CHAPTER XXIII. ANDY’S RESOLVE.

 “Poor uncle Simon!” said Mrs. Gordon, after the letter had been read. “He seems to be in a difficult position.”

“Why doesn’t he send that man Brackett packing?” asked Andy, indignantly. “He can’t have much spirit.”

“You forget, Andy, how old he is. An old man is not so well able to contend for his rights as a man of middle age. Besides, it appears that his son-in-law has possession of the farm.”

“It is a shame!”

“So it is; but that cannot be recalled. The{142} rest of the property ought to be saved from Mr. Brackett.”

“That’s easy enough. He needn’t give it to him.”

“But uncle Simon may be persecuted¹ into doing what he does not wish to do.”

“Mother,” said Andy, with a sudden thought, “who will get the property if Mr. Dodge² dies without a will?”

“I suppose it would go to his relations.”

“What other relations has he besides you?”

“I don’t think he has any others,” answered Mrs. Gordon.

“Then it may come to us.”

“We have more right to it than Mr. Brackett,” said his mother.

“Then,” said Andy, after a short pause, “there must be a struggle between me and Brackett.”

“You wouldn’t fight with a full-grown man, Andy?” asked his mother, in alarm.

“Oh, no!” answered Andy, smiling. “I don’t think it will come to that. But I must go out to your uncle’s help. Between us both, we will see if we can’t circumvent³ that grasping old Brackett and his wife and children.”

“I don’t see what a boy like you can do, Andy.”

“At any rate, I can try, mother. This money will pay my expenses out to Cato. When I get there I can form my plans.”

“I don’t see how I can spare you, Andy.”{143}

“Remember, mother, I am going in your behalf. Uncle Simon’s money, which may amount to ten thousand dollars, may otherwise be taken from us.”

“If you can induce Uncle Simon to come here and end his days with us, I will try to make him comfortable.”

“A good idea, mother. I’ll see if I can’t bring him.”

“When do you want to start, Andy?”

“Not till after our good friend Joshua Starr has come for his money. I want to be here then, just to see how disappointed and mortified⁴ he will look when he sees the receipt with his signature attached.”

On Tuesday afternoon, Joshua Starr called at the office of Brandon Ross, the lawyer.

“To-day’s the day when we are to call on the Widder Gordon for my money, lawyer, isn’t it?” he said.

“Yes, Mr. Starr. Do you propose to come with me?”

“Yes.”

“It isn’t necessary.”

“You see, Squire⁵, I thought I could take a look at the furniture,” suggested old Joshua, “and decide what I’ll take. It ain’t likely that the widder’ll have the money to pay the note—at least, not all of it, and I’ll have to take it out in what she’s got.”

“You are a hard man, Mr. Starr. I{144} shouldn’t like to be owing you money which I couldn’t pay.”

“You’re jokin’, squire. There ain’t anything wrong in my wantin’ my money, is there?”

“No; still you’re a rich man, and Mrs. Gordon is a poor woman.”

“That ain’t neither here nor there,” said Joshua Starr, evidently annoyed. “My money’s my own, I take it, and I’m entitled to it. If Mr. Gordon borrowed money, it stands to reason that his widder ought to pay it,” he concluded, triumphantly⁶.

“I can’t gainsay⁷ you, Mr. Starr. You must act your will. I am only your agent, you know.”

“Jes’ so! jes’ so!” said the old man, considerably⁸ relieved, for he feared that the lawyer was going to act against him.

But he did not know that Brandon Ross derived⁹ positive pleasure from the thought of the distress¹⁰ and trouble he was about to bring on the boy who had—as he construed¹¹ it—insulted and injured his own spoiled son.

The crafty¹² lawyer, however, did not mean to let either his client or his intended victim know how willingly he engaged in the affair.

1 persecuted   

（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人

参考例句：

• Throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. 人们因宗教信仰而受迫害的情况贯穿了整个历史。
• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。

2 dodge   

v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计

参考例句：

• A dodge behind a tree kept her from being run over.她向树后一闪，才没被车从身上辗过。
• The dodge was coopered by the police.诡计被警察粉碎了。

3 circumvent   

vt.环绕，包围；对…用计取胜，智胜

参考例句：

• Military planners tried to circumvent the treaty.军事策略家们企图绕开这一条约。
• Any action I took to circumvent his scheme was justified.我为斗赢他的如意算盘而采取的任何行动都是正当的。

4 mortified   

v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等）

参考例句：

• She was mortified to realize he had heard every word she said. 她意识到自己的每句话都被他听到了，直羞得无地自容。
• The knowledge of future evils mortified the present felicities. 对未来苦难的了解压抑了目前的喜悦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 squire   

n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅

参考例句：

• I told him the squire was the most liberal of men.我告诉他乡绅是世界上最宽宏大量的人。
• The squire was hard at work at Bristol.乡绅在布里斯托尔热衷于他的工作。

6 triumphantly   

ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地

参考例句：

• The lion was roaring triumphantly. 狮子正在发出胜利的吼叫。
• Robert was looking at me triumphantly. 罗伯特正得意扬扬地看着我。

7 gainsay   

v.否认，反驳

参考例句：

• She is a fine woman-that nobody can gainsay.她是个好女人无人能否认。
• No one will gainsay his integrity.没有人对他的正直有话可讲。

8 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

9 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 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。

11 construed   

v.解释（陈述、行为等）( construe的过去式和过去分词 )；翻译，作句法分析

参考例句：

• He considered how the remark was to be construed. 他考虑这话该如何理解。
• They construed her silence as meaning that she agreed. 他们把她的沉默解释为表示赞同。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 crafty   

adj.狡猾的，诡诈的

参考例句：

• He admired the old man for his crafty plan.他敬佩老者的神机妙算。
• He was an accomplished politician and a crafty autocrat.他是个有造诣的政治家，也是个狡黠的独裁者。