CHAPTER VIII. MIKE RAFFERTY'S TRICK.

 Dan carefully husbanded the money which Mr. Grant had lent him, and the result was that for two months he was comparatively easy in his circumstances. His mother earned five cents more daily, on account of the higher price she received for work, and though this was a trifle, it was by no means to be despised where the family income was so small as in the case of the Mordaunts.

 

Still Dan was not satisfied.

 

"Mother," said he, "I suppose I ought to be contented¹ with earning enough to pay our expenses, but I should like to be saving something."

 

"Yes, Dan, it would be pleasant. But we ought to be thankful for what we are now receiving."

 

"But, mother, suppose I should fall sick? What should we do then?"

 

Mrs. Mordaunt shuddered².

 

"Don't mention such a thing, Dan," she said. "The very idea terrifies me."

 

"But it might happen, for all that."

 

[Pg 64]

 

"Don't you feel well, Dan? Is anything the matter with you?" asked Mrs. Mordaunt, anxiously.

 

"Don't be frightened, mother," answered Dan, laughing. "I'm as strong as a horse, and can eat almost as much. Still, you know, we would feel safer to have a little money in the savings-bank."

 

"There isn't much chance of that, Dan, unless we earn more than we do now."

 

"You are right there. Well, I suppose there is no use thinking of it. By the way, mother, you've got enough money on hand to pay the rent to-morrow, haven't you?"

 

"Yes, Dan, and a dollar over."

 

"That's good."

 

The door of the room was partly open, and the last part of the conversation was heard by Mike Rafferty, the son of the tenant³ who occupied the room just over the Mordaunts. He was a ne'er-do-well, who had passed more than one term of imprisonment⁴ at Blackwell's Island. His mother was an honest, hard-working washerwoman, who toiled⁵ early and late to support herself and her three children. Mike might have given her such assistance that she could have lived quite comfortably, for her own earnings⁶ were by no means inconsiderable. Her wash-tub paid her much more than Mrs. Mordaunts needle could possibly win, and she averaged a dollar a day where her[Pg 65] more refined neighbor made but twenty-five cents. But Mike, instead of helping⁷, was an additional burden. He got his meals regularly at home, but contributed scarcely a dollar a month to the common expenses. He was a selfish rowdy, who was likely to belong permanently⁸ to the shiftless and dangerous classes of society.

 

Mike had from time to time made approaches to intimacy⁹ with Dan, who was nearly two years younger, but Dan despised him for his selfishly burdening his mother with his support, and didn't encourage him. Naturally, Mike hated Dan, and pronounced him "stuck up" and proud, though our hero associated familiarly with more than one boy ranking no higher in the social scale than Mike Rafferty.

 

Only the day before, Mike, finding himself out of funds, encountering Dan on the stairs, asked for the loan of a quarter.

 

"I have no money to spare," answered Dan.

 

"You've got money, Dan; I saw you take out some a minute ago."

 

"Yes, I've got the money, but I won't lend it."

 

"You're a mane skinflint," said Mike, provoked.

 

"Why am I?"

 

"Because you've got the money, and you won't lend it."

 

"What do you want to do with it?"

 

[Pg 66]

 

"I want to go to the Old Bowery to-night, if you must know."

 

"If you wanted it for your mother I might have lent it to you, though I need all I can earn for my own mother."

 

"It's for my mother I want it, thin," said Mike. "I guess I won't go to the theater to-night."

 

"That's too thin. Your mother would never see the color of it."

 

"Won't you lend me, thin?"

 

"No, I can't. If you want money, why don't you earn it, as I do?"

 

"I ain't lucky."

 

"It isn't luck. If you go to work and sell papers or black boots, you will be able to help your mother and pay your way to the theater yourself."

 

"Kape your advice to yourself," said Mike, sullenly¹⁰. "I don't want it."

 

"You'd rather have my money," said Dan, good-humoredly.

 

"I'll never see that. You're too mane."

 

"All right. I'll be mane, then."

 

"I'd like to put a head on you," muttered Mike.

 

"I've got one already. I don't need another," said Dan.

 

"Oh, you think you're mighty¹¹ smart wid your jokes," said Mike.

 

[Pg 67]

 

Dan smiled and walked off, leaving Mike more his enemy than ever.

 

This was the boy who overheard Mrs. Mordaunt say that she had more than the rent already saved up. Mike's cupidity¹² was excited. He knew that it must amount to several dollars, and this he felt would keep him in cigarettes and pay for evenings at the theater for several days.

 

"I wish I had it," he said to himself. "I wonder where the ould woman kapes it."

 

The more Mike thought of it the more he coveted¹³ this money, and he set to work contriving¹⁴ means to get possession of it.

 

Finally he arranged upon a plan.

 

About three o'clock in the afternoon he knocked at Mrs. Mordaunt's door. She answered the knock in person.

 

"Mike Rafferty!" she said, in surprise. "Won't you come in?"

 

"Oh, no; I can't. It's bad news I bring you about Dan."

 

"What is it? Tell me quick, in Heaven's name!" she exclaimed, her heart giving a great bound.

 

"He's been run over, ma'am, by a hoss, in front of the Astor House, and they took him into the drug store at the corner. He wants you to go right over."

 

[Pg 68]

 

"Is he—badly hurt?" asked the agonized¹⁵ mother.

 

"I guess he's broke his leg," said Mike.

 

In two minutes Mrs. Mordaunt, trembling with apprehension¹⁶, her faltering¹⁷ limbs almost refusing to bear her weight, was on her way to the Astor House.

 

As Mike had calculated, she did not stop to lock the door.

 

The young scape-grace entered the deserted¹⁸ room, rummaged¹⁹ about till he found the scanty²⁰ hoard²¹ reserved for the landlord, and then went off whistling.

 

"Now I'll have a bully²² time," he said to himself. "Didn't I fool the ould woman good?"

1 contented   

adj.满意的，安心的，知足的

参考例句：

• He won't be contented until he's upset everyone in the office.不把办公室里的每个人弄得心烦意乱他就不会满足。
• The people are making a good living and are contented,each in his station.人民安居乐业。

2 shuddered   

v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动

参考例句：

• He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车，车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 tenant   

n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用

参考例句：

• The tenant was dispossessed for not paying his rent.那名房客因未付房租而被赶走。
• The tenant is responsible for all repairs to the building.租户负责对房屋的所有修理。

4 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

5 toiled   

长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉

参考例句：

• They toiled up the hill in the blazing sun. 他们冒着炎炎烈日艰难地一步一步爬上山冈。
• He toiled all day long but earned very little. 他整天劳碌但挣得很少。

6 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

9 intimacy   

n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行

参考例句：

• His claims to an intimacy with the President are somewhat exaggerated.他声称自己与总统关系密切，这有点言过其实。
• I wish there were a rule book for intimacy.我希望能有个关于亲密的规则。

10 sullenly   

不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地

参考例句：

• 'so what?" Tom said sullenly. “那又怎么样呢？”汤姆绷着脸说。
• Emptiness after the paper, I sIt'sullenly in front of the stove. 报看完，想不出能找点什么事做，只好一人坐在火炉旁生气。

11 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

12 cupidity   

n.贪心，贪财

参考例句：

• Her cupidity is well known.她的贪婪尽人皆知。
• His eyes gave him away,shining with cupidity.他的眼里闪着贪婪的光芒，使他暴露无遗。

13 coveted   

adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图

参考例句：

• He had long coveted the chance to work with a famous musician. 他一直渴望有机会与著名音乐家一起工作。
• Ther other boys coveted his new bat. 其他的男孩都想得到他的新球棒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 contriving   

（不顾困难地）促成某事( contrive的现在分词 )； 巧妙地策划，精巧地制造（如机器）； 设法做到

参考例句：

• Why may not several Deities combine in contriving and framing a world? 为什么不可能是数个神联合起来，设计和构造世界呢？ 来自哲学部分
• The notorious drug-pusher has been contriving an escape from the prison. 臭名昭著的大毒枭一直都在图谋越狱。

15 agonized   

v.使（极度）痛苦，折磨( agonize的过去式和过去分词 )；苦斗；苦苦思索；感到极度痛苦

参考例句：

• All the time they agonized and prayed. 他们一直在忍受痛苦并且祈祷。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She agonized herself with the thought of her loss. 她念念不忘自己的损失，深深陷入痛苦之中。 来自辞典例句

16 apprehension   

n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑

参考例句：

• There were still areas of doubt and her apprehension grew.有些地方仍然存疑，于是她越来越担心。
• She is a girl of weak apprehension.她是一个理解力很差的女孩。

17 faltering   

犹豫的，支吾的，蹒跚的

参考例句：

• The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。
• I canfeel my legs faltering. 我感到我的腿在颤抖。

18 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

19 rummaged   

翻找，搜寻( rummage的过去式和过去分词 )； 已经海关检查

参考例句：

• I rummaged through all the boxes but still could not find it. 几个箱子都翻腾遍了也没有找到。
• The customs officers rummaged the ship suspected to have contraband goods. 海关人员仔细搜查了一艘有走私嫌疑的海轮。

20 scanty   

adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的

参考例句：

• There is scanty evidence to support their accusations.他们的指控证据不足。
• The rainfall was rather scanty this month.这个月的雨量不足。

21 hoard   

n./v.窖藏，贮存，囤积

参考例句：

• They have a hoard of food in the basement.地下室里有他们贮藏的食物。
• How many curios do you hoard in your study?你在你书房里聚藏了多少古玩？

22 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。