’WhatdoesYourMajestypleasetowant？Youcan’tsmokemorethanyoudo；youwon’tdrink；you’reagrossfeeder；andyoudressinthedark，bythelookofyouYouwouldn’tkeepahorsetheotherdaywhenI
suggested，because，yousaid，itmightfalllame，andwheneveryoucrossthestreetyoutakeahansomEvenyouarenotfoolishenoughtosupposethattheatresandallthelivethingsyoucanbythereaboutsmeanLife。
Whatearthlyneedhaveyouformoney？’
’It’sthere，blessitsgoldenheart，’saidDick’It’sthereallthetime。
ProvidencehassentmenutswhileIhaveteethtocrack’emwithI
haven’tyetfoundthenutIwishtocrack，butI’mkeepingmyteethfiled。
PerhapssomedayyouandIwillgoforawalkroundthewideearth。’
’Withnoworktodo，nobodytoworryus，andnobodytocompetewith？
YouwouldbeunfittospeaktoinaweekBesides，Ishouldn’tgoI
don’tcaretoprofitbythepriceofaman’ssoul，——forthat’swhatitwouldmean。
Dick，it’snousearguingYou’reafool。’
’Don’tseeitWhenIwasonthatChinesepig-boat，ourcaptaingotcreditforsavingabouttwenty-fivethousandveryseasicklittlepigs，whenouroldtrampofasteamerfellfoulofatimber-junkNow，takingthosepigsasaparallel——’
’Oh，confoundyourparallels！WheneverItrytoimproveyoursoul，youalwaysdraginsomeanecdotefromyourveryshadypastPigsaren’ttheBritishpublic；andself-respectisself-respecttheworldoverGooutforawalkandtrytocatchsomeself-respectAnd，Isay，iftheNilghaicomesupthiseveningcanIshowhimyourdiggings？’
’Surely。’AndDickdeparted，totakecounselwithhimselfintherapidlygatheringLondonfog。
Halfanhourafterhehadleft，theNilghailabouredupthestaircaseHewasthechiefest，ashewastheyoungest，ofthewarcorrespondents，andhisexperiencesdatedfromthebirthoftheneedle-gunSavingonlyhisally，KeneutheGreatWarEagle，therewasnomanhigherinthecraftthanhe，andhealwaysopenedhisconversationwiththenewsthattherewouldbetroubleintheBalkansinthespringTorpenhowlaughedasheentered。
’NevermindthetroubleintheBalkansThoselittlestatesarealwaysscreechingYou’veheardaboutDick’sluck？’
’Yes；hehasbeencalleduptonotoriety，hasn’the？IhopeyoukeephimproperlyhumbleHewantssuppressingfromtimetotime。’
’HedoesHe’sbeginningtotakelibertieswithwhathethinksishisreputation。’
’Already！ByJove，hehascheek！Idon’tknowabouthisreputation，buthe’llcomeacropperifhetriesthatsortofthing。’
’SoItoldhimIdon’tthinkhebelievesit。’
’TheyneverdowhentheyfirststartoffWhat’sthatwreckonthegroundthere？’
’Specimenofhislatestimpertinence。’Torpenhowthrustthetornedgesofthecanvastogetherandshowedthewell-groomedpicturetotheNilghai，wholookedatitforamomentandwhistled。
’It’sachromo，’saidhe，——’achromo-litholeomargarinefake！Whatpossessedhimtodoit？Andyethowthoroughlyhehascaughtthenotethatcatchesapublicwhothinkwiththeirbootsandreadwiththeirelbows！Thecold-bloodedinsolenceoftheworkalmostsavesit；
buthemustn’tgoonwiththisHasn’thebeenpraisedandcockereduptoomuch？Youknowthesepeopleherehavenosenseofproportion。
They’llcallhimasecondDetailleandathird-handMeissonierwhilehisfashionlastsIt’swindydietforacolt。’
’Idon’tthinkitaffectsDickmuchYoumightaswellcallayoungwolfalionandexpecthimtotakethecomplimentinexchangeforashin-bone。
Dick’ssoulisinthebankHe’sworkingforcash。’
’Nowhehasthrownupwarwork，Isupposehedoesn’tseethattheobligationsoftheservicearejustthesame，onlytheproprietorsarechanged。’
’Howshouldheknow？Hethinksheishisownmaster。’
’Doeshe？Icouldundeceivehimforhisgood，ifthere’sanyvirtueinprintHewantsthewhiplash。’
’Layitonwithscience，thenI’dflayhimmyself，butIlikehimtoomuch。’
’I’venoscruplesHehadtheaudacitytotrytocutmeoutwit...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：