Taking up the lamp, he went into the bedroom. His wife was fast asleep with the boy in her arms. For a moment a smile flickered2 round Gregorio’s mouth as he looked at them. Then he took off his boots and his coat, blew out the lamp, and lay beside them. He was very tired after his long tramp in the hot streets, but he could not sleep. Angrily he tossed from side to side and closed his eyes tightly; but it was no good, sleep would not come.
At midnight he heard a call to prayer chanted from the minaret3 of a tiny mosque4 in the neighbourhood. The muezzin’s voice irritated him. He did not wish to pray, and he did want to sleep. He swore that it was insanity5 for these fools of Mohammedans to declare that prayer was better than sleep.
Then the thoughts that had agitated6 him during the walk returned to him. The Rue7 des Soeurs was still noisy with merry-makers, and it seemed to him that if he could only join them he would be happy. But he had no money, and one can do nothing without money!
Then there came back to him the face of the Englishman he had seen talking to the violinist of the Paradiso. He hated the man because he was ugly and rich. These English were all rich, and yet they seemed to him a miserable8 race, mere9 ignorant bullies10. He remembered how often he had come to the help of the English travellers who filled Egypt. Why had he, he asked himself, for the sake of a miserable reward, prevented them being cheated, when he, with all his talents, was condemned11 to starve? Even his child, he thought, would grow to hate him if he remained poor. He must get money. Amos would have to lend him some. The Jews were unpopular among the Greeks; it were wise to keep on good terms with them, as Amos would find out.
At last he fell asleep.
In the morning his troubles began again. There was no coffee, and only a little Arab bread, and when that was done they must starve if they could not get some money. Gregorio tore off a bit of bread and ate it slowly, looking at his wife, who sat weeping beside him.
“I shall go to Amos,” he said, firmly.
“Ah, yes, to Amos,” Xantippe answered quietly; “but it will be no good.”
“Why no good?”
“Because you owe him money, and he will give you no more till he is paid.”
“But we cannot pay him. He must let us have some. If not—” and Gregorio raised threatening.
His wife smiled sadly and kissed him.
“You will not frighten Amos, my love. When I told him the child had been ill, he only laughed.”
“When was that?”
“Yesterday.”
“Then he had been here?”
“He came last night to ask for his money. I told him we had none, and he laughed and said we must get some. He told me I might get some if I cared to. He said I could make, oh, so much!”
“But we must get some money,” the woman sobbed15, “if only for our son’s sake, Gregorio. But not that way?”
“No, not that way,” he replied, savagely.
“When shall you go to him?”
“Now.”
And taking up his hat he rushed into the street. He was terribly angry, not so much at the purport16 of the Jew’s speech as at the man who made it. He loathed17 the Jews, and felt insulted when spoken to by one; it was a terrible matter to ask this man for help, but it was intolerable that his wife should suffer insult. And yet the child must be fed. Yes, she had said that, and it was true. They must make sacrifices for the child.
He soon reached the Jew’s house, and was shown by a richly clad servant into the room where Amos sat. Amos was an old man, tall and strong, with a long bushy beard, in which his fingers continually played; and his eyes were sharp and brilliant and restless, a strange contrast to his stately bearing and measured movements. He rose from his cushions as Gregorio entered, and saluted19 him courteously20, motioning him to a seat. Then, having resettled himself, he clapped his hands together smartly and ordered the servant who answered the summons to bring in coffee and pipes.
Gregorio was rather overawed at the luxury he saw around him, and he felt the stern-looking, polite old man would be a difficult person to deal with. As he puffed21 at his tube he considered carefully what words he should use.
“You heard I was at your house last night, and so have come to pay me?”
“Yes, I heard you were at my house and that you wanted to be paid. You are a rich man, and I am poor.”
“Nay, I am not rich; they lie who say I am rich.”
“It is twenty pounds I owe you, is it not?”
“Yes, twenty pounds. It is a large sum, and I have dealt generously with you. I am now in need of it myself.”
“I am a poor man.”
“You have not the money, eh, my friend?”
“I have not the money. But I will pay you if you will lend me some more. I shall be successful now; only twenty pounds more.”
Amos appeared unmoved at the tremor23 in Gregorio’s voice. His eyes rested coldly on the face of his client, while the unfortunate Greek continued to speak rapidly of his troubles and hopes. He smiled sarcastically24 as Gregorio spoke of the certainty of making his fortune at Benhur, and remained quite unmoved at the story of the sufferings of a woman and child from hunger and want.
“Your wife is beautiful,” was all he answered when Gregorio paused for a moment. At these words, however, he half rose from his place and clinched25 his hands savagely. But he sank back again with the remembrance that a show of temper would not advance his cause.
“Very beautiful,” he answered, chokingly; “would you see her starve?”
“She is not my wife,” said Amos, quietly. Then he continued slowly, pausing at intervals26 to puff22 out a cloud of smoke from his mouth:
“You have owed me this money a long time. I want it, and I will have it. Even in Egypt there is law. You do not like us Jews, but the law will protect me as long as I am rich enough to buy justice. In three days you will pay me this money. I have been generous to you; now I will be generous no longer. If I am not paid I will take measures to recover my loss. You will sleep in the streets like the Arabs, my friend; but the weather is warm. It is early summer, so you will scarcely feel the exposure. In three days you will come and pay me.”
“But how am I to get the money? If you would lend me only a few pounds I would repay you all I owe.”
“Already you owe me more than you can pay. You can make money. You are married. These Christian27 women are worse than the Arabs; do I not see them as I come home in the evening from my business? It is not right to borrow and not repay. I need my money. How can I have my coffee and my pipe unless I have money?”
Gregorio listened with growing anger, and finally rose from his seat and shook his fist in the old man’s face.
“You shall be paid,” he shouted, “you shall be paid!”
“Anger is useless, my friend.”
And as Gregorio left the house Amos smiled and stroked his beard. “Truly,” he thought, “these Christians28 hate us, but we have them in our power. It is pleasant to be hated and yet to know that it is to us they must cringe when they are in need; and it is very pleasant to refuse. My friend Gregorio is not happy now that he is struggling in my grasp.”
As for Gregorio, he wandered away toward the harbour, kicking savagely at the refuse scattered29 along the pavement. He did not know how to set about earning the requisite30 sum. It was no good applying to the hotels or tourist agencies, for there were few visitors in the city and dragomen were therefore not needed.
His friends were too poor to help him, and the consul31 was unable to do much for him, there were so many poor Greeks who wanted help. Meanwhile there was no food at home and no drink; even the necessaries of life were lacking.
On arriving at his home he found his wife and child huddled32 in a corner crying for food. They ran toward him as he entered, but the hope in their faces quickly faded at the sight of him.
“It’s no good,” Gregorio growled33; “Amos refuses to advance a piastre and says I must pay all I owe in three days.”
“It is impossible to sleep when one is hungry,” said Gregorio that night to his wife, who lay awake, weeping, beside him.
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收听单词发音
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1
spat
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| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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minaret
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| n.（回教寺院的）尖塔 | |
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mosque
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| n.清真寺 | |
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insanity
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| n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐 | |
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agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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rue
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| n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔 | |
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8
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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bullies
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| n.欺凌弱小者, 开球 vt.恐吓, 威胁, 欺负 | |
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condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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12
scowled
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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13
savagely
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| adv. 野蛮地，残酷地 | |
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14
filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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15
sobbed
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| 哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说 | |
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16
purport
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| n.意义，要旨，大要；v.意味著，做为...要旨，要领是... | |
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17
loathed
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| v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的过去式和过去分词 )；极不喜欢 | |
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18
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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19
saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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20
courteously
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| adv.有礼貌地，亲切地 | |
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21
puffed
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| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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22
puff
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| n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气 | |
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23
tremor
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| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
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24
sarcastically
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| adv.挖苦地，讽刺地 | |
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25
clinched
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| v.（尤指两人）互相紧紧抱[扭]住( clinch的过去式和过去分词 )；解决（争端、交易），达成（协议） | |
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26
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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27
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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28
Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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29
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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30
requisite
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| adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品 | |
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31
consul
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| n.领事；执政官 | |
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32
huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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33
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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