“Aren't they beautiful!” she cried. “A perfect carpet of dazzling green and purple!”
“Come right in,” the Doctor urged from the steps. “My neighbor's a patient of mine. He hasn't moved in yet but he told me always to make myself at home.”
Mary lifted the boy from his wagon3, tied the goat and led the child into the house. The Doctor showed her through without comment. None was needed. The woman's keen eye saw at a glance the perfection of care with which the master builder had wrought4 the slightest detail of every room. The floors were immaculate native hard-wood—its grain brought out through shining mirrors of clean varnish5. There was not one shoddy piece of work from the kitchen sink to the big open fireplace in the spacious6 hall and living-room.
“It's exquisite7!” she exclaimed at last. “It seems all hand-made—doesn't it?”
“It is, too. The owner literally8 built it with his own hands—a work of love.”
“For himself?” Mary asked with a smile.
“For the woman he loves, of course! My neighbor's a sort of crank and insisted on expressing himself in this way. Come, I want you to see two rooms upstairs.”
He led her into the room Jim had built for his wife.
“Observe this furniture, if you please.”
“Don't tell me that he built that too?” she laughed.
“That's exactly what I'm going to tell you.”
“Impossible!” she protested. “Why, the line and finish would do credit to the finest artisan in America.”
“So I say. Look at the perfect polish of that table! It's like the finish of a rosewood piano.” He touched the smooth surface.
“Of course you're joking?” Mary answered. “No amateur could have done such work.”
“So I'd have said if I had not seen him do it.”
“What on earth possessed9 him to undertake such a task?”
“The love of a beautiful woman—what else?”
“He learned a trade—just to furnish this room with his own hand?”
“Yes.”
“His love must be the real thing,” she mused10.
“That's what I've said. Look at this iron work, too—the stately andirons in that big fireplace, the shovel11, the tongs12, and the massive strop-hinges on the doors.”
“He did that, too?” she asked in amazement13.
“Every piece of iron on the place he beat out with his own hand at his forge.”
“And all for the love of a woman? The age of romance hasn't passed after all, has it?”
“No.”
Mary paused before the window looking south.
“What a glorious view!” she cried. “It's even grander than yours, Doctor.”
“Yes. I claim some of the credit, though, for that. I helped him lay out the grounds.”
“Who is this remarkable14 man?” she asked at last.
“A friend of mine. I'll introduce him directly. He should be here at any moment now.”
“We're intruding,” Mary whispered. “We must go. I mustn't look any more. I'll be coveting15 my neighbor's house.”
The doctor turned to the window and signaled to someone on the lawn, as Mary hurried down the stairs.
She fairly ran into Jim, who was being pulled into the house by the boy.
“'Ook, Mamma! 'Ook! I found a Daddy! He says he be my Daddy if you let him. Please let him. I want a Daddy, an' I like him. Please!”
Jim blushed and trembled and lifted his eyes appealingly, while Mary stood white and still watching him in a sort of helpless terror.
The child moved on to his wagon.
“Say, little girl,” Jim began in low tones, “it's been a thousand years since I saw you. Don't drive me away—just give me one chance for God's sake and this baby's that He sent us! I've gone straight. I've sent back every dishonest dollar. I'm earning a clean living down here and a good one. I've practiced for two years cutting out the slang, too.”
He paused for breath and she turned her head away.
“Just listen a minute! I know I was a beast that night. I'm not the same now. I've been through the fires of hell and I've come out a cleaner man. Let me show you how much I love you! Life's too short, but just give me a chance. If I could undo16 that awful hour when I hurt you so, I'd crawl 'round the world on my hands and knees—and I'll show you that I mean it! I built this house for you and the baby.”
Mary turned suddenly with wide dilated17 eyes.
“You—YOU built this house?” she gasped18.
“I've worked on it every hour, day and night, the past two years when I wasn't earning a living in the mine. I made every stick of that furniture in the rooms up there—for you and my boy. The house is yours—whether you let me stay or not.”
“I—I can't take it, Jim,” she faltered19.
“You've got to, girlie. You can't throw a gift like this back in a fellow's face—it cost too much! Your money's all gone. You've got to bring up that kid. He's mine, too. I'm man enough to support my wife and baby and I'm going to do it. I don't care what you say. You've got to let me. I'm going to work for you, live for you and die for you—whether you stay with me or not. I've got the right to do that, you know.”
She lifted her head and faced him squarely for the first time, amazed at the new dignity and strength of his quiet bearing.
“You HAVE changed, Jim——”
Her eyes sought the depths of his soul in a moment's silence, and she slowly extended her hand:
“We'll try again!”
He bent20 and kissed the tips of her fingers reverently21.
They stood for a moment hand in hand and looked over the sunlit valley of the Swannanoa shimmering22 in peace and beauty between its sheltering walls of blue mountains. The bees were humming spring music among the flowers at their feet and the faint odor of fruit trees in blossom came from the orchard23 Jim had planted two years before.
“I'll show you, little girl—I'll show you!” he whispered tensely.
The End
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1
bungalow
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| n.平房，周围有阳台的木造小平房 | |
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2
rapture
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| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
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3
wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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4
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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5
varnish
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| n.清漆；v.上清漆；粉饰 | |
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6
spacious
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| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
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7
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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8
literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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9
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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10
mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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11
shovel
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| n.铁锨，铲子，一铲之量；v.铲，铲出 | |
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12
tongs
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| n.钳；夹子 | |
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13
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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14
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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15
coveting
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| v.贪求，觊觎( covet的现在分词 ) | |
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16
undo
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| vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销 | |
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17
dilated
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| 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 ) | |
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18
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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19
faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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20
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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21
reverently
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| adv.虔诚地 | |
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22
shimmering
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| v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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23
orchard
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| n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场 | |
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