Worst had come to worst on board the Britannia. Things had been bad enough before, but the climax4 was reached when the two men found themselves caged in the same room, neither one willing to play lamb to the other's lion. Garth hated the proximity5 as hotly as Severance hated it; but there was no cabin of any class with a free berth7, save one occupied by a coloured colonel in charge of negro troops going home. Garth had a deep respect for the dark soldiers, who had distinguished8 themselves in the war; but men of white and men of black skin were not quartered together; and he had never boiled to throttle9 Severance as he boiled at the cool proposal that he should join Colonel Dookey.
"Join him yourself," he said.
"I'm not an American," shrugged10 Severance.
"That's why you and he would get along better than you and me, or he and me," retorted Garth, careless of grammar.
"I shall remain where I am," Severance gave his ultimatum11.
"Same here. You ought to be thankful your earlship has got the lower berth."
This statement required no answer; and the conversation lapsed12.
Garth had not taken his allotted13 seat at the Captain's table, because he understood that ladies would be there, friends of Lord Severance. He could not trust his temper if it were strained by continued public snubbing in the presence of women. Besides, secretly shy of the dangerous sex, the man who had won the V.C. shrank like a coward from the prospect14 of being "turned down" by aristocratic females. He preferred to snatch picnic meals in the hot smoke-room or to munch15 a sandwich on the wind-swept deck, having this one advantage of the enemy: he was a good sailor.
Seeing Severance seasick16 had "given him back a bit of his own," and made up for a good deal, including close quarters. Because a man can't hit a foe17 when he's down, however, Garth had let slip a heaven-sent chance for revenge. He refrained from jeering18 aloud at his brother officer's qualms19. But was the said officer grateful for the superhuman sacrifice? On the contrary! To-day's work on deck was the climax. Garth had heard and seen Severance sneering20 at him, as he had sneered21 before. Sneering to men was one thing, however; sneering to the most beautiful girl Garth had ever seen was another.
Severance's attempt to drive Garth from the regiment22 by rendering23 the mess impossible, and by other methods which in contrast made schoolboy ragging kind, had only stiffened24 the American's resolve to "stick it." Failing the stings and pin-pricks inflicted25 by Severance as ringleader, and two or three of his followers26, Garth would not have desired to stay in the British Army after the war, although his father had been an officer in it. As it was, though he hadn't yet settled the future, he inclined to hold his commission for awhile, if only to "show those chaps they couldn't phaze him." He had felt bulldoggy rather than wild bullish. But catching27 a word or two blown to his ears by the wind on deck to-day, he had at the same time caught fire. Here was the limit, and down the other side! He burned to prove this to Severance in some way slightly more delicate than murder. In such a mood he slammed into their cabin, and heard a little more. Still flaming, he saw the ginger-beer bottle (by an irony28 of fate, Severance's bottle), and then, almost before he knew what he was doing, the thing was done. A caddish but a luscious29 thing! He gloried in it. As he stood at the stateroom window, the emptied weapon fizzing in his hand, it struck Garth that he had hit the nail on the head.
"That's it," he said to himself, as he watched Severance furiously sop30 his hair. "I've hit the nail on the head!"
Never had he been more pleased with the precision of his aim, for not a drop had gone wide of the target. He had counted on his skill to make a bull's-eye or he would not have risked the coup31. Of course, Severance's friends would loathe32 as well as despise him; but they must admit that the reprisal33 was pat, and above all neat. He shut the window and roared. He hoped the trio outside would hear him, and he yearned34 to know what Severance's next step would be.
For this knowledge he had not long to wait; but when it came, it brought disillusion35. Severance arrived promptly36, still dripping, to find Garth at bay, a grin on his face.
"Your beer," said V.C. "I'll pay you for it."
He expected the other to shout "You shall!" and spring at him. Severance seemed to think, however, that the dignified37 course was cold silence. "Registering" scorn too glacial for language or even action, he gazed at Garth as if the latter were a worm of some new and abominable38 species unknown to science and beneath classification. This effect produced, he turned to the mirror and repaired ravages39 to his hair with "Honey and Flowers." The moment he was his well-groomed self again, he went out, having uttered not one word.
"Well, I'm damned!" remarked Garth aloud. He then laughed, also aloud. But there was a flat sound in his mirth. He felt like a good hot fire quenched40 by a shovelful41 of snow, and was not sure whether he or Severance had scored. Vaguely42 at a loss, like a stray dog, he took a book to the smoking room, having no ambition to parade the deck cock-o'-the-walk fashion. It turned out, however, that he could not read. He could do nothing but think of that girl—that beautiful, beautiful girl.
Every man grows up with some ideal, bright or dim, of the woman whose beauty might mean to him all romance: the woman of the horizon, of the sunrise, of the bright foam43 of sea-waves. The girl on A deck of the Britannia was Garth's ideal, his "Princess of Paradise."
He didn't know who she was, but he meant to know. Not that it would do him any good to find out. She was a friend of Severance, which meant that there was a high wall round her so far as he, Garth, was concerned. All the same, he wouldn't let much grass grow—or many waves break—under his feet before he was in possession of her name. This was about all he was ever likely to have of hers! But so much he would have, soon.
Presently a steward44 brought matches for his pipe. "Can you tell me," Garth inquired, "who are the ladies sitting amidships on the port side of this deck; a young lady in a blue hat, with a grey fur coat, and an older woman in brown? They look as they'd be someone in particular?"
"They are, sir," replied the man quite eagerly. "You must mean Miss Sorel and her mother; they're with the Earl of Severance."
"That's right," said Garth. "I wonder, are they the ones at the Captain's table."
"Certain to be, sir," the steward assured him.
Garth lit his pipe, and let the steward go without further questioning. He yearned to ask who the Sorels were, and why it was so certain they would be in the place of honour at the Captain's table—where he might have been, and was not! But somehow, the thought of pumping a steward for intimate details about that girl repelled45 him. He supposed she was "some swell46" in Severance's set. Not since he had enlisted47 in the Grenadier Guards, nearly five years ago, had he taken leave in London. He had been eight times a "casualty," but by luck, or ill-luck, his wounds had not been "Blighty-wounds." His last leave he had spent in Paris, and the second—one summer—in Yorkshire and Scotland, because his father had been a Yorkshireman by birth.
If Garth had ever heard of Marise Sorel's success in New York and London, the story had gone in at one ear and out at the other. It did not occur to him that the Radiant Dream might be an actress. But her face haunted him, got between his eyes and his book and made his pipe go out, as sunlight is supposed to extinguish a fire.
He had rather prided himself on these old clothes of his, on shipboard. They were full five years of age, had been bought ready-made at Albuquerque, Arizona, for twenty dollars, and were damned comfortable. Now, to his shamed surprise, he found himself wishing he had kept to khaki, as he had a right to do. Severance had called him a "clod-hopper," and he knew the word fitted him in that suit, a blamed sight better than did the suit itself!
Well, it wasn't too late yet. He could doll up in his uniform any minute; he could even claim his place at the Captain's table, and meet the Girl. His heart beat at the thought. He made up his mind he would do just that; and then as quickly he changed it.
No, he might be a bounder, but he wouldn't be a cross between an ass6 and a peacock. He'd go on as he'd begun. If there were a laugh anywhere at present, it was against Severance. He would do nothing to turn it against Garth.
This resolution he clung to, despite occasional wobblings, for the rest of the voyage.
Garth had not a "blood relation" on earth, as far as he knew; but he had an adopted mother, and he had friends. These people lived mostly in the West. He meant to see a little life in New York before going out there, but he did not expect a soul in the east to notice his existence. It was a surprise for him when all the reporters who swarmed48 on board the Britannia from the tender made a bee-line for Major Garth, V.C. Each wanted a "story," and Garth didn't know what to say. He was too glad to see the shores of his adopted land, and too good-natured to snub the humblest, but he didn't enjoy being interviewed. He got out of the scrape as soon as he could; but there was another surprise awaiting him on deck. He found himself a hero to the Custom House men!
There was no chance of finding out what had become of Miss Sorel, but as the reporters had rallied round her, and Lord Severance also, Garth was reasonably sure to read later on who the girl was; where she was going; whether or no she were engaged to his noble brother officer; and, indeed, even many more picturesque49 facts than she knew about herself.
It was after two o'clock when he arrived at the Hotel Belmore, where he had stayed five years ago on the eve of sailing for England with his invention. He was hungry, and aimed straight for the restaurant; but it appeared that the manager had assigned to the only American V.C. a suite50 with a private salon51 as well as bedroom and bath. A special luncheon52 for the Major would be served there, with the compliments of the directors. Garth could only accept with dazed thanks; and feeling like a newly-awakened "Christopher Sly," he entered a room decorated with flowers and flags. As he devoured53 delicious food, the New York evening papers were handed to him by a smiling waiter who had read the headings.
Yes, there he was, served up hot to the public with sauce piquante! Lord knew how the fellows had got his photograph! Must be from some snapshot caught by a Daily Mirror man in London, and sent over to New York for use to-day. What a great lout54 he looked!... And—gee! if there wasn't old Severance in another photo down under his. Wouldn't his earlship be wild?
Garth chuckled55, and then suddenly choked. A gulp56 of the champagne57, in which he'd been pressed to drink to his own health, had gone the wrong way. Her picture had caught his eye, in an adjoining column of the Evening World, next to the portrait of Severance. "Our Own Marise Comes Home," was the legend in big black type above. Oh! She was American, not English! Must be an heiress if that chap intended to marry her. Severance was supposed to be poor, for a peer; had been a pauper58 till the death of an uncle and three cousins in the war gave him the title.... What? an actress! Then, it wasn't true about her and Severance—couldn't be true! That glorious girl was free! And, to judge from the way New York was treating him, John Garth, V.C., was Somebody, too. He was put above Miss Sorel's pal59 Severance in the papers—every one of the papers!
Eagerly Garth read about "The Spring Song" and "Dolores," the great emotional part Marise Sorel had created, and was now to revive in New York. It did not directly interest him that the whole of the old cast would support the star, but it did matter that this fact reduced the need for rehearsals60 to a minimum. The play would open at Belloc's Theatre next week, and it was announced that for many days the house had been entirely61 sold out. There wasn't a seat to be had for love or money. "But I bet I get one for both!" Garth said to himself. "A seat for every performance." Also he thought of something else he would do. The thing might not help him to make Miss Sorel's acquaintance, but it would satisfy his soul. And it would be worth all his back pay as a British officer if he could carry out the plan.
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1
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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severance
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| n.离职金；切断 | |
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pint
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| n.品脱 | |
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climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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proximity
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| n.接近，邻近 | |
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ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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berth
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| n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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throttle
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| n.节流阀，节气阀，喉咙；v.扼喉咙，使窒息，压 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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ultimatum
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| n.最后通牒 | |
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lapsed
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| adj.流失的，堕落的v.退步( lapse的过去式和过去分词 )；陷入；倒退；丧失 | |
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allotted
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| 分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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munch
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| v.用力嚼，大声咀嚼 | |
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seasick
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| adj.晕船的 | |
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foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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jeering
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| adj.嘲弄的，揶揄的v.嘲笑( jeer的现在分词 ) | |
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qualms
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| n.不安；内疚 | |
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sneering
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| 嘲笑的，轻蔑的 | |
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sneered
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| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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rendering
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| n.表现，描写 | |
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stiffened
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| 加强的 | |
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inflicted
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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irony
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| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
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luscious
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| adj.美味的；芬芳的；肉感的，引与性欲的 | |
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sop
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| n.湿透的东西，懦夫；v.浸，泡，浸湿 | |
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coup
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| n.政变；突然而成功的行动 | |
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loathe
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| v.厌恶，嫌恶 | |
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reprisal
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| n.报复，报仇，报复性劫掠 | |
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yearned
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| 渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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disillusion
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| vt.使不再抱幻想，使理想破灭 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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abominable
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| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
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ravages
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| 劫掠后的残迹，破坏的结果，毁坏后的残迹 | |
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quenched
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| 解（渴）( quench的过去式和过去分词 )； 终止（某事物）； （用水）扑灭（火焰等）； 将（热物体）放入水中急速冷却 | |
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shovelful
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| n．一铁铲 | |
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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steward
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| n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员 | |
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45
repelled
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| v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开 | |
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swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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47
enlisted
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| adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
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48
swarmed
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| 密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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49
picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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50
suite
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| n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员 | |
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51
salon
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| n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室 | |
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52
luncheon
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| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
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53
devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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54
lout
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| n.粗鄙的人；举止粗鲁的人 | |
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55
chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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56
gulp
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| vt.吞咽，大口地吸（气）；vi.哽住；n.吞咽 | |
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57
champagne
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| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
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58
pauper
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| n.贫民，被救济者，穷人 | |
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59
pal
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| n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友 | |
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rehearsals
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| n.练习( rehearsal的名词复数 )；排练；复述；重复 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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