SECTION 17.

 Edward turned upon his brother. “Now what the devil did you want to put me through a scene like that for? So undignified! So utterly¹ uncalled for! A quarrel with a man so far beneath you!”

Hal stood where the superintendent² had left him. He was looking at his brother's angry face. “Was that all you got out of it, Edward?”

“All that stuff about your private character! What do you care what a fellow like Cartwright thinks about you?”

“I care nothing at all what he thinks, but I care about having him use such a slander³. That's one of their regular procedures, so Billy Keating says.”

Edward answered, coldly, “Take my advice, and realise that when you deny a scandal, you only give it circulation.”

“Of course,” answered Hal. “That's what makes me so angry. Think of the girl, the harm done to her!”

“It's not up to you to worry about the girl.”

“Suppose that Cartwright had slandered⁴ some woman friend of yours. Would you have felt the same indifference⁵?”

“He'd not have slandered any friend of mine; I choose my friends more carefully.”

“Yes, of course. What that means is that you choose them among the rich. But I happen to be more democratic in my tastes—”

“Oh, for heaven's sake!” cried Edward. “You reformers are all alike—you talk and talk and talk!”

“I can tell you the reason for that, Edward—a man like you can shut his eyes, but he can't shut his ears!”

“Well, can't you let up on me for awhile—long enough to get out of this place? I feel as if I were sitting on the top of a volcano, and I've no idea when it may break out again.”

Hal began to laugh. “All right,” he said; “I guess I haven't shown much appreciation⁶ of your visit. I'll be more sociable⁷ now. My next business is in Pedro, so I'll go that far with you. There's one thing more—”

“What is it?”

“The company owes me money—”

“What money?”

“Some I've earned.”

It was Edward's turn to laugh. “Enough to buy you a shave and a bath?”

He took out his wallet, and pulled off several bills; and Hal, watching him, realised suddenly a change which had taken place in his own psychology⁸. Not merely had he acquired the class-consciousness of the working-man, he had acquired the money-consciousness as well. He was actually concerned about the dollars the company owed him! He had earned those dollars by back- and heart-breaking toil⁹, lifting lumps of coal into cars; the sum was enough to keep the whole Rafferty family alive for a week or two. And here was Edward, with a smooth brown leather wallet full of ten- and twenty-dollar bills, which he peeled off without counting, exactly as if money grew on trees, or as if coal came out of the earth and walked into furnaces to the sound of a fiddle¹⁰ and a flute¹¹!

Edward had of course no idea of these abnormal processes going on in his brother's mind. He was holding out the bills. “Get yourself some decent things,” he said. “I hope you don't have to stay dirty in order to feel democratic?”

“No,” answered Hal; and then, “How are we going?”

“I've a car waiting, back of the office.”

“So you had everything ready!” But Edward made no answer; afraid of setting off the volcano again.

1 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

2 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

3 slander   

n./v.诽谤，污蔑

参考例句：

• The article is a slander on ordinary working people.那篇文章是对普通劳动大众的诋毁。
• He threatened to go public with the slander.他威胁要把丑闻宣扬出去。

4 slandered   

造谣中伤( slander的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She slandered him behind his back. 她在背地里对他造谣中伤。
• He was basely slandered by his enemies. 他受到仇敌卑鄙的诋毁。

5 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

6 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

7 sociable   

adj.好交际的，友好的，合群的

参考例句：

• Roger is a very sociable person.罗杰是个非常好交际的人。
• Some children have more sociable personalities than others.有些孩子比其他孩子更善于交际。

8 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

9 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。

10 fiddle   

n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动

参考例句：

• She plays the fiddle well.她小提琴拉得好。
• Don't fiddle with the typewriter.不要摆弄那架打字机了。

11 flute   

n.长笛；v.吹笛

参考例句：

• He took out his flute, and blew at it.他拿出笛子吹了起来。
• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。