They crossed the way, entered another street, and disappeared. He turned back a few steps and was lost in grave reflection, finally wending his way homeward by the obscure river-side path. Unable to rest there he went to his step-daughter's lodging2, and was told that ElizabethJane had gone to Mr. Farfrae's. Like one acting3 in obedience4 to a charm, and with a nameless apprehension5, he followed in the same direction in the hope of meeting her, the roysterers having vanished. Disappointed in this he gave the gentlest of pulls to the door-bell, and then learnt particulars of what had occurred, together with the doctor's imperative7 orders that Farfrae should be brought home, and how they had set out to meet him on the Budmouth Road.
"But he has gone to Mellstock and Weatherbury!" exclaimed Henchard, now unspeakably grieved. "Not Budmouth way at all."
But, alas8! for Henchard; he had lost his good name. They would not believe him, taking his words but as the frothy utterances9 of recklessness. Though Lucetta's life seemed at that moment to depend upon her husband's return (she being in great mental agony lest he should never know the unexaggerated truth of her past relations with Henchard), no messenger was despatched towards Weatherbury. Henchard, in a state of bitter anxiety and contrition10, determined11 to seek Farfrae himself.
To this end he hastened down the town, ran along the eastern road over Durnover Moor12, up the hill beyond, and thus onward13 in the moderate darkness of this spring night till he had reached a second and almost a third hill about three miles distant. In Yalbury Bottom, or Plain, at the foot of the hill, he listened. At first nothing, beyond his own heartthrobs, was to be heard but the slow wind making its moan among the masses of spruce and larch14 of Yalbury Wood which clothed the heights on either hand; but presently there came the sound of light wheels whetting15 their felloes against the newly stoned patches of road, accompanied by the distant glimmer16 of lights.
He knew it was Farfrae's gig descending17 the hill from an indescribable personality in its noise, the vehicle having been his own till bought by the Scotchman at the sale of his effects. Henchard thereupon retraced18 his steps along Yalbury Plain, the gig coming up with him as its driver slackened speed between two plantations19.
It was a point in the highway near which the road to Mellstock branched off from the homeward direction. By diverging20 to that village, as he had intended to do, Farfrae might probably delay his return by a couple of hours. It soon appeared that his intention was to do so still, the light swerving21 towards Cuckoo Lane, the by-road aforesaid. Farfrae's off gig-lamp flashed in Henchard's face. At the same time Farfrae discerned his late antagonist22.
"Farfrae--Mr. Farfrae!" cried the breathless Henchard, holding up his hand.
Farfrae allowed the horse to turn several steps into the branch lane before he pulled up. He then drew rein23, and said "Yes?" over his shoulder, as one would towards a pronounced enemy.
"Come back to Casterbridge at once!" Henchard said. "There's something wrong at your house--requiring your return. I've run all the way here on purpose to tell ye."
Farfrae was silent, and at his silence Henchard's soul sank within him. Why had he not, before this, thought of what was only too obvious? He who, four hours earlier, had enticed24 Farfrae into a deadly wrestle25 stood now in the darkness of late night-time on a lonely road, inviting26 him to come a particular way, where an assailant might have confederates, instead of going his purposed way, where there might be a better opportunity of guarding himself from attack. Henchard could almost feel this view of things in course of passage through Farfrae's mind.
"I have to go to Mellstock," said Farfrae coldly, as he loosened his reins27 to move on.
"But," implored28 Henchard, "the matter is more serious than your business at Mellstock. It is--your wife! She is ill. I can tell you particulars as we go along."
The very agitation29 and abruptness30 of Henchard increased Farfrae's suspicion that this was a ruse31 to decoy him on to the next wood, where might be effectually compassed what, from policy or want of nerve, Henchard had failed to do earlier in the day. He started the horse.
"I know what you think," deprecated Henchard running after, almost bowed down with despair as he perceived the image of unscrupulous villainy that he assumed in his former friend's eyes. "But I am not what you think!" he cried hoarsely33. "Believe me, Farfrae; I have come entirely34 on your own and your wife's account. She is in danger. I know no more; and they want you to come. Your man has gone the other way in a mistake. O Farfrae! don't mistrust me--I am a wretched man; but my heart is true to you still!"
Farfrae, however, did distrust him utterly35. He knew his wife was with child, but he had left her not long ago in perfect health; and Henchard's treachery was more credible36 than his story. He had in his time heard bitter ironies37 from Henchard's lips, and there might be ironies now. He quickened the horse's pace, and had soon risen into the high country lying between there and Mellstock, Henchard's spasmodic run after him lending yet more substance to his thought of evil purposes.
The gig and its driver lessened38 against the sky in Henchard's eyes; his exertions39 for Farfrae's good had been in vain. Over this repentant40 sinner, at least, there was to be no joy in heaven. He cursed himself like a less scrupulous32 Job, as a vehement41 man will do when he loses self-respect, the last mental prop42 under poverty. To this he had come after a time of emotional darkness of which the adjoining woodland shade afforded inadequate43 illustration. Presently he began to walk back again along the way by which he had arrived. Farfrae should at all events have no reason for delay upon the road by seeing him there when he took his journey homeward later on.
Arriving at Casterbridge Henchard went again to Farfrae's house to make inquiries44. As soon as the door opened anxious faces confronted his from the staircase, hall, and landing; and they all said in grievous disappointment, "O--it is not he!" The manservant, finding his mistake, had long since returned, and all hopes had centred upon Henchard.
"But haven't you found him?" said the doctor.
"Yes....I cannot tell 'ee!" Henchard replied as he sank down on a chair within the entrance. "He can't be home for two hours."
"H'm," said the surgeon, returning upstairs.
"How is she?" asked Henchard of Elizabeth, who formed one of the group.
"In great danger, father. Her anxiety to see her husband makes her fearfully restless. Poor woman--I fear they have killed her!"
Henchard regarded the sympathetic speaker for a few instants as if she struck him in a new light, then, without further remark, went out of the door and onward to his lonely cottage. So much for man's rivalry45, he thought. Death was to have the oyster6, and Farfrae and himself the shells. But about Elizabeth-lane; in the midst of his gloom she seemed to him as a pin-point of light. He had liked the look on her face as she answered him from the stairs. There had been affection in it, and above all things what he desired now was affection from anything that was good and pure. She was not his own, yet, for the first time, he had a faint dream that he might get to like her as his own,--if she would only continue to love him.
Jopp was just going to bed when Henchard got home. As the latter entered the door Jopp said, "This is rather bad about Mrs. Farfrae's illness."
"Yes," said Henchard shortly, though little dreaming of Jopp s complicity in the night's harlequinade, and raising his eyes just sufficiently46 to observe that Jopp's face was lined with anxiety.
"Somebody has called for you," continued Jopp, when Henchard was shutting himself into his own apartment. "A kind of traveller, or sea-captain of some sort."
"Oh?--who could he be?"
"He seemed a well-be-doing man--had grey hair and a broadish face; but he gave no name, and no message."
"Nor do I gi'e him any attention." And, saying this, Henchard closed his door.
The divergence47 to Mellstock delayed Farfrae's return very nearly the two hours of Henchard's estimate. Among the other urgent reasons for his presence had been the need of his authority to send to Budmouth for a second physician; and when at length Farfrae did come back he was in a state bordering on distraction48 at his misconception of Henchard's motives49.
A messenger was despatched to Budmouth, late as it had grown; the night wore on, and the other doctor came in the small hours. Lucetta had been much soothed51 by Donald's arrival; he seldom or never left her side; and when, immediately after his entry, she had tried to lisp out to him the secret which so oppressed her, he checked her feeble words, lest talking should be dangerous, assuring her there was plenty of time to tell him everything.
Up to this time he knew nothing of the skimmington-ride. The dangerous illness and miscarriage52 of Mrs. Farfrae was soon rumoured53 through the town, and an apprehensive54 guess having been given as to its cause by the leaders in the exploit, compunction and fear threw a dead silence over all particulars of their orgie; while those immediately around Lucetta would not venture to add to her husband's distress55 by alluding56 to the subject.
What, and how much, Farfrae's wife ultimately explained to him of her past entanglement57 with Henchard, when they were alone in the solitude58 of that sad night, cannot be told. That she informed him of the bare facts of her peculiar59 intimacy60 with the corn-merchant became plain from Farfrae's own statements. But in respect of her subsequent conduct-her motive50 in coming to Casterbridge to unite herself with Henchard--her assumed justification61 in abandoning him when she discovered reasons for fearing him (though in truth her inconsequent passion for another man at first sight had most to do with that abandonment)--her method of reconciling to her conscience a marriage with the second when she was in a measure committed to the first: to what extent she spoke62 of these things remained Farfrae's secret alone.
Besides the watchman who called the hours and weather in Casterbridge that night there walked a figure up and down corn Street hardly less frequently. It was Henchard's, whose retiring to rest had proved itself a futility63 as soon as attempted; and he gave it up to go hither and thither64, and make inquiries about the patient every now and then. He called as much on Farfrae's account as on Lucetta's, and on Elizabeth-Jane's even more than on either's. Shorn one by one of all other interests, his life seemed centring on the personality of the stepdaughter whose presence but recently he could not endure. To see her on each occasion of his inquiry65 at Lucetta's was a comfort to him.
The last of his calls was made about four o'clock in the morning, in the steely light of dawn. Lucifer was fading into day across Durnover Moor, the sparrows were just alighting into the street, and the hens had begun to cackle from the outhouses. When within a few yards of Farfrae's he saw the door gently opened, and a servant raise her hand to the knocker, to untie66 the piece of cloth which had muffled67 it. He went across, the sparrows in his way scarcely flying up from the road-litter, so little did they believe in human aggression68 at so early a time.
"Why do you take off that?" said Henchard.
She turned in some surprise at his presence, and did not answer for an instant or two. Recognizing him, she said, "Because they may knock as loud as they will; she will never hear it any more."
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1
alley
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| n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路 | |
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lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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oyster
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| n.牡蛎；沉默寡言的人 | |
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imperative
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| n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的 | |
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alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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utterances
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| n.发声( utterance的名词复数 )；说话方式；语调；言论 | |
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contrition
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| n.悔罪，痛悔 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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moor
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| n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊 | |
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onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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larch
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| n.落叶松 | |
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whetting
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| v.（在石头上）磨（刀、斧等）( whet的现在分词 )；引起，刺激（食欲、欲望、兴趣等） | |
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glimmer
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| v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光 | |
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descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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retraced
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| v.折回( retrace的过去式和过去分词 )；回忆；回顾；追溯 | |
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plantations
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| n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 ) | |
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diverging
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| 分开( diverge的现在分词 )； 偏离； 分歧； 分道扬镳 | |
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swerving
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| v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的现在分词 ) | |
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antagonist
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| n.敌人，对抗者，对手 | |
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rein
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| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
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enticed
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| 诱惑，怂恿( entice的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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wrestle
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| vi.摔跤，角力；搏斗；全力对付 | |
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inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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implored
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| 恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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abruptness
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| n. 突然，唐突 | |
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ruse
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| n.诡计，计策；诡计 | |
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scrupulous
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| adj.审慎的，小心翼翼的，完全的，纯粹的 | |
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hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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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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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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credible
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| adj.可信任的，可靠的 | |
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ironies
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| n.反语( irony的名词复数 )；冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事；嘲弄 | |
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38
lessened
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| 减少的，减弱的 | |
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exertions
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| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
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repentant
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| adj.对…感到悔恨的 | |
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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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prop
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| vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山 | |
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inadequate
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| adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的 | |
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inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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45
rivalry
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| n.竞争，竞赛，对抗 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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divergence
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| n.分歧，岔开 | |
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48
distraction
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| n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐 | |
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motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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50
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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51
soothed
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| v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦 | |
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52
miscarriage
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| n.失败，未达到预期的结果；流产 | |
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rumoured
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| adj.谣传的；传说的；风 | |
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apprehensive
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| adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的 | |
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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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alluding
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| 提及，暗指( allude的现在分词 ) | |
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57
entanglement
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| n.纠缠，牵累 | |
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solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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60
intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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justification
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| n.正当的理由；辩解的理由 | |
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62
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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futility
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| n.无用 | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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66
untie
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| vt.解开，松开；解放 | |
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67
muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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68
aggression
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| n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害 | |
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