One Million Dollars-一百万美元

One Million Dollars|

一百万美元

It was the first time for him to call on the young lady. Nick dressed carefully for this date.

Which suit to wear was an easy decision

—

he had only two suits. He decided to take a cab and

gave

the

taxi

driver

the

address

on

Lake

Shore

Drive.

The

cab

driver

examined

his

customer

suspiciously.

“Are you sure of that number, mister?” he asked.

“I

’

m sure.”

The cab started, the driver probably wondering why a man from a poor neighborhood2 was going

to the wealthiest section of the city.

As the taxi moved past the luxurious3 homes, Nick look out of the window curiously. At that time,

he wasn

’

t aware that during his lifetime he would make more money than most of the successful

men who lived in those mansions. The cab came to a halt before a huge house that looked like a

castle. The driver was still doubtful.

“Are you sure this is the place?”

Nick

said

that

he

was.

He

paid

the

cab

driver

and

walked

up

to

the

front

door.

A

butler4

opened the door and asked for his card. Seeing no reason to hand him a business card that was

probably stained with figs, Nick simply said, “Miss Parkinson is expecting me.”

“Very

well,

sir,”

the

servant

answered

and

led

into

a

gold

and

silver

room

with

stained

glass

windows and beautiful tapestries5. Nick sat down.

“Mr. Dandolos?” A soft voice interrupted his thoughts. He stood up to face a slim, blonde woman:

Elizabeth Parkinson. She asked him to sit down in the chair facing hers.

All

evening

they

sat

and

talked

in

the

gold

and

silver

room.

Nick

felt

awkward6

and

spoke

haltingly7. Yet, when he rose to leave, he asked Elizabeth if he might see her again. She nodded

quietly.

Nick visited Elizabeth more and more frequently. Despite their different backgrounds, beneath the

surface

of

their

daily

lives

they

both

lived

on

the

same

intellectual

level.

Nick

discussed

his

feelings, his thoughts, and his plans. Elizabeth absorbed his teachings and came to understand that

with philosophy a man could face all the dangers of life calmly. She saw that this was the key to

Nick

’

s

personality.

Nick,

in

turn,

learned

a

lot

from

Elizabeth.

She

introduced

him

to

English

literature and poetry. With his remarkable memory, Nick soon was able to repeat long passages

from the classics.

Nick was falling in love. He recognized the signs

—

the pain, the ecstasy8, the hours that passed

like minutes. To him, Elizabeth was a princess. It became difficult for him to sleep at night. He

couldn

’

t concentrate on his work and began making many mistakes, mixing up deliveries of figs.

He knew it was impossible to marry her. He was poor, and she was rich.

Nonetheless, Nick and Elizabeth began to talk about marriage. They understood that there were

two obstacles9 in the way

—

her mother and father. Mr. Parkinson was a powerful man, the head of

a large meat-packing company employing hundreds of workers, and he did not approve of Nick.

One evening, when Nick was visiting Elizabeth, her parents were at home. Elizabeth decided that

this was their right time to discuss marriage with them. Nicholas agreed and within a few minutes,

Elizabeth returned with her parents. Before that day, the three had said very little to one another.

Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Parkinson sat down and Elizabeth left the room.

“Mr. and Mrs. Parkinson,” Nick said in a clear voice, “

I would be honored if you would give me

permission to marry your daughter, Elizabeth.”

Mr. Parkinson closed his mouth tightly. His eyes narrowed. Turning to his wife, he said, “I

’

ll take

care of this, my dear.”

Without a word, Mrs. Parkinson stood up and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Neither Nick nor Mr. Parkinson spoke immediately. The air seemed electrically charged10.

“What is your income, my boy?” Mr. Parkinson asked.

“Very little, sir.”

“And your future?”

“What do you mean, sir?”

“What is your purpose in life, Mr. Dandolos?”

“To seek the truth, sir.”

Mr.

Parkinson

took

a

deep

breath

and

counted

to

five,

in

order

to

control

himself.

Before

him

stood a man who had the audacity to tell him that his purpose in life was to seek truth instead of

money.

“That sounds very romantic, very brave. But I don

’

t think you

’

re very practical, Mr. Dandolos.”

“You are correct, sir,” Nick agreed.

“You want to marry my daughter and take her away from all of this? What will you give her in

return?”

He indicated the room and the house and all its luxury.

Nick smiled. “My way of life.”

“Your way of life!” Mr. Parkinson made no attempt to conceal his anger. “A few figs sold here and

there? Raising my grandchildren in poor surroundings? No. Not for my Elizabeth. She deserves

much more.”

Nick calmly asked, “What do you want for your daughter, Mr. Parkinson?”

“Money,” Mr. Parkinson replied. “I want her to have every luxury possible—

to be able to lead the

life she has now.”

“Then I will secure11 it for her.”

Mr. Parkinson laughed. “You make it sound simple. Where will you find it?”

“I

’

ll have to give the matter some thought.”

“Considerable thought,” Mr. Parkinson said mockingly12.

Nick never enjoyed talking about money. But now his happiness depended

on it. He asked, “How

much money would be required to make you... er... I mean, your daughter, happy?”

Mr. Parkinson allowed a minute to pass without speaking and then gave his answer: “one million

dollars.”

He watched Nick, certain that he has succeeded in crushing the young man

’

s ambition. But Nick

remained calm. “How much time will you give me to make it?”

“One year from today,” Mr. Parkinson said. “One year, and one million dollars, and Elizabeth is

yours.” He was delighted. He was sure he had gotte

n rid of this Greek forever.

He nodded to Nick, got up, and left the room.

Nick walked all the way back home. He tried to think of all the ways in which one could make a

million dollars within twelve months. He finally decided that he could never make in commercial

business because he did not have enough money to start one. He needed to find another solution.

The next morning, he visited a friend to talk about a different idea

—

betting on horses.

For hours his friend tried to convince Nick that it

was impossible

to

make a

million dollars on