CHAPTER XXXVII. MRS. BRENT'S PANIC.

 The chambermaid in the Granville household was a cousin of Dan, older by three years. She took a warm interest in Dan's welfare, though there was nothing but cousinly affection between them.

Fresh from his interview with Mrs. Brent, Dan made his way to the kitchen.

“Well, Aggie¹,” he said, “I may have to say good-by soon.”

“What, Dan! You're not for lavin', are you?” asked Aggie, in surprise.

“Mrs. Brent has just given me notice,” answered Dan.

“Mrs. Brent! What business is it of her's, and how did it happen, anyway?”

“She thinks it's her business, and it's all on account of that stuck-up Philip.”

“Tell me about it, Cousin Dan.”

Dan did so, and wound up by repeating his young master's unfinished sentence.

“It's my belief,” he said, “that there's something between those two. If there wasn't, why is Mrs. Brent here?”

“Why, indeed, Dan?” chimed in Aggie. “Perhaps I can guess something.”

“What is it?”

“Never you mind. I'll only say I overheard Mrs. Brent one day speaking to Master Philip, but she didn't call him Philip.”

“What then?”

“JONAS! I'm ready to take my oath she called him Jonas.”

“Perhaps that is his real name. He may have it for his middle name.”

“I don't believe it. Dan, I've an idea. I'm going to see Mrs. Brent and make her think I know something. You see?”

“Do as you think best, Aggie. I told her I wouldn't take a dismissal from her.”

Mrs. Brent was in her own room. She was not a woman who easily forgave, and she was provoked with Dan, who had defied her authority. She knew very well that in dismissing him she had wholly exceeded her authority, but this, as may readily be supposed, did not make her feel any more friendly to the young gardener. Jonas artfully led her indignation.

“Dan doesn't have much respect for you, mother,” he said. “He doesn't mind you any more than he does a kitchen-girl.”

“He may find he has made a mistake,” said Mrs. Brent, a bright red spot in each cheek, indicating her anger. “He may find he has made a mistake in defying my authority.”

“I wouldn't stand it if I was you, ma.”

“I won't!” said Mrs. Brent decidedly, nodding vigorously and compressing her lips more firmly.

Soon after a knock was heard at Mrs. Brent's door.

“Come in!” she said in a sharp, incisive² voice.

The door was opened and Aggie entered.

“What do you want of me, Aggie?” asked Mrs. Brent, in some surprise.

“I hear you've been tellin' Dan he'll have to go,” said the chambermaid.

“Yes,” answered Mrs. Brent, “but I fail to see what business it is of yours.”

“Dan's me cousin, ma'am.”

“That's nothing to me. He has been impertinent to Master Philip, and afterward³ to me.”

“I know all about it, ma'am. He told me.”

“Then you understand why he must leave. He will do well to be more respectful in his next place.”

“It wasn't his fault, ma'am, accordin' to what he told me.”

“No doubt!” sneered⁴ Mrs. Brent. “It is hardly likely that he would admit himself to be in fault.”

“Dan's a good, truthful⁵ boy, ma'am.”

“What did he tell you?”

The moment had come for Aggie's master-stroke, and she fixed⁶ her eyes keenly on Mrs. Brent to watch the effect of her words.

“He said he was at work in the garden, ma'am, when Master Jonas——”

“WHAT!” exclaimed Mrs. Brent, staring at the girl in dismay.

“He was at work in the garden, ma'am when Master Jonas——”

“What do you mean, girl? Who is Master Jonas?” asked Mrs. Brent, trying to conceal⁷ her agitation⁸.

“Did I say Jonas, ma'am. La, what could I be thinking of? Of course I mean Master Philip.”

“What should have put the name of Jonas into your head?” demanded Mrs. Brent nervously⁹.

“I must have heard it somewhere,” said Aggie, with a quick, shrewd look out of the corner of her eyes. “Well, Dan just asked the young master a civil question, and Master Philip, he snapped him up rude-like. Mrs. Brent I think you'd better not make any fuss about Dan. It wasn't so much his fault as the fault of Master Jonas—oh, dear! I beg pardon, I mean Master Philip.”

“Don't repeat that ridiculous name again, Aggie!” said Mrs. Brent. “Your young master has nothing to do with it. You ought to know that his name is Philip.”

“I should say so!” broke in Jonas. “I ain't goin' to be called out of my name!”

“As to Dan,” proceeded Mrs. Brent. “I am willing to overlook his impertinence this time. I won't say a word to Mr. Granville, but he must be more careful hereafter.”

“I'm sure I'm obliged to you, ma'am,” said Aggie demurely¹⁰.

When she was out of the room she nodded to herself triumphantly¹¹.

“Sure, I've got the old lady under me thumb, but divil a bit I know how. It's all in the word Jonas. When I want a favor, all I've got to do is to say that word. I wonder what it manes now, anyhow.”

However, Aggie communicated to Dan the welcome intelligence that he would have no trouble with Mrs. Brent or Philip, but as to the way in which she had managed she kept that to herself.

“I want to think it over,” she said. “There's a secret, and it's about Jonas. I'll wait patiently, and maybe I'll hear some more about it.”

As for Mrs. Brent, she was panic-stricken. Uncertain how much Aggie knew, she feared that she knew all. But how could she have discovered it? And was it come to this that she and Jonas were in the power of an Irish chambermaid? It was galling¹² to her pride.

She turned to her son when they were left alone.

“How could she have found out?” she asked.

“Found out what, mother?”

“That your name is Jonas. She evidently knows it. I could see that in her eyes.”

“She must have heard you calling me so. I've told you more than once, ma, that you must never call me anything but Philip.”

“It is hard to have to keep silent always, never to speak to you as my own boy. I begin to think it is a dear price to pay, Jonas.”

“There you go again, mother!” said Jonas, peevishly¹³.

His mother had seated herself and spoke¹⁴ despondently¹⁵.

“I am afraid it will all come out some day,” she said.

“It will if you don't take better care, ma. I tell you, it would be the best thing for you to go away. Mr. Granville will give you a good income. If I was left alone, there'd be no fear of its leaking out.”

“Oh, Jonas! would you really have me leave you? Would you really have me live by myself, separated from my only child?”

Cold as she was, her heart was keenly wounded, for, looking at the boy, she saw that he was in earnest, and that he would prefer to have her go, since thereby¹⁶ he would be safer in the position he had usurped¹⁷.

1 aggie   

n.农校，农科大学生

参考例句：

• Maybe I will buy a Aggie ring next year when I have money.也许明年等我有了钱，我也会订一枚毕业生戒指吧。
• The Aggie replied,"sir,I believe that would be giddy-up."这个大学生慢条斯理的说，“先生，我相信是昏死过去。”

2 incisive   

adj.敏锐的，机敏的，锋利的，切入的

参考例句：

• His incisive remarks made us see the problems in our plans.他的话切中要害，使我们看到了计划中的一些问题。
• He combined curious qualities of naivety with incisive wit and worldly sophistication.他集天真质朴的好奇、锐利的机智和老练的世故于一体。

3 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

4 sneered   

讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sneered at people who liked pop music. 他嘲笑喜欢流行音乐的人。
• It's very discouraging to be sneered at all the time. 成天受嘲讽是很令人泄气的。

5 truthful   

adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的

参考例句：

• You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心，他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
• I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。

6 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

7 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

8 agitation   

n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动

参考例句：

• Small shopkeepers carried on a long agitation against the big department stores.小店主们长期以来一直在煽动人们反对大型百货商店。
• These materials require constant agitation to keep them in suspension.这些药剂要经常搅动以保持悬浮状态。

9 nervously   

adv.神情激动地，不安地

参考例句：

• He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。
• He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

10 demurely   

adv.装成端庄地，认真地

参考例句：

• "On the forehead, like a good brother,'she answered demurely. "吻前额，像个好哥哥那样，"她故作正经地回答说。 来自飘（部分）
• Punctuation is the way one bats one's eyes, lowers one's voice or blushes demurely. 标点就像人眨眨眼睛，低声细语，或伍犯作态。 来自名作英译部分

11 triumphantly   

ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地

参考例句：

• The lion was roaring triumphantly. 狮子正在发出胜利的吼叫。
• Robert was looking at me triumphantly. 罗伯特正得意扬扬地看着我。

12 galling   

adj.难堪的,使烦恼的,使焦躁的

参考例句：

• It was galling to have to apologize to a man she hated. 令人恼火的是得向她憎恶的男人道歉。
• The insolence in the fellow's eye was galling. 这家伙的傲慢目光令人恼怒。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

13 peevishly   

adv．暴躁地

参考例句：

• Paul looked through his green glasses peevishly when the other speaker brought down the house with applause. 当另一个演说者赢得了满座喝彩声时，保罗心里又嫉妒又气恼。
• "I've been sick, I told you," he said, peevishly, almost resenting her excessive pity. “我生了一场病，我告诉过你了，"他没好气地说，对她的过分怜悯几乎产生了怨恨。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

14 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

15 despondently   

adv.沮丧地，意志消沉地

参考例句：

• It had come to that, he reflected despondently. 事情已经到了这个地步了，他沉思着，感到心灰意懒。 来自辞典例句
• He shook his head despondently. 他沮丧地摇摇头。 来自辞典例句

16 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

17 usurped   

篡夺，霸占( usurp的过去式和过去分词 )； 盗用； 篡夺，篡权

参考例句：

• That magazine usurped copyrighted material. 那杂志盗用了版权为他人所有的素材。
• The expression'social engineering'has been usurped by the Utopianist without a shadow of light. “社会工程”这个词已被乌托邦主义者毫无理由地盗用了。