As I came down the board-walk that leads to the ocean, I saw by his staggering and swaying gait that the man was not only very drunk indeed, but that he gloried in the fact. This was shown by his brandishing3 arms and tossing head and the defiant4 air with which he regarded the cottages, before one of which he paused, leaned forward, placing one hand dramatically at his ear, and presently executed a wild dance of what was apparently5 derision. A timid woman would have[4] retreated, but I am not timid, except when I am alone in the dark. Also I have what my brother-in-law calls Bohemian tastes. As nearly as I have been able to understand that phrase, it signifies a great interest in people, especially when they are at all odd. And this solitary6, scornful dance of a ragged7 man before the Averys' cottage was odd in the extreme.
So I walked quietly along. When I reached the man I heard him muttering rapidly to himself, while he rested from the exertion8 of his late performance. What did dancing drunken men talk about? I walked slower. My brother-in-law says that a woman with any respect for the proprieties9, to say nothing of the conventions, would never have done this. I have observed, however, that his feelings for the proprieties and the conventions, both of them, have on occasion suffered relapse, more especially at those times, prior to his marriage to my sister, when I, although supposed to be walking and riding and rowing and naphtha-launching with them, was frequently and inexcusably absent. So I gather that the proprieties[5] and the conventions, like many other things, are relative.
As I passed the man he turned and looked crossly at me and spoke10 apparently to some one far away behind me, for he spoke with much force.
"Did you ever hear such damn foolishness?" he demanded. Now there was nothing to hear but Miss Kitty Avery playing Chopin's Fourth Ballade in F minor11. She played it badly, of course, but nobody who knew Kitty Avery would have imagined that she would play otherwise than badly, and I have heard so much bad playing that I didn't notice it very much anyway. I thought it hardly probable that the man should know how unfortunate Kitty's method and selection were, so I passed directly by. Soon I heard his steps, and I knew he was coming after me. While he was yet some distance behind me he spoke again.
"I suppose that fool of a woman thinks she can play," he growled12 as he lurched against a lamp-post. Then I did the unpardonable deed. I turned and answered him.
"How do you know it's a woman?" I asked.
[6]
"Huh! Take me for a fool, don't you?" he said scornfully, scuffling along unsteadily. "I'm drunk as an owl13, but I'm no fool! No. I know it's a woman from the pawin' 'round she does. Bah! Thinks she's playin'. Damn nonsense!" He sat down carefully on the sand by the side of the walk and wagged his head knowingly. I looked cautiously about. No one was in sight. I bent14 down and untied15 my shoe.
"Play it better! Oh, Lord! She says can I play it better! Can-I-play-it-better? Well, I'll tell you one thing. If I couldn't play it better, d'ye know what I'd do? Do you?"
"No," said I, and tied my shoe. He didn't talk thickly as they do in books. On the contrary, he brought out each word with a particularly clear and final utterance18.
"Well, I'll tell you what I'd do. I'd go off and drown my sorrers in drink! Yes, I would. Although I'm so drunk that I wouldn't know when I was[7] getting drunk on principle and when I was just plain drunk. Le' me tell you somethin': I'm drunk now!" He announced the fact with a gravity so colossal19 as to render laughter impossible. I untied the other shoe.
"Can you really play Chopin?" I said. He shook his fist at the Avery cottage.
"What I can't play of Chopin you never heard played! So that's the end o' that," he said. The folly20 of the situation suddenly became clear to me. I hastily tied my shoe and turned to go. He half rose from the sand, but sank helplessly back.
"Look here," he said confidentially21, "I'm tired, and I need m' rest. I got to have rest. We all need rest. If you want to hear me play, you come to the old hulk of a barn that's got the piano in it. They call it the auditorium—au-di-to-ri-um." He pronounced the syllables22 as if to a child of three. "I'll be there. You come before supper. I'll be rested then. I'd like to shoot that woman—thinks she can play—damn nonsense—" I went on to the beach.
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1
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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2
modifications
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| n.缓和( modification的名词复数 )；限制；更改；改变 | |
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3
brandishing
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| v.挥舞( brandish的现在分词 )；炫耀 | |
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4
defiant
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| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
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5
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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6
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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7
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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8
exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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9
proprieties
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| n.礼仪，礼节；礼貌( propriety的名词复数 )；规矩；正当；合适 | |
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10
spoke
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| 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 | |
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11
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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12
growled
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| 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 | |
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13
owl
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| n.猫头鹰，枭 | |
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14
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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15
untied
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| 松开，解开( untie的过去式和过去分词 )； 解除，使自由； 解决 | |
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16
jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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17
consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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18
utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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19
colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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20
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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21
confidentially
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| ad.秘密地，悄悄地 | |
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22
syllables
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| n.音节( syllable的名词复数 ) | |
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