CHAPTER VIII

 At the same hour, some four hundred miles away, Kitty’s absence was being felt.  It was time to open the post office, and John Corrie was realizing that he would have more than enough to do until he secured a new assistant—whom he would have to pay!

 

Corrie had just opened the shop.  Outside the boy was cleaning the windows; inside Miss Corrie was setting things straight on the provision counter.  He himself was bending at the open safe, taking out the usual supplies of silver and copper¹ for the tills.  These were contained in ancient battered² pewter mugs, and now he laid the mugs on the floor preparatory to closing and locking up the safe.

 

An impatient knocking came from the post office, and he cursed under his breath.  But it was already five minutes past eight, and it would never do to have talk about the office not being opened punctually.  Rising, he called to his sister to look after the money, and hastened away to admit the knocker.

 

p. 83Miss Corrie moved listlessly towards the safe.  Her face had a drawn³ look.  She had not slept.  She had spoken scarce a word to her brother since Kitty’s departure, and neither she nor Sam, whom she had helped with the sorting this morning, had referred to the previous evening’s affair.  Sam and Corrie had not yet met.

 

But, a yard from the safe, the woman’s listlessness vanished, her face flamed, and then went more pallid⁴ than ever.  Never before had her brother done such a thing!!—gone out of the shop, leaving his keys in the safe.  Her opportunity at last!

 

She ran softly to the door that opened on the post office and put her ear to it.  Several persons were demanding the postmaster’s attention.  There was time as well as opportunity!  She darted⁵ back to the safe . . . opened it, then the drawer on the left . . . searched . . . and found what she sought—the letter written to her brother by Kitty’s father when he was dying.  She hid it in her bosom⁶, to read when she might safely do so.  She left the safe as she had found it, took up the mugs of money and proceeded to supply the tills with change.  The letter seemed to scorch⁷ her breast.  She could not wait.

 

Summoning the boy, she bade him keep an eye p. 84on the shop for a few minutes, and passed into the cottage.  In the kitchen, she seated herself at the hearth⁸ and, quaking, took out the letter.  The only portion which concerns us is the following:—

 

“You may perhaps find nothing in the enclosed share certificates (which, please note, are ‘bearer’) but a fresh evidence of my folly⁹ in worldly matters.  Still, the Zenith Gold Mine is the only thing of the kind I ever put hard-earned money into.  There are 5,000 ￡1 shares, and I paid 2s. apiece for them, and at the moment they are unsaleable.  I acted on the advice of a friend who had seen the property, and who had knowledge of such things.  He was convinced that the mine would come right in time—meaning years—and pay big dividends¹⁰.  Well, he may have been all wrong, and I the silliest of poor fools; but now, John, I put the shares in your keeping as a ‘possibility’ for Kitty, when she comes of age.  I have never mentioned them to her—certainly not with any reference to herself—for I don’t want her to be more disappointed in me than I can help.  Give them to her when she is twenty-one, and show her this letter, and if by any chance they are worth money then, or later, she will at least p. 85repay you what she may have cost you—though, of course, I am hoping she will earn enough to do that as she goes along.

 

“N.B.—Should you hear of the shares rising before then, you will just use your discretion¹¹, and do the best you can for my girl.”

 

Miss Corrie swayed as though she would fall.  “So that’s why he would never let me read it properly!” she muttered.  “Oh, John Corrie, what ha’ ye done!”

 

After a little while she obtained control over her body.  “What made him keep a thing like that?  It should ha’ been burned—burned and forgot!”

 

She reached forward, held the letter over the fire—and drew it back.  “But what if he misses it from the safe?”

 

In miserable¹² uncertainty¹³ she began to re-read the document.  In the midst of it she went rigid¹⁴.  Her brother was coming through the shop, calling her.  Her fingers fumbled¹⁵ at her bodice.  Too late!  In her panic her eye was caught by the morning’s paper lying on the floor at her side.  She snatched it up, pushed the letter into the folds, and made pretence¹⁶ of reading.

 

“What’s wrong wi’ ye?” said Corrie, entering.

 

p. 86“I was just looking at the price of Zeniths,” she stammered¹⁷.

 

“Away and attend to the post office,” he returned.  “I mun be in the shop this forenoon. . . .  D’ye hear me?”

 

“Aye.”  To take the paper with her would be sheer madness, she reflected quickly; besides he was done with it.  She would come back for it at the first opportunity.  Letting it fall where she had found it, she got up and left the kitchen.

 

He followed her, growling¹⁸.

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

At half-past eleven, the morning delivery finished, Sam, as was his custom, came into the shop to purchase a paper.

 

“There’s no’ one left,” said the boy.

 

From the opposite counter, where he was serving a customer, Corrie called to the boy—

 

“Ye’ll get one in the house.”  It was not the first time he had sold his own paper to the postman.

 

So presently the boy came back with the paper, and Sam, folding it up, put it in his pocket, and went home to see what was happening in the great world.

1 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

2 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

3 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

4 pallid   

adj.苍白的，呆板的

参考例句：

• The moon drifted from behind the clouds and exposed the pallid face.月亮从云朵后面钻出来，照着尸体那张苍白的脸。
• His dry pallid face often looked gaunt.他那张干瘪苍白的脸常常显得憔悴。

5 darted   

v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

7 scorch   

v.烧焦，烤焦；高速疾驶；n.烧焦处，焦痕

参考例句：

• I could not wash away the mark of the scorch.我洗不掉这焦痕。
• This material will scorch easily if it is too near the fire.这种材料如果太靠近炉火很容易烤焦。

8 hearth   

n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面

参考例句：

• She came and sat in a chair before the hearth.她走过来，在炉子前面的椅子上坐下。
• She comes to the hearth,and switches on the electric light there.她走到壁炉那里，打开电灯。

9 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

10 dividends   

红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金

参考例句：

• Nothing pays richer dividends than magnanimity. 没有什么比宽宏大量更能得到厚报。
• Their decision five years ago to computerise the company is now paying dividends. 五年前他们作出的使公司电脑化的决定现在正产生出效益。

11 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

12 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

13 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

14 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

15 fumbled   

（笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下

参考例句：

• She fumbled in her pocket for a handkerchief. 她在她口袋里胡乱摸找手帕。
• He fumbled about in his pockets for the ticket. 他（瞎）摸着衣兜找票。

16 pretence   

n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰

参考例句：

• The government abandoned any pretence of reform. 政府不再装模作样地进行改革。
• He made a pretence of being happy at the party.晚会上他假装很高兴。

17 stammered   

v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He stammered most when he was nervous. 他一紧张往往口吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Barsad leaned back in his chair, and stammered, \"What do you mean?\" 巴萨往椅背上一靠，结结巴巴地说，“你是什么意思？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

18 growling   

n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼

参考例句：

• We heard thunder growling in the distance. 我们听见远处有隆隆雷声。
• The lay about the deck growling together in talk. 他们在甲板上到处游荡，聚集在一起发牢骚。