Chapter 9

 He had steeled himself to see it all, and on Saturday when the storm had subsided¹, and the little train started up the mountainside, his face was a gray mask, and the nearer the top he came, the more impassive, the grayer was his face. A little turn of a boulder² and he knew he 'd see the ruin. A few piles and the welter of the swollen³ river attacking them. His eyes were open, but he saw nothing. The official beside him suddenly screamed.

 

"My God! Excellency! The bridge!"

 

"Yes, I know. The bridge is down."

 

"The bridge is there. Excellency, the bridge is there!"

 

All Lovat could do was to laugh, a vacant laugh. Yes, it was there. But it was so impossible. The sun suddenly flashed behind it, and he saw the arrogant⁴ white structure soar like a bird, joining green hill to green hill. Beneath it rolled an unknown river, not the tumbling, snarling⁵ river of a week before, but a brown concave current, become gigantic, flying northward⁶ to the greatest of waters and carrying on its thewed back death and desolation. There was something that looked like a man and then an ox. And here was the wreckage⁷ of a homestead. And there was a jaguar⁸ and here was a great serpent of the jungle, and now a horse and here a gigantic tree. But the bridge spurned⁹ the river, floated on it like a swan. Lovat jumped off on the platform.

 

"It holds! It stays!" he cried exultantly¹⁰. He rushed toward the house. "Cecily, it holds!"

 

But he felt, as he flung open the door, that the house was empty.

 

"Cecily! Where are you, Cecily?"

 

There was no one there but a weeping, terrified maid.

 

"Where is Madame? Where is your se?ora?"

 

But she only wept and wrung¹¹ her hands. Lovat, half crazy, yanked her to her feet, and shook her.

 

"Where is Madame?

 

"Cecily! Cecily!"

 

He ran outside. It suddenly occurred to him that all his men had made way for him from the station, with silent pitying eyes. Why, they should have been cheering, too, but for something—

 

"Cecily! Cecily!" He ran around the little house.

 

One of the big Inca foreman detached himself from a standing¹² group, and stood in front of the frenzied¹³ man.

 

"Excellency," he said, "there's no good calling Madame. Madame has left us."

 

"Left us? What do you mean?"

 

"Excellency—" the big Indian threw his hands toward the river—"the bridge is there, but Madame has left us. Don't you understand?"

 

With numbing¹⁴ force the blow descended¹⁵ on Lovat.

 

"The bridge took her, you mean."

 

"No, se?or. She left us."

 

Lovat suddenly straightened up.

 

"Mason, what do you mean?"

 

"Se?or, when the wind came and the flood, the men quit. The wind shrieked¹⁶ through the arches. The river rose and attacked the piers¹⁷. And the bridge groaned¹⁸, and we left. It was the will of God, we thought. He did n't want this chasm¹⁹ joined.

 

"And I came up toward your house, se?or, to see if everything was right there. I met Madame on the path. She had her big black cloak on.

 

"'You had better go back, se?ora,' I said.

 

"'I am going to the bridge,' she said.

 

"'But it is growing black as night, se?ora; you had better go back.'

 

"'Stand aside, Vicente,' was all she said. And there was something in her eyes that made me give way. She went on.

 

"Excellency, I loved Madame, as did every one here. And she liked me. And I was your man. I followed her down the path. I caught up to her at the bridge. It was blue dark, like twilight²⁰. The bridge was quivering. I caught the edge of her cape²¹.

 

"'What are you going to do, se?ora?'

 

"'Stand aside, Vicente.'

 

"'You are crazy, se?ora!' I cried out.

 

"'No, Vicente, I am wise.'

 

"'You must n't, se?ora!'

 

"'I must, Vicente.'

 

"'Let me, se?ora,' I pleaded.

 

"'Vicente,' she said, 'you 've done your work on the bridge. Now I must do mine.'

 

"I could n't stop her, Excellency. Something in the face, in the eyes—I don't know—I dropped on my knees. She moved over the bridge.

 

"Excellency, from the time she was on it the bridge stopped quivering, the wind hushed. I saw her drop her cloak as she stood in the center. I saw her step forward, sure, unafraid. And for an instant I saw her, like a blossom in the wind....

 

"And so, Excellency, the bridge stands, will always stand...."

1 subsided   

v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上

参考例句：

• After the heavy rains part of the road subsided. 大雨过后，部分公路塌陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• By evening the storm had subsided and all was quiet again. 傍晚， 暴风雨已经过去，四周开始沉寂下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 boulder   

n.巨砾；卵石，圆石

参考例句：

• We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。
• He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。

3 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。

4 arrogant   

adj.傲慢的，自大的

参考例句：

• You've got to get rid of your arrogant ways.你这骄傲劲儿得好好改改。
• People are waking up that he is arrogant.人们开始认识到他很傲慢。

5 snarling   

v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说

参考例句：

• "I didn't marry you," he said, in a snarling tone. “我没有娶你，"他咆哮着说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• So he got into the shoes snarling. 于是，汤姆一边大喊大叫，一边穿上了那双鞋。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

6 northward   

adv.向北；n.北方的地区

参考例句：

• He pointed his boat northward.他将船驶向北方。
• I would have a chance to head northward quickly.我就很快有机会去北方了。

7 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

8 jaguar   

n.美洲虎

参考例句：

• He was green with envy when he saw my new Jaguar car.看见我那辆美洲虎牌新车，他非常妒忌。
• Should you meet a jaguar in the jungle,just turn slowly,walk away.But slowly,never look back.你在丛林中若碰上美洲虎，就慢慢转身走开，可一定要慢，切莫回头看。

9 spurned   

v.一脚踢开，拒绝接受( spurn的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Eve spurned Mark's invitation. 伊夫一口回绝了马克的邀请。
• With Mrs. Reed, I remember my best was always spurned with scorn. 对里德太太呢，我记得我的最大努力总是遭到唾弃。 来自辞典例句

10 exultantly   

adv.狂欢地，欢欣鼓舞地

参考例句：

• They listened exultantly to the sounds from outside. 她们欢欣鼓舞地倾听着外面的声音。 来自辞典例句
• He rose exultantly from their profane surprise. 他得意非凡地站起身来，也不管众人怎样惊奇诅咒。 来自辞典例句

11 wrung   

绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水）

参考例句：

• He has wrung the words from their true meaning. 他曲解这些字的真正意义。
• He wrung my hand warmly. 他热情地紧握我的手。

12 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

13 frenzied   

a.激怒的；疯狂的

参考例句：

• Will this push him too far and lead to a frenzied attack? 这会不会逼他太甚，导致他进行疯狂的进攻？
• Two teenagers carried out a frenzied attack on a local shopkeeper. 两名十几岁的少年对当地的一个店主进行了疯狂的袭击。

14 numbing   

adj.使麻木的，使失去感觉的v.使麻木，使麻痹( numb的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Watching television had a numbing effect on his mind. 看电视使他头脑麻木。
• It was numbing work, requiring patience and dedication. 这是一种令人麻木的工作，需要有耐心和忘我精神。 来自辞典例句

15 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

16 shrieked   

v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She shrieked in fright. 她吓得尖叫起来。
• Li Mei-t'ing gave a shout, and Lu Tzu-hsiao shrieked, "Tell what? 李梅亭大声叫，陆子潇尖声叫：“告诉什么？ 来自汉英文学 - 围城

17 piers   

n.水上平台( pier的名词复数 )；（常设有娱乐场所的）突堤；柱子；墙墩

参考例句：

• Most road bridges have piers rising out of the vally. 很多公路桥的桥墩是从河谷里建造起来的。 来自辞典例句
• At these piers coasters and landing-craft would be able to discharge at all states of tide. 沿岸航行的海船和登陆艇，不论潮汐如何涨落，都能在这种码头上卸载。 来自辞典例句

18 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 chasm   

n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突

参考例句：

• There's a chasm between rich and poor in that society.那社会中存在着贫富差距。
• A huge chasm gaped before them.他们面前有个巨大的裂痕。

20 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

21 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。