CHAPTER XIII NEWS AFFECTS TOM’S FRIENDS.

 HEN Nathan Middleton reached home at three o’clock in the afternoon, his face wore the look of mysterious importance that indicated the possession of a secret. His wife understood this at once, and asked immediately:

 

“What’s happened, Nathan?”

 

“What’s happened? Who said anything had happened?”

 

“Your looks said so.”

 

“Perhaps my looks will tell you what it is.”

 

“Nonsense, Mr. Middleton! Don’t keep me in suspense¹.”

 

“It’s about Tom.”

 

“What’s he done?” asked the lady eagerly. “Anything bad?”

 

“I should say it would be bad for him—and for us too.”

 

“Do tell me, Mr. Middleton, without beating around the bush all day.”

 

“Then this is the long and short of it—he’s lost his fortune.”

 

“Good gracious! How!”

 

“Bad investments. It’s a pity the money hadn’t been placed in my hands.”

 

“Has he lost forty thousand dollars?” ejaculated the lady.

 

“All but a few hundred dollars.”

 

“Then he’s got enough to pay his board a few months longer.”

 

“Mr. Sharp says he must leave us at once or pay only five dollars a week.”

 

“Five dollars a week! Ridiculous!”

 

“Of course it can’t be, Corinthia. So he leaves us to-morrow morning.”

 

“Did you get paid for this month?” asked Mrs. Middleton anxiously.

 

“Yes, I made sure of that.”

 

“Well,” said the lady. “It’ll be a loss to us, but I ain’t sorry for the boy. It’ll be a good lesson for him with all his airs and importance. I’m glad he’ll have to earn his own living.”

 

“As far as that goes I’m not sorry myself,” said Nathan.

 

“Does he know it?”

 

“Not yet.”

 

“When are you going to tell him?”

 

“At supper.”

 

“Be sure and tell him before me. I want to see how he stands it.”

 

“I meant to, Corinthia. By the way, I think you needn’t have any meat on at supper. He may as well begin at once to deny himself.”

 

“A good suggestion, Mr. Middleton.”

 

Just then the door was opened, and Squire² Davenport was ushered³ in.

 

“I called to see you about renewing the insurance on my house, Mr. Middleton,” said he.

 

“Glad to see you squire.”

 

“Are you quite well, Mrs. Middleton? I needn’t ask after your young ward⁴. I left him at my house.”

 

Mr. and Mrs. Middleton looked at each other. The former coughed.

 

“Tom leaves us to-morrow,” said Nathan.

 

“Indeed! You surprise me,” said the lawyer.

 

“Circumstances render it necessary for him to make different arrangements.”

 

“Has he become tired of Plympton? James will miss him.”

 

“I don’t know that he has become tired of it, but he has lost his fortune, and is now a poor boy.”

 

“You amaze me,” ejaculated Squire Davenport. “I thought him rich.”

 

“Three months ago he was worth forty thousand dollars.”

 

“How has it been lost?”

 

“By bad investments. I’ll tell you all I know about it,” and Nathan repeated the information he had heard in the morning.

 

“Of course,” he concluded, “he must now earn his own living.”

 

“I see,” said the lawyer. “How does he take it?”

 

“He doesn’t know it.”

 

“I’m glad he is to leave Plympton. Of course, I could no longer receive him at my house as the intimate companion of my son and daughter, if he is to be a working boy.”

 

“Certainly not,” said Nathan obsequiously⁵. “Your children have a right to look higher.”

 

“Of course,” said the lawyer pompously⁶. “While he was an heir to a handsome fortune, it was all very well, but social distinctions must be respected—eh, Mrs. Middleton?”

 

“You are quite right, I am sure, Squire Davenport,” said Mrs. Middleton. “The boy may be a common laborer⁷ or mechanic.”

 

“To be sure. Well, Mr. Middleton, I thank you for your information. It is well that he is not a few years older, or his evident admiration⁸ for Imogene might have led to unfortunate complications.”

 

“No, doubt,” said Nathan, though remembering the far from flattering terms in which Tom had often spoken of the young lady, he very much doubted whether there was any ground for such an apprehension¹⁰.

 

An hour later Squire Davenport bent¹¹ his steps homeward.

 

On the way he met Tom, just returning from his own house. Usually he had been very polite and gracious to our hero, but now he walked stiffly by, very slightly inclining his head, to Tom’s decided¹² amazement¹³.

 

“What’s up?” thought our hero. “He’s as cold as an iceberg¹⁴. What have I been doing, I wonder?”

 

Tom thought, but in vain. He had been unusually quiet for a week past, and could not imagine how he had offended the village magnate.

 

“I suppose I’ll find out sometime,” he thought. “Meanwhile I won’t trouble myself about it.”

 

A new surprise awaited our hero. Generally Mr. and Mrs. Middleton were quite deferential¹⁵ to him. Remembering the twenty dollars a week they thought it polite to treat him as well as possible.

 

Now when he opened the door, and was about to go up-stairs, Mrs. Middleton called out sharply:

 

“Wipe your feet, will you? Do you think I shall allow a peck of dust to be tracked up-stairs.”

 

Tom stared at her in amazement.

 

“What do you stand gaping¹⁶ at?” demanded Corinthia in the same tone. “Didn’t you hear what I said?”

 

“You spoke⁹ loud enough for me to hear,” said Tom coolly. “Is anything the matter with you?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I thought you might have eaten something that didn’t agree with you,” said Tom.

 

“Well, I declare!” ejaculated Mrs. Middleton. “You beat all for impudence¹⁷!”

 

“I generally treat people well if they treat me well,” said Tom composedly, “but if you are impudent¹⁸ to me, I shall answer accordingly.”

 

This was too much for Mrs. Middleton. Had Tom still been rich, he would have had a right to assume such a tone, but in a poor boy it was intolerable.

 

“I’ll tell Mr. Middleton how you treat me!” she said angrily.

 

“Do,” said Tom, “if you want to.”

 

“Nathan,” called his wife, opening the door of the apartment in which her liege lord was reading.

 

“What is the matter, my dear?”

 

“Thomas has been impudent to me.”

 

“Thomas, this is a serious charge,” said Nathan severely¹⁹.

 

Here was another surprise for Tom.

 

“It strikes me you are both crazy,” he said, looking from one to the other. “Settle it between you. I am going up-stairs.”

 

“Nathan, will you suffer him to insult me?” screamed Corinthia, showing signs of hysterics.

 

Tom did not hear the reply, as he was already entering his room.

 

“Something’s up,” he said to himself. “I wonder what it is.”

 

Tom’s curiosity was soon to be satisfied.

1 suspense   

n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑

参考例句：

• The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
• The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。

2 squire   

n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅

参考例句：

• I told him the squire was the most liberal of men.我告诉他乡绅是世界上最宽宏大量的人。
• The squire was hard at work at Bristol.乡绅在布里斯托尔热衷于他的工作。

3 ushered   

v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The secretary ushered me into his office. 秘书把我领进他的办公室。
• A round of parties ushered in the New Year. 一系列的晚会迎来了新年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

5 obsequiously   

参考例句：

• You must guard against those who fawn upon you and bow obsequiously before you! 对阿谀奉承、点头哈腰的人要格外警惕！ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• When everyone saw the mayor, they all bowed obsequiously – he was the only exception. 所有人见到市长都点头哈腰，只有他是个例外。 来自互联网

6 pompously   

adv.傲慢地，盛大壮观地；大模大样

参考例句：

• He pompously described his achievements. 他很夸耀地描述了自己所取得的成绩。 来自互联网

7 laborer   

n.劳动者，劳工

参考例句：

• Her husband had been a farm laborer.她丈夫以前是个农场雇工。
• He worked as a casual laborer and did not earn much.他当临时工，没有赚多少钱。

8 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

9 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。

10 apprehension   

n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑

参考例句：

• There were still areas of doubt and her apprehension grew.有些地方仍然存疑，于是她越来越担心。
• She is a girl of weak apprehension.她是一个理解力很差的女孩。

11 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

12 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

13 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

14 iceberg   

n.冰山，流冰，冷冰冰的人

参考例句：

• The ship hit an iceberg and went under.船撞上一座冰山而沉没了。
• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。

15 deferential   

adj. 敬意的，恭敬的

参考例句：

• They like five-star hotels and deferential treatment.他们喜欢五星级的宾馆和毕恭毕敬的接待。
• I am deferential and respectful in the presence of artists.我一向恭敬、尊重艺术家。

16 gaping   

adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大

参考例句：

• Ahead of them was a gaping abyss. 他们前面是一个巨大的深渊。
• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 impudence   

n.厚颜无耻；冒失；无礼

参考例句：

• His impudence provoked her into slapping his face.他的粗暴让她气愤地给了他一耳光。
• What knocks me is his impudence.他的厚颜无耻使我感到吃惊。

18 impudent   

adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的

参考例句：

• She's tolerant toward those impudent colleagues.她对那些无礼的同事采取容忍的态度。
• The teacher threatened to kick the impudent pupil out of the room.老师威胁着要把这无礼的小学生撵出教室。

19 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。