She had deeply regretted the last scene with him when she had completely lost her head. For the first time in her life she had dared to say things that could not be forgiven. They had lived an armed truce2 for twenty years. She had endured it in the hope of a change in his attitude, but she had driven him to uncontrollable fury now by her angry outburst and spoken words that could not be unsaid.
She realized when too late that he would never forgive these insults. And she began to wonder nervously3 what form his revenge would take. That he had matured a definite plan of hostile action which he would put into force on his arrival, she did not doubt.
Why had she been so foolish? She asked herself the question a hundred times. And yet the clash was inevitable4. She could not see Helen packed off to Europe and her hopes destroyed at a blow. She might have stopped him with something milder than a threat of exposure in his rival's paper. That was the mad thing she had done.
What effect this threat had produced on his mind[Pg 347] she could only guess. But she constantly came back to it with increasing fear. If he should accept her challenge, dare her to speak, and, weary of the constant strain of her presence in his house, put her out, it meant the end of the world. She had lived so long in dependence5 on his will, the thought of beginning life again under new conditions of humiliating service was unthinkable.
She could only wait now until the blow fell, and adjust herself to the situation as best she could. That she had the power to lay his life in ruins and break Tom's heart she had never doubted. Yet this was the one thing she did not wish to do. It meant too much to her.
She walked on the porch and listened again to the tumult7 in the Square. She had seen Tom enter the house on tip-toe and knew that the lovers were together and smiled in grim triumph. That much of her scheme had not failed! It only remained to be seen whether, with their love an accomplished8 fact, she could wring9 from Norton's lips the confession10 she had demanded and save her own skin in the crash.
Andy had entered the gate and she heard him bustling12 in the pantry as Tom and Helen strolled on the lawn. The band in the Square was playing their star piece of rag-time music, "A Georgia Campmeeting."
The stirring refrain echoed over the sleepy old town with a weird13 appeal to-night. It had the ring of martial14 music—of hosts shouting their victory as they marched. They were playing it with unusual swinging power.
She turned with a gesture of impatience15 into the house to find Andy. He was carrying a tray of mint juleps into the library.[Pg 348]
Cleo looked at him in amazement16, suppressed an angry exclamation17 and asked:
"What's that band playing for?"
"White folks celebratin' de victory!" he replied enthusiastically, placing the tray on the table.
"It's only seven o'clock. The election returns can't be in yet?"
"Yassam! Hit's all over but de shoutin'!"
Cleo moved a step closer:
"The major has won?"
"Yassam! Yassam!" Andy answered with loud good humor, as he began to polish a glass with a napkin. "Yassam, I des come frum dar. De news done come in. Dey hain't gwine ter 'low de niggers ter vote no mo', 'ceptin they kin11 read an' write—an' den6 dey won't let 'em!"
He held one of the shining glasses up to the light, examined it with judicial18 care and continued in tones of resignation:
"Don't make no diffrunce ter me, dough19!—I hain't nebber got nuttin' fer my vote nohow, 'ceptin' once when er politicioner shoved er box er cigars at me"—he chuckled—"an' den, by golly, I had ter be a gemman, I couldn't grab er whole handful—I des tuck four!"
Cleo moved impatiently and glared at the tray:
"What on earth did you bring all that stuff for? The whole mob are not coming here, are they?"
"Nobum—nobum! Nobody but de major, but I 'low dat he gwine ter consume some! He's on er high hoss. Dey's 'bout20 ten thousand folks up dar in de Square. De boys carry de major on dere back to de flatform an' he make 'em a big speech. Dey sho is er-raisin' er[Pg 349] mighty21 humbug22. Dey gwine ter celebrate all night out dar, an' gwine ter serenade everybody in town. But de major comin' right home. Dey try ter git him ter stay wid 'em, but he 'low dat he got some 'portant business here at de house."
"Important business here?" she asked anxiously.
"Yassam, I spec him any minute."
Cleo turned quickly toward the door and Andy called:
"Miss Cleo!"
She continued to go without paying any attention and he repeated his call:
"Miss Cleo!"
She paused indifferently, while Andy touched his lips smiling:
"I got my mouf shet!"
"Does it pain you?"
"Nobum!" he laughed.
"Keep it shut!" she replied contemptuously as she again moved toward the door.
"Yassam—yassam—but ain't yer got nuttin' mo' dan dat ter say ter me?"
He asked this question with a rising inflection that might mean a threat.
The woman walked back to him:
"Prove your love by a year's silence——"
"De Lawd er mussy!" Andy gasped23. "A whole year?"
"Am I not worth waiting for?" she asked with a smile.
"Yassam—yassam," he replied slowly, "Jacob he wait seben years an' den, by golly, de ole man cheat him outen his gal24! But ef yer say so, I'se er-waitin', honey——"[Pg 350]
Andy placated25, her mind returned in a flash to the fear that haunted her:
"He said important business here at once?"
The gate closed with a vigorous slam and the echo of Norton's step was heard on the gravel26 walk.
"Yassam, dar he is now."
Cleo trembled and hurried to the opposite door:
"If the major asks for me, tell him I've gone to the meeting in the Square."
She passed quickly from the room in a panic of fear. She couldn't meet him in this condition. She must wait a better moment.
Andy, arranging his tray, began to mix three mint juleps, humming a favorite song:
"Dis time er-nudder year, Oh, Lawd, how long! In some lonesome graveyard— Woh, Lawd, how long!"
Norton paused on the threshold with a smile and listened to the foolish melody. His whole being was quivering with the power that thrilled from a great act of will. He had just made a momentous27 decision. His work in hand was done. He had lived for years in an atmosphere poisoned by a yellow venomous presence. He had resolved to be free!—no matter what the cost.
His mind flew to the boy he had grown to love with deeper tenderness the past weeks. The only thing he really dreaded28 was his humiliation29 before those blue eyes. But, if the worst came to worst, he must speak. There were things darker than death—the consciousness to a proud and sensitive man that he was the slave to an inferior was one of them. He had to be free—free[Pg 351] at any cost. The thought was an inspiration.
With brisk step he entered the library and glanced with surprise at the empty room.
"Tom not come?" he asked briskly.
"Nasah, I ain't seed 'im," Andy replied.
Norton threw his linen30 coat on a chair, and a dreamy look came into his deep-set eyes:
"Well, Andy, we've made a clean sweep to-day—the old state's white again!"
The negro, bustling over his tray, replied with unction:
"Yassah, dat's what I done tole 'em, sah!"
"All government rests on force, Andy! The ballot31 is force—physical force. Back of every ballot is a gun——"
He paused, drew the revolver slowly from his pocket and held it in his hand.
Andy glanced up from his tray and jumped in alarm:
"Yassah, dat's so, sah—in dese parts sho, sah!" he ended his speech by a good-natured laugh at the expense of the country that allowed itself to be thus intimidated32.
Norton lifted the gleaming piece of steel and looked at it thoughtfully:
"Back of every ballot a gun and the red blood of the man who holds it! No freeman ever yet voted away his right to a revolution——"
"Yassah—dat's what I tells dem niggers—you gwine ter giv 'em er dose er de revolution——"
"Well, it's done now and I've no more use for this thing—thank God!"
He crossed to the writing desk, laid the revolver on[Pg 352] its top and walked to the lounge his face set with a look of brooding intensity33:
"Bah! The big battles are all fought inside, Andy! There's where the brave die and cowards run—inside——"
"Yassah!—I got de stuff right here fer de inside, sah!" he held up the decanter with a grin.
"From to-night my work outside is done," Norton went on moodily34. "And I'm going to be free—free! I'm no longer afraid of one of my servants——"
He dropped into a seat and closed his fists with a gesture of intense emotion.
Andy looked at him in astonishment35 and asked incredulously:
"Who de debbil say you'se er scared of any nigger? Show dat man ter me—who say dat?"
"I say it!" was the bitter answer. He had been thinking aloud, but now that the negro had heard he didn't care. His soul was sick of subterfuge36 and lies.
Andy laughed apologetically:
"Yassah! Cose, sah, ef you say dat hit's so, why I say hit's so—but all de same, 'twixt you an' me, I knows tain't so!"
"But from to-night!" Norton cried, ignoring Andy as he sprang to his feet and looked sharply about the room:
"Tell Cleo I wish to see her at once!"
"She gone out in de Squar ter hear de news, sah."
"The moment she comes let me know!" he said with sharp emphasis and turned quickly to the door.
"Yassah," Andy answered watching him go with amazement. "De Lawdy, major, you ain't gwine off an' leave dese mint juleps lak dat, is ye?"[Pg 353]
Norton retraced37 a step:
"Yes, from to-night I'm the master of my house and myself!"
Andy looked at the tray and then at Norton:
"Well, sah, yer ain't got no objections to me pizinin' mysef, is ye?"
The master surveyed the grinning servant, glanced at the tray, smiled and said:
"No—you'll do it anyhow, so go as far as you like!"
"Yassah!" the negro laughed as Norton turned again. "An' please, sah, won't yer gimme jes a little advice befo' you go?"
Norton turned a puzzled face on the grinning black one:
"Advice?"
"Yassah. What I wants ter know, major, is dis. Sposen, sah, dat a gemman got ter take his choice twixt marryin' er lady dat's forcin' herself on 'im, er kill hissef?"
"Kill her!"
Andy broke into a loud laugh:
"Yassah! but she's er dangous 'oman, sah! She's a fighter from Fightersville—an' fuddermo', sah, I'se engaged to annudder lady at the same time—an' I'se in lub wid dat one an' skeered er de fust one."
"Face it, then. Confess your love and fight it out! Fight it out and let them fight it out. You like to see a fight, don't you?"
"Yassah! Oh, yassah," Andy declared bravely. "I likes ter see a fight—I likes ter see de fur fly—but I don't care 'bout furnishin' none er de fur!"
Norton had reached the door when he suddenly turned, the momentary38 humor of his play with the[Pg 354] negro gone from his sombre face, the tragedy of a life speaking in every tone as he slowly said:
"Fight it out! It's the only thing to do—fight it out!"
Andy stared at the retreating figure dazed by the violence of passion with which his master had answered, wondering vaguely39 what could be the meaning of the threat behind his last words.
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收听单词发音
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1
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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2
truce
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| n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束 | |
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3
nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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4
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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5
dependence
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| n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属 | |
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6
den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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7
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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8
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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9
wring
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| n.扭绞；v.拧，绞出，扭 | |
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10
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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11
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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12
bustling
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| adj.喧闹的 | |
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13
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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14
martial
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| adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的 | |
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15
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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16
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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17
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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18
judicial
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| adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的 | |
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19
dough
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| n.生面团；钱，现款 | |
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20
bout
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| n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛 | |
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21
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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22
humbug
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| n.花招，谎话，欺骗 | |
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23
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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24
gal
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| n.姑娘，少女 | |
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25
placated
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| v.安抚，抚慰，使平静( placate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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26
gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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27
momentous
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| adj.重要的，重大的 | |
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28
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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29
humiliation
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| n.羞辱 | |
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30
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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31
ballot
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| n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票 | |
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32
intimidated
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| v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的 | |
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33
intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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34
moodily
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| adv.喜怒无常地；情绪多变地；心情不稳地；易生气地 | |
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35
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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36
subterfuge
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| n.诡计；藉口 | |
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37
retraced
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| v.折回( retrace的过去式和过去分词 )；回忆；回顾；追溯 | |
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38
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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39
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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