The level lawns, the greenhouses, the garden with rare plants and flowers, show clearly that this is the abode2 of a rich man. My readers will be specially3 interested to know that this is the luxurious4 and stately home of Mr. Granville, whose son's fortunes we have been following.
This, too, is the home of Mrs. Brent and Jonas, who, under false representations, have gained a foothold in the home of the Western millionaire.
Surely it is a great change for one brought up like Jonas to be the recognized heir and supposed son of so rich a man! It is a change, too, for his mother, who, though she dare not avow5 the relationship, is permitted to share the luxury of her son. Mrs. Brent has for her own use two of the best rooms in the mansion6, and so far as money can bring happiness, she has every right to consider herself happy.
Is she?
Not as happy as she anticipated. To begin with, she is always dreading7 that some untoward8 circumstance will reveal the imposition she has practiced upon Mr. Granville. In that case what can she expect but to be ejected in disgrace from her luxurious home? To be sure, she will have her husband's property left, but it would be a sad downfall and descent in the social scale.
Besides, she finds cause for anxiety in Jonas, and the change which his sudden and undeserved elevation9 has wrought10 in him. It requires a strong mind to withstand the allurements11 and temptations of prosperity, and Jonas is far from possessing a strong mind. He is, indeed, if I may be allowed the expression, a vulgar little snob12, utterly13 selfish, and intent solely14 upon his own gratification. He has a love for drink, and against the protests of his mother and the positive command of Mr. Granville, indulges his taste whenever he thinks he can do so without fear of detection. To the servants he makes himself very offensive by assuming consequential15 airs and a lordly bearing, which excites their hearty16 dislike.
He is making his way across the lawn at this moment. He is dressed in clothes of the finest material and the most fashionable cut. A thick gold chain is displayed across his waistcoat, attached to an expensive gold watch, bought for him by his supposed father. He carries in his hand a natty17 cane18, and struts19 along with head aloft and nose in the air.
Two under-gardeners are at work upon a flowerbed as he passes.
“What time is it, Master Philip?” says one, a boy about a year older than Jonas.
The gardener bit his lip, and surveyed the heir with unequivocal disgust.
“Very well,” he retorted; “I'll wait till a gentleman comes this way.”
“Do you mean to say I'm not a gentleman!” he demanded angrily.
“You don't act like one,” returned Dan.
“You'd better not be impertinent to me!” exclaimed Jonas, his small gray eyes flashing with indignation. “Take that back!”
“I won't, for it's true!” said Dan undauntedly.
“Take that, then!”
Jonas raised his cane and brought it down smartly on the young gardener's shoulder.
He soon learned that he had acted imprudently. Dan dropped his rake, sprang forward, and seizing the cane, wrenched22 it from the hands of the young heir, after which he proceeded to break it across his knee.
“There's your cane!” he said contemptuously, as he threw the pieces on the ground.
“Because you insulted me. That's why.”
“How can I insult you? You're only a poor working boy!”
“I wouldn't change places with you,” said Dan. “I'd like well enough to be rich, but I wouldn't be willing to be as mean as you are.”
“You'll suffer for this!” said Jonas, his little bead-like eyes glowing with anger. “I'll have you turned off this very day, or as soon as my father get's home.”
“If he says I'm to go, I'll go!” said Dan. “He's a gentleman.”
“What's the matter, my dear boy?” she asked. “What's the matter, Jonas?”
“I wish you'd stop calling me your dear boy,” said Jonas angrily.
“I—I forget sometimes,” said Mrs. Brent, with a half-sigh.
“Then you ought not to forget. Do you want to spoil everything?”
“We are alone now, Jonas, and I cannot forget that I am your mother.”
“You'd better, if you know what's best for both of us,” said Jonas.
Mrs. Brent was far from being a kind-hearted woman. Indeed she was very cold, but Jonas was her only son, and to him she was as much attached as it was possible for her to be to any one. Formerly25 he had returned her affection in a slight degree, but since he had figured as a rich man's son and heir he had begun, incredible as it may appear, to look down upon his own mother. She was not wholly ignorant of this change in his feelings, and it made her unhappy. He was all she had to live for. But for him she would not have stooped to take part in the conspiracy26 in which she was now a participant. It seemed hard that her only son, for whom she had sinned, should prove so ungrateful.
“My boy,” she said, “I would not on any account harm you or injure your prospects27, but when we are alone there can be no harm in my treating you as my son.”
“I will be cautious. You may be sure of that. But why do you look so annoyed?”
“He has?” said Mrs. Brent quickly. “What has he done?”
Jonas rehearsed the story. He found in his mother a sympathetic listener.
“He is bold!” she said, compressing her lips.
“Yes, he is. When I told him I would have him turned off, he coolly turned round and said that my father was a gentleman, and wouldn't send him away. Ma, will you do me a favor?”
“What is it, Jonas?”
“Send him off before the governor gets home. You can make it all right with him.”
Mrs. Brent hesitated.
“Mr. Granville might think I was taking a liberty.”
“Oh, you can make it all right with him. Say that he was very impudent to me. After what has happened, if he stays he'll think he can treat me just as he pleases.”
Again Mrs. Brent hesitated, but her own inclination30 prompted her to do as her son desired.
“You may tell Dan to come here. I wish to speak to him,” she said.
Jonas went out and did the errand.
“Mrs. Brent wants to see me?” said Dan. “I have nothing to do with her.”
“You'd better come in if you know what's best for yourself.” said Jonas, with an exultation31 he did not attempt to conceal32.
“Oh, well, I have no objection to meeting Mrs. Brent,” said Dan. “I'll go in.”
Mrs. Brent eyed the young gardener with cold animosity.
“You have been impudent to Master Philip,” she said. “Of course you cannot remain any longer in his father's employment. Here are five dollars—more than is due you. Take it, and leave the estate.”
“I won't take your money, Mrs. Brent,” said Dan independently, “and I won't take my dismissal from any one but Mr. Granville himself.”
“Do you defy me, then?” said Mrs. Brent, with a firmer compression of her lips.
“No, Mrs. Brent, I don't defy you, but you have nothing to do with me, and I shall not take any orders or any dismissal from you.”
“To your—what?” asked Dan quickly.
Dan looked suspiciously from one to the other.
“There's something between those two,” he said to himself. “Something we don't know of.”
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1
surmounts
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| 战胜( surmount的第三人称单数 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
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2
abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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luxurious
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| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
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avow
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| v.承认，公开宣称 | |
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mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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7
dreading
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| v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的现在分词 ) | |
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8
untoward
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| adj.不利的，不幸的，困难重重的 | |
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elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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10
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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11
allurements
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| n.诱惑( allurement的名词复数 )；吸引；诱惑物；有诱惑力的事物 | |
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12
snob
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| n.势利小人，自以为高雅、有学问的人 | |
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13
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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15
consequential
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| adj.作为结果的，间接的；重要的 | |
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16
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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17
natty
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| adj.整洁的，漂亮的 | |
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18
cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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19
struts
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| （框架的）支杆( strut的名词复数 )； 支柱； 趾高气扬的步态； （尤指跳舞或表演时）卖弄 | |
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20
haughtily
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| adv. 傲慢地, 高傲地 | |
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21
freckles
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| n.雀斑，斑点( freckle的名词复数 ) | |
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22
wrenched
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| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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23
outraged
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| a.震惊的，义愤填膺的 | |
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perturbed
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| adj.烦燥不安的v.使（某人）烦恼，不安( perturb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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25
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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28
grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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29
impudent
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| adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的 | |
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30
inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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31
exultation
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| n.狂喜，得意 | |
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32
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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33
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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34
faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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