CHAPTER XXXVI

 That morning Reben had wakened early with a head full of inspirations. He was fairly lyrical with ideas. He wanted to talk them over with Sheila. He called up her 

 

room. Pennock answered the telephone.

 

“Can I speak to Miss Kemble?”

 

“She—she’s not up yet.”

 

“Oh! Well, as soon as she is up have her let me know. I want a word with her.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

Pennock, in dismay, called up Winfield’s hotel to forewarn Sheila. But Winfield had gone out, leaving word that his wife was not to be disturbed. Pennock left a 

 

message that she was to call up Miss Pennock as soon as she was disturbable. The message was put in Winfield’s box. When he came in he did not stop at the desk to 

 

inquire for messages, since he expected none.

 

Reben grew more and more eager to explain his new ideas to Sheila. He called up Pennock again.

 

“Isn’t Miss Kemble up yet?”

 

“Oh yes,” said Pennock.

 

“I want to speak to her.”

 

The distracted Pennock groped for the nearest excuse:

 

“She—she’s gone out.”

 

“But I told you to tell her! Didn’t you tell her I wanted to speak to her?”

 

“Oh yes, sir.”

 

“What did she say?”

 

“Nothing, sir; nothing,” Pennock faltered¹. She had told one big lie that morning and her invention was exhausted².

 

“That’s damned funny,” Reben growled³. Slapping the receiver on the hook, he went to the cigar-stand, fuming⁴, and bought a big black cigar to bite on.

 

When plays are failures one’s friends avoid one. When plays are successes strangers crowd forward with congratulations. The cigar girl said to the angry manager, who 

 

had given her free tickets the night before; “That’s a lovely show, Mr. Reben. I had a lovely time, and Miss Kemble is simpully love-la.”

 

A stranger who was poking⁵ a cheap cigar into the general chopper spoke⁶ in: “I was there last night, too—me and the wife. You the manager?”

 

Reben nodded impatiently.

 

The stranger went on: “That’s a great little star you got there—Miss Kemble—or Mrs. Winfield, I suppose I’d ought to say.”

 

Reben looked his surprise. “Mrs. Winfield?”

 

“Yes. She’s stopping at our hotel with her husband. Right nice-lookin’ feller. Actor, too, I s’pose? I’m on here buying furniture. I always stop at the Emerton. 

 

Right nice hotel. Prices reasonable; food fair to middlin’. Has she been married long?”

 

But Reben had moved off. He was in a mood to believe any bad rumor⁷. This, being the worst news imaginable, sounded true. He felt queasy⁸ with business disgust and with 

 

plain old-fashioned moral shock. He rushed for the telephone-booth and clawed at the book till he found the number of the Emerton Hotel. He was puffing⁹ with anxious 

 

wrath¹⁰.

 

When Winfield answered, Reben almost collapsed¹¹. While he waited he took his temper under control. When he heard Sheila’s voice quivering with all the guilt¹² in the 

 

world he mumbled¹³, quietly:

 

“Oh, Sheila, I’d like to have a word with you.”

 

“Wh-where?” Sheila quivered.

 

“Here. No—at the theater. No—yes, at the theater.”

 

“All right,” she mumbled. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

 

1 faltered   

（嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃

参考例句：

• He faltered out a few words. 他支吾地说出了几句。
• "Er - but he has such a longhead!" the man faltered. 他不好意思似的嚅嗫着：“这孩子脑袋真长。”

2 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

3 growled   

v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说

参考例句：

• \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道：“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 fuming   

愤怒( fume的现在分词 )； 大怒； 发怒； 冒烟

参考例句：

• She sat in the car, silently fuming at the traffic jam. 她坐在汽车里，心中对交通堵塞感到十分恼火。
• I was fuming at their inefficiency. 我正因为他们效率低而发火。

5 poking   

n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
• He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 rumor   

n.谣言，谣传，传说

参考例句：

• The rumor has been traced back to a bad man.那谣言经追查是个坏人造的。
• The rumor has taken air.谣言流传开了。

8 queasy   

adj.易呕的

参考例句：

• I felt a little queasy on the ship.我在船上觉得有点晕眩想呕吐。
• He was very prone to seasickness and already felt queasy.他快晕船了，已经感到恶心了。

9 puffing   

v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• He was puffing hard when he jumped on to the bus. 他跳上公共汽车时喘息不已。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My father sat puffing contentedly on his pipe. 父亲坐着心满意足地抽着烟斗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

11 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

12 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

13 mumbled   

含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He mumbled something to me which I did not quite catch. 他对我叽咕了几句话，可我没太听清楚。
• George mumbled incoherently to himself. 乔治语无伦次地喃喃自语。