CHAPTER XVII.

For several days after she had listened to the story of Woo How, Tuen maintained an unwonted gravity, and was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she paid but little attention to anything around her. "The poor child is homesick," Wang muttered, as she watched her, but the girl gave no indication of the cause of her new mood. Perhaps she could not if she had tried. Their progress along the Yang-tse-Kiang was slow, and she had much time for meditation¹. There was a certain sameness about the scenery, a monotony about the river-life, and she could almost fancy that it was the same people, passing and repassing every day. Sometimes she would hear a [Pg 158]boatman singing some familiar air that would carry her back all the many long miles that separated her from that other life, that other Tuen, who was now almost a stranger to her, and she would unconsciously sigh, but she wept no more. The mystic future, heretofore a blank, seemed now full of untold² possibilities, and her active mind drew many alluring³ pictures of what it might be. Unknown to herself, she was merging⁴ from a dreaming girl to a clear-headed, determined⁵ woman, a woman of a strong personality, whose influence would be felt in the world. After all, it is some mere⁶ chance that holds a mirror before us and shows us what we are and what we might be, and to Tuen this vision had come before it was too late. From this time she would press forward with that unfailing courage and persistence⁷ whose reward is success. The most diverting sight to her was the fisherman with his cormorants,[Pg 159] and these she never tired of watching. With many a hoarse⁸ squawk, the well-trained birds would dive for their prey⁹, while their masters shouted cheeringly at them, and happy the bird that came up with a fish in his mouth. He was pulled into the boat, the iron ring that had prevented him from feasting upon his prey was removed from his neck, and a generous handful of bean-curd rewarded his industry. It was amusing to Tuen to see the excited interest these black-winged birds betrayed in their own performance, and with what alacrity¹⁰ they went about their task.
THE SAIL UP THE RIVER

"See, Wang, even a bird can do something!" she cried, one day, as they passed a flock of these unique fishermen.

Before Wang had time to answer, there was a splashing sound near by, and to her horror, Tuen saw the head of a man appear above the water and then disappear. Although many had witnessed the accident, and it was now evident that the man[Pg 160] could not swim, no one betrayed any excitement, or made any move toward his rescue. Such is the apathy¹¹ manifested by these strange people toward the suffering of others—greatly the result of the peculiar¹² laws of the country—that they simply watched, with idle curiosity, for his reappearance, with no thought of offering succor¹³. Tuen was always quick to act, and in this emergency her wits did not desert her. Calling aloud to the sailors: "Cash—many strings¹⁴ of cash—to the one that rescues him," she ran to the side of the vessel¹⁵.

Seeing that no one moved she cried, angrily:

"What, is the reward not great enough? See this ring," holding up a shining circlet set with an exquisite¹⁶ stone; "this will I give to the one who will save him."

At her words, a lad who had been listening to her with a wondering expression, as if suddenly dazed, sprang quickly[Pg 161] overboard and dived for the drowning man. It was so long before he came to the surface that Tuen, to whom every second seemed an hour, began to fear that she had been the cause of a double tragedy, and almost repented¹⁷ of her hasty act. She gave a gasp¹⁸ of relief when he reappeared, holding fast a struggling body, and when they had both been pulled into her boat, she sank down, trembling violently. It turned out that neither was the worse for his plunge¹⁹ beneath the muddy water, and a sun-bath would soon remove all trace of the accident.

When the rescuer stood before her, Tuen said, reprovingly:

"You have done well, but why must you be bought before you would help the drowning man?"

"It is not well to be mixed up in such a case," was his answer. "It might have been said that it was I who killed him, and we who are wise and desire to live[Pg 162] long in the land keep our hands off our neighbors."

She uttered an impatient exclamation²⁰.

"I do not understand your reasoning."

"Neither do the mandarins," he assured her, "when we are hauled up before them. For that reason they chop off our heads, as that is the easiest way of settling the difficulty. If he had been drowned, there would have been a report that I had been the cause of it, and as he could not have thanked me for my officiousness, and as I could not have proved that he drowned by himself, since I went to help him——" he shrugged²¹ his shoulders expressively²².

Tuen knit her brows in a puzzled frown, for she knew nothing about the law, but she said, indifferently:

"Well, it does not matter, since the man is still alive. Here is the ring I promised you, and the cash shall be counted out at once. Wang, go with him."

[Pg 163]

But the boy stood staring at her, as if loath²³ to leave, and such unusual lack of appreciation²⁴ of cash struck Tuen as marvellous. What a strange creature he was not to be in a hurry for his money! She looked at him attentively²⁵, and she saw that he was short and very slender, with a bright, intelligent face, but his water-soaked garments were of the coarse blue cloth worn by the lower class, and his occupation was evidently that of a common sailor. Still looking at him, she said, slowly:

"Take the ring, and perhaps sometime it will serve you well, for none can tell what may be."

The boy bowed gravely, still apparently²⁶ fascinated by her youth and beauty. Perhaps it was the admiration²⁷ she read in his face, perhaps but an impulse that caused Tuen to ask abruptly²⁸:

"What is your name?"

"Chang-li," he answered, with another[Pg 164] bow, for he had evidently become impressed with the superiority of this young girl.

"You may go," she said, with sudden dignity, waving her hand in dismissal. "I will remember it."

The boy turned reluctantly away, and as he did so, he did not place the ring upon his finger, but hid it in his bosom²⁹. And when he heard that this lovely creature was the daughter of a Viceroy who went as a present to the Emperor, he wondered at her graciousness, and carefully treasured the ring, although he was offered much money for it, and he was very poor.

And one day, many years after, when a proclamation was issued, commanding one Chang-li, who had been given a ring as a reward for rescuing a drowning man from the river, to come to court and present this ring, he had cause to be glad that he had treasured it.

1 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

2 untold   

adj.数不清的，无数的

参考例句：

• She has done untold damage to our chances.她给我们的机遇造成了不可估量的损害。
• They suffered untold terrors in the dark and huddled together for comfort.他们遭受着黑暗中的难以言传的种种恐怖，因而只好挤在一堆互相壮胆。

3 alluring   

adj.吸引人的，迷人的

参考例句：

• The life in a big city is alluring for the young people. 大都市的生活对年轻人颇具诱惑力。
• Lisette's large red mouth broke into a most alluring smile. 莉莎特的鲜红的大嘴露出了一副极为诱人的微笑。

4 merging   

合并（分类）

参考例句：

• Many companies continued to grow by merging with or buying competing firms. 许多公司通过合并或收买竞争对手的公司而不断扩大。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• To sequence by repeated splitting and merging. 用反复分开和合并的方法进行的排序。

5 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

6 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

7 persistence   

n.坚持，持续，存留

参考例句：

• The persistence of a cough in his daughter puzzled him.他女儿持续的咳嗽把他难住了。
• He achieved success through dogged persistence.他靠着坚持不懈取得了成功。

8 hoarse   

adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的

参考例句：

• He asked me a question in a hoarse voice.他用嘶哑的声音问了我一个问题。
• He was too excited and roared himself hoarse.他过于激动，嗓子都喊哑了。

9 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

10 alacrity   

n.敏捷，轻快，乐意

参考例句：

• Although the man was very old,he still moved with alacrity.他虽然很老，动作仍很敏捷。
• He accepted my invitation with alacrity.他欣然接受我的邀请。

11 apathy   

n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡

参考例句：

• He was sunk in apathy after his failure.他失败后心恢意冷。
• She heard the story with apathy.她听了这个故事无动于衷。

12 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

13 succor   

n.援助，帮助；v.给予帮助

参考例句：

• In two short hours we may look for succor from Webb.在短短的两小时内，韦布将军的救兵就可望到达。
• He was so much in need of succor,so totally alone.他当时孑然一身，形影相吊，特别需要援助。

14 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

15 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

16 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

17 repented   

对（自己的所为）感到懊悔或忏悔( repent的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He repented his thoughtlessness. 他后悔自己的轻率。
• Darren repented having shot the bird. 达伦后悔射杀了那只鸟。

18 gasp   

n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说

参考例句：

• She gave a gasp of surprise.她吃惊得大口喘气。
• The enemy are at their last gasp.敌人在做垂死的挣扎。

19 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

20 exclamation   

n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词

参考例句：

• He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
• The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号，以引起读者的注意。

21 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 expressively   

ad.表示(某事物)地；表达地

参考例句：

• She gave the order to the waiter, using her hands very expressively. 她意味深长地用双手把订单递给了服务员。
• Corleone gestured expressively, submissively, with his hands. "That is all I want." 说到这里，考利昂老头子激动而谦恭地表示：“这就是我的全部要求。” 来自教父部分

23 loath   

adj.不愿意的；勉强的

参考例句：

• The little girl was loath to leave her mother.那小女孩不愿离开她的母亲。
• They react on this one problem very slow and very loath.他们在这一问题上反应很慢，很不情愿。

24 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

25 attentively   

adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神

参考例句：

• She listened attentively while I poured out my problems. 我倾吐心中的烦恼时，她一直在注意听。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She listened attentively and set down every word he said. 她专心听着，把他说的话一字不漏地记下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

27 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

28 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

29 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。