织工马南-第2节
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Silas went home．The next day he sat alone for the whole day，too miserable to do anything．On the second day the min－ ister came to tell him that Sarah had decided she could not marry him．Only a month later，Sarah married William Dane，and soon afterwards Silas Marner left the town．
At Raveloe，Silas shut himself away in his cottage．He did not want to think about the disaster he had experienced．He could not understand why God had refused to help him．But now that his trust in God and his friends had been broken， he did not feel strong enough to build up that trust again，in a new church and with new friends．From now on，he would live in a dark，loveless，hopeless world．
All that was left to him was his weaving，and he sat at his loom seven days a week，working all the daylight hours．In the town he had earned less，and had given much of his money to the chapel，for the old，the poor，and the sick．But now he be－gan to earn more than ever before，and there was no reason for him to give away any of it．He was often paid for his linen in gold．He discovered that he liked holding the shining coins in his hand and looking at their bright faces．
In his childhood，Silas had been taught，by his mother，to make simple medicines from wild flowers and plants．One day he saw the shoemaker's wife，Sally Oates，sitting at her cottage door，and he realized she had all the signs of the illness which had killed his mother．He felt sorry for Sally，and although he knew he could not prevent her dying，he prepared some medicine for her which made her feel much better．The vil－lagers considered this a good example of Silas's strange，fright－ening power，but as it had worked for Sally，they started visit…ing Silas to ask for help with their own illnesses．But Silas was too honest to take their money and give them useless medicine．He knew he had no special power，and so he sent them away．The villagers believed he was refusing to help them，and they were angry with him．They blamed him for accidents that hap－pened to them，and deaths in the village．So poor Silas's kind－ness to Sally did not help him make friends in Raveloe．
But little by little，the piles of gold coins in his cottage grew higher．The harder he worked，the less he spent on himself．He counted the coins into piles of ten，and wanted to see them grow into a square，and then into a larger square．He was de－lighted with every new coin，but it made him want another．His gold became a habit，a delight，a reason for living，almost a reli－gion．He began to think the coins were his friends，who made the cottage less lonely for him．But it was only at night， when he had finished his work，that he spent time with them．He kept them in two bags，under the floorboards near the loom．Like a thirsty man who needs a drink，he took them out every evening to look at them，feel them，and count them．The coins shone in the firelight，and Silas loved every one of them．When he looked at his loom，he thought fondly of the half－earned gold in the work he was doing，and he looked forward to the years ahead of him，the countless days of weaving and the growing piles of gold．
2 Godfrey and Dunstan Cass
The most important person in Raveloe was Squire Cass， a gentleman farmer，who lived with his three sons in the handsome Red House opposite the church，and owned a num…her of farms outside the village．His wife had died many years before．
One dark November evening，fifteen years after Silas Marner had first arrived in Raveloe，some of the villagers were drinking beer in the public house，the Rainbow．Old Mr Macey，the church clerk，was remembering the Squire's wife．
‘She was a wonderful lady，’he said，shaking his grey head sadly．‘Everything was always so pretty and clean at the Red House when she was alive！When she died，all those years ago，the poor Squire，well，he didn't know what to do．And he's still lonely，believe me！That's why we often see him in here in the evenings．And another thing，if poor Mrs Cass were alive today，I'm sure she'd be very disappointed with her sons．The Squire should make those boys do some work，but in－stead he lets them stay at home and gives them money to spend on horses，or gambling，or women！ ’
‘Come，come，Mr Macey，'said the landlord．‘They're rich young gentlemen，after all．You can't expect them to work on the farms like us country people．But you're right about Dun－stan Cass．He's a bad one，he is．Always borrowing money，and never paying it back．Always gambling，always in trouble！He'll come to a bad end，he will！’
‘But the other two are different，'said the butcher，a red…faced，smiling man．‘Bob Cass is still only a boy．And Mr God…frey，the eldest，well，I don't believe he'll be like his brother Dunstan．Just look at him！He's got an open，honest face．And he's going to inherit the Squire's money and all the land．And what's more，he's going to marry Miss Nancy Lammeter．When she moves into the Red House as Mrs Godfrey Cass，she'll make life more comfortable for all the Casses．She'll save the Squire money too—the Lammeters have the best of every－thing in their house，but they're very careful with their money．’
The farrier，a small man with a sharp face，always enjoyed disagreeing with the butcher．‘Mr Godfrey marry Miss Nancy！’he laughed．‘That's what you think！Haven't you noticed how Miss Nancy has changed towards Godfrey since last year？You remember，he was away from home，for days and days．Nobody knows what he was doing，but Godfrey hasn't been the same since then．Miss Nancy isn't stupid—she won't marry a man she can't trust！’
The landlord always tried to prevent his customers from ar…guing．‘What you all say is very true．But let's hope that Mr Godfrey doesn't lose his chance of marrying Miss Nancy．’
Meanwhile，at the Red House，Godfrey Cass was waiting for his brother in the sitting－room，with a very worried expression on his handsome face．Soon the door opened，and a heavy…look…ing young man entered．It was Dunstan．He had clearly been drinking．
‘How I hate him！'thought Godfrey．
‘Well，sir，'said Dunstan unpleasantly，‘you sent for me，and as you're the oldest，and you'll be the Squire one day，I have to obey you．So what do you want？’
‘Just listen，will you？'replied Godfrey angrily，‘if you aren't too drunk to understand！You must pay me back the money I lent you last month．You know I got it from Fowler，of Church Farm．He owed the money to the Squire，and asked me to give it to him．Now the Squire is angry with Fowler for not paying，and I've got to give the money back！’
Dunstan came close to Godfrey and smiled in an evil way．‘Well，my dear kind brother，why don't you find the money yourself？That would be much less trouble for me！’
Godfrey controlled himself with difficulty．‘Don't smile at me like that，or I'll hit you！’
‘Oh no，you won't，answered Dunstan．‘Because if you do，I'll tell the Squire your secret．I'll tell him that his handsome eldest son fell in love with that poor girl Molly in the town，and married her in a hurry．The Squire'll be angry because you married her in secret，and he'll disinherit you．Then I'll get the house and land when the old man dies！But don't worry，I'm a good brother to you．I won't tell him，and you'll find the money to pay back，I know you will．’
‘Where can I get the money from？’cried Godfrey．‘I tell you，I haven't got any！’
‘You could borrow It，'said Dunstan carelessly．‘Or wait…I've had a better idea．You could sell your horse．’
‘Sell Wildfire！You know how muchl love that horse！’
‘Well，you could ride him to the hunt tomorrow．I know two or three men who'd be interested in buying him，and they'll be at the hunt，I'm sure．It'd be easy．’
‘No，I haven't got time to go hunting tomorrow．I…I'm going to Mrs Osgood's birthday dance．’
‘Aha！'said Dunstan，laughing．‘And perhaps you'll see sweet Miss Nancy there—and you'll dance with her－and you'll talk of love…’
‘Be quiet！'shouted Godfrey，his face turning red．‘Don't speak of Miss Nancy like that，or I'll kill you！’
‘Don't get so angry，brother，’answered Dunstan calmly．‘You've got a very good chance with her．In fact，I advise you to be nice to her．You and I know that Molly's started drink ing．Well，if she drinks too much one day and dies，then you could marry Nancy．She wouldn't mind being a second wife，if she didn't know there was a first．And luckily you've got a kind brother who'll keep your secret well．’
Godfrey's face was white now，and he was trembling．‘Look，Dunstan，I've nearly had enough of this．You can push a man too far，you know．Perhaps I'll go to the Squire now and confess everything to him．He'll discover the truth one day，because Molly says she'll come and tell him．She wants every－one to know we re married．When the Squire knows the truth，you won't get any more money from me！’
Dunstan replied lightly，‘Do what you like，brother．’
Godfrey hesitated．He knew he had fallen into Dunstan's trap，when he made the mistake of marrying Molly．It was Dunstan who had Introduced his brother to Molly，hoping that Godfrey would f
