Fifty leading men were guests of honor and vied with one another in acclaiming5 the brilliant young Speaker the coming statesman of the Nation. His name was linked with Hamilton, Jefferson, Webster, Clay and Calhoun. He was the youngest man who had ever been elected Speaker of a Legislative6 Assembly in American history and a dazzling career was predicted.
Even the newly installed Chief Executive, a hold-over from the defeated party, asked to be given a seat and in a glowing tribute to Norton hailed him as the next Governor of the state.
He had scarcely uttered the words when all the guests leaped to their feet by a common impulse, raised their glasses and shouted:
"To our next Governor, Daniel Norton!"
The cheers which followed were not arranged, they were the spontaneous outburst of genuine admiration[Pg 110] by men and women who knew the man and believed in his power and his worth.
Norton flushed and his eyes dropped. His daring mind had already leaped the years. The Governor's chair meant the next step—a seat in the Senate Chamber7 of the United States. A quarter of a century and the South would once more come into her own. He would then be but forty-nine years old. He would have as good a chance for the Presidency8 as any other man. His fathers had been of the stock that created the Nation. His great-grandfather fought with Washington and Lafayette. His head was swimming with its visions, while the great Hall rang with his name.
While the tumult9 was still at its highest, he lifted his eyes for a moment over the heads of the throng10 at the tables below the platform on which the guests of honor were seated, and his heart suddenly stood still.
Cleo was standing11 in the door of the Hall, a haunted look in her dilated12 eyes, watching her chance to beckon13 to him unseen by the crowd.
He stared at her a moment in blank amazement14 and turned pale. Something had happened at his home, and by the expression on her face the message she bore was one he would never forget.
As he sat staring blankly, as at a sudden apparition15, she disappeared in the crowd at the door. He looked in vain for her reappearance and was waiting an opportune16 moment to leave, when a waiter slipped through the mass of palms and flowers banked behind his chair by his admirers and thrust a crumpled17 note into his hand.
"The girl said it was important, sir," he explained.
Norton opened the message and held it under the banquet table as he hurriedly read in Cleo's hand:[Pg 111]
"It's found out—she's raving18. The doctor is there. I must see you quick."
He whispered to the chairman that a message had just been received announcing the illness of his wife, but he hoped to be able to return in a few minutes.
It was known that his wife was an invalid19 and had often been stricken with violent attacks of hysteria, and so the banquet proceeded without interruption. The band was asked to play a stirring piece and he slipped out as the opening strains burst over the chattering21, gay crowd.
As his tall figure rose from the seat of honor he gazed for an instant over the sparkling scene, and for the first time in his life knew the meaning of the word fear. A sickening horror swept his soul and the fire died from eyes that had a moment before blazed with visions of ambition. He felt the earth crumbling22 beneath his feet. He hoped for a way out, but from the moment he saw Cleo beckoning23 him over the heads of his guests he knew that Death had called him in the hour of his triumph.
He felt his way blindly through the crowd and pushed roughly past a hundred hands extended to congratulate him. He walked by instinct. He couldn't see. The mists of eternity24 seemed suddenly to have swept him beyond the range of time and sense.
In the hall he stumbled against Cleo and looked at her in a dazed way.
"Get your hat," she whispered.
He returned to the cloakroom, got his hat and hurried back in the same dull stupor25.
"Come down stairs into the Square," she said quickly.[Pg 112]
He followed her without a word, and when they reached the shadows of an oak below the windows of the Hall, he suddenly roused himself, turned on her fiercely and demanded:
"Well, what's happened?"
The girl was calm now, away from the crowd and guarded by the friendly night. Her words were cool and touched with the least suggestion of bravado26. She looked at him steadily27:
"I reckon you know——"
"You mean——" He felt for the tree trunk as if dizzy.
"Yes. She has found out——"
"What—how—when?" His words came in gasps28 of fear.
"About us——"
"How?"
"It was mammy. She was wild with jealousy29 that I had taken her place and was allowed to sleep in the house. She got to slipping to the nursery at night and watching me. She must have seen me one night at your room door and told her to get rid of me."
The man suddenly gripped the girl's shoulders, swung her face toward him and gazed into her shifting eyes, while his breath came in labored30 gasps:
"You little yellow devil! Mammy never told that to my wife and you know it; she would have told me and I would have sent you away. She knows that story would kill my baby's mother and she'd have cut the tongue out of her own head sooner than betray me. She has always loved me as her own child—she'd fight for me and die for me and stand for me against every man, woman and child on earth!"[Pg 113]
"Well, she told her," the girl sullenly31 repeated.
"Told her what?" he asked.
"That I was hanging around your room." She paused.
"Well, go on——"
"Miss Jean asked me if it was true. I saw that we were caught and I just confessed the whole thing——"
The man sprang at her throat, paused, and his hands fell limp by his side. He gazed at her a moment, and grasped her wrists with cruel force:
"Yes, that's it, you little fiend—you confessed! You were so afraid you might not be forced to confess that you went out of your way to tell it. Two months ago I came to my senses and put you out of my life. You deliberately32 tried to commit murder to bring me back. You knew that confession33 would kill my wife as surely as if you had plunged34 a knife into her heart. You know that she has the mind of an innocent child—that she can think no evil of any one. You've tried to kill her on purpose, willfully, maliciously35, deliberately—and if she dies——"
Norton's voice choked into an inarticulate groan36 and the girl smiled calmly.
The band in the Hall over their heads ended the music in a triumphant37 crash and he listened mechanically to the chairman while he announced the temporary absence of the guest of honor:
"And while he is out of the Hall for a few minutes, ladies and gentlemen," he added facetiously38, "we can say a lot of fine things behind his back we would have blushed to tell him to his face——"
Another burst of applause and the hum and chatter20 and laughter came through the open window.[Pg 114]
With a cry of anguish39, the man turned again on the girl:
"Why do you stand there grinning at me? Why did you do this fiendish thing? What have you to say?"
"Nothing"—there was a ring of exultation40 in her voice—"I did it because I had to."
Norton leaned against the oak, placed his hands on his temples and groaned41:
"Oh, my God! It's a nightmare——"
Suddenly he asked:
"What did she do when you told her?"
The girl answered with indifference42:
"Screamed, called me a liar43, jumped on me like a wild-cat, dug her nails in my neck and went into hysterics."
"And you?"
"I picked her up, carried her to bed and sent for the doctor. As quick as he came I ran here to tell you."
The speaker upstairs was again announcing his name as the next Governor and Senator and the crowd were cheering. He felt the waves of Death roll over and engulf44 him. His knees grew weak and in spite of all effort he sank to a stone that lay against the gnarled trunk of the tree.
"She may be dead now," he said to himself in a dazed whisper.
"I don't think so!" the soft voice purred with the slightest suggestion of a sneer45. She bit her lips and actually laughed. It was more than he could bear. With a sudden leap his hands closed on her throat and forced her trembling form back into the shadows.
"May—God—hurl—you—into—everlasting—hell—for—this!" he cried in anguish and his grip suddenly relaxed.[Pg 115]
The girl had not struggled. Her own hand had simply been raised instinctively46 and grasped his.
"What shall I do?" she asked.
"Get out of my sight before I kill you!"
"I'm not afraid."
The calm accents maddened him to uncontrollable fury:
"And if you ever put your foot into my house again or cross my path, I'll not be responsible for what happens!"
His face was livid and his fists closed with an unconscious strength that cut the blood from the palms of his hands.
"I'm not afraid!" she repeated, her voice rising with clear assurance, a strange smile playing about her full lips.
"Go!" he said fiercely.
The girl turned without a word and walked into the bright light that streamed from the windows of the banquet hall, paused and looked at him, the white rows of teeth shining with a smile:
"But I'll see you again!"
And then, with shouts of triumph mocking his soul, his shoulders drooped47, drunk with the stupor and pain of shame, he walked blindly through the night to the Judgment48 Bar of Life—a home where a sobbing49 wife waited for his coming.
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收听单词发音
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1
memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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2
chivalry
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| n.骑士气概，侠义；（男人）对女人彬彬有礼，献殷勤 | |
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commonwealth
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| n.共和国，联邦，共同体 | |
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improvised
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| a.即席而作的,即兴的 | |
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acclaiming
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| 向…欢呼( acclaim的现在分词 )； 向…喝彩； 称赞…； 欢呼或拥戴（某人）为… | |
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legislative
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| n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的 | |
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7
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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presidency
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| n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期) | |
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9
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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10
throng
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| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
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11
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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12
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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13
beckon
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| v.(以点头或打手势)向...示意，召唤 | |
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14
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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15
apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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16
opportune
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| adj.合适的，适当的 | |
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17
crumpled
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| adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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18
raving
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| adj.说胡话的；疯狂的，怒吼的；非常漂亮的；令人醉心[痴心]的v.胡言乱语(rave的现在分词)n.胡话；疯话adv.胡言乱语地；疯狂地 | |
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19
invalid
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| n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的 | |
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20
chatter
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| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
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21
chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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22
crumbling
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| adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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23
beckoning
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| adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 ) | |
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24
eternity
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| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
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25
stupor
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| v.昏迷；不省人事 | |
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26
bravado
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| n.虚张声势，故作勇敢，逞能 | |
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27
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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28
gasps
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| v.喘气( gasp的第三人称单数 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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29
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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30
labored
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| adj.吃力的，谨慎的v.努力争取(for)( labor的过去式和过去分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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31
sullenly
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| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
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32
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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33
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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34
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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35
maliciously
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| adv.有敌意地 | |
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36
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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37
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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38
facetiously
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| adv.爱开玩笑地；滑稽地，爱开玩笑地 | |
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39
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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40
exultation
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| n.狂喜，得意 | |
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41
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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42
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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43
liar
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| n.说谎的人 | |
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44
engulf
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| vt.吞没，吞食 | |
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45
sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
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46
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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47
drooped
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| 弯曲或下垂，发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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49
sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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