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A t six o'clock the next morning, Mr. de Renal made his way down to Sorel's wood-cutting mill, thinking, “If I do not take this little priest Sorel, Valenod might very well have the same idea, and snatch him from me!”
Mr. de Renal was absorbed in this question when he saw in the distance Sorel, or, Pere, as he was also known. The peasant was greatly surprised and even more pleased by the singular offer which the Mayor made him with regard to his son Julien.Sorel's active mind was seeking to discover what reason could be inducing so important a personage to take his son into his establishment. He was thoroughly dissatisfi ed with Julien, and it was for Julien that Mr. de Renal was making him this very handsome offer.
It was in vain that Mr. de Renal urged Sorel to conclude the bargain there and then, the clever old peasant met him with a stubborn refusal; he wished, he said, to consult his son.
As he approached his mill, Pere called Julien, but there was no answer. He saw only his two elder sons, young giants who, armed with heavy axes, were squaring the trunks of trees which they would afterwards carry to the saw. He made his way to the shed; as he entered it, he looked in vain for Julien in the place where he ought to have been standing, beside the saw. He caught sight of him five or six feet higher up, reading a book.
The father sprang upon the trunk that was being cut by the saw, and from there onto the beam that held up the roof. A violent blow sent flying into the mill blade the book that Julien was holding; a second blow, no less violent, made the boy lose his balance. He was about to fall from a height of twelve or fifteen feet , among the moving machinery, which would have crushed him, but his father caught him with his left hand as he fell.
“Read them damned books in the evening, when you go and waste your time with the priest.”
Julien, although stunned by the force of the blow, and bleeding heavily, went to take up his proper station beside the saw. There were tears in his eyes, due not so much to his bodily pain as to the loss of his book, which he adored .
His cheeks were flushed , his eyes downcast . He was a slim youth of eighteen or nineteen, weak in appearance, with irregular but delicate features. His large dark eyes, at this moment, were filled with ferocious hatred. An object of contempt to the rest of the household, he hated his brothers and father; in the games on Sundays, on the public square, he was invariably beaten.
It was only during the last year that his good looks had begun to win him a few supporters among the girls. Universally despised as a weak creature, Julien had adored his uncle,an old Surgeon-Major. This surgeon used now and then to pay old Sorel's wage for his son, and taught him Latin and history.
As soon as he was inside the house, Julien felt his shoulder gripped by his father's strong hand; he trembled, expecting to receive a shower of blows.
“Answer me without lying,” the old peasant's harsh voice shouted in his ear, while the hand spun him round. Julien's great dark eyes, filled with tears, found themselves staring into the little grey eyes of the old peasant, who looked as though he sought to penetrate to the depths of his son's heart.
personage /ˈpɜ:sənɪdʒ/ n. 要人，名流；个人
dissatisfied / d ɪ s ˈ sætɪsfaɪd/ ˌ a dj. 不满的
feet /fiːt/ n. 英尺（1英尺= 0.3048米）
stun /stʌn/ vt. 打昏；使晕倒
bodily /ˈbɒdɪlɪ/ adj. 身体的
adore /əˈdɔ:/ vt. 喜爱；崇拜
fl ushed /fl ʌʃt/ adj. 脸红的
downcast /ˈdaʊnkɑ:st/ adj. 低垂的；气馁的
irregular /ɪˈreɡjʊlə/ adj. 不规则的，无规律的
ferocious /fəˈrəʊʃəs/ adj. 激烈的；残忍的；凶猛的
contempt /kənˈtempt/ n. 轻视，轻蔑
invariably /ɪnˈveərɪəblɪ/ adv. 不变地；总是
despise /dɪˈspaɪz/ vt. 鄙视
spin /spɪn/ vt. 旋转