Dunraven Bleak1, the managing editor of The Evening Balloon, sat at his desk in the center of the local-room, under a furious cone2 of electric light. It was six o'clock of a warm summer afternoon: he was filling his pipe and turning over the pages of the Final edition of the paper, which had just come up from the press-room. After the turmoil3 of the day the room had quieted, most of the reporters had left, and the shaded lamps shone upon empty tables and a floor strewn ankle-deep with papers. Nearby sat the city editor, checking over the list of assignments for the next morning. From an adjoining kennel4 issued occasional deep groans5 and a strong whiff of savage6 shag tobacco, blown outward by the droning gust7 of an electric fan. These proved that the cartoonist (a man whose sprightly8 drawings were born to an obbligato of vehement9 blasphemy) was at work within.
Mr. Bleak was just beginning to recuperate10 from the incessant11 vigilance of the day's work. There was an unconscious pathos12 in his lean, desiccated figure as he rose and crossed the room to the green glass drinking-fountain. After the custom of experienced newspapermen, he rapidly twirled a makeshift cup out of a sheet of copy paper. He poured himself a draught13 of clear but rather tepid14 water, and drank it without noticeable relish15. His lifted head betrayed only the automatic thankfulness of the domestic fowl16. There had been a time when six o'clock meant something better than a paper goblet17 of lukewarm filtration.
He sat down at his desk again. He had loaded his pipe sedulously18 with an extra fine blend which he kept in his desk drawer for smoking during rare moments of relaxation19 when he had leisure to savor20 it. As he reached for a match he was meditating21 a genial22 remark to the city editor, when he discovered that there was only one tandsticker in the box. He struck it, and the blazing head flew off upon the cream-colored thigh23 of his Palm Beach suit. His naturally placid24 temper, undermined by thirty years of newspaper work and two years of prohibition25, flamed up also. With a loud scream of rage and a curse against Sweden, he leaped to his feet and shook the glowing cinder26 from his person. Facing him he found a stranger who had entered the room quietly and unobserved.
This was a huge man, clad in a sober uniform of gray cloth, with silver buttons and silver braid. A Sam Browne belt of wide blue leather marched across his extensive diagonal in a gentle curve. The band of his vizored military cap showed the initials C.P.H. in silver embroidery27. His face, broad and clean-shaven, shone with a lustre28 which was partly warmth and partly simple friendliness29. Save for a certain humility30 of bearing, he might have been taken for the liveried door-man of a moving-picture theater or exclusive millinery shop.
In one hand he carried a very large black leather suit-case.
"Is this Mr. Bleak?" he asked politely.
"Yes," said the editor, in surprise. His secret surmise31 was that some one had died and left him a legacy32 which would enable him to retire from newspaper work. (This is the unacknowledged dream that haunts many journalists.) Mr. Bleak was wondering whether this was the way in which legacies33 were announced.
The man in the gray uniform set the bag down with great care on the large flat desk. He drew out a key and unlocked it. Before opening it he looked round the room. The city editor and three reporters were watching curiously34. A shy gayety twinkled in his clear blue eyes.
"Mr. Bleak," he said, "you and these other gentlemen present are men of discretion—?"
Bleak made a gesture of reassurance35.
The other leaned over the suit-case and lifted the lid.
The bag was divided into several compartments36. In one, the startled editor beheld37 a nest of tall glasses; in another, a number of interesting flasks38 lying in a porcelain39 container among chipped ice. In the lid was an array of straws, napkins, a flat tray labeled CLOVES40, and a bunch of what looked uncommonly41 like mint leaves. Mr. Bleak did not speak, but his pulse was disorderly.
The man in gray drew out five tumblers and placed them on the desk. Rapidly several bottles caught the light: there was a gesture of pouring, a clink of ice, and beneath the spellbound gaze of the watchers the glasses fumed42 and bubbled with a volatile43 potion. A glass mixing rod tinkled44 in the thin crystal shells, and the man of mystery deftly45 thrust a clump46 of foliage47 into each. A well known fragrance48 exhaled49 upon the tobacco-thickened air.
"Shades of the Grail!" cried Bleak. "Mint julep!"
The visitor bowed and pushed the glasses forward. "With the compliments of the Corporation," he said.
The city editor sprang to his feet. Sagely50 cynical51, he suspected a ruse52.
"It's a plant!" he exclaimed. "Don't touch it! It's a trick on the part of the Department of Justice, trying to get us into trouble."
Bleak gazed angrily at the stranger. If this was indeed a federal stratagem53, what an intolerably cruel one! In front of him the glasses sparkled alluringly54: a delicate mist gathered on their ice-chilled curves: a pungent55 sweetness wavered in his nostrils56.
"See here!" he blurted57 with shrill58 excitement. "Are you a damned government agent? If so, take your poison and get out."
The tall stranger in his impressive uniform stood erect59 and unabashed. With affectionate care he gave the tumblers a final musical stir.
"O ye of little faith!" he said calmly. The sadness of the misunderstood idealist grieved his features. "Have you forgotten the miracle of Cana?" From his pocket he took a card and laid it on the desk.
Bleak seized it. It said:
THE CORPORATION FOR THE PERPETUATION60 OF HAPPINESS
1316 Caraway Street
Virgil Quimbleton, Associate Director
He stared at the pasteboard, stupefied, and handed it to the city editor.
Meanwhile the three reporters had drawn61 near. Light-hearted and irresponsible souls, unoppressed by the embittered62 suspicion of their superiors, they nosed the floating aroma63 with candid64 hilarity65.
"The breath of Eden!" said one.
"It's a warm evening," remarked another, with seeming irrelevance66.
The face of Virgil Quimbleton, the man in gray, relaxed again at these marks of honest appreciation67. He waved an encouraging arm over the crystals. "With the compliments of the Corporation," he repeated.
Bleak and the city editor looked again at the card, and at each other. They scanned the face of their mysterious benefactor68. Bleak's hand went out to the nearest glass. He raised it to his lips. An almost-forgotten formula recurred69 to him. "Down the rat-hole!" he cried, and tilted70 his arm. The others followed suit, and the associate director watched them with a glow of perfect altruism71.
The glasses were still in air when the cartoonist emerged from his room. "Holy cat!" he cried in amazement72. "What's going on?" He seized one of the empty vessels73 and sniffed74 it.
"Treason!" he exclaimed. "Who's been robbing the mint?"
"Maybe you can have one too," said Bleak, and turned to where Quimbleton had been standing75. But the mysterious visitor had leff the room.
"You're too late, Bill," said the city editor genially76. "There was a kind of Messiah here, but he's gone. Tough luck."
"Say, boss," suggested one of the reporters. "There's a story in this. May I interview that guy?"
Bleak picked up the card and put it in his pocket. A heavenly warmth pervaded77 his mental fabric78. "A story?" he said. "Forget it! This is no story. It's a legend of the dear dead past. I'll cover this assignment myself."
He borrowed a match and lit his pipe. Then he put on his coat and hat and left the office.
It was remarked by faithful readers of the Balloon that the next day's cartoon was one of the least successful in the history of that brilliant newspaper.
点击收听单词发音
1 bleak | |
adj.(天气)阴冷的;凄凉的;暗淡的 | |
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2 cone | |
n.圆锥体,圆锥形东西,球果 | |
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3 turmoil | |
n.骚乱,混乱,动乱 | |
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4 kennel | |
n.狗舍,狗窝 | |
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5 groans | |
n.呻吟,叹息( groan的名词复数 );呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 );发牢骚;抱怨;受苦 | |
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6 savage | |
adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人 | |
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7 gust | |
n.阵风,突然一阵(雨、烟等),(感情的)迸发 | |
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8 sprightly | |
adj.愉快的,活泼的 | |
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9 vehement | |
adj.感情强烈的;热烈的;(人)有强烈感情的 | |
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10 recuperate | |
v.恢复 | |
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11 incessant | |
adj.不停的,连续的 | |
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12 pathos | |
n.哀婉,悲怆 | |
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13 draught | |
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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14 tepid | |
adj.微温的,温热的,不太热心的 | |
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15 relish | |
n.滋味,享受,爱好,调味品;vt.加调味料,享受,品味;vi.有滋味 | |
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16 fowl | |
n.家禽,鸡,禽肉 | |
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17 goblet | |
n.高脚酒杯 | |
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18 sedulously | |
ad.孜孜不倦地 | |
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19 relaxation | |
n.松弛,放松;休息;消遣;娱乐 | |
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20 savor | |
vt.品尝,欣赏;n.味道,风味;情趣,趣味 | |
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21 meditating | |
a.沉思的,冥想的 | |
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22 genial | |
adj.亲切的,和蔼的,愉快的,脾气好的 | |
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23 thigh | |
n.大腿;股骨 | |
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24 placid | |
adj.安静的,平和的 | |
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25 prohibition | |
n.禁止;禁令,禁律 | |
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26 cinder | |
n.余烬,矿渣 | |
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27 embroidery | |
n.绣花,刺绣;绣制品 | |
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28 lustre | |
n.光亮,光泽;荣誉 | |
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29 friendliness | |
n.友谊,亲切,亲密 | |
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30 humility | |
n.谦逊,谦恭 | |
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31 surmise | |
v./n.猜想,推测 | |
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32 legacy | |
n.遗产,遗赠;先人(或过去)留下的东西 | |
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33 legacies | |
n.遗产( legacy的名词复数 );遗留之物;遗留问题;后遗症 | |
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34 curiously | |
adv.有求知欲地;好问地;奇特地 | |
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35 reassurance | |
n.使放心,使消除疑虑 | |
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36 compartments | |
n.间隔( compartment的名词复数 );(列车车厢的)隔间;(家具或设备等的)分隔间;隔层 | |
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37 beheld | |
v.看,注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 );瞧;看呀;(叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现)哎哟 | |
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38 flasks | |
n.瓶,长颈瓶, 烧瓶( flask的名词复数 ) | |
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39 porcelain | |
n.瓷;adj.瓷的,瓷制的 | |
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40 cloves | |
n.丁香(热带树木的干花,形似小钉子,用作调味品,尤用作甜食的香料)( clove的名词复数 );蒜瓣(a garlic ~|a ~of garlic) | |
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41 uncommonly | |
adv. 稀罕(极,非常) | |
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42 fumed | |
愤怒( fume的过去式和过去分词 ); 大怒; 发怒; 冒烟 | |
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43 volatile | |
adj.反复无常的,挥发性的,稍纵即逝的,脾气火爆的;n.挥发性物质 | |
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44 tinkled | |
(使)发出丁当声,(使)发铃铃声( tinkle的过去式和过去分词 ); 叮当响着发出,铃铃响着报出 | |
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45 deftly | |
adv.灵巧地,熟练地,敏捷地 | |
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46 clump | |
n.树丛,草丛;vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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47 foliage | |
n.叶子,树叶,簇叶 | |
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48 fragrance | |
n.芬芳,香味,香气 | |
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49 exhaled | |
v.呼出,发散出( exhale的过去式和过去分词 );吐出(肺中的空气、烟等),呼气 | |
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50 sagely | |
adv. 贤能地,贤明地 | |
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51 cynical | |
adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的,不信世道向善的 | |
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52 ruse | |
n.诡计,计策;诡计 | |
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53 stratagem | |
n.诡计,计谋 | |
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54 alluringly | |
诱人地,妩媚地 | |
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55 pungent | |
adj.(气味、味道)刺激性的,辛辣的;尖锐的 | |
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56 nostrils | |
鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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57 blurted | |
v.突然说出,脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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58 shrill | |
adj.尖声的;刺耳的;v尖叫 | |
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59 erect | |
n./v.树立,建立,使竖立;adj.直立的,垂直的 | |
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60 perpetuation | |
n.永存,不朽 | |
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61 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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62 embittered | |
v.使怨恨,激怒( embitter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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63 aroma | |
n.香气,芬芳,芳香 | |
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64 candid | |
adj.公正的,正直的;坦率的 | |
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65 hilarity | |
n.欢乐;热闹 | |
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66 irrelevance | |
n.无关紧要;不相关;不相关的事物 | |
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67 appreciation | |
n.评价;欣赏;感谢;领会,理解;价格上涨 | |
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68 benefactor | |
n. 恩人,行善的人,捐助人 | |
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69 recurred | |
再发生,复发( recur的过去式和过去分词 ); 治愈 | |
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70 tilted | |
v. 倾斜的 | |
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71 altruism | |
n.利他主义,不自私 | |
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72 amazement | |
n.惊奇,惊讶 | |
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73 vessels | |
n.血管( vessel的名词复数 );船;容器;(具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的)人 | |
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74 sniffed | |
v.以鼻吸气,嗅,闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 );抽鼻子(尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气);抱怨,不以为然地说 | |
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75 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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76 genially | |
adv.亲切地,和蔼地;快活地 | |
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77 pervaded | |
v.遍及,弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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78 fabric | |
n.织物,织品,布;构造,结构,组织 | |
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