CHAPTER IX. WHICH TELLS OF THE MAN

 It rained the next time Pollyanna saw the Man. She greeted him, however, with a bright smile.

 

“It isn't so nice to-day, is it?” she called blithesomely. “I'm glad it doesn't rain always, anyhow!”

 

The man did not even grunt¹ this time, nor turn his head. Pollyanna decided² that of course he did not hear her. The next time, therefore (which happened to be the following day), she spoke³ up louder. She thought it particularly necessary to do this, anyway, for the Man was striding along, his hands behind his back, and his eyes on the ground—which seemed, to Pollyanna, preposterous⁴ in the face of the glorious sunshine and the freshly-washed morning air: Pollyanna, as a special treat, was on a morning errand to-day.

 

“How do you do?” she chirped⁵. “I'm so glad it isn't yesterday, aren't you?”

 

The man stopped abruptly⁶. There was an angry scowl⁷ on his face.

 

“See here, little girl, we might just as well settle this thing right now, once for all,” he began testily⁸. “I've got something besides the weather to think of. I don't know whether the sun shines or not.” Pollyanna beamed joyously⁹.

 

“No, sir; I thought you didn't. That's why I told you.”

 

“Yes; well—Eh? What?” he broke off sharply, in sudden understanding of her words.

 

“I say, that's why I told you—so you would notice it, you know—that the sun shines, and all that. I knew you'd be glad it did if you only stopped to think of it—and you didn't look a bit as if you WERE thinking of it!”

 

“Well, of all the—” ejaculated the man, with an oddly impotent gesture. He started forward again, but after the second step he turned back, still frowning.

 

“See here, why don't you find some one your own age to talk to?”

 

“I'd like to, sir, but there aren't any 'round here, Nancy says. Still, I don't mind so very much. I like old folks just as well, maybe better, sometimes—being used to the Ladies' Aid, so.”

 

“Humph! The Ladies' Aid, indeed! Is that what you took me for?” The man's lips were threatening to smile, but the scowl above them was still trying to hold them grimly stern.

 

Pollyanna laughed gleefully.

 

“Oh, no, sir. You don't look a mite¹⁰ like a Ladies' Aider—not but that you're just as good, of course—maybe better,” she added in hurried politeness. “You see, I'm sure you're much nicer than you look!”

 

The man made a queer noise in his throat.

 

“Well, of all the—” he ejaculated again, as he turned and strode on as before.

 

The next time Pollyanna met the Man, his eyes were gazing straight into hers, with a quizzical directness that made his face look really pleasant, Pollyanna thought.

 

“Good afternoon,” he greeted her a little stiffly. “Perhaps I'd better say right away that I KNOW the sun is shining to-day.”

 

“But you don't have to tell me,” nodded Pollyanna, brightly. “I KNEW you knew it just as soon as I saw you.”

 

“Oh, you did, did you?”

 

“Yes, sir; I saw it in your eyes, you know, and in your smile.”

 

“Humph!” grunted¹¹ the man, as he passed on.

 

The Man always spoke to Pollyanna after this, and frequently he spoke first, though usually he said little but “good afternoon.” Even that, however, was a great surprise to Nancy, who chanced to be with Pollyanna one day when the greeting was given.

 

“Sakes alive, Miss Pollyanna,” she gasped¹², “did that man SPEAK TO YOU?”

 

“Why, yes, he always does—now,” smiled Pollyanna.

 

“'He always does'! Goodness! Do you know who—he—is?” demanded Nancy.

 

Pollyanna frowned and shook her head.

 

“I reckon he forgot to tell me one day. You see, I did my part of the introducing, but he didn't.”

 

Nancy's eyes widened.

 

“But he never speaks ter anybody, child—he hain't for years, I guess, except when he just has to, for business, and all that. He's John Pendleton. He lives all by himself in the big house on Pendleton Hill. He won't even have any one 'round ter cook for him—comes down ter the hotel for his meals three times a day. I know Sally Miner, who waits on him, and she says he hardly opens his head enough ter tell what he wants ter eat. She has ter guess it more'n half the time—only it'll be somethin' CHEAP! She knows that without no tellin'.”

 

Pollyanna nodded sympathetically.

 

“I know. You have to look for cheap things when you're poor. Father and I took meals out a lot. We had beans and fish balls most generally. We used to say how glad we were we liked beans—that is, we said it specially¹³ when we were looking at the roast turkey place, you know, that was sixty cents. Does Mr. Pendleton like beans?”

 

“Like 'em! What if he does—or don't? Why, Miss Pollyanna, he ain't poor. He's got loads of money, John Pendleton has—from his father. There ain't nobody in town as rich as he is. He could eat dollar bills, if he wanted to—and not know it.”

 

Pollyanna giggled¹⁴.

 

“As if anybody COULD eat dollar bills and not know it, Nancy, when they come to try to chew 'em!”

 

“Ho! I mean he's rich enough ter do it,” shrugged¹⁵ Nancy. “He ain't spendin' his money, that's all. He's a-savin' of it.”

 

“Oh, for the heathen,” surmised¹⁶ Pollyanna. “How perfectly¹⁷ splendid! That's denying yourself and taking up your cross. I know; father told me.”

 

Nancy's lips parted abruptly, as if there were angry words all ready to come; but her eyes, resting on Pollyanna's jubilantly trustful face, saw something that prevented the words being spoken.

 

“Humph!” she vouchsafed¹⁸. Then, showing her old-time interest, she went on: “But, say, it is queer, his speakin' to you, honestly, Miss Pollyanna. He don't speak ter no one; and he lives all alone in a great big lovely house all full of jest grand things, they say. Some says he's crazy, and some jest cross; and some says he's got a skeleton in his closet.”

 

“Oh, Nancy!” shuddered¹⁹ Pollyanna. “How can he keep such a dreadful thing? I should think he'd throw it away!”

 

Nancy chuckled²⁰. That Pollyanna had taken the skeleton literally²¹ instead of figuratively, she knew very well; but, perversely²², she refrained from correcting the mistake.

 

“And EVERYBODY says he's mysterious,” she went on. “Some years he jest travels, week in and week out, and it's always in heathen countries—Egypt and Asia and the Desert of Sarah, you know.”

 

“Oh, a missionary,” nodded Pollyanna.

 

Nancy laughed oddly.

 

“Well, I didn't say that, Miss Pollyanna. When he comes back he writes books—queer, odd books, they say, about some gimcrack he's found in them heathen countries. But he don't never seem ter want ter spend no money here—leastways, not for jest livin'.”

 

“Of course not—if he's saving it for the heathen,” declared Pollyanna. “But he is a funny man, and he's different, too, just like Mrs. Snow, only he's a different different.”

 

“Well, I guess he is—rather,” chuckled Nancy.

 

“I'm gladder'n ever now, anyhow, that he speaks to me,” sighed Pollyanna contentedly²³.

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 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 spoke   

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。

4 preposterous   

adj.荒谬的，可笑的

参考例句：

• The whole idea was preposterous.整个想法都荒唐透顶。
• It would be preposterous to shovel coal with a teaspoon.用茶匙铲煤是荒谬的。

5 chirped   

鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的过去式 )

参考例句：

• So chirped fiber gratings have broad reflection bandwidth. 所以chirped光纤光栅具有宽的反射带宽，在反射带宽内具有渐变的群时延等其它类型的光纤光栅所不具备的特点。
• The crickets chirped faster and louder. 蟋蟀叫得更欢了。

6 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。

7 scowl   

vi.(at)生气地皱眉，沉下脸，怒视；n.怒容

参考例句：

• I wonder why he is wearing an angry scowl.我不知道他为何面带怒容。
• The boss manifested his disgust with a scowl.老板面带怒色，清楚表示出他的厌恶之感。

8 testily   

adv. 易怒地, 暴躁地

参考例句：

• He reacted testily to reports that he'd opposed military involvement. 有报道称他反对军队参与，对此他很是恼火。 来自柯林斯例句

9 joyously   

ad.快乐地, 高兴地

参考例句：

• She opened the door for me and threw herself in my arms, screaming joyously and demanding that we decorate the tree immediately. 她打开门，直扑我的怀抱，欣喜地喊叫着要马上装饰圣诞树。
• They came running, crying out joyously in trilling girlish voices. 她们边跑边喊，那少女的颤音好不欢快。 来自名作英译部分

10 mite   

n.极小的东西；小铜币

参考例句：

• The poor mite was so ill.可怜的孩子病得这么重。
• He is a mite taller than I.他比我高一点点。

11 grunted   

（猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说

参考例句：

• She just grunted, not deigning to look up from the page. 她只咕哝了一声，继续看书，不屑抬起头来看一眼。
• She grunted some incomprehensible reply. 她咕噜着回答了些令人费解的话。

12 gasped   

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》

13 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

14 giggled   

v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The girls giggled at the joke. 女孩子们让这笑话逗得咯咯笑。
• The children giggled hysterically. 孩子们歇斯底里地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 surmised   

v.臆测，推断( surmise的过去式和过去分词 )；揣测；猜想

参考例句：

• From the looks on their faces, I surmised that they had had an argument. 看他们的脸色，我猜想他们之间发生了争执。
• From his letter I surmised that he was unhappy. 我从他的信中推测他并不快乐。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 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。

18 vouchsafed   

v.给予，赐予( vouchsafe的过去式和过去分词 )；允诺

参考例句：

• He vouchsafed to me certain family secrets. 他让我知道了某些家庭秘密。
• The significance of the event does, indeed, seem vouchsafed. 这个事件看起来确实具有重大意义。 来自辞典例句

19 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》

20 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

21 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

22 perversely   

adv. 倔强地

参考例句：

• Intelligence in the mode of passion is always perversely. 受激情属性控制的智力，总是逆着活动的正确方向行事。
• She continue, perversely, to wear shoes that damaged her feet. 她偏偏穿那双挤脚的鞋。

23 contentedly   

adv.心满意足地

参考例句：

• My father sat puffing contentedly on his pipe.父亲坐着心满意足地抽着烟斗。
• "This is brother John's writing,"said Sally,contentedly,as she opened the letter.