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CHAPTER VII A DISPUTED STORY
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ON reaching Halcyon1 Villa2, Tom found Miss Perry and her nephew in the garden, the former cutting flowers for the house, and received a hearty3 greeting from both of them. He told them all about Nellie's departure, and then put his request that Peter might be allowed to go fishing with him in the afternoon.
 
"Fishing?" cried Miss Perry, in a tone of distinct disapproval4; "no, certainly not. Supposing Peter fell into the water, what then?"
 
"But I'd see he didn't fall into the water," Tom assured her; "I'd look after him all right. I thought we might go to the pond near Hatwell Green—"
 
"I can't hear of it!" interposed Miss Perry. "I'm very sorry," she continued, observing the disappointment on both boys' faces, "but you must decide on some other form of amusement, my dears. You could not fish anyway, Peter."
 
"Oh, yes, I think I could!" Peter answered quickly. "Tom and I have been talking about it; he has promised to lend me a rod and to bait the hook—I should feel in a moment if I had a bite."
 
"Of course you would!" agreed Tom, looking appealingly at Miss Perry; and he believed it, for Peter's sense of touch, like that of most blind people, was particularly acute. "The pond is not very deep," he added; "I never heard of any one having been drowned there."
 
"Do, please, let us go, Aunt Harriet!" pleaded Peter.
 
"No, Peter," Miss Perry answered decidedly, "I cannot permit it. I have quite made up my mind. If Tom wants to go fishing it must be without you; but if, on the other hand, he would like to take you for a walk this afternoon, I shall be pleased for you to accompany him, and I hope he will return with you to tea."
 
Having cut all the flowers she required, Miss Perry now left the boys and went into the house.
 
"What a pity she should be so nervous about you!" Tom exclaimed, with a disappointed sigh. "Never mind," he went on, noticing the sad look on his companion's face, "we will manage to enjoy the afternoon somehow. We'll—"
 
"But I don't want to keep you from going fishing!" Peter broke in.
 
"Do you think it would be any fun going by myself?" asked Tom. "Rather not! Your aunt said we might go for a walk together, and we will. I know where I will take you. To the Market Square. The shows are arriving there for the Fair next week."
 
"I did not know there was to be a Fair. Aunt Harriet hasn't said anything about it."
 
"Oh, I don't suppose she gives it a second thought! But it's rare fun, Peter. There are sweet-stalls, dozens of them, and shooting-galleries, and all sorts of shows—this year there'll be a menagerie. And there are always a dwarf5, and a giant, and a fat woman; and the smallest pony6 in the world; and the biggest horse; and a clever donkey who does tricks and knows every word that's said to him. Last year when the donkey's master gave him a bunch of flowers and told him to present it to the prettiest lady present, he gave it to our Nellie! Wasn't it clever of him? I'd never thought before whether Nellie was pretty or not, but the people all clapped their hands, so I suppose they agreed with the donkey."
 
The boys had strolled towards the garden gate whilst talking, and now stood leaning against it. Tom, who seemed able to think of little else than the coming fair, was still describing its manifold attractions, when he caught sight of a little girl wandering aimlessly along the road, and recognised the child he had seen run away from the purple-faced woman in the Market Square. He broke off in the midst of describing the various sorts of roundabouts, and exclaimed, "Hulloa!"
 
"Who is it?" inquired Peter, hearing footsteps.
 
Tom hurriedly explained, watching the child as she approached; she walked slowly, looking sad and dispirited.
 
When she was in a line with the gate he addressed her. "Hi, little girl," he said, "wait a minute, I want to speak to you."
 
She stopped, fixing a pair of inquiring brown eyes on his face. She was about Nellie's age, he thought, and would have been nice-looking if she had not been so pale and thin.
 
"I say, what made you run away from that woman in the Market Square?" he asked, curiously7. "I was there and saw you."
 
"I ran away because I was afraid she would beat me," she exclaimed; "I am afraid of her. She's rough, and hits me about—boxes my ears, and—oh, she serves me cruelly bad, that she does!"
 
"What a shame!" exclaimed Tom, indignantly. "She isn't your mother, is she?"
 
"Oh, no, no! She's no relation either! She's Mrs. Sordello—Max Sordello's a lion-trainer, and she's his wife. I'd run away from them altogether if I only knew where to go. I can't tell you how unkindly they treat me, and now—and now—' the child's voice broke with a sob9.
 
"Oh, you poor little girl!" cried Peter. "What are you called?"
 
"Grace Lee," she replied.
 
"Haven't you a mother or a father?" inquired Tom.
 
"No," she said, sadly, "not now. Mother died so long ago that I can't remember her, and father—he died last year." Her eyes filled with tears as she spoke10, but she went on: "He worked for a showman with a steam roundabout; he used to take the money, but he had an accident—fell off the roundabout, and died in hospital. Since then I've lived with the Sordellos. They were kind at first, but now—oh, I'm so frightened!" She paused, shuddering11. "And I'm so hungry!" she added.
 
"Hungry?" cried Peter. "Oh, wait I will get you something to eat in a minute!" And he hurried off towards the house.
 
"He's blind," Tom said, nodding at Peter's retreating figure; "you wouldn't guess it, would you?"
 
"No, indeed!" cried the little girl, looking greatly shocked. "Oh, I am so sorry! He is your brother, I suppose?"
 
"Oh, no! His name is Peter Perry, and he's staying here with his aunt. I'm a friend of his—Tom Burford. I say, how is it you are hungry? Haven't you had any breakfast?"
 
"No. The Sordellos said I shouldn't have it till I had promised— promised—oh, I mustn't tell you that! If they found out I'd been telling about them they'd half kill me—yes, they would!"
 
"It's dreadful you should be so afraid of them. Some one ought to interfere12 to prevent their ill-treating you. I'll speak to my father, and—"
 
"Oh, no, no!" interrupted the child, evidently alarmed at the idea, "please don't! If any one interfered13 it would make things worse for me, indeed it would!"
 
At that point in the conversation Peter returned, carrying a paper bag containing some slices of bread-and-butter and a couple of pieces of cake. "Here, Grace," he said, kindly8, thrusting the bag between the bars of the gate.
 
In another minute Grace was eating hungrily. She had finished the bread-and-butter and one of the pieces of cake, the boys having asked her all sorts of curious questions meanwhile, when, glancing back along the road, she started violently, and let the bag containing the other piece of cake fall to the ground.
 
"What's the matter?" asked Tom. As he spoke he caught sight of a man approaching—a tall, slim, very dark man, with coal-black eyes, a fierce black moustache, and a smiling, though at the same time sinister14, expression of countenance15.
 
"It's Max Sordello!" gasped16 Grace, in a tone of mingled17 fear and dismay; "oh, what shall I do?"
 
She had turned white to the lips, and was all of a tremor18. Tom opened the gate, and, followed by Peter, stepped to her side. Max Sordello glanced sharply, but smilingly, from Grace to the boys as he came up to them. "Grace, child, what are you doing here?" he inquired, in a voice which was particularly soft in tone. "You should not have wandered away without your breakfast," he proceeded, glancing at the paper bag on the ground; "I hope you have not been begging?"
 
"No," Peter hastened to assure him, she has not. "But she told us she was hungry, and I got her some bread-and-butter and cake. She has done nothing wrong."
 
"I am glad of that, sir," the man said, civilly. He laid his hand on the little girl's arm as he spoke. "She gives me and my good wife a world of trouble," he continued; "she's not our own child, but an orphan19 we've adopted out of charity, a wild little thing, not very truthful—"
 
"I never told a lie in my life!" Grace broke in, with a flash of her brown eyes, the indignant colour rising to her cheeks.
 
"That's one, anyway!" retorted Max Sordello. He gripped her hard by the arm as he spoke.
 
"Don't you dare be rough with her!" cried Tom, indignantly.
 
"Rough with her!" echoed the lion-trainer, loosening his grip immediately; "why, me and my wife have always been kindness itself to her, the ungrateful little baggage! Where would she be now if we hadn't taken pity on her? Why, in the workhouse, of course! What has she been saying against us, young gentleman? Whatever it is, it isn't true. Come, speak up, Grace! Haven't we let you share our home and provided for you ever since your poor father died?"
 
"Yes," answered the child. She seemed about to say more, but, meeting Max Sordello's eyes, she stood trembling and silent.
 
"If you have anything to tell against me," said the lion-trainer, still smiling and speaking very softly, "say it before me; if not, go home!"
 
The little girl hesitated a minute, then, without a word, and without so much as a glance at the two boys, turned away and walked slowly along the road in the direction of the town.
 
"A very difficult child to manage," remarked Max Sordello, shaking his head gravely as he looked after her; "my wife and I are doing the best we can for her, but she's that disobedient that often we wish we'd let her go to the workhouse instead of adopting her."
 
"Hasn't she any relations?" inquired Peter.
 
"None that I know of, sir. I didn't know much of her father—he was a gypsy and died as the result of an accident. My wife and I took the child out of pure good-nature."
 
"Why did you keep her without her breakfast?" questioned Tom.
 
"For punishment, sir," Max Sordello answered promptly20; "she had disobeyed and defied my wife, and deserved to be punished. She might have had her breakfast if she would have promised to be good, but she wouldn't."
 
The boys were extremely puzzled. In their hearts they believed that Grace had been badly treated, but Max Sordello spoke so plausibly21 that they began to think it was possible that the little girl might have given trouble, and reflected that it certainly had been very kind of the lion-trainer and his wife to adopt her.
 
"Well, she's not hungry now," Tom said, "and I hope your wife won't be hard on her when she gets home; I know your wife is rough with her—I was in the Market Square when the row was going on between them not an hour ago."
 
"My wife may be a little heavy-handed, but she wouldn't hurt the child," Max Sordello answered; "she's too fond of her to do that." Then, evidently wishing to please the boys, he chirruped to Bounce, who had come out into the road and, having found the paper bag, was now eating the last crumb22 of its contents.
 
"I wouldn't advise you to interfere with him," said Tom, "he's not too good-tempered with strangers."
 
"No, please don't touch him!" said Peter, apprehensively23.
 
Nevertheless, Max Sordello stooped to pat the dog; whereupon Bounce gave an angry snarl24, showing every tooth in his head. Tim, who had been engaged in watching a cat in a lilac-tree in the garden, hearing the snarl, came out into the road in haste to ascertain25 what was going on, and was just in time to see Max Sordello beating a hasty retreat. The two dogs looked at each other; then, with one accord, they rushed after the lion-trainer and barked him out of sight.
 
"They've not touched him, have they?" questioned Peter, anxiously.
 
"Oh, no!" Tom answered, reassuringly26; "they've only given him a jolly good fright!"

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1 halcyon 8efx7     
n.平静的,愉快的
参考例句:
  • He yearned for the halcyon day sof his childhood.他怀念儿时宁静幸福的日子。
  • He saw visions of a halcyon future.他看到了将来的太平日子的幻境。
2 villa xHayI     
n.别墅,城郊小屋
参考例句:
  • We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
  • We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。
3 hearty Od1zn     
adj.热情友好的;衷心的;尽情的,纵情的
参考例句:
  • After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了,他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
  • We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。
4 disapproval VuTx4     
n.反对,不赞成
参考例句:
  • The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
  • They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。
5 dwarf EkjzH     
n.矮子,侏儒,矮小的动植物;vt.使…矮小
参考例句:
  • The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
  • The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀,摇摇头。
6 pony Au5yJ     
adj.小型的;n.小马
参考例句:
  • His father gave him a pony as a Christmas present.他父亲给了他一匹小马驹作为圣诞礼物。
  • They made him pony up the money he owed.他们逼他还债。
7 curiously 3v0zIc     
adv.有求知欲地;好问地;奇特地
参考例句:
  • He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
  • He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。
8 kindly tpUzhQ     
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地
参考例句:
  • Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
  • A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。
9 sob HwMwx     
n.空间轨道的轰炸机;呜咽,哭泣
参考例句:
  • The child started to sob when he couldn't find his mother.孩子因找不到他妈妈哭了起来。
  • The girl didn't answer,but continued to sob with her head on the table.那个女孩不回答,也不抬起头来。她只顾低声哭着。
10 spoke XryyC     
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。
11 shuddering 7cc81262357e0332a505af2c19a03b06     
v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 );发抖;(机器、车辆等)突然震动;颤动
参考例句:
  • 'I am afraid of it,'she answered, shuddering. “我害怕,”她发着抖,说。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
  • She drew a deep shuddering breath. 她不由得打了个寒噤,深深吸了口气。 来自飘(部分)
12 interfere b5lx0     
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。
13 interfered 71b7e795becf1adbddfab2cd6c5f0cff     
v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 );调停;妨碍;干涉
参考例句:
  • Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》
14 sinister 6ETz6     
adj.不吉利的,凶恶的,左边的
参考例句:
  • There is something sinister at the back of that series of crimes.在这一系列罪行背后有险恶的阴谋。
  • Their proposals are all worthless and designed out of sinister motives.他们的建议不仅一钱不值,而且包藏祸心。
15 countenance iztxc     
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。
16 gasped e6af294d8a7477229d6749fa9e8f5b80     
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要
参考例句:
  • She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
  • People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
17 mingled fdf34efd22095ed7e00f43ccc823abdf     
混合,混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 ); 混进,与…交往[联系]
参考例句:
  • The sounds of laughter and singing mingled in the evening air. 笑声和歌声交织在夜空中。
  • The man and the woman mingled as everyone started to relax. 当大家开始放松的时候,这一男一女就开始交往了。
18 tremor Tghy5     
n.震动,颤动,战栗,兴奋,地震
参考例句:
  • There was a slight tremor in his voice.他的声音有点颤抖。
  • A slight earth tremor was felt in California.加利福尼亚发生了轻微的地震。
19 orphan QJExg     
n.孤儿;adj.无父母的
参考例句:
  • He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大,并且把自己的医术传给了他。
  • The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。
20 promptly LRMxm     
adv.及时地,敏捷地
参考例句:
  • He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
  • She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。
21 plausibly 75646e59e38c0cc6f64664720eec8504     
似真地
参考例句:
  • The case was presented very plausibly. 案情的申述似很可信。
  • He argued very plausibly for its acceptance. 他为使之认可辩解得头头是道。
22 crumb ynLzv     
n.饼屑,面包屑,小量
参考例句:
  • It was the only crumb of comfort he could salvage from the ordeal.这是他从这场磨难里能找到的唯一的少许安慰。
  • Ruth nearly choked on the last crumb of her pastry.鲁斯几乎被糕点的最后一块碎屑所噎住。
23 apprehensively lzKzYF     
adv.担心地
参考例句:
  • He glanced a trifle apprehensively towards the crowded ballroom. 他敏捷地朝挤满了人的舞厅瞟了一眼。 来自辞典例句
  • Then it passed, leaving everything in a state of suspense, even the willow branches waiting apprehensively. 一阵这样的风过去,一切都不知怎好似的,连柳树都惊疑不定的等着点什么。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
24 snarl 8FAzv     
v.吼叫,怒骂,纠缠,混乱;n.混乱,缠结,咆哮
参考例句:
  • At the seaside we could hear the snarl of the waves.在海边我们可以听见波涛的咆哮。
  • The traffic was all in a snarl near the accident.事故发生处附近交通一片混乱。
25 ascertain WNVyN     
vt.发现,确定,查明,弄清
参考例句:
  • It's difficult to ascertain the coal deposits.煤储量很难探明。
  • We must ascertain the responsibility in light of different situtations.我们必须根据不同情况判定责任。
26 reassuringly YTqxW     
ad.安心,可靠
参考例句:
  • He patted her knee reassuringly. 他轻拍她的膝盖让她放心。
  • The doctor smiled reassuringly. 医生笑了笑,让人心里很踏实。


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