CHAPTER V — A PROFITABLE JOB

 After finishing her work at Colonel Preston's Mrs. Burke went home. She did not see Mrs. Preston again, for the latter sent her the money for her services by Ellen.

 

"Mrs. Preston says you're not to come next week," said Ellen.

 

"She told me so herself this morning. She is angry because I took the part of my boy against Master Godfrey."

 

"Godfrey's the hatefulest boy I ever see," said Ellen, whose grammar was a little defective¹. "He's always putting on airs."

 

"He struck my Andy, and Andy struck him back."

 

"I'm glad he did," said Ellen, emphatically. "I hope he'll do it again."

 

"I don't want the boys to fight. Andy's a peaceable lad; and he'll be quiet if he's let alone. But he's just like his poor father, and he won't let anybody trample² on him."

 

"That's where he's right," said Ellen. "I'm sorry you're not coming again, Mrs. Burke."

 

"So am I, Ellen, for I need the money, but I'll stand by my boy."

 

"You iron real beautiful. I've heard Mrs. Preston say so often. She won't get nobody that'll suit her so well."

 

"If you hear of anybody else that wants help, Ellen, will you send them to me?"

 

This Ellen faithfully promised, and Mrs. Burke went home, sorry to have lost her engagement, but not sorry to have stood up for Andy, of whom she was proud.

 

Andy was at home when she returned. He had found enough to do at home to occupy him so far. The next day he meant to go out in search of employment. When his mother got back she found him cutting some brush which he had obtained from the neighboring woods.

 

"There, mother," he said, pointing to a considerable pile, "you'll have enough sticks to last you a good while."

 

"Thank you, Andy, dear. That'll save Mary and me a good deal of trouble."

 

There was nothing in her words, but something in her tone, which led Andy to ask:

 

"What's the matter, mother? Has anything happened?"

 

"I've got through working for Mrs. Preston, Andy."

 

"Got through? For to-day, you mean?"

 

"No; I'm not going to work there again."

 

"Why not?"

 

"She complained of you, Andy."

 

"What did she say, mother?" asked our hero, listening with attention.

 

"She said you ought not to have struck Godfrey."

 

"Did you tell her he struck me first?"

 

"Yes, I did."

 

"And what did she say, thin?"

 

"She said that you ought not to have struck him back."

 

"And what did you say, mother?"

 

"I said my Andy wasn't the boy to stand still and let anybody beat him."

 

"Good for you, mother! Bully³ for you! That's where you hit the nail on the head. And what did the ould lady say then?"

 

"She told me I needn't come there again to work."

 

"I'm glad you're not goin', mother. I don't want you to work for the likes of her. Let her do her own ironin', the ould spalpeen!"

 

In general, Andy's speech was tolerably clear of the brogue, but whenever he became a little excited, as at present, it was more marked. He was more angry at the slight to his mother than he would have been at anything, however contemptuous, said to himself. He had that chivalrous⁴ feeling of respect for his mother which every boy of his age ought to have, more especially if that mother is a widow.

 

"But, Andy, I'm very sorry for the money I'll lose."

 

"How much is it, mother?"

 

"Seventy-five cents."

 

"I'll make it up, mother."

 

"I know you will if you can, Andy; but work is hard to get, and the pay is small."

 

"You might go back and tell Mrs. Preston that I'm a dirty spalpeen, and maybe she'd take you back, mother."

 

"I wouldn't slander⁵ my own boy like that if she'd take me back twenty times."

 

"That's the way to talk, mother," said Andy, well pleased. "Don't you be afeared—we'll get along somehow. More by token, here's three dollars I brought home with me yisterday."

 

Andy pulled out from his pocket six silver half-dollars, and offered them to his mother.

 

"Where did you get them, Andy?" she asked, in surprise.

 

"Where did I get them? One way and another, by overwork. We won't starve while them last, will we?"

 

Andy's cheerful tone had its effect upon his mother.

 

"Perhaps you're right, Andy," she said, smiling. "At any rate we won't cry till it's time."

 

"To-morrow I'll go out and see if I can find work."

 

"Suppose you don't find it, Andy?" suggested his sister.

 

"Then I'll take in washing," said Andy, laughing. "It's an iligant washer I'd make, wouldn't I now?"

 

"Nobody'd hire you more than once, Andy."

 

By and by they had supper. If they had been alone they would have got along on bread and tea; but "Andy needs meat, for he's a growing boy," said his mother.

 

And so Mary was dispatched to the butcher's for a pound and a half of beefsteak, which made the meal considerably⁶ more attractive. Mrs. Burke felt that it was extravagant⁷, particularly just as her income was diminished, but she couldn't bear to stint⁸ Andy. At first she was not going to eat, herself, meaning to save a part for Andy's breakfast; but our hero found her out, and declared he wouldn't eat a bit if his mother did not eat, too. So she was forced to take her share, and it did her good, for no one can keep up a decent share of strength on bread and tea alone.

 

The next morning Andy went out in search of work. He had no very definite idea where to go, or to whom to apply, but he concluded to put in an application anywhere he could.

 

He paused in front of the house of Deacon Jones, a hard-fisted old farmer, whose reputation for parsimony⁹ was well known throughout the village, but of this Andy, being a newcomer, was ignorant.

 

"Wouldn't you like to hire a good strong boy?" he asked, entering the yard.

 

The deacon looked up.

 

"Ever worked on a farm?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Can you milk?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Where did you work?"

 

"In Carver."

 

"What's your name?"

 

"Andy Burke."

 

"Where do you live?"

 

"With my mother, Mrs. Burke, a little way down the road."

 

"I know—the Widder Burke."

 

"Have you got any work for me?"

 

"Wait a minute, I'll see."

 

The deacon brought out an old scythe¹⁰ from the barn, and felt of the edge. There was not much danger in so doing, for it was as dull as a hoe.

 

"This scythe needs sharpening," he said. "Come and turn the grindstone."

 

"Well, here's a job, anyhow," thought Andy. "Wonder what he'll give me."

 

He sat down and began to turn the grindstone. The deacon bore on heavily, and this made it hard turning. His arms ached, and the perspiration¹¹ stood on his brow. It was certainly pretty hard work, but then he must be prepared for that, and after all he was earning money for his mother. Still the time did seem long. The scythe was so intolerably dull that it took a long time to make any impression upon it.

 

"Kinder hard turnin', ain't it?" said the deacon.

 

"Yes," said Andy.

 

"This scythe ain't been sharpened for ever so long. It's as dull as a hoe."

 

However, time and patience work wonders, and at length the deacon, after a careful inspection¹² of the blade of the scythe, released Andy from his toil¹³ of an hour and a half, with the remark:

 

"I reckon that'll do."

 

He put the scythe in its place and came out.

 

Andy lingered respectfully for the remuneration of his labor¹⁴.

 

"He ought to give me a quarter," he thought. But the deacon showed no disposition¹⁵ to pay him, and Andy became impatient.

 

"I guess I'll be goin'," he said.

 

"All right. I ain't got anything more for you to do," said the deacon.

 

"I'll take my pay now," said Andy, desperately¹⁶.

 

"Pay? What for?" inquired the deacon, innocently.

 

"For turning the grindstone."

 

"You don't mean ter say you expect anything for that?" said the deacon in a tone of surprise.

 

"Yes I do," said Andy. "I can't work an hour and a half for nothing."

 

"I didn't expect to pay for such a trifle," said the old man, fumbling¹⁷ in his pocket.

 

Finally he brought out two cents, one of the kind popularly known as bung-towns, which are not generally recognized as true currency.

 

"There," said he in an injured tone. "I'll pay you, though I didn't think you'd charge anything for any little help like that."

 

Andy looked at the proffered¹⁸ compensation with mingled¹⁹ astonishment²⁰ and disgust.

 

"Never mind," he said. "You can keep it. You need it more'n I do, I'm thinkin'!"

 

"Don't you want it?" asked the deacon, surprised.

 

"No, I don't. I'm a poor boy, but I don't work an hour and a half for two cents, one of 'em bad. I'd rather take no pay at all."

 

"That's a cur'us boy," said the deacon, slowly sliding the pennies back into his pocket. "I calc'late he expected more just for a little job like that. Does he think I'm made of money?"

 

As Andy went out of the yard, the idea dawned upon the deacon that he had saved two cents, and his face was luminous²¹ with satisfaction.

1 defective   

adj.有毛病的，有问题的，有瑕疵的

参考例句：

• The firm had received bad publicity over a defective product. 该公司因为一件次品而受到媒体攻击。
• If the goods prove defective, the customer has the right to compensation. 如果货品证明有缺陷， 顾客有权索赔。

2 trample   

vt.踩，践踏；无视，伤害，侵犯

参考例句：

• Don't trample on the grass. 勿踏草地。
• Don't trample on the flowers when you play in the garden. 在花园里玩耍时,不要踩坏花。

3 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。

4 chivalrous   

adj.武士精神的；对女人彬彬有礼的

参考例句：

• Men are so little chivalrous now.现在的男人几乎没有什么骑士风度了。
• Toward women he was nobly restrained and chivalrous.对于妇女，他表现得高尚拘谨，尊敬三分。

5 slander   

n./v.诽谤，污蔑

参考例句：

• The article is a slander on ordinary working people.那篇文章是对普通劳动大众的诋毁。
• He threatened to go public with the slander.他威胁要把丑闻宣扬出去。

6 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

7 extravagant   

adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的

参考例句：

• They tried to please him with fulsome compliments and extravagant gifts.他们想用溢美之词和奢华的礼品来取悦他。
• He is extravagant in behaviour.他行为放肆。

8 stint   

v.节省，限制，停止；n.舍不得化，节约，限制；连续不断的一段时间从事某件事

参考例句：

• He lavished money on his children without stint.他在孩子们身上花钱毫不吝惜。
• We hope that you will not stint your criticism.我们希望您不吝指教。

9 parsimony   

n.过度节俭，吝啬

参考例句：

• A classic example comes from comedian Jack Benny, famous for his parsimony.有个经典例子出自以吝啬著称的喜剧演员杰克?班尼。
• Due to official parsimony only the one machine was built.由于官方过于吝啬，仅制造了那一台机器。

10 scythe   

n. 长柄的大镰刀，战车镰； v. 以大镰刀割

参考例句：

• He's cutting grass with a scythe.他正在用一把大镰刀割草。
• Two men were attempting to scythe the long grass.两个人正试图割掉疯长的草。

11 perspiration   

n.汗水；出汗

参考例句：

• It is so hot that my clothes are wet with perspiration.天太热了，我的衣服被汗水湿透了。
• The perspiration was running down my back.汗从我背上淌下来。

12 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

13 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。

14 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

15 disposition   

n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署

参考例句：

• He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。
• He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。

16 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

17 fumbling   

n. 摸索,漏接 v. 摸索,摸弄,笨拙的处理

参考例句：

• If he actually managed to the ball instead of fumbling it with an off-balance shot. 如果他实际上设法拿好球而不是fumbling它。50-balance射击笨拙地和迅速地会开始他的岗位移动，经常这样结束。
• If he actually managed to secure the ball instead of fumbling it awkwardly an off-balance shot. 如果他实际上设法拿好球而不是fumbling它。50-50提议有时。他从off-balance射击笨拙地和迅速地会开始他的岗位移动，经常这样结束。

18 proffered   

v.提供，贡献，提出( proffer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She proffered her cheek to kiss. 她伸过自己的面颊让人亲吻。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He rose and proffered a silver box full of cigarettes. 他站起身，伸手递过一个装满香烟的银盒子。 来自辞典例句

19 mingled   

混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系]

参考例句：

• The sounds of laughter and singing mingled in the evening air. 笑声和歌声交织在夜空中。
• The man and the woman mingled as everyone started to relax. 当大家开始放松的时候，这一男一女就开始交往了。

20 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

21 luminous   

adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的

参考例句：

• There are luminous knobs on all the doors in my house.我家所有门上都安有夜光把手。
• Most clocks and watches in this shop are in luminous paint.这家商店出售的大多数钟表都涂了发光漆。