CHAPTER IX

Fortunately for his stomach’s sake, at any rate, it was the weekly half-holiday, so that Mr. Corrie, having closed the shop at one, was free to relieve his sister in the post office and dispatch her to prepare, with all speed, something in the way of dinner.  He was a little astonished at the eagerness with which she departed to do his bidding.

 

A minute later she was back, looking as though she had seen a ghost.

 

“John, where’s the paper?”

 

“What paper?”

 

“The morning paper.  Quick!—what ha’ ye done wi’ it?”

 

He turned from the counter with a grunt¹ of impatience².  “Get my dinner ready and never heed³ about the paper!  If ye want to ken⁴, Zeniths dropped six-and-threepence yesterday—no’ that it matters to us now.  Away wi’ ye and hurry up.”

 

p. 88“John, for the love o’ God, tell me where the paper is!”

 

That startled him.  “What the mischief’s wrong wi’ ye, woman?” he demanded, regarding her frowningly.  “Sam, the postman, got the paper.  There wasna another in the shop—”

 

For a moment’s space she gazed at him as though he had said something too awful for belief.  Then, with a wail⁵, she threw up her hands.

 

“It’s the beginning o’ the judgment⁶!”

 

“What d’ye mean?  Are ye daft?”  He seized her roughly by the arm.  “Speak!”

 

“The letter was inside the paper,” she moaned.

 

“The letter!  What letter?”

 

“Hugh Carstairs’ letter about the shares. . . . I took it from the safe to read it. . . .  When I heard ye coming to the kitchen I was feared, and I hid it in the paper. . . .  I—I didna mean to betray ye, John, but—oh, dinna look at me like that!”

 

“Ye—!” he stormed, “ye’ve ruined me, damned me!”  For an instant it seemed as though he would smite⁷ her, but he flung away, saying, “Get out o’ my sight!  Ye’ve done for your brother!”

 

Yet, for all his passion, his mind was working p. 89quickly.  He recalled her as she tottered⁸ through the shop.

 

“There’s just a chance he hasna opened it yet.  Haste ye to his house and tell him ye want a sight o’ it for ten minutes.  Make any excuse ye like, but gang quick.”

 

Willingly she went, poor soul, for with all her being she loved this brother of hers, contemptible⁹ thief though he was.

 

John Corrie lived a hideous¹⁰ age in the ten minutes that followed.  Then Rachel returned with the paper in her hand, but everything else about her told him she had failed.

 

“John,” she said, “I’ll offer him every penny I possess”—she had laid by nearly two thousand pounds—“for the letter.”

 

As though he had not heard her he passed into the empty, semi-dark shop, and sank on a chair at the counter.  He was weak and sick with dread¹¹.

 

She followed, and repeated her suggestion.

 

“Away!” he cried; “I mun think.”

 

Reluctantly she left him, and in the kitchen recovered herself sufficiently¹² to set about preparing some strong tea.

 

An hour passed before he joined her, and started to pace the floor.

 

p. 90“Ye read the letter?” he asked at last, abruptly¹³, in a repressed voice.

 

She nodded, her mouth quivering.

 

“Ye ken what it means in the hands o’ an enemy—a friend o’ Hugh Carstairs’ daughter? . . .  Jail!”

 

“Oh, John! . . .  But he’ll maybe sell it to me.”

 

“Ye fool!”

 

Presently she said: “Sit down, dearie, and try a cup o’ tea.  I’ve made it fresh for ye.”

 

He went on pacing.  “And what about Symington?”

 

“If ye were to tell him the truth, maybe—”

 

“Ye fool!”

 

“But I was thinking,” she said meekly¹⁴, “he might help ye for his own sake.”

 

“The only way he can help me is to marry your niece within the three months, getting her promise at once, of course.  But—”

 

“Something maybe happened in the train last night,” she ventured.  “Ye’ll be hearing from him in the morning.”

 

“I wonder,” he said slowly, “where she got the money to gang to London wi’.”

 

The woman’s hand went to her flat breast.

 

p. 91“John, did she no’ take it from the post office, as ye said?”

 

“No,” was the sullen¹⁵ answer.

 

“Oh, John, John! . . .  But ye’ve enough to bear now without me reproaching ye.”  After a pause she continued: “She’ll ha’ to send Sam her address afore he can do anything wi’ the letter.”

 

“Aye; but they’re no’ such fools as to communicate wi’ each other through this office.”

 

She sighed helplessly.

 

“There’s somebody in the office,” he said suddenly.  “I’ll—”

 

“Let me,” she interposed; “ye’re no’ fit.  Take your tea till I come back.”

 

She was absent several minutes, and on her return she was cheered by seeing him at the table and the cup empty.

 

“Who was it, and what were ye doing in the shop?” he asked, more from habit than interest.

 

“It was Mr. Hayward—”

 

“Him!  What was he wanting?”

 

“A notebook, and he was terrible particular about the size.  He had a piece o’ paper with the measurements wrote on it.”

 

“Ye wouldna find anything fine enough to suit him.”

 

p. 92“But I did.  There was one left o’ the half-dozen that ye got once for Mr. Symington.  He said it was the very thing. . . .  Could ye no’ eat something?”

 

He was brooding again, and minutes passed ere he roused himself.

 

“That postman’s got me,” he muttered bitterly, “got me as never a man was got before.  I’m cornered.  He’ll hear from the girl to-morrow—they’ll ha’ planned about writing, ye can be sure—and then he’ll get to work wi’ the letter.  God!  I feel like making a bolt for it—but where can a man hide in these days o’ wireless¹⁶ telegrams and so forth¹⁷.”  All at once he turned on her snarling¹⁸: “What for did ye interfere¹⁹ wi’ my private affairs?”

 

She winced²⁰ and shuddered²¹.  “The Lord kens²² I’m sorry,” she whimpered.  “And He kens I would do anything to help ye now.  John, is there anything I can do?”

 

“Aye,” he replied with a dreadful ironic²³ laugh, “ye can burn the cursed letter!”

 

Gaping²⁴, she gazed at him.  What did he mean?

 

“Only, ye would likewise need to burn the postman’s house over his head, and that within the next twelve hours.”  The laugh came again and died into silence.

 

p. 93The woman’s face lost its foolish laxness; she seemed to stiffen²⁵ all over.  And suddenly she screamed—

 

“I’ll do it. . . .  John, I’ll do it for your sake!”

 

“What?” he shouted, and started to his feet.

 

She staggered, recovered, and rushed from the kitchen.  When he followed he found that she had locked herself in her own room.

 

He passed into the dim shop and sat down.

 

“Did she mean it?” he asked of the shadows.  And later—“Better her than me, for who would ever suspect her?”

 

It was evening when she came out.  She went about her accustomed duties, but her countenance²⁶ was grey and stony²⁷, and she was as one stricken dumb.  And he, being afraid to ask a certain question and incapable²⁸ of thinking of aught else, was dumb also.  They retired²⁹ at the usual hour of ten.

 

1 grunt   

v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝

参考例句：

• He lifted the heavy suitcase with a grunt.他咕噜着把沉重的提箱拎了起来。
• I ask him what he think,but he just grunt.我问他在想什麽，他只哼了一声。

2 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

3 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

4 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

5 wail   

vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸

参考例句：

• Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。
• One of the small children began to wail with terror.小孩中的一个吓得大哭起来。

6 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

7 smite   

v.重击；彻底击败；n.打；尝试；一点儿

参考例句：

• The wise know how to teach,the fool how to smite.智者知道如何教导，愚者知道怎样破坏。
• God will smite our enemies.上帝将击溃我们的敌人。

8 tottered   

v.走得或动得不稳( totter的过去式和过去分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠

参考例句：

• The pile of books tottered then fell. 这堆书晃了几下，然后就倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The wounded soldier tottered to his feet. 伤员摇摇晃晃地站了起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 contemptible   

adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的

参考例句：

• His personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.他气貌不扬，言语粗俗。
• That was a contemptible trick to play on a friend.那是对朋友玩弄的一出可鄙的把戏。

10 hideous   

adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的

参考例句：

• The whole experience had been like some hideous nightmare.整个经历就像一场可怕的噩梦。
• They're not like dogs,they're hideous brutes.它们不像狗，是丑陋的畜牲。

11 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

12 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

13 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

14 meekly   

adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地

参考例句：

• He stood aside meekly when the new policy was proposed. 当有人提出新政策时，他唯唯诺诺地站 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He meekly accepted the rebuke. 他顺从地接受了批评。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 sullen   

adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的

参考例句：

• He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。
• Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐，因为昨晚没睡好。

16 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

17 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

18 snarling   

v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说

参考例句：

• "I didn't marry you," he said, in a snarling tone. “我没有娶你，"他咆哮着说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• So he got into the shoes snarling. 于是，汤姆一边大喊大叫，一边穿上了那双鞋。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

19 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

20 winced   

赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He winced as the dog nipped his ankle. 狗咬了他的脚腕子，疼得他龇牙咧嘴。
• He winced as a sharp pain shot through his left leg. 他左腿一阵剧痛疼得他直龇牙咧嘴。

21 shuddered   

v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动

参考例句：

• He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车，车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 kens   

vt.知道（ken的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Dominie Deasy kens them a'. 迪希先生全都认得。 来自互联网

23 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

24 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》

25 stiffen   

v.(使)硬，(使)变挺，(使)变僵硬

参考例句：

• The blood supply to the skin is reduced when muscles stiffen.当肌肉变得僵硬时，皮肤的供血量就减少了。
• I was breathing hard,and my legs were beginning to stiffen.这时我却气吁喘喘地开始感到脚有点僵硬。

26 countenance   

n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同

参考例句：

• At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
• I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地，仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。

27 stony   

adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的

参考例句：

• The ground is too dry and stony.这块地太干，而且布满了石头。
• He listened to her story with a stony expression.他带着冷漠的表情听她讲经历。

28 incapable   

adj.无能力的，不能做某事的

参考例句：

• He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
• Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。

29 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。