"Is it—can it be about Albert?" asked Mrs. Nichols trembling, and sinking into a chair.
"Yes, Mrs. Nichol. Try to keep your fortitude5, for perhaps his welfare depends upon it."
"Oh, God be praised! The hope of this never wholly left me, because they didn't find his body."
Dr. Barnes came down at once, and with Mr. Kemble tried to soothe6 the strong emotions of the parents, while at the same time enlightening them as to their son's discovery and condition.
"Well," said Mr. Nichol, in strong emphasis; "Hobart Martine is one of a million."
"I think he ought to have brought Albert right to me first," Mrs. Nichol added, shaking her head and wiping her eyes. "After all, a mother's claim—"
"My dear Mrs. Nichol," interrupted Dr. Barnes, "there was no thought of undervaluing your claim on the part of our friend Hobart. He has taken what he believed, and what physicians led him to believe, was the best course to restore your son. Besides, Mr. Martine is a very sick man. Even now he needs my attention more than Captain Nichol. You must realize that he was to have married Miss Kemble to-day; yet he brings back your son, sends for Mr. Kemble in order that his daughter, as soon as she can realize the strange truth, may exert her power. He himself has not seen the girl who was to have been his bride."
"Wife, wife," said Mr. Nichol, brokingly, "no mortal man could do more for us than Hobart Martine, God bless him!"
"Mrs. Nichol," began Mr. Kemble, "my wife and Helen both unite in the request that you and your husband bring your son at once to our house; perhaps you would rather meet him in the privacy—"
"Oh, no, no!" she cried, "I cannot wait. Please do not think I am insensible to all this well-meant kindness; but a mother's heart cannot wait. He'll know ME—me who bore him and carried him on my breast."
"Mrs. Nichol, you shall see him at once," said the doctor. "I hope it will be as you say; but I'm compelled to tell you that you may be disappointed. There's no certainty that this trouble will pass away at once under any one's influence. You and your husband come with me. Mr. Kemble, I will send Jackson down, and so secure the privacy which you would kindly8 provide. I will be present, for I may be needed."
He led the way, the mother following with the impetuosity and abandon of maternal9 love, and the father with stronger and stranger emotions than he had ever known, but restrained in a manner natural to a quiet, reticent10 man. They were about to greet one on whom they had once centred their chief hopes and affection, yet long mourned as dead. It is hard to imagine the wild tumult11 of their feelings. Not merely by words, but chiefly by impulse, immediate12 action, could they reveal how profoundly they were moved.
With kindly intention, as he opened the door of the apartment, the doctor began, "Mr. Jackson, please leave us a few—"
Mrs. Nichol saw her son and rushed upon him, crying, "Albert, Albert!" It was enough at that moment that she recognized him; and the thought that he would not recognize her was banished13. With an intuition of heart beyond all reasoning, she felt that he who had drawn14 his life from her must know her and respond to nature's first strong tie.
In surprise, Nichol had risen, then was embarrassed to find an elderly woman sobbing15 on his breast and addressing him in broken, endearing words by a name utterly16 unfamiliar17. He looked wonderingly at his father, who stood near, trembling and regarding him through tear-dimmed eyes with an affectionate interest, impressive even to his limited perceptions.
"Doctor," he began over his mother's head, "what in thunder does all this here mean? Me 'n' Jackson was chinnin' comf't'bly, when sud'n you uns let loose on me two crazy old parties I never seed ner yeared on. Never had folks go on so 'bout2 me befo'. Beats even that Hob't Ma'tine," and he showed signs of rising irritation18.
"Albert, Albert!" almost shrieked19 Mrs. Nichol, "don't you know me—ME, your own mother?"
"Naw."
At the half-indignant, incredulous tone, yet more than all at the strange accent and form of this negative, the poor woman was almost beside herself. "Merciful God!" she cried, "this cannot be;" and she sank into a chair, sobbing almost hysterically20.
For reasons of his own, Dr. Barnes did not interfere21. Nature in powerful manifestations22 was actuating the parents; and he decided23, now that things had gone so far, to let the entire energy of uncurbed emotion, combined with all the mysterious affinity24 of the closest kinship, exert its influence on the clogged25 brain of his patient.
For a few moments Mrs. Nichol was too greatly overcome to comprehend anything clearly; her husband, on the other hand, was simply wrought26 up to his highest capacity for action. His old instinct of authority returned, and he seized his son's hand and began, "Now, see here, Albert, you were wounded in your head—"
"Yes, right yere," interrupted Nichol, pointing to his scar. "I knows all 'bout that, but I don't like these goin's on, ez ef I wuz a nachel-bawn fool, en had ter bleve all folks sez. I've been taken in too often. When I wuz with the Johnnies they'd say ter me, 'Yankee Blank, see that ar critter? That's a elephant.' When I'd call it a elephant, they'd larf an' larf till I flattened27 out one feller's nose. I dunno nothin' 'bout elephants; but the critter they pinted at wuz a cow. Then one day they set me ter scrubbin' a nigger to mek 'im white, en all sech doin's, till the head-doctor stopped the hull29 blamed nonsense. S'pose I be a cur'ous chap. I ain't a nachel-bawn ijit. When folks begin ter go on, en do en say things I kyant see through, then I stands off en sez, 'Lemme 'lone30.' The hospital doctors wouldn't 'low any foolin' with me 't all."
"I'm not allowing any fooling with you," said Dr. Barnes, firmly. "I wish you to listen to that man and woman, and believe all they say. The hospital doctors would give you the same orders."
"All right, then," assented31 Nichol, with a sort of grimace32 of resignation. "Fire away, old man, an' git through with yer yarn33 so Jackson kin4 come back. I wish this woman wouldn't take on so. Hit makes me orful oncomf't'ble, doggoned ef hit don't."
The rapid and peculiar34 utterance35, the seemingly unfeeling words of his son, stung the father into an ecstasy36 of grief akin7 to anger. A man stood before him, as clearly recognized as his own image in a mirror. The captain was not out of his mind in any familiar sense of the word; he remembered distinctly what had happened for months past. He must recall, he must be MADE to recollect37 the vital truths of his life on which not only his happiness but that of others depended. Although totally ignorant of what the wisest can explain but vaguely38, Mr. Nichol was bent39 on restoring his son by the sheer force of will, making him remember by telling him what he should and must recall. This he tried to do with strong, eager insistence40. "Why, Albert," he urged, "I'm your father; and that's your mother."
Nichol shook his head and looked at the doctor, who added gravely,
"That's all true."
"Yes," resumed Mr. Nichol, with an energy and earnestness of utterance which compelled attention. "Now listen to reason. As I was saying, you were wounded in the head, and you have forgotten what happened before you were hurt. But you must remember, you must, indeed, or you will break your mother's heart and mine, too."
"But I tell yer, I kyant reckerlect a thing befo' I kinder waked up in the hospital, en the Johnnies call me Yankee Blank. I jes' wish folks would lemme alone on that pint28. Hit allus bothers me en makes me mad. How kin I reckerlect when I kyant?" and he began to show signs of strong vexation.
Dr. Barnes was about to interfere when Mrs. Nichol, who had grown calmer, rose, took her son's hand, and said brokenly: "Albert, look me in the face, your mother's face, and try, TRY with all your heart and soul and mind. Don't you remember ME?"
It was evident that her son did try. His brow wrinkled in the perplexed41 effort, and he looked at her fixedly42 for a moment or more; but no magnetic current from his mother's hand, no suggestion of the dear features which had bent over him in childhood and turned toward him in love and pride through subsequent years found anything in his arrested consciousness answering to her appeal.
The effort and its failure only irritated him, and he broke out: "Now look yere, I be as I be. What's the use of all these goin's on? Doctor, if you sez these folks are my father and mother, so be it. I'm learning somethin' new all the time. This ain't no mo' quar, I s'pose, than some other things. I've got to mind a doctor, for I've learned that much ef I hain't nuthin' else, but I want you uns to know that I won't stan' no mo' foolin'. Doctors don't fool me, en they've got the po'r ter mek a feller do ez they sez, but other folks is got ter be keerful how they uses me."
Mrs. Nichol again sank into her chair and wept bitterly; her husband at last remained silent in a sort of inward, impotent rage of grief. There was their son, alive and in physical health, yet between him and them was a viewless barrier which they could not break through.
The strange complications, the sad thwartings of hope which must result unless he was restored, began to loom43 already in the future.
Dr. Barnes now came forward and said: "Captain Nichol, you are as you are at this moment, but you must know that you are not what you were once. We are trying to restore you to your old self. You'd be a great deal better off if we succeed. You must help us all you can. You must be patient, and try all the time to recollect. You know I am not deceiving you, but seeking to help you. You don't like this. That doesn't matter. Didn't you see doctors do many things in hospitals which the patients didn't like?"
"I reckon," replied Nichol, growing reasonable at once when brought on familiar ground.
"Well, you are my patient. I may have to do some disagreeable things, but they won't hurt you. It won't be like taking off an arm or a leg. You have seen that done, I suppose?"
"You bet!" was the eager, proud reply. "I used to hold the fellows when they squirmed."
"Now hold yourself. Be patient and good-natured. While we are about it, I want to make every appeal possible to your lost memory, and I order you to keep on trying to remember till I say: 'Through for the present.' If we succeed, you'll thank me all the days of your life. Anyhow, you must do as I say."
"Oh, I know that."
"Well, then, your name is Captain Nichol. This is Mr. Nichol, your father; this lady is your mother. Call them father and mother when you speak to them. Always speak kindly and pleasantly. They'll take you to a pleasant home when I'm through with you, and you must mind them. They'll be good to you everyway."
Nichol grinned acquiescence44 and said: "All right, Doctor."
"Now you show your good sense. We'll have you sound and happy yet." The doctor thought a moment and then asked: "Mr. Nichol, I suppose that after our visit to Mr. Kemble, you and your wife would prefer to take your son home with you?"
"Certainly," was the prompt response.
"I would advise you to do so. After our next effort, however it results, we all will need rest and time for thought. Captain, remain here a few moments with your father and mother. Listen good-naturedly and answer pleasantly to whatever they may say to you. I will be back soon."
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1
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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bout
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| n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛 | |
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parlor
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| n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅 | |
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kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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fortitude
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| n.坚忍不拔；刚毅 | |
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6
soothe
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| v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承 | |
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7
akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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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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9
maternal
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| adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的 | |
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10
reticent
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| adj.沉默寡言的；言不如意的 | |
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11
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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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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13
banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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14
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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15
sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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16
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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unfamiliar
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| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
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18
irritation
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| n.激怒，恼怒，生气 | |
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19
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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20
hysterically
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| ad. 歇斯底里地 | |
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21
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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22
manifestations
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| n.表示，显示（manifestation的复数形式） | |
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23
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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affinity
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| n.亲和力，密切关系 | |
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clogged
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| （使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞 | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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flattened
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| [医]（水）平扁的，弄平的 | |
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pint
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| n.品脱 | |
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hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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30
lone
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| adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的 | |
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31
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32
grimace
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| v.做鬼脸，面部歪扭 | |
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33
yarn
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| n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事 | |
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34
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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35
utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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36
ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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37
recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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38
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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39
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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40
insistence
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| n.坚持；强调；坚决主张 | |
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41
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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fixedly
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| adv.固定地；不屈地，坚定不移地 | |
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43
loom
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| n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近 | |
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44
acquiescence
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| n.默许；顺从 | |
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