Bennington did not know what to make of his invitation. At one moment he told himself it must mean that Mary loved him, and that she wished him to meet her parents on that account. At the next he tormented1 himself with the conviction that she thus merely avoided the issue. Between these moods he alternated, without being able to abide3 in either. He forgot all about Old Mizzou.
Promptly4 at noon the following day he turned up the little right-hand trail for the first time.
The Lawton house he found, first of all, to be scrupulously5 neat. It stood on a knoll6, as do most gulch7 cabins, in order that occasional freshets might pass below, and the knoll looked as though it had been clipped with a pair of scissors. Not a crooked8 little juniper bush was allowed to intrude9 its plebeian10 sprawl11 among the dignified12 pines and the gracefully13 infrequent bushes. In front of the cabin itself was a "rockery" of pink quartz14, on which were piled elk15 antlers. The building was L-shaped, of two low stories, had a veranda16 with a railing, and possessed17 various ornamental18 wood edgings, all of which were painted. The whole affair was mathematically squared and correspondingly neat. Some boxes and pots of flowers adorned19 the window ledges20.
Bennington's knock was answered by an elderly woman, who introduced herself at once as Mrs. Lawton. She commenced a voluble and slightly embarrassed explanation of how "she" would be down in a moment or so, at the same time leading the way into the parlour. While this explanation was going forward, Bennington had a good chance to examine his hostess and her surroundings.
Mrs. Lawton was of the fat but energetic variety. She fairly shone with cleanliness and with an insistent21 determination to keep busy. You could see that all the time her tongue was uttering polite platitudes22 concerning the weather, her mind was hovering23 like a dragon fly over this or that flower of domestic economy. She was one of the women who carry their housekeeping to a perfection uncomfortable both to herself and everybody else, and then delude24 themselves into the martyrlike belief that she is doing it all entirely25 for others. As a consequence, she exhibited much of the time an aggrieved26 air that comported27 but ludicrously with her tendency to bustle28. And it must be confessed that in other ways Mrs. Lawton was ludicrous. Her dumpy little form was dressed in the loudest of prints, the figures of which turned her into a huge flower bed of brilliant cabbage-like blooms. Over this chaos29 of colours peered her round little face with its snapping eyes. She discoursed30 in sentences which began coherently, but frayed32 out soon into nothingness under the stress of inner thought. "I don't see where that husban' of mine is. I reckon you'll think we're just awful rude, Mr. de Laney, and that gal33, an' Maude. I declare it's jest enough to try any one's patience, it surely is. You've no idea, Mr. de Laney, what with the hens settin', and this mis'able dry spell that sends th' dust all over everything and every one 'way behin' hand on everythin'----" Her eye was becoming vacant as she wondered about certain biscuits.
"I'm sure it must be," agreed Bennington uncomfortably.
"What was I a-sayin'? You must excuse me, Mr. de Laney, but you, being a man, can have no idea of the life us poor women folks lead, slavin' our very lives away to keep things runnin', and then no thanks fer it a'ter all. I'd just like t' see Bill Lawton try it _fer jest one week_. He'd be a ravin' lunatic, an' thet I tell him often. This country's jest awful, too. I tell him he must get out sometimes, and I 'spect he will, when he's made his pile, poor man, an' then we'll have a chanst to go back East again. When we lived East, Mr. de Laney, we had a house--not like this little shack34; a good house with nigh on to a dozen rooms, and I had a gal to help me and some chanst to buy things once in a while, but now that Bill Lawton's moved West, what's goin' to become o' me I don't know. I'm nigh wore out with it all."
"Then you lived East once?" asked Bennington.
"Law, yes! We lived in Illinoy once, and th' Lord only knows I wisht we lived there yet, though the farmin' was a sight of work and no pay sometimes." The inner doubts as to the biscuits proved too much for her. "Heaven knows, you ain't t' git much to eat," she cried, jumping up, "but you ain't goin' to git anythin' a tall if I don't run right off and tend to them biscuit."
She bustled35 out. Bennington had time then to notice the decorations of the "parlour." They offered to the eye a strange mixture of the East and West--reminiscences of the old home in "Illinoy" and trophies36 of the new camping-out on the frontier. From the ceiling hung a heavy lamp with prismatic danglers, surrounded by a globe on which were depicted37 stags in the act of leaping six-barred gates. By way of complement38 to this gorgeous centrepiece, the paper on the walls showed, in infinitely39 recurring40 duplicate, a huntress in green habit and big hat carrying on a desperate flirtation41 with a young man in the habiliments of the fifteenth century, while across the background a huddle42 of dogs pursued a mammoth43 deer. Mathematically beneath the lamp stood a table covered with a red-figured spread. On the table was a glass bell, underneath44 which were wax flowers and a poorly-stuffed robin45. In one angle of the room austerely46 huddled47 a three-cornered "whatnot" of four shelves. Two china pugs and a statuette of a simpering pair of children under a massive umbrella adorned this article of furniture. On the wall ticked an old-fashioned square wooden clock. The floor was concealed48 by a rag carpet. So much for the East. The West contributed brilliant green copper49 ore, flaky white tin ore, glittering white quartz ore, shining pyrites, and one or two businesslike specimens50 of oxygenated quartz, all of which occupied points of exhibit on the "whatnot." Over the carpet were spread a deer skin, and a rug made from the hide of a timber wolf. Bennington found all this interesting but depressing. He was glad when Mrs. Lawton returned and took up her voluble discourse31.
In the midst of a dissertation51 on the relation of corn meal to eggs the door opened, and Mr. Lawton sidled in.
"Oh, here y' are at last!" observed his spouse52 scornfully, and rattled53 on. Lawton nodded awkwardly, and perched himself on the edge of a chair. He had assumed an ill-fitting suit of store clothes, in which he unaccustomedly writhed54, and evidently, to judge from the sleekness55 of his hair, had recently plunged56 his head in a pail of water. He said nothing, but whenever Mrs. Lawton was not looking he winked57 elaborately and solemnly at Bennington as though to imply that circumstances alone prevented any more open show of cordiality. At last, catching58 the young man's eye at a more than usually propitious59 moment, he went through the pantomime of opening a bottle, then furtively61 arose and disappeared. Mrs. Lawton, remembering her cakes, ran out. Bennington was left alone again. He had not spoken six words.
The door slowly opened, and another member of the family sidled in. Bennington owned a helpless feeling that this was a sort of show, and that these various actors in it were parading their entrances and their exits before him. Or that he himself were the object of inspection62 on whom the others were satisfying their own curiosity.
The newcomer was a child, a little girl about eight or ten years old. Bennington liked children as a usual thing. No one on earth could have become possessed in this one's favour. She was a creature of regular but mean features, extreme gravity, and evidently of an inquiring disposition63. On seeing her for the first time, one sophisticated would have expected a deluge64 of questions. Bennington did. But she merely stood and stared without winking65.
"Hullo, little girl!" Bennington greeted her uneasily.
The creature only stared the harder.
"My doll's name is Garnet M-a-ay," she observed suddenly, with a long-drawn nasal accent.
After this interesting bit of information another silence fell.
"What is your name, little girl?" Bennington asked desperately66 at last.
"Maude," remarked the phenomenon briefly67.
This statement she delivered in that whining68 tone which the extremely self-conscious infant imagines to indicate playful childishness. She approached.
"D' you want t' see my picters?" she whimpered confidingly69.
Bennington expressed his delight.
For seven geological ages did he gaze upon cheap and horrible woodcuts of gentlemen in fashionable raiment trying to lean against conspicuously70 inadequate71 rustic72 gates; equally fashionable ladies, with flat chests, and rat's nest hair; and animals whose attitudes denoted playful sportiveness of disposition. Each of these pictures was explained in minute detail. Bennington's distress73 became apathy74. Mrs. Lawton returned from the cakes presently, yet her voice seemed to break in on the duration of centuries.
"Now, Maude!" she exclaimed, with a proper maternal75 pride, "you mustn't be botherin' the gentleman." She paused to receive the expected disclaimer. It was made, albeit76 a little weakly. "Maude is very good with her Book," she explained. "Miss Brown, that's the school teacher that comes over from Hill Town summers, she says Maude reads a sight better than lots as is two or three years older. Now how old would you think she was, Mr. de Laney?"
Mr. de Laney tried to appraise77, while the object hung her head self-consciously and twisted her feet. He had no idea of children's ages.
"About eleven," he guessed, with an air of wisdom.
"Jest eight an' a half!" cried the dame78, folding her hands triumphantly79. She let her fond maternal gaze rest on the prodigy80. Suddenly she darted81 forward with extraordinary agility82 for one so well endowed with flesh, and seized her offspring in relentless83 grasp.
"I do declare, Maude Eliza!" she exclaimed in horror-stricken tones, "you ain't washed your ears! You come with me!"
They disappeared in a blue mist of wails84.
As though this were his cue, the crafty85 features of Lawton appeared cautiously in the doorway86, bestowed87 a furtive60 and searching inspection on the room, and finally winked solemnly at its only occupant. A hand was inserted. The forefinger88 beckoned89. Bennington arose wearily and went out.
Lawton led the way to a little oat shed standing90 at some distance from the house. Behind this he paused. From beneath his coat he drew a round bottle and two glass tumblers.
"No joke skippin' th' ole lady," he chuckled91 in an undertone. He poured out a liberal portion for himself, and passed the bottle along. Bennington was unwilling92 to hurt the old fellow's feelings after he had taken so much trouble on his account, but he was equally unwilling to drink the whisky. So he threw it away when Lawton was not looking.
They walked leisurely93 toward the house, Lawton explaining various improvements in a loud tone of voice, intended more to lull94 his wife's suspicions than to edify95 the young man. The lady looked on them sternly, and announced dinner. At the table Bennington found Mary already seated.
The Easterner was placed next to Mrs. Lawton. At his other hand was Maude Eliza. Mary sat opposite. Throughout the meal she said little, and only looked up from her plate when Bennington's attention was called another way.
Her mere2 presence, however, seemed to open to the young man a different point of view. He found Mrs. Lawton's lengthy96 dissertations97 amusing; he considered Mr. Lawton in the light of a unique character, and Maude Eliza, while as disagreeable as ever, came in for various excuses and explanations on her own behalf in the young man's mind. He became more responsive. He told a number of very good stories, at which the others laughed. He detailed98 some experiences of his own at places in the world far remote, selected, it must be confessed, with some slight reference to their dazzling effect on the company. Without actually "showing off," he managed to get the effect of it. The result of his efforts was to harmonize to some extent these diverse elements. Mrs. Lawton became more coherent, Mr. Lawton more communicative; Maude Eliza stopped whining--occasionally and temporarily. Bennington had rarely been in such high spirits. He was surprised himself, but then was not that day of moment to him, and would he not have been a strange sort of individual to have seen in the world aught but brightness?
But Mary responded not at all. Rather, as Bennington arose, she fell, until at last she hardly even moved in her place.
"Chirk up, chirk up!" cried Mrs. Lawton gaily99, for her. "I know some one who ought to be happy, anyhow." She glanced meaningly from one to the other and laughed heartily100.
Bennington felt a momentary101 disgust at her tactlessness, but covered it with some laughing sally of his own. The meal broke up in great good humour. Mrs. Lawton and Maude Eliza remained to clear away the dishes. Mr. Lawton remarked that he must get back to work, and shook hands in farewell most elaborately. Bennington laughingly promised them all that he would surely come again. Then he escaped, and followed Mary up the hill, surmising102 truly enough that she had gone on toward the Rock. He thought he caught a glimpse of her through the elders. He hastened his footsteps. At this he stumbled slightly. From his pocket fell a letter he had received that morning. He picked it up and looked at it idly.
It was from his mother and covered a number of closely-written pages. As he was about to thrust it back into his pocket a single sentence caught his eye. It read: "Sally Ogletree gave a supper last week, which was a very pretty affair."
He stopped short on the trail, and the world seemed to go black around him. He almost fell. Then resumed his way, but step now was hesitating and slow, and he walked with his eyes bent103 thoughtfully on the ground.
收听单词发音 |
1
tormented
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| 饱受折磨的 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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abide
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| vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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scrupulously
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| adv.一丝不苟地；小心翼翼地，多顾虑地 | |
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knoll
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| n.小山，小丘 | |
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gulch
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| n.深谷，峡谷 | |
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crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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intrude
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| vi.闯入；侵入；打扰，侵扰 | |
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plebeian
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| adj.粗俗的；平民的；n.平民；庶民 | |
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sprawl
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| vi.躺卧，扩张，蔓延；vt.使蔓延；n.躺卧，蔓延 | |
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dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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gracefully
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| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
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quartz
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| n.石英 | |
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elk
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| n.麋鹿 | |
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veranda
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| n.走廊；阳台 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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ornamental
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| adj.装饰的；作装饰用的；n.装饰品；观赏植物 | |
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adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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ledges
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| n.（墙壁，悬崖等）突出的狭长部分( ledge的名词复数 )；（平窄的）壁架；横档；（尤指）窗台 | |
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insistent
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| adj.迫切的，坚持的 | |
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platitudes
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| n.平常的话，老生常谈，陈词滥调( platitude的名词复数 )；滥套子 | |
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hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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delude
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| vt.欺骗；哄骗 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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aggrieved
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| adj.愤愤不平的，受委屈的；悲痛的；（在合法权利方面）受侵害的v.令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式)；令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式和过去分词) | |
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comported
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| v.表现( comport的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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chaos
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| n.混乱，无秩序 | |
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discoursed
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| 演说（discourse的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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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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gal
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| n.姑娘，少女 | |
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shack
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| adj.简陋的小屋，窝棚 | |
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bustled
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| 闹哄哄地忙乱，奔忙( bustle的过去式和过去分词 )； 催促 | |
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trophies
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| n.（为竞赛获胜者颁发的）奖品( trophy的名词复数 )；奖杯；（尤指狩猎或战争中获得的）纪念品；（用于比赛或赛跑名称）奖 | |
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depicted
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| 描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述 | |
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complement
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| n.补足物，船上的定员；补语；vt.补充，补足 | |
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infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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recurring
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| adj.往复的，再次发生的 | |
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flirtation
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| n.调情，调戏，挑逗 | |
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huddle
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| vi.挤作一团；蜷缩；vt.聚集；n.挤在一起的人 | |
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mammoth
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| n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的 | |
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underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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robin
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| n.知更鸟，红襟鸟 | |
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austerely
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| adv.严格地，朴质地 | |
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huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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dissertation
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| n.（博士学位）论文，学术演讲，专题论文 | |
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spouse
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| n.配偶(指夫或妻) | |
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rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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writhed
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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sleekness
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| 油滑； 油光发亮； 时髦阔气； 线条明快 | |
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56
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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57
winked
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| v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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58
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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propitious
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| adj.吉利的；顺利的 | |
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furtive
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| adj.鬼鬼崇崇的，偷偷摸摸的 | |
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furtively
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| adv. 偷偷地, 暗中地 | |
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inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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deluge
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| n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥 | |
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winking
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| n.瞬眼，目语v.使眼色( wink的现在分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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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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briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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68
whining
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| n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚 | |
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confidingly
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| adv.信任地 | |
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conspicuously
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| ad.明显地，惹人注目地 | |
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inadequate
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| adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的 | |
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rustic
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| adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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apathy
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| n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡 | |
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maternal
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| adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的 | |
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albeit
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| conj.即使；纵使；虽然 | |
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appraise
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| v.估价，评价，鉴定 | |
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dame
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| n.女士 | |
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triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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prodigy
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| n.惊人的事物，奇迹，神童，天才，预兆 | |
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darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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agility
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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relentless
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| adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的 | |
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wails
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| 痛哭，哭声( wail的名词复数 ) | |
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crafty
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| adj.狡猾的，诡诈的 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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forefinger
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| n.食指 | |
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beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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lull
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| v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇 | |
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edify
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| v.陶冶；教化；启发 | |
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lengthy
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| adj.漫长的，冗长的 | |
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dissertations
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| 专题论文，学位论文( dissertation的名词复数 ) | |
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detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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surmising
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| v.臆测，推断( surmise的现在分词 )；揣测；猜想 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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