05-02-大卫·科波菲尔 [18]
away，I tell you！’
‘Aunt！’I cried out．‘They're Mr and Miss Murdstone！’
‘I don't care！’she shouted．‘Nobody is allowed to ride on my grass！’And she went back into her house，banging the door behind her．The Murdstones had to lead their horses out of the garden，and then return to ring the doorbell．They looked very uncomfortable and unsure of themselves．Janet showed them into the sitting－room，where my aunt，Mr Dick and I were waiting．
‘Miss Trotwood—’began Mr Murdstone，stepping forward．
‘Excuse me，’said my aunt sharply．‘I imagine you are the Mr Murdstone who married my nephew's widow．In my opinion，it would have been much better if you had never mar ried the poor Child．’
‘I agree with you，Miss Trotwood，’said Miss Murdstone，smiling falsely．‘My brother would certainly have been happi er if he hadn't married her，because I consider poor dear Clara was，in fact，just a child．’
‘Fortunately，’said my aunt，‘you and I，madam，are too old and plain for anyone to say that about us．’
Miss Murdstone did not seem eager to agree to this．Her brother，however，wanted to get down to business．
‘Miss Trotwood，’he said，a little crossly，‘having received your letter，I've come to explain to you，in case you haven't realized it yet，that this boy is extremely wicked and violent．Both my sister and I have tried to change his character，but sadly we have failed．’
‘I must add，’said Miss Murdstone，‘that of all the boys in the world，I believe this is the worst boy．’
‘I see，’said my aunt．‘Now tell me，has David inherited any money from his father or mother？’
‘No，madam，’answered Mr Murdstone．‘My dear Clara naturally trusted me to take care of David，and I'm ready to do that，if he comes back with me now．But I alone shall de cide what to do with him，Miss Trotwood—understand that．I am here，for the first and last time，to take him away．If you decide to keep him with you，you keep him for ever．’
‘What do you say，David？’asked my aunt，turning to me．
‘Please don't let me go with them，aunt！’I begged．‘They've always been unkind to me，and they made my mother very unhappy．I'll be so miserable if I have to go back with them！’
‘What do you think，Mr Dick？’asked my aunt．
Mr Dick thought for a moment．‘Get a suit of clothes made for him immediately，’he said．
‘What would I do without you，Mr Dick！’asked my aunt，shaking his hand enthusiastically．Then she turned to Mr Murdstone．
‘You'd better go．I'll keep the boy and take my chance with him．I don't believe a word of your story．Do you think I don't know how you broke that poor girl's heart？And how you hated her son，and punished him for it？I can see by your face that I'm right．’We all stared at Mr Murdstone．It was true that his face was white and he was breathing fast．‘Good bye，sir，and goodbye to you too，madam，’added my aunt，turning suddenly to Miss Murdstone．‘If I see you riding on my grass again，I'll knock your hat right off your head！’
The Murdstones said nothing in reply to these fierce words，but walked quickly out of the house．
‘Thank you，thank you，aunt！’I cried．‘I'll do my best to make you proud of me！’and I kissed her many times．
‘Mr Dick，you and I will adopt this boy together，’said my aunt，her stern expression softening into a smile．
And so a new life began for me．I was soon able to forget the warehouse and the Murdstones，in learning to please my aunt，and to play games with Mr Dick，who spent much of his time with me．
But one day my aunt suggested that I should go to boarding school in Canterbury．I was delighted，as I was eager to con tinue my studies，and Canterbury was very near my aunt's home in Dover．So the
‘Aunt！’I cried out．‘They're Mr and Miss Murdstone！’
‘I don't care！’she shouted．‘Nobody is allowed to ride on my grass！’And she went back into her house，banging the door behind her．The Murdstones had to lead their horses out of the garden，and then return to ring the doorbell．They looked very uncomfortable and unsure of themselves．Janet showed them into the sitting－room，where my aunt，Mr Dick and I were waiting．
‘Miss Trotwood—’began Mr Murdstone，stepping forward．
‘Excuse me，’said my aunt sharply．‘I imagine you are the Mr Murdstone who married my nephew's widow．In my opinion，it would have been much better if you had never mar ried the poor Child．’
‘I agree with you，Miss Trotwood，’said Miss Murdstone，smiling falsely．‘My brother would certainly have been happi er if he hadn't married her，because I consider poor dear Clara was，in fact，just a child．’
‘Fortunately，’said my aunt，‘you and I，madam，are too old and plain for anyone to say that about us．’
Miss Murdstone did not seem eager to agree to this．Her brother，however，wanted to get down to business．
‘Miss Trotwood，’he said，a little crossly，‘having received your letter，I've come to explain to you，in case you haven't realized it yet，that this boy is extremely wicked and violent．Both my sister and I have tried to change his character，but sadly we have failed．’
‘I must add，’said Miss Murdstone，‘that of all the boys in the world，I believe this is the worst boy．’
‘I see，’said my aunt．‘Now tell me，has David inherited any money from his father or mother？’
‘No，madam，’answered Mr Murdstone．‘My dear Clara naturally trusted me to take care of David，and I'm ready to do that，if he comes back with me now．But I alone shall de cide what to do with him，Miss Trotwood—understand that．I am here，for the first and last time，to take him away．If you decide to keep him with you，you keep him for ever．’
‘What do you say，David？’asked my aunt，turning to me．
‘Please don't let me go with them，aunt！’I begged．‘They've always been unkind to me，and they made my mother very unhappy．I'll be so miserable if I have to go back with them！’
‘What do you think，Mr Dick？’asked my aunt．
Mr Dick thought for a moment．‘Get a suit of clothes made for him immediately，’he said．
‘What would I do without you，Mr Dick！’asked my aunt，shaking his hand enthusiastically．Then she turned to Mr Murdstone．
‘You'd better go．I'll keep the boy and take my chance with him．I don't believe a word of your story．Do you think I don't know how you broke that poor girl's heart？And how you hated her son，and punished him for it？I can see by your face that I'm right．’We all stared at Mr Murdstone．It was true that his face was white and he was breathing fast．‘Good bye，sir，and goodbye to you too，madam，’added my aunt，turning suddenly to Miss Murdstone．‘If I see you riding on my grass again，I'll knock your hat right off your head！’
The Murdstones said nothing in reply to these fierce words，but walked quickly out of the house．
‘Thank you，thank you，aunt！’I cried．‘I'll do my best to make you proud of me！’and I kissed her many times．
‘Mr Dick，you and I will adopt this boy together，’said my aunt，her stern expression softening into a smile．
And so a new life began for me．I was soon able to forget the warehouse and the Murdstones，in learning to please my aunt，and to play games with Mr Dick，who spent much of his time with me．
But one day my aunt suggested that I should go to boarding school in Canterbury．I was delighted，as I was eager to con tinue my studies，and Canterbury was very near my aunt's home in Dover．So the