Cornelius remained standing1 on the spot where Rosa had left him.
He was quite overpowered with the weight of his twofold happiness.
Half an hour passed away. Already did the first rays of thesun enter through the iron grating of the prison, whenCornelius was suddenly startled at the noise of steps whichcame up the staircase, and of cries which approached nearerand nearer.
Almost at the same instant he saw before him the pale anddistracted face of Rosa.
He started, and turned pale with fright.
"Cornelius, Cornelius!" she screamed, gasping3 for breath.
"Good Heaven! what is it?" asked the prisoner.
"Cornelius! the tulip ---- ""Well?""How shall I tell you?""Speak, speak, Rosa!""Some one has taken -- stolen it from us.""Stolen -- taken?" said Cornelius.
"Yes," said Rosa, leaning against the door to supportherself; "yes, taken, stolen!"And saying this, she felt her limbs failing her, and shefell on her knees.
"But how? Tell me, explain to me.""Oh, it is not my fault, my friend."Poor Rosa! she no longer dared to call him "My beloved one.""You have then left it alone," said Cornelius, ruefully.
"One minute only, to instruct our messenger, who livesscarcely fifty yards off, on the banks of the Waal.""And during that time, notwithstanding all my injunctions,you left the key behind, unfortunate child!""No, no, no! this is what I cannot understand. The key wasnever out of my hands; I clinched4 it as if I were afraid itwould take wings.""But how did it happen, then?""That's what I cannot make out. I had given the letter to mymessenger; he started before I left his house; I came home,and my door was locked, everything in my room was as I hadleft it, except the tulip, -- that was gone. Some one musthave had a key for my room, or have got a false one made onpurpose."She was nearly choking with sobs5, and was unable tocontinue.
Cornelius, immovable and full of consternation6, heard almostwithout understanding, and only muttered, --"Stolen, stolen, and I am lost!""O Cornelius, forgive me, forgive me, it will kill me!"Seeing Rosa's distress7, Cornelius seized the iron bars ofthe grating, and furiously shaking them, called out, --"Rosa, Rosa, we have been robbed, it is true, but shall weallow ourselves to be dejected for all that? No, no; themisfortune is great, but it may perhaps be remedied. Rosa,we know the thief!""Alas8! what can I say about it?""But I say that it is no one else but that infamous9 Jacob.
Shall we allow him to carry to Haarlem the fruit of ourlabour, the fruit of our sleepless10 nights, the child of ourlove? Rosa, we must pursue, we must overtake him!""But how can we do all this, my friend, without letting myfather know we were in communication with each other? Howshould I, a poor girl, with so little knowledge of the worldand its ways, be able to attain11 this end, which perhaps youcould not attain yourself?""Rosa, Rosa, open this door to me, and you will see whetherI will not find the thief, -- whether I will not make himconfess his crime and beg for mercy.""Alas!" cried Rosa, sobbing12, "can I open the door for you?
have I the keys? If I had had them, would not you have beenfree long ago?""Your father has them, -- your wicked father, who hasalready crushed the first bulb of my tulip. Oh, the wretch13!
he is an accomplice14 of Jacob!""Don't speak so loud, for Heaven's sake!""Oh, Rosa, if you don't open the door to me," Corneliuscried in his rage, "I shall force these bars, and killeverything I find in the prison.""Be merciful, be merciful, my friend!""I tell you, Rosa, that I shall demolish15 this prison, stonefor stone!" and the unfortunate man, whose strength wasincreased tenfold by his rage, began to shake the door witha great noise, little heeding16 that the thunder of his voicewas re-echoing through the spiral staircase.
Rosa, in her fright, made vain attempts to check thisfurious outbreak.
"I tell you that I shall kill that infamous Gryphus?" roaredCornelius. "I tell you I shall shed his blood as he did thatof my black tulip."The wretched prisoner began really to rave17.
"Well, then, yes," said Rosa, all in a tremble. "Yes, yes,only be quiet. Yes, yes, I will take his keys, I will openthe door for you! Yes, only be quiet, my own dearCornelius."She did not finish her speech, as a growl18 by her sideinterrupted her.
"My father!" cried Rosa.
"Gryphus!" roared Van Baerle. "Oh, you villain19!"Old Gryphus, in the midst of all the noise, had ascended20 thestaircase without being heard.
He rudely seized his daughter by the wrist.
"So you will take my keys?" he said, in a voice choked withrage. "Ah! this dastardly fellow, this monster, thisgallows-bird of a conspirator21, is your own dear Cornelius,is he? Ah! Missy has communications with prisoners of state.
Ah! won't I teach you -- won't I?"Rosa clasped her hands in despair.
"Ah!" Gryphus continued, passing from the madness of angerto the cool irony22 of a man who has got the better of hisenemy, -- "Ah, you innocent tulip-fancier, you gentlescholar; you will kill me, and drink my blood! Very well!
very well! And you have my daughter for an accomplice. Am I,forsooth, in a den2 of thieves, -- in a cave of brigands23?
Yes, but the Governor shall know all to-morrow, and hisHighness the Stadtholder the day after. We know the law, --we shall give a second edition of the Buytenhof, MasterScholar, and a good one this time. Yes, yes, just gnaw24 yourpaws like a bear in his cage, and you, my fine little lady,devour your dear Cornelius with your eyes. I tell you, mylambkins, you shall not much longer have the felicity ofconspiring together. Away with you, unnatural25 daughter! Andas to you, Master Scholar, we shall see each other again.
Just be quiet, -- we shall."Rosa, beyond herself with terror and despair, kissed herhands to her friend; then, suddenly struck with a brightthought, she rushed toward the staircase, saying, --"All is not yet lost, Cornelius. Rely on me, my Cornelius."Her father followed her, growling26.
As to poor Cornelius, he gradually loosened his hold of thebars, which his fingers still grasped convulsively. His headwas heavy, his eyes almost started from their sockets27, andhe fell heavily on the floor of his cell, muttering, --"Stolen! it has been stolen from me!"During this time Boxtel had left the fortress28 by the doorwhich Rosa herself had opened. He carried the black tulipwrapped up in a cloak, and, throwing himself into a coach,which was waiting for him at Gorcum, he drove off, without,as may well be imagined, having informed his friend Gryphusof his sudden departure.
And now, as we have seen him enter his coach, we shall withthe consent of the reader, follow him to the end of hisjourney.
He proceeded but slowly, as the black tulip could not beartravelling post-haste.
But Boxtel, fearing that he might not arrive early enough,procured at Delft a box, lined all round with fresh moss29, inwhich he packed the tulip. The flower was so lightly pressedupon all sides, with a supply of air from above, that thecoach could now travel full speed without any possibility ofinjury to the tulip.
He arrived next morning at Haarlem, fatigued30 but triumphant;and, to do away with every trace of the theft, hetransplanted the tulip, and, breaking the originalflower-pot, threw the pieces into the canal. After which hewrote the President of the Horticultural Society a letter,in which he announced to him that he had just arrived atHaarlem with a perfectly31 black tulip; and, with his flowerall safe, took up his quarters at a good hotel in the town,and there he waited.
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standing
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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clinched
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| v.（尤指两人）互相紧紧抱[扭]住( clinch的过去式和过去分词 )；解决（争端、交易），达成（协议） | |
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sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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6
consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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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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alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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infamous
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| adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的 | |
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sleepless
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| adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的 | |
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attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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12
sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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13
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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14
accomplice
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| n.从犯，帮凶，同谋 | |
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15
demolish
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| v.拆毁(建筑物等)，推翻(计划、制度等) | |
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16
heeding
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| v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的现在分词 ) | |
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rave
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| vi.胡言乱语；热衷谈论；n.热情赞扬 | |
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18
growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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19
villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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20
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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conspirator
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| n.阴谋者，谋叛者 | |
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22
irony
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| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
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brigands
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| n.土匪，强盗( brigand的名词复数 ) | |
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24
gnaw
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| v.不断地啃、咬；使苦恼，折磨 | |
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unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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growling
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| n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼 | |
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sockets
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| n.套接字，使应用程序能够读写与收发通讯协定(protocol)与资料的程序( Socket的名词复数 )；孔( socket的名词复数 )；（电器上的）插口；托座；凹穴 | |
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fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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30
fatigued
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| adj. 疲乏的 | |
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31
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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