Inside the hut Paul was thinking to himself:
"And this is death. This man fled from other men because he was afraid of committing murder or some other great crime. And here he lies now, a stone amongst stones. So shall I lie in thirty, forty years, after an exile that has lasted through eternity5. And perhaps she will still be expecting me to-night...."
He started up. Ah, no, he was not dead as he had thought: life was beating within him, surging up strong and tenacious6 like the eagle amongst the stones.
"I must remain up here all night," he told himself. "If I can get through this night without seeing her I shall be saved."
He went outside and sat down beside Antiochus. The sun was sinking in a crimson7 sky, the shadows of the high rocks were lengthening8 over the enclosure and the wind-tossed bushes, and in the same way as he could not distinguish objects clearly in the uncertain light without, so Paul could not tell which of the two desires within him was the strongest. Presently he said:
"The old man cannot speak now, he is dying. It is time to administer extreme unction, and if he dies we must arrange for the body to be moved. It will be necessary ..." he added as though to himself, but did not dare to complete the sentence, "it will be necessary to spend the night here."
Antiochus got up and began to make preparations for the ceremony. He opened the box, pressing the silver fasteners with enjoyment9, and drew out the white cloth and the amphora of oil: then he unfolded his red cope and put it on—he might have been himself the priest! When everything was ready they went back into the hut, where the grandson, on his knees, was supporting the dying man's head. Antiochus knelt down on the other side, with the folds of his cope spread out on the ground. He laid the white cloth over the stone that served as a table, and the scarlet10 of his cope was reflected in the silver amphora. The keeper, too, knelt down outside the hut, with his dog beside him.
Then the priest anointed the old man's forehead, and the palms of his hands which had never sought to do violence to anyone, and his feet which had borne him far from men as from evil itself.
The setting sun shone direct into the hut with a last dazzling splendour, lighting4 up Antiochus in his scarlet cope, so that between the old man and the priest he looked like a live coal amongst dead cinders11.
"I shall have to go back," thought Paul. "I have no excuse for remaining here." Presently he went outside the hut and said: "There is no hope, he is quite unconscious."
"Comatose," said the keeper with precision.
"He cannot live more than a few hours and arrangements must be made for transporting the body down to the village," continued Paul; and he longed to add, "And I must stay here all night," but he was ashamed of his untruth.
Moreover he was beginning now to feel the need of walking and a craving12 to get back to the village. As night fell the thought of sin began subtly to attract him again and drew him in with the invisible net of darkness. He felt it and was afraid; but he kept guard over himself, and he knew his conscience was awake and ready to uphold him.
"If only I could get through this one night without seeing her I should be saved!" was his silent cry. If only some one would detain him by force! If the old man would revive and hold him fast by the hem13 of his robe!
He sat down again and cast about for some excuse for delaying his departure. The sun had now sunk below the edge of the high plateau, and the trunks of the oaks stood out boldly against the red glow of the sky like the pillars of some gigantic portico14, surmounted15 by an immense black roof. Not even the presence of death could mar16 the peace of that majestic17 solitude18. Paul was weary and, as in the morning at the foot of the altar, he would have liked to lie down upon the stones and fall asleep.
Meanwhile the keeper had come to a decision on his own account. He entered the hut and, kneeling down beside the dying man, whispered something into his ear. The grandson looked on with suspicion and contempt, then approached the priest and said:
"Now that you have done your duty, depart in peace. I know what has to be done now."
At that moment the keeper came outside again.
"He is past speaking," he said, "but he gave me to understand by a sign that he has put all his affairs in order. Nicodemus Pania," he added, turning towards the grandson, "can you assure us on your conscience that we may leave here with quiet minds?"
"Except for the holy sacrament of extreme unction, you need not have come at all. What business have you to meddle20 in my affairs?" answered the grandson truculently21.
"We must carry out the law! And don't raise your voice like that, Nicodemus Pania!" retorted the keeper.
"Enough, enough, no shouting," said the priest, pointing to the hut.
"You are always teaching that there is only one duty in life, and that is to do one's own duty," said the keeper sententiously.
Paul sprang to his feet, struck by those words. Everything he heard now seemed meant specially22 for him, and he thought God was making known His will through the mouths of men. He mounted his horse and said to the old man's grandson:
"Stay with your grandfather until he is dead. God is great and we never know what may happen."
The man accompanied him part of the way, and when they were out of earshot of the keeper he said:
"Listen, sir. My grandfather did give his money into my charge; it's here, inside my coat. It is not much, but whatever it is, it belongs to me, doesn't it?"
"If your grandfather gave it to you for yourself alone, then it is yours," replied Paul, turning round to see if the others were following.
They were following. Antiochus was leaning on a stick he had fashioned for himself out of the branch of a tree, and the keeper, the glazed23 peak of his cap and the buttons of his tunic24 reflecting the last rays of the evening light, had halted at the corner of the path and was giving the military salute25 in the direction of the hut. He was saluting26 death. And from his rocky perch27 the eagle answered the salute with a last flap of his great wings before he too went to sleep.
The shades of night crept rapidly up from the valley and soon enveloped28 the three wayfarers29. When they had crossed the river, however, and had turned into the path that led up towards home, their road was lit up by a distant glare that came from the village itself. It looked as if the whole place were on fire; huge flames were leaping on the summit of the ridge30, and the keeper's keen sight distinguished31 numerous figures moving about in the square in front of the church. It was a Saturday, and nearly all the men would have returned to their homes for the Sunday rest, but this did not explain the reason for the bonfires and the unusual excitement in the village.
"I know what it is!" called Antiochus joyfully32. "They are waiting for us to come back, and they are going to celebrate the miracle of Nina Masia!"
"Good heavens! Are you quite mad, Antiochus?" cried the priest, with something akin19 to terror as he gazed at the hill-side below the village, over which the bonfires were casting their lurid33 glare.
The keeper made no remark, but in contemptuous silence he rattled34 the dog's chain and the animal barked loudly. Whereupon hoarse35 shouts and yells echoed through the valley, and to the priest in his misery36 it seemed as though some mysterious voice were protesting against the way in which he had imposed on the simplicity37 of his parishioners.
"What have I done to them?" he asked himself. "I have made fools of them just as I have made a fool of myself. May God save us all!"
Suggestions for heroic action rushed into his mind. When he reached the village he would stop in the midst of his people and confess his sin; he would tear open his breast before them all and show them his wretched heart, consumed with grief, but burning more fiercely with the flame of his anguish38 than the fires of brushwood upon the ridge.
But here the voice of his conscience spoke39:
"It is their faith that they are celebrating. They are glorifying40 God in thee and thou hast no right to thrust thyself and thy wretchedness between them and God."
But from deeper still within him another voice made itself heard:
"It is not that. It is because thou art base and vile41 and art afraid of suffering, of burning in very truth."
And the nearer they came to the village and the men, the more abased42 did Paul feel. As the leaping flames fought with the shadows on the hill-side so light and darkness seemed to fight in his conscience, and he did not know what to do. He remembered his first arrival in the village years ago, with his mother following him anxiously as she had followed the first steps of his infancy43.
"And I have fallen in her sight," he groaned44. "She thinks she has raised me up again, but I am wounded to death."
Then suddenly he bethought him, with a sense of relief, that this improvised45 festival would help him out of his difficulty and avert46 the danger he feared.
"I will invite some of them to the presbytery to spend the evening, and they are sure to stay late. If I can get through this night I shall be safe."
The black figures of the men leaning over the parapet of the square could now be distinguished, and higher up, behind the church, the flames of the bonfires were waving in the air like long red flags. The bells were not ringing as on that former occasion, but the melancholy47 sound of a concertina accompanied the general uproar48.
All at once from the top of the church tower there shot up a silver star, which instantly broke into a thousand sparks with an explosion that echoed through the valley. A shout of delight went up from the crowd, followed by another brilliant shower of sparks and the noise of shots being fired. They were letting off their guns in sign of rejoicing, as they did on the nights of the great feasts.
"They have gone mad," said the keeper, and he ran off at full speed in advance, the dog barking fiercely as though there were some revolt to be quelled49 up there.
Antiochus, on the other hand, felt inclined to weep. He looked at the priest sitting straight upright on his horse and thought he resembled some saint carried in procession. Nevertheless, his reflections took a practical turn:
"My mother will do good business to-night with all these merry folk!"
And he felt so happy that he unfolded the cope and threw it over his shoulders. Then he wanted to carry the box again, though he would not give up his new stick, and thus he entered the village looking like one of the Three Kings.
The old hunter's granddaughter called to the priest from her door and asked for news of her grandfather.
"All is well," said Paul.
"Then grandfather is better, is he?"
"Your grandfather is dead by this time."
She gave a scream, and that was the only discordant50 note of the festival.
The boys had already gone down the hill to meet the priest; they swarmed51 round his horse like a cloud of flies, and all went up together to the church square. The people there were not so numerous as they had looked from a distance, and the presence of the keeper with his dog had infused some sort of order into the proceedings52. The men were ranged round the parapet underneath53 the trees and some were drinking in front of the little wine-shop kept by the mother of Antiochus: the women, their sleeping infants in their arms, were sitting on the church steps, and in the midst of them sat Nina Masia, as quiet now as a drowsy54 cat.
In the centre of the square stood the keeper with his dog, as stiff as a statue.
On the arrival of the priest they all got up and gathered round him; but the horse, secretly spurred by its rider, started forward towards a street on the opposite side from the church, where was the house of its master. Whereupon the master, who happened to be one of the men drinking in front of the wine-shop, came forward glass in hand and caught the animal by the bridle55.
"Heh, nag56, what are you thinking of? Here I am!"
The horse stopped immediately, nuzzling towards its master as if it wanted to drink the wine in his glass. The priest made a movement to dismount, but the man held him fast by one leg, while he led horse and rider in front of the wine-shop, where he stretched out his glass to a companion who was holding the bottle.
The whole crowd, men and women, now formed a circle round the priest. In the lighted doorway57 of the wine-shop, smiling at the scene, stood the tall, gipsy-like figure of Antiochus's mother, her face almost bronze-coloured in the reflection of the bonfires. The babies had wakened up startled and were struggling in their mothers' arms, the gold and coral amulets58 with which all, even the poorest, was adorned59, gleaming as they moved. And in the centre of this restless throng60, confused grey figures in the darkness, sat the priest high upon his horse, in very truth like a shepherd in the midst of his flock.
A white-bearded old man placed his hand on Paul's knee and turned towards the people:
"Good folk," he said in a voice shaking with emotion, "this is truly a man of God!"
"Then drink to a good vintage!" cried the owner of the horse offering the glass, which Paul accepted and immediately put to his lips; but his teeth shook against the edge of the glass as though the red wine glowing in the light of the fires were not wine, but blood.
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收听单词发音
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1
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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2
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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3
rustle
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| v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声 | |
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4
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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5
eternity
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| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
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6
tenacious
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| adj.顽强的，固执的，记忆力强的，粘的 | |
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7
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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8
lengthening
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| （时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的现在分词 )； 加长 | |
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9
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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10
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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11
cinders
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| n.煤渣( cinder的名词复数 )；炭渣；煤渣路；煤渣跑道 | |
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12
craving
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| n.渴望,热望 | |
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13
hem
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| n.贴边，镶边；vt.缝贴边；(in)包围，限制 | |
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14
portico
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| n.柱廊，门廊 | |
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15
surmounted
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| 战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
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16
mar
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| vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟 | |
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17
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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18
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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19
akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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20
meddle
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| v.干预，干涉，插手 | |
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21
truculently
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22
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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23
glazed
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| adj.光滑的，像玻璃的；上过釉的；呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式)；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神 | |
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24
tunic
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| n.束腰外衣 | |
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25
salute
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| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
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26
saluting
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的现在分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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27
perch
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| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
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28
enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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29
wayfarers
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| n.旅人，（尤指）徒步旅行者( wayfarer的名词复数 ) | |
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30
ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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31
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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32
joyfully
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| adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地 | |
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33
lurid
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| adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的 | |
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34
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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35
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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36
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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37
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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38
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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39
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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40
glorifying
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| 赞美( glorify的现在分词 )； 颂扬； 美化； 使光荣 | |
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41
vile
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| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
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42
abased
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| 使谦卑( abase的过去式和过去分词 )； 使感到羞耻； 使降低（地位、身份等）； 降下 | |
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43
infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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44
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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45
improvised
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| a.即席而作的,即兴的 | |
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46
avert
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| v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等) | |
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47
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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48
uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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49
quelled
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| v.（用武力）制止，结束，镇压( quell的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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50
discordant
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| adj.不调和的 | |
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51
swarmed
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| 密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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52
proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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53
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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54
drowsy
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| adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的 | |
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55
bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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56
nag
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| v.(对…)不停地唠叨；n.爱唠叨的人 | |
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57
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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58
amulets
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| n.护身符( amulet的名词复数 ) | |
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59
adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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60
throng
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| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
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