The boy worked, and thought, and in time arrived at such delicacies8 of execution, he became discontented with the humdrum9 tools then current. “Then learn to make your own, boy,” cried Joseph Little, joyfully10; and so initiated11 him into the whole mystery of hardening, forging, grinding, handle-making, and cutlery: and Henry, young and enthusiastic, took his turn at them all in right down earnest.
At twenty, he had sold many a piece of delicate carving, and could make graving-tools incomparably superior to any he could buy; and, for his age, was an accomplished12 mechanic.
Joseph Little went the way of all flesh.
They mourned and missed him; and, at Henry's earnest request, his mother disposed of the plant, and went with him to London.
Then the battle of life began. He was a long time out of employment, and they both lived on his mother's little fortune.
But Henry was never idle. He set up a little forge hard by, and worked at it by day, and at night he would often sit carving, while his mother read to him, and said he, “Mother, I'll never rest till I can carve the bloom upon a plum.”
Not to dwell on the process, the final result was this. He rose at last to eminence13 as a carver: but as an inventor and forger14 of carving tools he had no rival in England.
Having with great labor15, patience, and skill, completed a masterpiece of carving (there were plums with the bloom on, and other incredibles), and also a set of carving-tools equally exquisite16 in their way, he got a popular tradesman to exhibit both the work and the tools in his window, on a huge silver salver.
The thing made a good deal of noise in the trade, and drew many spectators to the shop window.
One day Mr. Cheetham, a master-cutler, stood in admiration17 before the tools, and saw his way to coin the workman.
This Cheetham was an able man, and said to himself, “I'll nail him for Hillsborough, directly. London mustn't have a hand that can beat us at anything in our line.”
He found Henry out, and offered him constant employment, as a forger and cutler of carving-tools, at L4 per week.
Henry's black eyes sparkled, but he restrained himself. “That's to be thought of. I must speak to my old lady. She is not at home just now.”
He did speak to her, and she put her two hands together and said, “Hillsborough! Oh Henry!” and the tears stood in her eyes directly.
“Well, don't fret,” said he: “it is only saying no.”
So when Mr. Cheetham called again for the reply, Henry declined, with thanks. On this, Mr. Cheetham never moved, but smiled, and offered him L6 per week, and his journey free.
Henry went into another room, and argued the matter. “Come, mother, he is up to L6 a week now; and that is every shilling I'm worth; and, when I get an apprentice18, it will be L9 clear to us.”
“The sight of the place!” objected Mrs. Little, hiding her face in her hands instinctively19.
She was little able to deny him, and she consented; but cried, out of his sight, a good many times about it.
As for Henry, strong in the consciousness of power and skill, he felt glad he was going to Hillsborough. “Many a workman has risen to the top of the tree in that place,” said he. “Why, this very Cheetham was grinding saws in a water-wheel ten years ago, I've heard uncle Joe say. Come, mother, don't you be a baby! I'll settle you in a cottage outside the smoke; you shall make a palace of it; and we'll rise in the very town where we fell, and friends and foes21 shall see us.”
Mr. Cheetham purchased both the carving and the tools to exhibit in Hillsborough; and the purchase-money, less a heavy commission, was paid to Henry. He showed Mrs. Little thirty pounds, and helped her pack up; and next day they reached Hillsborough by train.
Henry took a close cab, and carried his mother off to the suburbs in search of a lodging22. She wore a thick veil, and laid her head on her son's shoulder, and held his brown though elegant hand with her white fingers, that quivered a little as she passed through the well-known streets.
As for Henry, he felt quite triumphant24 and grand, and consoled her in an off-hand, hearty25 way. “Come, cheer up, and face the music. They have all forgotten you by this time, and, when they do see you again, you shall be as good as the best of them. I don't drink, and I've got a trade all to myself here, and I'd rather make my fortune in this town than any other; and, mother, you have been a good friend to me; I won't ever marry till I have done you justice, and made you the queen of this very town.”
And so he rattled26 on, in such high spirits, that the great soft thing began to smile with motherly love and pride through her tears, ere they found a lodging.
Next day to the works, and there the foreman showed him a small forge on the ground floor, and a vacant room above to make his handles in and put the tools together; the blades were to be ground, whetted28, and finished by cheaper hands.
A quick-eared grinder soon came up to them, and said roughly, “Ain't we to wet new forge?”
“They want their drink out of you,” said the foreman; and whispered, in great anxiety, “Don't say no, or you might as well work in a wasp's nest as here.”
“All right,” said Henry, cheerfully. “I'm no drinker myself, but I'll stand what is customary.”
“That is right,” said Foreman Bayne. “'Twill cost you fifteen shillings. But Peace is cheap at as many guineas.”
The word was given, and every man who worked on the same floor with Henry turned out to drink at his expense, and left off work for a good hour. With some exceptions they were a rough lot, and showed little friendliness29 or good-humor over it. One even threw out a hint that no cockney forges were wanted in Hillsborough. But another took him up, and said, “Maybe not; but you are not much of a man to drink his liquor and grudge30 him his bread.”
After this waste of time and money, Henry went back to the works, and a workman told him rather sulkily, he was wanted in the foreman's office.
He went in, and there was a lovely girl of eighteen, who looked at him with undisguised curiosity, and addressed him thus: “Sir, is it you that carve wood so beautifully?”
Henry blushed, and hesitated; and that made the young lady blush herself a very little, and she said, “I wished to take lessons in carving.” Then, as he did not reply, she turned to Mr. Bayne. “But perhaps he objects to teach other people?”
“WE should object to his teaching other workmen,” said the foreman; “but,” turning to Henry, “there is no harm in your giving her a lesson or two, after hours. You will want a set of the tools, miss?”
“Of course I shall. Please put them into the carriage; and—when will he come and teach me, I wonder? for I am wild to begin.”
Henry said he could come Saturday afternoon, or Monday morning early.
“Whichever you please,” said the lady, and put down her card on the desk; then tripped away to her carriage, leaving Henry charmed with her beauty and ease.
He went home to his mother, and told her he was to give lessons to the handsomest young lady he had ever seen. “She has bought the specimen31 tools too; so I must forge some more, and lose no time about it.”
“Who is she, I wonder?”
“Carden!” said the widow. Then, after a moment's thought, “Oh, Henry, don't go near them. Ah, I knew how it would be. Hillsborough is not like London. You can't be long hid in it.”
“Why, what is the matter? Do you know the lady?”
“Oh, yes. Her papa is director of an insurance company in London. I remember her being born very well. The very day she was christened—her name is Grace—you were six years old, and I took you to her christening; and oh, Harry33, my brother is her godfather. Don't you go near that Grace Carden; don't visit any one that knew us in better days.”
“Why, what have we to be ashamed of?” said Henry. “'Tisn't as if we sat twiddling our thumbs and howling, 'We have seen better days.' And 'tisn't as if we asked favors of anybody. For my part I don't care who knows I am here, and can make three hundred a year with my own hands and wrong no man. I'd rather be a good workman in wood and steel than an arrogant34 old fool like your b—. No, I won't own him for yours or mine either—call him Raby. Well, I wouldn't change places with him, nor any of his sort: I'm a British workman, and worth a dozen Rabys—useless scum!”
“That you are, dear; so don't demean yourself to give any of them lessons. Her godfather would be sure to hear of it.”
“Well, I won't, to please you. But you have no more pluck than a chicken—begging your pardon, mother.”
“No, dear,” said Mrs. Little, humbly35, quite content to gain her point and lose her reputation for pluck; if any.
Henry worked regularly, and fast, and well, and in less than a fortnight a new set of his carving-tools were on view in Hillsborough, and another in London; for it was part of Mr. Cheetham's strategy to get all the London orders, and even make London believe that these superior instruments had originated in Hillsborough.
One day Miss Carden called and saw Bayne in the office. Her vivid features wore an expression of vexation, and she complained to him that the wood-carver had never been near her.
Bayne was surprised at that; but he was a man who always allayed36 irritation37 on the spot. “Rely on it, there's some reason,” said he. “Perhaps he has not got settled. I'll go for him directly.”
“Thank you,” said the young lady. Then in the same breath, “No, take me to him, and perhaps we may catch him carving—cross thing!”
Bayne assented38 cheerfully, and led the way across a yard, and up a dirty stone stair, which, solid as it was, vibrated with the powerful machinery39 that steam was driving on every side of it. He opened a door suddenly, and Henry looked up from his work, and saw the invaders40.
He stared a little at first, and then got up and looked embarrassed and confused.
“You did not keep your word, sir,” said Grace, quietly.
“No,” he muttered, and hung his head.
He seemed so confused and ashamed, that Bayne came to his assistance. “The fact is, no workman likes to do a hand's-turn on Saturday afternoon. I think they would rather break Sunday than Saturday.”
“It is not that,” said Henry, in a low voice.
Grace heard him, but answered Mr. Bayne: “Oh dear, I wish I had known. I fear I have made an unreasonable41 request: for, of course, after working so hard all the week—but then why did you let me purchase the tools to carve with? Papa says they are very dear, Mr. Bayne. But that is what gentlemen always say if one buys anything that is really good. But of course they WILL be dear, if I am not to be taught how to use them.” She then looked in Mr. Bayne's face with an air of infantine simplicity42: “Would Mr. Cheetham take them back, I wonder, under the circumstances?”
At this sly thrust, Bayne began to look anxious; but Henry relieved him the next moment by saying, in a sort of dogged way, “There, there; I'll come.” He added, after a pause, “I will give you six lessons, if you like.”
“I shall be so much obliged. When will you come, sir?”
“Next Saturday, at three o'clock.”
“I shall be sure to be at home, sir.”
She then said something polite about not disturbing him further, and vanished with an arch smile of pleasure and victory, that disclosed a row of exquisite white teeth, and haunted Henry Little for many a day after.
He told his mother what had happened, and showed so much mortified43 pride that she no longer dissuaded44 him from keeping his word. “Only pray don't tell her your name,” said she.
“Well, but what am I to do if she asks it?”
“Say Thompson, or Johnson, or anything you like, except Little.”
This request roused Henry's bile. “What, am I a criminal to deny my name? And how shall I look, if I go and give her a false name, and then she comes to Bayne and learns my right one? No, I'll keep my name back, if I can; but I'll never disown it. I'm not ashamed of it, if you are.”
This reduced poor Mrs. Little to silence; followed, in due course, by a few meek45, clandestine46 tears.
Henry put on his new tweed suit and hat, and went up to the villa. He announced himself as the workman from Cheetham's; and the footman, who had probably his orders, ushered47 him into the drawing-room at once. There he found Grace Carden seated, reading, and a young woman sewing at a respectful distance. This pair were types; Grace, of a young English gentlewoman, and Jael Dence of a villager by unbroken descent. Grace was tall, supple48, and serpentine49, yet not thin; Jael was robust50 and ample, without being fat; she was of the same height, though Grace looked the taller. Grace had dark brown eyes and light brown hair; and her blooming cheek and bewitching mouth shone with expression so varied51, yet vivid, and always appropriate to the occasion, grave or gay, playful or dignified52, that her countenance53 made artificial faces, and giggling54 in-the-wrong-place faces, painfully ridiculous. As for such faces as Jael's, it killed them on the spot, but that was all. Jael's hair was reddish, and her full eyes were gray; she was freckled55 a little under the eyes, but the rest of her cheek full of rich pure color, healthy, but not the least coarse: and her neck an alabaster56 column. Hers was a meek, monotonous57 countenance; but with a certain look of concentration. Altogether, a humble58 beauty of the old rural type; healthy, cleanly, simple, candid59, yet demure60.
Henry came in, and the young lady received him with a manner very different from that she had worn down at the works. She was polite, but rather stiff and dignified.
He sat down at her request, and, wondering at himself, entered on the office of preceptor. He took up the carving-tools, and explained the use of several; then offered, by way of illustration, to work on something.
“That will be the best way, much,” said Grace quietly, but her eye sparkled.
Jael fixed63 her needle in her work, and laid it down gently on a table near her, then rose and led the way to the lumber-room.
In that invaluable64 repository Henry soon found two old knobs lying on the ground (a four-poster had been wrecked65 hard by) and a piece of deal plank66 jutting67 out of a mass of things. He pulled hard at the plank; but it was long, and so jammed in by miscellaneous articles, that he could not get it clear.
Jael looked on demurely68 at his efforts for some time; then she suddenly seized the plank a little higher up. “Now, pull,” said she, and gave a tug69 like a young elephant: out came the plank directly, with a great rattle27 of dislocated lumber.
“Well, you are a strong one,” said Henry.
“Oh, one and one makes two, sir,” replied the vigorous damsel, modestly.
“That is true, but you threw your weight into it like a workman. Now hand me that rusty70 old saw, and I'll cut off as much as we want.”
While he was sawing off a piece of the plank, Jael stood and eyed him silently a while. But presently her curiosity oozed71 out. “If you please, sir, be you really a working man?”
“Why, what else should I be?” was the answer, given rather brusquely.
“A great many gentlefolks comes here as is no better dressed nor you be.”
“Dress is no rule. Don't you go and take me for a gentleman, or we sha'n't agree. Wait till I'm as arrogant, and empty, and lazy as they are. I am a workman, and proud of it.”
“It's naught72 to be ashamed on, that's certain,” said Jael. “I've carried many a sack of grain up into our granary, and made a few hundred-weight of cheese and butter, besides house-work and farm-work. Bless your heart, I bayn't idle when I be at home.”
“And pray where is your home?” asked Henry, looking up a moment, not that he cared one straw.
“If you please, sir, I do come from Cairnhope village. I'm old Nat Dence's daughter. There's two of us, and I'm the youngest. Squire73 sent me in here, because miss said Hillsborough girls wasn't altogether honest. She is a dear kind young lady; but I do pine for home and the farm at times; and frets74 about the young calves75: they want so much looking after. And sister, she's a-courting, and can't give her mind to 'em as should be. I'll carry the board for you, sir.”
“All right,” said Henry carelessly; but, as they went along, he thought to himself, “So a skilled workman passes for a gentleman with rustics76: fancy that!”
On their return to the drawing-room, Henry asked for a high wooden stool, or chair, and said it would be as well to pin some newspapers over the carpet. A high stool was soon got from the kitchen, and Jael went promptly77 down on her knees, and crawled about, pinning the newspapers in a large square.
Henry stood apart, superior, and thought to himself, “So much for domestic servitude. What a position for a handsome girl—creeping about on all fours!”
When all was ready, he drew some arabesque78 forms with his pencil on the board. He then took an exquisite little saw he had invented for this work, and fell upon the board with a rapidity that, contrasted with his previous nonchalance79, looked like fury. But he was one of your fast workmen. The lithe80 saw seemed to twist in his hand like a serpent, and in a very short time he had turned four feet of the board into open-work. He finished the edges off with his cutting tools, and there was a transformation81 as complete as of linen82 cloth turned lace.
Grace was delighted. “Shall I ever be able to do that?”
“In half a day. That's not carving; that's trickery. The tool does it all. Before I invented this saw, a good workman would have been a day over that; but now YOU can do it in half an hour, when you are master of the instrument. And now I'll show you honest work.” He took one of the knobs and examined it; then sawed off a piece, and worked on the rest so cunningly with his various cutters, that it grew into a human face toward their very eyes. He even indicated Jael Dence's little flat cap by a means at once simple and ingenious. All the time he was working the women's eyes literally84 absorbed him; only those of Grace flashed vivid curiosity, Jael's open orbs85 were fixed with admiration and awe83 upon his supernatural cleverness.
He now drew some more arabesques86 on the remaining part of the board, and told Miss Carden she must follow those outlines with the saw, and he would examine her work on Monday morning. He then went off with a quick, independent air, as one whose every minute was gold.
“If you please, miss,” said Jael, “is he a real working man, or only a gentleman as makes it his pastime?”
“A gentleman! What an idea! Of course he is a working man. But a very superior person.”
“To be sure,” continued Jael, not quite convinced, “he don't come up to Squire Raby; but, dear heart, he have a grander way with him than most of the Hillsborough gentlefolks as calls here.”
“Nonsense!” said Grace, authoritatively87. “Look at his nails.”
Henry came twice a week, and his pupil made remarkable88 progress. She was deferential89, attentive90, enthusiastic.
By degrees the work led to a little conversation; and that, in due course, expanded into a variety of subjects; and the young lady, to her surprise, found her carver well-read in History and Sciences, and severely91 accurate in his information, whereas her own, though abundant, was rather loose.
One day she expressed her surprise that he could have found time to be so clever with his fingers and yet cultivate his mind.
“Well,” said he, “I was lucky enough to have a good mother. She taught me all she knew, and she gave me a taste for reading; and that has been the making of me; kept me out of the public-house, for one thing.”
“Ah! you WERE fortunate. I lost my mother, sir, when I was but eight years old.”
“A very bad job,” said Grace, smiling; but the next moment she suddenly turned her fair head away and tears stole down her cheeks.
Henry looked very sorry, and Jael, without moving, looked at Grace, and opened those sluices93, her eyes, and two big drops of sympathy rolled down her comely94 face in a moment.
That day, when young Little shut the street-door of “Woodbine Villa” and stepped into the road, a sort of dull pain seemed to traverse his chest. It made his heart ache a little, this contrast of the sweet society he had left and the smoky town toward which he now turned his face. He seemed to be ejected from Paradise for the next five days. It was Monday yet he wished the next day was Saturday, and the intervening period could be swept away, so that he might be entering that soft Paradise instead of leaving it.
And this sentiment, once rooted, grew rapidly in an aspiring95 nature, and a heart that had never yet entertained a serious passion. Now the fair head that bowed over the work so near him, the lovely hand he had so often to direct, and almost to guide, and all the other perfections of mind and body this enchanting96 girl possessed97, crept in at his admiring eyes, and began to steal into his very veins98, and fill him with soft complacency. His brusque manner dissolved away, and his voice became low and soft, whenever he was in her delicious presence. He spoke99 softly to Jael even, if Grace was there. The sturdy workman was enthralled100.
Often he wondered at himself. Sometimes he felt alarmed at the strength of his passion and the direction it had taken.
“What,” said he, “have I flirted101 with so many girls in my own way of life, and come away heart-whole, and now to fall in love with a gentlewoman, who would bid her footman show me the door if she knew of my presumption102!”
But these misgivings103 could neither cure him nor cow him. Let him only make money, and become a master instead of a workman, and then he would say to her, “I don't value birth myself, but if you do, why, I am not come of workpeople.”
He traced a plan with workmanlike precision:—Profound discretion104 and self-restraint at “Woodbine Villa:” restless industry and stern self-denial in Hillsborough.
After his day's work he used to go straight to his mother. She gave him a cup of tea, and then they had their chat; and after that the sexes were inverted105, so to speak: the man carved fruit, and flowers, and dead woodcocks, the woman read the news and polities of the day, and the essays on labor and capital, and any other articles not too flimsy to bear reading aloud to a man whose time was coin. (There was a free library in Hillsborough, and a mechanic could take out standard books and reviews.) Thus they passed the evening hours agreeably, and usefully too, for Henry sucked in knowledge like a leech106, and at the same time carved things that sold well in London. He had a strong inclination107 to open his heart about Miss Carden. Accordingly, one evening he said, “She lost her mother when she was a child.”
“Who lost her mother?” asked Mrs. Little.
“Miss Carden,” said Henry, very softly.
The tone was not lost on Mrs. Little's fine and watchful108 ear; at least her mind seized it a few seconds afterward109.
“That is true,” said she. “Poor girl! I remember hearing of it. Henry, what is that to you? Don't you trouble your head about that young lady, or she will trouble your heart. I wish you did not go near her.”
And then came question upon question, and vague maternal misgivings. Henry parried them as adroitly110 as he could: but never mentioned Miss Carden's name again.
He thought of her all the more, and counted his gains every week, and began to inquire of experienced persons how much money was wanted to set up a wheel with steam power, and be a master instead of a man. He gathered that a stranger could hardly start fair without L500.
“That is a good lump!” thought Henry: “but I'll have it, if I work night as well as day.”
Thus inspired, his life became a sweet delirium111. When he walked, he seemed to tread on air: when he forged, his hammer felt a feather in his hand. The mountains in the way looked molehills, and the rainbow tangible112, to Youth, and Health, and Hope, and mighty113 Love.
One afternoon, as he put on his coat and crossed the yard, after a day's work that had passed like a pleasant hour, being gilded114 with such delightful115 anticipations116, the foreman of the works made him a mysterious signal. Henry saw it, and followed him into his office. Bayne looked carefully out of all the doors, then closed them softly, and his face betrayed anxiety, and even fear.
“Little,” said he, almost in a whisper, “you know me: I'm a man of peace, and so for love of peace I'm going to do something that might get me into a wrangle117. But you are the civillest chap ever worked under me and the best workman, take you altogether, and I can't bear to see you kept in the dark, when you are the man whose skin—only—if I act like a man to you, will you act like one to me?”
“I will,” said Henry; “there's my hand on it.”
Then Bayne stepped to his desk, opened it, and took out some letters.
“You must never tell a soul I showed them you, or you will get me into a row with Cheetham; and I want to be at peace in-doors as well as out.”
“I give you my word.”
“Then read that, to begin.”
And he handed him a letter addressed to Mr. Cheetham.
“SIR,—We beg respectfully to draw your attention to a matter, which is of a nature to cause unpleasantness between you and the Trades. We allude118 to your bringing a workman in from another town to do work that we are informed can be done on the premises119 by your own hands.
“We assure you it would be more to your interest to work in harmony with the smiths and the handle-makers in your employ, and the trade generally. Yours respectfully,
“THE COMMITTEE OF THE EDGE-TOOL FORGERS' union.”
Henry colored up at this, and looked grieved; but he said, “I am sorry to be the cause of any unpleasantness. But what can I do?”
“Oh,” said Bayne, with a sardonic121 grin, “they are sure to tell you that, soon or late. Read this:”
No. 2 was dated a week later, and ran thus:
“MR. CHEETHAM: SIR,—I think you do very ill to annoy a many craftsmen122 for one. Remember, you have suffered loss and inconvenience whenever you have gone against Trades. We had to visit you last year, and when we came your bands went and your bellows123 gaped124. We have no wish to come again this year, if you will be reasonable. But, sir, you must part with London hand, or take consequences.
“BALAAM.”
Henry looked grave. “Can I see a copy of Mr. Cheetham's reply?”
Bayne stared at him, and then laughed in his face, but without the gayety that should accompany a laugh. “Cheetham's reply to Balaam! And where would he send it? To Mr. Beor's lodgings125, No. 1 Prophet Place, Old Testament126 Square. My poor chap, nobody writes replies to these letters. When you get one, you go that minute to the secretary of whatever union you are wrong with, and you don't argue, or he bids you good-morning; you give in to whatever he asks, and then you get civility; and justice too, according to Trade lights. If you don't do that, and haven't learned what a blessing127 Peace is, why, you make up your mind to fight the Trade; and if you do, you have to fight them all; and you are safe to get the worst of it, soon or late. Cheetham has taken no notice of these letters. All the worse for him and you too. Read that.”
No. 3 ran thus:
“DEAR SIR,—I take the liberty of addressing you on the subject of your keeping on this knobstick, in defiance128 of them that has the power to make stones of Hillsborough too hot for you and him. Are you deaf, or blind, or a fool, Jack129 Cheatem? You may cheat the world, but you don't cheat the devil, nor me. Turn cockney up, with no more ado, or you'll both get kicked to hell some dark night by
Henry was silent; quite silent. When he did speak, it was to ask why Mr. Cheetham had kept all this from him.
“Because you shouldn't take fright and leave him,” was the unhesitating reply.
“For that matter they threaten him more than they do me.”
“They warn the master first; but the workman's turn is sure to come, and he gets it hottest, because they have so many ways of doing him. Cheetham, he lives miles from here, and rides in across country, and out again, in daylight. But the days are drawing in, and you have got to pass through these dark streets, where the Trades have a thousand friends, and you not one. Don't you make any mistake: you are in their power; so pray don't copy any hot-headed, wrong-headed gentleman like Cheetham, but speak them fair. Come to terms—if you can—and let us be at peace; sweet, balmy peace.”
“Peace is a good thing, no doubt,” said Henry, “but” (rather bitterly) “I don't thank Cheetham for letting me run blindfold130 into trouble, and me a stranger.”
“Oh,” said Bayne, “he is no worse than the rest, believe me. What does any master care for a man's life? Profit and loss go down in figures; but life—that's a cipher131 in all their ledgers132.”
“Oh, come,” said Harry, “it is unphilosophical and narrow-minded to fasten on a class the faults of a few individuals, that form a very moderate portion of that class.”
Bayne seemed staggered by a blow so polysyllabic; and Henry, to finish him, added, “Where there's a multitude, there's a mixture.” Now the first sentence he had culled133 from the Edinburgh Review, and the second he had caught from a fellow-workman's lips in a public-house; and probably this was the first time the pair of phrases had ever walked out of any man's mouth arm in arm. He went on to say, “And as for Cheetham, he is not a bad fellow, take him altogether. But you are a better for telling me the truth. Forewarned, forearmed.”
He went home thoughtful, and not so triumphant and airy as yesterday; but still not dejected, for his young and manly mind summoned its energy and spirit to combat this new obstacle, and his wits went to work.
Being unable to sleep for thinking of what he should do he was the first to reach the works in the morning. He lighted his furnace, and then went and unlocked the room where he worked as a handle maker120, and also as a cutler. He entered briskly and opened the window. The gray light of the morning came in, and showed him something on the inside of the door that was not there when he locked it overnight. It was a very long knife, broad toward the handle, but keenly pointed134, and double-edged. It was fast in the door, and impaled135 a letter addressed, in a vile136 hand—
“TO JAK THRE TRADES.”
Henry took hold of the handle to draw the knife out; but the formidable weapon had been driven clean through the door with a single blow.
Then Henry drew back, and, as the confusion of surprise cleared away, the whole thing began to grow on him, and reveal distinct and alarming features.
The knife was not one which the town manufactured in the way of business, it was a long, glittering blade, double-edged, finely pointed, and exquisitely137 tempered. It was not a tool, but a weapon.
Why was it there, and, above all, how did it come there?
He distinctly remembered locking the door overnight. Indeed, he had found it locked, and the window-shutters bolted; yet there was this deadly weapon, and on its point a letter, the superscription of which looked hostile and sinister138.
He drew the note gently across the edge of the keen knife, and the paper parted like a cobweb. He took it to the window and read it. It ran thus:
“This knifs wun of too made ekspres t'other is for thy hart if thou doesnt harken Trade and leve Chetm. Is thy skin thicks dore thinks thou if not turn up and back to Lundon or I cum again and rip thy —— carkiss with feloe blade to this thou —— cokny
“SLIPER JACK.”
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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2
maternal
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| adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的 | |
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3
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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4
coaxed
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| v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的过去式和过去分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱 | |
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5
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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6
carving
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| n.雕刻品，雕花 | |
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7
judiciously
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| adv.明断地，明智而审慎地 | |
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8
delicacies
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| n.棘手( delicacy的名词复数 )；精致；精美的食物；周到 | |
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9
humdrum
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| adj.单调的，乏味的 | |
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10
joyfully
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| adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地 | |
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11
initiated
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| n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入 | |
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12
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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13
eminence
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| n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家 | |
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14
forger
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| v.伪造；n.（钱、文件等的）伪造者 | |
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15
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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16
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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17
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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18
apprentice
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| n.学徒，徒弟 | |
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19
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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20
manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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21
foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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22
lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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23
ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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24
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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25
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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26
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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27
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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28
whetted
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| v.（在石头上）磨（刀、斧等）( whet的过去式和过去分词 )；引起，刺激（食欲、欲望、兴趣等） | |
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29
friendliness
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| n.友谊，亲切，亲密 | |
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30
grudge
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| n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做 | |
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31
specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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32
villa
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| n.别墅，城郊小屋 | |
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33
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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34
arrogant
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的 | |
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35
humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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36
allayed
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| v.减轻，缓和( allay的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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37
irritation
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| n.激怒，恼怒，生气 | |
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38
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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40
invaders
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| 入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 ) | |
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41
unreasonable
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| adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的 | |
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42
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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43
mortified
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| v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等） | |
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44
dissuaded
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| 劝（某人）勿做某事，劝阻( dissuade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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45
meek
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| adj.温顺的，逆来顺受的 | |
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46
clandestine
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| adj.秘密的，暗中从事的 | |
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47
ushered
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| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48
supple
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| adj.柔软的，易弯的，逢迎的，顺从的，灵活的；vt.使柔软，使柔顺，使顺从；vi.变柔软，变柔顺 | |
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49
serpentine
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| adj.蜿蜒的，弯曲的 | |
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50
robust
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| adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的 | |
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51
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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52
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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53
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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54
giggling
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| v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 ) | |
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55
freckled
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| adj.雀斑；斑点；晒斑；（使）生雀斑v.雀斑，斑点( freckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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56
alabaster
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| adj.雪白的；n.雪花石膏；条纹大理石 | |
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57
monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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58
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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59
candid
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| adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的 | |
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60
demure
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| adj.严肃的；端庄的 | |
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61
lumber
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| n.木材，木料；v.以破旧东西堆满；伐木；笨重移动 | |
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62
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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63
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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64
invaluable
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|
| adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的 | |
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65
wrecked
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| adj.失事的，遇难的 | |
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66
plank
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| n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目 | |
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67
jutting
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| v.（使）突出( jut的现在分词 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出 | |
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68
demurely
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| adv.装成端庄地，认真地 | |
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69
tug
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| v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船 | |
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70
rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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71
oozed
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| v.（浓液等）慢慢地冒出，渗出( ooze的过去式和过去分词 )；使（液体）缓缓流出；（浓液）渗出，慢慢流出 | |
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72
naught
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| n.无，零 [=nought] | |
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73
squire
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| n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅 | |
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74
frets
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| 基质间片； 品丝（吉他等指板上定音的）( fret的名词复数 ) | |
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75
calves
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| n.(calf的复数)笨拙的男子，腓；腿肚子( calf的名词复数 )；牛犊；腓；小腿肚v.生小牛( calve的第三人称单数 )；（冰川）崩解；生（小牛等），产（犊）；使（冰川）崩解 | |
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76
rustics
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| n.有农村或村民特色的( rustic的名词复数 )；粗野的；不雅的；用粗糙的木材或树枝制作的 | |
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77
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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78
arabesque
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| n.阿拉伯式花饰；adj.阿拉伯式图案的 | |
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79
nonchalance
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| n.冷淡，漠不关心 | |
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80
lithe
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| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
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81
transformation
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| n.变化；改造；转变 | |
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82
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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83
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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84
literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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85
orbs
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| abbr.off-reservation boarding school 在校寄宿学校n.球，天体，圆形物( orb的名词复数 ) | |
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86
arabesques
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| n.阿拉伯式花饰( arabesque的名词复数 )；错综图饰；阿拉伯图案；阿拉贝斯克芭蕾舞姿（独脚站立，手前伸，另一脚一手向后伸） | |
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87
authoritatively
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| 命令式地，有权威地，可信地 | |
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88
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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89
deferential
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| adj. 敬意的，恭敬的 | |
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90
attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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91
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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92
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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93
sluices
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| n.水闸( sluice的名词复数 )；（用水闸控制的）水；有闸人工水道；漂洗处v.冲洗( sluice的第三人称单数 )；（指水）喷涌而出；漂净；给…安装水闸 | |
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94
comely
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| adj.漂亮的，合宜的 | |
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95
aspiring
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| adj.有志气的；有抱负的；高耸的v.渴望；追求 | |
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96
enchanting
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| a.讨人喜欢的 | |
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97
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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98
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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99
spoke
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| 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 | |
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100
enthralled
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| 迷住，吸引住( enthrall的过去式和过去分词 )； 使感到非常愉快 | |
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101
flirted
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| v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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102
presumption
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| n.推测，可能性，冒昧，放肆，[法律]推定 | |
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103
misgivings
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧 | |
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104
discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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105
inverted
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| adj.反向的，倒转的v.使倒置，使反转( invert的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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106
leech
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| n.水蛭，吸血鬼，榨取他人利益的人；vt.以水蛭吸血；vi.依附于别人 | |
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107
inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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108
watchful
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| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
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109
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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110
adroitly
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| adv.熟练地，敏捷地 | |
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111
delirium
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| n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋 | |
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112
tangible
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| adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的 | |
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113
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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114
gilded
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| a.镀金的，富有的 | |
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115
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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116
anticipations
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| 预期( anticipation的名词复数 )； 预测； （信托财产收益的）预支； 预期的事物 | |
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117
wrangle
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| vi.争吵 | |
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118
allude
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| v.提及，暗指 | |
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119
premises
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| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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120
maker
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| n.制造者，制造商 | |
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121
sardonic
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| adj.嘲笑的，冷笑的，讥讽的 | |
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122
craftsmen
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| n. 技工 | |
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123
bellows
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| n.风箱；发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的名词复数 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的第三人称单数 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
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124
gaped
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| v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的过去式和过去分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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125
lodgings
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| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
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126
testament
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| n.遗嘱；证明 | |
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127
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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128
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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129
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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130
blindfold
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| vt.蒙住…的眼睛；adj.盲目的；adv.盲目地；n.蒙眼的绷带[布等]； 障眼物，蒙蔽人的事物 | |
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131
cipher
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| n.零；无影响力的人；密码 | |
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132
ledgers
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| n.分类账( ledger的名词复数 ) | |
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133
culled
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| v.挑选，剔除( cull的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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134
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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135
impaled
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| 钉在尖桩上( impale的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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136
vile
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| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
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137
exquisitely
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| adv.精致地；强烈地；剧烈地；异常地 | |
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138
sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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