On the high-street of the little town of Plainton, Maine, stood the neat white house of Mrs. Cliff, with its green shutters1, its porchless front door, its pretty bit of flower-garden at the front and side, and its neat back yard, sacred once a week to that virtue2 which is next to godliness.
Mrs. Cliff's husband had been the leading merchant in Plainton, and having saved some money, he had invested it in an enterprise of a friend who had gone into business in Valparaiso. On Mr. Cliff's death his widow had found herself with an income smaller than she had expected, and that it was necessary to change in a degree her style of living. The hospitalities of her table, once so well known throughout the circle of her friends, must be curtailed3, and the spare bedroom must be less frequently occupied. The two cows and the horse were sold, and in every way possible the household was placed on a more economical basis. She had a good house, and an income on which, with care and prudence4, she could live, but this was all.
In this condition of her finances it was not strange that Mrs. Cliff had thought a good deal about the investments in Valparaiso, from which she had not heard for a long time. Her husband had been dead for three years, and although she had written several times to Valparaiso, she had received no answer whatever, and being a woman of energy, she had finally made up her mind that the proper thing to do was to go down and see after her affairs. It had not been easy for her to get together the money for this long journey,—in fact, she had borrowed some of it,—and so, to lessen5 her expenses, she had taken passage in the Castor from San Francisco.
She was a housewife of high degree, and would not have thought of leaving—perhaps for months—her immaculate window-panes and her spotless floors and furniture, had she not also left some one to take care of them. A distant cousin, Miss Willy Croup, had lived with her since her husband's death, and though this lady was willing to stay during Mrs. Cliff's absence, Mrs. Cliff considered her too quiet and inoffensive to be left in entire charge of her possessions, and Miss Betty Handshall, a worthy6 maiden7 of fifty, a little older than Willy, and a much more determined8 character, was asked to come and live in Mrs. Cliffs house until her return.
Betty was the only person in Plainton who lived on an annuity9, and she was rather proud of her independent fortune, but as her annuity was very small, and as this invitation meant a considerable reduction in her expenses, she was very glad to accept it. Consequently, Mrs. Cliff had gone away feeling that she had left her house in the hands of two women almost as neat as herself and even more frugal10.
When Mrs. Cliff left Edna and Ralph in San Francisco, and went home, nearly all the people in the little town who were worth considering gathered in and around her house to bid her welcome. They had heard of her shipwreck11, but the details had been scanty12 and unsatisfactory, and the soul of the town throbbed13 with curiosity to know what had really happened to her. For the first few hours of her return Mrs. Cliff was in a state of heavenly ecstasy14. Everything was so tidy, everything was so clean, every face beamed with such genial15 amity16, her native air was so intoxicating17, that she seemed to be in a sort of paradise. But when her friends and neighbors began to ask questions, she felt herself gradually descending18 into a region which, for all she knew, might resemble purgatory19.
Of course, there was a great deal that was wonderful and startling to relate, and as Mrs. Cliff was a good story-teller, she thrilled the nerves of her hearers with her descriptions of the tornado20 at sea and the Rackbirds on land, and afterwards filled the eyes of many of the women with tears of relief as she told of their escapes, their quiet life at the caves, and their subsequent rescue by the Mary Bartlett. But it was the cross-examinations which caused the soul of the narrator to sink. Of course, she had been very careful to avoid all mention of the gold mound21, but this omission22 in her narrative23 proved to be a defect which she had not anticipated. As she had told that she had lost everything except a few effects she had carried with her from the Castor, it was natural enough that people should want to know how she had been enabled to come home in such good fashion.
They had expected her to return in a shabby, or even needy24, condition, and now they had stories of delightful25 weeks at a hotel in San Francisco, and beheld26 their poor shipwrecked neighbor dressed more handsomely than they had ever seen her, and with a new trunk standing27 in the lower hall which must contain something.
Mrs. Cliff began by telling the truth, and from this course she did not intend to depart. She said that the captain of the Castor was a just and generous man, and, as far as was in his power, he had reimbursed28 the unfortunate passengers for their losses. But as every one knows the richest steamship29 companies are seldom so generous to persons who may be cast away during transportation as to offer them long sojourns30 at hotels, with private parlors32 and private servants, and to send them home in drawing-room cars, with cloaks trimmed with real sealskin, the questions became more and more direct, and all Mrs. Cliff could do was to stand with her back against the captain's generosity33, as if it had been a rock, and rely upon it for defence.
But when the neighbors had all gone home, and the trunk had to be opened, so that it could be lightened before being carried up-stairs, the remarks of Willy and Betty cut clean to the soul of the unfortunate possessor of its contents. Of course, the captain had not actually given her this thing, and that thing, and the other, or the next one, but he had allowed her a sum of money, and she had expended34 it according to her own discretion35. How much that sum of money might have been, Willy and Betty did not dare to ask,—for there were limits to Mrs. Cliff's forbearance,—but when they went to bed, they consulted together.
If it had not been for the private parlor31 and the drawing-room car, they would have limited Captain Horn's generosity to one hundred dollars. But, under the circumstances, that sum would have been insufficient36. It must have been nearly, if not quite, two hundred. As for Mrs. Cliff, she went to bed regretting that her reservations had not been more extended, and that she had not given the gold mound in the cave more company. She hated prevarications and concealments, but if she must conceal37 something, she should have concealed38 more. When the time came when she would be free to tell of her good fortune, even if it should be no more than she already possessed39, then she would explain everything, and proudly demand of her friends and neighbors to put their fingers on a single untruth that she had told them.
For the next day or two, Mrs. Cliff's joy in living again in her own home banished40 all other feelings, and as she was careful to say nothing to provoke more questions, and as those which were still asked became uncertain of aim and scattering41, her regrets at her want of reticence42 began to fade. But, no matter what she did, where she went, or what she looked at, Mrs. Cliff carried about with her a millstone. It did not hang from her neck, but it was in her pocket. It was not very heavy, but it was a burden to her. It was her money—which she wanted to spend, but dared not.
On leaving San Francisco, Edna had wished to give her the full amount which the captain had so far sent her, but Mrs. Cliff declined to receive the whole. She did not see any strong reason to believe that the captain would ever send any more, and as she had a home, and Ralph and Edna had not, she would not take all the money that was due her, feeling that they might come to need it more than she would. But even with this generous self-denial she found herself in Plainton with a balance of some thousands of dollars in her possession, and as much more in Edna's hands, which the latter had insisted that she would hold subject to order. What would the neighbors think of Captain Horn's abnormal bounteousness43 if they knew this?
With what a yearning44, aching heart Mrs. Cliff looked upon the little picket-fence which ran across the front of her property! How beautiful that fence would be with a new coat of paint, and how perfectly45 well she could afford it! And there was the little shed that should be over the back door, which would keep the sun from the kitchen in summer, and in winter the snow. There was this in one room, and that in another. There were new dishes which could exist only in her mind. How much domestic gratification there was within her reach, but toward which she did not dare to stretch out her hand!
There was poor old Mrs. Bradley, who must shortly leave the home in which she had lived nearly all her life, because she could no longer afford to pay the rent. There had been an attempt to raise enough money by subscription46 to give the old lady her home for another year, but this had not been very successful. Mrs. Cliff could easily have supplied the deficit47, and it would have given her real pleasure to do so,—for she had almost an affection for the old lady,—but when she asked to be allowed to subscribe48, she did not dare to give more than one dollar, which was the largest sum upon the list, and even then Betty had said that, under the circumstances, she could not have been expected to give anything.
When she went out into the little barn at the rear of the house, and saw the empty cow-stable, how she longed for fresh cream, and butter of her own making! And when she gazed upon her little phaeton, which she had not sold because no one wanted it, and reflected that her good, brown horse could doubtless be bought back for a moderate sum, she almost wished that she had come home as poor as people thought she ought to be.
Now and then she ordered something done or spent some money in a way that excited the astonishment49 of Willy Croup—the sharper-witted Betty had gone home, for, of course, Mrs. Cliff could not be expected to be able to afford her company now. But in attempting to account for these inconsiderable extravagances, Mrs. Cliff was often obliged to content herself with admitting that while she had been abroad she might have acquired some of those habits of prodigality50 peculiar51 to our Western country. This might be a sufficient excuse for the new bottom step to the side door, but how could she account for the pair of soft, warm Californian blankets which were at the bottom of the trunk, and which she had not yet taken out even to air?
Matters had gone on in this way for nearly a month,—every day Mrs. Cliff had thought of some new expenditure52 which she could well afford, and every night she wished that she dared to put her money in the town bank and so be relieved from the necessity of thinking so much about door-locks and window-fastenings,—when there came a letter from Edna, informing her of the captain's safe arrival in Acapulco with the cargo53 of guano and gold, and inclosing a draft which first made Mrs. Cliff turn pale, and then compelled her to sit down on the floor and cry. The letter related in brief the captain's adventures, and stated his intention of returning for the gold.
"To think of it!" softly sobbed54 Mrs. Cliff, after she had carefully closed her bedroom door. "With this and what I am to get, I believe I could buy the bank, and yet I can only sit here and try to think of some place to hide this dangerous piece of paper."
The draft was drawn55 by a San Francisco house upon a Boston bank, and Edna had suggested that it might be well for Mrs. Cliff to open an account in the latter city. But the poor lady knew that would never do. A bank-account in Boston would soon become known to the people of Plainton, and what was the use of having an account anywhere if she could not draw from it? Edna had not failed to reiterate56 the necessity of keeping the gold discovery an absolute secret, and every word she said upon this point increased Mrs. Cliff's depression.
"If it were only for a fixed57 time, a month or three months, or even six months," the poor lady said to herself, "I might stand it. It would be hard to do without all the things I want, and be afraid even to pay the money I borrowed to go to South America, but if I knew when the day was certainly coming when I could hold up my head and let everybody know just what I am, and take my proper place in the community, then I might wait. But nobody knows how long it will take the captain to get away with that gold. He may have to make ever so many voyages. He may meet with wrecks58, and dear knows what. It may be years before they are ready to tell me I am a free woman, and may do what I please with my own. I may die in poverty, and leave Mr. Cliff's nephews to get all the good of the draft and the money in my trunk up-stairs. I suppose they would think it came from Valparaiso, and that I had been hoarding59 it. It's all very well for Edna. She is going to Europe, where Ralph will be educated, I suppose, and where she can live as she pleases, and nobody will ask her any questions, and she need not answer them, if they should. But I must stay here, in debt, and in actual want of the comforts of life, making believe to pinch and to save, until a sea-captain thousands and thousands of miles away shall feel that he is ready to let me put my hand in my pocket and spend my riches."
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1
shutters
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| 百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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3
curtailed
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| v.截断，缩短( curtail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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4
prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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5
lessen
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| vt.减少，减轻；缩小 | |
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6
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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7
maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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8
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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9
annuity
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| n.年金；养老金 | |
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10
frugal
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| adj.节俭的，节约的，少量的，微量的 | |
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11
shipwreck
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| n.船舶失事，海难 | |
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12
scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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13
throbbed
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| 抽痛( throb的过去式和过去分词 )； （心脏、脉搏等）跳动 | |
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14
ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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15
genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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16
amity
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| n.友好关系 | |
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17
intoxicating
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| a. 醉人的,使人兴奋的 | |
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18
descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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19
purgatory
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| n.炼狱；苦难；adj.净化的，清洗的 | |
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20
tornado
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| n.飓风，龙卷风 | |
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21
mound
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| n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫 | |
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22
omission
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| n.省略，删节；遗漏或省略的事物，冗长 | |
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23
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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24
needy
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| adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的 | |
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delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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26
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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27
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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28
reimbursed
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| v.偿还，付还( reimburse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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29
steamship
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| n.汽船，轮船 | |
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30
sojourns
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| n.逗留，旅居( sojourn的名词复数 ) | |
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31
parlor
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| n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅 | |
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32
parlors
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| 客厅( parlor的名词复数 )； 起居室； （旅馆中的）休息室； （通常用来构成合成词）店 | |
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33
generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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34
expended
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| v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽 | |
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35
discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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36
insufficient
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| adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的 | |
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37
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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38
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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39
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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40
banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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41
scattering
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| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
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42
reticence
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| n.沉默，含蓄 | |
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43
bounteousness
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yearning
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| a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的 | |
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45
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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46
subscription
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| n.预订，预订费，亲笔签名，调配法，下标（处方） | |
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47
deficit
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| n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差 | |
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48
subscribe
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| vi.(to)订阅，订购；同意；vt.捐助，赞助 | |
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49
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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50
prodigality
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| n.浪费，挥霍 | |
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51
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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52
expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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53
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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54
sobbed
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| 哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说 | |
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55
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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56
reiterate
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| v.重申，反复地说 | |
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57
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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58
wrecks
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| n.沉船( wreck的名词复数 )；（事故中）遭严重毁坏的汽车（或飞机等）；（身体或精神上）受到严重损伤的人；状况非常糟糕的车辆（或建筑物等）v.毁坏[毁灭]某物( wreck的第三人称单数 )；使（船舶）失事，使遇难，使下沉 | |
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59
hoarding
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| n.贮藏；积蓄；临时围墙；囤积v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的现在分词 ) | |
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