CHAPTER XLIII. BAD REPORTS ABOUT ANDY.

 Mrs. Gordon, in her humble¹ home in Hamilton, was engaged in sewing toward the close of the afternoon. Her face wore an anxious look, for she had not heard from Andy for a longer time than usual. He had written, but the letter had not come to hand.

“I am afraid Andy is sick,” she said to herself. “How long it seems since I last saw him! He is my all, and if anything should happen to him, I don’t know what would become of me.”

Just then in came Miss Susan Peabody, who had always been attached to Mrs. Gordon.

“Well, Mrs. Gordon, and what do you hear from Andy?” she asked.

“Nothing,” answered the widow, sadly. “I have not had a letter for nearly a fortnight.”

“I heard something to-day that made me very angry,” said Miss Susan.

“About Andy?” asked Mrs. Gordon, looking up.

“Yes, about Andy. It’s scandalous!”

“You make me nervous,” said the widow. “Tell me what it is, my good friend.”

“As far as I can judge, it’s a rumor² set afloat by{251} Herbert Ross, who never liked Andy. He claims to have seen a paragraph—now you mustn’t mind it, for of course it’s a falsehood—implicating Andy in some crime—stealing, I believe.”

“It’s a base falsehood!” said Mrs. Gordon, her pale face flushing with justifiable³ anger.

“Of course it is; and I wouldn’t have spoken of it if the report had not obtained considerable currency. Don’t let it trouble you!”

“I won’t!” said Mrs. Gordon, with spirit. “It only shows the malice⁴ and meanness of the person who set it afloat.”

“I suppose one reason for such rumor is, that people are very curious to learn where Andy has gone.”

“Very likely. My anxiety is not at all about Andy’s behavior, but about his health. If I were only sure that he was well, I would feel perfectly⁵ unconcerned.”

“That is right, Mrs. Gordon. You look at matters in the right light. I was always very much attached to Andy, as I may some time show. Not many boys would have defended my house and money as bravely as Andy did.”

“He was always a good boy. I have never had reason to feel ashamed of him,” said the mother, proudly.

Just then there was a knock at the door. Mrs. Gordon rose and opened it. To her surprise she saw before her the tall, dignified⁶ figure of Rev⁷. Dr. Euclid, who the reader will remember was the preceptor of the Hamilton Academy.

Mrs. Gordon had a high respect for Dr. Euclid, and welcomed him cordially.

“I am glad to see you, Dr. Euclid,” said she. “Won’t you come in?”

“Thank you, Mrs. Gordon; I will come in for five minutes, but I cannot tarry long. When did you hear from your son, Andy?”

“Not for two weeks—or nearly two weeks.”{252}

“He was well?” questioned the doctor.

“Quite well, then; but I am feeling somewhat anxious about him now, on account of the delay of letters.”

“Don’t let that trouble you. Letters often miscarry.”

“I understand,” said Mrs. Gordon, “that some malicious⁸ person is spreading slanderous⁹ reports about Andy. Have you heard anything of the kind, Dr. Euclid?”

“Yes, Mrs. Gordon; but I did not give one moment’s credence¹⁰ to them.”

“Can you tell me anything about the nature of the reports?”

“It appears that in some paper was published a paragraph touching¹¹ a certain Andrew Gordon, who was charged with stealing a sum of money from his employer, but it was expressly stated that he was twenty-five years of age. Andy has ill-wishers, however, who, overlooking this circumstance, have been glad to report that he was in trouble.”

“It is contemptible¹²!” said Miss Susan Peabody, warmly.

“So it is, my dear Miss Peabody,” said Dr. Euclid. “Andy was my favorite pupil, and I will stake my own reputation on his honor and honesty.”

“Who is most active in circulating this report?” asked the widow.

“I suspect my pupil, Herbert Ross, who never liked your son, has been active in the matter. He is a selfish, purse-proud idle boy, and Andy is worth half a dozen of him.”

“Who is speaking so well of Andy?” asked a young, fresh voice, the sound of which startled all three.

Immediately the door was thrown open, and Andy himself, closely followed by a weak, old man, entered the room.

“Andy, my dear boy!” exclaimed his mother, and folded him with inexpressible joy, in her arms.{253}

“Mother, this is Uncle Simon Dodge,” said our hero, when the first greeting was over. “Won’t you give him a welcome?”

“Uncle Simon,” said Mrs. Gordon, cordially, “I am glad to see you. If you are willing to share our humble home you may consider yourself now at home.”

“It is my strongest wish,” said the old man, with beaming face.

Here Andy introduced his uncle to Miss Peabody and Dr. Euclid, who gave him a friendly greeting, and expressed a wish to know him better.

“It is well you have come, Andy,” said Miss Peabody, “to quiet the reports that are circulating about you.”

“What are they?” asked Andy.

“It is said you have stolen a large sum of money, and I presume you are supposed to be in jail.”

“Then I’ll show myself in the village this evening,” said Andy, laughing, “to satisfy my good friends that there’s a mistake. Was Herbert Ross very sorry to hear it?”

“I believe he has been one of the most active in spreading the report.”

“Poor Herbert! How disappointed he will be!” said Andy, laughing good-naturedly.

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 rumor   

n.谣言，谣传，传说

参考例句：

• The rumor has been traced back to a bad man.那谣言经追查是个坏人造的。
• The rumor has taken air.谣言流传开了。

3 justifiable   

adj.有理由的，无可非议的

参考例句：

• What he has done is hardly justifiable.他的所作所为说不过去。
• Justifiable defense is the act being exempted from crimes.正当防卫不属于犯罪行为。

4 malice   

n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋

参考例句：

• I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
• There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。

5 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

6 dignified   

a.可敬的，高贵的

参考例句：

• Throughout his trial he maintained a dignified silence. 在整个审讯过程中，他始终沉默以保持尊严。
• He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend. 他总是在女友面前摆出这种庄严的姿态。

7 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

8 malicious   

adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的

参考例句：

• You ought to kick back at such malicious slander. 你应当反击这种恶毒的污蔑。
• Their talk was slightly malicious.他们的谈话有点儿心怀不轨。

9 slanderous   

adj.诽谤的，中伤的

参考例句：

• A man of moral integrity does not fear any slanderous attack.人正不怕影子斜。
• No one believes your slanderous talk anyway!不管你怎么说，也没有人听信你这谗言！

10 credence   

n.信用，祭器台，供桌，凭证

参考例句：

• Don't give credence to all the gossip you hear.不要相信你听到的闲话。
• Police attach credence to the report of an unnamed bystander.警方认为一位不知姓名的目击者的报告很有用。

11 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

12 contemptible   

adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的

参考例句：

• His personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.他气貌不扬，言语粗俗。
• That was a contemptible trick to play on a friend.那是对朋友玩弄的一出可鄙的把戏。