CHAPTER XII. A SCHEME OF VENGEANCE.

 Mrs. Kent had never cared for Jasper. Since the marriage she had disliked him. Now that he had struck down Nicholas in her presence, she positively¹ hated him. She did not stop to consider that he was provoked to it, and only acted in self-defense. She thirsted for revenge—more, indeed, than Nicholas, who, bully² as he was, having been fairly worsted, was disposed to accept his defeat philosophically³. If he could annoy or thwart⁴ Jasper he would have been glad to do it, but he did not desire to injure him physically⁵.

 

Not so Mrs. Kent.

 

Her darling had been assaulted and defeated in her presence. She did not again wish to put him against Jasper lest he should be again defeated, but she wished Jasper, her detested⁶ step-son, to drink the same cup of humiliation⁷ which had been forced upon Nicholas.

 

So she sat pondering how to accomplish the object she had in view. She could not herself beat Jasper, though, had he been younger and smaller, she would certainly have attempted it. She must do it by deputy.

 

Under the circumstances she thought of Tom Forbes, a strong and stalwart hired man, who had been for some months working on the place. Probably he would not like the task, but she would threaten to discharge him if he refused to obey her commands, and this, she thought, would bring him around.

 

"I wonder where Jasper is?" said Nicholas, about eight o'clock, as he sat opposite the little table where his mother was sewing.

 

"Gone out, I suppose," said Mrs. Kent.

 

"He found the house too hot to hold him," suggested Thorne.

 

"He certainly will if he conducts himself in the future as he has already done. He makes a mistake if he thinks I will tolerate such conduct."

 

"It's because you're a woman," said her son. "Boys of his age don't make much account of women."

 

"Do you speak for yourself as well as for him?" asked Mrs. Kent, sharply.

 

"Of course not," said Nicholas, whose interest it was to keep on good terms with his mother. "Of course not; besides, you are my mother."

 

"You are much more of a gentleman than Jasper is," said his mother, appeased⁸.

 

"I hope so," said Nicholas.

 

"As for him, I consider him a young ruffian."

 

"So he is," said Thorne, who was ready to assent⁹ to anything that his mother might say.

 

"And yet his father thought him a paragon¹⁰!" continued Mrs. Kent, her lip curling. "It is strange how parents can be deceived!"

 

Unconsciously she illustrated¹¹ the truth of this remark in her own person. She considered Nicholas handsome, spirited, and amiable—indeed, as an unusually fascinating and attractive boy. To others he was big, overgrown, malicious¹², and stupid. But then mothers are apt to look through different spectacles from the rest of the world.

 

"I guess Jasper'll want to change his guardian¹³," said Thorne, laughing. "You and he won't hitch¹⁴ horses very well."

 

"Don't use such a common expression, Nicholas. I want you to grow up a well-bred gentleman."

 

"Oh, well, I mean to. But I say, if his father liked him so much, what made him appoint you to take care of him?"

 

"He didn't know how I felt toward Jasper. I humored his fancies, and treated him better than I felt toward him."

 

"Then you wanted to be his guardian?"

 

"Yes, I wanted to pay off old scores," said Mrs. Kent, again compressing her lips with unpleasant firmness.

 

"What made you dislike him?" asked her son, with curiosity.

 

"He was opposed to my marriage. He would have stopped it if he could, but there I got the better of him. When he found that he was too late he treated me with coldness. He never liked me."

 

"By Jove! I don't think he's had much reason," said Nicholas, laughing boisterously¹⁵.

 

"He'll regret not having treated me with more attention. I can thwart all his plans and make his life very uncomfortable."

 

"I'll trust you to do that, mother. You've got spunk¹⁶ enough."

 

"Don't say 'spunk,' Nicholas."

 

"What shall I say, then?"

 

"Resolution—firmness."

 

"It's all the same."

 

"There is a choice in words. Remember, my dear boy, I want you to be a refined and cultivated gentleman."

 

"Well, I can be, now you're rich. But I say, mother, what are you going to do? You ain't going to stick down in this dull place all your life, are you?"

 

"No, Nicholas. In the summer we'll go travelling."

 

"Good!" exclaimed Nicholas, with satisfaction. "Where will we go?"

 

"How would you like to go to Niagara Falls?"

 

"Bully!"

 

"Or to Saratoga?"

 

"I don't know much about that."

 

"It is a fashionable place."

 

"Can a fellow have fun there?"

 

"Of course he can."

 

"Then I'd like to go. But I say, are you going to take Jasper, too?"

 

"No," said Mrs. Kent, decidedly. "I certainly shall not give him so much pleasure."

 

"I don't know. I might like it better if I had a fellow of my own age to go around with."

 

"You will find plenty of companions more agreeable than Jasper."

 

"All right, mother. I suppose you know best."

 

"You can trust me to provide for your happiness, Nicholas. It is all I live for."

 

The next morning Mrs. Kent arose early, and summoned the hired man, Tom Forbes.

 

"Tom," said she, "have you a good whip?"

 

"Yes, ma'am."

 

"And a strong arm?"

 

"Middlin', ma'am," answered the wondering hired man.

 

"I want you to be in the kitchen, provided with your whip, when breakfast is over."

 

"What for?" asked Tom, in surprise.

 

"Never mind now. I shall inform you at the time."

 

"All right, ma'am."

 

Twenty minutes later, Jasper, unaware¹⁷ of his step-mother's benevolent¹⁸ intentions, took his seat at the breakfast-table.

1 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

2 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。

3 philosophically   

adv.哲学上；富有哲理性地；贤明地；冷静地

参考例句：

• He added philosophically that one should adapt oneself to the changed conditions. 他富于哲理地补充说，一个人应该适应变化了的情况。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Harry took his rejection philosophically. 哈里达观地看待自己被拒的事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 thwart   

v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的)

参考例句：

• We must thwart his malevolent schemes.我们决不能让他的恶毒阴谋得逞。
• I don't think that will thwart our purposes.我认为那不会使我们的目的受到挫折。

5 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

6 detested   

v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They detested each other on sight. 他们互相看着就不顺眼。
• The freethinker hated the formalist; the lover of liberty detested the disciplinarian. 自由思想者总是不喜欢拘泥形式者，爱好自由者总是憎恶清规戒律者。 来自辞典例句

7 humiliation   

n.羞辱

参考例句：

• He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。
• He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。

8 appeased   

安抚，抚慰( appease的过去式和过去分词 )； 绥靖（满足另一国的要求以避免战争）

参考例句：

• His hunger could only be appeased by his wife. 他的欲望只有他的妻子能满足。
• They are the more readily appeased. 他们比较容易和解。

9 assent   

v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可

参考例句：

• I cannot assent to what you ask.我不能应允你的要求。
• The new bill passed by Parliament has received Royal Assent.议会所通过的新方案已获国王批准。

10 paragon   

n.模范，典型

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• Man is the paragon of animals.人是万物之灵。

11 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

12 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。

13 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

14 hitch   

v.免费搭(车旅行)；系住；急提；n.故障；急拉

参考例句：

• They had an eighty-mile journey and decided to hitch hike.他们要走80英里的路程，最后决定搭便车。
• All the candidates are able to answer the questions without any hitch.所有报考者都能对答如流。

15 boisterously   

adv.喧闹地，吵闹地

参考例句：

• They burst boisterously into the room. 他们吵吵嚷嚷地闯入房间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Drums and gongs were beating boisterously. 锣鼓敲打得很热闹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 spunk   

n.勇气，胆量

参考例句：

• After his death,the soldier was cited for spunk.那位士兵死后因作战勇敢而受到表彰。
• I admired her independence and her spunk.我敬佩她的独立精神和勇气。

17 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

18 benevolent   

adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的

参考例句：

• His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him.他乐善好施的本性使他不会拒绝走上前向他行乞的任何一个乞丐。
• He was a benevolent old man and he wouldn't hurt a fly.他是一个仁慈的老人，连只苍蝇都不愿伤害。