“You are cold, dear,” exclaimed Yvonne beneath her breath, catching2 my hand in her two little warm ones; and, faith! I was, though I had not had time to notice it till she bade me. The next moment, careless of the eyes of La Mouche, who stood by the rail not ten paces off, she opened her cloak, flung the folds of it about my neck, and drew my face down, in that enchanted3 darkness, to the sweet warmth of hers.
There were no words. What could those vain things avail in such a moment, when our pulses beat together, and our souls met at the lips, and 280in silence was plighted4 that great troth which shall last, it is my faith, through other lives than this? Then she drew softly away, and, with eyes cast down, left me, and went back into her cabin.
I lifted my head. La Mouche stood by the rail, looking off across the faintly lightening water. As I passed near him he turned and grasped my hand hard.
“I am most glad for you, my captain!” he said quietly. But I saw that my joy was an emphasis to his own sorrow, and his very lips were grey for remembrance of the woman who had stricken him.
When it was full daylight we could see the other ship, a white speck5 on the horizon far ahead. Long before noon she was out of sight. The wind favouring us all day, before sunset we arrived off the grim portal through which the great river of St. John, named by Champlain, empties forth6 its floods into the sea. The rocky ridges7 that fence the haven9 were crested10 gloriously with rose and gold, and toward this inviting11 harbourage we steered12—not without misgivings13, however, for we knew not the channel or the current. In this strait we received unlooked-for aid. Captain Eliphalet, excited by some error in the course which we were shaping, and all in a tremble lest his loved ship fall upon a reef, offered his services as pilot. They were at once accepted. We knew he was 281as incapable14 of a treachery as his situation was of turning a treachery to profit. Himself he took the wheel; and on the slack of tide he steered us up to a windless anchorage at the very head of the harbour, beside the ruins of an old fort. The only sign of life was the huts of a few Acadian fishermen, so miserable15 as to have been quite overlooked by the doom16 that had descended17 on their race.
Our plan was to scatter18 the greater part of our company among the small Acadian settlements up the river—at Jemseg, Pointe Ste. Anne, and Medoctec; while the rest of us, the trained men who would be needed in New France, accompanied by a half dozen women with daring and vitality19 for such a journey, would make our way on sledges21 and snow-shoes northward22, over the Height of Land, down into the St. Lawrence valley, and thence to Quebec.
The two carronades on the deck of our ship we dropped into the harbour. We helped ourselves to all the arms and ammunition23, with tools for the building of our sledges, and such clothing as our prisoners could well spare. Of the ship’s stores we left enough to carry the ship safely to Boston. Yvonne gave Lieutenant24 Shafto a letter for her father and mother, which he undertook to forward to Halifax at the earliest opportunity. Then, three days after our arrival in the St. John, we loosed our captives every one, bade Captain Eliphalet a 282less eventful remainder to his voyage, and turned our back upon the huts of the fishermen. We crossed the Kennebeccasis River on the ice, where it joins the St. John, just back of the ridge8 which forms the northern rampart of the harbour. Thence we pushed straight up the main river, keeping close along the eastern shore.
The rough sledges which we had hastily thrown together were piled with our stores. They carried also such of the women and children as were not capable of enduring the march. The sledges ran easily on the level way afforded by the river, which was now frozen to the depth of a foot. In spots the ice was covered by a thin, hard-packed layer of snow; but for the most part it had been swept clean by the wind.
For my own part, I drew a light sledge20, of which I had myself directed the construction, that it might be comfortable for Yvonne. It was comfortable, with a back and arms, and well lined with blankets. But she chose rather, for the most of the journey, to walk beside me, secretly proud to show her activity and endurance. It was Mother Pêche who, under strenuous25 protest, chiefly occupied my sledge. Her protests were vain enough; for Yvonne told her quietly that if she would not let herself be taken care of she would not trust her to face the Quebec journey, but would leave her behind at Jemseg. Though the old dame26 was a 283witch, Yvonne had the will to have her way; and protest ended.
As we marched, a little aside from the main body, Yvonne now laying her mittened27 hand upon my arm, and now drawing with me upon the sledge-rope, we had exhaustless themes of converse28, but also seasons for that revealing silence when the great things get themselves uttered between two souls.
There were some practical matters, however, not without importance, which silence was not competent to discuss.
“Do you know any one at the Jemseg settlement, Paul?” she chanced to ask me, that first day of our marching.
“Yes,” said I, with significance, taking merciless advantage of the question, “I know an excellent priest, dear heart!”
She reddened, and turned upon me deep eyes of reproach. But I was not abashed29.
“Am I too precipitate30, sweet?” I asked. “But do not think so. I know you will not. Consider all the strangeness of the situation, most dear, and give me the right to guard you, to keep you, to show openly my reverence31 and my love.”
As she did not reply, it was clear enough that she found my reasoning cogent32. I went on, with a kind of singing elation33 in my brain:
“Truly, in my eyes, you are my wife now, as—do 284you remember?—I dared to call you that night as we came over the ridge, I to prison, you to—But no! I will not think of that. In deed and in truth, dear, I believe that God joined together us two, inalienably and forever, not months ago, but years ago—that day in the orchard34, when our spirits met in our eyes. The material part of us was slow in awaking to the comprehension of that mystery, but”—
“Speak for yourself, Paul,” she interrupted, with tantalizing35 suggestion.
I stopped short, forgetting all my eloquence36.
“And you loved me then—and knew it!” I exclaimed, in a voice poignant37 with the realization38 of lost years.
She came very close against my side, and held my arm tightly, as she said, in a voice ‘twixt mocking and caressing39:
“I think I might have known it, Paul, had you helped me the least little bit—had the material part of you, let us say, been the least bit quicker of comprehension.”
She forbore to hint at all that might have been different; but the thought of it kept me long silent.
On the next day, about sunset, we reached the Jemseg settlement. That same day Yvonne became my wife.
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1
bleakly
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| 无望地，阴郁地，苍凉地 | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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enchanted
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| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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plighted
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| vt.保证，约定（plight的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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speck
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| n.微粒，小污点，小斑点 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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ridges
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| n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊 | |
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ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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haven
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| n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所 | |
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10
crested
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| adj.有顶饰的，有纹章的，有冠毛的v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的过去式和过去分词 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点 | |
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inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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steered
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| v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
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13
misgivings
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧 | |
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incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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scatter
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| vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散 | |
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vitality
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| n.活力，生命力，效力 | |
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sledge
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| n.雪橇，大锤；v.用雪橇搬运，坐雪橇往 | |
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sledges
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| n.雪橇，雪车( sledge的名词复数 )v.乘雪橇( sledge的第三人称单数 )；用雪橇运载 | |
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northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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dame
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| n.女士 | |
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27
mittened
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| v.（使）变得潮湿，变得湿润( moisten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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28
converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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29
abashed
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| adj.窘迫的，尴尬的v.使羞愧，使局促，使窘迫( abash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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precipitate
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| adj.突如其来的；vt.使突然发生；n.沉淀物 | |
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31
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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cogent
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| adj.强有力的，有说服力的 | |
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elation
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| n.兴高采烈，洋洋得意 | |
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34
orchard
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| n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场 | |
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35
tantalizing
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| adj.逗人的；惹弄人的；撩人的；煽情的v.逗弄，引诱，折磨( tantalize的现在分词 ) | |
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36
eloquence
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| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
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37
poignant
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| adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的 | |
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38
realization
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| n.实现；认识到，深刻了解 | |
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39
caressing
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| 爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的 | |
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