章节正文
"I wouldn't change places with you," said Dan.
"I'd like well enough to be rich, but I wouldn't be
willing to be as mean as you are."
"You'll suffer for this!" said Jonas, his little bead-
like eyes glowing with anger. "I'll have you turned
off this very day, or as soon as my father get's
home."
"If he says I'm to go, I'll go!" said Dan. "He's
a gentleman."
Jonas made his way to his mother's room. She
noticed his perturbed look.
"What's the matter, my dear boy?" she asked.
"What's the matter, Jonas?"
"I wish you'd stop calling me your dear boy,"
said Jonas angrily.
"I--I forget sometimes," said Mrs. Brent, with a
half-sigh.
"Then you ought not to forget. Do you want to
spoil everything?"
"We are alone now, Jonas, and I cannot forget
that I am your mother."
"You'd better, if you know what's best for both of
us," said Jonas.
Mrs. Brent was far from being a kind-hearted
woman. Indeed she was very cold, but Jonas was
her only son, and to him she was as much attached
as it was possible for her to be to any one. Formerly
he had returned her affection in a slight degree, but
since he had figured as a rich man's son and heir he
had begun, incredible as it may appear, to look
down upon his own mother. She was not wholly
ignorant of this change in his feelings, and it made
her unhappy. He was all she had to live for. But
for him she would not have stooped to take part in
the conspiracy in which she was now a participant.
It seemed hard that her only son, for whom she had
sinned, should prove so ungrateful.
"My boy," she said, "I would not on any account
harm you or injure your prospects, but when we
are alone there can be no harm in my treating you
as my son."
"It can't do any good," grumbled Jonas, "and we
might be overheard."
"I will be cautious. You may be sure of that.
But why do you look so annoyed?"
"Why? Reason enough. That boy Dan, the
under-gardener, has been impudent to me."
"He has?" said Mrs. Brent quickly. "What has
he done?"
Jonas rehearsed the story. He found in his
mother a sympathetic listener.
"He is bold!" she said, compressing her lips.
"Yes, he is. When I told him I would have him
turned off, he coolly turned round and said that my
father was a gentleman, and wouldn't send him
away. Ma, will you do me a favor?"
"What is it, Jonas?"
"Send him off before the governor gets home.
You can make it all right with him."
Mrs. Brent hesitated.
"Mr. Granville might think I was taking a liberty."
"Oh, you can make it all right with him. Say
that he was very impudent to me. After what has
happened, if he stays he'll think he can treat me
just as he pleases."
Again Mrs. Brent hesitated, but her own inclination
prompted her to do as her son desired.
"You may tell Dan to come here. I wish to
speak to him," she said.
Jonas went out and did the errand.
"Mrs. Brent wants to see me?" said Dan. "I
have nothing to do with her."
"You'd better come in if you know what's best
for yourself." said Jonas, with an exultation he did
not attempt to conceal.
"Oh, well, I have no objection to meeting Mrs.
Brent," said Dan. "I'll go in."
Mrs. Brent eyed the young gardener with cold animosity.
"You have been impudent to Master Philip," she
said. "Of course you cannot remain any longer in
his father's employment. Here are five dollars--
more than is due you. Take it, and leave the estate."
"I won't take your money, Mrs. Brent," said Dan
independently, "and I won't take my dismissal from
any one but Mr. Granville himself."
"Do you defy me, then?" said Mrs. Brent, with a
firmer compression of her lips.
"No, Mrs. Brent, I don't defy you, but you have
nothing to do with me, and I shall not take any orders
or any dismissal from you."
"Don't be impertinent to my----" burst forth
from Jonas, and then he stopped in confusion.
"To your--what?" asked Dan quickly.
"To my--nurse," faltered Jonas.
Dan looked suspiciously from one to the other.
"There's something between those two," he said to
himself. "Something we don't know of."
CHAPTER XXXVII.
MRS. BRENT'S PANIC.
The chambermaid in the Granville household
was a cousin of Dan, older by three years.
She took a warm interest in Dan's welfare, though
there was nothing but cousinly affection between
them.
Fresh from his interview with Mrs. Brent, Dan
made his way to the kitchen.
"Well, Aggie," he said, "I may have to say good-
by soon."
"What, Dan! You're not for lavin', are you?"
asked Aggie, in surprise.
"Mrs. Brent has just given me notice," answered
Dan.
"Mrs. Brent! What business is it of her's, and
how did it happen, anyway?"
"She thinks it's her business, and it's all on account
of that stuck-up Philip."
"Tell me about it, Cousin Dan."
Dan did so, and wound up by repeating his young
master's unfinished sentence.
"It's my belief," he said, "that there's something
between those two. If there wasn't, why is Mrs.
Brent here?"
"Why, indeed, Dan?" chimed in Aggie. "Perhaps
I can guess something."
"What is it?"
"Never you mind. I'll only say I overheard Mrs.
Brent one day speaking to Master Philip, but she
didn't call him Philip."
"What then?"
"JONAS! I'm ready to take my oath she called
him Jonas."
"Perhaps that is his real name. He may have it
for his middle name."
"I don't believe it. Dan, I've an idea. I'm going
to see Mrs. Brent and make her think I know
something. You see?"
"Do as you think best, Aggie. I told her
wouldn't take a dismissal from her.
Mrs. Brent was in her own room. She was not a
woman who easily forgave, and she was provoked
with Dan, who had defied her authority. She knew
very well that in dismissing him she had wholly exceeded
her authority, but this, as may readily be
supposed, did not make her feel any more friendly
to the young gardener. Jonas artfully led her indignation.
"Dan doesn't have much respect for you, mother,"
he said. "He doesn't mind you any more than he
does a kitchen-girl."
"He may find he has made a mistake," said Mrs.
Brent, a bright red spot in each cheek, indicating
her anger. "He may find he has made a mistake in
defying my authority."
"I wouldn't stand it if I was you, ma."
"I won't!" said Mrs. Brent decidedly, nodding
vigorously and compressing her lips more firmly.
Soon after a knock was heard at Mrs. Brent's
door.
"Come in!" she said in a sharp, incisive voice.
The door was opened and Aggie entered.
"What do you want of me, Aggie?" asked Mrs.
Brent, in some surprise.
"I hear you've been tellin' Dan he'll have to go,"
said the chambermaid.
"Yes," answered Mrs. Brent, "but I fail to see
what business it is of yours."
"Dan's me cousin, ma'am."
"That's nothing to me. He has been impertinent
to Master Philip, and afterward to me."
"I know all about it, ma'am. He told me."
"Then you understand why he must leave. He
will do well to be more respectful in his next
place."
"It wasn't his fault, ma'am, accordin' to what he
told me."
"No doubt!" sneered Mrs. Brent. "It is hardly
likely that he would admit himself to be in fault."
"Dan's a good, truthful boy, ma'am."
"What did he tell you?"
The moment had come for Aggie's master-stroke,
and she fixed her eyes keenly on Mrs. Brent to
watch the effect of her words.
"He said he was at work in the garden, ma'am,
when Master Jonas----"
"WHAT!" exclaimed Mrs. Brent, staring at the
girl in dismay.
"He was at work in the garden, ma'am when
Master Jonas----"
"What do you mean, girl? Who is Master
Jonas?" asked Mrs. Brent, trying to conceal her
agitation.
"Did I say Jonas, ma'am. La, what could I be
thinking of? Of course I mean Master Philip."
"What should have put the name of Jonas into
your head?" demanded Mrs. Brent nervously.
"I must have heard it somewhere," said Aggie,
with a quick, shrewd look out of the corner of her
eyes. "Well, Dan just asked the young master a
civil question, and Master Philip, he snapped him
up rude-like. Mrs. Brent I think you'd better not
make any fuss about Dan. It wasn't so much his
fault as the fault of Master Jonas--oh, dear! I beg
"I'd like well enough to be rich, but I wouldn't be
willing to be as mean as you are."
"You'll suffer for this!" said Jonas, his little bead-
like eyes glowing with anger. "I'll have you turned
off this very day, or as soon as my father get's
home."
"If he says I'm to go, I'll go!" said Dan. "He's
a gentleman."
Jonas made his way to his mother's room. She
noticed his perturbed look.
"What's the matter, my dear boy?" she asked.
"What's the matter, Jonas?"
"I wish you'd stop calling me your dear boy,"
said Jonas angrily.
"I--I forget sometimes," said Mrs. Brent, with a
half-sigh.
"Then you ought not to forget. Do you want to
spoil everything?"
"We are alone now, Jonas, and I cannot forget
that I am your mother."
"You'd better, if you know what's best for both of
us," said Jonas.
Mrs. Brent was far from being a kind-hearted
woman. Indeed she was very cold, but Jonas was
her only son, and to him she was as much attached
as it was possible for her to be to any one. Formerly
he had returned her affection in a slight degree, but
since he had figured as a rich man's son and heir he
had begun, incredible as it may appear, to look
down upon his own mother. She was not wholly
ignorant of this change in his feelings, and it made
her unhappy. He was all she had to live for. But
for him she would not have stooped to take part in
the conspiracy in which she was now a participant.
It seemed hard that her only son, for whom she had
sinned, should prove so ungrateful.
"My boy," she said, "I would not on any account
harm you or injure your prospects, but when we
are alone there can be no harm in my treating you
as my son."
"It can't do any good," grumbled Jonas, "and we
might be overheard."
"I will be cautious. You may be sure of that.
But why do you look so annoyed?"
"Why? Reason enough. That boy Dan, the
under-gardener, has been impudent to me."
"He has?" said Mrs. Brent quickly. "What has
he done?"
Jonas rehearsed the story. He found in his
mother a sympathetic listener.
"He is bold!" she said, compressing her lips.
"Yes, he is. When I told him I would have him
turned off, he coolly turned round and said that my
father was a gentleman, and wouldn't send him
away. Ma, will you do me a favor?"
"What is it, Jonas?"
"Send him off before the governor gets home.
You can make it all right with him."
Mrs. Brent hesitated.
"Mr. Granville might think I was taking a liberty."
"Oh, you can make it all right with him. Say
that he was very impudent to me. After what has
happened, if he stays he'll think he can treat me
just as he pleases."
Again Mrs. Brent hesitated, but her own inclination
prompted her to do as her son desired.
"You may tell Dan to come here. I wish to
speak to him," she said.
Jonas went out and did the errand.
"Mrs. Brent wants to see me?" said Dan. "I
have nothing to do with her."
"You'd better come in if you know what's best
for yourself." said Jonas, with an exultation he did
not attempt to conceal.
"Oh, well, I have no objection to meeting Mrs.
Brent," said Dan. "I'll go in."
Mrs. Brent eyed the young gardener with cold animosity.
"You have been impudent to Master Philip," she
said. "Of course you cannot remain any longer in
his father's employment. Here are five dollars--
more than is due you. Take it, and leave the estate."
"I won't take your money, Mrs. Brent," said Dan
independently, "and I won't take my dismissal from
any one but Mr. Granville himself."
"Do you defy me, then?" said Mrs. Brent, with a
firmer compression of her lips.
"No, Mrs. Brent, I don't defy you, but you have
nothing to do with me, and I shall not take any orders
or any dismissal from you."
"Don't be impertinent to my----" burst forth
from Jonas, and then he stopped in confusion.
"To your--what?" asked Dan quickly.
"To my--nurse," faltered Jonas.
Dan looked suspiciously from one to the other.
"There's something between those two," he said to
himself. "Something we don't know of."
CHAPTER XXXVII.
MRS. BRENT'S PANIC.
The chambermaid in the Granville household
was a cousin of Dan, older by three years.
She took a warm interest in Dan's welfare, though
there was nothing but cousinly affection between
them.
Fresh from his interview with Mrs. Brent, Dan
made his way to the kitchen.
"Well, Aggie," he said, "I may have to say good-
by soon."
"What, Dan! You're not for lavin', are you?"
asked Aggie, in surprise.
"Mrs. Brent has just given me notice," answered
Dan.
"Mrs. Brent! What business is it of her's, and
how did it happen, anyway?"
"She thinks it's her business, and it's all on account
of that stuck-up Philip."
"Tell me about it, Cousin Dan."
Dan did so, and wound up by repeating his young
master's unfinished sentence.
"It's my belief," he said, "that there's something
between those two. If there wasn't, why is Mrs.
Brent here?"
"Why, indeed, Dan?" chimed in Aggie. "Perhaps
I can guess something."
"What is it?"
"Never you mind. I'll only say I overheard Mrs.
Brent one day speaking to Master Philip, but she
didn't call him Philip."
"What then?"
"JONAS! I'm ready to take my oath she called
him Jonas."
"Perhaps that is his real name. He may have it
for his middle name."
"I don't believe it. Dan, I've an idea. I'm going
to see Mrs. Brent and make her think I know
something. You see?"
"Do as you think best, Aggie. I told her
wouldn't take a dismissal from her.
Mrs. Brent was in her own room. She was not a
woman who easily forgave, and she was provoked
with Dan, who had defied her authority. She knew
very well that in dismissing him she had wholly exceeded
her authority, but this, as may readily be
supposed, did not make her feel any more friendly
to the young gardener. Jonas artfully led her indignation.
"Dan doesn't have much respect for you, mother,"
he said. "He doesn't mind you any more than he
does a kitchen-girl."
"He may find he has made a mistake," said Mrs.
Brent, a bright red spot in each cheek, indicating
her anger. "He may find he has made a mistake in
defying my authority."
"I wouldn't stand it if I was you, ma."
"I won't!" said Mrs. Brent decidedly, nodding
vigorously and compressing her lips more firmly.
Soon after a knock was heard at Mrs. Brent's
door.
"Come in!" she said in a sharp, incisive voice.
The door was opened and Aggie entered.
"What do you want of me, Aggie?" asked Mrs.
Brent, in some surprise.
"I hear you've been tellin' Dan he'll have to go,"
said the chambermaid.
"Yes," answered Mrs. Brent, "but I fail to see
what business it is of yours."
"Dan's me cousin, ma'am."
"That's nothing to me. He has been impertinent
to Master Philip, and afterward to me."
"I know all about it, ma'am. He told me."
"Then you understand why he must leave. He
will do well to be more respectful in his next
place."
"It wasn't his fault, ma'am, accordin' to what he
told me."
"No doubt!" sneered Mrs. Brent. "It is hardly
likely that he would admit himself to be in fault."
"Dan's a good, truthful boy, ma'am."
"What did he tell you?"
The moment had come for Aggie's master-stroke,
and she fixed her eyes keenly on Mrs. Brent to
watch the effect of her words.
"He said he was at work in the garden, ma'am,
when Master Jonas----"
"WHAT!" exclaimed Mrs. Brent, staring at the
girl in dismay.
"He was at work in the garden, ma'am when
Master Jonas----"
"What do you mean, girl? Who is Master
Jonas?" asked Mrs. Brent, trying to conceal her
agitation.
"Did I say Jonas, ma'am. La, what could I be
thinking of? Of course I mean Master Philip."
"What should have put the name of Jonas into
your head?" demanded Mrs. Brent nervously.
"I must have heard it somewhere," said Aggie,
with a quick, shrewd look out of the corner of her
eyes. "Well, Dan just asked the young master a
civil question, and Master Philip, he snapped him
up rude-like. Mrs. Brent I think you'd better not
make any fuss about Dan. It wasn't so much his
fault as the fault of Master Jonas--oh, dear! I beg
- affection [ə´fekʃən]
n.友爱；慈爱 (初中英语单词) - unhappy [ʌn´hæpi] a.不幸的；不快乐的 (初中英语单词)
- injure [´indʒə] vt.伤害，损害，毁坏 (初中英语单词)
- sympathetic [,simpə´θetik] a.同情的，有同情心的 (初中英语单词)
- governor [´gʌvənə] n.总督；州长 (初中英语单词)
- objection [əb´dʒekʃən] n.反对；异议；缺点 (初中英语单词)
- employment [im´plɔimənt] n.工作；职业；雇用 (初中英语单词)
- welfare [´welfeə] n.福利(事业) (初中英语单词)
- interview [´intəvju:] n.&vt.接见；会见；交谈 (初中英语单词)
- wholly [´həul-li] ad.完全，十足；统统 (初中英语单词)
- readily [´redili] ad.乐意地；容易地 (初中英语单词)
- keenly [´ki:nli] ad.敏锐地；强烈地 (初中英语单词)
- conceal [kən´si:l] vt.藏；隐瞒 (初中英语单词)
- incredible [in´kredəbəl] a.不能相信的；惊人的 (高中英语单词)
- conspiracy [kən´spirəsi] n.密谋；协同作用 (高中英语单词)
- gardener [´gɑ:dnə] n.园艺家；园林工人 (高中英语单词)
- decidedly [di´saididli] ad.坚决地，果断地 (高中英语单词)
- shrewd [ʃru:d] a.精明的；狡猾的 (高中英语单词)
- cautious [´kɔ:ʃəs] a.小心的；谨慎的 (英语四级单词)
- coolly [´ku:li] ad.冷(静地)，沉着地 (英语四级单词)
- unfinished [´ʌn´finiʃt] a.未完成的，未完工的 (英语四级单词)
- trying [´traiiŋ] a.难堪的；费劲的 (英语四级单词)
- calling [´kɔ:liŋ] n.点名；职业；欲望 (英语六级单词)
- taking [´teikiŋ] a.迷人的 n.捕获物 (英语六级单词)
- exultation [egzʌl´teiʃən] n.欢腾，狂欢 (英语六级单词)
- speaking [´spi:kiŋ] n.说话 a.发言的 (英语六级单词)
- respectful [ri´spektfəl] a.恭敬的；尊敬人的 (英语六级单词)
- truthful [´tru:θfəl] a.诚实的；真实的 (英语六级单词)
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章节正文
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