Immediately after the bank opened next morning, the cashier readjusted his enormous bone-rimmed spectacles in order to study a check presented for deposit by Miss Sarah Porter. Then he espied5 the phrase concerning "pre-nuptals" in the upper left-hand corner, and that was sufficient, for he was a man of shrewdness. He passed the news along to every person that appeared before his wicket. In less than half an hour, the whole town was agog6 over the astounding7 intelligence that the old maid, Sarah Porter, was engaged to be married. There remained the mystery as to the identity of the bridegroom. But this was speedily cleared up by the genial8 Doctor Hudson, who made no scruples9 of advertising10 his old friend's happiness. The result was that by the time set for the ceremony, the whole town was out, waiting in eager anticipation11. It was indeed a season of great excitement. Here was an opportunity to celebrate an event that was at once amazing, romantic and historic. Captain Ichabod had been known by them for twenty years as an inveterate12 woman-hater. During that same score of years, as her friends could testify, Sarah Porter had refused no less than seven excellent offers of marriage. Now, these two were to marry. The citizens, with one accord, marveled and rejoiced.
Yet, no one criticized the match. The two were universally liked and respected. While the townsfolk wondered and smiled they did not jeer13. But they were resolved to make a demonstration14 of their appreciation15. They meant to give the wedded16 pair a "send off" to be remembered.
Sarah, assisted by three of her closest friends, passed the whole night in making ready for the momentous17 occasion. By nine o'clock in the morning, her trunk was safely aboard the yacht. Immediately after her return from the bank, Captain Jones escorted her aboard The Hialdo—before the townspeople had any suspicion of what was going on. They were quickly followed by Doctor Hudson and the clergyman. Van Dusen bustled18 in after them, having finished the paying off of the chartered boats.
The ceremony was duly performed. A woman's dream of years at last became reality.
Van Dusen suggested that the newly wedded pair should go ashore19 to receive the congratulations of the crowd that now thronged20 the water front. But Ichabod, having in mind pestiferous small boys, steadfastly21 refused any such exhibition of himself and his bride. His opinion of them would have been confirmed could he have overheard their questioning of Doctor Hudson, which was: Had he examined their teeth to see how old they were?
Nevertheless, the townsfolk, though they got no sight of the principals in the affair, cheered with a lusty good-will. And, too, they dragged a cannon22 down to the shore, where the gunner fired a salute23 of twenty-one thunderous explosions. The Collector of the Port, who alone knew that this was an honor reserved for the President of the United States, inquired curiously24 why this exact number was chosen. The gunner replied seriously that it represented the bride's age.
At Uncle Icky's request, the yacht sailed first for the coast-guard station. Here, he had no hesitation25 in proclaiming his new state and in receiving the congratulations of his friends—for there were no small boys to trouble. He explained the whereabouts of Shrimp26 and the hens, with a request that they should be rescued from the barren stretch of sand. The coast-guard men promised that the little flock should receive a home at the station itself. Thus, the old fisherman's last concern with the old life was happily ended. In a moment apart, he made a final entry in the diary.
"Through with Shrimp and the shack27, by heck! My weddin'-day! Hooray!"
It was owing to a request by Ethel to Van Dusen that the yacht's course was to Portsmouth that night. Early next morning, before the others were stirring, Captain Ichabod rowed Ethel in a small boat from The Hialdo's anchorage to the town. They were absent for a full three hours. On her return, Ethel spoke28 with enthusiasm of the town's quaint29 charm, but she gave no details of her visit there, not even to Roy. The old fisherman said nothing at all of the trip, not even to Sarah Jones.
The wedded pair, though urged to prolong their stay on the yacht, insisted on leaving when The Hialdo reached Norfolk. They took with them a promise from their new friends to come south again in order to attend the opening of the new Inlet Hotel.
Colonel Marion was appointed to head a mission to France for study on the war-methods there. On his return to New York from Texas, he urged Ethel's immediate4 marriage, before his sailing. Naturally, there was no objection on the part of the lovers, and the father was able to depart tranquil30 in the assurance that his daughter would be safe in her husband's care.
One morning a few months later, as Roy and Ethel sat at breakfast, the servant brought him a letter with a Paris postmark, which was addressed in the familiar hand of Colonel Marion. Somewhat surprised that the letter should be to him rather than to Ethel, Roy opened it and read:
"Dear Roy:
"Just a few lines to give you the surprise of your life. I have found that our old friend, Doctor Garnet, was not lost in the quicksands, as you supposed. On the contrary, he is here in France, doing noble, wonderful work in the branch of his profession that he always loved—surgery. I understand that he has been decorated several times. And also, strange to say, he is going under his own name. I am sending this news to you instead of to Ethel direct, because I feared the effect of a sudden shock on her. You can break the information to her gently.
"With love to the dear girl,
"Your father,
"Stephen Marion."
Roy had little alarm lest his wife should suffer any ill effect from what she would regard as the best of news.
"My dear," he asked at once, "would you be greatly surprised to get authentic31 information that Gifford Garnet is alive and doing wonders in his profession of surgery? Would you believe it, if I should tell you that he has been several times decorated for his services on the battle front in France?"
To his astonishment32, Ethel showed no extraordinary excitement, though her face grew radiant.
"No, Roy," she replied, "I should not be surprised, but I should be very glad!"
"Your answer sounds strange to me," Roy declared, with a puzzled glance across the table. "Anyhow, you are calm enough so that I don't need to hesitate in telling you that your father's letter to me actually contains this astonishing news."
"Thank God, Roy!" Ethel said reverently33. "The madman has become sane34 again. Thank God, he did obey my sealed orders."
Roy stared at his wife in open bewilderment.
"What on earth do you mean, Ethel?" he demanded. "Have you been keeping something from me?"
"Yes, my dear husband, I've been guilty of just that thing. I've just been waiting and praying for the hour when I could come to you and give you the very information that father has been able to send you. I'll tell you the whole story. But, first, I must exact a promise. For Ichabod's sake, as well as my own, you must not breathe a word of the truth to Arthur Van Dusen."
Still mightily35 wondering as to the meaning of all this mystery and eager for its solution, Roy readily gave the required promise that he would keep Ethel's secret. Thereupon she told him the story.
"The night Arthur and poor old Ichabod returned to us aboard The Hialdo with the Doctor's cap and note, I believed as firmly as you did that the unfortunate man had been swallowed up in the quicksands, or swept away to death by the tide. At the time when he left me alone in the shack in order to go for help, I would not let him go until he had agreed to carry with him sealed orders under which he should act. I wrote these and gave them to him, and he promised to follow my instructions. They were for his future guidance. I believed that, if he followed them, he would not only escape punishment, but reform so as to be of service once more to the world. Naturally, when help did not arrive from Portsmouth, I concluded that his strength had not been sufficient for the task, that he had perished. So, I was not surprised by the news brought to the yacht by the men who had been searching for him.
"That morning when I visited Portsmouth, Roy dear, I had two objects in view. One was to verify the fact that Doctor Garnet had not reached the town. The other was to visit the young physician whom I knew to be located there, in order to arrange with him to care for the afflicted36 man in case he should arrive later on. As I was about to leave the yacht, early in the morning, Captain Ichabod appeared."
Ethel's gravity vanished for a moment. Her lustrous37 eyes narrowed and twinkled. She smiled until the dimples in her cheeks were shadows against the rose.
"I suppose he stole away from the fond Sarah while she was asleep. He never could have managed it had she been awake." She became serious again, and Roy, whose mouth had widened in an appreciative38 grin, again listened with sober attention.
"Captain Ichabod had a confession39 to make to me. That confession was vastly more of a surprise to me, as you will soon understand, than this news in father's letter. The old fellow first swore me to secrecy40. Then he out and told me, not without a certain exultation41 at his shrewdness, that he had put one over on the greatest detective in America, Arthur Van Dusen. He explained that when he and Arthur reached the false inlet where they found the cap and note, he believed that Doctor Garnet had crossed in safety, for the channel was by no means so dangerous as he represented to the detective. As a matter of fact, he hoped and expected to find the Doctor's tracks on the other side, and he did so although he concealed42 the knowledge of their existence from Van Dusen. Ichabod went on to tell me that he was moved to sympathy in Doctor Garnet's behalf, that he believed the man would reform, would be of use to the world, that he was worth saving from the law's punishment for offenses43 inspired by a drug-maddened brain. He insisted that he told no lie to Arthur—only allowed the world's greatest detective to draw a few wrong conclusions from his vague remarks and the melancholy44 expression on his face when he returned after crossing the inlet to look for tracks.
"Right then and there, that old fisherman and I formed a partnership45. We decided46 that we would locate our man, save him from capture, and have him restored to the normal. This would be comparatively easy since the authorities believed him to be dead. We would demand in return that he should go to France, there to serve those sufferers on the battlefield who might have need of him.
"Ichabod preferred to remain behind, when I went to the physician's house. There I found that Doctor Garnet had in fact been received by the young doctor, who had taken him in and cared for him—proud indeed to do so, since he knew his patient's reputation and held him in veneration47 for his skill. The younger doctor readily entered into a conspiracy48 with me when he had heard my story. I had an interview with Doctor Garnet. He accepted my proposition fully49. He was glad of a chance to expiate50 his follies51. He swore to me that never again would he take a grain of the drug. At his request, I brought Ichabod to his bedside, and he thanked the old man warmly for all that he had done both for himself and for me, his victim. I offered him funds for the trip abroad, but he told me that he was well supplied with money. He told me also that he had come in a small sailboat to carry me away from the shack, but had seen on approaching that his services were no longer needed, so had returned whence he came.... From that day until now, I have had no word of the man. Yet, I felt that he had kept his promise."
"And he did—nobly!" Roy said. There was a new admiration52 in the glance with which he regarded his wife, who had accomplished53 this miracle of regeneration.
Ethel met that glance, and smiled responsively.
Once again she dimpled, as she spoke half-seriously, half-playfully.
"Roy, dear, aren't you just a bit proud of your wife and Uncle Ichabod? Between us we so worked it out that my kidnapping was not in vain. It has done three things: First and best, it hurried our marriage; second, it made Captain Jones a bridegroom instead of a hermit54; third, it furnished a hero for the battlefields of France."
The End
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1
apprehensions
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| 疑惧 | |
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publicity
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| n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告 | |
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prying
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| adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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espied
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| v.看到( espy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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agog
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| adj.兴奋的，有强烈兴趣的； adv.渴望地 | |
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astounding
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| adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词) | |
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genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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scruples
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| n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 )；顾虑，顾忌v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 ) | |
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10
advertising
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| n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的 | |
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anticipation
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| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
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inveterate
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| adj.积习已深的，根深蒂固的 | |
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jeer
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| vi.嘲弄，揶揄；vt.奚落；n.嘲笑，讥评 | |
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demonstration
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| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
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appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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16
wedded
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| adj.正式结婚的；渴望…的，执著于…的v.嫁，娶，（与…）结婚( wed的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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momentous
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| adj.重要的，重大的 | |
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bustled
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| 闹哄哄地忙乱，奔忙( bustle的过去式和过去分词 )； 催促 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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thronged
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| v.成群，挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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steadfastly
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| adv.踏实地，不变地；岿然；坚定不渝 | |
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cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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salute
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| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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shrimp
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| n.虾，小虾；矮小的人 | |
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shack
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| adj.简陋的小屋，窝棚 | |
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28
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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quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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authentic
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| a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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reverently
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| adv.虔诚地 | |
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sane
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| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
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mightily
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| ad.强烈地；非常地 | |
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afflicted
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| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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lustrous
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| adj.有光泽的；光辉的 | |
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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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confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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40
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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exultation
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| n.狂喜，得意 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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43
offenses
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| n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势 | |
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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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partnership
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| n.合作关系，伙伴关系 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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47
veneration
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| n.尊敬，崇拜 | |
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48
conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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49
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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50
expiate
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| v.抵补，赎罪 | |
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51
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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52
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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53
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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54
hermit
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| n.隐士，修道者；隐居 | |
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