Flossie told herself that she was not unreasonable5. She had been quite ready to make allowances. Alarming things, she knew, had happened close at hand. Impudent6 foreigners had seized Fort Warden8 by stealth. The ceaseless boom of the big guns disturbed the current of existence in the bungalow9. Things were tiresome; indeed, quite worrying when they kept on like that! It was dreadful, that Englishmen, her father's soldier-friends, should be killed by foreigners—killed in England too, only ten miles away; usually they were only killed a long way off, and that seemed different. But, of course, it could only end in one way; the offenders11 would be turned out and most severely12 punished. Meanwhile, the[Pg 135] repeated and prolonged absence of her father at Dover, and his preoccupied13 behaviour when he was at home, filled Flossie with mixed feelings of annoyance14 and sympathy, in which the former ingredient became more and more predominant. Her queenly power seemed to be undermined. Her faithful subject had deserted15 her. Oh! that horrid16 Fort!
Miss Flossie nursed the personal sense of injury, and husbanded her growing grievance17, to the exclusion18 of thoughts concerning the national questions that arose. So much depends upon the point of view; and that, in turn, so much depends upon one's age.
Nevertheless, the issues of the struggle at Fort Warden were vitally important. They riveted19 the attention of many millions of the population of the world. Here in England itself the seizure20 of the fort had assumed a colossal21 significance, shaking the nation out of the ever-narrowing grooves22 of Parliamentary and municipal party conflict, compelling men to look back to a great history and forward to an era of littleness that gave pause even to the most selfish and complacent23.
Cost what it might, the enemy must be driven out. Our Flag must wave above that fort again.
A spreading feeling of fury and resentment24 arose against the Government. To this complexion25 had we come! Pushing politicians, self-seeking wire-pullers of both sexes, had dragged England in the dust. So much for Petticoat Government! So much for the Amazonian craze, this make-believe of women-soldiers and girl-gunners. Woman had largely ousted26 man from place and power, and this was the result! A handful of foreigners had been emboldened27 to assail28 us on our own sacred soil.[Pg 136] Popular anger expressed itself afresh by breaking out viciously into the old doggerel:—
"Old Nick and the Cat,
With Johnnie and Jan,
Have brought poor England
Under a ban!"
Truly, Man was needed at the helm to which at this crisis woman clung so obstinately29. Man was wanted in his old authority, and, behold31! in every department of control woman was clinging to his coat-tails, hindering his action, dividing his counsels, prating32 of peace when there could be no peace, and exhibiting a rudimentary unfitness to grapple with an unprecedented33 and desperate situation.
The outcry came not from the men alone, but with increasing vehemence34 from the very sex that had struggled for supremacy35. Women out of office—necessarily the vast majority—now began to discover that those aggressive or more fortunate representatives of their sex who had obtained salaried posts or prominence36 of some sort in public life, were in many cases frauds and failures. This rule of woman that had come to pass was not what the great mass of her sex had contemplated37 or intended. They confessed it to husbands and brothers; and husbands and brothers nodded in wise and ready acquiescence38. Their faces plainly said: "I told you so."
Thousands of women ruefully admitted the impeachment39. Successful rivalry—mostly vicarious—had brought them no real joy. They had gained power and lost love; and in their inmost hearts they knew that love was worth the world. Always it had been part of woman's character to strive for her own way, and always she had ended by despising the man who permitted her to gain it. Yes! woman's collective triumph in this new age, as she[Pg 137] now sadly realised, had cost her dear. With the gradual abandonment of man's protective affection had gone the true ingredients of her happiness; much that made up the grace and joy of life, tenderness and chivalry40, caressing41 mastery, the rightful dominance of the stronger sex. Yes! love was worth the world.
The heel of woman disclosed her weakness—and revealed her strength. Fool and blind! grasping at the sceptre she had lost the kingdom; the kingdom of the heart, encircled and protected by the strong arms of a lover as the guardian-sea encircles England's shores. Like an electric spark this spirit of regret and discontent flew through the land. A little more, and it would mean a revolution. Away with the unnatural42 dominion43 of Woman! Back to the reign7 of Man!
It would have been idle to expect unanimity44 where pride and personal interest were so closely involved. The pushing leaders of social democracy and the Vice-President and her following were not likely to submit without a struggle to the restoration of hereditary45 authority. Woman in office and power throughout the State would be sure to cling desperately46 to her foothold, and no one could yet foresee the outcome of the swiftly dawning struggle.
The hands of a little band of energetic men, however, were busy throwing wide the floodgates, and no two men were more active than those veterans, one of the army, and the other of the law—General Hartwell and Sir Robert Herrick. To them it seemed that the signs of the times were full of deep significance, and pregnant with the highest hopes. They knew that there were still some men with grit47 in England, men who saw with bitter wrath48 the pass to which the nation had been brought. In[Pg 138] their eyes the governance of this once glorious land had become a byword and a mockery. And it was because of this that the present humiliating spectacle was to be seen at Dover.
Nor was that all. In the midst of these alarms, there was something else that shook and terrified the people, filling the minds of thousands with forebodings and distress49.
Strange symptoms of seismic50 disturbance51 had been reported not only from Bath, but also from other parts of England. Such awe52-inspiring tremblings of the solid earth must ever produce a sense of apprehension53 which at any moment may grow into a universal panic. It was noticed that, so far, these disquieting54 indications were confined to the neighbourhood of thermal55 waters. At Matlock, Harrogate, Leamington, and Woodhall Spa, there had been a marked increase in the volume of the rising waters, with other signs of an abnormal earth activity.
What did these things betoken56? Signs of the times, they were variously interpreted. As in the days of Noah! The great multitude of men and women laughed at the shipbuilder and went about the business of their daily lives, so now hosts of dull and unimaginative persons remained unmoved in their obtuse57 philosophy. Others there were who believed a providential influence was at work—conveying an admonition and a warning by some such solemn signs as those predicted to occur before the last great change of all. Were there not to be signs in the heavens, and signs in the quaking earth, the sea and the waves roaring, nation rising against nation, creation, animate58 and inanimate, preparing for the awful Armageddon foreshadowed in the page of Holy Writ59?
Events were moving fast. A fanatic60 named[Pg 139] Richards, stalking wild-eyed through the land, broke out into fierce prophetic utterance61, mocked and jeered62 at by many, but followed by rapidly increasing numbers. This strange man entered on a pilgrimage from one to the other of the inland watering places, where symptoms of earthquake had been felt, everywhere inspiring awe and wonder in breasts of thousands. In South London, which he first visited, he was followed by enormous crowds, consisting to a great extent of women. Here, on the Surrey side, there had been a corresponding departure from the normal, for the old forgotten Spa of Bermondsey had developed a new and disturbing energy. While this ancient spring rose in unexampled quantities, and at high temperature, the once famous Spa at Epsom, only some twenty miles away, exhibited a like activity. The argument was irresistible63 that such far-spread manifestations64 of the same character must necessarily spring from a common cause.
If so, then these mysterious subterranean65 workings also pointed66 to the pending67 evolution of some common result; it might take the shape of some terrific upheaval68 and convulsion that would reduce the British Isles69 to their primeval form, submerge them in the sea, or even change the face of Western Europe.
Still these were but dark shadows and dread10 potentialities. Time alone could show whether events would verify such grim forebodings. But, meanwhile, there was one concrete and absorbing fact—the presence in England of the invading foreigner. This, at least, was a stern reality, pressing and predominant. The terrible Three Hundred still held the Fort; the great guns still roared and boomed, the pom-poms worked incessantly70. Stiffened71 forms[Pg 140] in increasing numbers strewed72 Castle Hill; the numbers of the dead and dying mounted daily.
The highest military authorities now were constantly engaged in vehement73 and anxious conference with Major Wardlaw. The discussions, renewed again and again, early and late, had dealt with all aspects of the existing problem, had touched on and passed by many suggested expedients74. One project, in particular, had excited much difference of opinion. Urgent advice had been given officially and through the newspapers to call the air-ships into play. Fort Warden, turtle-roofed, was supposed to be entirely75 bomb-proof, but it was argued that if all the air-ships in England—some 200—were to concentrate above the Fort and pour down bombs and explosives in great quantities, the result could hardly fail to terrify, if not to annihilate76, the obstinate30 defenders77. But Edgar Wardlaw shook his head. He alone knew the enormous resisting power that he had built up against this very contingency78 of warfare79.
Moreover, there were the obligations of treaties to be remembered. Air-ships were not to be used in warfare. International compacts on the subject of aerial navigation must be respected. To set a dishonourable example by disregarding them for our own immediate80 purpose might lead to disastrous81 international results. Two, and more than two, could play at such a game as that!
And even, while the idea was being mooted82, its immediate adoption83 became impossible. In a single night every English air-ship, the whereabouts of which was known, sustained mysterious, and, in most cases, irreparable damage. Such a discovery could not be concealed84 from the public. It was clear that some great and elaborate conspiracy85 was afoot, that the agents of the enemy were numerous, active, and[Pg 141] daring, here in the very heart of England. It was clear, too, that the Government had been caught napping, and only too probable that worse surprises might yet befall the country. The police, it is true, made several arrests of suspected persons, but prevention, not cure, was the national desideratum. While the grass grew the steed might starve. Of what avail the slow formalities of legal, investigation86, the jog-trot of red-tape routine, when the enemy was already at the gate, aye, in the heart of the citadel87?
In this crisis it transpired88 that the Bladud was the only air-ship unaccounted for. There were conflicting statements about her recent movements; but presently it became known that she had been lent by the late President to a young Canadian friend named Linton Herrick. Mr. Herrick had been seen to go up with Wilton, the Engineer, and it was believed that subsequently the Bladud had been identified with an air-ship that had been seen travelling rapidly, and at a considerable altitude, over the English Channel.
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1
interfering
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| adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词 | |
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exasperating
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| adj. 激怒的 动词exasperate的现在分词形式 | |
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tiresome
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| adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的 | |
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bestowing
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| 砖窑中砖堆上层已烧透的砖 | |
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unreasonable
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| adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的 | |
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impudent
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| adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的 | |
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reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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warden
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| n.监察员，监狱长，看守人，监护人 | |
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bungalow
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| n.平房，周围有阳台的木造小平房 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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offenders
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| n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物） | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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preoccupied
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| adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) | |
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annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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grievance
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| n.怨愤，气恼，委屈 | |
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exclusion
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| n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行 | |
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riveted
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| 铆接( rivet的过去式和过去分词 )； 把…固定住； 吸引； 引起某人的注意 | |
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seizure
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| n.没收；占有；抵押 | |
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colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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grooves
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| n.沟( groove的名词复数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏v.沟( groove的第三人称单数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏 | |
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23
complacent
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| adj.自满的；自鸣得意的 | |
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resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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26
ousted
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| 驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺 | |
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emboldened
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| v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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assail
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| v.猛烈攻击，抨击，痛斥 | |
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29
obstinately
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| ad.固执地，顽固地 | |
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30
obstinate
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| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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32
prating
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| v.（古时用语）唠叨，啰唆( prate的现在分词 ) | |
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33
unprecedented
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| adj.无前例的，新奇的 | |
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34
vehemence
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| n.热切；激烈；愤怒 | |
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supremacy
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| n.至上；至高权力 | |
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36
prominence
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| n.突出；显著；杰出；重要 | |
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contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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38
acquiescence
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| n.默许；顺从 | |
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39
impeachment
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| n.弹劾；控告；怀疑 | |
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40
chivalry
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| n.骑士气概，侠义；（男人）对女人彬彬有礼，献殷勤 | |
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41
caressing
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| 爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的 | |
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42
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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43
dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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44
unanimity
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| n.全体一致，一致同意 | |
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45
hereditary
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| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
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desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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47
grit
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| n.沙粒，决心，勇气；v.下定决心，咬紧牙关 | |
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48
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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49
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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50
seismic
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| a.地震的，地震强度的 | |
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51
disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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52
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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53
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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54
disquieting
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| adj.令人不安的，令人不平静的v.使不安，使忧虑，使烦恼( disquiet的现在分词 ) | |
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55
thermal
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| adj.热的，由热造成的；保暖的 | |
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56
betoken
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| v.预示 | |
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57
obtuse
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| adj.钝的；愚钝的 | |
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58
animate
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| v.赋于生命，鼓励；adj.有生命的，有生气的 | |
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59
writ
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| n.命令状，书面命令 | |
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60
fanatic
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| n.狂热者，入迷者；adj.狂热入迷的 | |
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61
utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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62
jeered
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| v.嘲笑( jeer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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63
irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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64
manifestations
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| n.表示，显示（manifestation的复数形式） | |
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65
subterranean
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| adj.地下的，地表下的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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pending
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| prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的 | |
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68
upheaval
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| n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱 | |
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69
isles
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| 岛( isle的名词复数 ) | |
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70
incessantly
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| ad.不停地 | |
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71
stiffened
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| 加强的 | |
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72
strewed
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| v.撒在…上( strew的过去式和过去分词 )；散落于；点缀；撒满 | |
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73
vehement
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| adj.感情强烈的；热烈的；(人)有强烈感情的 | |
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expedients
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| n.应急有效的，权宜之计的( expedient的名词复数 ) | |
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75
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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annihilate
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| v.使无效；毁灭；取消 | |
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77
defenders
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| n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者 | |
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78
contingency
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| n.意外事件，可能性 | |
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warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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80
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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81
disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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82
mooted
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| adj.未决定的，有争议的，有疑问的v.提出…供讨论( moot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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83
adoption
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| n.采用，采纳，通过；收养 | |
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84
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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85
conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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86
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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87
citadel
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| n.城堡；堡垒；避难所 | |
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transpired
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| （事实，秘密等）被人知道( transpire的过去式和过去分词 )； 泄露； 显露； 发生 | |
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