The clock, with its quenchless3 petulance4 and spite, is lord of the mantel. And what an entourage of vessels5! Close up against it huddles6 a bottle of peroxide. Then, although disposed in some semblance7 of neatness and order, one discovers a fish stringer, an old pipe, several empty cigar boxes, heaps of old letters, a book opened and turned down, a number of rumpled8 handkerchiefs, some camera films, a bottle of red ink. There are two odd candlesticks, without any candles, a metal dish containing a vast miscellany of pins, collar buttons, rubber bands, and who knows what? Lo, on the other side of the clock loiter a curious pebble9, a laundry list, a box of candy, some loose change and a little paper money, a pocket flash which no longer works, matches in a broken crockery receiver, perfumes, sandpaper, a writing tablet and some yellowing envelopes. And one glimpses, emerging from chaos10, the frayed11 handle of a whisk broom which has seen [Pg 160]immeasurably better days. Some woven grass baskets, too. Anything else? Yes, yonder is a box of tacks12, and beside it a little pile of the Rev13. Needham's socks, nicely darned. Also, strewn here and there, are various rail and steamship14 timetables, most of which bear the dates of seasons long gone by. An immortal15 miscellany! Oh, and one must not miss that curious creature squatting16 in a dim corner and peering ever alertly around with his little beady eyes: yes, a sad and much dilapidated Teddy Bear.
One o'clock!
There is a tendency on the part of every pair of eyes—even those of the Rev. Needham, or perhaps especially those—to direct from time to time a wholly unconscious glance of hope mingled17 with mild anxiety toward the tantalizing18 green portières, beyond which Eliza moves about with maddening deliberateness.
One o'clock, snapping like a dry forest twig19 under the tread of some wild creature. Then an angry tick-tock, tick-tock. On and on and on, forever.
Out in the kitchen Eliza was prodding20 the kettle of soup. She was dreamily thinking of the porter at the hotel in Beulah. Would he get over this evening? Oh, love is so wonderful! Eliza was quite gauche21 and unlettered; yet love, for her, was a thing which could rouse brilliant orgies of the imagination. Love, even for her, was something which transcended22 all the ineffable23 promised glories of Heaven itself. Yes, it was better than the streets of pearl and the[Pg 161] gates of amethyst—or was it the gates of pearl and the streets of gold?
When the soup was ready she served it, then thrust asunder24 the portières. "Lunch is served, ma'am," she announced, with a degree of majesty25 which would simply have terrorized the Beulah porter.
They responded promptly—not exactly crowding ahead of each other, but stepping along with irreproachable26 briskness27. Appetites beside the sea are like munition28 factories in wartime.
There was a cheerful rattle29 of chairs and much scraping of feet under the table. Then a solemn silence, while the minister prayed. The Rev. Needham, of course, sat at the head of the table. Mrs. Needham sat opposite him at the foot. To the minister's right was Miss Whitcom, who found herself delightfully30 sandwiched in between a knight31 of the church and a knight of the grip. Needless to say, the latter was Mr. O'Donnell, looking his very nicest and smelling of soap like the Brushwood Boy. Next came Hilda, who flashed quite dazzling smiles across at her sister, smiles more subdued32 and shy at Mr. Barry. There was a flurry of conversation at first, while the paper napkins were being opened up and disposed where they would afford the most protection—not a great deal, it is to be feared, at best. And then—well, then there was almost no talk at all until after the soup. As they say in theatre programs: "The curtain will be lowered one minute to denote a lapse33 of time."
[Pg 162]
Miss Whitcom and Mr. O'Donnell had employed quite as little formality in their meeting as the latter had prophesied34 during the trip up to Beulah. She hadn't, as a matter of fact, referred to the wall paper in the throne room of the Queen's palace. Instead she had remarked: "You know, it's curious. I was just dropping you a note. Yes. I wanted, for one thing, to express my regret over the unlikelihood of our seeing each other this trip, since you see I'm going right back. Jolly you should have happened along like this—and a postage stamp saved into the bargain!" While he, swallowing his disappointment over the prospect35 of her immediate36 return to Tahulamaji, had replied in like spirit: "How fortunate—about the stamp, I mean. It has been a long while, hasn't it?"
And now they were sitting side by side at the table, rather monopolizing37 the conversation—having a beautiful time, yet never quite descending38 from that characteristic, mutually assumed tone of banter39.
"I suppose you're still travelling, Mr. O'Donnell?"
"Still travelling, Miss Whitcom."
"Same firm?"
"Same firm."
It had been the same firm almost as far back as memory went. It always would be the same firm. There was little of change and perhaps nothing at all of adventure in this destiny. But there was a rather substantial balance in the bank, which, after all, is a kind of adventure, too.
[Pg 163]
"Babbit & Babbit," she mused40.
"Members of the O. A. of C."
"True. I'm afraid I'd forgotten the letters at the end."
He nibbled41 at his celery. "And you, Miss Whitcom?"
"Still mostly travelling, Mr. O'Donnell."
"Same firm?"
"Oh, dear no! There the interesting parallel must cease. One has to be progressive, you know. One must keep abreast42 of the times." She gave her brother-in-law a dreadful, broad wink43. "What was I doing last?"
O'Donnell grinned. "I believe—wasn't it piloting tourists through Europe?"
"Do you mean to tell me it's been as long as that since I've seen you?"
"As I recollect44 it—something of the sort."
"Yes, yes. So it was. But that was before the war. You knew, of course, that I'd gone to Tahulamaji."
"You answered several of my letters," he reminded her sweetly.
"Ah, of course I did. And you should have felt highly flattered, for I may say I made no point of keeping up any sort of correspondence at all down there."
"I should say not!" put in Mrs. Needham, laughing.
"Oh, yes. I was flattered—flattered even if they[Pg 164] were only postcards. But I haven't yet got it straight what you were doing in Tahulamaji. Was it the same sort of thing there?"
"What! Piloting tourists?" She had a hearty45 laugh. Her brother-in-law started a little. One of Marjory's hearty laughs was always like an unexpected slap on the back.
"You mean there aren't any sights to show?" asked O'Donnell meekly46. "I don't even know where Tahulamaji is, and I haven't the faintest idea what it's like."
"Oh," she laughed, "there are plenty of sights. It's ever so much better than Europe!"
"Then why not pilot?"
"There aren't any tourists."
"Not any at all?"
"None, at least, who require piloting. You see, we haven't been sufficiently47 exploited yet. For some reason we've escaped so far, though I expect any day to hear that we've been discovered. Those who come are bent48 on plain, stern business. Most of them get away again the next day. Those who don't get off the next day, or at most the day after that, you may depend upon it have come to stay—like me."
"So you are quite determined49 to go back again."
"Quite. Why not?"
They gazed quietly at each other a moment, while the minister began dispensing50 dried-beef-in-cream-on-toast—a special Beachcrest dish; French-fried potatoes. Mrs. Needham watched with quaking heart[Pg 165] until it was patent there would be enough to go round. Then she began pouring the tea.
There was always, at any rate, plenty of tea. But Miss Whitcom nearly occasioned a panic by asking for lemon. The rest took cream, if for no better reason than that it was right there on the table. The demand had been, like everything Miss Whitcom did, unpremeditated, and was immediately withdrawn51. She tossed her head and laughed. Wasn't it absurd to ask for lemon in the wilderness52? But Anna Needham rose to the occasion. It was a crisis.
She tinkled53 the bell in a breathless yet resolute54 way; she so wanted to impress her sister as being a competent housekeeper55. It amounted almost to a passion. Perhaps living so long with Alfred had rather tended to weaken belief in her own abilities.
Eliza was gone a good while. But she triumphantly56 returned with the lemon. Mr. O'Donnell looked at Miss Whitcom's tea a little wistfully. He had already taken cream. Possibly he preferred lemon too. But it requires real genius to ask for what one doesn't see before one in this law-of-least-resistance world.
This slight tension removed, the Rev. Needham resumed a quiet conversation with Barry about the affairs in the West. Everything, it seemed, was going finely. It began to look as though they might all grow positively57 rich off the desert! And it was owing to Barry—entirely to him. Well, Barry was a fine young man—so completely satisfactory. If the [Pg 166]Needhams had had a son, Alfred would have wished him to be like Barry. Sure, patient, untiring, generous—generous to a fault, yet with such solid faculties58 for business! And now, here he was, about to step right into the family. It was too good to be true. Yes, much too good. The Rev. Needham swelled59 with pride and beamed with affection. He beamed on Barry, and never noted60 how his daughter sat there beside this paragon61, eating little, talking almost not at all....
Hilda was another member of the party who talked little. Her deportment, however, was quite different. Her cheeks were highly coloured, and her eyes sparkled. Aunt Marjie, who seemed somehow never too engrossed62 in anything to give good heed63 to everything else, looked curiously64 from Hilda to Louise, to Barry, from Barry on to her brother-in-law. Then she looked at Hilda again, recalling Leslie, and smiled. She looked at Louise again, also, then at Barry, and her expression grew more serious. She looked at Louise a third time, still with Leslie in the back of her mind, and thought of the forgotten stove burners....
Why was it, she asked herself, that men had to make such baffling differences in women's lives?
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1
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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2
vitriolic
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| adj.硫酸的，尖刻的 | |
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3
quenchless
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| 不可熄灭的 | |
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petulance
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| n.发脾气，生气，易怒，暴躁，性急 | |
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5
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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6
huddles
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| （尤指杂乱地）挤在一起的人（或物品、建筑）( huddle的名词复数 )； （美式足球）队员靠拢（磋商战术） | |
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semblance
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| n.外貌，外表 | |
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rumpled
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| v.弄皱，使凌乱( rumple的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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9
pebble
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| n.卵石，小圆石 | |
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10
chaos
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| n.混乱，无秩序 | |
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11
frayed
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| adj.磨损的v.（使布、绳等）磨损，磨破( fray的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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12
tacks
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| 大头钉( tack的名词复数 )； 平头钉； 航向； 方法 | |
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13
rev
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| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
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14
steamship
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| n.汽船，轮船 | |
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15
immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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16
squatting
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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17
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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18
tantalizing
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| adj.逗人的；惹弄人的；撩人的；煽情的v.逗弄，引诱，折磨( tantalize的现在分词 ) | |
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19
twig
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| n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解 | |
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20
prodding
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| v.刺，戳( prod的现在分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳 | |
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21
gauche
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| adj.笨拙的，粗鲁的 | |
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22
transcended
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| 超出或超越（经验、信念、描写能力等）的范围( transcend的过去式和过去分词 )； 优于或胜过… | |
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23
ineffable
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| adj.无法表达的，不可言喻的 | |
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24
asunder
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| adj.分离的，化为碎片 | |
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25
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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26
irreproachable
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| adj.不可指责的，无过失的 | |
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briskness
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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munition
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| n.军火；军需品；v.给某部门提供军火 | |
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29
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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30
delightfully
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| 大喜，欣然 | |
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31
knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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32
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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33
lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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34
prophesied
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| v.预告，预言( prophesy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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37
monopolizing
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| v.垄断( monopolize的现在分词 )；独占；专卖；专营 | |
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38
descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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banter
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| n.嘲弄，戏谑；v.取笑，逗弄，开玩笑 | |
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40
mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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41
nibbled
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| v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的过去式和过去分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬 | |
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42
abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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43
wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
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44
recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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45
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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46
meekly
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| adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地 | |
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47
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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48
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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49
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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50
dispensing
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| v.分配( dispense的现在分词 )；施与；配（药） | |
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51
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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52
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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53
tinkled
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| （使）发出丁当声，（使）发铃铃声( tinkle的过去式和过去分词 )； 叮当响着发出，铃铃响着报出 | |
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54
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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55
housekeeper
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| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
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56
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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57
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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58
faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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59
swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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60
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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61
paragon
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| n.模范，典型 | |
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62
engrossed
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| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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63
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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64
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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