CHAPTER XIV TOM LEARNS WHAT IS UP.

 HEN Tom came down stairs to supper he was struck by the naked appearance of the table. The Middletons had returned to their old economical fare. Mr. Middleton looked sober, and his wife had a forbidding aspect.

 

“Very jolly this!” thought our hero as he sat down in his usual place.

 

“A little more milk, if you please,” said Tom as Mrs. Middleton passed his tea, diluted¹ by a spoonful of milk.

 

“I have given you as much as I take myself,” said Corinthia sourly.

 

Tom reached over without a word, and taking the milk-pitcher, used what he wanted.

 

Mrs. Middleton’s sallow face flushed.

 

“Did you see that, Mr. Middleton?” she demanded.

 

“I did, my dear.”

 

“What do you think of it?”

 

“I think it very ill-bred.”

 

Tom looked from one to the other attentively². He didn’t know what to make of the change in their demeanor³.

 

“Has milk risen in price?” he asked.

 

“No,” said Mr. Middleton, embarrassed.

 

“Then why am I to be stinted⁴? Don’t I pay enough board to entitle me to a decent supply?”

 

This was a difficult question to answer. Whatever the future had in store for him, Tom was certainly at this moment paying twenty dollars a week for his board.

 

“You make a great fuss about your victuals⁵,” said Corinthia, not very elegantly.

 

“I don’t care about being starved in order that you may make a little more money,” retorted Tom.

 

“Do you hear that, Mr. Middleton?” ejaculated the lady angrily.

 

“Young man,” said Mr. Middleton solemnly, “you should not speak lightly of starving. The time may come when you will want for food.”

 

“The time has come already, it seems to me,” said Tom with spirit. “I should like some meat.”

 

“There is no meat on the table.”

 

“I suppose there is some in the house,” said Tom quietly.

 

“You can do without it,” said Corinthia spitefully.

 

“Will you tell me if anything has happened?” asked Tom, laying down his knife and fork. “Probably there is some cause for your change of treatment.”

 

“Something has happened,” said Mrs. Middleton with a look of spiteful exultation⁶.

 

“I should like to hear what it is.”

 

“You have lost your fortune.”

 

“That accounts for it,” said Tom significantly. “I am no longer surprised. As I am rather interested, will you be kind enough to let me know all about it?”

 

“Tell him, Nathan,” said Corinthia.

 

“Ahem!” said Mr. Middleton. “I regret to communicate bad tidings, but I was at Centerville this morning, and learned from Mr. Sharp that through the bad way in which your money was invested when it came into his hands, the whole has melted away, and you are a beggar.”

 

“Not quite,” said Tom proudly. “I may be poor, but no one will ever see me beg.”

 

“You’ll have to earn your own living,” said Mrs. Middleton spitefully. “You won’t find it for your interest to turn up your nose at your victuals.”

 

“I am more likely to turn up my nose at the want of them—as to-night,” answered Tom.

 

“You’ll be lucky if you always fare as well.”

 

“Perhaps so. Will you tell me, Mr. Middleton, if my whole fortune is gone? Is nothing left?”

 

“A few hundred dollars remain, I believe.”

 

“That is better than nothing. So I must now make my own way.”

 

“I am glad you see it,” sneered⁷ Corinthia.

 

“It seems to me rather a sudden collapse,” said Tom thoughtfully. “I must ask Mr. Sharp about it.”

 

“Mr. Sharp wishes you to come to Centerville to-morrow. You will find that my statement is perfectly⁸ correct.”

 

“I don’t doubt it,” said Tom. “If you and Mrs. Middleton were not quite convinced that my fortune was gone, you wouldn’t have treated me as you have this afternoon.”

 

“Good gracious, Corinthia! Do you hear that?” ejaculated Nathan.

 

“I hear it, Mr. Middleton, and I am not surprised,” said the lady venomously. “This is our reward for toiling⁹ day and night for this ungrateful boy. This is our reward for permitting him to upset all our plans and run riot through the house. And this is gratitude¹⁰! Oh, heavens!”

 

“No, it isn’t,” said Tom. “I don’t see any cause for gratitude, and I haven’t pretended to feel any. You’ve had twenty dollars a week for my board, when I could get as good anywhere else for one-third the price, or some less. I think it’s you that ought to be grateful.”

 

“Do you hear that, Nathan? It’s an outrage¹¹.”

 

“I hear it, Corinthia, and I agree,” said her husband solemnly.

 

“May I ask if I am paying at the rate of twenty dollars a week for this supper?” inquired Tom.

 

Mr. Middleton was in a quandary¹². The bill had been paid up to that day, but for the extra portion of a day he meant to deduct¹³ payment out of the three dollars which had been given for Tom’s traveling expenses. He could not do this with any fairness unless decent meals were supplied.

 

“Corinthia,” he said, “you had better send for some meat.”

 

“Why should I? I don’t think it necessary,” said the lady reluctantly.

 

“I have my reasons, which you will acknowledge to be good. I will explain to you afterward¹⁴.”

 

Mrs. Middleton complied with her husband’s request, but with no great show of willingness.

 

“As this is your last supper under my roof,” he said to Tom while his wife was gone for the meat, “I wish you to be satisfied.”

 

“Then I am not to return to Plympton?” said Tom.

 

“No; it will probably be necessary for you to work for your living at once. You may, perhaps, go into a shoe-shop, or learn the carpenter’s trade.”

 

“Did Mr. Sharp say that?”

 

“No; I only suggested it.”

 

“Thank you. Perhaps you would take me into your office to learn the insurance business.”

 

“Not with my consent,” said Mrs. Middleton, who reappeared in time to hear Tom’s question.

 

“I don’t think it would be advisable,” said Nathan.

 

“Then perhaps I shall have to go into a shoe-shop, as you suggest. If there should be an opening in Plympton, perhaps you would give me your trade for the sake of old times.”

 

“Perhaps so,” said Nathan dubiously¹⁵.

 

Tom helped himself to the meat, and in spite of the bad news he had heard, displayed his usual good appetite.

 

“I really believe,” Corinthia remarked afterward to her husband, “that boy would eat if the house was on fire.”

 

“Very likely,” said Nathan. “He’s a strange boy.”

 

At length Tom rose from the table.

 

“As I’m going to-morrow,” he said, “I will make my farewell calls, and then come home and pack my trunk.”

1 diluted   

无力的，冲淡的

参考例句：

• The paint can be diluted with water to make a lighter shade. 这颜料可用水稀释以使色度淡一些。
• This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields. 这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。

2 attentively   

adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神

参考例句：

• She listened attentively while I poured out my problems. 我倾吐心中的烦恼时，她一直在注意听。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She listened attentively and set down every word he said. 她专心听着，把他说的话一字不漏地记下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 demeanor   

n.行为；风度

参考例句：

• She is quiet in her demeanor.她举止文静。
• The old soldier never lost his military demeanor.那个老军人从来没有失去军人风度。

4 stinted   

v.限制，节省（stint的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Penny-pinching landlords stinted their tenants on heat and hot water. 小气的房东在房客的取暖和热水供应上进行克扣。 来自互联网
• She stinted herself of food in order to let the children have enough. 她自己省着吃，好让孩子们吃饱。 来自互联网

5 victuals   

n.食物；食品

参考例句：

• A plateful of coarse broken victuals was set before him.一盘粗劣的剩余饭食放到了他的面前。
• There are no more victuals for the pig.猪没有吃的啦。

6 exultation   

n.狂喜，得意

参考例句：

• It made him catch his breath, it lit his face with exultation. 听了这个名字，他屏住呼吸，乐得脸上放光。
• He could get up no exultation that was really worthy the name. 他一点都激动不起来。

7 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。

8 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

9 toiling   

长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉

参考例句：

• The fiery orator contrasted the idle rich with the toiling working classes. 这位激昂的演说家把无所事事的富人同终日辛劳的工人阶级进行了对比。
• She felt like a beetle toiling in the dust. She was filled with repulsion. 她觉得自己像只甲虫在地里挣扎，心中涌满愤恨。

10 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

11 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

12 quandary   

n.困惑，进迟两难之境

参考例句：

• I was in a quandary about whether to go.我当时正犹豫到底去不去。
• I was put in a great quandary.我陷于进退两难的窘境。

13 deduct   

vt.扣除，减去

参考例句：

• You can deduct the twenty - five cents out of my allowance.你可在我的零用钱里扣去二角五分钱。
• On condition of your signing this contract,I will deduct a percentage.如果你在这份合同上签字，我就会给你减免一个百分比。

14 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。

15 dubiously   

adv.可疑地，怀疑地

参考例句：

• "What does he have to do?" queried Chin dubiously. “他有什么心事？”琴向觉民问道，她的脸上现出疑惑不解的神情。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• He walked out fast, leaving the head waiter staring dubiously at the flimsy blue paper. 他很快地走出去，撇下侍者头儿半信半疑地瞪着这张薄薄的蓝纸。 来自辞典例句