She sat, limply, with bowed head. Her fine body seemed to have shrivelled; emptied of its vitality2, it had shrunk as with age before his eyes. Everything that had fed her blood for years seeped3 away, leaving a waste of sunken flesh: pride, arrogance4, defiance5, and, last of all, fury,—all had gone out of the house of her soul. There was nothing left but the pitiful thing called life.
She raised her eyes.
“I cannot take your way out, Davenport,” she said dully.
He pointed6 to the revolver he had laid on her dressing-table.
“That, Frieda, is the only friend you have in all this world tonight.”
“Oh, my God! Are you heartless? Have you no pity, no love, no—”
“I have pity,—nothing more. Love? I have given you love for twenty years and more. You have defiled7 it. Do not speak of love!”
“You know I love you—you know I would die for you a thousand times over. You are my man,—my master, my—”
“Enough, Frieda! You have played a great game,—but an ignoble8 one,—and you have lost. You have begged me to—to become your executioner. You ask me to kill you. You—”
“I do not ask it now,” she broke in, looking him full in the eye. “Go, Davenport. Leave me to myself. Thank you for—for being kind to me tonight,—after all. I have told you the truth,—you know everything that my conscience permits me to reveal. You know more than that man who sits out there like a vulture, waiting for—waiting for me. What I have confessed to you I would die a thousand times over rather than confess to another living soul. They could take me away tonight and torture me till I died, and not one word of what I have said to you would pass my lips. They know enough, but you alone know all. You say the world will never know what I have done. I do not care. Let the world know. I am proud of my blood—I rejoice in the little I have been able to do for——”
“Hush! Do not say it.”
“Very well. It hurts you. I do not want to hurt you now, husband. The world is to believe that I—that an accident—a sudden—” She buried her face in her hands. Her body shook.
“I would spare your son, Frieda,” said he.
She looked up, dry-eyed. A quick flash,—could it have been of joy?—lighted her haggard face.
“Yes, yes,—he must be spared,” she cried. A deep, inscrutable expression came into her eyes. She drew a deep, full breath. “Thank God! He is young,—he has a long and useful life to live. I gave it him. That is the best, the biggest thing I have done. Now, go, Davenport. Shall we say—good-night?”
The following day,—in the noon issues—all of the New York evening papers printed, under varied9 headlines, the details, so far as available, of the shocking accident which resulted in the death of Mrs. Davenport Carstairs. She had fallen from a window in her bed-chamber to the brick-paved courtyard ten stories below. Death was instantaneous. “Accidental,” was the prompt decision of the coroner.
Deduction10 readily established the fact. Mrs. Carstairs must have become ill in the night. A bottle of smelling salts was found on the floor near the window which was open to the full. Evidently, she had gone to the window for air. After opening it wide, a sudden faintness or dizziness caused her to topple forward.... Before retiring for the night, she had complained to her husband of a dull, throbbing11 headache, due, no doubt, to anxiety over the alarming illness of her niece, Miss Hansbury.... Sometime after one o’clock, Mr. Carstairs, in the adjoining bed-room, heard her moaning as if in pain. He arose instantly and opened the connecting door. She was lying on her bed, and, in response to his inquiry12, begged him not to worry about her. Dr. Browne, called in to attend Miss Hansbury, had decided13 to remain for the night. He was lying down in a guest-chamber, and had fallen asleep.
Uneasy over his wife’s condition, Mr. Car-stairs awoke the physician and together they returned to her room. A knock on the door brought no response,—but some relief in the thought that she was asleep. The husband opened the door slightly and listened. There was no sound. He entered the room, which was dark, and approached the bed. Then, he called out to the doctor to switch on the lights.... A cold icy draft,—the Night-Wind,—rushing into the room through the open window....
Continuing, the papers spoke14 profoundly of the great loss to society, of the qualities that made Mrs. Davenport Carstairs one of the most sincerely beloved women in all the great city, of her prominence15 in the conduct of important war charities and reliefs, of her unswerving devotion to the cause for which America and her sons were fighting, of her manifold charms and graces. Her untimely death created a void that could never be filled. Eulogy16 upon eulogy!
Among the hundreds of telegrams of condolence received by Davenport Carstairs was one from Mr. Paul Zimmerlein, couched in most exquisite17 terms, conveying tribute to the dead and sympathy to the living. It was sent on the second day from the smart club to which he belonged; on the third flowers went up with his card.
As business went on as usual at the offices of Mr. Paul Zimmerlein, it would be sheer presumption to even suggest that this unhappy chronicle has reached
The End
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收听单词发音
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1
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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2
vitality
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| n.活力，生命力，效力 | |
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3
seeped
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| v.（液体）渗( seep的过去式和过去分词 )；渗透；渗出；漏出 | |
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4
arrogance
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| n.傲慢，自大 | |
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5
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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6
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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7
defiled
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| v.玷污( defile的过去式和过去分词 )；污染；弄脏；纵列行进 | |
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8
ignoble
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| adj.不光彩的，卑鄙的；可耻的 | |
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9
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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10
deduction
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| n.减除，扣除，减除额；推论，推理，演绎 | |
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11
throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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12
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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13
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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14
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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15
prominence
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| n.突出；显著；杰出；重要 | |
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16
eulogy
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| n.颂词；颂扬 | |
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17
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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