04-02-02-织工马南 [12]
先生。不管怎样，只有您才可以对他说让他离开这个家。”
“别跟我争论，戈弗雷，”乡绅的注意力转回他的早餐，“去让用人把我的马备好。”
戈弗雷离开餐厅，他为父亲没有发现全部实情长出一口气。可是，他有些担心父亲会为他安排和南茜的婚事。虽然娶南茜是他最热切的愿望，但他不可能既娶莫丽，又娶南茜。不过，像往常一样，他等待并希望着会发生一些意想不到的变化，把自己从所有这些麻烦中解脱出来。
■ 5 Silas's neighbours
In the weeks following the robbery，the police tried hard to find the pedlar，because so many people suspected him of being the thief．But there was no sign of him in any of the towns and villages round Raveloe．
Nobody was surprised at Dunstan Cass's absence．Once be-fore he had stayed away for six weeks and then come back．No-body imagined he could have anything to do with the robbery．The villagers continued to discuss Silas and his lost gold，but they had no more explanations to offer．
Silas himself still had his loom and his work，so he went on weaving But the only thing that had made his life worth living had gone，and now he had nothing to look forward to．A life－time of empty evenings lay ahead of him． He did not enjoy thinking of the money he would earn，because it reminded him of the money he had lost．As he sat weaving，he sometimes used to moan quietly to himself．And in the evenings，as he sat alone in front of the fire，he used to put his head in his hands and moan again．
But this disaster had one good result．Little by little，Silas's neighbours realized it was wrong to be suspicious of him． He was just a poor，simple，harmless man，who needed their help．
They showed their new opinion of him in many different ways．Some of the women，who were baking cakes and preparing meat for Christmas，brought him presents of food．Some of the men，who had nothing to give him，stopped him in the village to ask about his health，or visited him to discuss the robbery．They often finished their conversation by saying cheerfully，'Now you're the same as the rest of us—we're poor too！Cheer up，Master Marner！If you get ill and can't work any more，the Squire'll give you food and your neigh－bours will take care of you．'this did not make Silas feel better，but he realized it was meant kindly．
Old Mr Macey，the church clerk，came to the cottage one day，to explain how his opinion of the weaver had changed．
'You see，Master Marner，'he said in his high old voice，'I used to think you worked for the devil—you've always looked strange，you know．But now I'm sure you're not evil，just a lit-tle bit crazy．That's what I tell the neighbours．'
He stopped to give Silas time to reply，but the weaver did not speak．He was sitting with his head in his hands as usual．He knew that the old man was trying to be kind，but he was too miserable to show any interest．
'Come，Master Marner， what's your answer to that？'asked Mr Macey， a little impatiently．
'Oh，'said Silas，slowly lifting his head，'thank you． Thank you for your kindness．'
'That's all right，'replied the old man，pleased． 'Now， you shouldn't sit here moaning，you know． Here's my advice to you．Ask Tookey in the village to make you a Sunday suit—I don't expect you've got one—and then you can come to church with your neighbours．It'll make you feel better．You're not an old man yet，although you look like one． How old were you when you came here first？ Twenty-five？'
'I don't remember，'answered Silas，shaking his head．
That evening，Mr Macey told a number of villagers at the Rainbow，'Poor Master doesn't know how old he is！And I don't suppose he knows what day of the week it is！He really is a bit crazy．'
Another villager，Dolly Winthrop，was also worried about Silas's absence from church．She was a large，fresh-faced wom－an with a sweet，patient smile，who was always busy from early morning until late at night，and who went to church herself ev－ery Sunday．She believed in helping her neighbours，and if someone in Raveloe was ill or dying，Dolly was often asked to take care of the patient．This good，sensible woman decided that Silas needed her help．So one Sunday afternoon she took her son Aaron，a pretty little boy of seven， to visit the weaver．As they came closer to the cottage，they heard the sound of the loom．
'Oh dear！Working on a Sunday！That's bad！'said Mrs Winthrop sadly．She had to knock loudy on the door before Silas heard
“别跟我争论，戈弗雷，”乡绅的注意力转回他的早餐，“去让用人把我的马备好。”
戈弗雷离开餐厅，他为父亲没有发现全部实情长出一口气。可是，他有些担心父亲会为他安排和南茜的婚事。虽然娶南茜是他最热切的愿望，但他不可能既娶莫丽，又娶南茜。不过，像往常一样，他等待并希望着会发生一些意想不到的变化，把自己从所有这些麻烦中解脱出来。
■ 5 Silas's neighbours
In the weeks following the robbery，the police tried hard to find the pedlar，because so many people suspected him of being the thief．But there was no sign of him in any of the towns and villages round Raveloe．
Nobody was surprised at Dunstan Cass's absence．Once be-fore he had stayed away for six weeks and then come back．No-body imagined he could have anything to do with the robbery．The villagers continued to discuss Silas and his lost gold，but they had no more explanations to offer．
Silas himself still had his loom and his work，so he went on weaving But the only thing that had made his life worth living had gone，and now he had nothing to look forward to．A life－time of empty evenings lay ahead of him． He did not enjoy thinking of the money he would earn，because it reminded him of the money he had lost．As he sat weaving，he sometimes used to moan quietly to himself．And in the evenings，as he sat alone in front of the fire，he used to put his head in his hands and moan again．
But this disaster had one good result．Little by little，Silas's neighbours realized it was wrong to be suspicious of him． He was just a poor，simple，harmless man，who needed their help．
They showed their new opinion of him in many different ways．Some of the women，who were baking cakes and preparing meat for Christmas，brought him presents of food．Some of the men，who had nothing to give him，stopped him in the village to ask about his health，or visited him to discuss the robbery．They often finished their conversation by saying cheerfully，'Now you're the same as the rest of us—we're poor too！Cheer up，Master Marner！If you get ill and can't work any more，the Squire'll give you food and your neigh－bours will take care of you．'this did not make Silas feel better，but he realized it was meant kindly．
Old Mr Macey，the church clerk，came to the cottage one day，to explain how his opinion of the weaver had changed．
'You see，Master Marner，'he said in his high old voice，'I used to think you worked for the devil—you've always looked strange，you know．But now I'm sure you're not evil，just a lit-tle bit crazy．That's what I tell the neighbours．'
He stopped to give Silas time to reply，but the weaver did not speak．He was sitting with his head in his hands as usual．He knew that the old man was trying to be kind，but he was too miserable to show any interest．
'Come，Master Marner， what's your answer to that？'asked Mr Macey， a little impatiently．
'Oh，'said Silas，slowly lifting his head，'thank you． Thank you for your kindness．'
'That's all right，'replied the old man，pleased． 'Now， you shouldn't sit here moaning，you know． Here's my advice to you．Ask Tookey in the village to make you a Sunday suit—I don't expect you've got one—and then you can come to church with your neighbours．It'll make you feel better．You're not an old man yet，although you look like one． How old were you when you came here first？ Twenty-five？'
'I don't remember，'answered Silas，shaking his head．
That evening，Mr Macey told a number of villagers at the Rainbow，'Poor Master doesn't know how old he is！And I don't suppose he knows what day of the week it is！He really is a bit crazy．'
Another villager，Dolly Winthrop，was also worried about Silas's absence from church．She was a large，fresh-faced wom－an with a sweet，patient smile，who was always busy from early morning until late at night，and who went to church herself ev－ery Sunday．She believed in helping her neighbours，and if someone in Raveloe was ill or dying，Dolly was often asked to take care of the patient．This good，sensible woman decided that Silas needed her help．So one Sunday afternoon she took her son Aaron，a pretty little boy of seven， to visit the weaver．As they came closer to the cottage，they heard the sound of the loom．
'Oh dear！Working on a Sunday！That's bad！'said Mrs Winthrop sadly．She had to knock loudy on the door before Silas heard