To the two lonely sisters, wearing out their uneventful lives in the gray old house, the changes wrought1 by time were few indeed. Their dark hair had slowly silvered, their long, thin faces had grown longer and thinner, their tall figures looked a little more gaunt than of yore, but that was all. To them the summer and winter of one year were so like the summer and winter of another, that they almost forgot the passage of time. They worked hard at their embroidery2, and sold the proceeds of their labor3; they pinched and scraped, and saved in every possible way, growing more miserly with every year. Barney Dale and his wife were still with them. No thought of leaving Broome ever crossed the mind of either. Other servants might come and go, but they stayed on, nor ever dreamed of change.
At length there came a morning, early in the autumn of the same year as that in which John Brancker was committed to take his trial for the murder of Mr. Hazeldine, when Miss Letitia found herself unable to rise from her bed. She had been ailing4 for some time from the effects of a bad cold, but during the last few days the symptoms had become considerably5 aggravated6, and now she could hold up no longer. Miss Pengarvon had hinted more than once as to the advisability of calling in Doctor Bland7, but this Miss Letitia had emphatically begged of her not to do. Neither she nor her sister had known a day's illness in their lives; her cold was a simple affair which a few days would put to rights; no Doctor had set foot in Broome since the late Lady Pengarvon's death, now nearly forty years ago; and after the lapse8 of so long a time she was not going to be the first to have one called in. She well remembered that Doctor Grantley's bill on the occasion of his attendance on Lady Pengarvon amounted to thirty guineas, yet, after all, his patient died. Doctors were an extravagance in which only rich people had a right to indulge. But although Miss Letitia refused to see a Doctor, Joanna Dale, despite all her remonstrances9, insisted on lighting10 a fire in the sick lady's chamber11. Miss Letitia was terribly afraid her sister would look upon even that small luxury as a piece of wasteful12 extravagance, and her first words to Miss Pengarvon, when the latter went upstairs to see her, were, "It is all Joanna's doing. She would insist on my having a fire."
Miss Pengarvon let her cold hand rest for a moment or two on her sister's fevered forehead, and then she said in her usual quiet way, "If Joanna had been a woman of sense, she would have gone and fetched Doctor Bland without saying a word to anyone, as soon as she had lighted your fire."
Miss Letitia stared at her sister, and then in a little while she said to herself, "Barbara must fancy that I'm far worse than I am, or she would not talk about a doctor in that off-hand kind of way."
As it fell out, however, no doctor was sent for till the following morning. Miss Pengarvon herself made her sister some gruel13 after a recipe in her mother's writing, which she hunted up out of a cupboard of odds-and-ends. Miss Letitia thought it exceedingly kind of Barbara, and drank a little of the gruel gratefully. It was not nearly so nice as the gruel Joanna had made her, but not for worlds would she have said so to anyone.
When at length Doctor Bland was called in, he seemed to think that his patient was suffering from nothing worse than a feverish15 cold. He advised her to keep her bed for the present, sent her a composing draught16, and promised to call again next day.
"There will be no need for him to call after to-morrow," remarked Miss Letitia, still thinking of the expense. "Indeed, I am far from sure that there was any occasion for him to call at all. Poor people always doctor themselves for colds, and why should not I do the same?"
To this Miss Pengarvon made no reply. There was something in her sister's looks that made her more uneasy than she cared to admit, even to herself. She took her work into the sick woman's room, and sat with her all through the dull October day, and till far into the night. Miss Letitia was strangely drowsy17, and could scarcely keep her eyes open for longer than a few minutes at a time.
"It must be something in this nasty medicine that makes me sleep so," she said once or twice with a touch of irritation18. "I am sorry to be such poor company, Barbara."
Miss Barbara smiled a little grimly at this. At the best of times poor Letitia's company was never anything more than mildly depressing.
The following morning Dr. Bland found his patient no better. The feverish symptoms were more pronounced than before. He changed the medicine at once, and promised to call again next day.
"If he were of opinion that there were the slightest danger, he would call again before to-morrow," argued Miss Pengarvon with herself.
The bedrooms of the sisters adjoined each other, with a door of communication between. This door was always left open at night, so that there was a sense of companionship through the dark hours which was not unpleasant to either sister, although they never admitted it in so many words. Miss Pengarvon was always a light sleeper19, and to-night she got up several times and stalked into her sister's room--a tall, gaunt figure in a long white night-dress and a ruffled20 nightcap. Miss Letitia was talking a great deal in her sleep, and it was her half-sister Isabel's name which she mentioned oftener than that of anyone else. Isabel seemed to be nearly always in some great peril21, from which Letitia seemed to be vainly trying to rescue her. Once or twice when she opened her eyes she did not seem to recognize Barbara; and later on, when she woke up and asked for a drink, she fancied that it was her mother she was speaking to, and that she and her sister were on the point of setting out to gather blackberries in the wood. A great dread22 began to take possession of Miss Pengarvon's heart.
Dr. Bland came as usual in the course of the forenoon. Miss Pengarvon followed him out of the sick woman's room. "My sister is much worse this morning," she said. There was a sort of menace in her voice, and a fierce, angry light in her eyes as she spoke23, that half frightened the little Doctor. It was as though she implied that it was his fault her sister was no better.
"Scarcely worse, I think," responded the Doctor in his most soothing24 tones, "although, perhaps, there is hardly that improvement in her I had hoped to find. But these things take time, my dear madam, time."
"You know in your heart that she won't get better--that she will die," answered Miss Pengarvon, with a quiver of her thin, colorless lips.
"Bless my heart, madam, I know nothing of the kind!" responded the little man, a spot of angry red showing suddenly in each cheek; "on the contrary, I have every reason for thinking that your sister will soon be quite herself again."
"It is very doubtful to me, sir, whether you understand her case. If she is not better by to-morrow, I shall call in some further advice."
"As you please, madam, as you please," responded the Doctor, as he took himself off in a huff. "Was there ever so much fuss made about an old woman before?" he muttered to himself, shutting the door behind him more noisily than as a medical man he ought to have done.
Miss Letitia's mind wandered a good deal in the course of the day, but towards evening her senses came back to her, clear and fresh, and the feverish symptoms seemed to be abating25. Miss Pengarvon did not retire to her own room until past midnight, and then she left her sister in what seemed to be a quiet and refreshing26 sleep. A light was kept burning in each of the rooms, and the door between was left open.
Miss Pengarvon was thoroughly27 tired out, and was soon asleep. She awoke with a start and a sudden sensation of fright. The candle was still burning, and the clock on the chimney-piece pointed28 to half-past two. Everything seemed quiet in the next room, and yet, at the very moment of waking, it had seemed to her that she heard a sound as of someone opening a door. Still listening, she sat up in bed. A cinder29 or two dropped from the grate in the next room, and then all was silent again.
All at once the flame of the candle seemed to flicker30 as though caught by a draught of wind. Next moment Miss Pengarvon was out of bed, and an instant later she was in the next room. The candle there was still alight, but her sister's bed was empty, and the door into the corridor was wide open. What had become of Letitia? Whither had she gone?
Pausing only to push her feet into a pair of slippers31, and to fling a shawl over her shoulders, Miss Pengarvon passed out into the corridor, holding a candle above her head. All was cold, dark, and silent. She stood for a minute or two, listening intently, then she thought she heard a noise as of a door being opened downstairs. Taking this sound as a guide, she hurried along the corridor and then down the broad, shallow flight of stairs which led to the ground-floor of the old house. Some instinct seemed to direct her steps towards the Green Parlor32. There was no light anywhere save that of the candle she carried. The shadows seemed to vanish before her as she advanced, only to crowd more darkly behind her the moment she had passed. Suddenly a plaintive33 voice was heard speaking in the darkness. "Isabel, Isabel, speak to me again. I cannot find you."
Miss Pengarvon stood stock still for a moment or two and shuddered34. Then, hesitating no longer, she strode swiftly forward until she reached the Green Parlor. The door was wide open; she had shut and locked it carefully, as she always did, before retiring for the night. She gazed around with anxious eyes, and for the first moment or two, so faint was the light shed by her candle, it seemed to her that the room was empty, but a second glance revealed to her her sister's figure, clad in a dark-grey dressing-gown, crouching35 on the floor against the old carved bureau that stood in one corner of the room, with her fevered face pressed to its cold, polished panels. Miss Pengarvon put down her candlestick, walked across the floor, and laid a hand gently on her sister's shoulder.
"Letitia, what are you doing here?" she asked.
Miss Letitia rose to her feet with a sigh, and pushed back her long locks, streaked36 with grey, which had fallen over her forehead.
"Where is Isabel? I followed her here, and now I can't find her," she said, gazing questioningly at her sister, with eyes that were full of an eager, burning light--the light of fever.
"This is nonsense, Letitia. You have been dreaming. Come back to your room at once," answered Miss Pengarvon, coldly.
"Dreaming, Barbara! Oh, no, it was far too vivid for a dream. I had been fast asleep for I don't know how long, when suddenly I was awakened37 by hearing my name pronounced quite close to me, as if the speaker were bending over my bed. A second time my name was spoken, and then I knew that it was Isabel who was calling me. I sat up and gazed around, but no one was visible. Then Isabel called me again, and this time the voice seemed to come from outside the door. I got out of bed, put on my dressing-gown, and went out into the corridor. Still, no one was there. Then the voice spoke again, simply calling my name, nothing more; but this time it sounded further away--away down the corridor, and near the head of the stairs. While I was looking and listening, I seemed to see a white figure, very faint and vaguely38 defined, standing39 in the dim starlight, near the staircase window, and beckoning40 to me to follow it. I followed without hesitation41, for I had no fear; and yet that seems very strange. As I advanced the figure vanished, and then, when I reached the head of the stairs, I heard my name spoken again, as if from below. Then I descended42 the stairs and followed the voice till it led me here--here, Barbara! Do you not understand?"
Miss Pengarvon's sallow cheeks grew still more sallow. She understood only too well. But before she could say a word, Miss Letitia went on in a strangely eager way:
"But now that I am here she does not speak. I have called her, but she will not answer; and yet she must be in trouble, for it was enough to make one weep to hear the way she spoke my name. It is strange--very strange! She has brought me all the way here, and now she hides herself from me."
"Strange indeed, Letitia; but we will talk more fully14 in the morning," answered Miss Pengarvon, with an unwonted tremor43 in her voice. "It is very late now, and very cold; and we had better go back to bed."
"But what if Isabel were to call again? What if she were really to want me for something?"
"I will sit up and listen, and if she--if anyone should call you, I shall be there to attend to the summons."
"But you will wake me, will you not, if Isabel should ask for me again?"
"I promise you that I will."
"Then I will go back to bed; though how you can say it is a cold night, Barbara, is more than I can think. I am all in a glow; feel at my hands."
Miss Pengarvon said no more, but drew one of her sister's hot hands under her arm, and hurried her away.
Miss Letitia went back to bed as obediently as a little child, and turning her face to the wall, in five minutes was fast asleep. But there was no more sleep that night for Miss Pengarvon. She made up the fire, wrapped a shawl round her shoulders, and sat there hour after hour, as upright as a mummy--and nearly as motionless--staring into the fire with unwavering eyes, and conjuring44 up in the glowing embers, who shall say what strange pictures of the past--pictures, some of them, which for years she had done her utmost to forget, but which the torch of memory, kindled45 by her sister's random46 words, now lighted up for her again, as vividly47 as though the events which they depicted48 were but those of yesterday. How thankfully she watched the breaking of the coming day! Then the shadows that haunt our thoughts and weigh upon our spirits during the dread watches of the night take to themselves wings, and vanish as though they had never been, before the first rays of the rising sun.
Day had not yet fully broken when Miss Letitia sat up suddenly in bed. In her eyes there was a light which seemed of another world than this. Stretching forth49 her arms, she said, "Oh, Barbara. The baby--the baby! So cold! So cold!"
They were her last words. She sighed softly, twice, and sank back on the pillows.
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1
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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2
embroidery
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| n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品 | |
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3
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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4
ailing
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| v.生病 | |
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5
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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6
aggravated
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| 使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火 | |
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7
bland
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| adj.淡而无味的，温和的，无刺激性的 | |
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8
lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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9
remonstrances
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| n.抱怨，抗议( remonstrance的名词复数 ) | |
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10
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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11
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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12
wasteful
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| adj.（造成）浪费的，挥霍的 | |
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13
gruel
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| n.稀饭，粥 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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15
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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16
draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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17
drowsy
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| adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的 | |
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18
irritation
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| n.激怒，恼怒，生气 | |
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sleeper
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| n.睡眠者，卧车，卧铺 | |
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20
ruffled
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| adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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21
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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23
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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24
soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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25
abating
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| 减少( abate的现在分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼） | |
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26
refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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27
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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28
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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29
cinder
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| n.余烬，矿渣 | |
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30
flicker
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| vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现 | |
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31
slippers
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| n. 拖鞋 | |
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32
parlor
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| n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅 | |
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33
plaintive
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| adj.可怜的，伤心的 | |
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34
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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35
crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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36
streaked
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| adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹 | |
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37
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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38
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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39
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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40
beckoning
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| adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 ) | |
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41
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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42
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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43
tremor
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| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
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44
conjuring
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| n.魔术 | |
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45
kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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46
random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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47
vividly
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| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
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48
depicted
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| 描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述 | |
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49
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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