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CHAPTER XII
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DORA BARRY sat at her easel absorbed in the painting of a picture, though the afternoon light was fading from her canvas in a way that made the work difficult, when her mother came to the door and glanced in.

“I have kept a lookout1 for fully2 an hour,” she announced, “but I haven’t once seen Lionel. I am getting old and silly, I suppose, but I can’t keep from worrying.”

Dora got up quickly, her face full of alarm, and the two went to the window of the dining-room and stood looking out for a moment.

“There! Isn’t that—I see him!” Mrs. Barry cried out in relief. “Why, he is with Kenneth Galt! He has him in his arms. There!—don’t you see?—just beyond the row of cedars3. Thank Heaven! we had our scare for nothing.”

But Dora, wide-eyed and astonished, was silent; her face was very grave. Her mother ran eagerly to the door to meet the child, but Dora remained as if rooted to the spot, her gaze fixed4 on the receding5 form of Galt.

“Why did he have him?” she whispered to herself. “What can it mean? He was treating him kindly6, and gently, too. I could see it in his face. It was glowing as it used to glow when he was true to himself and to me. It looked like Lionel’s arm was round his neck. What can it mean?”

When the child had come in, Dora sat down and drew him into her lap and held him fondly to her breast. “Mother was frightened,” she said, cooingly, her lips on his brow. “She missed her little boy, and was afraid something had happened to him.”

“Oh, I’m all right, mother,” Lionel said. “I can take care of myself; you must never be afraid.”

“But how did you happen to be with Mr. Galt?” Mrs. Barry asked. “I didn’t know you knew him.”

“Why, why—” but Lionel went no further. He had never lied, and the plan his sense of honor had laid for him was difficult to execute. His grandmother repeated her question in more positive tones, but, with eyes downcast, he refused to answer.

“Let him alone, mother,” Dora said, her face rigid7. “It doesn’t make any difference.”

“It doesn’t, eh?” the old woman exclaimed, in surprise. “Well, I think you both are acting8 queerly. There is no reason why Lionel should not tell us when and how he met Mr. Galt. I can see by his face that he is keeping something back.”

But Dora was holding the child’s head against her throbbing9 breast, and she threw an almost commanding glance at her mother.

“Let him alone now,” she said, firmly, and with such a sharp tone of finality that her mother stared at her in surprise and left the room.

That evening Dora prepared the child for bed. As she undressed him she scanned each piece of his clothing most carefully. She found a green smudge made from strong pressure against the turf in a most unexpected place, high up on the child’s back; she discovered the imprint10 of soiled fingers on the broad white collar, and remarked the inconsistency of this with Lionel’s immaculately clean hands; the necktie had been loose and awkwardly retied; and, most conspicuous11 of all, was the uncouth12 way the golden hair was dressed. She noted13 all these things without comment; but when the white bed-covers were turned down, and Lionel had said his prayers and crawled in, Dora lowered the lamp and reclined beside him. Outwardly she was calm. To the child’s observation, no new thing had happened in her even life, and yet her whole being was aflame, her soul panting in suspense14.

“Mother’s little boy never has told her a story in all his life,” she began, as soothingly15 as if she were crooning him to sleep. “Isn’t that nice? Some little boys tell fibs to their mothers, but my boy has always told the truth, and mother is so glad.”

Lionel lay still. She kissed him softly and waited. At any other time his little arms and lips would have responded, and she marked well the change to-night. Lionel did not move or speak, but simply lay with his old-young gaze gravely fixed on the ceiling where the lamp-chimney had focussed a ring of light.

“You would tell your mother everything that ever happened to you, wouldn’t you, darling?” she said, shyly pressing her cheek against his. She felt him nod impulsively16, but second thought seemed to seal his lips. His was a tender age at which to begin the defence of a wronged parent by pretext17 and concealment18, but the burden was on his shoulders, and little Lionel was manfully doing his best.

“There are two kinds of stories, and they are both bad,” Dora went on, desperate over the delay of the divulgence19 which she thought could mean so little to the child and yet so very much to her. “It is bad to tell a lie, and it is bad to keep back anything at all from your mother, because she is more to you than all the rest of the world. She is your mother; she works for you; she loves you; she would die for you; and if anybody—no matter who it is—were to want you to keep a secret from her, it would be wrong—very, very wrong. It would make your mother very unhappy; it would make her cry long after you were asleep to know that her little son was keeping anything from her.”

She felt the little white-robed figure quiver. He raised himself on his elbow and slowly sat up; his young face, in the dim light, was full of struggle.

“Is that so, mother?” he asked.

“Yes, darling,” she answered. “There can be no secrets at all between a mother and her boy. She must tell him everything, and he must not keep a thing back from her. How did you happen to meet—Mr. Galt this afternoon?”

“That’s what you want to know?”

“Yes, dear—that’s all. Surely, there can be no reason why your own dear mother should not know a little thing like that. Surely he—Mr. Galt—couldn’t have told you not to tell me?”

The child was still for a moment. He folded his little arms over his knee, clinched20 his hands, and sat avoiding her insistent21 eyes.

“Wait!” he said, finally. “I want to go to Granny.”

“You want to go to Granny, and leave your mother?” she asked, deeply perplexed22. .

“Just a minute,” he said, as he crawled over her and got down on the floor. “I’ll be back. I’ll be right back, mother, dear.”

“It is something you will tell her, but can’t tell me!” Dora cried out, in half-assumed reproach. “Why, Lionel?”

“I’ll be back,” he said, evasively. “There is no hurry.” And she heard the patter of his bare feet along the corridor to his grandmother’s room.

Mrs. Barry always retired23 early, and she was now in her bed, but very wide awake. Something in the incident had set her to thinking on new lines. “Can it be? Can it be?” she kept asking herself, in great excitement. “Why didn’t I think of it?”

“Granny!” she heard Lionel call out from the dark, doorway24.

“Yes, dear, what is it?” she asked.

“I want to come to your bed a minute—just a minute.”

“All right, come on, darling; don’t stumble over anything.”

She heard him groping through the dark, and then felt his little hands on her wrinkled face.

“Granny,” he said, a tremor25 in his voice, “you told me if anybody ever said anything mean about my mother, that I must not let her know about it—never at all.”

“Yes, darling, that would be a nice, brave little man, for you wouldn’t want to make her sad, would you?”

“Well, I had a terrible fight with Grover Weston over in Mr. Galt’s yard. Grover said a nasty, mean thing about her. You told me not to let her know anything like that, and so did Mr. Galt, but mamma is begging me so hard.”

“Oh!” The old woman lifted the boy over her into the bed, and put her arms about him tenderly. “You can tell Granny about it, and then if she thinks best perhaps you may tell your mother.”

He complied, and the wondering old woman, as she lay with the child in her arms, heard the whole beautiful story in every detail, even to Galt’s display of affection, and as she listened cold tears welled up in her old eyes and trickled26 down the furrows27 of her cheeks to her pillow. When it was over, she led the child back to his mother.

“Don’t ask him any more about it. Wait,” she said, in an undertone, and with a significant gesture in the direction of her room. “Don’t spoil a beautiful thing. God bless him! he is right—young as he is, he is right! The very angels of heaven are closing his sweet lips to-night. Don’t bother him.”

When Lionel was asleep Dora anxiously crept into her mother’s room. A lamp was now burning on a table, but Dora blew it out, and went and sat on the edge of her mother’s bed.

“I know your secret now,” Mrs. Barry faltered28, with a suppressed sob29 in her pillow. “All these years I have wondered over your great trouble, and why you were not more open with me about it, but Lionel has made it clear. I understand now.”

“Did Kenneth Galt tell my child that—” Dora cried out, in a rasping undertone. “Did he dare to—”

“No, no, not that!” the old woman corrected. “He simply betrayed himself in his conduct toward the boy. Listen! Lionel need never suspect that you know what he did, but you must be told the truth. It is too beautiful for you to miss.”

She told the whole story as it had come from the child’s lips, together with other things she had culled30 as to happenings between him and his father on former occasions.

“Let them both alone,” she added, fervently31, as she concluded. “The little fellow, nameless and cast out as he is, has of himself won the love God gave him the right to. It is his. Let him keep it, and I pray Heaven that it may drag that haughty32 spirit down into the mire33 of repentance34. I’ve thought it all over. I remember the date well. I know now why he deserted35 you; he couldn’t face public exposure just at that particular time. His temptation was great, and he fell. I believe he loved you then, and that he does yet.”

“Does yet!” Dora sneered36, and she put a protesting hand out to her mother’s as it lay on the coverlet. “Don’t say that. He couldn’t now—after all this time.”

“But he does, he does—a thousand times more than he did, too,” the old woman insisted. “He hasn’t married; he is leading a lonely, morbid37 life. He-is longing38 for you—though he may still dread39 public opinion—and is adoring the child. He may resist longer, but in the end he will succumb40 and crawl to your feet and beg for forgiveness. Watch my prophecy. He’ll do it!—he’ll do it!”

“You don’t know, mother,” Dora sighed, and she stood up and moved away in the darkness. “You don’t know.”

Dora went back to her room and stood looking down at her sleeping child. Suddenly her eyes filled and her breast heaved high.

“Mother’s little champion!” she cried, and she knelt down by the bed, covered her face, and wept.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 lookout w0sxT     
n.注意,前途,瞭望台
参考例句:
  • You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
  • It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来,公司的前景可就不妙了。
2 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
3 cedars 4de160ce89706c12228684f5ca667df6     
雪松,西洋杉( cedar的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The old cedars were badly damaged in the storm. 风暴严重损害了古老的雪松。
  • Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. 1黎巴嫩哪,开开你的门,任火烧灭你的香柏树。
4 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
5 receding c22972dfbef8589fece6affb72f431d1     
v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 );向后倾斜;自原处后退或避开别人的注视;尤指问题
参考例句:
  • Desperately he struck out after the receding lights of the yacht. 游艇的灯光渐去渐远,他拼命划水追赶。 来自辞典例句
  • Sounds produced by vehicles receding from us seem lower-pitched than usual. 渐渐远离我们的运载工具发出的声似乎比平常的音调低。 来自辞典例句
6 kindly tpUzhQ     
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地
参考例句:
  • Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
  • A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。
7 rigid jDPyf     
adj.严格的,死板的;刚硬的,僵硬的
参考例句:
  • She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
  • The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严,几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。
8 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
参考例句:
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
9 throbbing 8gMzA0     
a. 跳动的,悸动的
参考例句:
  • My heart is throbbing and I'm shaking. 我的心在猛烈跳动,身子在不住颤抖。
  • There was a throbbing in her temples. 她的太阳穴直跳。
10 imprint Zc6zO     
n.印痕,痕迹;深刻的印象;vt.压印,牢记
参考例句:
  • That dictionary is published under the Longman imprint.那本词典以朗曼公司的名义出版。
  • Her speech left its imprint on me.她的演讲给我留下了深刻印象。
11 conspicuous spszE     
adj.明眼的,惹人注目的;炫耀的,摆阔气的
参考例句:
  • It is conspicuous that smoking is harmful to health.很明显,抽烟对健康有害。
  • Its colouring makes it highly conspicuous.它的色彩使它非常惹人注目。
12 uncouth DHryn     
adj.无教养的,粗鲁的
参考例句:
  • She may embarrass you with her uncouth behavior.她的粗野行为可能会让你尴尬。
  • His nephew is an uncouth young man.他的侄子是一个粗野的年轻人。
13 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
14 suspense 9rJw3     
n.(对可能发生的事)紧张感,担心,挂虑
参考例句:
  • The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
  • The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。
15 soothingly soothingly     
adv.抚慰地,安慰地;镇痛地
参考例句:
  • The mother talked soothingly to her child. 母亲对自己的孩子安慰地说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He continued to talk quietly and soothingly to the girl until her frightened grip on his arm was relaxed. 他继续柔声安慰那姑娘,她那因恐惧而紧抓住他的手终于放松了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
16 impulsively 0596bdde6dedf8c46a693e7e1da5984c     
adv.冲动地
参考例句:
  • She leant forward and kissed him impulsively. 她倾身向前,感情冲动地吻了他。
  • Every good, true, vigorous feeling I had gathered came impulsively round him. 我的一切良好、真诚而又强烈的感情都紧紧围绕着他涌现出来。
17 pretext 1Qsxi     
n.借口,托词
参考例句:
  • He used his headache as a pretext for not going to school.他借口头疼而不去上学。
  • He didn't attend that meeting under the pretext of sickness.他以生病为借口,没参加那个会议。
18 concealment AvYzx1     
n.隐藏, 掩盖,隐瞒
参考例句:
  • the concealment of crime 对罪行的隐瞒
  • Stay in concealment until the danger has passed. 把自己藏起来,待危险过去后再出来。
19 divulgence a7d433bd7d1858680c8701d5aa22289f     
v.透露,泄露
参考例句:
  • We introduce a method of examining oxygen pipeline divulgence using oxygen concentration meter. 介绍一种用氧浓度仪检测的方法来检测氧气管道泄漏。 来自互联网
20 clinched 66a50317a365cdb056bd9f4f25865646     
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)
参考例句:
  • The two businessmen clinched the deal quickly. 两位生意人很快达成了协议。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Evidently this information clinched the matter. 显然,这一消息使问题得以最终解决。 来自辞典例句
21 insistent s6ZxC     
adj.迫切的,坚持的
参考例句:
  • There was an insistent knock on my door.我听到一阵急促的敲门声。
  • He is most insistent on this point.他在这点上很坚持。
22 perplexed A3Rz0     
adj.不知所措的
参考例句:
  • The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛,走了又回来,犹豫不决,总怕上当受骗。
  • The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。
23 retired Njhzyv     
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的
参考例句:
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
24 doorway 2s0xK     
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径
参考例句:
  • They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
  • Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。
25 tremor Tghy5     
n.震动,颤动,战栗,兴奋,地震
参考例句:
  • There was a slight tremor in his voice.他的声音有点颤抖。
  • A slight earth tremor was felt in California.加利福尼亚发生了轻微的地震。
26 trickled 636e70f14e72db3fe208736cb0b4e651     
v.滴( trickle的过去式和过去分词 );淌;使)慢慢走;缓慢移动
参考例句:
  • Blood trickled down his face. 血从他脸上一滴滴流下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The tears trickled down her cheeks. 热泪一滴滴从她脸颊上滚下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
27 furrows 4df659ff2160099810bd673d8f892c4f     
n.犁沟( furrow的名词复数 );(脸上的)皱纹v.犁田,开沟( furrow的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • I could tell from the deep furrows in her forehead that she was very disturbed by the news. 从她额头深深的皱纹上,我可以看出她听了这个消息非常不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Dirt bike trails crisscrossed the grassy furrows. 越野摩托车的轮迹纵横交错地布满条条草沟。 来自辞典例句
28 faltered d034d50ce5a8004ff403ab402f79ec8d     
(嗓音)颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 ); 支吾其词; 蹒跚; 摇晃
参考例句:
  • He faltered out a few words. 他支吾地说出了几句。
  • "Er - but he has such a longhead!" the man faltered. 他不好意思似的嚅嗫着:“这孩子脑袋真长。”
29 sob HwMwx     
n.空间轨道的轰炸机;呜咽,哭泣
参考例句:
  • The child started to sob when he couldn't find his mother.孩子因找不到他妈妈哭了起来。
  • The girl didn't answer,but continued to sob with her head on the table.那个女孩不回答,也不抬起头来。她只顾低声哭着。
30 culled 14df4bc70f6bf01d83bf7c2929113cee     
v.挑选,剔除( cull的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The herd must be culled. 必须有选择地杀掉部分牧畜。 来自辞典例句
  • The facts were culled from various sources. 这些事实是从各方收集到的。 来自辞典例句
31 fervently 8tmzPw     
adv.热烈地,热情地,强烈地
参考例句:
  • "Oh, I am glad!'she said fervently. “哦,我真高兴!”她热烈地说道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • O my dear, my dear, will you bless me as fervently to-morrow?' 啊,我亲爱的,亲爱的,你明天也愿这样热烈地为我祝福么?” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
32 haughty 4dKzq     
adj.傲慢的,高傲的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a haughty look and walked away.他向我摆出傲慢的表情后走开。
  • They were displeased with her haughty airs.他们讨厌她高傲的派头。
33 mire 57ZzT     
n.泥沼,泥泞;v.使...陷于泥泞,使...陷入困境
参考例句:
  • I don't want my son's good name dragged through the mire.我不想使我儿子的名誉扫地。
  • He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。
34 repentance ZCnyS     
n.懊悔
参考例句:
  • He shows no repentance for what he has done.他对他的所作所为一点也不懊悔。
  • Christ is inviting sinners to repentance.基督正在敦请有罪的人悔悟。
35 deserted GukzoL     
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的
参考例句:
  • The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
  • The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。
36 sneered 0e3b5b35e54fb2ad006040792a867d9f     
讥笑,冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He sneered at people who liked pop music. 他嘲笑喜欢流行音乐的人。
  • It's very discouraging to be sneered at all the time. 成天受嘲讽是很令人泄气的。
37 morbid u6qz3     
adj.病的;致病的;病态的;可怕的
参考例句:
  • Some people have a morbid fascination with crime.一些人对犯罪有一种病态的痴迷。
  • It's morbid to dwell on cemeteries and such like.不厌其烦地谈论墓地以及诸如此类的事是一种病态。
38 longing 98bzd     
n.(for)渴望
参考例句:
  • Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
  • His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。
39 dread Ekpz8     
vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧
参考例句:
  • We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
  • Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。
40 succumb CHLzp     
v.屈服,屈从;死
参考例句:
  • They will never succumb to the enemies.他们决不向敌人屈服。
  • Will business leaders succumb to these ideas?商业领袖们会被这些观点折服吗?


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