Page 60 - English Expedition Class 6

‘Twenty years ago tonight,’ said the man, ‘I dined here at “Big Joe” Brady’s with Jimmy Wells,
my best chum , and the fi nest chap in the world. He and I were raised here in New York, just like
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two brothers, together. I was eighteen and Jimmy was twenty. Th e next morning I was to start for
the West to make my fortune. You couldn’t have dragged Jimmy out of New York; he thought it was
the only place on earth. Well, we agreed that night that we would meet here again exactly twenty
years from that date and time, no matter what our conditions might be or from what distance we
might have to come. We fi gured that in twenty years each of us ought to have our destiny worked
out and our fortunes made, whatever they were going to be.’
‘It sounds pretty interesting,’ said the policeman. ‘Rather a long time between meets, though, it
seems to me. Haven’t you heard from your friend since you left ?’
‘Well, yes, for a time we corresponded,’ said the other. ‘But aft er a year or two we lost track of
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each other. You see, the West is a pretty big proposition , and I kept hustling around over it pretty
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lively . But I know Jimmy will meet me here if he’s alive, for he always was the truest, staunchest 16
old chap in the world. He’ll never forget. I came a thousand miles to stand in this door tonight, and
it’s worth it if my old partner turns up.’
Th e waiting man pulled out a handsome watch, the
• What do the diamonds on
lids of it set with small diamonds.
the scarf pin and the watch
‘Th ree minutes to ten,’ he announced. ‘It was exactly
tell you about the waiting
ten o’ clock when we parted here at the restaurant door.’ man?
‘Did pretty well out West, didn’t you?’ asked the
• What impression does one
policeman.
get of Jimmy when described
‘You bet! I hope Jimmy has done half as well. He was a
as a ‘plodder’?
kind of plodder , though, good fellow as he was. I’ve had
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12 chum: friend 15 pretty lively: very quickly and often
13 proposition: task or project 16 staunchest: most loyal and steadfast
14 hustling around: (here) moving around for business 17 plodder: a person who is a steady but boring worker
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