“Are you pleased to see me again, darling?” he inquired, after the first excitement of their meeting had passed away.
“More pleased than I can tell you,” she answered; and as she spoke2 Browne could see the love-light in her eyes. “Ever since your telegram arrived yesterday, I have been counting the minutes until I should see you. It seems like years since you went away, and such long years too!”
What Browne said in reply to this pretty speech, it does not behove me to set down here. Whatever it was, however, it seemed to give great satisfaction to the person to whom it was addressed. At length they sat down together upon the sofa, and Browne told her of the arrangements he had made. “I did not write to you about them, dear,” he said, “for the reason that, in a case like this, the less that is put on paper the better for all parties concerned. Letters may go astray, and there is no knowing what may happen to them. Therefore I thought I would keep all my news until I could tell it to you face to face. Are you ready for your long journey?”
“Yes, we are quite ready,” said Katherine. “We are only waiting for you. Madame has been very busy for the last few days, and so have I.” She mentioned Madame’s name with some little trepidation3, for she feared lest the old subject, which had caused them both so much pain on the last occasion that they had met, might be revived. Browne, however, was careful, as she was, not to broach4 it.
“And when will your yacht leave England?” she inquired, after he had detailed5 his arrangements to her.
“On Monday next at latest,” he answered. “We shall not be very far behind you.”
“Nevertheless it will be a long, long time before I shall see you again,” she continued in a sad tone. “Oh, Jack6, Jack, I cannot tell you how wicked I feel in allowing you to do so much for me. Even now, at this late hour, I feel I have no right to accept such a sacrifice at your hands.”
“Stop,” he replied, holding up his finger in warning. “I thought we had agreed that nothing more should be said about it.”
At this juncture7 there was the sound of a footstep in the passage outside, and a few seconds later Madame Bernstein entered the room. On seeing Browne she hastened forward, and greeted him with all the effusiveness8 of which she was mistress. “Ah, Monsieur Browne,” she said, “now that I see you my courage returns. As Katherine has doubtless told you, everything is prepared, and we are ready to start for Marseilles as soon as you give the order. Katherine is looking forward to the voyage; but as for me —— Ah! I do hate the sea more than anything in the world. That nasty little strip of salt water which divides England from France is a continual nightmare to me, and I never cross it without hoping it may be the last time.”
Browne tried to comfort her by telling her of the size of the vessel9 in which they were to travel, and assured her that, even if she should be ill, by the time they were out of the Mediterranean10 she would have recovered. Seeing that no other consolation11 was forthcoming, Madame was compelled to be content with this poor comfort.
Though Browne had already breakfasted in the solid, substantial English fashion, he was only too glad to persuade Madame Bernstein and his sweetheart to partake of déjeuner at one of the famous cafés on the Boulevards. After the meal Madame returned to the Rue12 Jacquarie in order to finish a little packing, which she had left to the last moment; while Browne, who had been looking forward to this opportunity, assumed possession of Katharine, and carried her to one of the large shops in the Rue de la Paix, where he purchased for her the best dressing-bag ever obtained for love or money; to which he added a set of sables13 that would have turned even Russian Royalty14 green with envy. Never had his money seemed so useful to Browne. These commissions executed, they returned to the Rue Jacquarie, where they found Madame Bernstein ready for the journey. The express was due to leave Paris for Marseilles at 2.15 p.m. Twenty minutes before that hour a cab drove up to the door, and in it Browne placed Madame Bernstein and Katherine, following them himself. Wonderful is the power of a gift! Browne carried the bag, he had given Katherine that morning, down to the cab with his own hands, and without being asked to do so, placed it on the seat beside her. He noticed that her right hand went out to take it, and held it lovingly until they reached the station, where she surrendered it to him again.
When they made their appearance on the platform an official hurried forward to meet them, and conducted them forthwith to the special saloon carriage Browne had bespoken15 for their use that morning. As she stepped into it Katherine gave a little grateful glance at her lover to show that she appreciated his generosity16. Poor as she had always been, she found it hard to realize what his wealth meant. And yet there were many little signs to give her evidence of the fact — the obsequious17 railway officials; his own majestic18 English servant, who brought them a sheaf of papers without being instructed to do so; and last, but by no means least, the very railway carriage itself, which was of the most luxurious19 description. On Madame Bernstein entering the compartment20 she placed herself in a corner, arranged her travelling-rug, her smelling-salts, her papers, and her fan to her satisfaction; and by the time she had settled down the journey had commenced. The train was an express, and did not stop until it reached Laroche at 4.40. Here afternoon tea was procured21 for the ladies; while on reaching Dijon, two hours and a half later, it was discovered that an unusually luxurious dinner had been ordered by telegraph, and was served in the second compartment of the carriage. Having done justice to it, they afterwards settled themselves down for the night. It is a very significant fact that when Browne looks back upon that journey now, the one most important fact, that strikes his memory, is that Madame Bernstein fell asleep a little after eight o’clock, and remained so until they had passed Pontanevaux. During the time she slept, Browne was able to have a little private conversation with Katherine; and whatever trouble he had taken to ensure the journey being a successful one, he was amply compensated22 for it. At ten o’clock the polite conductor begged permission to inform mesdames and monsieur that their sleeping apartments were prepared for them. Browne accordingly bade the ladies good-night.
As the young man lay in his sleeping compartment that night, and the train made its way across France towards its most important sea-port, Browne’s dreams were of many things. At one moment he was back in the Opera House at Covent Garden, listening to Lohengrin, and watching Katherine’s face as each successive singer appeared upon the stage. Then, as if by magic, the scene changed, and he was on the windy mountain-side at Merok, and Katherine was looking up at him from her place of deadly peril23 a few feet below. He reached down and tried to save her, but it appeared to be a question of length of arm, and his was a foot too short. “Pray allow me to help you,” said Maas; and being only too grateful for any assistance, Browne permitted him to do so. They accordingly caught her by the hands and began to pull. Then suddenly, without any warning, Maas struck him a terrible blow upon the head; both holds were instantly loosed, and Katherine was in the act of falling over the precipice24 when Browne awoke. Great beads25 of perspiration26 stood upon his forehead, and, under the influence of this fright, he trembled as he did not remember ever to have done in his life before. For upwards27 of an hour he lay awake, listening to the rhythm of the wheels and the thousand and one noises that a train makes at night. Then once more he fell asleep, and, as before, dreamt of Katherine. Equally strange was it that on this occasion also Maas was destined28 to prove his adversary29. They were in Japan now, and the scene was a garden in which the Wistaria bloomed luxuriously30. Katherine was standing31 on a rustic32 bridge, looking down into the water below, and Maas was beside her. Suddenly the bridge gave way, and the girl was precipitated33 into the water. Though she was drowning, he noticed that Maas did nothing to help her, but stood upon what remained of the bridge and taunted34 her with the knowledge that, if she were drowned, her mission to the East would be useless. After this no further sleep was possible. At break of day he accordingly rose and dressed himself. They were passing through the little town of Saint–Chamas at the time. It was a lovely morning; not a cloud in the sky, and all the air and country redolent of life and beauty. It was a day upon which a man might be thankful for the right to live and love. Yet Browne was sad at heart. Was he not about to part from the woman he loved for nearly two whole months? Brave though he was in most things, it must be confessed he feared that separation, as a confirmed coward fears a blow. But still the train flew remorselessly on, bringing them every moment nearer and nearer their destination.
When they reached it they drove direct to an hotel. Here they breakfasted, and afterwards made their way to the steamer. Browne’s heart was sinking lower and lower, for never before had Katherine seemed so sweet and so desirable. Once on board the vessel they called a steward35 to their assistance, and the two ladies were shown to their cabins. As they afterwards found out, they were the best that Browne could secure, were situated36 amidships, and were really intended each to accommodate four passengers. While they were examining them Browne hunted out the chief steward, and the stewards37 who would be likely to wait upon his friends. These he rewarded in such a way that, if the men only acted up to their protestations, the remainder of the passengers would have very good cause to complain. Having finished this work of bribery38 and corruption39, he went in search of the ladies, only to be informed by the stewardess40 that they had left their cabins and had gone on deck. He accordingly made his way up the companion-ladder, and found them standing beside the smoking-room entrance.
“I hope you found your cabins comfortable,” he said. “I have just seen the chief steward, and he has promised that everything possible shall be done to make you enjoy your voyage.”
“How good you are!” said Katherine in a low voice, and with a little squeeze of his hand; while Madame protested that, if it were possible for anything to reconcile her to the sea, it would be Monsieur Browne’s kindness. Then the warning whistle sounded for non-passengers to leave the ship. Madame Bernstein took the hint, and, having bade him good-bye, made her way along the deck towards the companion-ladder, leaving the lovers together. Katherine’s eyes had filled with tears and she had grown visibly paler. Now that the time had come for parting with the man she loved, she had discovered how much he was to her.
“Katherine,” said Browne, in a voice that was hoarse41 with suppressed emotion, “do you know now how much I love you?”
“You love me more than I deserve,” she said. “I shall never be able to repay you for all you have done for me.”
“I want no repayment42 but your love,” he answered.
“Si vous n’êtes pas un voyageur, m’sieu, ayez l’obligeance de débarquer,” said a gruff voice in his ear.
Seeing that there was nothing left but to say good-bye, Browne kissed Katherine, and, unable to bear any more, made for the gangway. Five minutes later the great ship was under way, and Katherine had embarked43 upon her voyage to the East.
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1
concierge
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| n.管理员；门房 | |
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2
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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3
trepidation
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| n.惊恐，惶恐 | |
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broach
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| v.开瓶，提出(题目) | |
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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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6
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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7
juncture
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| n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头 | |
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effusiveness
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| n.吐露，唠叨 | |
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9
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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Mediterranean
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| adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的 | |
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consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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rue
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| n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔 | |
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13
sables
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| n.紫貂( sable的名词复数 )；紫貂皮；阴暗的；暗夜 | |
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14
royalty
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| n.皇家，皇族 | |
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15
bespoken
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| v.预定( bespeak的过去分词 )；订（货）；证明；预先请求 | |
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16
generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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17
obsequious
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| adj.谄媚的，奉承的，顺从的 | |
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18
majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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19
luxurious
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| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
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20
compartment
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| n.卧车包房，隔间；分隔的空间 | |
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procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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22
compensated
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| 补偿，报酬( compensate的过去式和过去分词 )； 给（某人）赔偿（或赔款） | |
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23
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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24
precipice
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| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
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25
beads
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| n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链 | |
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26
perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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28
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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29
adversary
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| adj.敌手，对手 | |
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luxuriously
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| adv.奢侈地，豪华地 | |
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31
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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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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33
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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34
taunted
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| 嘲讽( taunt的过去式和过去分词 )； 嘲弄； 辱骂； 奚落 | |
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35
steward
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| n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员 | |
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36
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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37
stewards
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| （轮船、飞机等的）乘务员( steward的名词复数 )； （俱乐部、旅馆、工会等的）管理员； （大型活动的）组织者； （私人家中的）管家 | |
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38
bribery
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| n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿 | |
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39
corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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40
stewardess
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| n.空中小姐，女乘务员 | |
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41
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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42
repayment
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| n.偿还，偿还款；报酬 | |
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43
embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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