"Missy," she began, as abruptly3 as she had entered, "do you remember the day you first came, and we showed you that group of you all taken when you were quite little?"
Missy nodded in the looking-glass. She was busy with her fringe.
"Well," continued Arabella, "you said red came out light, talking of your hair. Do you remember that?"
"Red came out light? No, I can't say I do."
"You must, Missy! You were speaking of your hair in that group———"
Missy flourished a brave bare arm. "Now I see. My poor old carrots! Of course they came out light; they couldn't come out red, could they?"
"No; but I'm told that red comes out black—that's all."
Missy faced about in a twinkling. Her bare arms went akimbo. She was pale.
"So that's what excited you, eh?" she cried derisively4; yet it was only in the moment of speaking that she perceived that Arabella was excited at all.
"I'm not excited, Missy!"
"No?"
"Not a bit," said Arabella, as she gave herself the scarlet5 lie from neck to forehead. This amused Missy.
"Then what is it?" said she at last, with a provoking smile which the other could not meet. "Is it only that you're just dying to bowl me out? All right, my dear, we'll put it down to that. Only take care I don't bowl you out too—take very good care that I don't find out something about you!"
Arabella had the pale face now.
"Take very extra special good care," continued Missy, nodding nastily, "that I haven't found out something already!"
"Have you?"
The hoarse6 voice was unknown to Missy, and the frightened face seemed a fresh face altogether. She read it in a moment, and was laughing the next.
"Of course I haven't, my good girl!"
"O Missy!"
"Just as if you'd done anything you'd mind being found out! No, my dear, I was only having a lark7 with you; but you deserved it for having one with me. Now as to my hair in that photograph——"
"Oh, but of course I believe you, Missy, and not—and not the person who told me different."
"Now I wonder who that was?" said Missy to herself; but aloud—"That's a blessing8! And now if you'll let me go to bed, my dear, we'll neither of us think any more of all this tommy-rot that we've been talking."
Nevertheless she herself thought about it half that night. And a variety of vague suspicions crystallised at last into a single definite conclusion.
"She has a man on," muttered Missy to her pillow. "That's what's the matter with Arabella."
Her mind was fully9 made up before she slept.
"I must find out something about it; what I do see I don't like; and I've just got to take care of Arabella."
Forthwith she set herself to watch. It was first of all necessary to become really intimate with Arabella. The latter's addiction11 to personal catechism, to name one thing, had kept Missy not a little aloof12 hitherto. Now, however, in the nick of time, this weakness passed away, and with it this barrier. There were no more questions asked obviously for the sake of doubting or discrediting13 the answer. On the other hand, about some things Arabella was as inquisitive14 as ever; especially to wit, Missy's love affairs. Curiously15 enough, this was the one point on which Missy was markedly reticent16, for very good reasons of her own; but she had no objection to discussing with Arabella the general subject of love. She noted17 the fascination18 this had for her companion. When the latter came to speak of her male ideal, from the point of view of his appearance, Missy noted much more. "He has a black moustache and very dark eyes," said she to herself. "That's the kind I trust least of all!" She knew something about it, evidently.
A tiny incident, however, which happened when Missy had been some five or six weeks at the farm, told her more than Arabella had done, directly or indirectly19, in any of their conversations. The girls were in the room with Mr. Teesdale, who was looking on the chimney-piece for a lost letter, when he exclaimed suddenly:
"What's got that meerschaum pipe, Arabella?"
"Which one was that, father?" was the only answer, in a suspiciously innocent voice.
"The one I picked up by our slip-rails the night I took Missy back to Melbourne. It belonged to yon man I told you I met on the road. I was saving it in case I ever set eyes on him again."
"Oh, that one!" cried Arabella; then, after a pause, she added, with a nonchalance20 which Missy for one admired: "I gave it back to him the other day."
"To whom?"
"Why, the man that lost it!"
"You gave it back—to the man that lost it?" cried David, in the greatest surprise, while Missy became buried in the Argus of that morning. "Dear me, where have you seen him, honey?"
"In the township."
"In the township, eh? Now what sort of a man was it that you saw in the township? Tell me what he was like."
"Like? Oh, he had—let's see—he had very dark eyes; oh, yes, and a dark moustache and all; and he was very—well, rather handsome, I thought him."
"Ay, that's near enough," said Mr. Teesdale, greatly puzzled; "quite near enough to satisfy me that he's the same man; but how in the world did you know that he was? That's what I can't make out!"
"Why, he told me himself, to be sure!"
"Ay, but how came he to speak to you at all? That's what I want to know."
"Then I'm sure I can't tell you," said Arabella, with a toss of her head, not badly done. "I suppose he saw where I came from, and I dare say he'd been leaning again' our slip-rails that night he lost his pipe. Anyhow, he asked me whether I'd found one, and I said you had, and he described the one he'd lost, and I knew that must be it. So I came back and got it for him. That was all."
Mr. Teesdale seemed just a little put out. "I wonder you didn't say anything about it at the time, my dear," said he, in mild remonstrance21.
"Me? Why, I never thought any more of it," the young woman said, with a slightly superfluous22 laugh. "I—you see that was the first and last I'd seen of him," added Arabella, as if to end the discussion; but her father had not finished his say.
"I'm glad it was the last, however—I am glad of that!" he exclaimed with unusual energy. "Why? Because, my dear, little as I saw of him, I didn't like the cut of that man's jib. No," said Mr. Teesdale, letting his eyes travel through the window to the river-timber, and shaking his head decidedly, as he sat down in his accustomed seat; "no, I didn't like it at all; and very sorry I should have been to think a man of that stamp was coming here after our Mary Jane!"
And Missy said never a word; but neither word, look nor tone had escaped her.
Her eyes were very wide open now. Arabella went out more evenings than one, but never, it appeared, on two consecutive23 evenings; so the man was not living in the district. And Missy said so much the worse; he was not merely passing his time. To clinch24 matters, the unhappy girl began to hang out signs of sleepless25 nights and perpetual nervous preoccupation by day; signs which Missy alone interpreted aright.
At length, a little before Christmas, there came a night when Arabella kissed them all round and went off to her room much earlier than usual. And the fever in her eyes and lips was noted by Missy, and by Missy alone.
It was a night of stars only. The moon by which Missy had killed her one native cat, and nursed an infant opossum, had waxed and waned26. The night, when Mr. Teesdale took a breath of it last thing, looked black as soot27. Twenty minutes later, the farmhouse28 was in utter darkness; not a single ray from a single window; and so it remained for nearly two hours.
Then suddenly a light shone in the parlour for a single instant only. The outer door of the little gun-room was now opened, as noiselessly as might be, and shut again, hairbreadth by hairbreadth. The odd thing was, that this happened not once, but twice within five minutes. And each time it was a woman's figure that stood up under the stars, and then stole forth10 into the night.
There were two of them; and while the first went swiftly in a given direction (towards the timbered gully), the second made a quick circuit of the premises29, and, as it happened, intercepted30 the first among the trees as though she had been lying in wait there for hours. Then it was "O Missy!" and Arabella uttered a stifled31, terrified scream.
"Yes, it's Missy," said that young woman soberly. "And I wonder what we're doing out here at this time of night, both of us?"
"I'm having a walk," said Arabella, giggling32 half hysterically33.
"That's exactly what I'm doing; so we can walk together."
"You've followed me out, you mean liar35!" cried Arabella, with wholly hysterical34 wrath36. She had, indeed, been for pushing forward after the first shock, but when Missy stepped out alongside there was nothing for it but a pitched battle on the spot.
"I have so," said Missy. "I know all about it, you see."
"All about what?"
"What you are after."
"And what am I after, since you're so mighty37 clever?"
"You're meeting that man."
"What man?" Arabella was quaking pitifully. "The man you're always meeting; but to-night you meant to run away with him."
"Spy!" said Arabella. "What makes you think that?"
"You have put on all your best things."
"But what makes you think there is a man at all?"
"Oh, I saw that ages ago; though mind you, I have never seen him. It is the man with the meerschaum pipe, now isn't it?"
Arabella's first answer was a shaking fist. Next moment she was shaking all over, in a storm of tears during which Missy took hold of her with both arms, was thrown off, took a fresh hold, and was then suffered to keep it. At last she asked:
"Where were you to meet him, Arabella?"
The answer came with more sobs38 than words. "At the top corner of the Cultivation39: the road corner: he is to wait there till I come."
"Good!" said Missy. "That's half a mile away, and where we are is out of hearing of the house. Not so sure, eh? Well, come a little, further down the gully. That's better! Now we're safe as the bank, and you'll stop and tell me something about him, won't you, dear, before you go?"
Before she went! Could she ever go now? All the strength which this poor creature had imbibed40 from a man as masterful as the woman was weak—an imitative courage, never for a moment her honest own—had been rooted up easily enough from the soul where there was no soil for it, and was now as though it had never existed. Such nerve as she had summoned up was gone. Yes, she would stop and talk; that would be a relief. And Missy should hear all, all there was to tell; but this was very little, incredibly little indeed.
On that first evening, when Missy had come and gone, Arabella had taken a stroll by herself after supper; had been thinking more about the Family Cherub41 story, in which she was then engrossed42, than of anything else that she could now remember; but it appeared her head had been full at the time of romantic stuff of one kind or another, so that when she came very suddenly upon a handsome stranger leaning over the slip-rails and smoking his pipe, it was readily revealed to Arabella that she had been waiting for that moment and that stranger all her life. She said as much now, in other words, but wasted time in unnecessary dilatation upon the man's good looks before proceeding43 with her confession44. He had spoken soft words to her in the soft night air. He had kissed her across the slip-rails. And Arabella had lived thirty years in her tiny corner of the world, but never before had she been kissed by the mouth of man not a Teesdale. Missy might stare as much as she liked; it was the sacred truth, was that.
So much for the first meeting, which was a pure accident. There had been others which were nothing of the kind. Missy nodded, as much as to say she knew all about those other meetings, and hurried Arabella to the point. That the foolish girl knew less than nothing worth knowing about this man was only too evident; but it seemed his name was Stanborough. And to-morrow, said Arabella, with a sudden hauling at the slack of her nerves, this would be her name too.
Then she still meant to go?
Arabella fell to pieces again. She had promised. He was waiting. He would kill her if she broke her promise.
"Kill your grandmother!" said Missy. "Let him wait. Shall I tell you who'll kill who if you do go?"
"Who?" said Arabella in a whisper.
"Why, you'll kill your father, as sure as ever God made you, my girl."
"But we should soon come back—and with money enough to help them here tremendously! He has promised that; and you don't know how well off he is, Missy. Yes, yes, we should soon come back after we were married!"
"I dare say—after that," said Missy dryly.
"Then you don't think he—means——"
"Of course he doesn't."
"How do you know?"
"Never mind how I know. It's enough that I do know, as sure as I'm standing46 under this tree. You've told me quite sufficient. I feel as if I knew your man as well as I've known two or three. The brutes47! And I tell you,'Bella, that if you go to him now, as you thought of doing, your life will be blasted from this night on. He will never marry you. He hasn't gone the right way about that. No, but he'll ruin you and leave you in your ruin; and when he does, may the Lord have mercy on your soul!"
She had said. And the extraordinary emotion which had gathered in her voice as she went on had the effect of taking Arabella out of herself even then.
"Missy," she whispered—"Missy, you are crying! How can you know so much that is terrible? You seem to know all about it, Missy!"
"Never mind how much I know, or how I came to know it," cried the other. "I know enough to want to save you from what some girls I've known have come to. To say nothing of saving your dear old father's life. For kill him it would."
Arabella had been marvelling48; but now her own difficulty clutched her afresh.
"He will kill me if I don't go to him. He has said so," she moaned in her misery49, "and he will."
"Not he! He's a coward. I feel as if I knew the beast—and precious soon I shall."
Arabella started. "What do you mean?" said she.
"I mean that you've got to leave your friend to me. I'll soon settle him."
Missy spoke45 cheerily. Her new tone inspired confidence in the breast of Arabella, who whispered eagerly, "How can you? Ah, if you only could!"
"You would like it?"
"I should thank God! O Missy, I have been such a wicked, foolish girl, but you are so strong and brave! I shall love you for this all my life!"
"Will you? I wonder," said Missy. "But never mind that now. Go you back to the house, and if I don't come to your room in less than half an hour and tell you that I've sent Mr. Stanborough about his business——"
"Hush50!" exclaimed the other in low alarm. "I hear him now. He is coming to look for me."
It was a very faint sound, but terror had sharpened the girl's ears. It was the sound of a walking-stick swishing the dry grass on the further slope of the gully. Missy heard it also when she bent51 her ear to listen, and the next moment she had her companion by the shoulders.
"Now run." said she, "and run for your life. No, we've no time for any of that stuff now. Time enough to thank me when I come and tell you I've sent him to the right-about for good and all. Run quickly—keep behind the trees—and all will be well before you're an hour older."
And so they separated, Arabella hurrying upward to the farm, her heart drumming against her ribs52, while Missy trudged53 down the hill at her full height, with a marble mouth, and both fists clenched54.
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1
abruptness
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| n. 突然，唐突 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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derisively
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| adv. 嘲笑地，嘲弄地 | |
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scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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lark
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| n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏 | |
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blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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9
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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addiction
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| n.上瘾入迷，嗜好 | |
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aloof
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| adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的 | |
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13
discrediting
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| 使不相信( discredit的现在分词 )； 使怀疑； 败坏…的名声； 拒绝相信 | |
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inquisitive
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| adj.求知欲强的，好奇的，好寻根究底的 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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reticent
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| adj.沉默寡言的；言不如意的 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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indirectly
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| adv.间接地，不直接了当地 | |
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nonchalance
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| n.冷淡，漠不关心 | |
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remonstrance
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| n抗议，抱怨 | |
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superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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consecutive
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| adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的 | |
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clinch
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| v.敲弯，钉牢；确定；扭住对方 [参]clench | |
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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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waned
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| v.衰落( wane的过去式和过去分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡 | |
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soot
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| n.煤烟，烟尘；vt.熏以煤烟 | |
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farmhouse
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| n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房） | |
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premises
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| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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intercepted
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| 拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻 | |
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stifled
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| （使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵 | |
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giggling
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| v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 ) | |
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hysterically
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| ad. 歇斯底里地 | |
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hysterical
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| adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的 | |
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liar
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| n.说谎的人 | |
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wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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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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cultivation
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| n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成 | |
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imbibed
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| v.吸收( imbibe的过去式和过去分词 )；喝；吸取；吸气 | |
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cherub
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| n.小天使，胖娃娃 | |
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engrossed
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| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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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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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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brutes
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| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
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marvelling
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| v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的现在分词 ) | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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50
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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51
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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52
ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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53
trudged
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| vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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