“I don’t know what you think, Mr. Brackett,” said his wife, one day, about a week after Andy’s term of service began, “but I consider that new boy of yours an impudent1, good-for-nothing upstart!”
“He is a good worker, Lucindy,” said Mr. Brackett. “He does more work than any boy I ever had.”
“Maybe he does and maybe he doesn’t, but that ain’t the point.”
“It is the point with me, my dear. Between ourselves, we get him very cheap. I don’t believe I could get another boy that would do so much work for fifty cents a week.”
“Fifty cents a week seems to me very good wages,” answered Mrs. Brackett, whose ideas of compensation were not very liberal.
“I think it’s enough myself for an ordinary boy; but Henry is uncommonly2 smart.”
“He feels uncommonly smart, I can tell you that,” retorted the lady. “Why, Brackett, he seems to consider himself of as much importance as you or I.”
This was quite true. Andy had gauged3 Mr. and Mrs. Brackett pretty accurately4, and felt{195} a decided5 contempt for them both. Both were mean, one lazy and the other ill-tempered, while neither was up to the average in refinement6 or education. So he was disposed to rate himself considerably7 higher than either; and who of my young readers will deny that he has a right to do so?
“Well, Lucindy,” continued Brackett, in a pacific tone, “it doesn’t make any difference to us what the boy thinks of himself. If he chooses to make himself ridiculous by his airs, why let him, for all I care.”
“But there’s something more, Mr. Brackett,” said his wife.
“What more?”
“The way he treats Tommy. You haven’t forgotten how he treated him at supper the very first night?”
“He could have mentioned it to you or me, then. Instead of that, what does he do? Why, he seizes the poor child’s hand and pulls the pin away from him. You ought to have flogged him for it.”
“You didn’t seem to like it yourself when Tommy attacked you with a pin,” said Mr. Brackett, laughing. “You didn’t stand on any ceremony, but hauled the boy out of the room,” and Mr. Brackett unguardedly laughed at the recollection.
His wife reddened and inquired, sharply:{196}
“So you choose to compare me to your hired boy, do you, Mr. Brackett?”
“Not that I know of, Lucindy.”
“You seem to think it makes no difference whether Tommy pricks9 him or me—his ma and your wife,” said Mrs. Brackett, severely10.
“Really, Lucindy, you twist my words so I don’t know hardly what I do mean.”
“I want you to stand by your own flesh and blood, Mr. Brackett. I don’t want you to allow them to be imposed on and ill-treated by a young tramp whom you have hired to do chores.”
“I don’t mean to. What do you expect me to do, anyway?”
“I expect you to teach that boy his place.”
“If I don’t treat him well he won’t stay. He’ll leave me all of a sudden, as Peter did.”
“Then you can get another boy.”
“That isn’t so easily done as you may suppose. I can’t get any of the boys round here to work for me—I’m sure I don’t know why—and new ones don’t come along every day. I don’t fancy being left without one to do the chores myself.”
“If you did them all, you wouldn’t work as hard as I do,” said his wife, contemptuously, and not altogether without a basis of truth.
“You can’t expect a woman to know anything about a man’s work,” said Mr. Brackett, in a complacent11 tone of superiority.{197}
“I know I could do all your work, and get done in half the day,” said his wife.
Mr. Brackett shrugged12 his shoulders, and was about to saunter off, when his father-in-law made his appearance.
“Mr. Brackett,” said he, “if you can spare Henry and your horse and team, I would like to have him drive me over to Jefferson this afternoon.”
“Really, father,” said Brackett, who did not like the proposal, for it would throw upon his shoulders some of Andy’s work, “I’d like to oblige you, but it would be very inconvenient13. You see, Henry’s got his work to do, and——”
“I didn’t ask it as a favor,” said Mr. Dodge14. “I mean to pay you for the boy’s services, and also for the horse and team.”
Now, money was the god of both Mr. and Mrs. Brackett, and this put quite a different face on the matter.
“Let father have the boy and team,” said Mrs. Brackett. “You can spare them.”
“It would be worth as much as two dollars,” said Brackett.
Here a new and brilliant idea struck Mr. Brackett, and he said, briskly:
“I’ll tell you what, father; I’ll drive you over myself, instead of Henry, and I won’t charge you a cent more, even if my time is more valuable than his.”{198}
He reflected that it would be easier driving round the country than staying at home and doing the boy’s work.
“Thank you for your kind offer,” said the old man, quietly, “but I can’t accept it.”
“Really that doesn’t seem friendly,” said Mr. Brackett.
“I generally like to have my own way, Jeremiah,” said Mr. Dodge, quietly. “I don’t mind allowing you two dollars and a half, which is more than I should need to pay at the stable. Is it yes or no?”
“Oh, of course, I agree,” said Brackett, rather disappointed. “Do you want to go now?”
“Yes.”
“What in the world is he going to do?” thought Mr. and Mrs. Brackett; for this was a request out of the ordinary course. “It must be something he doesn’t want us to know.”
Doubtful as to how much information they could extract from Andy, a sharp plan suggested itself to Mrs. Brackett.
“Father,” said she, “have you any objection to taking Tommy along with you? The dear boy loves to be with his grandpa, and he can sit between you and Henry. He doesn’t take up much room.”{199}
“I won’t take him this afternoon, Lucinda,” said Mr. Dodge, mildly.
“The poor child would enjoy it so much to ride with his grandpa,” pleaded Mrs. Brackett.
“Tommy must wait till another time,” said “grandpa,” firmly.
Mrs. Brackett was displeased18, and, though she did not venture to say anything more, she showed by her manner that she considered her poor boy was slighted.
The team was soon ready, and the old man rode off with our hero.
Mr. and Mrs. Brackett looked after them, with a look of baffled curiosity.
“What does this mean, Jeremiah?” asked his wife, at last.
“That’s more than I can tell, Lucindy,” returned her husband.
“So it does.”
“If he’d only have taken Tommy, the dear child would have told us just where he went and what he did.”
“So he would. Maybe that was what he was afraid of.”
“I’ve been thinkin’——”
“Well, what have you been thinkin’, Jeremiah?” asked his wife, impatient at her husband’s pause.
“I’ve been thinkin’ that perhaps father is going to make his will this afternoon.”
“Why shouldn’t he let us know?”{200}
“Oh, perhaps he wants to surprise us.”
“Jeremiah, do you think there is any fear of his leaving his property to them relations of his in the East?”
“I can’t say, but I guess not. He never hears from them. Like as not, he doesn’t know where they live.”
“We must find out, some way, whether he makes a will, and what’s in it,” said Mrs. Brackett, nodding vigorously. “When they get home, try to get it out of the boy what the old man did, and where he went.”
“I will, Lucindy.”
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1
impudent
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| adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的 | |
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uncommonly
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| adv. 稀罕(极，非常) | |
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gauged
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| adj.校准的；标准的；量规的；量计的v.（用仪器）测量( gauge的过去式和过去分词 )；估计；计量；划分 | |
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accurately
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| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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refinement
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| n.文雅；高尚；精美；精制；精炼 | |
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7
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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prick
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| v.刺伤，刺痛，刺孔；n.刺伤，刺痛 | |
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pricks
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| 刺痛( prick的名词复数 )； 刺孔； 刺痕； 植物的刺 | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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complacent
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| adj.自满的；自鸣得意的 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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inconvenient
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| adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的 | |
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dodge
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| v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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candidly
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| adv.坦率地，直率而诚恳地 | |
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18
displeased
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| a.不快的 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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