“Well,” he said, harshly, “how much do you bring?”
The boys produced two dollars and a half which he pocketed.
“Is this all?” he asked.
“It was cold,” said Phil, “and we could not get more.”
“Are you hungry?” he asked. “Do you want your supper?”
Phil was puzzled by his manner, for he expected to be deprived of his supper on account of bringing less money than usual. Why should the padrone ask him if he wanted his supper? Though he was not hungry, he thought it best to answer in the affirmative.
“What would you like?” asked the padrone.
Again Phil was puzzled, for the suppers supplied by the padrone never varied4, always consisting of bread and cheese.
“Perhaps,” continued the padrone, meeting no answer, “you would like to have coffee and roast beef.”
All was clear now. Phil understood that he had been seen going in or out of the restaurant, though he could not tell by whom. He knew well enough what to expect, but a chivalrous5 feeling of friendship led him to try to shield his young companion, even at the risk of a more severe punishment to be inflicted7 upon himself.
“It was my fault,” he said, manfully. “Giacomo would not have gone in but for me.”
“Wicked, ungrateful boy!” exclaimed the padrone, wrathfully. “It was my money that you spent. You are a thief!”
Phil felt that this was a hard word, which he did not deserve. The money was earned by himself, though claimed by the padrone. But he did not venture to say this. It would have been revolutionary. He thought it prudent8 to be silent.
“Why do you say nothing?” exclaimed the padrone, stamping his foot. “Why did you spend my money?”
“I was hungry.”
“So you must live like a nobleman! Our supper is not good enough for you. How much did you spend?”
“Thirty cents.”
“For each?”
“No, signore, for both.”
“Then you shall have each fifteen blows, one for each penny. I will teach you to be a thief. Pietro, the stick! Now, strip!”
“Padrone,” said Phil, generously, “let me have all the blows. It was my fault; Giacomo only went because I asked him.”
If the padrone had had a heart, this generous request would have touched it; but he was not troubled in that way.
“He must be whipped, too,” he said. “He should not have gone with you.”
“He is sick, padrone,” persisted Phil. “Excuse him till he is better.”
“Not a word more,” roared the padrone, irritated at his persistence9. “If he is sick, it is because he has eaten too much,” he added, with a sneer10. “Pietro, my stick!”
The two boys began to strip mechanically, knowing that there was no appeal. Phil stood bare to the waist. The padrone seized the stick and began to belabor11 him. Phil’s brown face showed by its contortions12 the pain he suffered, but he was too proud to cry out. When the punishment was finished his back was streaked13 with red, and looked maimed and bruised14.
Phil drew it on over his bleeding back and resumed his place among his comrades.
The little boy approached shivering, not so much with cold as with the fever that had already begun to prey17 upon him.
Phil turned pale and sick as he looked at the padrone preparing to inflict6 punishment. He would gladly have left the room, but he knew that it would not be permitted.
The first blow descended18 heavily upon the shrinking form of the little victim. It was followed by a shriek19 of pain and terror.
“What are you howling at?” muttered the padrone, between his teeth. “I will whip you the harder.”
Giacomo would have been less able to bear the cruel punishment than Phil if he had been well, but being sick, it was all the more terrible to him. The second blow likewise was followed by a shriek of anguish20. Phil looked on with pale face, set teeth, and blazing eyes, as he saw the barbarous punishment of his comrade. He felt that he hated the padrone with a fierce hatred21. Had his strength been equal to the attempt, he would have flung himself upon the padrone. As it was, he looked at his comrades, half wishing that they would combine with him against their joint22 oppressor. But there was no hope of that. Some congratulated themselves that they were not in Giacomo’s place; others looked upon his punishment as a matter of course. There was no dream of interference, save in the mind of Phil.
The punishment continued amid the groans24 and prayers for mercy of the little sufferer. But at the eighth stroke his pain and terror reached a climax25, and nature succumbed26. He sank on the floor, fainting. The padrone thought at first it was a pretense27, and was about to repeat the strokes, when a look at the pallid28, colorless face of the little sufferer alarmed him. It did not excite his compassion29, but kindled30 the fear that the boy might be dying, in which case the police might interfere23 and give him trouble; therefore he desisted, but unwillingly31.
“He is sick,” said Phil, starting forward.
“He is no more sick than I am,” scowled the padrone. “Pietro, some water!”
Pietro brought a glass of water, which the padrone threw in the face of the fallen boy. The shock brought him partially32 to. He opened his eyes, and looked around vacantly.
“What is the matter with you?” demanded the padrone, harshly.
“Where am I?” asked Giacomo, bewildered. But, as he asked this question, his eyes met the dark look of his tyrant, and he clasped his hands in terror.
“Do not beat me!” he pleaded. “I feel sick.”
“He is only shamming,” said Pietro, who was worthy33 to be the servant and nephew of such a master. But the padrone thought it would not be prudent to continue the punishment.
“Help him put on his clothes, Pietro,” he said. “I will let you off this time, little rascal34, but take heed35 that you never again steal a single cent of my money.”
Giacomo was allowed to seek his uncomfortable bed. His back was so sore with the beating he had received that he was compelled to lie on his side. During the night the feverish36 symptoms increased, and before morning he was very sick. The padrone was forced to take some measures for his recovery, not from motives37 of humanity, but because Giacomo’s death would cut off a source of daily revenue, and this, in the eyes of the mercenary padrone, was an important consideration.
Phil went to bed in silence. Though he was suffering from the brutal38 blows he had received, the thought of the punishment and suffering of Giacomo affected39 him more deeply than his own. As I have said, the two boys came from the same town in southern Italy. They had known each other almost from infancy40, and something of a fraternal feeling had grown up between them. In Phil’s case, since he was the stronger, it was accompanied by the feeling that he should be a protector to the younger boy, who, on his side, looked up to Phil as stronger and wiser than himself. Though only a boy of twelve, what had happened led Phil to think seriously of his position and prospects41. He did not know for how long his services had been sold to the padrone by his father, but he felt sure that the letter of the contract would be little regarded as long as his services were found profitable.
What hope, then, had he of better treatment in the future? There seemed no prospect42 except of continued oppression and long days of hardship, unless—and here the suggestion of Mr. Pomeroy occurred to him—unless he ran away. He had known of boys doing this before. Some had been brought back, and, of course, were punished severely43 for their temerity44, but others had escaped, and had never returned. What had become of them Phil did not know, but he rightly concluded that they could not be any worse off than in the service of the padrone. Thinking of all this, Phil began to think it probable that he, too, would some day break his bonds and run away. He did not fix upon any time. He had not got as far as this. But circumstances, as we shall find in our next chapter, hastened his determination, and this, though he knew it not, was the last night he would sleep in the house of the padrone.
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1
scowled
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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2
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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chivalrous
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| adj.武士精神的；对女人彬彬有礼的 | |
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6
inflict
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| vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担 | |
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7
inflicted
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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8
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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persistence
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| n.坚持，持续，存留 | |
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10
sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
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11
belabor
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| vt.痛斥；作过长说明 | |
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12
contortions
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| n.扭歪，弯曲；扭曲，弄歪，歪曲( contortion的名词复数 ) | |
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13
streaked
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| adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹 | |
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14
bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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15
tyrant
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| n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人 | |
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16
beckoning
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| adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 ) | |
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17
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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18
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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19
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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20
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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22
joint
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| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
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23
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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24
groans
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| n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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25
climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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26
succumbed
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| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
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27
pretense
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| n.矫饰，做作，借口 | |
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pallid
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| adj.苍白的，呆板的 | |
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29
compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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30
kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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31
unwillingly
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| adv.不情愿地 | |
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32
partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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33
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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34
rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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35
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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36
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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37
motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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38
brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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39
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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40
infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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41
prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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42
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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43
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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44
temerity
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| n.鲁莽，冒失 | |
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