“Extra dark outside, ain’t it?” he muttered.
“Not so dark but that I could see that man of yours prowling about there,” said Heyst in measured tones.
“What — Pedro? He’s scarcely a man you know; or else I wouldn’t be so fond of him as I am.”
“Very well. Let’s call him your worthy4 associate.”
“Ay! Worthy enough for what we want of him. A great standby is Peter in a scrimmage. A growl5 and a bite — oh, my! And you don’t want him about?”
“I don’t.”
“You want him out of the way?” insisted Ricardo with an affectation of incredulity which Heyst accepted calmly, though the air in the room seemed to grow more oppressive with every word spoken.
“That’s it. I do want him out of the way.” He forced himself to speak equably.
“Lor’! That’s no great matter. Pedro’s not much use here. The business my governor’s after can be settled by ten minutes’ rational talk with — with another gentleman. Quiet talk!”
He looked up suddenly with hard, phosphorescent eyes. Heyst didn’t move a muscle. Ricardo congratulated himself on having left his revolver behind. He was so exasperated7 that he didn’t know what he might have done. He said at last:
“You want poor, harmless Peter out of the way before you let me take you to see the governor — is that it?”
“Yes, that is it.”
“H’m! One can see,” Ricardo said with hidden venom8, “that you are a gentleman; but all that gentlemanly fancifulness is apt to turn sour on a plain man’s stomach. However — you’ll have to pardon me.”
He put his fingers into his mouth and let out a whistle which seemed to drive a thin, sharp shaft9 of air solidly against one’s nearest ear-drum. Though he greatly enjoyed Heyst’s involuntary grimace10, he sat perfectly11 stolid12 waiting for the effect of the call.
It brought Pedro in with an extraordinary, uncouth13, primeval impetuosity. The door flew open with a clatter14, and the wild figure it disclosed seemed anxious to devastate15 the room in leaps and bounds; but Ricardo raised his open palm, and the creature came in quietly. His enormous half-closed paws swung to and fro a little in front of his bowed trunk as he walked. Ricardo looked on truculently16.
“You go to the boat — understand? Go now!”
The little red eyes of the tame monster blinked with painful attention in the mass of hair.
“Well? Why don’t you get? Forgot human speech, eh? Don’t you know any longer what a boat is?”
“Si — boat,” the creature stammered17 out doubtfully.
“Well, go there — the boat at the jetty. March off to it and sit there, lie down there, do anything but go to sleep there — till you hear my call, and then fly here. Them’s your orders. March! Get, vamos! No, not that way — out through the front door. No sulks!”
Pedro obeyed with uncouth alacrity19. When he had gone, the gleam of pitiless savagery20 went out of Ricardo’s yellow eyes, and his physiognomy took on, for the first time that evening, the expression of a domestic cat which is being noticed.
“You can watch him right into the bushes, if you like. Too dark, eh? Why not go with him to the very spot, then?”
Heyst made a gesture of vague protest.
“There’s nothing to assure me that he will stay there. I have no doubt of his going, but it’s an act without guarantee.”
“There you are!” Ricardo shrugged21 his shoulders philosophically22. “Can’t be helped. Short of shooting our Pedro, nobody can make absolutely sure of his staying in the same place longer than he has a mind to; but I tell you, he lives in holy terror of my temper. That’s why I put on my sudden-death air when I talk to him. And yet I wouldn’t shoot him — not I, unless in such a fit of rage as would make a man shoot his favourite dog. Look here, sir! This deal is on the square. I didn’t tip him a wink23 to do anything else. He won’t budge24 from the jetty. Are you coming along now, sir?”
A short-silence ensued. Ricardo’s jaws25 were working ominously26 under his skin. His eyes glided27: voluptuously28 here and there, cruel and dreamy, Heyst checked a sudden movement, reflected for a while, then said:
“You must wait a little.”
“Wait a little! Wait a little! What does he think a fellow is — a graven image?” grumbled29 Ricardo half audibly.
Heyst went into the bedroom, and shut the door after him with a bang. Coming from the light, he could not see a thing in there at first; yet he received the impression of the girl getting up from the floor. On the less opaque31 darkness of the shutter-hole, her head detached itself suddenly, very faint, a mere18 hint of a round, dark shape without a face.
“I am going, Lena. I am going to confront these scoundrels.” He was surprised to feel two arms falling on his shoulders. “I thought that you —” he began.
“Yes, yes!” the girl whispered hastily.
She neither clung to him, nor yet did she try to draw him to her. Her hands grasped his shoulders, and she seemed to him to be staring into his face in the dark. And now he could see something of her face, too — an oval without features — and faintly distinguish her person, in the blackness, a form without definite lines.
“You have a black dress here, haven’t you, Lena?” he asked, speaking rapidly, and so low that she could just hear him.
“Yes — an old thing.”
“Very good. Put it on at once.”
“But why?”
“Not for mourning!” Them was something peremptory32 in the slightly ironic33 murmur34. “Can you find it and get into it in the dark?”
She could. She would try. He waited, very still. He could imagine her movements over there at the far end of the room; but his eyes, accustomed now to the darkness, had lost her completely. When she spoke6, her voice surprised him by its nearness. She had done what he had told her to do, and had approached him, invisible.
“Good! Where’s that piece of purple veil I’ve seen lying about?” he asked.
There was no answer, only a slight rustle35.
“Where is it?” he repeated impatiently.
Her unexpected breath was on his cheek.
“In my hands.”
“Capital! Listen, Lena. As soon as I leave the bungalow36 with that horrible scoundrel, you slip out at the back — instantly, lose no time! — and run round into the forest. That will be your time, while we are walking away, and I am sure he won’t give me the slip. Run into the forest behind the fringe of bushes between the big trees. You will know, surely, how to find a place in full view of the front door. I fear for you; but in this black dress, with most of your face muffled37 up in that dark veil, I defy anybody to find you there before daylight. Wait in the forest till the table is pushed into full view of the doorway38, and you see three candles out of four blown out and one relighted — or, should the lights be put out here while you watch them, wait till three candles are lighted and then two put out. At either of these signals run back as hard as you can, for it will mean that I am waiting for you here.”
While he was speaking, the girl had sought and seized one of his hands. She did not press it; she held it loosely, as it were timidly, caressingly39. It was no grasp; it was a mere contact, as if only to make sure that he was there, that he was real and no mere darker shadow in the obscurity. The warmth of her hand gave Heyst a strange, intimate sensation of all her person. He had to fight down a new sort of emotion, which almost unmanned him. He went on, whispering sternly:
“But if you see no such signals, don’t let anything — fear, curiosity, despair, or hope — entice40 you back to this house; and with the first sign of dawn steal away along the edge of the clearing till you strike the path. Wait no longer, because I shall probably be dead.”
The murmur of the word “Never!” floated into his ear as if it formed itself in the air.
“You know the path,” he continued. “Make your way to the barricade41. Go to Wang — yes, to Wang. Let nothing stop you!” It seemed to him that the girl’s hand trembled a little. “The worst he can do to you is to shoot you, but he won’t. I really think he won’t, if I am not there. Stay with the villagers, with the wild people, and fear nothing. They will be more awed42 by you than you can be frightened of them. Davidson’s bound to turn up before very long. Keep a look-out for a passing steamer. Think of some sort of signal to call him.”
She made no answer. The sense of the heavy, brooding silence in the outside world seemed to enter and fill the room — the oppressive infinity43 of it, without breath, without light. It was as if the heart of hearts had ceased to beat and the end of all things had come.
“Have you understood? You are to run out of the house at once,” Heyst whispered urgently.
She lifted his hand to her lips and let it go. He was startled.
“Lena!” he cried out under his breath.
She was gone from his side. He dared not trust himself — no, not even to the extent of a tender word.
Turning to go out he heard a thud somewhere in the house. To open the door, he had first to lift the curtain; he did so with his face over his shoulder. The merest trickle44 of light, earning through the keyhole and one or two cracks, was enough for his eyes to see her plainly, all black, down on her knees, with her head and arms flung on the foot of the bed — all black in the desolation of a mourning sinner. What was this? A suspicion that there were everywhere more things than he could understand crossed Heyst’s mind. Her arm, detached from the bed, motioned him away. He obeyed, and went out, full of disquiet45.
The curtain behind him had not ceased to tremble when she was up on her feet, close against it, listening for sounds, for words, in a stooping, tragic46 attitude of stealthy attention, one hand clutching at her breast as if to compress, to make less loud the beating of her heart. Heyst had caught Mr. Jones’s secretary in the contemplation of his closed writing-desk. Ricardo might have been meditating47 how to break into it; but when he turned about suddenly, he showed so distorted a face that it made Heyst pause in wonder at the upturned whites of the eyes, which were blinking horribly, as if the man were inwardly convulsed.
“I thought you were never coming,” Ricardo mumbled48.
“I didn’t know you were pressed for time. Even if your going away depends on this conversation, as you say, I doubt if you are the men to put to sea on such a night as this,” said Heyst, motioning Ricardo to precede him out of the house.
With feline49 undulations of hip50 and shoulder, the secretary left the room at once. There was something cruel in the absolute dumbness of the night. The great cloud covering half the sky hung right against one, like an enormous curtain hiding menacing preparations of violence. As the feet of the two men touched the ground, a rumble30 came from behind it, preceded by a swift, mysterious gleam of light on the waters of the bay.
“Ha!” said Ricardo. “It begins.”
“It may be nothing in the end,” observed Heyst, stepping along steadily51.
“No! Let it come!” Ricardo said viciously. “I am in the humour for it!”
By the time the two men had reached the other bungalow, the far-off modulated52 rumble growled53 incessantly54, while pale lightning in waves of cold fire flooded and ran off the island in rapid succession. Ricardo, unexpectedly, dashed ahead up the steps and put his head through the doorway.
“Here he is, governor! Keep him with you as long as you can — till you hear me whistle. I am on the track.”
He flung these words into the room with inconceivable speed, and stood aside to let the visitor pass through the doorway; but he had to wait an appreciable55 moment, because Heyst, seeing his purpose, had scornfully slowed his pace. When Heyst entered the room it was with a smile, the Heyst smile, lurking56 under his martial57 moustache.
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1
lurid
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| adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的 | |
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rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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mid
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| adj.中央的，中间的 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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6
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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7
exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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venom
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| n.毒液，恶毒，痛恨 | |
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9
shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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10
grimace
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| v.做鬼脸，面部歪扭 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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12
stolid
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| adj.无动于衷的，感情麻木的 | |
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13
uncouth
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| adj.无教养的，粗鲁的 | |
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14
clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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15
devastate
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| v.使荒芜，破坏，压倒 | |
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truculently
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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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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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alacrity
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| n.敏捷，轻快，乐意 | |
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20
savagery
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| n.野性 | |
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21
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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philosophically
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| adv.哲学上；富有哲理性地；贤明地；冷静地 | |
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wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
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24
budge
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| v.移动一点儿；改变立场 | |
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jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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ominously
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| adv.恶兆地，不吉利地；预示地 | |
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27
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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28
voluptuously
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| adv.风骚地，体态丰满地 | |
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29
grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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30
rumble
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| n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说 | |
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opaque
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| adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的 | |
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peremptory
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| adj.紧急的，专横的，断然的 | |
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33
ironic
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| adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的 | |
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34
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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35
rustle
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| v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声 | |
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36
bungalow
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| n.平房，周围有阳台的木造小平房 | |
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37
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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38
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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39
caressingly
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| 爱抚地，亲切地 | |
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40
entice
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| v.诱骗，引诱，怂恿 | |
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41
barricade
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| n.路障，栅栏，障碍；vt.设路障挡住 | |
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42
awed
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| adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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43
infinity
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| n.无限，无穷，大量 | |
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44
trickle
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| vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散 | |
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45
disquiet
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| n.担心，焦虑 | |
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46
tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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47
meditating
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| a.沉思的，冥想的 | |
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48
mumbled
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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49
feline
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| adj.猫科的 | |
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50
hip
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| n.臀部，髋；屋脊 | |
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51
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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52
modulated
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| 已调整[制]的，被调的 | |
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53
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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54
incessantly
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| ad.不停地 | |
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55
appreciable
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| adj.明显的，可见的，可估量的，可觉察的 | |
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56
lurking
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| 潜在 | |
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57
martial
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| adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的 | |
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