05-02-大卫·科波菲尔 [6]
and teachers were on holiday too，all except for Mr Mell, who had to look after me. I spent a whole month in that miserable place，doing my lessons in the dirty， empty classroom, which smelt of old food and unwashed boys. Every evening I had to eat my supper with Mr Mell，and then go straight to bed. The worst thing was the sign I had to wear round my neck. It said： BE CAREFUL！HE BITES. I was only allowed to take it off when I went to bed. Although I was extremely lonely and unhappy at this time，I was not looking forward to meeting all the other boys. I felt sure they would laugh at me and especially at the sign I was forced to wear. But one day Mr Mell told me that the headmaster， Mr Creakle, had returned, and wanted to see me. So I went，trembling，to his part of the house. I realized at once that Mr Creakle lived much more comfortably than the boys or the teachers. He was a small， fat man with a purple nose， who was sitting in an armchair with a bottle and a glass in front of him.
‘So， this is the boy who bites, is it？’ he asked unpleasantly.‘I know your stepfather， boy. He's a man of strong character，he is. He knows me,and I know him. Do you know me？ Answer me，boy！’He pulled violently at my ear．
‘Not yet， sir,’ I answered, tears of pain in my eyes. ‘Ah，but you soon will！Oh yes, I have a strong character too，you'll see！’ He banged his hand hard on the table． I was very frightened，but I made myself ask the question I had been considering for a whole month.‘ Please， sir, I'm very sorry for what I did to Mr Murdstone. Could—could I take this sign off，before the other boys see it…’ Mr Creakle gave a sudden，terrible shout and jumped out of his chair. I did not wait to see whether he was going to hit me， but ran out of his room and hid in my bed for the next hour. However， the boys were not as cruel to me as I had feared. I made a friend almost immediately， a boy called Tommy Traddles， who was known to be the unluckiest boy in the school. I was also noticed， and even smiled on, by the great James Steerforth，one of the oldest boys, at least six years older than me. He was a handsome，intelligent, curly-haired young man， who had become an important figure at the school，with great influence over the younger boys.
‘How much money have you got，Copperfield？’ he asked me.
‘Eight shillings，Steerforth，’I answered，remembering the present my mother and Peggotty had given me.
‘You'd better give it to me. I'll take care of it for you，’ he offered in a friendly way.
I opened Peggotty's purse and turned it upside-down into his hand．
‘Perhaps you'd like to spend some of it now？’he suggested，smiling.‘A bottle of wine, a tin of biscuits, a few cakes， that sort of thing？I can go out whenever I like, so I can buy it for you.’ ‘Ye-es，that’ s very kind of you, ’I said, although I was a little worried that all my money would disappear. When we went upstairs to bed， I realized that all my money had been spent， as eight shillings’ worth of food and drink was laid out on my bed in the moonlight. Of course I did not want to eat and drink it all by myself， so I invited Steerforth and the others to help themselves. The boys were very willing， and we spent a pleasant evening, sitting on our beds，whispering to each other. I discovered that the boys all hated Salem House， which they considered one of the worst schools in the country. They especially hated Mr Creakle， who was in the habit of beating them regularly with a heavy stick which he carried with him at all times. The only boy he dared not beat was Steerforth. I admired Steerforth even more when I heard this. When we were all too tired to stay awake， Steerforth got up to go.‘Goodnight，young Copperfield， ’ he said, putting a hand on my head.‘I'll take care of you．’
‘It’ s very kind of you，’ I replied gratefully.
‘You haven’ t got a sister， have you？
‘So， this is the boy who bites, is it？’ he asked unpleasantly.‘I know your stepfather， boy. He's a man of strong character，he is. He knows me,and I know him. Do you know me？ Answer me，boy！’He pulled violently at my ear．
‘Not yet， sir,’ I answered, tears of pain in my eyes. ‘Ah，but you soon will！Oh yes, I have a strong character too，you'll see！’ He banged his hand hard on the table． I was very frightened，but I made myself ask the question I had been considering for a whole month.‘ Please， sir, I'm very sorry for what I did to Mr Murdstone. Could—could I take this sign off，before the other boys see it…’ Mr Creakle gave a sudden，terrible shout and jumped out of his chair. I did not wait to see whether he was going to hit me， but ran out of his room and hid in my bed for the next hour. However， the boys were not as cruel to me as I had feared. I made a friend almost immediately， a boy called Tommy Traddles， who was known to be the unluckiest boy in the school. I was also noticed， and even smiled on, by the great James Steerforth，one of the oldest boys, at least six years older than me. He was a handsome，intelligent, curly-haired young man， who had become an important figure at the school，with great influence over the younger boys.
‘How much money have you got，Copperfield？’ he asked me.
‘Eight shillings，Steerforth，’I answered，remembering the present my mother and Peggotty had given me.
‘You'd better give it to me. I'll take care of it for you，’ he offered in a friendly way.
I opened Peggotty's purse and turned it upside-down into his hand．
‘Perhaps you'd like to spend some of it now？’he suggested，smiling.‘A bottle of wine, a tin of biscuits, a few cakes， that sort of thing？I can go out whenever I like, so I can buy it for you.’ ‘Ye-es，that’ s very kind of you, ’I said, although I was a little worried that all my money would disappear. When we went upstairs to bed， I realized that all my money had been spent， as eight shillings’ worth of food and drink was laid out on my bed in the moonlight. Of course I did not want to eat and drink it all by myself， so I invited Steerforth and the others to help themselves. The boys were very willing， and we spent a pleasant evening, sitting on our beds，whispering to each other. I discovered that the boys all hated Salem House， which they considered one of the worst schools in the country. They especially hated Mr Creakle， who was in the habit of beating them regularly with a heavy stick which he carried with him at all times. The only boy he dared not beat was Steerforth. I admired Steerforth even more when I heard this. When we were all too tired to stay awake， Steerforth got up to go.‘Goodnight，young Copperfield， ’ he said, putting a hand on my head.‘I'll take care of you．’
‘It’ s very kind of you，’ I replied gratefully.
‘You haven’ t got a sister， have you？