CHAPTER VIII. DISCHARGED.

 Three days later, while on his way to the factory, Bert overtook Luke Crandall, who was employed like himself in pegging¹ shoes.

 

"Have you heard the news, Bert?" asked his friend.

 

"No; what is it?"

 

"All the peggers are to be discharged; you and I, and the two other boys."

 

"Is that true?" asked Bert, stopping short, and surveying his friend with a look of dismay.

 

"Yes; I wish it wasn't."

 

"What is the reason?"

 

"The squire² has bought a pegging machine, and he has hired a man from out of town to run it. So he will have no need of us."

 

"How soon is he going to put it in?" asked Bert, with a sinking heart.

 

"Next Monday. At the end of this week we shall be discharged."

 

"What are you going to do?" Bert inquired, after a pause.

 

"I shall be all right. I have an uncle who keeps a store in Bradford, and I am going there to tend in the store, and shall board in the family. What shall you do?"55

 

"I don't know," answered Bert soberly. "This has come on me so suddenly, that I haven't had time to think."

 

"There's precious little chance for a boy in Lakeville, unless he goes to work on a farm."

 

"I don't even know if there is a chance to do that. All the farmers are supplied with help. Besides, they generally pay a boy in his board and clothes, and I need money to help support my mother."

 

"Isn't old Marlowe your uncle?"

 

"No, but he is my mother's cousin."

 

"Then he ought to do something for you out of relationship."

 

"I don't expect it," answered Bert. "He appears to feel very little interest in us."

 

They had reached the factory, and entering, were soon at work. Before noon the bad news was confirmed, and the boys were informed that their services would not be required after Saturday night.

 

At dinner Bert informed his mother, and she too was dismayed. It was a calamity³ she had never dreamed of. She supposed Bert was sure of continued employment in pegging till he was old enough to be employed in some other part of the business.

 

"I don't see what we shall do, Bert," she said. "There is no other shop in Lakeville.56 If there were, you might get a chance there."

 

"There is no business of any kind here outside of Marlowe's shop."

 

"True. What are the other boys going to do?"

 

"Luke Crandall is going into his uncle's shop at Bradford, and the other two boys talk of leaving town."

 

"I do think Albert Marlowe might find some place for you. We are near relations, and he knows how I depend on your earnings⁴."

 

"He isn't a man to consider that, mother."

 

Mrs. Barton was silent, but she determined⁵ to make an application to her cousin in Bert's behalf. Accordingly, in the evening, she said to him. "Bert, I am going out to make a call. I would like to have you look after the house while I am gone."

 

"Yes, mother."

 

Mrs. Barton did not venture to let Bert know of her intention, for he would have done his best to prevent her applying to the squire for a special favor. Perhaps he was too proud, but it was an honorable pride. Besides, he knew very well that the appeal was likely to prove ineffectual.

 

With a faltering⁶ step Mrs. Barton advanced and rang the bell of her cousin's handsome57 house. It was a call from which she shrank, but she was spurred by necessity.

 

"Is Mr. Marlowe in?" she inquired.

 

"I will see, ma'am."

 

Squire Marlowe was at home, and she was ushered⁷ into his presence.

 

Albert Marlowe was not, on the whole, surprised to see his cousin. He guessed the errand that brought her, and he frowned slightly as she entered the room.

 

"Good evening," he said, in a distant tone. "I hope you are well."

 

"Well in health, but anxious in mind, Albert," she said. "Bert tells me that he has been discharged from the shop."

 

"Yes, but he is not the only one. There are three other boys."

 

"It has come upon us like a thunderbolt. I had no idea that he was in any danger of losing his place."

 

"I have nothing against your son, Mrs. Barton. It is a business necessity that compels me to dispense⁸ with his services."

 

"Why a business necessity?"

 

"You may have heard that I intend to introduce a pegging machine. It will do the work cheaper and more effectually than under the present system."

 

"Oh, why couldn't you have let matters re58main as they were? You may gain something, but you are depriving the boys of their livelihood⁹."

 

"You don't regard the matter in a business light, Mrs. Barton. I must keep up with the times. Other manufacturers are making the change, and I should stand in my own light if I adhered to the old-fashioned system."

 

"I don't pretend to know about business, Albert, but I do know that in dismissing Bert you deprive us of more than half our income, and Heaven knows we need it all."

 

"Your son can find something else to do."

 

"What is there for him to do in Lakeville? I shall be grateful if you will suggest anything."

 

"No doubt he can get a chance to work on a farm."

 

"I know of no farmer who needs his services, and even if there were one he would not get money for his services, and that is what we want."

 

"Of course farming isn't the only thing," said the squire vaguely¹⁰. "If he looks round sharp he will come across something——"

 

Mrs. Barton shook her head.

 

"You know how little business there is in Lakeville," she answered. "Isn't there some59 other department in the factory in which you can employ him?"

 

Squire Marlowe shook his head.

 

"He is too young for any other work," he said.

 

"Then what are we to do?"

 

"Oh, you'll think of something," said the squire indefinitely. "He is to be in the shop the rest of the week, and that will give you time to think the matter over."

 

"Then you can't hold out any hope!" said Mrs. Barton mournfully.

 

"No, but you mustn't be despondent¹¹. Something will turn up."

 

Mrs. Barton was silent, and her sad face made the squire vaguely uncomfortable. He wished she would go.

 

"Mrs. Marlowe is not feeling well this evening," he said awkwardly, "or I would invite you to meet her. Some other evening——"

 

"I am not in the mood to meet any one to-night, Albert," she said. "I will be going," and she rose from her chair and moved toward the door.

 

"Good-evening, then. I am glad to have seen you."

 

Mrs. Barton did not reply to the compliment. Her heart was too full of sorrow to respond to what she knew to be insincere and60 unmeaning. She understood very well that Albert Marlowe was glad to be rid of her.

 

"How unreasonable¹² women are!" muttered Squire Marlowe, impatiently, as he closed the door upon his unwelcome guest. "Mary Barton would have had me postpone¹³ all improvements in my shop for the sake of keeping that boy of hers in his place. Business considerations are as nothing to women. They are so unpractical."

 

Mrs. Barton walked homeward slowly, musing¹⁴ bitterly on her cousin's want of feeling.

 

"How cold-hearted he is!" she murmured. "He evidently cares nothing for our needs, or the prospect¹⁵ of our hardships. He lives in a fine house, and rears his family in luxury, while Bert and I are likely to want even the necessaries of life."

 

Perhaps Mrs. Barton was a little too despondent. Perhaps she ought to have had more trust in Providence¹⁶; but there had been sorrows in her life which had robbed her of her natural hopefulness, and she was no longer as courageous¹⁷ in the face of threatening misfortune as she had once been.

 

She had nearly reached home when, from out of the darkness, a man's figure advanced from the roadside and laid his hand upon her arm.

 

"Who are you!" she asked faintly, suppressing a scream.

 

"Don't be frightened, Mary," was the reply, "I am your husband, Simeon Barton."

1 pegging   

n.外汇钉住，固定证券价格v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的现在分词 )；使固定在某水平

参考例句：

• To write a novel,one must keep pegging away at it consistently. 要写小说，必须不断辛勤劳动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She was pegging the clothes out on the line to dry. 她正在把衣服夹在晒衣绳上晾干。 来自辞典例句

2 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。

3 calamity   

n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件

参考例句：

• Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。
• The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。

4 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%。

5 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

6 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。

7 ushered   

v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The secretary ushered me into his office. 秘书把我领进他的办公室。
• A round of parties ushered in the New Year. 一系列的晚会迎来了新年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 dispense   

vt.分配，分发；配(药)，发(药)；实施

参考例句：

• Let us dispense the food.咱们来分发这食物。
• The charity has been given a large sum of money to dispense as it sees fit.这个慈善机构获得一大笔钱，可自行适当分配。

9 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

10 vaguely   

adv.含糊地，暖昧地

参考例句：

• He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
• He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面，对一切都视而不见。

11 despondent   

adj.失望的，沮丧的，泄气的

参考例句：

• He was up for a time and then，without warning,despondent again.他一度兴高采烈，但忽然又情绪低落下来。
• I feel despondent when my work is rejected.作品被拒后我感到很沮丧。

12 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

13 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

14 musing   

n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• "At Tellson's banking-house at nine," he said, with a musing face. “九点在台尔森银行大厦见面，”他想道。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• She put the jacket away, and stood by musing a minute. 她把那件上衣放到一边，站着沉思了一会儿。

15 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

16 providence   

n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝

参考例句：

• It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
• To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。

17 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。