第一章沃尔特舍伍德的信.docx

第一章沃尔特舍伍德的信Chapter1WalterSherwood,sLetter沃尔特给他的老监护人厄泽克尔麦克医生寄了一封信，而他的上一封信刚刚寄去两天时间，所以当麦克医生的管家南希斯普莱格把信送到医生书房的时候，医生有些疑惑。六十多岁的麦克医生戴上眼镜开始读沃尔特寄来的这封信。读信的时候，医生的眉头开始皱了起来，看上去有些心神不宁，显然，这和信的内容有关。信上说，大学里生活所花的钱比他想象得要多，他加入了两三个体育社团，同时他的同学们又在为扩建图书馆捐款，他父亲给他留下的钱用得差不多了，所以他需要他的监护人一一麦克医生再寄给他一张一百美元的支票。看过信之后，医生的思绪纷乱，他担心沃尔特会养成乱花钱的习惯，尽管沃尔特的父亲给沃尔特留下了一大笔遗产。沃尔特是一个十七岁的大学生，他很聪明，很招人喜欢，但是他不善于克制自己，喜欢享受生活。在大学里，沃尔特热衷于体育运动，但是学习一般。医生萌生了一个想法，他要在沃尔特不知情的情况下，去欧几里德弄清沃尔特在学校的表现。需要说明的是，沃尔特舍伍德是欧几里德大学二年级的一名学生，这所大学坐落在欧几里德小镇的中心。医生对南希做了交待之后，便出发了。当天傍晚，医生到达了小镇。他来到欧几里德旅馆，在登记时，他并没有说自己是医生，并且说自己来自三十英里外的小村庄，而不是阿尔巴尼。这是因为医生不想引起人们的注意或者说医生不想引起沃尔特的注意。Here'saletterforyou,DoctorMack."saidthehousekeeper,assheenteredtheplainroomusedasalibraryandsittingroombyheremployer,DoctorEzekielMack."Il'sfromWalter,Isurmise.ThiswasafavoritewordwithMissNancySprague,who,thoughahousekeeper,pridedherselfonhavingbeenaschoolmistressinherearlierdays.ttIndeed,Nancy.Letmeseeit.Walterisreallygettingattentive.Hislastlettercametohandonlytwodayssince.Hehasn,tforgottenhisoldguardian75“Oh,no,sir.He,llneverdothat.Hehasapredilectionforhisoldhome.Hisheartisintherightplace.”44Justso.”DoctorMackadjustedhisspectacles,forhewasrisingsixty,andhiseyesrequiredassistance,andopenedtheletter.Ashereadithisforeheadcontracted,andhelookeddisturbed.Aperusalofthelettermayhelpustounderstandwhy.Itranasfollows:DEARGUARDIAN,Youwillbesurprisedathearingfrommesosoonagain,butIamreallyforcedtowrite.IfindcollegelifemuchmoreexpensivethanIsupposeditwouldbe.Afellowisexpectedtojointwoorthreesocieties,andeachcostsmoney.Iknowyouwouldn'thavemeappearmean.Thenthestudentshavebeenaskedtocontributetoafundfortheenlargementofthelibrary,andalmosteverydaythereisademandformoneyforoneobjectoranother.Asitisnearlytheendoftheterm,IcalculatethatwithacheckforanextrahundreddollarsIcangetalong.Iamawfullysorrytoaskforit,butitwillcomeoutofthemoneyfatherleftme,andIamsurehewouldwishmetokeepupappearances,andnotfallbehindtherestoftheboys.Istandfairlywellinmystudies,andIexpecttobestrokeoarofthecollegeboatclub.Besidesthis,1havebeenelectedcatcherofthecollegebaseballclub.Iamthoughttoexcelinathleticsports,andreallyenjoymycollegelifeverymuch.Pleasesendmethecheckbyreturnofmail.affectionatelyyours,WALTERDoctorMacklaidtheletteronthetable,andslowlyremovedtheglassesfromhisnose.“Onehundreddollars!,herepeated.Thatisthesecondextracheckhehaswrittenfor,thisterm.Thenhisregulartermbillswillcomedueintwoweeks.HeisspendingmorethanthreetimesasmuchasIdidwhenincollege.Fortyyearshavemadeadifference,nodoubt,butnotsogreatadifferenceasthat.Ihopetheboyisn,tfallingintoextravaganthabits.Icareforthatmorethanfrthemoney.Hisfatherleftagoodfortune,ofwhichfactheisunfortunatelyaware,butIdon,tmeanthatitshallspoilhim.Now,whatshallIdo.ShallIsendhimthecheckornot?”DoctorMackleanedbackinhischair,andthoughtbusily.Hefeltanxiousabouthisward,whohadenteredcollegeearlyandwasnowonlyseventeen.WalterSherwoodwasaboyofexcellenttalentandpopularmanners,buthewasinclinedtobeSelfindulgentandhadalargecapacityfor“enjoyment."Hisguardianhadfondlyhopedthathewouldleadtheclassinscholarship,butinsteadofthishewasonlydoingtfairlywel,inhisstudies.Tobesure,heexcelledinathleticsports,but,asDoctorMackreflected,thiswasnotgenerallyconsideredthechiefaiminacollegecourse,exceptbysomeofthestudentsthemselves.“IwishIknewjusthowWalterismakingout.thoughtthedoctor.Then,afterapause,heresumed,withasuddeninspiration:"Whyshouldn'tIknow?11goovertoEuclidtomorrowwithoutgivingWalteranyintimationofmyvisit,andseeformyself.”ItmaybestatedherethatWalterSherwoodwasamemberofthesophomoreclassinEuclidCollege,situatedinthetownofthesamename.IfthereaderdoesnotfindEuclidinalistofAmericancolleges,itisbecauseforspecialreasonsIhavethoughtitbesttoconcealtherealnameofthecollege,notwishingtobringtheInstitutionintopossibledisrepute.Therearesomewhomightmisjudgethecollege,becauseitcontainedsomestudentswhomadeanunprofitableuseoftheirtime.“Nancy,“saidDoctorMackatthesupper-table,tyoumaypackahandbagforme.Ishallstartonajourneytomorrowmorning.44Whereto,sir,ifImaymakesoboldastoinquire?"44IthinkofgoingtoEuclid.”“ToseeMasterWalter?”“Exactly.”uYbuhaven,theardanybadnews,Ihope?,saidthehousekeeperanxiously.“Oh,no.”“Thenheisn'tsick?”44Quitethecontrary.Heisquitestrongandathletic,Ishouldjudge,fromhisletter.,“Hewillbegladtoseeyou,sir.”tWell,perhapsso.Butyouknow,Nancy,youngpeopledon,tmisstheirparentsandguardiansasmuchastheyaremissedathome.Theyhaveplentyofexcitementandsocietyatcollege.”ttYes,sir,that,strue,butmsureMasterWalterwon,tforgethisoldhome.IfyouhaveroomforsomecookiesIwillputsomeintothebag.Walterisfondofthem.”tNo,Ithinkyouneedn,tdoit,Nancy.Hehasagoodboardinghouse,andnodoubthegetsallthecakeshewants.Bytheway,Iwanttotaketheboybysurprise,sodon,twriteandlethimknowmcoming.“No,sir,Iwon't."Thiswasexactlywhatthehousekeeperhadintendedtodo,forshepresumeduponherlongserviceinthefamilytowriteafewlinesoccasionallytotheboywhomshehadknownfromtheageofsix.“OfcourseIshallbepleasedtogivehimanym