Around the tenements8 the interest was no less marked. Mr. Moriarty had sent the news of Tom's success ringing through O'Leary's, and Mrs. Moriarty, waiting outside the barroom door for the pitcher9 her husband had filled for her inside, had spread its details through every hallway in the tenement7.
“Ah, but Tom's a keener,” said that gossip. “Think of that little divil Cully jammed behind the door with her bid in his hand, a-waitin' for the clock to get round to two minutes o' nine, an' that big stuff Dan McGaw sittin' inside wid two bids up his sleeve! Oh, but she's cunnin', she is! Dan's clean beat. He'll niver haul a shovel10 o' that stone.”
“How'll she be a-doin' a job like that?” came from a woman listening over the banisters.
“Be doin'?” rejoined a red-headed virago11. “Wouldn't ye be doin' it yerself if ye had that big coal-dealer behind ye?”
“Oh, we hear enough. Who says they're in it?” rejoined a third listener.
On consulting Justice Rowan the next morning, McGaw and his friends found but little comfort. The law was explicit13, the justice said. The contract must be given to the lowest responsible bidder14. Tom had deposited her certified15 check of five hundred dollars with the bid, and there was no informality in her proposal. He was sorry for McGaw, but if Mrs. Grogan signed the contract there was no hope for him. The horse-doctor's action was right. If McGaw's second bid had been received, it would simply have invalidated both of his, the law forbidding two from the same bidder.
Rowan's opinion sustaining Tom's right was a blow he did not expect. Furthermore, the justice offered no hope for the future. The law gave Tom the award, and nothing could prevent her hauling the stone if she signed the contract. These words rang in McGaw's ears—if she signed the contract. On this if hung his only hope.
Rowan was too shrewd a politician, now that McGaw's chances were gone, to advise any departure, even by a hair-line, from the strict letter of the law. He was, moreover, too upright as a justice to advise any member of the defeated party to an overt16 act which might look like unfairness to any bidder concerned. He had had a talk, besides, with his brother over night, and they had accordingly determined17 to watch events. Should a way be found of rejecting on legal grounds Tom's bid, making a new advertisement necessary, Rowan meant to ignore McGaw altogether, and have his brother bid in his own name. This determination was strengthened when McGaw, in a burst of confidence, told Rowan of his present financial straits.
From Rowan's the complaining trio adjourned18 to O'Leary's barroom. Crimmins and McGaw entered first. Quigg arrived later. He closed one eye meaningly as he entered, and O'Leary handed a brass19 key to him over the bar with the remark, “Stamp on the floor three toimes, Dinny, an' I'll send yez up what ye want to drink.” Then Crimmins opened a door concealed20 by a wooden screen, and the three disappeared upstairs. Crimmins reappeared within an hour, and hurried out the front door. In a few moments he returned with Justice Rowan, who had adjourned court. Immediately after the justice's arrival there came three raps from the floor above, and O'Leary swung back the door, and disappeared with an assortment21 of drinkables on a tray.
The conference lasted until noon. Then the men separated outside the barroom. From the expression on the face of each one as he emerged from the door it was evident that the meeting had not produced any very cheering or conclusive22 results. McGaw had that vindictive23, ugly, bulldog look about the eyes and mouth which always made his wife tremble when he came home. The result of the present struggle over the contract was a matter of life or death to him. His notes, secured by the chattel24 mortgage on his live stock, would be due in a few days. Crane had already notified him that they must be paid, and he knew enough of his moneylender, and of the anger which he had roused, to know that no extension would be granted him. Losing this contract, he had lost his only hope of paying them. Had it been awarded him, he could have found a dozen men who would have loaned him the money to take up these notes and so to pay Crane. He had comforted himself the night before with the thought that Justice Rowan could find some way to help him out of his dilemma25; that the board would vote as the justice advised, and then, of course, Tom's bid would be invalidated. Now even this hope had failed him. “Whoever heard of a woman's doing a job for a city?” he kept repeating mechanically to himself.
Tom knew of none of these conspiracies26. Had she done so they would not have caused her a moment's anxiety. Here was a fight in which no one would suffer except the head that got in her way, and she determined to hit that with all her might the moment it rose into view. This was no brewery27 contract, she argued with Pop, where five hundred men might be thrown out of employment, with all the attendant suffering to women and children. The village was a power nobody could boycott. Moreover, the law protected her in her rights under the award. She would therefore quietly wait until the day for signing the papers arrived, furnish her bond, and begin a work she could superintend herself. In the meantime she would continue her preparations. One thing she was resolved upon—she would have nothing to do with the union. Carl could lay his hand on a dozen of his countrymen who would be glad to get employment with her. If they were all like him she need have no fear in any emergency.
She bought two horses—great strong ones,—at the trolley28 sale, and ordered two new carts from a manufacturer in Newark, to be sent to her on the first of the coming month.
Her friends took her good fortune less calmly. Their genuine satisfaction expressed itself in a variety of ways. Crane sent her this characteristic telegram:—
“Bully for you!”
Babcock came all the way down to her home to offer her his congratulations, and to tender her what assistance she needed in tools or money.
The union, in their deliberations, insisted that it was the “raised bid” which had ruined the business with McGaw and for them. It was therefore McGaw's duty to spare no effort to prevent her signing the contract. They had stuck by him in times gone by; he must now stick by them. One point was positively29 insisted upon: union men must be employed on the work, whoever got it.
McGaw, however, was desperate. He denounced Tom in a vocabulary peculiar30 to himself and full of innuendoes31 and oaths, but without offering any suggestion as to how his threats against her might be carried out.
With his usual slyness, Quigg said very little openly. He had not yet despaired of winning Jennie's favor, and until that hope was abandoned he could hardly make up his mind which side of the fence he was on. Crimmins was even more indifferent in regard to the outcome—his pay as walking delegate went on, whichever side won; he could wait.
In this emergency McGaw again sought Crimmins's assistance. He urged the importance of his getting the contract, and he promised to make Crimmins foreman on the street, and to give him a share in the profits, if he would help him in some way to get the work now. The first step, he argued, was the necessity of crushing Tom. Everything else would be easy after that. Such a task, he felt, would not be altogether uncongenial to Crimmins, still smarting under Tom's contemptuous treatment of him the day he called upon her in his capacity of walking delegate.
McGaw's tempting32 promise made a deep impression upon Crimmins. He determined then and there to inflict33 some blow on Tom Grogan from which she could never recover. He was equally determined on one other thing—not to be caught.
Early the next morning Crimmins stationed himself outside O'Leary's where he could get an uninterrupted view of two streets. He stood hunched34 up against the jamb of O'Leary's door in the attitude of a corner loafer, with three parts of his body touching35 the wood—hip, shoulder, and cheek. For some time no one appeared in sight either useful or inimical to his plans, until Mr. James Finnegan, who was filling the morning air with one of his characteristic songs, brightened the horizon up the street to his left.
Cully's unexpected appearance at that moment produced so uncomfortable an effect upon Mr. Crimmins that that gentleman fell instantly back through the barroom door.
The boy's quick eye caught the movement, and it also caught a moment later, Mr. Crimmins's nose and watery36 eye peering out again when their owner had assured himself that his escape had been unseen. Cully slackened his pace to see what new move Crimmins would make—but without the slightest sign of recognition on his face—and again broke into song. He was on his way to get the mail, and had passed McGaw's house but a few moments before, in the hope that that worthy37 Knight38 might be either leaning over the fence or seated on the broken-down porch. He was anxious McGaw should hear a few improvised39 stanzas41 of a new ballad42 he had composed to that delightful43 old negro melody, “Massa's in de cold, cold ground,” in which the much-beloved Southern planter and the thoroughly44 hated McGaw changed places in the cemetery45.
That valiant46 Knight was still in bed, exhausted47 by the labors48 of the previous evening. Young Billy, however, was about the stables, and so Mr. James Finnegan took occasion to tarry long enough in the road for the eldest49 son of his enemy to get the stanza40 by heart, in the hope that he might retail50 it to his father when he appeared.
Billy dropped his manure-fork as soon as Cully had moved on again, and dodging51 behind the fence, followed him toward the post-office, hoping to hit the singer with a stone.
When the slinking body of McGaw's eldest son became visible to Mr. Crimmins, his face broke into creases52 so nearly imitative of a smile that his best friend would not have known him. He slapped the patched knees of his overalls53 gayly, bent54 over in a subdued55 chuckle56, and disported57 himself in a merry and much satisfied way. His rum-and-watery eyes gleamed with delight, and even his chin-whisker took on a new vibration58. Next he laid one finger along his nose, looked about him cautiously, and said to himself, in an undertone:—
“The very boy! It'll fix McGaw dead to rights, an' ther' won't be no squealin' after it's done.”
Here he peered around the edge of one of O'Leary's drawn59 window-shades, and waited until Cully had passed the barroom, secured his mail, and started for home, his uninterrupted song filling the air. Then he opened the blind very cautiously, and beckoned60 to Billy.
Cully's eye caught the new movement as he turned the corner. His song ceased. When Mr. Finnegan had anything very serious on his mind he never sang.
When, some time after, Billy emerged from O'Leary's door, he had a two-dollar bill tightly squeezed in his right hand. Part of this he spent on his way home for a box of cigarettes; the balance he invested in a mysterious-looking tin can. The can was narrow and long and had a screw nozzle at one end. This can Cully saw him hide in a corner of his father's stable.
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1
outspoken
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| adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的 | |
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vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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smuggle
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| vt.私运；vi.走私 | |
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boycott
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| n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与 | |
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cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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boycotted
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| 抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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7
tenement
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| n.公寓；房屋 | |
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tenements
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| n.房屋，住户，租房子( tenement的名词复数 ) | |
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pitcher
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| n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手 | |
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shovel
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| n.铁锨，铲子，一铲之量；v.铲，铲出 | |
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11
virago
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| n.悍妇 | |
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12
lathers
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| n.肥皂泡( lather的名词复数 )；紧张；激动；（马的）汗沫v.（指肥皂）形成泡沫( lather的第三人称单数 )；用皂沫覆盖；狠狠地打 | |
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13
explicit
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| adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的 | |
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bidder
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| n.(拍卖时的)出价人，报价人，投标人 | |
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15
certified
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| a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的 | |
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16
overt
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| adj.公开的，明显的，公然的 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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adjourned
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| （使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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19
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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assortment
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| n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集 | |
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conclusive
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| adj.最后的，结论的；确凿的，消除怀疑的 | |
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vindictive
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| adj.有报仇心的，怀恨的，惩罚的 | |
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chattel
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| n.动产；奴隶 | |
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dilemma
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| n.困境，进退两难的局面 | |
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conspiracies
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| n.阴谋，密谋( conspiracy的名词复数 ) | |
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27
brewery
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| n.啤酒厂 | |
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28
trolley
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| n.手推车，台车；无轨电车；有轨电车 | |
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29
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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innuendoes
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| n.影射的话( innuendo的名词复数 )；讽刺的话；含沙射影；暗讽 | |
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32
tempting
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| a.诱人的, 吸引人的 | |
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33
inflict
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| vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担 | |
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34
hunched
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| （常指因寒冷、生病或愁苦）耸肩弓身的，伏首前倾的 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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36
watery
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| adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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39
improvised
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| a.即席而作的,即兴的 | |
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40
stanza
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| n.（诗）节，段 | |
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41
stanzas
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| 节，段( stanza的名词复数 ) | |
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42
ballad
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| n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲 | |
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43
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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44
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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45
cemetery
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| n.坟墓，墓地，坟场 | |
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46
valiant
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| adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人 | |
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47
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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48
labors
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| v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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49
eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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50
retail
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| v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格 | |
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51
dodging
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| n.避开，闪过，音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 )；回避 | |
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52
creases
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| （使…）起折痕，弄皱( crease的第三人称单数 )； （皮肤）皱起，使起皱纹 | |
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53
overalls
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| n.（复）工装裤；长罩衣 | |
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54
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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55
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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56
chuckle
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| vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑 | |
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57
disported
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| v.嬉戏，玩乐，自娱( disport的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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58
vibration
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| n.颤动，振动；摆动 | |
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59
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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60
beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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