CHAPTER XIII

 John Corrie was now fairly in the net.  He reached his cottage in a condition verging¹ on collapse², physical and mental, and slinking round to the back, gained admittance by the window of his own room, from which he had emerged an age, as it seemed, ago.  He stood listening. . . .  Not a sound.  What was his sister doing?  He must see her at once—not to tell her anything, but to discover whether she had learned of his having been out of doors.

 

But first he must remove traces of the outing.  Having lit the candle, he got off his boots, and the black muffler.  They must be got rid of.

 

In stocking feet he stole to the shop, and there made a parcel which he laid on a high shelf behind a row of tomato tins.  In another part of the shop he hid his jacket in similar fashion.  And then a most sickening thought struck him and almost wrecked³ his fear-tossed mind.  The staff—Almighty! what on earth had made him fling p. 130it in the ditch?  Sooner or later a search would be made; might even be going on now!  Presently, his mouth craving⁴ water, he went unsteadily, spilling candle-grease by the way, to the kitchen.

 

And there he found his sister, in a heap on the floor.  She was inert⁵, but fully⁶ conscious.  Somehow he managed to drag her up and place her in the arm-chair by the cold hearth⁷.  Then he got water, and gave her some, took a draught⁸ himself, and sat down by the table.  On a sudden inspiration he blew out the candle.  A wakeful, curious person might wonder to see a light at such an hour.  Besides . . .

 

For perhaps twenty minutes the two wretched beings sat huddled⁹ in their chairs, motionless, speechless, while a feeble greyness began to filter slowly through the darkness.  Then the woman spoke¹⁰, neither to the man nor herself, but as to a third person, invisible, somewhere in the shadows.

 

“I hope he died quick. . . .  I hope he didna feel the fire. . . .  I did it for my brother’s sake.  I promised mother I would look after him.”

 

Corrie rose and sat down again.  He was not going to tell her that Sam had escaped the flames.

 

There was another silence, and through it came the sound of a person running on the dry road.  p. 131Presently the sound gave place to that of knocking, then cries—shouts—more knocking—then running again—several persons—cries and shouts once more. . . .

 

Through the greyness the man and woman peered at each other’s pallid¹¹ countenances¹².  And she was thinking of a little brother she had tended long, long ago; and he was thinking of a clublike staff lying in a ditch.  The scattered¹³ noises from the village grew to a commotion¹⁴.  Corrie dropped forward, his elbows on his knees, his face between his hands.

 

Suddenly the woman got up and came over to him, and laid her hand on his shoulder, and said with a strange tenderness—

 

“Dinna be feared, John.  Ye’re safe.  The letter’s bound to be ashes by now.”

 

Then she shrieked¹⁵, for the room was lit by a blinding flash, and she fell to her knees.  Almost immediately the house shook under an appalling¹⁶ crash.  The long threatened storm had burst at last.

 

There was a pause as though to allow Earth to take one long breath before the storm and deluge—which were to prove memorable¹⁷ in Dunford and district.

 

Not many minutes had passed when something p. 132like hope came to John Corrie.  Unless the staff were already discovered, he was safe so far as it was concerned, for now the ditch would be rushing a foot deep.  His wits began to work again.  Even if young Hayward had picked up the letter. . . .

 

He drew Rachel to her feet, saying shortly but not harshly: “Get to your bed, woman.  I’m for out.”

 

“Out!” she echoed faintly.  “Would ye face the wrath¹⁸ o’ God?”

 

“I would face the folk, in case they wonder.  Besides, ye canna be sure that—that he’s burnt wi’ the house.”

 

“Oh, God!” she whispered; and a moment later—“John, bring me word he’s alive, and I’ll take oath it was me that stole the Zeniths!”  She moved gropingly from the room.

 

So Corrie, having put on his Sunday boots and oilskins, went out into the storm to face his fellows.  He did not encounter his poor victim, who was already on the way, in a summer visitor’s motor-car, to the nearest hospital, twenty miles distant; but he heard talk of concussion¹⁹ of the brain and a villainous-looking tramp seen in the village the previous night; also he beheld²⁰ the ruins of the shanty²¹ and the brimming ditch.  p. 133But for something white on the sodden²² grass he looked in vain; and young Hayward, it seemed, had disappeared after doing what he could for the postman.

 

It was nearing four when Corrie returned home.  The storm had ceased, though fine rain still fell on torn-up roads, ruined crops and flooded meadows.  He told Rachel exactly what he had heard, and added a little more.

 

“He was found by young Hayward.  Supposing he had the letter in his hand when he was struck, where is it now?”

 

She was too exhausted²³ by the revulsion, too thankful, to think it out.

 

“If you’re in danger, John, I’ll take the blame,” she faltered²⁴.  “We’ll hope the letter was burned.”

 

“But if it’s not burned, what about Symington?”

 

“He mun give back the shares.”

 

“Ye talk foolishness, Rachel!”

 

“I’m wearied.  I canna grasp aught except that I didna commit black murder.  Let me be till the morning.”

 

Afraid to say more lest he should betray himself, he let her go.

 

At eight o’clock, the moment the wire was open, he sent a telegram to Symington—

 

p. 134“Come at once.”

 

About eleven, Symington’s housekeeper²⁵, purchasing provisions, mentioned in the course of her chatter²⁶ on last night’s affair—the sole topic of conversation in Dunford—that young Mr. Hayward had called to see her employer at six o’clock that morning.

 

“What was he wanting at such an hour?” Corrie managed to say.

 

“He didna name his business, but he took a note o’ the address in London.”

 

This added to Corrie’s uneasiness, though he could conceive of no connexion between the early call and the letter.

 

About an hour later, a customer casually²⁷ referred to his having observed young Hayward enter the morning train for the South, at Kenny Junction²⁸.  At that Corrie wellnigh gave up.  All morning he had hoped against hope that Hayward would return the letter to its owner—himself.  Now he was forced to face two dreadful possibilities: first, that Hayward had recognized him last night; secondly²⁹, that Hayward knew Kitty’s address in London.  And before long he perceived a third: namely, that Symington, elated by the enormous rise in Zeniths, might have been talking openly about his shares.  Corrie felt p. 135like making a bolt for it.  Vain to imagine mercy from Kitty after all that had passed!  Only the idea that Hayward’s recognition would be a difficult thing to substantiate³⁰ and the thought of his sister’s promise restrained and sustained him.

 

He called Rachel into the post office at a moment when no business was doing.  They had scarcely spoken since three o’clock.

 

“Do ye stand by what ye said about the—the shares?” he asked her, not without shame.

 

“Aye; I’ve promised,” she answered dully.

 

“They’d be easier on a woman than a man,” he observed, looking away.

 

“It doesna matter.”  She turned to go back to the shop.

 

“Symington’ll be here to-night,” he pursued.  “There ought to ha’ been a letter from him this morning, so I wired him.  Maybe we’ll manage to put everything right yet.  I wish we had your niece’s address.”

 

She faced him.  “If I had it, I wouldna tell ye,” she said quietly.  “It’ll be enough if I ha’ to sacrifice myself.  Speak no more to me about this business, John Corrie, for I ha’ nothing more to say.  Only terrible thoughts.”  And with that she left him.

1 verging   

接近，逼近（verge的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed understanding, verging on sympathy, for our approach. 他宣称对我们提出的做法很理解，而且近乎同情。
• He's verging on 80 now and needs constant attention. 他已近80岁，需要侍候左右。

2 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

3 wrecked   

adj.失事的，遇难的

参考例句：

• the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
• the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞

4 craving   

n.渴望,热望

参考例句：

• a craving for chocolate 非常想吃巧克力
• She skipped normal meals to satisfy her craving for chocolate and crisps. 她不吃正餐，以便满足自己吃巧克力和炸薯片的渴望。

5 inert   

adj.无活动能力的，惰性的；迟钝的

参考例句：

• Inert gas studies are providing valuable information about other planets,too.对惰性气体的研究，也提供了有关其它行星的有价值的资料。
• Elemental nitrogen is a very unreactive and inert material.元素氮是一个十分不活跃的惰性物质。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 hearth   

n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面

参考例句：

• She came and sat in a chair before the hearth.她走过来，在炉子前面的椅子上坐下。
• She comes to the hearth,and switches on the electric light there.她走到壁炉那里，打开电灯。

8 draught   

n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计

参考例句：

• He emptied his glass at one draught.他将杯中物一饮而尽。
• It's a pity the room has no north window and you don't get a draught.可惜这房间没北窗，没有过堂风。

9 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

10 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。

11 pallid   

adj.苍白的，呆板的

参考例句：

• The moon drifted from behind the clouds and exposed the pallid face.月亮从云朵后面钻出来，照着尸体那张苍白的脸。
• His dry pallid face often looked gaunt.他那张干瘪苍白的脸常常显得憔悴。

12 countenances   

n.面容( countenance的名词复数 )；表情；镇静；道义支持

参考例句：

• 'stood apart, with countenances of inflexible gravity, beyond what even the Puritan aspect could attain." 站在一旁，他们脸上那种严肃刚毅的神情，比清教徒们还有过之而无不及。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• The light of a laugh never came to brighten their sombre and wicked countenances. 欢乐的光芒从来未照亮过他们那阴郁邪恶的面孔。 来自辞典例句

13 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

14 commotion   

n.骚动，动乱

参考例句：

• They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵，引起了一阵骚乱。
• Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间，整条街道变得一片混乱。

15 shrieked   

v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She shrieked in fright. 她吓得尖叫起来。
• Li Mei-t'ing gave a shout, and Lu Tzu-hsiao shrieked, "Tell what? 李梅亭大声叫，陆子潇尖声叫：“告诉什么？ 来自汉英文学 - 围城

16 appalling   

adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions.恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• Nothing can extenuate such appalling behaviour.这种骇人听闻的行径罪无可恕。

17 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

18 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。

19 concussion   

n.脑震荡；震动

参考例句：

• He was carried off the field with slight concussion.他因轻微脑震荡给抬离了现场。
• She suffers from brain concussion.她得了脑震荡。

20 beheld   

v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

21 shanty   

n.小屋，棚屋；船工号子

参考例句：

• His childhood was spent in a shanty.他的童年是在一个简陋小屋里度过的。
• I want to quit this shanty.我想离开这烂房子。

22 sodden   

adj.浑身湿透的；v.使浸透；使呆头呆脑

参考例句：

• We stripped off our sodden clothes.我们扒下了湿透的衣服。
• The cardboard was sodden and fell apart in his hands.纸板潮得都发酥了，手一捏就碎。

23 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。

24 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。”

25 housekeeper   

n.管理家务的主妇，女管家

参考例句：

• A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
• She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

26 chatter   

vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战

参考例句：

• Her continuous chatter vexes me.她的喋喋不休使我烦透了。
• I've had enough of their continual chatter.我已厌烦了他们喋喋不休的闲谈。

27 casually   

adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地

参考例句：

• She remarked casually that she was changing her job.她当时漫不经心地说要换工作。
• I casually mentioned that I might be interested in working abroad.我不经意地提到我可能会对出国工作感兴趣。

28 junction   

n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站

参考例句：

• There's a bridge at the junction of the two rivers.两河的汇合处有座桥。
• You must give way when you come to this junction.你到了这个路口必须让路。

29 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

30 substantiate   

v.证实；证明...有根据

参考例句：

• There is little scientific evidence to substantiate the claims.这些主张几乎找不到科学依据来证实。
• These theories are used to substantiate the relationship between the phenomenons of the universe.这些学说是用来证实宇宙现象之间的关系。