In his tweeds and waterproof14 knee-breeches and boots, a sun-burnt straw hat shading his thin brown face, his hand steady and dexterous15, as brown and thin, he was a pleasing example of the English country-gentleman type. He was tall, with the flavor of easy strength and elegance16 that an athletic17 youth gives to the most awkwardly made man. His face was at once humorous and sad; it is strange how a humorous character shows itself through the saddest set of feature. Odd’s long, rather acquiline nose and Vandyke beard made a decidedly melancholy18 silhouette19 on the sunlit water, yet all the lines of the face told of a kindly20 contemplation of the world’s pathetic follies21; the mouth was sternly cut yet very good-tempered, and its firm line held evident suggestions of quiet smiling.
Poor Peter Odd had himself committed a pathetic folly22, and, as a result, smiles might be tinged23 with bitterness.
A captured trout24 presently demanded concentrated attention. The vigorous fish required long playing until worn out, when he was deftly secured in the landing-net and despatched with merciful promptitude; indeed, a little look of nervous distaste might have roused in an unsympathetic looker-on conjectures25 as to a rather weak strain—a foolish width of pity in Peter Odd’s character.
“A beauty,” he mentally ejaculated. He sat down in the shade. It was hot; the long, thick grass invited a lolling rest.
On the other side of the hedge was a rustic26 bathing-cabin, and from it Odd heard the laughing chatter27 of young voices. The adjoining property was a small one belonging to a Captain Archinard. Odd had seen little of him; his wife was understood to be something of an invalid28, and he had two girls—these their voices, no doubt. Odd took off his hat and mopped his forehead, looking at the little landing-wharf which he could just see beyond the hedge, and where one could moor29 boats or dive off into the deepness of the water. The latter form of aquatic30 exercise was probably about to take place, for Odd heard—
“I can swim beautifully already, papa,” in a confident young voice—a gay voice, quiet, and yet excited too by the prospect31 of a display of prowess.
A tall, thin girl of about fourteen stepped out on to the landing. A bathing-dress is not as a rule a very graceful32 thing, yet this child, her skirt to her knee, a black silk sash knotted around her waist, with her slim white legs and charming feet, was as graceful as a young Amazon on a Grecian frieze33. A heavy mass of braids, coiled up to avoid a wetting, crowned her small head. She was not pretty; Odd saw that immediately, even while admiring the well-poised figure, its gallantly34 held little torso and light energy. Her profile showed a short nose and prominent chin, inharmoniously accentuated35. She seemed really ugly when her sister joined her; the sister was beautiful. Odd roused himself a little from his half recumbency to look at the sister appreciatively. Her slimness was exaggerated to an extreme—an almost fluttering lightness; her long arms and legs seemed to flash their whiteness on the green; she had an exquisite36 profile, and her soft black hair swept up into the same coronet of coils. Captain Archinard joined them as they stood side by side.
“You had better race,” he said, looking down into the water, and then away to the next band of shadow. “Dive in, and race to that clump37 of aspens. This is a jolly bit for diving.”
“But, papa, we shall wet our hair fearfully,” said the elder girl—the ugly one—for so Odd already ungallantly designated her. “We usually get in on this shallower side and swim off. We have never tried diving, for it takes so long to dry our hair. Taylor would not like it at all.”
“It is so deep, too,” said the beauty in rather a faltering38 voice—unfortunately faltering, for her father turned sharply on her.
“Afraid, hey? You mustn’t be a coward, Hilda.”
“I am not afraid,” said the elder girl; “but I never tried it. What must I do? Put my arms so, and jump head first?”
“There is nothing to do at all,” said the Captain, with some acidity39 of tone. “Keep your mouth shut and strike out as you come up. You’ll do it, Katherine, first try. Hilda is in a funk, I see.”
“Poor Hilda,” Odd ejaculated mentally. She was evidently in a funk. Standing40 on the edge of the landing, one slim foot advanced in a tentative effort, she looked down shrinking into the water—very deeply black at this spot—and then, half entreatingly41, half helplessly, at her father.
“Oh, papa, it is so deep,” she repeated.
The Captain’s neatly42 made face showed signs of peevish43 irritation44.
“Well, deep or not, in you go. I must break you of that craven spirit. What are you afraid of? What could happen to you?”
“I—don’t like water over my head—I might strike—on something.”
Tears were near the surface.
What asses45 people made of themselves, thought Odd, with their silly shows of authority. The more the father insisted, the more frightened the child became; couldn’t the idiot see that? The tear-filled eyes and looks that showed a struggle between fear of her father’s anger and fear of the deep, black pool, moved Odd to a sudden though half-amused resentment46, for the little girl was certainly somewhat of a coward.
“Let me go in first, papa, and show her. Hilda, dear, it’s nothing; being frightened will make it something, though, so don’t be frightened, and watch me.”
“Yes, go in first, Katherine; show her that I have a girl who isn’t a coward—and how one of my daughters came to be a coward I don’t understand. I am ashamed of you, Hilda.”
Hilda evidently only controlled her sobs47 by a violent effort; her caught-in under-lip, wide eyes, and heaving little chest affected48 Odd painfully. He frowned, sat up, put his hat on, and watched Miss Katherine with a lack of sympathy that was certainly unfair, for the plucky49 little person went through the performance most creditably, stretched out and up her thin pretty arms, curved forward her pretty body, and made the plunge50 with a lithe51 elegance that left her father gazing with complacent52 approval after the white flash of her feet.
“Bravo! First-rate! There, Hilda, you see what can be done. Come on, little white feather.” He spoke53 more kindly; the elder sister’s prowess put him more in humor with his less creditable offspring.
“Oh, papa!” The child shrank on the edge of the platform—she would go bundling in, and hurt herself. “But, papa,” and her voice held a sharp accent of distress54, “where is Katherine?”
Indeed Katherine had not reappeared. Only a moment had passed, but a moment under water is long. Captain Archinard’s eyes searched the surface of the river.
“But she can swim?”
“Papa! papa! She is drowned, drowned!” Hilda’s voice rose to a scream. With a wild look of resolve she sprang into the river just as Odd dashed in, knee-deep, and as Katherine’s head appeared at some distance down the current—an angry little head, half choked, and gasping55. Katherine swam and waded56 to the shore, falling on her knees upon the bank, while Odd dived into the hole—very bad hole, deep and weedy—after Hilda.
He groped for the child among a tangle57 of roots, touched her hair, grasped her round the waist, and came to the surface with some difficulty, his strokes impeded58 by sinuous59 cord-like weeds. Captain Archinard was too much astonished by the whole matter to do more than exclaim, “Upon my word!” as his younger daughter was deposited at his feet.
“A nasty hole that. The weeds have probably grown since any one has dived.”
Odd spoke shortly, having lost his breath, and severely60; the child looked half drowned, and Katherine was still gasping.
“Why, Mr. Odd! Upon my word!”—the Captain recognized his neighbor—“I don’t know how to thank you.”
The Captain had not recovered from his astonishment61, and repeated with some vehemence62: “Upon my word!”
“Well, papa, you nearly drowned me!” Katherine was struggling between pride and anger. She would not let the tears come, but they were near the surface. “Those horrible snaky things got hold of me and I almost screamed, only I remembered that I mustn’t open my mouth, and I thought I would never come to the top.” The self-pitying retrospect63 brought the tears to her eyes, but she held up her head and looked and spoke her resentment, “I think you might have gone in first yourself. And Hilda! Why didn’t you wait until I came to the surface before you made her do it?”
Captain Archinard looked more vague under these reproaches than one would have expected after his exhibition of rather fretful autocracy64.
“Made her!” he repeated, seizing with a rather mean haste at the error; “made her? She went in herself! Like a rocket, after you. By Jove! she showed her blood after all.”
“Hilda! you tried to save my life!”
Odd still held the younger girl on his arm, supporting her while she choked and panted, for she had evidently had not shown her sister’s aplomb65 and had opened her mouth. Katherine took her into her arms and kissed her with a warmth quite dramatic.
“Darling Hilda! And you were so frightened, too. I would have gone in after her,” she added, looking up at Odd with a bright, quick glance, “but there would have been nothing to my credit in that.”
“And I would have gone in after her, it goes without saying, Mr. Odd,” said the Captain, when Katherine had led away to the bathing-cabin her still dazed sister, “but you seemed to drop from the clouds. Really, you have put me under a great obligation.”
“Not at all. I have spent most of the day in the river. I merely went in a bit deeper to fish out that plucky little girl.”
“I’ve dived off that spot a hundred times. I’d no idea there were weeds. I’ve never known weeds to be there. I’ll send down one of the men directly after lunch and have it seen to. Really I feel a sense of responsibility.” The Captain went on with an air of added self-justification, “Though, of course, I’m not responsible. I couldn’t have known about the weeds.”
Weeds or no weeds, Odd could not forgive him for the child’s fright, though he replied good-humoredly to the invitation to the house.
“Mrs. Archinard would have called on Mrs. Odd before this, but my wife is an invalid—never leaves the house or grounds. She sees a good deal of Miss Odd. I knew your father myself as well as one may know such a recluse66; spent some pleasant hours in his library—magnificent library you’ve got. Peculiarly satisfactory it must be, as you go in for that sort of thing. Won’t you come in to tea this afternoon? And Mrs. Odd? Miss Odd? I was sorry to find them out when I called the other day. I haven’t seen Mrs. Odd. I don’t see her at church.”
“No; we have hardly settled down to our duties yet, and my wife only got back from the Riviera a few weeks ago.”
“Well, I hope we shall keep you at Allersley now that your wanderjahre are over, and that you are married. I was wandering myself during your boyhood. My brother bought the place, you know; liked the country here immensely. Poor old Jack67! Only lived ten years to enjoy it—and died a bachelor—luckily for me. But we’ve missed one another, haven’t we? Neighbors too. I have seen Mrs. Odd—at a dance in London, Lady Bartlebury’s, I remember; and I remember that she was the prettiest girl in the room. Miss Castleton—the beautiful Alicia Castleton.”
Miss Castleton’s fame had indeed been so wide that the title was quite public property, and the Captain’s reminiscent tone of admiration68 most natural and allowable. Odd accepted the invitation to tea, waded back round the hedge, gathered up his basket and rod, and made his way up through the park to Allersley Manor.
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1
placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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deftly
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| adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地 | |
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musing
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| n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式 | |
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impersonal
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| adj.无个人感情的，与个人无关的，非人称的 | |
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appreciative
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| adj.有鉴赏力的，有眼力的；感激的 | |
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soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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dominant
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| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
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proprietorship
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| n.所有（权）；所有权 | |
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manor
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| n.庄园，领地 | |
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squire
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| n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅 | |
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realization
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| n.实现；认识到，深刻了解 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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14
waterproof
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| n.防水材料；adj.防水的；v.使...能防水 | |
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dexterous
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| adj.灵敏的；灵巧的 | |
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elegance
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| n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙 | |
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athletic
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| adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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19
silhouette
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| n.黑色半身侧面影，影子，轮廓；v.描绘成侧面影，照出影子来，仅仅显出轮廓 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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follies
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| 罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 ) | |
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folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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tinged
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| v.（使）发丁丁声( ting的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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trout
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| n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属) | |
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conjectures
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| 推测，猜想( conjecture的名词复数 ) | |
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rustic
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| adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬 | |
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chatter
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| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
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invalid
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| n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的 | |
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moor
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| n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊 | |
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aquatic
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| adj.水生的，水栖的 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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frieze
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| n.(墙上的)横饰带，雕带 | |
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gallantly
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| adv. 漂亮地，勇敢地，献殷勤地 | |
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accentuated
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| v.重读( accentuate的过去式和过去分词 )；使突出；使恶化；加重音符号于 | |
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36
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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faltering
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| 犹豫的，支吾的，蹒跚的 | |
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acidity
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| n.酸度，酸性 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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entreatingly
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| 哀求地，乞求地 | |
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neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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43
peevish
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| adj.易怒的，坏脾气的 | |
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irritation
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| n.激怒，恼怒，生气 | |
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45
asses
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| n. 驴，愚蠢的人，臀部 adv. (常用作后置)用于贬损或骂人 | |
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resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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47
sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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48
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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49
plucky
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| adj.勇敢的 | |
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50
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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51
lithe
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| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
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52
complacent
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| adj.自满的；自鸣得意的 | |
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53
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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54
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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55
gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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56
waded
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| （从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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57
tangle
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| n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱 | |
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58
impeded
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| 阻碍，妨碍，阻止( impede的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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59
sinuous
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| adj.蜿蜒的，迂回的 | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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61
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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62
vehemence
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| n.热切；激烈；愤怒 | |
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63
retrospect
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| n.回顾，追溯；v.回顾，回想，追溯 | |
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64
autocracy
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| n.独裁政治，独裁政府 | |
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65
aplomb
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| n.沉着，镇静 | |
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recluse
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| n.隐居者 | |
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67
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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68
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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