you havent answered my question. What about? The gold-dust. Oh yes. W

11、ell, I should say that the dust weve got out must be worth nigh on to five hundred dollars. So much as that? asked Ben, his eyes sparkling. Pg 16Yes, all of that. That claim of Deweys is a splendid one, and no mistake. I think we ought to pay him a commission for allowing us to work it. I think so t

12、oo, Jake. They were sitting outside the rude hut which had been roughly put together on the summit of the mountain. The door was open, and what they said could be heard by the occupant, who was stretched on a hard pallet in one corner of the cabin. Come in, you two, he called out. Sartin, Dick, said

13、 Bradley; and he entered the cabin, followed by Ben. What was that you were saying just now? asked Richard Dewey. Tell him, Ben, said Bradley. Jake was saying that we ought to pay you a commission on the gold-dust we took from your claim, Mr. Dewey, said our hero, for that is Bens position in our st

14、ory. Why should you? asked Dewey. Because its yours. You found it, and you ought to get some good of it. Pg 17So I have, Jake. In the first place, I got a thousand dollars out of it before I fell sickthat is, sprained my ankle. But you aint gettin anything out of it now. I think I am, said Dewey, sm

15、iling and looking gratefully at his two friends. I am getting the care and attention of two faithful friends, who will see that I do not suffer while I am laid up in this lonely hut. We dont want to be paid for that, Dick. I know that, Bradley; but I dont call it paying you to let you work the claim

16、 which I dont intend to work myself. But you would work it if you were well. No, I wouldnt, answered Dewey, with energy. I would leave this place instantly and take the shortest path to San Francisco. To see the gal that sent us out after you? Yes. But, Jake, suppose you call her the young lady. Of

17、course. You mustnt mind me, Dick. I dont know much about manners. I was raised kind of rough, and never had no chance to learn politePg 18ness. Ben, here, knows ten times as much as I do about how to behave among fashionable folks. I dont know about that, Jake, said Ben. I was brought up in the coun

18、try, and I know precious little about fashionable folks. Oh, well, you know how to talk. Besides, didnt you bring out Miss Douglas from the States? She brought me, said Ben. It seems to me we are wandering from the subject, said Dewey. It was a piece of good luck for me when you two happened upon th

19、is cabin where I lay helpless, with no one to look after me but Ki Sing. Ki Sing took pretty good care of you for a haythen, said Bradley. So he did. He is a good fellow, if he is a Chinaman, and far more grateful than many of his white brothers; but I was sighing for the sight of one of my own colo

20、r, who would understand my wants better than that poor fellow, faithful as he is. I reckon the news we brought you helped you some, Dick, said Jake Bradley. Pg 19Yes. It put fresh life into me to learn that Florence Douglas, my own dear Florence, had come out to this distant coast to search for me.

21、But I tell you, Jake, its rather tantalizing to think that she is waiting for me in San Francisco, while I am tied by the ankle to this lonely cabin so many miles away. It wont be for long now, Dick, said Bradley. You feel a good deal better, dont you? Yes; my ankle is much stronger than it was. Yes

22、terday I walked about the cabin, and even went out of doors. I felt rather tired afterward, but it didnt hurt me. All you want is a little patience, Dick. You mustnt get up too soon. A sprain is worse than a break, so Ive often heard: I cant say I know from experience. I hope you wont. Its a very tr

23、ying experience, as I can testify. Youd get well quicker if we had some doctors stuff to put on it, but I reckon anyhow youll be out in a week or ten days. I hope so. If I could only write to FlorencePg 20 and let her know where and how I am, I wouldnt mind so much the waiting. Dont worry about her.

24、 Shes in Frisco, where nothing cant happen to her, said Bradley, whose loose grammar I cannot recommend my young readers to imitate. I am not sure about that. Her guardian might find out where she is, and follow her even to San Francisco. If I were on the spot he could do no harm. I tell you, Dick,

25、that galexcuse me, I mean that young ladyis a smart one, and I reckon she can get ahead of her guardian if she wants to. Ben here told me how she circumvented him at the Astor House over in York. Shell hold her own agin him, even if he does track her to Frisco. Some of my readers may desire to know

26、more about Dewey and his two friends, and I will sketch for their benefit the events to which Bradley referred. Florence Douglas was the ward of the Albany merchant, John Campbell, who by the terms of her fathers will was entrusted with the care of her large property till she had attained the age of

27、 twenty-five,Pg 21 a period nearly a year distant. Mr. Campbell, anxious to secure his wards large property for his son, sought to induce Florence to marry the said son, but this she distinctly declined to do. Irritated and disappointed, Mr. Campbell darkly intimated that should her opposition conti

28、nue he would procure from two pliant physicians a certificate of her insanity and have her confined in that most terrible of prisons, a mad-house. The fear that he would carry his threat into execution nerved Florence to a bold movement. Being mistress of a fortune of thirty thousand dollars, left b

29、y her mother, she had funds enough for her purpose. She fled to New York, where chance made her acquainted with our hero, Ben Stanton, under whose escort she safely reached San Francisco, paying Bens expenses in return for his protection. Arrived in San Francisco, she furnished Ben with the necessar

30、y funds to seek out Richard Dewey (to whom, without her guardians knowledge, she was privately betrothed) and inform him of her presence in California. After a series of adventures Ben and his companion had found Dewey, laid up with aPg 22 sprained ankle in a rude hut high up among the mountains. He

31、 had met with an accident while successfully working a rich claim near by. Of course Richard Dewey was overjoyed to meet friends of his own race who could provide for him better than his faithful attendant, Ki Sing. As he could not yet leave the spot, he offered to Ben and Bradley the privilege of w

32、orking his claim. In the next chapter I will briefly explain Bens position, and the object which brought him to California, and then we shall be able to proceed with our story.CHAPTER II. THE MISSING CHINAMAN. If Florence Douglas was an heiress, our young hero, Ben Stanton, was likewise possessed of

33、 property, though his inheritance was not a very large one. When his fathers estate was settled it was found that it amounted to three hundred and sixty-five dollars. Though rather a large sum in Bens eyes, he was quite aware that the interest of this amount would not support him. Accordingly, being

34、 ambitious, he drew from his uncle, Job Stanton, a worthy shoemaker, the sum of seventy-five dollars, and went to New York, hoping to obtain employment. In this he was disappointed, but he had the good fortune to meet Miss Florence Douglas, by whom he was invited to accompany her to California as he

35、r escort, his expenses of course being paid by his patroness. It is needless to say that Ben accepted thisPg 24 proposal with alacrity, and, embarking on a steamer, landed in less than a month at San Francisco. He did not remain here long, but started for the mining-districts, still employed by Miss

36、 Douglas, in search of Richard Dewey, her affianced husband, whom her guardian had forbidden her to marry. As we have already said, Ben and his chosen companion, Jake Bradley, succeeded in their mission, but as yet had been unable to communicate tidings of their success to Miss Douglas, there being

37、no chance to send a letter to San Francisco from the lonely hut where they were at present living. Besides carrying out the wishes of his patroness, Ben intended to try his hand at mining, and had employed the interval of three weeks since he discovered Mr. Dewey in working the latters claim, with t

38、he success already referred to. The time when the two friends are introduced to the reader is at the close of the day, when, fatigued by their work on the claim, they are glad to rest and chat. Mr. Bradley has a pipe in his mouth, and evidently takes considerable comfort in his evening smoke. Pg 25I

39、 wish I had a pipe for you, Ben, he said. You dont know how it rests me to smoke. Ill take your word for it, Jake, returned Ben, smiling. Wont you take a whiff? You dont know how soothin it is. I dont need to be soothed, Jake. Im glad you enjoy it, but I dont envy you a particle. Well, praps youre r

40、ight, Ben. Our old doctor used to say smokin wasnt good for boys, but Ive smoked more or less since I was twelve years old. Theres something Id like better than smoking just now, said Ben. Whats that? Eating supper. Just so. I wonder where that heathen Ki Sing is? Ki Sing was cook and general servan

41、t to the little party, and performed his duties in a very satisfactory mannerbetter than either Ben or Bradley could have doneand left his white employers freer to work at the more congenial occupation of searching for gold. Pg 26Ki Sing is unusually late, said Richard Dewey. I wonder what can have

42、detained him? I am beginning to feel hungry myself. The heathen is usually on time, said Bradley, though he hasnt got a watch, any more than I have.Dick, what time is it? Half-past six, answered Richard Dewey, who, though a miner, had not been willing to dispense with all the appliances of civilizat

43、ion. Maybe Ki Sing has found another place, suggested Ben, jocosely. He is faithful; I will vouch for that, said Dewey. I am more afraid that he has met with some accidentlike mine, for instance. You wont catch a Chinaman spraining his ankle, said Bradley; theyre too spry for that. Theyll squeeze th

44、rough where a white man cant, and I wouldnt wonder if they could turn themselves inside out if they tried hard. It is possible, suggested Dewey, that Ki Sing may have met with some of our own race who have treated him roughly. You know the strong prejudice that is felt against the poor fellows by so

45、mePg 27 who are far less deserving than they. They think it good sport to torment a Chinaman. I cant say I like em much myself, said Bradley; but I dont mind saying that Ki Sing is a gentleman. He is the best heathen I know of, and if I should come across any fellow harmin him I reckon Id be ready t

46、o take a hand myself. We couldnt get along very well without him, Jake, said Ben. Thats where youre right, Ben. Hes made himself useful to us, and no mistake. I have reason to feel indebted to him, said Dewey. Injured as I was, I should have fared badly but for his faithful services. I am not at all

47、 sure that I should have been living at this moment had not the grateful fellow cared for me and supplied my wants. It may be explained here that Richard Dewey had at one time rescued Ki Sing from some rough companions who had made up their minds to cut off the Chinamans queue, thereby, in accordance with Chinese custom, preventing him ever returning to his native country. It was the thought of this serPg 28vice that had prompted Ki Sing to faithful service when he found his benefactor in need