"Let me go," said Rose, terrified and ready to cry.
"Let you go!" repeated Martin, with a sneer4. "Is that all the welcome you've got for me, after I've taken the pains to come clear over from Brooklyn to find you? No, I can't let you go; I'm your father, and you must go with me."
"I can't allow it. I'm your father, and I'm responsible for you. Your brother aint fit to have charge of you. Come along."
He seized her by the shoulder, and began to push her along.
"I don't want to go," said Rose, crying. "I don't want to leave Rufie."
"I don't care what you want," said Martin, roughly."You've got to come with me, anyhow. As for your brother, I don't want him. He'd be trying to kidnap you again. I might have put him in prison for it; but I'll let him go this time, if you don't make any fuss."
"What is the matter?" asked a policeman, who came up as Rose was struggling weakly in the grasp of her stepfather. "What are you pulling along the little girl for?"
"Because she won't come without," said Martin. "She ran away from home with her brother a few weeks ago, and I've just found her."
"Is she your child?"
"Yes."
"Is that true?" asked the policeman, not particularly prepossessed in Martin's favor by his personal appearance, his face being unusually inflamed6 by his morning potations. His question was of course directed to Rose.
"No, I aint his child now," said Rose. "Rufie has the care of me."
"And who is Rufie?"
"He is my brother."
"He's a young rascal," said Martin, "up to all sorts of mischief7. He'll lie and steal, and anything else that's bad. He aint fit to have charge of Rose."
"It isn't true," said the little girl, indignantly. "He doesn't lie nor steal. He's the best boy that ever lived."
"I haven't anything to do with that," said the policeman. "The question is, is this your father?"
"He was mother's husband," said Rose, reluctantly.
"Then he is your stepfather."
"Don't let him take me away," said Rose, imploringly8.
"If he's your stepfather, I can't stop him. But, hark you, my man, I advise you to be kind to the little girl. If you are not, I hope she'll run away from you. You look as if you'd been drinking pretty hard this morning."
"It's the trouble I've had about her that made me drink," said Martin, apologetically. "I was afraid she wasn't taken good care of. Come along now, Rose. He says you must go."
"Let me go and speak to Miss Manning first," entreated9 Rose. "I've got a spool10 of cotton I've just bought for her."
"I'm not such a fool as that," said Martin. "I've looked for you long enough, and now I've got you I mean to hold on to you."
"But Miss Manning won't know where I am," pleaded Rose.
"It's none of her business where you are. She aint no relation of yours."
"But she's been very kind to me."
"She was kind enough to keep you away from me, she hasn't anything to do with you, and I don't mean she shall ever see you again."
Poor Rose! the thought that she was to be forever separated from her kind friend, Miss Manning, smote11 her with a sharp sorrow, and she began to cry bitterly.
"Stop your whimpering," said Martin, roughly, "or I'll give you something to cry about."
But, even with this threat hanging over her, Rose could not check the flow of her tears. Those persons whom they met looked with sympathy at the pretty little girl, who was roughly pulled along by the red-faced, rough-looking man; and more than one would have been glad to interfere12 if he had felt authorized13 to do so.
James Martin did not relish14 the public attention drawn15 to them by Rose's tears, for he knew instinctively16 that the sympathy would be with her, and not with himself. As soon as possible he got the child on board a horse-car bound for the South Ferry. This was something of an improvement, for he was no longer obliged to drag her along. But even in the cars her tears continued to flow.
"What's the matter with your little girl?" asked a kind, motherly-looking woman, who had a daughter at home about Rose's age, and whose sympathies were therefore more readily excited by the appearance of distress in the child's face.
"She's been behaving badly, ma'am," said Martin.
"You can't tell by her looks," said Martin. "Maybe you'd think, to look at her, that she was one of the best children out; but she's very troublesome."
"I'm sorry to hear that. You should try to be good, my dear," said the woman, gently.
Rose didn't reply, but continued to shed tears.
"She's got a brother that's a regular bad one," continued Mr. Martin. "He's a little scamp, if there ever was one. Would you believe it, ma'am, he induced his sister to run away from home some weeks ago, and ever since I've been hunting all around to find her?"
"Is it possible?" exclaimed the other, interested. "Where did you find her, if I may be allowed to ask?"
"In a low place, in the western part of the city," said Mr. Martin. "It wasn't a fit place for a child like her. Her brother carried her away from a good home, just out of spite, because he got angry with me."
"It must have made you feel very anxious."
"Yes," said Mr. Martin, pathetically. "It worried me so I couldn't sleep nights. I've been hunting night and day for her ever since, but it's only to-day that I got track of her. She's crying now because she didn't want to leave the woman her brother placed her with."
"I'm sorry to hear it. My dear, you will be better off at home than among strangers. Don't you think you will?"
"No, I shan't," said Rose. "Miss Manning was a good woman, and was very kind to me."
"She isn't old enough to judge," said Martin, shrugging his shoulders.
"No, of course not. Where do you live?"
"In Brooklyn."
"Well, good-by; I get out here."
"Good-by, ma'am. I hope you won't have so much trouble with your children as I have."
"I am sure your little girl will be better when she gets home."
"I hope so, ma'am."
Rose did not speak. She was too much distressed19, and, child as she was, she had an instinctive17 feeling that her stepfather was false and hypocritical, and she did not feel spirit enough to contradict his assertions about herself and Rufus.
Rose no longer tried to get away. In the first place, she was now so far away from home that she would not have known her way back. Besides, she saw that Mr. Martin was determined21 to carry her with him, and that resistance would be quite useless, so in silent misery22 she submitted herself to what it seemed impossible to escape.
They got into the cars on the other side, and the trip passed without incident.
"We get out here," said Mr. Martin, when they had been riding about half an hour.
"Now, young lady," said Mr. Martin, sternly, "I am going to give you a piece of advice. Are you listening?"
"Yes," said Rose, dispiritedly.
"Then you had better give up snivelling at once. It aint going to do you any good. Maybe, if you behave well, I'll let your brother see you after a while, but if you kick up a fuss you'll never see him again in the world. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
"I hope you do. Anyway, you'd better. I live over here now. I've took board for you and myself in the house of a woman that's got a girl about as big as you. If you aint foolish you'll have a good time playing with her."
"I want to see Rufie," moaned Rose.
"Well, you can't, and the sooner you make up your mind to that the better. Here we are."
He opened the front door of the shabby boarding house, and said to the servant whom he met in the entry, "Where's Mrs. Waters?"
"I'll call her directly, if you'd like to see her."
"Yes, I want to see her."
Mrs. Waters shortly appeared, her face red with heat, from the kitchen.
"I've brought my little girl along, as I told you," said Martin.
"So this is your little girl, is it? She's a nice child," said Mrs. Waters, rather surprised to find that a man of Mr. Martin's unpromising exterior24 had so attractive a child.
"No, she isn't," said Martin, shaking his head. "She's very badly behaved. I've let her stay in New York with some relations, and she didn't want to come back and see father. She's been making a great fuss about it."
"She'll feel better to-morrow," said Mrs. Waters. "How old is she?"
"Seven years old."
"Just the age of my Fanny."
"You said you could let her occupy the same bed with your little girl."
"Yes, they can sleep together. Fanny will like to have a girl of her own age to play with. Wait a minute,—I'll call her."
Fanny Waters was a short, dumpy little girl, of extreme plainness. Rose looked at her, but didn't appear to feel much attracted.
"You can go out into the back yard together and play," said Mrs. Waters; "only mind and don't get into any mischief."
"Wait a minute," said Mr. Martin, calling Rose aside, "I want to speak to her a minute. If," he continued, addressing the child, "you try to run away, I'll go over to New York, and shoot your brother through the head with a pistol. So mind what you're about."
Rose listened in silent terror, for she thought her stepfather might really do as he threatened, and it had a greater effect upon her than if he had threatened harm to herself.
James Martin witnessed with satisfaction the effect produced in the pale, scared face of the child, and he said to himself, "I don't think she'll run away in a hurry."
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1
fumes
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| n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体 | |
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2
tainted
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| adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏 | |
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3
scorch
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| v.烧焦，烤焦；高速疾驶；n.烧焦处，焦痕 | |
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4
sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
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5
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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6
inflamed
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| adj.发炎的，红肿的v.（使）变红，发怒，过热( inflame的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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7
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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8
imploringly
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| adv. 恳求地, 哀求地 | |
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9
entreated
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| 恳求，乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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spool
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| n.（缠录音带等的）卷盘（轴）；v.把…绕在卷轴上 | |
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11
smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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12
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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13
authorized
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| a.委任的，许可的 | |
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relish
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| n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味 | |
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15
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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16
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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17
instinctive
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| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
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18
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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19
distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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20
embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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23
meekly
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| adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地 | |
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exterior
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| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
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