CHAPTER VIII—SETTING A DAY

HUNCH¹ took charge of the funeral. After it was over, and while the man was closing the casket, he stepped to the front porch² for a breath of air. Jess Bartlett had lingered³ after the service, and now stood alone on the steps. Hunch hesitated in the doorway⁴. He had not thought of Jess during the last few days, and now he did not know what to say. But she was determined⁵ that he should speak first, so after an embarrassing silence he said, “Hello, Jess.”

She turned away.

“Ain’t you going to speak to me, Jess.”

“I don’t see as I ought to speak to you.”

Hunch looked at her helplessly, and when, after a minute, she turned and saw his expression, she partly relented.

“When are you coming to see me again?”

“You know why I ain’t been ‘round, Jess.”

“I waited for you the other night. You said you were coming.”

“I know it, Jess. I’m sorry. Can’t I come to-night?”

“I s’pose you can if you want to.”

They could not say any more, for it was time to start the carriages. But early in the evening Hunch went to her house, and they walked to the lake? They found it hard to talk. Hunch finally blurted⁶ out, “I’m going to get the ring next week. It’s a pretty one, I think.”

He felt her arm tremble, but she said nothing.

“I guess you’re mad at me, ain’t you?”

“No, I ain’t mad.”

“Why don’t you say something, Jess?”

She came closer to him as they walked.

“John, I wish—I wish we could get married. Somehow I don’t feel as if you belonged to me. I know it’s silly, but I can’t help it.”

“How soon can you get ready?”

“I—I wasn’t thinking of it just that way—I——”

“Is next month too soon?”

She looked up at him and laughed softly. Their eyes met and they understood each other better. They walked down the beach and looked out over the flat lake.

“I’m afraid we’ll have to live kind of simple for a while,” Hunch said. “I ain’t very rich, you know.”

“Do you think I care about that, John? Don’t you know I love you because you’re so strong and good, and you can do so much. Everybody knows you’re going to be rich some day. Jim, he says there ain’t another man in town that’s got as much sand as you have, John.”

So they talked all through the long evening, telling each other their thoughts and plans and hopes; and her trust in him gave Hunch a sense of strength and responsibility. When he left her, very late, at the front steps, he had thought of a plan which he kept for the time to himself.

1 hunch   

n.预感，直觉

参考例句：

• I have a hunch that he didn't really want to go.我有这么一种感觉，他并不真正想去。
• I had a hunch that Susan and I would work well together.我有预感和苏珊共事会很融洽。

2 porch   

n.门廊，入口处，走廊，游廊

参考例句：

• There are thousands of pages of advertising on our porch.有成千上万页广告堆在我们的门廊上。
• The porch is supported by six immense pillars.门廊由六根大柱子支撑着。

3 lingered   

v.逗留( linger的过去式和过去分词 )；缓慢消失；苟延残喘；持续看（或思考）

参考例句：

• The faint smell of her perfume lingered in the room. 房间里仍飘溢着她那淡淡的香水味。
• The smell of the gas oil lingered in the house. 屋里仍然飘溢着汽油味。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

5 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

6 blurted   

v.突然说出，脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She blurted it out before I could stop her. 我还没来得及制止，她已脱口而出。
• He blurted out the truth, that he committed the crime. 他不慎说出了真相，说是他犯了那个罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》