Their griefs affright thee,—their sad faces fail to please.
Probably the length of time that elapsed (which seemed like an eternity1 to Elizabeth,) was, in reality, not more than half an hour before a ray of light greeted her eyes, coming through a ragged2 chink in the crumbling3 masonry4 of the heavy walls.
Creeping cautiously forward she put her eye to the crevice6 and looked eagerly into the inner room.
The scene she witnessed was well calculated to chill the blood of an able bodied man, but to a delicate woman, still trembling from the effects of her awful plunge8 into the river;—hampered by dripping garments and nearly frantic9 with the fear of momentary10 violence, the sight was more than doubly horrible.
The room was nothing more than a large vault11 or closet built into the solid walls, probably for no definite purpose, but so well adapted to its present use that one would think its designer must have foreseen its ultimate fate.
Several battered12 and smoking lanterns hung on nails, which had been wedged firmly between loose bricks in the decaying walls, their outlines appearing to her excited imagination not unlike the red eye balls and smoke begrimed faces of the score of beings upon whom their dismal13 glimmer14 fell.
This score of individuals, representing a class of monsters, born in the slime of cellars; nourished on the odors of decomposition15 and trained to accomplishments16 of vice7 and evil, were busy at the ghoulish work of robbing two human bodies, whose swollen17 and livid members plainly proclaimed them trophies18 from the river's unfailing supply.
Ragged females with bloated faces and keen eyes were squabbling like cats over the articles which had been removed from the dead woman's body, while the males cursed and struck at each[Pg 28] other in a frantic struggle for the watch and jewels which the other water-soaked victim had worn.
The scene was horrible, pile upon pile of rubbish was heaped about the room, and one and all seemed interested in claiming and getting possession of as much plunder19 as they could, by fair means or foul20.
Elizabeth plainly identified her rescuers who were among the most quarrelsome of the lot, but, even in her bewilderment, she noticed that there was no mention made of their evenings work or of her body, which, of course, they supposed was safe in the recesses21 of that loathsome22 cellar.
At this instant a vague thought flitted through her mind as to what booty her body had afforded them. She felt for her rings, but they were gone. She thrust her hand into the bosom23 of her dress for her watch, and her lips grew white as ashes, while a new horror, passing through her brain, overcame for the moment all fear of personal violence. The paper which had been safe in her bosom when she sprang from the bridge was not there. She had determined24 that the secret which it held should die with her, but now that her plan for death[Pg 29] had failed, the recovery of that treasured paper must be the whole aim and purpose of her life.
Again the miserable25 creature who had rescued her from death became the unknowing instrument of her good fortune.
The young thief, whom she recognized as "Bill," became violently angry over the unequal distribution of the jewels and, throwing off his coat, struck wildly at his partner, while the others proceeded with their individual bickerings, apparently26 unconscious of the pugilistic encounter.
The coat in falling obscured, in a measure, Elizabeth's view of the inner room.
She had lost all thought of fear in her wild determination to secure the missing paper.
Pushing her hand cautiously into the hole in the masonry she dislodged a portion of brick with little trouble, then forcing her white arm carefully through the opening she touched the coat and pulled it gently aside.
Her idea was simply to gain another unobstructed view of the room, but accidently her fingers touched the edge of a folded paper protruding27 from the pocket, and quick as flash Elizabeth[Pg 30] closed her fingers upon it and drew it toward her through the hole. She could not see it, but the familiarity of touch and feeling convinced her that it was her bosom companion for the past ten months, and even in the excitement and danger of the situation she stood motionless for a moment while she pressed it fervently28 to her lips.
Then, taking advantage of a particularly noisy scuffle, Elizabeth slipped softly by the door. The terrors of nightmare were upon her. She imagined she heard them pursuing her but could not run for fear of falling in the darkness; pitching down some hidden trap or making some accidental sound that would tell them of her presence.
At last, after almost innumerable windings29, a glimmer of electric light came down upon her through a cellar grating which opened directly upon the street. A little further on and another flight of worm eaten steps were before her. Up these she climbed, and raised, with all her strength a heavy grating, then, feeling once more the pure air upon her brow and the sense of freedom in her soul, she reeled and fell heavily forward, like an inanimate body, upon the damp, gray curb30 stone. How[Pg 31] long she lay there she could not tell, but the bell of a distant cathedral, tolling31 the hour of midnight, aroused her, and she crawled along until her strength in a measure returned, then, rising, she walked as quickly as possible away from this terrible neighborhood. On and on she went, her strength failing her at every step, until once more exhausted32 she sank down before the gateway33 of a large building, which, fortunately for her, proved to be a Hospital.
Here she was found by a resident physician on his return from the Opera in the early morning hours.
Some time during the following day an employee of the Hospital discovered a soiled and water-stained Marriage Certificate, which the wind had evidently blown behind the massive gates. The Certificate was placed in the physician's private desk for safe keeping, but no connection between it and the suffering woman was ever suspected.
Elizabeth was placed immediately in the ward5, and every care given her, but for four weeks she hovered34 between life and death, raving35 of murder, robbery, suicide and all such frightful36 happenings,[Pg 32] until the anxious physician feared for her reason as well as for her life. It was not until her child was born, a month after her entrance, that she gained, either mentally or physically37, but after another four weeks of excellent nursing she was discharged from the Hospital as needing no further treatment.
She had given the authorities a false name in an almost involuntary effort toward self-protection and the concealment38 of her degradation39, receiving at their hands that disinterested40 and strictly41 impartial42 attention bestowed43 upon all their patients. She was to them but one of thousands who drift on the shoals of sin and are left to perish, or are floated off by the tide of life to a longer struggle and a fiercer death on the ragged rocks of crime, therefore it was only natural that her case elicited44 no special comment from the busy officials. Thus, sick at heart, homeless, friendless, with no money, and with her shame-born child resting heavily upon her arm, Elizabeth went forth45 once more into the streets of London.
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1
eternity
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| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
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2
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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3
crumbling
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| adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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masonry
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| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
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ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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6
crevice
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| n.(岩石、墙等)裂缝；缺口 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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8
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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9
frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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12
battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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13
dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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14
glimmer
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| v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光 | |
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15
decomposition
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| n. 分解, 腐烂, 崩溃 | |
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16
accomplishments
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| n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就 | |
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17
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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18
trophies
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| n.（为竞赛获胜者颁发的）奖品( trophy的名词复数 )；奖杯；（尤指狩猎或战争中获得的）纪念品；（用于比赛或赛跑名称）奖 | |
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19
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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20
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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21
recesses
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| n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭 | |
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22
loathsome
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| adj.讨厌的，令人厌恶的 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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24
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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25
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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27
protruding
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| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的现在分词 )；凸 | |
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fervently
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| adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地 | |
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29
windings
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| （道路、河流等）蜿蜒的，弯曲的( winding的名词复数 )； 缠绕( wind的现在分词 )； 卷绕； 转动（把手） | |
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30
curb
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| n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制 | |
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31
tolling
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| [财]来料加工 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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33
gateway
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| n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法 | |
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34
hovered
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| 鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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35
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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36
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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37
physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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38
concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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39
degradation
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| n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变 | |
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40
disinterested
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| adj.不关心的，不感兴趣的 | |
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41
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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42
impartial
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| adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的 | |
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43
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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44
elicited
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| 引出，探出( elicit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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45
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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