CHAPTER XXI.

 Pennoyer, coming home one morning with two gigantic cakes to accompany the coffee at the breakfast in the den¹, saw a young man bounce from a horse car. He gave a shout. "Hello, there, Billie! Hello!"

 

"Hello, Penny!" said Hawker. "What are you doing out so early?" It was somewhat after nine o'clock.

 

"Out to get breakfast," said Pennoyer, waving the cakes. "Have a good time, old man?"

 

"Great."

 

"Do much work?"

 

"No. Not so much. How are all the people?"

 

"Oh, pretty good. Come in and see us eat breakfast," said Pennoyer, throwing open the door of the den. Wrinkles, in his shirt, was making coffee. Grief sat in a chair trying to loosen the grasp of sleep. "Why, Billie Hawker, b'ginger!" they cried.

 

"How's the wolf, boys? At the door yet?"

 

"'At the door yet?' He's halfway² up the back stairs, and coming fast. He and the landlord will be here to-morrow. 'Mr. Landlord, allow me to present Mr. F. Wolf, of Hunger, N. J. Mr. Wolf—Mr. Landlord.'"

 

"Bad as that?" said Hawker.

 

"You bet it is! Easy Street is somewhere in heaven, for all we know. Have some breakfast?—coffee and cake, I mean."

 

"No, thanks, boys. Had breakfast."

 

Wrinkles added to the shirt, Grief aroused himself, and Pennoyer brought the coffee. Cheerfully throwing some drawings from the table to the floor, they thus made room for the breakfast, and grouped themselves with beaming smiles at the board.

 

"Well, Billie, come back to the old gang again, eh? How did the country seem? Do much work?"

 

"Not very much. A few things. How's everybody?"

 

"Splutter was in last night. Looking out of sight. Seemed glad to hear that you were coming back soon."

 

"Did she? Penny, did anybody call wanting me to do a ten-thousand-dollar portrait for them?"

 

"No. That frame-maker, though, was here with a bill. I told him——"

 

Afterward³ Hawker crossed the corridor and threw open the door of his own large studio. The great skylight, far above his head, shed its clear rays upon a scene which appeared to indicate that some one had very recently ceased work here and started for the country. A distant closet door was open, and the interior showed the effects of a sudden pillage⁴.

 

There was an unfinished "Girl in Apple Orchard⁵" upon the tall Dutch easel, and sketches⁶ and studies were thick upon the floor. Hawker took a pipe and filled it from his friend the tan and gold jar. He cast himself into a chair and, taking an envelope from his pocket, emptied two violets from it to the palm of his hand and stared long at them. Upon the walls of the studio various labours of his life, in heavy gilt⁷ frames, contemplated⁸ him and the violets.

 

At last Pennoyer burst impetuously in upon him. "Hi, Billie! come over and—— What's the matter?"

 

Hawker had hastily placed the violets in the envelope and hurried it to his pocket. "Nothing," he answered.

 

"Why, I thought—" said Pennoyer, "I thought you looked rather rattled⁹. Didn't you have—I thought I saw something in your hand."

 

"Nothing, I tell you!" cried Hawker.

 

"Er—oh, I beg your pardon," said Pennoyer. "Why, I was going to tell you that Splutter is over in our place, and she wants to see you."

 

"Wants to see me? What for?" demanded Hawker. "Why don't she come over here, then?"

 

"I'm sure I don't know," replied Pennoyer. "She sent me to call you."

 

"Well, do you think I'm going to—— Oh, well, I suppose she wants to be unpleasant, and knows she loses a certain mental position if she comes over here, but if she meets me in your place she can be as infernally disagreeable as she—— That's it, I'll bet."

 

When they entered the den Florinda was gazing from the window. Her back was toward the door.

 

At last she turned to them, holding herself very straight. "Well, Billie Hawker," she said grimly, "you don't seem very glad to see a fellow."

 

"Why, heavens, did you think I was going to turn somersaults in the air?"

 

"Well, you didn't come out when you heard me pass your door," said Florinda, with gloomy resentment¹⁰.

 

Hawker appeared to be ruffled¹¹ and vexed¹². "Oh, great Scott!" he said, making a gesture of despair.

 

Florinda returned to the window. In the ensuing conversation she took no part, save when there was an opportunity to harry¹³ some speech of Hawker's, which she did in short contemptuous sentences. Hawker made no reply save to glare in her direction. At last he said, "Well, I must go over and do some work." Florinda did not turn from the window. "Well, so-long, boys," said Hawker, "I'll see you later."

 

As the door slammed Pennoyer apologetically said, "Billie is a trifle off his feed this morning."

 

"What about?" asked Grief.

 

"I don't know; but when I went to call him he was sitting deep in his chair staring at some——" He looked at Florinda and became silent.

 

"Staring at what?" asked Florinda, turning then from the window.

 

Pennoyer seemed embarrassed. "Why, I don't know—nothing, I guess—I couldn't see very well. I was only fooling."

 

Florinda scanned his face suspiciously. "Staring at what?" she demanded imperatively¹⁴.

 

"Nothing, I tell you!" shouted Pennoyer.

 

Florinda looked at him, and wavered and debated. Presently she said, softly: "Ah, go on, Penny. Tell me."

 

"It wasn't anything at all, I say!" cried Pennoyer stoutly¹⁵. "I was only giving you a jolly. Sit down, Splutter, and hit a cigarette."

 

She obeyed, but she continued to cast the dubious¹⁶ eye at Pennoyer. Once she said to him privately¹⁷: "Go on, Penny, tell me. I know it was something from the way you are acting¹⁸."

 

"Oh, let up, Splutter, for heaven's sake!"

 

"Tell me," beseeched Florinda.

 

"No."

 

"Tell me."

 

"No."

 

"Pl-e-a-se tell me."

 

"No."

 

"Oh, go on."

 

"No."

 

"Ah, what makes you so mean, Penny? You know I'd tell you, if it was the other way about."

 

"But it's none of my business, Splutter. I can't tell you something which is Billie Hawker's private affair. If I did I would be a chump."

 

"But I'll never say you told me. Go on."

 

"No."

 

"Pl-e-a-se tell me."

 

"No."

1 den   

n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室

参考例句：

• There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
• The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

2 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

3 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

4 pillage   

v.抢劫；掠夺；n.抢劫，掠夺；掠夺物

参考例句：

• The invading troops were guilty of rape and pillage.侵略军犯了抢劫和强奸的罪。
• It was almost pillage.这简直是一场洗劫。

5 orchard   

n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场

参考例句：

• My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

6 sketches   

n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概

参考例句：

• The artist is making sketches for his next painting. 画家正为他的下一幅作品画素描。
• You have to admit that these sketches are true to life. 你得承认这些素描很逼真。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 gilt   

adj.镀金的；n.金边证券

参考例句：

• The plates have a gilt edge.这些盘子的边是镀金的。
• The rest of the money is invested in gilt.其余的钱投资于金边证券。

8 contemplated   

adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The doctor contemplated the difficult operation he had to perform. 医生仔细地考虑他所要做的棘手的手术。
• The government has contemplated reforming the entire tax system. 政府打算改革整个税收体制。

9 rattled   

慌乱的，恼火的

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

10 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

11 ruffled   

adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She ruffled his hair affectionately. 她情意绵绵地拨弄着他的头发。
• All this talk of a strike has clearly ruffled the management's feathers. 所有这些关于罢工的闲言碎语显然让管理层很不高兴。

12 vexed   

adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论

参考例句：

• The conference spent days discussing the vexed question of border controls. 会议花了几天的时间讨论边境关卡这个难题。
• He was vexed at his failure. 他因失败而懊恼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

14 imperatively   

adv.命令式地

参考例句：

• Drying wet rice rapidly and soaking or rewetting dry rice kernels imperatively results in severe fissuring. 潮湿米粒快速干燥或干燥籽粒浸水、回潮均会产生严重的裂纹。 来自互联网
• Drying wet rice kernels rapidly, Soaking or Rewetting dry rice Kernels imperatively results in severe fissuring. 潮湿米粒的快速干燥，干燥籽粒的浸水或回潮均会带来严重的裂纹。 来自互联网

15 stoutly   

adv.牢固地，粗壮的

参考例句：

• He stoutly denied his guilt.他断然否认自己有罪。
• Burgess was taxed with this and stoutly denied it.伯杰斯为此受到了责难，但是他自己坚决否认有这回事。

16 dubious   

adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
• He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

17 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

18 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。