Hiding in the shrubbery, Adam Ward1 chuckled2 and grinned with strange glee as he listened to his wife calling for him. Here and there about the grounds she searched anxiously; but the man kept himself hidden and enjoyed her distress3. At last, when she had come so near that discovery was certain, he suddenly stepped out from the bushes and, facing her, waited expectantly.
And now, by some miracle, Adam Ward's countenance4 was transformed--his eyes were gentle, his gray face calm and kindly5. His smile became the affectionate greeting of a man who, past the middle years of life, is steadfast6 in his love for the mother of his grown-up children.
Mrs. Ward had been, in the years of her young womanhood, as beautiful as her daughter Helen. But her face was lined now with care and shadowed by sadness, as though with the success of her husband there had come, also, regrets and disappointments which she had suffered in silence and alone.
She returned Adam's smile of greeting, when she saw him standing7 there, but that note of anxiety was still in her voice as she said gently, "Where in the world have you been? I have looked all over the place for you."
He laughed as he went to her--a laugh of good comradeship. "I was just sitting over there under that tree," he answered. "I heard you when you called the first time, but thought I would let you hunt a while. The exercise will do you good--keep you from getting too fat in your old age."
She laughed with him, and answered, "Well, you can just come and talk to me now, while I rest."
Arm in arm, they went to the rustic8 seat in the shade of the tree where, a few minutes before, he had so aimlessly broken the twigs9.
But when they were seated the man frowned with displeasure. "Alice, I wish to goodness there was some way to make these men about the place keep a closer watch of things."
She glanced at him quickly. "Has something gone wrong, Adam?"
"Nothing more than usual," he answered, harshly. "There are always a lot of prowlers around. But they don't stay long when I get after them." He laughed, shortly--a mirthless, shamefaced laugh.
"I am sorry you were annoyed," she said, gently.
"Annoyed!" he returned, with the manner of a petulant10 child. "I'll annoy _them_. I tell you I am not going to stand for a lot of people's coming here, sneaking11 and prying12 around to see what they can see. If anybody wants to enjoy a place like this let him work for it as I have."
She waited a while before she said, as if feeling her way toward a definite point, "It has been hard work, hasn't it, Adam? Almost too hard, I fear. Did you ever ask yourself if, after all, it is really worth the cost?"
"Worth the cost! I am not in the habit of paying more than things are worth. This place cost me exactly--"
She interrupted him, quietly, "I don't mean that, dear. I was not thinking of the money. I was thinking of what it has all cost in work and worry and--and other things."
"It has all been for you and the children, Alice," he answered, wearily; and there was that in his voice and face which brought the tears to her eyes. "You know that, so far as I am personally concerned, it doesn't mean a thing in the world to me. I don't know anything outside of the Mill myself."
She put her hand on his arm with a caressing13 touch. "I know--I know--and that is just what troubles me. Perhaps if you would share it more--I mean if you could enjoy it more--I might feel different about it. We were all so happy, Adam, in the old house."
When he made no reply to this but sat with his eyes fixed14 on the ground she said, pleadingly, "Won't you put aside all the cares and worries of the Mill now, and just be happy with us, Adam?"
The man moved uneasily.
"You know what the doctors say," she continued, gently. "You really--"
He interrupted impatiently, "The doctors are a set of fools. I'll show them!"
She persisted with gentle patience. "But even if the doctors are wrong about your health, still there is no reason why you should not rest after all your years of hard work. I am sure we have everything in the world that any one could possibly want. There is not the shadow of a necessity to make you go on wearing your life out as you have been doing."
"Much you know about what is necessary for me to do," he retorted. "A man isn't going to let the business that he has been all his life building up go to smash just because he has made money enough to keep him without work for the rest of his days."
"There are other things that can go to smash besides business, Adam," she returned, sadly. "And I am sure that the Mill will be safe enough now in John's hands."
"John!" he exclaimed, bitterly. "It's John and his crazy ideas that I am afraid of."
She returned, quickly, with a mother's pride, "Why, Adam! You have said so many times how wonderfully well John was doing, and what a splendid head he had for business details and management. It was only last week that you told me John was more capable now than some of the men that have been in the office with you for several years."
Adam Ward rose and paced uneasily up and down before her. "You don't understand at all, Alice. It is not John's business ability or his willingness to get into the harness that worries me. It is the fool notions that he picked up somewhere over there in the war--there, and from that meddlesome15 old socialist16 basket maker17."
"Just what notions do you mean, Adam? Is it John's friendship with Charlie Martin that you fear?"
"His friendship with young Martin is only part of it. I am afraid of his attitude toward the whole industrial situation. Haven't you heard his wild, impracticable and dangerous theories of applying, as he says, the ideals of patriotism18, and love of country, and duty to humanity, and sacrifice, and heroism19, and God knows what other nonsense, to the work of the world? You know as well as I do how he talks about the comradeship of the mills and factories and workshops being like the comradeship of the trenches20 and camps and battlefields. His notions of the relation between an employer and his employees would be funny if they were not so dangerous. Look at his sympathy with the unions! And yet I have shown him on my books where this union business has cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars! Comradeship! Loyalty21! I tell you I know what I'm talking about from experience. The only way to handle the working class is to keep them where they belong. Give them the least chance to think you are easy and they are on your neck. If I had my way I'd hold them to their jobs at the muzzle22 of a machine gun. McIver has the right idea. He is getting himself in shape right now for the biggest fight with labor23 that he has ever had. Everybody knows that agitator24 Jake Vodell is here to make trouble. The laboring25 classes have had a long spell of good times now and they're ripe for anything. All they need is a start and this anarchist26 is here to start them. And John, instead of lining27 up with McIver and getting ready to fight them to a finish, is spending his time hobnobbing with Charlie Martin and listening to that old fool Interpreter."
"Come, dear," she said, soothingly28. "Come and sit down here with me. Don't let's worry about what may happen."
He obeyed her with the manner of a fretful child. And presently, as she talked, the cloud lifted from his gray, haggard face, and he grew calm. Soon, when she made some smiling remark, he even smiled back at her with the affectionate companionship of their years.
"You will try not to worry about things so much, won't you, Adam?" she said, at last. "For my sake, won't you?"
"But I tell you, Alice, there is serious trouble ahead."
"Perhaps that is all the more reason why you should retire now," she urged. He stirred uneasily, but she continued, "Just suppose the worst that could possibly happen should happen, suppose you even had to give up the Mill to Pete Martin and the men, suppose you lost the new process and everything, and we were obliged to give up our home here and go back to live in the old house--it would still be better than losing you, dear. Don't you know that to have you well and strong would be more to Helen and John and to me than anything else could possibly be?"
Mrs. Ward knew, as the words left her lips, that she had said the wrong thing. She had heard him rave29 about his ownership of the new process too many times not to know--while any mention of his old workman friend Peter Martin always threw him into a rage. But in her anxiety the forbidden words had escaped her.
She drew back with a little gasp30 of fear at the swift change that came over his face. As if she had touched a hidden spring in his being the man's countenance was darkened by furious hatred31 and desperate fear. His trembling lips were ashen32; the muscles of his face twitched33 and worked; his eyes blazed with a vicious anger beyond all control. Springing to his feet, he faced her with a snarling34 exclamation35, and in a voice shaking with passion, cried, "Pete Martin! What is he? Who is he? Everything he has in the world he owes to me. Haven't I kept him in work all these years? Haven't I paid him every cent of his wages? Look at his home. Not many working men have been able to own a place like that. What would he have done without the money I have given him every pay day? I could have turned him out long ago--kicked him out of a job without a cent. He's had all that's coming to him--every penny. _I_ built up the Mill. That new process is mine--it's patented in my name. I have had the best lawyers I could hire to protect it on every possible point. If it hadn't been for my business brain there wouldn't be any new process. What could Pete Martin have done with it--the fool has no more business sense than a baby. I introduced it--I exploited it--I built it up and made it worth what it is, and there isn't a court in the world that wouldn't say I have a legal right to it."
In vain Mrs. Ward tried to soothe36 him with reassuring37 words, pleading with him to be calm.
"I know they're after me," he raved38. "They have tried all sorts of tricks. There is always some sneaking spy watching for a chance to get me, but I'll fix them. I built the business up and I can tear it down. Let them try to take anything away from me if they dare. I'll burn the Mill and the whole town before I'll give up one cent of my legal rights to Pete Martin or any of his tribe."
Forgetting his companion, the man suddenly started off across the grounds, waving his arms and shaking his fists in wild gestures as he continued his tirade39 against his old fellow workman. Mrs. Ward knew from experience the uselessness of trying to interfere40 until he had exhausted41 himself.
* * * * *
As Helen was returning to the house after her talk with the children, she saw her mother coming slowly from that part of the grounds where the young woman had watched her father. It was evident, even at a distance, that Mrs. Ward was greatly distressed42. When the young woman reached her mother's side, Mrs. Ward said, simply, "Your father, dear--he is terribly upset. Go to him, Helen, you can always do more for him than any one else--he needs you."
It was not an easy task for Helen Ward to face her father just then. As she went in search of him she tried to put from her mind all that she had seen and to remember only that he was ill. She found him in the most distant and lonely part of the grounds, sitting with his face buried in his hands--a figure of hopeless despair.
While still some distance away, she forced herself to call cheerily, "Hello, father."
As he raised his head, she turned to pick a few flowers from a near-by bed. When he had had a moment to regain43, in a measure, his self-control, she went toward him, arranging her blossoms with careful attention.
Adam Ward watched his daughter as she drew near, much as a condemned44 man might have watched through the grating of a prison window.
"What is it, father?" she asked, gently, when she had come close to his side. "Another one of your dreadful nervous headaches?"
He put a shaking hand to his brow. "Yes," he said wearily.
"I am so sorry," she returned, sitting down beside him. "You have been thinking too hard again, haven't you?"
"Yes, I guess I have been thinking too hard."
"But you're going to stop all that now, aren't you?" she continued, cheerily. "You're just going to forget the old Mill, and do nothing but rest and play with me."
"Could I learn to play, do you think, Helen?"
"Why, of course you could, father, with me to teach you. That's the best thing I do, you know."
He watched her closely. "And you don't think that I--that I am no longer capable of managing my affairs?"
She laughed gayly. "What a silly question--_you_ capable--_you_, father, the best brain--the best business executive in Millsburgh. You know that is what everybody says of you. You are just tired, and need a good rest, that is all."
The man's drooping45 shoulders lifted and his face brightened as he said, slowly, "I guess perhaps you are right, daughter."
"I am sure of it," she returned, eagerly. Then she added brightly, as if prompted by a sudden inspiration, "I'll tell you what you do--ask the Interpreter."
"Ask the Interpreter!"
She nodded, smiling as if she had put a puzzling conundrum46 to him.
"You mean for me to ask that paralyzed old basket maker's advice? You mean, ask him if I should retire from business?"
Again she nodded with a little laugh; but under her laughter there was a note of earnestness.
"And don't you know," he said, "that it is the Interpreter who is at the bottom of all my trouble?"
"Father!"
"The Interpreter, I tell you, is back of the whole thing. He is the brains of the labor organizations in Millsburgh and has been for years. Why, it was the Interpreter who organized the first union in this district. He has done more to build them up than all the others put together. Pete Martin and Charlie, the ringleaders of the Mill workers' union, are only his active lieutenants47. I haven't a doubt but that he is responsible for this agitator Jake Vodell's coming to Millsburgh. That miserable48 shack49 on the cliff is the real headquarters of labor in this part of the country. Your Interpreter is a fine one for _me_ to go to for advice. His hut is a fine place for your brother to spend his spare time. It would be a fine thing, right now, with this man Vodell in town, for me to resign and leave the Mill in the hands of John, who is already in the hands of the Interpreter and the Martins and their Mill workers' union!"
As Adam finished, the deep sonorous50 tones of the great Mill whistle sounded over the community. It was the signal for the closing of the day's work.
Obedient to the habit of years, the Mill owner looked at his watch. In his mind he saw the day force trooping from the building and the night shift coming in. Throughout the entire city, in office and shop and store and home, the people ordered their days by the sound of that whistle, and Adam Ward had been very proud of this recognition accorded him.
Wearily, as one exhausted by a day of hard labor, this man who so feared the power of the Interpreter looked up at his daughter. "I wish I could rest," he said.
收听单词发音 |
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ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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steadfast
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| adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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rustic
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| adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬 | |
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twigs
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| 细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
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petulant
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| adj.性急的，暴躁的 | |
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sneaking
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| a.秘密的，不公开的 | |
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prying
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| adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开 | |
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caressing
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| 爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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meddlesome
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| adj.爱管闲事的 | |
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socialist
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| n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的 | |
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maker
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| n.制造者，制造商 | |
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patriotism
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| n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义 | |
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heroism
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| n.大无畏精神，英勇 | |
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trenches
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| 深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕 | |
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loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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agitator
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| n.鼓动者；搅拌器 | |
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laboring
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| n.劳动，操劳v.努力争取(for)( labor的现在分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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anarchist
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| n.无政府主义者 | |
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lining
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| n.衬里，衬料 | |
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soothingly
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| adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地 | |
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rave
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| vi.胡言乱语；热衷谈论；n.热情赞扬 | |
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gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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ashen
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| adj.灰的 | |
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twitched
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| vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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snarling
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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soothe
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| v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承 | |
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reassuring
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| a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的 | |
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raved
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| v.胡言乱语( rave的过去式和过去分词 )；愤怒地说；咆哮；痴心地说 | |
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39
tirade
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| n.冗长的攻击性演说 | |
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interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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41
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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44
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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45
drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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conundrum
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| n.谜语；难题 | |
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47
lieutenants
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| n.陆军中尉( lieutenant的名词复数 )；副职官员；空军；仅低于…官阶的官员 | |
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48
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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shack
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| adj.简陋的小屋，窝棚 | |
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sonorous
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| adj.响亮的，回响的；adv.圆润低沉地；感人地；n.感人，堂皇 | |
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