This was a much better picture to sleep on than the former one had been.
Next day I settled back into my old groove5. Mrs. Packard busied herself with her embroidery6 and I read to her or played on the piano. Happier days seemed approaching, nay7, had come. We enjoyed two days of it, then trouble settled down on us once more.
It began on Friday afternoon. Mrs. Packard and I had been out making some arrangements for the projected dinner-party and I had stopped for a minute in the library before going up-stairs.
A pile of mail lay on the table. Running this over with a rapid hand, she singled out several letters which she began to open. Their contents seemed far from satisfactory. Exclamation8 after exclamation left her lips, her agitation9 increasing with each one she read, and her haste, too, till finally it seemed sufficient for her just to glance at the unfolded sheet before letting it drop. When the last one had left her hand, she turned and, encountering my anxious look, bitterly remarked:
“We need not have made those arrangements this morning. Seven regrets in this mail and two in the early one. Nine regrets in all! and I sent out only ten invitations. What is the meaning of it? I begin to feel myself ostracized10.”
I did not understand it any more than she did.
“Invite others,” I suggested, and was sorry for my presumption11 the next minute.
Her poor lip trembled.
“I do not dare,” she whispered. “Oh, what will Mr. Packard say! Some one or something is working against us. We have enemies — enemies, and Mr. Packard will never get his election.”
Her trouble was natural and so was her expression of it. Feeling for her, and all the more that the cause of this concerted action against her was as much a mystery to me as it was to herself, I made some attempt to comfort her, which was futile12 enough, God knows. She heard my voice, no doubt, but she gave no evidence of noting what I said. When I had finished — that is, when she no longer heard me speaking — she let her head droop13 and presently I heard her murmur14:
“It seems to me that if for any reason he fails to get his election I shall wish to die.”
She was in this state of dejection, with the echo of this sad sentence in both our ears, when a light tap at the door was followed by the entrance of Letty, the nurse-maid. She wore an unusual look of embarrassment15 and held something crushed in her hand. Mrs. Packard advanced hurriedly to meet her.
“What is it?” she interrogated16 sharply, like one expectant of evil tidings.
“Nothing! that is, not much,” stammered17 the frightened girl, attempting to thrust her hand behind her back.
But Mrs. Packard was too quick for her.
“You have something there! What is it? Let me see.”
The girl’s hand moved forward reluctantly. “A paper which I found pinned to the baby’s coat when I took her out of the carriage,” she faltered19. “I— I don’t know what it means.”
Mrs. Packard’s eyes opened wide with horror. She seized the paper and staggered with it to one of the windows. While she looked at it, I cast a glance at Letty. She was crying, from what looked like pure fear; but it was the fear of ignorance rather than duplicity; she appeared as much mystified as ourselves.
illustration
Meanwhile I felt, rather than saw, the old shadow settling fast upon the head of her who an hour before had been so bright. She had chosen a place where her form could not fail of being more or less concealed20 by the curtain, and though I heard the paper rattle22 I could not see it or the hand which held it. But the time she spent over it seemed interminable before I heard her utter a sharp cry and saw the curtains shake as she clutched them.
It seemed the proper moment to proffer23 help, but before either Letty or I could start forward, her command rang out in smothered24 but peremptory25 tones:
“Keep back! I want no one here!” and we stopped, each looking at the other in very natural consternation26. And when, after another seemingly interminable interval27, she finally stepped forth28, I noted29 a haggard change in her face, and that her coat had been torn open and even the front of her dress wrenched30 apart as if she felt herself suffocating31, or as if — but this alternative only suggested itself to me later and I shall refrain from mentioning it now.
Crossing the floor with a stumbling step, with the paper which had roused all this indignation still in her hand, she paused before the now seriously alarmed Letty, and demanded in great excitement:
“Who pinned that paper on my child? You know; you saw it done. Was it a man or —”
“Oh no, ma’am, no, ma’am,” protested the girl. “No man came near her. It was a woman — a nice-looking woman.”
“A woman!”
Mrs. Packard’s tone was incredulous. But the girl insisted.
“Yes, ma’am; there was no man there at all. I was on one of the park benches resting, with the baby in my arms, and this woman passed by and saw us. She smiled at the baby’s ways, and then stopped and took to talking about her — how pretty she was and how little afraid of strangers. I saw no harm in the woman, ma’am, and let her sit down on the same bench with me for a few minutes. She must have pinned the paper on the baby’s coat then, for it was the only time anybody was near enough to do it.”
Mrs. Packard, with an irrepressible gesture of anger or dismay, turned and walked back to the window. The movement was a natural one. Certainly she was excusable for wishing to hide from the girl the full extent of the agitation into which this misadventure had thrown her.
“You may go.” The words came after a moment of silent suspense32. “Give the baby her supper — I know that you will never let any one else come so near her again.”
Letty probably did not catch the secret anguish33 hidden in her tone, but I did, and after the nurse-maid was gone, I waited anxiously for what Mrs. Packard would say.
It came from the window and conveyed nothing. Would I do so and so? I forget what her requests were, only that they necessitated34 my leaving the room. There seemed no alternative but to obey, yet I felt loath35 to leave her and was hesitating near the doorway36 when a new interruption occurred. Nixon brought in a telegram, and, as Mrs. Packard advanced to take it, she threw on the table the slip of paper which she had been poring over behind the curtains.
As I stepped back at Nixon’s entrance I was near the table and the single glance I gave this paper as it fell showed me that it was covered with the same Hebrew-like characters of which I already possessed37 more than one example. The surprise was acute, but the opportunity which came with it was one I could not let slip. Meeting her eye as the door closed on Nixon, I pointed38 at the scrawl39 she had thrown down, and wonderingly asked her if that was what Letty had found pinned to the baby’s coat.
With a surprised start, she paused in her act of opening the telegram and made a motion as if to repossess herself of this, but seeming to think better of it she confined herself to giving me a sharp look.
“Yes,” was her curt21 assent40.
I summoned up all my courage, possibly all my powers of acting41.
“Why, what is there in unreadable characters like these to alarm you?”
She forgot her telegram, she forgot everything but that here was a question she must answer in a way to disarm42 all suspicion.
“The fact,” she accentuated43 gravely, “that they are unreadable. What menace may they not contain? I am afraid of them, as I am of all obscure and mystifying things.”
In a flash, at the utterance44 of these words, I saw, my way to the fulfillment of the wish which had actuated me from the instant my eyes had fallen on this paper.
“Do you think it a cipher45?” I asked.
“A cipher?”
“I have always been good at puzzles. I wish you would let me see what I can make out of these rows of broken squares and topsy-turvy angles. Perhaps I can prove to you that they contain nothing to alarm you.”
The gleam of something almost ferocious46 sprang into this gentle woman’s eyes. Her lips moved and I expected an angry denial, but fear kept her back. She did not dare to appear to understand this paper any better than I did. Besides, she was doubtless conscious that its secret was not one to yield to any mere18 puzzle-reader. She could safely trust it to my curiosity. All this I detected in her changing expression, before she made the slightest gesture which allowed me to secure what I felt to be the most valuable acquisition in the present exigency47.
Then she turned to her telegram. It was from her husband, and I was not prepared for the cry of dismay which left her lips as she read it, nor for the increased excitement into which she was thrown by its few and seemingly simple words.
With apparent forgetfulness of what had just occurred — a forgetfulness which insensibly carried her back to the moment when she had given me some order which involved my departure from the room — she impetuously called out over her shoulder which she had turned on opening her telegram:
“Miss Saunders! Miss Saunders! are you there? Bring me the morning papers; bring me the morning papers!”
Instantly I remembered that we had not read the papers. Contrary to our usual habit we had gone about a pressing piece of work without a glance at any of the three dailies laid to hand in their usual place on the library table. “They are here on the table,” I replied, wondering as much at the hectic48 flush which now enlivened her features as at the extreme paleness that had marked them the moment before.
“Search them! There is something new in them about me. There must be. Read Mr. Packard’s message.”
I took it from her hand; only eight words in all.
Here they are — the marks of separation being mine:
I am coming — libel I know — where is S.
Henry.
“Search the columns,” she repeated, as I laid the telegram down. “Search! Search!”
I hastily obeyed. But it took me some time to find the paragraph I sought. The certainty that others in the house had read these papers, if we had not, disturbed me. I recalled certain glances which I had seen pass between the servants behind Mrs. Packard’s back — glances which I had barely noted at the time, but which returned to my mind now with forceful meaning; and if these busy girls had read, all the town had read — what? Suddenly I found it. She saw my eyes stop in their hurried scanning and my fingers clutch the sheet more firmly, and, drawing up behind me, she attempted to follow with her eyes the words I reluctantly read out. Here they are, just as they left my trembling lips that day — words that only the most rabid of opponents could have instigated49:
Apropos50 of the late disgraceful discoveries, by which a woman of apparent means and unsullied honor has been precipitated51 from her proud preeminence52 as a leader of fashion, how many women, known and admired to-day, could stand the test of such an inquiry53 as she was subjected to? We know one at least, high in position and aiming at a higher, who, if the merciful veil were withdrawn54 which protects the secrets of the heart, would show such a dark spot in her life, that even the aegis55 of the greatest power in the state would be powerless to shield her from the indignation of those who now speak loudest in her praise.
“A lie!” burst in vehement56 protest from Mrs. Packard, as I finished. “A lie like the rest! But oh, the shame of it! a shame that will kill me.” Then suddenly and with a kind of cold horror: “It is this which has destroyed my social prestige in town. I understand those nine declinations now. Henry! my poor Henry!”
There was little comfort to offer, but I tried to divert her mind to the practical aspect of the case by saying:
“What can Mr. Steele be doing? He does not seem to be very successful in his attempts to carry out the mayor’s orders. See! your husband asks where he is. He can mean no other by the words ‘Where is S—?’ He knew that your mind would supply the name.”
“Yes.”
Her eyes had become fixed57; her whole face betrayed a settled despair. Quickly, violently, she rang the bell.
Nixon appeared.
She advanced hurriedly to meet him.
“Nixon, you have Mr. Steele’s address?”
“Yes, Mrs. Packard.”
“Then go to it at once. Find Mr. Steele if you can, but if that is not possible, learn where he has gone and come right back and tell me. Mr. Packard telegraphs to know where he is. He has not joined the mayor in C——.”
“Yes, Mrs. Packard; the house is not far. I shall be back in fifteen minutes.”
The words were respectful, but the sly glint in his blinking eyes as he hastened out fixed my thoughts again on this man and the uncommon58 attitude he maintained toward the mistress whose behests he nevertheless flew to obey.
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1
thawed
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| 解冻 | |
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2
genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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attic
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| n.顶楼，屋顶室 | |
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joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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5
groove
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| n.沟，槽；凹线，（刻出的）线条，习惯 | |
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6
embroidery
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| n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品 | |
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7
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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8
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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9
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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10
ostracized
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| v.放逐( ostracize的过去式和过去分词 )；流放；摈弃；排斥 | |
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11
presumption
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| n.推测，可能性，冒昧，放肆，[法律]推定 | |
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12
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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13
droop
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| v.低垂，下垂；凋萎，萎靡 | |
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14
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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15
embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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16
interrogated
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| v.询问( interrogate的过去式和过去分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询 | |
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17
stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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18
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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19
faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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20
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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21
curt
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| adj.简短的，草率的 | |
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22
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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23
proffer
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| v.献出，赠送；n.提议，建议 | |
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24
smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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25
peremptory
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| adj.紧急的，专横的，断然的 | |
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26
consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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27
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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28
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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29
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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30
wrenched
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| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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31
suffocating
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| a.使人窒息的 | |
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32
suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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33
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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34
necessitated
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| 使…成为必要，需要( necessitate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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35
loath
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| adj.不愿意的；勉强的 | |
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36
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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37
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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38
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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39
scrawl
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| vt.潦草地书写；n.潦草的笔记，涂写 | |
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40
assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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41
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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42
disarm
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| v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和 | |
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43
accentuated
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| v.重读( accentuate的过去式和过去分词 )；使突出；使恶化；加重音符号于 | |
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44
utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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45
cipher
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| n.零；无影响力的人；密码 | |
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46
ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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47
exigency
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| n.紧急；迫切需要 | |
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48
hectic
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| adj.肺病的；消耗热的；发热的；闹哄哄的 | |
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49
instigated
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| v.使（某事物）开始或发生，鼓动( instigate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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50
apropos
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| adv.恰好地；adj.恰当的；关于 | |
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51
precipitated
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| v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀 | |
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52
preeminence
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| n.卓越,杰出 | |
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53
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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54
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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55
aegis
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| n.盾；保护，庇护 | |
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56
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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57
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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58
uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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