CHAPTER XXIV. ANDY’S TRIUMPH OVER MR. STARR.

 “They’re coming, mother,” said Andy, as, looking from the window, he espied¹ the bent² form of old Joshua, with the sprucely dressed lawyer at his side, coming up the village street side by side, and approaching their modest cottage.

“I wish the visit were over,” said Mrs. Gordon, nervously³.

“I don’t, mother,” said Andy, with a smile of assured triumph. “The victory is to be ours, you know.”

“I don’t like to quarrel.”

“Nor I; but when a man tries to impose upon me, I like to resist him boldly.”

“You won’t be too hasty, Andy?”

“No; but, mother, let me manage the matter, and leave me to produce the receipt when I think it best.”

“Wouldn’t it be well to save trouble by letting them know at once that we have found it, Andy?” asked the widow.

“No, mother; I want to make them show their hand first.”

Andy had hardly completed this sentence, when a knock was heard at the door.

Mrs. Gordon opened it.

“Good-afternoon, widder!” said Joshua{146} Starr, in his cracked voice, which was usually pitched on a high key.

“Good-afternoon, Mrs. Gordon!” said the lawyer, blandly⁴. “We have called—Mr. Starr and myself—on a little matter of business.”

“Yes, ma’am, we’ve called on business,” echoed Starr.

“Won’t you walk in, gentlemen?” said Mrs. Gordon, gravely.

“Thank you!” said the lawyer.

And he bowed ceremoniously.

“I reckon we will,” said Joshua Starr, who forgot to remove his battered⁵ old hat as he entered.

“Why, Andy, howdy do?” said the old man, as he espied our young hero seated at the window. “I see you’ve took to scarin’ burglars. Ho, ho! I reckon I’d have to send for you if I had anything in my house wuth stealin’. Ho, ho!”

“Yes, Mr. Starr, I’m ready to defend myself against all sorts of burglars,” said Andy, pointedly⁶.

Mr. Starr did not understand Andy’s meaning, but Mr. Ross darted⁷ a sharp glance at the boy, whom he understood better. He said nothing, however.

“Sho! I guess they ain’t likely to get into your house, widder,” said Mr. Starr, turning to Mrs. Gordon.

“I hope not, Mr. Starr.”{147}

The old man’s eyes had already begun to wander about the room, in search of desirable furniture to seize in payment of the note. There was a comfortable rocking-chair, in which the lawyer had seated himself, which he mentally decided⁸ to claim. It occurred to him that it would be just the thing for him to sit in after the farm work of the day was over.

He nodded significantly to the lawyer, who thereupon commenced:

“Of course, Mrs. Gordon, you are aware of the nature of the business that has brought us here?”

“Jes’ so! jes’ so!” interjected Mr. Starr.

“Is it about the note?”

“Yes, it is about the note. Including interest, it amounts to——”

“One hundred and thirty-two dollars and twenty-seven cents,” interrupted Joshua Starr, eagerly.

The lawyer looked at him angrily, and Mr. Starr shrank back in his chair.

“I told you, Mr. Ross, that the note had been paid,” said Mrs. Gordon, beginning to be a little nervous.

“I know you said so,” the lawyer returned, “and you were doubtless under that impression, but my client, Mr. Starr, assures me that it is a mistake. The note still remains⁹ unpaid¹⁰.”

“Jes’ so! jes’ so!” said Starr, eagerly.{148}

“You know better, Mr. Starr!” broke in Andy, hotly. “You are trying to get the note paid twice.”

“Why, Andy,” exclaimed Mr. Starr, appearing to be very much shocked, “how you talk!”

“Young man,” said the lawyer, severely¹¹, “this is very disgraceful! I cannot permit my respected client to be insulted by a beardless boy.”

“What I said is true, nevertheless,” said Andy. “I don’t believe Mr. Starr has forgotten it, either!”

“That’s all nonsense, Andy,” said Joshua. “I’ll make it easy for you. I’m willin’ to take part of my pay in furniture, and the rest your mother can pay, say five or ten dollars a month.”

“My mother has no more furniture than she wants,” said Andy, “and she wants all her income to live upon.”

“That won’t do,” said the lawyer, sternly. “Your mother must make some arrangements this very afternoon to pay my client’s note, or it will be necessary for me, in his behalf, to take some very unpleasant measures.”

“There is one excellent reason for our not paying the note,” said Andy, smiling.

“What is that?”

“It has already been paid, and we can show Mr. Starr’s receipt.”

Mr. Ross and his client stared at each other{149} in a dismay which they were powerless to conceal¹².

1 espied   

v.看到( espy的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• One day a youth espied her as he was hunting.She saw him and recognized him as her own son, mow grown a young man. 一日，她被一个正在行猎的小伙子看见了，她认出来这个猎手原来是自己的儿子，现在已长成为一个翩翩的少年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In a little while he espied the two giants. 一会儿就看见了那两个巨人。 来自辞典例句

2 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

3 nervously   

adv.神情激动地，不安地

参考例句：

• He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。
• He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

4 blandly   

adv.温和地，殷勤地

参考例句：

• There is a class of men in Bristol monstrously prejudiced against Blandly. 布里斯托尔有那么一帮人为此恨透了布兰德利。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• \"Maybe you could get something in the stage line?\" he blandly suggested. “也许你能在戏剧这一行里找些事做，\"他和蔼地提议道。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

5 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

6 pointedly   

adv.尖地，明显地

参考例句：

• She yawned and looked pointedly at her watch. 她打了个哈欠，又刻意地看了看手表。
• The demand for an apology was pointedly refused. 让对方道歉的要求遭到了断然拒绝。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 darted   

v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

11 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

12 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。