Chapter 30

 She was Bargemont's mistress! The thought was torture to JeanServien, the more atrocious from the unexpectedness of the discovery.

He both hated and despised the coarse ruffian whose sham¹ good-naturedid not impose on him, and whom he knew for a brutal², dull-witted,mean-spirited bully³. That pimply⁴ face, those goggle⁵ eyes, thatforehead with the swollen⁶ black vein⁷ running across it, that heavyhand, that ugly, vulgar soul, could it be---- It sickened him tothink of it! And disgust was the thing of all others Servien'sdelicately balanced nature felt most keenly. His morality wasshaky, and he could have found excuse for elegant vices⁸, refinedperversions, romantic crimes. But Bargemont and his pot of butter!...

Never to possess the most adorable of women, never to see her more,he was quite willing for the sacrifice still, but to know her inthe arms of that coarse brute⁹ staggered the mind and renderedlife impossible.

Absorbed in such thoughts, he found his way back instinctivelyto his own quarter of the city. Shells whistled over his headand burst with terrific reports. Flying figures passed him, theirheads enveloped¹⁰ in handkerchiefs and carrying mattresses¹¹ on theirbacks. At the corner of the _Rue de Rennes_ he tripped over alamp-post lying across the pavement beside a half-demolishedwall. In front of his father's shop he saw a huge hole. He wentto open the door; a shell had burst it in and he could see thework-bench capsized in a dark corner.

Then he remembered that the Germans were bombarding the leftbank, and he felt a sudden impulse to roam the streets under therain of iron.

A voice hailed him, issuing from underground:

"Is it you, my lad? Come in quick; you've given me a fine fright.

Come down here; we are settled in the cellars."He followed his father and found beds arranged in the undergroundchambers, while the main cellar served as kitchen and sitting-room¹².

The bookbinder had a map, and was pointing out to the _concierge_and tenants¹³ the position of the relieving armies. Aunt Serviensat in a dim corner, her eyes fixed¹⁴ in a dull stare, mumblingbits of biscuit soaked in wine. She had no notion of what washappening, but maintained an attitude of suspicion.

The little assemblage, which had been living this subterraneanlife since the evening of the day before, asked what news youngServien brought. Then the bookbinder resumed the explanationswhich as an old soldier and a responsible man he had been askedto give the company.

"The thing to do is," he continued, "to join hands with the Armyof the Loire, piercing the circle of iron that shuts us in. AdmiralLa Roncière has carried the positions at épinay away beyondLongjumeau----"Then turning to Jean:

"My lad, just find me Longjumeau on the map; my eyes are notwhat they were at twenty, and these tallow candles give a verypoor light."At that moment a tremendous explosion shook the solid walls andfilled the cellar with dust. The women screamed; the porter wentoff to make his round of inspection¹⁵, tapping the walls with hisheavy keys; an enormous spider scampered¹⁶ across the vaulted¹⁷ roof.

Then the conversation was resumed as if nothing had happened,and two of the lodgers¹⁸ started a game of cards on an upturnedcask.

Jean was dog-tired and fell asleep on the floor--a nightmare sleep.

"Has the little lad come home?" asked Aunt Servien, still suckingat her biscuit.

1 sham   

n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的)

参考例句：

• They cunningly played the game of sham peace.他们狡滑地玩弄假和平的把戏。
• His love was a mere sham.他的爱情是虚假的。

2 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

3 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。

4 pimply   

adj.肿泡的；有疙瘩的；多粉刺的；有丘疹的

参考例句：

• Now, we won't submit to impertinence from these pimply, tipsy virgins. 现在我们决不能忍受这群长着脓包、喝醉了的小兔崽子们的无礼举动。 来自辞典例句
• A head stuck out cautiously-a square, pimply, purplish face with thick eyebrows and round eyes. 车厢里先探出一个头来，紫酱色的一张方脸，浓眉毛，圆眼睛，脸上有许多小疱。 来自互联网

5 goggle   

n.瞪眼，转动眼珠，护目镜；v.瞪眼看，转眼珠

参考例句：

• His insincerity is revealed by the quick goggle of his eyes.他眼睛的快速转动泄露了他的不诚实。
• His eyes seemed to goggle larger than usual behind the heavy lenses.在厚厚的镜片后面，眼睛瞪得比平时大得多。

6 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

7 vein   

n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络

参考例句：

• The girl is not in the vein for singing today.那女孩今天没有心情唱歌。
• The doctor injects glucose into the patient's vein.医生把葡萄糖注射入病人的静脉。

8 vices   

缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳

参考例句：

• In spite of his vices, he was loved by all. 尽管他有缺点，还是受到大家的爱戴。
• He vituperated from the pulpit the vices of the court. 他在教堂的讲坛上责骂宫廷的罪恶。

9 brute   

n.野兽，兽性

参考例句：

• The aggressor troops are not many degrees removed from the brute.侵略军简直象一群野兽。
• That dog is a dangerous brute.It bites people.那条狗是危险的畜牲，它咬人。

10 enveloped   

v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was enveloped in a huge white towel. 她裹在一条白色大毛巾里。
• Smoke from the burning house enveloped the whole street. 燃烧着的房子冒出的浓烟笼罩了整条街。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 mattresses   

褥垫，床垫( mattress的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The straw mattresses are airing there. 草垫子正在那里晾着。
• The researchers tested more than 20 mattresses of various materials. 研究人员试验了二十多个不同材料的床垫。

12 sitting-room   

n.（BrE）客厅，起居室

参考例句：

• The sitting-room is clean.起居室很清洁。
• Each villa has a separate sitting-room.每栋别墅都有一间独立的起居室。

13 tenants   

n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。

14 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

15 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

16 scampered   

v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The cat scampered away. 猫刺棱一下跑了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The rabbIt'scampered off. 兔子迅速跑掉了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

17 vaulted   

adj.拱状的

参考例句：

• She vaulted over the gate and ran up the path. 她用手一撑跃过栅栏门沿着小路跑去。
• The formal living room has a fireplace and vaulted ceilings. 正式的客厅有一个壁炉和拱形天花板。

18 lodgers   

n.房客，租住者( lodger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He takes in lodgers. 他招收房客。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A good proportion of my lodgers is connected with the theaters. 住客里面有不少人是跟戏院子有往来的。 来自辞典例句