Chapter 101 Chapter 101

As Philip raised his hand to ring, a head stuck out of the window, and presently he heard a confused thump on the stairs, as children rushed down to open the door for him.He bent down, raised a pale, eager, drawn face, and let the children kiss each other.The children were full of admiration for him, which deeply touched his heart.In order to catch his breath, he chatted with the children, and walked up and down the stairs, stop and go.He was a little hysterical at the moment, and almost everything would cause him to cry.The children asked him why he didn't come to their house last Sunday, and he replied that he was sick.They wanted to know what ailment he was suffering from, and Philip, to amuse them, replied that he was suffering from some mysterious disease, whose name was neither a donkey nor a horse, and sounded vaguely like Greek and Latin. (It is common for Greek and Latin words to be mixed together in medical terminology).They all squealed with joy.They dragged Philip into the living room and made him repeat the name of the illness so that their father might learn as well.Athelny got up and shook hands with Philip.He stared at Philip, but he was born with round, bulging eyes, which made him look like he was always staring at other people.Philip could not understand why the occasion made him feel self-conscious.

"We were all thinking of you last Sunday," said Athelny. Philip never failed to blush when he told a lie, and it was so flushed now when he had explained why he had not come.At that moment Madame Athelny came in, and shook Philip's hand. "I hope you are better, Mr. Carey," she said. Philip couldn't help muttering in his heart, how could she think that he was not in good health?Because when he followed the children upstairs, the kitchen door was always closed, and besides, the children never took a step away from him. "It won't be ten minutes before supper," Mrs. Athelny drew on slowly. "While waiting for dinner, why don't you have a glass of milk and beat eggs first?"

Mrs. Athelny's face took on a look of concern which made Philip uncomfortable.With a forced smile, he replied that he wasn't feeling hungry at all.Seeing Sally come in to set the tablecloth, Philip immediately made fun of her.The family joked about her being as fat as one of Madame Athelny's aunts.The aunt's name was Elizabeth, and none of the children had ever seen her, and they regarded her only as a repulsive and bloated type. "Hey, Sally, what has changed since I last saw you?" "As far as I know, nothing has changed." "I believe you've been gaining weight."

"I'm convinced you won't gain weight," she retorted, "you're a complete skeleton." Philip blushed deeply. "You're not right, Sally," cried her father. "A hair of gold for you. Jenny, go and get some pair of scissors." "Well, he's very skinny, Pa," protested Sally, "almost scrawny." "That's not the point, boy. He has every right to be thin, but it's disrespectful for you to be fat." While he was speaking, he proudly put his arms around Sally's waist, and stared at her with admiration.

"Let me spread the tablecloth, papa. If I'm brisk, some people won't care about it." "Naughty little girl!" cried Athelny, with a dramatic wave of his hand. "She's always teasing me with her jeers, saying that Joseph has proposed to her. Joseph's a son of Levi's who owns the jewelry store in Holborn." "Did you accept his proposal, Sally?" asked Philip. "Don't you know my father by now? Nothing he says is true." "Well, if he hasn't proposed to you," cried Athelny again, "I swear to St. George and lovely England, I'll go and wring his nose, and make him answer me at once what he is up to." ."

"Please sit down, papa, supper is ready. Hey, boys, listen up, all of you, get out, wash your hands, and don't even try to slip away. I'm going to check your hands before I let you eat. All right. , let's go!" Philip felt very hungry, but when he did eat he had no appetite, and could not swallow anything.His mind was exhausted.He hadn't noticed that Athelny was uncharacteristically eating and seldom talking.Philip was relieved to sit in this pleasant room, but he could not help himself, and looked up from time to time out of the window.It was a stormy day, and it was raining heavily.The weather is pretty good.It was cold outside, the wind was howling, and bursts of rain were pattering against the windows.Philip was troubled, not knowing where he would be for the night.The Athelnys went to bed early, and he could stay here no later than ten o'clock.Philip's heart sank at the thought of going into that dreary darkness.To him, the dark night at a friend's house was more terrifying than being alone in the open air.From time to time, he reassured himself, many others would also spend the night outdoors.He tried to divert his thoughts by talking several times, but just halfway through the words, he retracted when he heard the crackling sound of raindrops hitting the window, feeling terrified.

"It's like March weather," said Athelny, "and no one likes to cross the English Channel in this weather." After a while, dinner was finished, and Sally came in to clear the table. "Would you like to have one of those twopenny bastards!" said Athelny, handing Philip a cigar. Philip took the cigar and took a gleeful puff.After taking a puff of smoke, my heart is really happy.After Sally finished packing, Athelny told her to close the door behind her. "Nobody bothers us now," he said, turning to Philip. "I told Betty in advance, I won't bark, don't let the children in."

Philip was not surprised when he heard this, but before he could comprehend what he meant, Athelny adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose with his usual movements, and then went on to say: "I wrote you a letter last Sunday to ask what happened to you. Seeing that you didn't reply, I went to your place to look for you on Wednesday." Philip turned his head away and was silent.His heart was pounding.Athelny said nothing.In the blink of an eye, the room was silent.Philip could not stand it, but could not think of a word. "Your landlady told me you hadn't lived there since last Saturday night, and that you still owed last month's rent. Where have you been sleeping this week?"

Philip really didn't want to answer that question.He stared blankly out the window. "There's nowhere to go." "I've been trying to find you." "Why?" asked Philip. "Betty and I have been poor too, and we have children to support. Why don't you come to my house?" "I can't!" Philip was afraid that he might burst into tears.He felt weak all over.He closed his eyes and frowned, trying to control his emotions.He suddenly felt angry with Athelny for not letting him be alone.His spirits were completely broken.At this time, his eyes were still closed, and in order to keep his tone steady, he spoke slowly and told Athelny all the events of the last few weeks.In the process of telling, Philip seemed to feel that his behavior was a bit stupid, which made him even more incoherent.He felt that Athelny would think him a complete fool.

"Well, you'll live with us until you get a job," said Aterhan when he had finished. Philip blushed inexplicably. "Oh, that's kind of you, but I don't think I can do that." "Why not?" Philip did not answer.He refused instinctively, for fear of disturbing others, and besides, he was naturally ashamed to accept favors from others.He knew in his heart that the Athelnys could barely survive by cooking and eating, and that there were so many people in the family that they had neither room nor money to support a stranger. "Of course you should live here," said Athelny. "Thorpe can sleep with his brethren, and you in his bed. Don't think we can't handle you without your three meals a day."

Philip was afraid to speak.So Athelny went to the door and called to his wife. "Betty," said he, when Mrs. Athelny came in, "Mr. Carey is going to live with us." "Oh, that's great," she said. "I'm going to make the bed right now." She took everything for granted, and spoke with such a kind, friendly voice that Philip was deeply moved.He never expected people to be kind to him, but when they were kind to him he was surprised and excited.At this moment, he couldn't restrain himself anymore, two huge tears came out of his eyes, and rushed down his cheeks.The Athelnys pretended not to see him and discussed how to arrange him.After Mrs. Athelny had gone, Philip leaned back in his chair, looked out of the window, and smiled. "It's not the right weather for a walk tonight, is it?"