We re-introduce him to our readers, engaged, as usual, in counting over his hoards2. Preparatory to doing so, he carefully secured the outer door, and also the door of the apartment which he occupied.
Then lifting up a plank3 from the floor, he raised from beneath a large box containing gold coins. It was very heavy, and it was not without difficulty that the old man, who was very feeble, succeeded in lifting it to a level with the floor.
The box was, perhaps, four fifths full.
[107]
The old man surveyed the deficiency with a groan4.
"It might have been full," he muttered, "if I hadn't been obliged to pay away such a sight of money to that determined5 man. One thousand dollars! two hundred bright, sparkling coins! How many, many weary days it will take before I can supply their place. It was all but full. It wanted only ten more coins to make five thousand dollars. Oh gold, gold, gold! How beautiful you are! To me you are food and drink and clothing and friends and relations. I care for nothing but you."
While Peter was indulging in this soliloquy, he was engaged in counting the coins in the box.
The result of the count showed one less than he had anticipated.
The old man turned pale.
"Some one has robbed me," he muttered. "Or, perchance, I have counted wrong. I will go over it again."
This he did with eager haste and a feeling of nervous anxiety, and, to his no small dismay, the count resulted as before.
[108]
"They have taken my money!" exclaimed Peter, tearing his white hair in anguish6. "They will make me a beggar, and I shall be reduced to want in my old age. Oh, oh!"
In the midst of his lamentations he suddenly discovered the missing coin, which had rolled away, without his observing it, to the opposite side of the room.
Chuckling7 with delight, he picked it up and replaced it in the box.
His duty satisfactorily performed, the miser8 put on his cloak, and prepared for another task. This was, to raise Mrs. Codman's rent, and so compel her to leave the rooms which she rented of him. This, however, was unnecessary, since, deprived of Charlie's earnings9, his mother would have found it impossible to pay the rent previously10 demanded.
Peter Manson resolved to call upon his tenant11 in person. He was not afraid of recognition. He felt that the changes which twenty years had wrought12 in his appearance, would be a sufficient protection. Indeed, this had already been tested; for Peter had already called several times on the same[109] errand, without attracting a glance which could be construed13 into recognition.
It was the morning after Charlie had disappeared. He had been absent twenty-four hours, and his mother had heard nothing of him. She was in a terrible state of apprehension14 and anxiety, for few boys were more regular than he in repairing home as soon as his daily duties were over.
Mrs. Codman had sat up late into the night, hoping against her fears that he would return. At length, exhausted15 by her vigils, she sank upon the bed, but not to sleep. In the morning she rose, unrefreshed, to prepare her solitary16 meal. But it was in vain. Sorrow and anxiety had taken away her appetite, and she was unable to eat anything.
Soon afterwards a knock was heard at the door. She hastened to open it, hoping to hear some tidings of her lost boy. What was her disappointment to meet the bent17 form and wrinkled face of Peter Manson, her landlord.
The old man gave her a stealthy glance.
"Why did I not know her before?" he[110] thought. "She is not so very much changed. But I—ha, ha! she don't know who I am."
Mrs. Codman went to a drawer in her bureau, and took therefrom six dollars.
"This is the amount of your rent, I believe," she said.
The old man greedily closed his fingers upon the money, and then, after intimating that it was very small, avowed18 his determination to raise the rent to two dollars per week.
The miser watched with gleeful exultation19 the look of dismay which came over the face of his tenant.
Two dollars a week was not only beyond Mrs. Codman's means, but was, at that time, an exorbitant20 rent for the rooms which she occupied. She would scarcely have been justified21 in paying it while she had Charlie's earnings as well as her own to depend on. Yet there seemed now an imperative22 necessity for remaining where she was, for a time at least. It was possible that Charlie would come back, and if she should remove, where would he find her? Of course, he would[111] come back! The thought that there was even a possibility of her son being lost to her was so full of shuddering23 terror, that Mrs. Codman would not for a moment indulge it. Life without Charlie would be so full of sadness, that she could not believe him lost.
She resolved to make an effort to arouse the old man's compassion24. She did not dream of the spite and hatred25 which he felt towards her. There are none whom the wicked hate so heartily26 as those whom they have injured. That is something beyond forgiveness.
Mrs. Codman knew that Peter Manson was avaricious27, and to this she attributed the increase in the rent. She had no suspicion that he had a particular object in distressing29 her.
"Surely, Mr. Manson," she remonstrated30, "You do not think these rooms worth two dollars a week. It is all we are able to do to raise the rent we now pay."
"Humph!" muttered Peter, avoiding the eye of his tenant, "they are worth all I can get for them."
[112]
"Have you raised the rent on the other rooms in this house?"
"No, but I—I shall soon."
"Then I tremble for your tenants31. Mr. Manson, if you were poor yourself, perhaps you would have a heart to sympathize with and pity the poor."
"If I were poor!" exclaimed the old man, betrayed into his customary whine32; "I am poor; indeed, I am very poor."
"You!" repeated Mrs. Codman, incredulously. "Why, you must receive a thousand dollars a year from this building."
"Yet I—I am poor," persisted Peter. "I am only an agent. I—I do not own this building; at least—I mean—there are heavy incumbrances on it; I have to pay away nearly every dollar I receive."
"Can you let me remain a month longer for the same rent as heretofore?" asked Mrs. Codman, anxiously.
"I—I couldn't do it," said Peter, hastily. "Either you must pay two dollars a week, or move out."
Mrs. Codman hesitated.
[113]
She went to her bureau, and found that she had between five and six dollars remaining in her purse. This would enable her, in addition to what she could earn by sewing, to get along for a month.
"Very well, sir," said she, "I must stay a month longer, at any rate. I must for my boy's sake."
"Have you a son?" asked Peter, desirous of learning from the mother's lips that the blow had struck home.
"Yes; you have probably seen him here sometimes."
"I haven't noticed him."
"I am feeling very anxious about him. Yesterday morning he went out on an errand for some one who had engaged him, and he hasn't been back since. I am afraid something must have happened to him," and the mother's eyes filled with tears.
"Perhaps he has fallen off from one of the wharves33, and got drowned," suggested Peter, with a savage34 delight in the pain he was inflicting35.
"You don't think it possible!" exclaimed[114] Mrs. Codman, starting to her feet, and looking in the old man's face with a glance of agonized36 entreaty37, as if he could change by his words the fate of her son.
"Such things often happen," said Peter, chuckling inwardly at the success of his remark; "I knew a boy—an Irish boy, about the size of yours—drowned the other day."
"About the size of my boy! I thought you had not noticed him."
"I—I remember having seen him once," stammered38 Peter. "He is about a dozen years old, isn't he?"
"Yes; but you don't—you can't think him drowned."
"How should I know?" muttered Peter. "Boys are careless, very careless, you know that; and like as not he might have been playing on the wharf39, and——"
"No, it can't be," said Mrs. Codman, with a feeling of relief which her knowledge of Charlie's habits gave her. "Charlie was not careless, and never went to play on the wharf."
The old man was disappointed to find that[115] his blow had failed of its effect, but ingenious in devising new methods of torture, he now suggested the true cause of Charlie's absence.
"Perhaps," he said, with his cruel gray eyes fixed40 upon the mother, "perhaps he's been carried off in a ship."
"Carried off in a ship!" faltered41 Mrs. Codman.
"Yes," said Peter, delighted by the evident dismay with which this suggestion was received.
"But," said Mrs. Codman, not quite comprehending his meaning, "Charlie never had any inclination42 to go to sea."
"Perhaps they didn't consult him about it," suggested Peter.
"What do you mean?" exclaimed the mother, with startling emphasis, half advancing towards the old man.
"You—you shouldn't be so violent," said Peter, trembling, and starting back in alarm.
"Violent! Deprive a mother of her only child, and she may well show some vehemence43."
"I—I didn't do it," said Peter, hastily.
[116]
"Certainly not," said Mrs. Codman, wondering at his thinking it necessary to exculpate44 himself; "but you were saying something about—about boys being carried to sea against their will."
"I didn't mean anything," muttered Peter, regretting that he had put her on the right track.
"But you did, otherwise you would not have said it. For heaven's sake, tell me what you did mean, and all you meant. Don't fear to distress28 me. I can bear anything except this utter uncertainty45."
She looked up earnestly in the old man's face.
Peter was somewhat amused at the idea that he might be afraid to distress her, but decided46, on reflection, to tell her that all he chose she should be made acquainted with.
"Sometimes," he explained, "a captain is short of hands, and fills out his number the best way he can. Now perhaps one of the ships at the wharves might have wanted a boy, and the captain might have invited your son on board, and, ha, ha! it almost makes[117] me laugh to think of it, might carry him off before he thought where he was."
"Do you laugh at the thought of such a cruel misfortune?" asked Mrs. Codman, startled from her grief by the old man's chuckle47.
"I—excuse me, I didn't intend to; but I thought he would be so much surprised when he found out where he was."
"And does that seem to you a fitting subject for merriment?" demanded the outraged48 mother.
The miser cowed beneath her indignant glance, and muttering something unintelligible49, slunk away.
"Curse her!" he muttered, in his quavering tones, "why can't I face her like a man? I never could. That was the way when—when she rejected me. But I shall have my revenge yet."
Strange to say, Peter's last suggestion produced an effect quite different from that which he anticipated and intended. Days passed, and Charlie did not come; but his mother feeling certain, she hardly knew why,[118] that he had been inveigled50 on board some vessel51, felt sure he would some day return.
"He will write to me as soon as he gets a chance," thought the mother, "and I shall soon see him again."
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
lessened
|
|
| 减少的，减弱的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
hoards
|
|
| n.（钱财、食物或其他珍贵物品的）储藏，积存( hoard的名词复数 )v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
plank
|
|
| n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
groan
|
|
| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
determined
|
|
| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
anguish
|
|
| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
chuckling
|
|
| 轻声地笑( chuckle的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
miser
|
|
| n.守财奴，吝啬鬼 (adj.miserly) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
earnings
|
|
| n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
previously
|
|
| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
tenant
|
|
| n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
wrought
|
|
| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
construed
|
|
| v.解释（陈述、行为等）( construe的过去式和过去分词 )；翻译，作句法分析 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
apprehension
|
|
| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
exhausted
|
|
| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
solitary
|
|
| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
avowed
|
|
| adj.公开声明的，承认的v.公开声明，承认( avow的过去式和过去分词) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
exultation
|
|
| n.狂喜，得意 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
exorbitant
|
|
| adj.过分的；过度的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
justified
|
|
| a.正当的，有理的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
imperative
|
|
| n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
shuddering
|
|
| 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： |
|
|
|
|
24
compassion
|
|
| n.同情，怜悯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
hatred
|
|
| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
heartily
|
|
| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
avaricious
|
|
| adj.贪婪的，贪心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
distress
|
|
| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
distressing
|
|
| a.使人痛苦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
remonstrated
|
|
| v.抗议( remonstrate的过去式和过去分词 )；告诫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
tenants
|
|
| n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
whine
|
|
| v.哀号，号哭；n.哀鸣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
wharves
|
|
| n.码头，停泊处( wharf的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
savage
|
|
| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
inflicting
|
|
| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
agonized
|
|
| v.使（极度）痛苦，折磨( agonize的过去式和过去分词 )；苦斗；苦苦思索；感到极度痛苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
entreaty
|
|
| n.恳求，哀求 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
stammered
|
|
| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
wharf
|
|
| n.码头，停泊处 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
faltered
|
|
| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
inclination
|
|
| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
vehemence
|
|
| n.热切；激烈；愤怒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
exculpate
|
|
| v.开脱，使无罪 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
uncertainty
|
|
| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
decided
|
|
| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
chuckle
|
|
| vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
outraged
|
|
| a.震惊的，义愤填膺的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
unintelligible
|
|
| adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
inveigled
|
|
| v.诱骗，引诱( inveigle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
vessel
|
|
| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |