CHAPTER XXVI. ELLEN BARCLAY’S DISCOVERY.

 Mrs. Barclay had only experienced a feeling of relief when her husband failed to return to her. She had grown accustomed to taking care of herself and the children without him, and his presence seemed likely only to impose upon her an additional burden. Though she earned her living in a humble¹ way, she was fairly educated, and could sew neatly², but a brief trial with the needle satisfied her that it would be quite impossible to obtain the comforts of life for three persons in that way. So she had mastered her pride, and entered the lists as a laundress.

“And how are the children, Mrs. Barclay?” asked Mrs. Hogan.

“They are both well, thank God.”

“And do you never hear anything of their father?”

Mrs. Barclay’s face clouded.

“Yes,” she answered, “he came home a few days since, but only stayed one day.”

“Didn’t he bring you any money then?”

“No; he borrowed some from me.”

“It’s a shame, so it is, in a great, strapping³ man like him to leave you to work for the poor children.”

Mrs. Hogan had never seen Mr. Barclay, or she would have recognized him in the man whom she helped drive away from his father’s room, and was utterly⁴ ignorant of the relationship between him and the old man whom she was nursing.

[146]

“I don’t know but it’s wrong,” said Ellen, “but I believe I should be happy if I thought he would never come again. He has only brought me trouble, and I dread⁵ his influence upon the children; we are better off without him. But how are you getting along yourself, Mrs. Hogan?”

“I’ve no cause to complain,” answered the Irish widow. “I’m well, and Mike and I pick up a living. Just now I’m taking care of a sick man in the room across the entry. It’s an ould man—a kind of miser⁶ he is, I surmise—and his name is the same as your own, Mrs. Barclay.”

The name of Barclay is not an uncommon⁷ one, but this statement seemed to produce a strong impression on Mrs. Hogan’s visitor.

“An old man named Barclay?” she repeated.

“Yes.”

“How old, should you think?”

“I don’t know, but he’s all dried up, and wrinkled. He may be siventy.”

“May I see him?” asked the visitor, eagerly.

“Shure you may go in with me when I give him his medicine.”

Ellen Barclay followed Mrs. Hogan into the opposite room, and looked with strange interest at the wan⁸, emaciated⁹ old man stretched out on the bed.

“I’ve brought your medicine for you, Jerry,” said Mrs. Hogan, soothingly¹⁰.

“Jerry!” exclaimed the younger woman. “Is his name Jerry?”

“Shure it is; and what thin?”

“My husband’s father was named Jeremiah. This may be he.”

“Have you niver seen him?” asked Mrs. Hogan, in surprise.

“Never; I did not know he was living till my husband’s recent visit. Then he spoke¹¹ of his father’s[147] being a miser, and his expecting to get some money from him.”

“Well, well; if I ever heard the like! As like as not old Jerry is your father in law. I’ll soon see.”

“Jerry, do you want to see your own son?” she asked, bending over, and addressing her patient.

An expression of alarm overspread the old man’s face.

“Don’t let him come in! Keep him away!” he exclaimed.

“Are you afraid of your own son, thin?” asked the nurse.

“He is a bad man; he tried to rob me,” said the old man, looking about him fearfully.

“I do believe it’s that man I threw the bilin’ water on!” exclaimed Mrs. Hogan, in surprise. “What’s your husband’s appearance, Mrs. Barclay?”

“He is tall and thick set, and his hair is inclined to be red.”

“Has he a scar on his right cheek?”

“Yes.”

“That’s the same man I drove away last week, wid the bilin’ water. He was trying to hurt old Jerry, wasn’t he, Jerry?”

“Yes, yes,” muttered the old man. “He’s a bad man, and he wanted to take away all my money, and I’m so poor.”

“Is he so poor?” asked Mrs. Barclay.

“No, it’s only his fancy. He’s what you call a miser; that’s what Paul says.”

“Where is Paul? Paul is a good boy!” murmured Jerry, half unconscious, but his attention arrested by the familiar name.

“Yes, he is a good boy,” repeated Mrs. Hogan. “It’s he that engaged me to take care of Jerry, when he was took sick, and he tould me he’d see that I was paid.”

[148]

“How long has this boy been with him? I remember now Mr. Barclay mentioned a telegraph boy. He didn’t seem to like him. I should like to see the boy; perhaps he could tell me something of the old man, and help me to decide whether he is really my husband’s father. On what day did James call here?”

Mrs. Hogan told her.

“It was the day after he left me. You say he got no money?”

“No; but he would if I hadn’t come in.”

“It is strange he has not been here since.”

“No, it isn’t, Mrs. Barclay; he was took in by a policeman, and I expect he’s on the Island.”

Ellen Barclay breathed a sigh of relief. Had her husband been the man he should have been, such news would have brought sorrow and distress¹². Now she regarded it as an augury¹³ of peace. While he was in confinement¹⁴ he would not be able to molest¹⁵ her.

“When can I see this boy, Paul?” she asked.

“Paul is generally at home some part of the evening, though he’s liable to come in at odd times.”

“I will try to come over tomorrow evening, if you think he will be at home.”

“It would be a good thing for you if the ould man has money, as Paul thinks,” said Mrs. Hogan, in a low voice.

“Not if my husband were free,” said Ellen Barclay.

“Thrue for you! He came near murderin’ the ould man. But there’s a dale of virtue¹⁶ in hot water,” added Mrs. Hogan, with a laugh. “He made a mistake when he tackled Bridget Hogan, I can tell him that, now.”

“I shall have to go now, Mrs. Hogan. I left the children alone.”

“Not without a cup of tay. I’m just goin’ to make some for the ould man, and you’re welcome to a cup.”

[149]

“Thank you, Mrs. Hogan. I know of old that your tea is good.”

“It is that same, if I say so myself.”

“One thing I can’t understand,” said Ellen Barclay, thoughtfully. “You say the telegraph boy pays you for taking care of this old man?”

“Yes, he does.”

“But where does he get the money? Telegraph boys are not usually paid a big salary.”

“That’s thrue; but Paul is such a favorite he gets many presents. He’s an honest boy, and it’s my hope my boy Mike will grow up just loike him.”

“I will see him for myself tomorrow evening. If Jerry, as you call him, is really my father in law, I ought to know it. He seems a very different man from my husband. I can’t see any resemblance between them.”

“That’s not strange, neither. Pat Hogan’s father was a little, dried up shrimp¹⁷ of a man like ould Jerry here, and Pat was five tin, or tin feet five, in his stockings I disremember which.”

“I think it must be five feet ten,” said Ellen Barclay, with a smile.

“No doubt you’re right, ma’am. But just come round tomorrow evenin’ and see Paul, and then, maybe, you’ll find out all you want to know.”

1 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

2 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

3 strapping   

adj. 魁伟的, 身材高大健壮的 n. 皮绳或皮带的材料, 裹伤胶带, 皮鞭 动词strap的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• He's a strapping lad—already bigger than his father. 他是一个魁梧的小伙子——已经比他父亲高了。
• He was a tall strapping boy. 他是一个高大健壮的小伙子。

4 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。

5 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

6 miser   

n.守财奴，吝啬鬼 (adj.miserly)

参考例句：

• The miser doesn't like to part with his money.守财奴舍不得花他的钱。
• The demon of greed ruined the miser's happiness.贪得无厌的恶习毁掉了那个守财奴的幸福。

7 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

8 wan   

(wide area network)广域网

参考例句：

• The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。

9 emaciated   

adj.衰弱的，消瘦的

参考例句：

• A long time illness made him sallow and emaciated.长期患病使他面黄肌瘦。
• In the light of a single candle,she can see his emaciated face.借着烛光，她能看到他的被憔悴的面孔。

10 soothingly   

adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地

参考例句：

• The mother talked soothingly to her child. 母亲对自己的孩子安慰地说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He continued to talk quietly and soothingly to the girl until her frightened grip on his arm was relaxed. 他继续柔声安慰那姑娘，她那因恐惧而紧抓住他的手终于放松了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 spoke   

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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

13 augury   

n.预言，征兆，占卦

参考例句：

• Augury is the important part of Chinese traditional culture.占卜是中国传统文化中的一个重要组成部分。
• The maritime passage was a good augury for the aerial passage.顺利的航海仿佛也是航空的好预兆。

14 confinement   

n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限

参考例句：

• He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。
• The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。

15 molest   

vt.骚扰，干扰，调戏

参考例句：

• If the man continues to molest her,I promise to keep no measures with the delinquent.如果那人继续对她进行骚扰，我将对他这个违法者毫不宽容。
• If I were gone,all these would molest you.如果没有我，这一切都会来骚扰你。

16 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

17 shrimp   

n.虾，小虾；矮小的人

参考例句：

• When the shrimp farm is built it will block the stream.一旦养虾场建起来，将会截断这条河流。
• When it comes to seafood,I like shrimp the best.说到海鲜，我最喜欢虾。