She had never fainted in her life. It was absurd, but the room was swimming now in a dim blur2. Again she gripped the table and set her teeth. She simply would not give up. Why should she leap to the worst possible explanation of the jewels? The hatred3 of old Ella for Jim and the furious antagonism4 of Jane Anderson had poisoned her mind, after all. It was infamous5 that she could suspect her husband of crime merely because two silly women didn't like him.
He could explain the jewels. He, of course, asked no questions of the pawn-broker. They were probably sold at auction6 and he bought them.
It seemed an eternity7 from the time Jim's foot step echoed on the little porch until he pushed the door open and hastily entered, his arms piled with lap-robes, coats and the dress-suit case in his hand.
He walked with quick, firm step, threw the coats and robes on the couch and placed the suit-case at its head. He hadn't turned toward her and his face was still in profile while he removed the gloves from his pockets, threw them on the robes, and drew the scarlet8 woolen9 neckpiece from his throat.
She was studying him now with new terror-stricken eyes. Never had she seen his jaw10 look so big and brutal11. Never had the droop12 of his eyelids13 suggested such menace. Never had the contrast of his slender hands and feet suggested such hideous14 possibilities.
“Merciful God! No! No!” she kept repeating in her soul while her dilated15 eyes stared at him in sheer horror of the suggestion which the jewels had roused.
She drew a deep breath and strangled the idea by her will.
“I'll at least be as fair as a jury,” she thought grimly. “I'll not condemn16 him without a hearing.”
Jim suddenly became aware of the menace of her silence. She had not moved a muscle, spoken or made the slightest sound since he had entered. He had merely taken in the room at a glance and had seen her standing18 in precisely19 the same place beside the table.
He saw now that she was leaning heavily against it.
He raised his head and faced her with a sudden, bold stare, and his voice rang in tones of sharp command.
“Well?”
She tried to speak and failed. She had not yet sufficiently20 mastered her emotions.
“What's the matter?” he growled21.
“Jim——” she gasped22.
He took a step toward her with set teeth.
“You've been in that bag—Well?”
Her face was white, her voice husky.
“Those jewels, Jim——”
A cunning smile played about his mouth and he shook his head.
“I tried to keep my little secret from you till Christmas morning; but you're on to my curves now, Kiddo, and I'll have to 'fess up——”
“You bought them for me?” she asked with trembling eagerness.
“Who else do you reckon I'd buy 'em for? I was going to surprise you, too, tomorrow morning. You've spoiled the fun.”
She had slipped close to his side and he could hear her quick intake23 of breath.
“That's—so—sweet of you, Jim. I'm sorry—I—spoiled the surprise—you'd—planned——”
“Oh, what's the difference!” he broke in carelessly. “It's all the same five minutes after, anyhow. Well, don't you like 'em? Why don't you say something?”
“They're wonderful, Jim. Where—where—did you buy them?”
He held her gaze in silence for an instant and fenced.
“Isn't that a funny question, Kiddo?” he said in low tones. “I once heard the old man I worked with in the shop say that you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.”
“I just want to know,” she insisted.
“I'm not going to tell you!” he said with a dry laugh.
“Why not?”
“Because you keep asking.”
“You wish to tease me?”
“Maybe.”
“Please!”
“Why do you want to know? Are you afraid they're fakes?”
“No, they're beautiful—they're wonderful.”
“Well, if you don't want them,” he broke in angrily, “I'll keep them. I'll sell them.”
“Don't tease me, Jim!” she begged. “I don't mind if you bought them at a pawn-shop—if that's why you won't tell me. That is the reason, isn't it? Honestly, isn't it?”
She asked the question with eager intensity24. She had persuaded herself that it was so and the horror had been lifted. She pressed close with smiling, trembling lips:
“I don't mind that, Jim! You got them from a pawn-broker, of course, didn't you?”
He looked at her with a puzzled expression and hesitated.
“Didn't you?” she repeated.
“No—I didn't!” was the curt25 answer.
“You didn't?” she echoed feebly.
“No!”
With a quick breath she unconsciously drew back and he glared at her angrily.
“Say, what'ell's the matter with you, anyhow? Have you gone crazy?”
“You—won't—tell me—where you bought them?” she asked slowly.
He faced her squarely and spoke17 with deliberate contempt:
“It's—none—of your business!”
She held his gaze with steady determination.
“That string of pearls belongs to the man who once lived in the front room of my old building in New York. He moved uptown with my landlady26. A few months ago a burglar robbed and shot him——”
She stopped, seized his arm and cried with strangling horror:
“Jim! Jim! Where did you get them?”
“Now I know you've gone crazy! You don't suppose that's the only string of pearls in the world, do you? Did you count 'em? Did you weigh 'em?”
“Where did you get them?” she demanded.
“What put it into your head that that string of pearls belonged to your old boarder?”
“I saw him write the stanza27 of poetry on the satin lining28 of that case. I've heard him recite it over and over again in his piping voice: `Each bead29 a pearl—my rosary!' I KNOW that they belonged to him!”
His mouth twitched30 angrily and he faced her, speaking with cold, brutal frankness.
“I might keep on lying to you, Kiddo, and get away with it. But what's the use? You've got to know. It's just as well now—I did that job——Yes!”
Her face blanched31.
“You—a—burglar—a murderer!”
Jim followed her with quick, angry gestures.
“All I wanted was his money! He fought—it was his life or mine——”
“A murderer!”
“I just went after his money—I tell you—besides, he didn't die; he got well. If he'd kept still he wouldn't have lost his pearls and he wouldn't have been hurt——”
“And I stood up for you against them all!” she answered in a dazed whisper. “They told me—Jane Anderson with brutal frankness, Ella with the heart-rending, timid confession32 of her own tragic33 life—they told me that you were bad. I said they were liars34. I said that they envied our happiness. I believed that you were big and brave and fine. I stood by you and married you!”
She paused and looked at him steadily35. In a rush of suppressed passion she seized his arm with a violence that caused his heavy eyelids to lift in amused surprise.
“Oh, Jim—it's not true! It's not true—it's not true! For God's sake, tell me that you're joking!—that you're teasing me! You can't mean it! I won't believe it—I won't believe it!”
Her head sank until it rested piteously against his breast. He stood with his face turned awkwardly away and then moved his body until she was forced to stand erect36.
He touched her shoulder gently and spoke soothingly37:
“Come, now, Kid, don't take on so. I'll quit the business when I make my pile.”
She drew back instinctively38 and he followed:
“I'll never touch another penny of yours. There's blood on it!”
“Rot!” he went on soothingly. “It's good Wall Street cash—got it exactly like they got theirs—got it because I was quicker and smarter than the fellow that had it. I use a jimmy, they use a ticker—that's all the difference.”
She drew her figure to its full height.
“I'm going—Jim——”
“Where?”
His voice rasped like a file against steel.
“Home!”
“Your home's with me.”
“I won't live with a thief!”
He stepped squarely before her and spoke with deliberate menace.
“You're—not—going!”
“Get out of my way!” she cried defiantly39.
His big jaw closed with a snap and his figure became rigid40. The candle's yellow light threw a strange glare on his face, convulsed. The blue flames of hell were in the glitter of his steel eyes.
Her heart sank in a dull wave of terror. She tried to gauge41 the depth of his brutal rage. There was no standard by which to measure it. She had never seen that look in his face before. His whole being was transformed by some sinister42 power.
She was afraid to move, but her mind was alert in this moment of supreme43 trial. She hadn't used her last weapon yet. The fact that he held her with such terrible determination was proof of the spell she had cast over him. She might save him. He couldn't have been a criminal long. She formed her new battle-line with quick decision.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
feverish
|
|
| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
blur
|
|
| n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
hatred
|
|
| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
antagonism
|
|
| n.对抗，敌对，对立 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
infamous
|
|
| adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
auction
|
|
| n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
eternity
|
|
| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
scarlet
|
|
| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
woolen
|
|
| adj.羊毛(制)的；毛纺的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
jaw
|
|
| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
brutal
|
|
| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
droop
|
|
| v.低垂，下垂；凋萎，萎靡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
eyelids
|
|
| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
hideous
|
|
| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
dilated
|
|
| adj.加宽的，扩大的v.（使某物）扩大，膨胀，张大( dilate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
condemn
|
|
| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
spoke
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
precisely
|
|
| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
sufficiently
|
|
| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
growled
|
|
| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
gasped
|
|
| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
intake
|
|
| n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
intensity
|
|
| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
curt
|
|
| adj.简短的，草率的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
landlady
|
|
| n.女房东，女地主 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
stanza
|
|
| n.（诗）节，段 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
lining
|
|
| n.衬里，衬料 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
bead
|
|
| n.念珠；(pl.)珠子项链；水珠 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
twitched
|
|
| vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
blanched
|
|
| v.使变白( blanch的过去式 )；使（植物）不见阳光而变白；酸洗（金属）使有光泽；用沸水烫（杏仁等）以便去皮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
confession
|
|
| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
tragic
|
|
| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
liars
|
|
| 说谎者( liar的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
steadily
|
|
| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
erect
|
|
| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
soothingly
|
|
| adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
instinctively
|
|
| adv.本能地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
defiantly
|
|
| adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
rigid
|
|
| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
gauge
|
|
| v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
sinister
|
|
| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
supreme
|
|
| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |