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CHAPTER XVIII FACING THE LION
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So the afternoon passed happily; with reading, with talking, with little confidences, interrupted, now and then, by the busy instrument on the table, or by some trainman stalking in to get his orders, and going out with a knowing smile upon his lips. All too soon, as it seemed to Allan, the night man came up the steps; for the first time in his experience, Allan found the sight of him unwelcome. Ten minutes later, the train was bearing him and Bess Heywood homewards. That half-hour journey never seemed so short.

Mr. Heywood was awaiting them on the grimy Wadsworth platform.

“Thank you, Allan,” he said, “for taking care of the runaway1. I thought she was old enough to travel alone, but it seems I was mistaken. I’ll have to send a nurse along hereafter.”

“Good-bye, Allan,” said the Vision, holding out her hand, and Allan was quite shocked, when he took it, by its smallness and softness.
“THE AFTERNOON PASSED HAPPILY.”

? 201 ?

“Good-bye,” he answered, but his tongue dared not pronounce her name.

He watched them until they disappeared in the darkness, then turned away across the yards, meditating2 anxiously whether a Being with a hand so small and soft, so evidently fragile, could long withstand the buffets3 of a world so rude and harsh as this one.

“Well, young lady,” said Mr. Heywood, at the dinner-table that evening, “I hope you were sufficiently4 punished for your thoughtlessness in wandering away from your train.”

“It wasn’t such terrible punishment, papa,” answered Bess. “I had a very pleasant afternoon. I think Allan is just fine.”

“So do I,” agreed her father promptly5. “He’s a nice boy.”

“And he knows such a lot,” added Bess. “I felt a perfect booby.”

“Quite a salutary feeling for a young lady,” nodded her father. “Especially for one who has always had an excellent opinion of herself.”

“Oh, papa!” protested Bess. “I’m not conceited6!”

“No, not that precisely,” agreed her father; "but most girls, when they get to be about eighteen, and have all the boys making sheep’s-eyes at them, begin to think that this world was made especially for them, and that nobody else has any right in it, ? 202 ? except perhaps to hustle7 around and provide them with ribbons and chiffon ruffles8. It’s good for them to get a hint, now and then, that the world is really something more than a pedestal for them to stand on."

Bess sighed, a little dismally9.

“I never understood before,” she said, “how awfully10 I’ve been wasting my time.”

“If you never waste any more, my dear, you’ll have nothing to regret. Most women don’t wake up to the fact that they’re wasting their time until they’re middle-aged11, and by that time they’ve fallen into such a habit of doing so that they can’t change.”

“I believe,” added Bess, thoughtfully, “that I’ll ask Allan to the party I’m going to give next week.”

“Do, by all means,” said her father, heartily12. “It will do you good, and it won’t hurt him.”

So it came to pass, a few days later, that the postman mounted the steps to the little Welsh cottage and left there a tiny envelope addressed to “Mr. Allan West.” Mary received it, and turned it over and over.

“It’s from a girl,” was her comment. “Bad cess to her. But I knowed th’ girls couldn’t let sich a foine-lookin’ lad as that alone. They’ll be makin’ eyes at him, an’ pertendin’ t’ edge away, an’ all th’ toime invitin’ him on—don’t I know ’em!” And Mary grew quite warm with indignation, entirely13 ? 203 ? forgetting that she herself had been a girl once upon a time, and an adept14 in all the arts of that pretty game of advance and retreat which she now denounced so vigorously.

She laid the letter on Allan’s plate, and noted15 the little shock of surprise with which he found it there when he sat down to supper that evening.

“Hello; what’s this?” he asked, picking it up.

“It’s a letter come fer ye this mornin’,” answered Mary, and she and Jack16 and Mamie all waited for him to open it, which he did with a hand not wholly steady.

“‘Miss Elizabeth Heywood,’” he read, “‘requests the pleasure of Mr. Allan West’s company, Thursday evening, April 28th. Seven o’clock.’”

“Well, of all th’ forrerd minxes!” burst out Mary. “Why, when I was a girl, I’d a’ no more thought o’ writin’ a young man t’ come an’ see me—”

Jack interrupted her with a roar of laughter.

“Why, Mary,” he cried, “don’t ye see! It’s a party she’s askin’ him to—th’ sup’rintindint’s daughter!”

“A party! Th’ sup’rintindint’s daughter!” and Mary paused between jealousy17 for her boy and pride that he should have received such an invitation.

“An’ of course he’ll go,” added Jack, with decision. “It’s a shame t’ kape a foine felly like Allan shut up here with us old fogies.”

“Well, I’ll say this,” said Mary, pouring out the ? 204 ? coffee, “if he does go, they won’t be no finer lookin’ young felly there.”

And I am inclined to think that Betty Heywood thought so, too, when she came forward to meet him that Thursday evening.

“How glad I am to see you,” she said, with a bright smile of welcome.

As for Allan, he was for the moment tongue-tied. If she had been a vision in her gray travelling-suit, what was she now, clad, as it seemed to him, in a sparkling cloud of purest white? She noticed his confusion, and no doubt interpreted it aright—as what girl would not?—for she went on, without appearing to notice it:

“And I want my mother to know you. Here she is, over here,” and she led the way to a beautiful woman of middle age, who sat in a great chair at one end of the room, the centre of a little court. “Mother, this is Allan West.”

Mrs. Heywood held out to him a hand even smaller and softer than her daughter’s.

“I am glad to know you, my boy,” she said. “Mr. Heywood has spoken so much of you that I feel as though I had known you a long time. Won’t you sit down here by me awhile?”

Betty gave a little nod of satisfaction, and hurried away to meet some other guests, whirling away with her the circle which had been about her mother’s chair. Allan sat down, thinking that he ? 205 ? had never heard a voice as sweet as Mrs. Heywood’s.

“We invalids18, you know,” she went on, with a little smile, “must be humoured. We can’t go to people, so people must come to us. It’s like Mahomet and the mountain.”

“I wasn’t thinking of that,” answered Allan, with a shy glance of admiration19, “but of the fisherman and the Princess.”

“So you know your Arabian Nights!” said Mrs. Heywood, colouring faintly with pleasure at the compliment. “That is right—every boy ought to know them. But you make me feel a sort of impostor. I have used that reference to Mahomet and the mountain all my life, but I don’t know that I ever really heard the story. Do you know it?”

“Bacon tells about it in one of his essays,” Allan answered. “It seems that Mahomet announced one day that he would call a hill to him, and offer up prayers from the top of it. A great crowd assembled and Mahomet called the hill again and again, but it didn’t move, and finally, without seeming worried or abashed20, he announced that, since the mountain wouldn’t come to Mahomet, Mahomet would go to the mountain, and marched away to it as proudly as though the mountain had obeyed him.”

“That is the first time I ever heard the whole story,” said Mrs. Heywood, laughing, and she shot him a little observing glance, for he seemed an ? 206 ? unusual boy. Then she led him on to tell her something of himself, and almost before he knew it, he was telling her much more than he had ever thought to tell any one. There was a subtle sympathy about her—in her smile, in her quiet eyes—which there was no resisting.

She sent him away, at last, to join the younger guests, but he did not feel at ease with them, as he had with the older woman. They were all polite enough, but youth is selfish, and Allan soon found that he and they had few interests in common; there was nothing to talk about; they had not the same friends, nor the same habits of thought; there were no mutual21 recollections to laugh over, nor plans to make for next day or next week. Of his hostess he saw very little, for her other guests claimed her attention at every turn—Betty Heywood was evidently immensely popular.

So Allan was glad, on the whole, when the time came to take his leave, and as he walked homeward under the bright stars, he was forced to admit that his first evening in society had been, in a way, a failure. He resolved that he did not care for it and would not go again. Indeed, he had no chance, for Bess Heywood’s friends voted him a “stick,” and soon forgot all about him. Nor did that young lady herself preserve a very vivid recollection of him, for her days were filled with other duties and pleasures. Her mother’s invalidism22 threw upon her much of the responsibility of household management, ? 207 ? and she was just at the age when social claims are heaviest and most difficult to evade23. Not that she sought to evade them, for she enjoyed social relaxation24, but in the whirl of party and ball, of calling and receiving calls, the memory of that afternoon in the operator’s shanty25 at the Junction26 grew faint and far away.

And Allan, in the long evenings, buried himself in his books and banished27 resolutely28 whatever dreams may have arisen in his heart, with such philosophy as he possessed29.

He soon had other things to think about. One of the dispatchers, in a moment of carelessness, had issued contradictory30 orders which had resulted in a wreck31. In consequence he was compelled to seek a position somewhere else, and everybody below him in the office moved up a notch32. The extra dispatcher was given a regular trick, and his place in consequence became vacant.

A day or two later, Allan received a message from the trainmaster ordering him to report at headquarters, and when he did so, he found that he was to be initiated33 into the mysteries of the dispatchers’ office.

“That is, if you want the job,” added Mr. Schofield.

Allan pondered a moment. The responsibilities of such a position frightened him. As an operator, he had only to carry out the orders sent him; but as a dispatcher it would be his duty to issue those ? 208 ? orders. The difference was the same as that between the general of an army and the private in the ranks. The private has only to obey orders, without bothering as to their wisdom or folly34; if a defeat follows, it is the general who must answer for it. So each dispatcher has under him, for eight hours every day, one hundred miles of track, and a regiment35 of operators and trainmen, who must obey his orders without question. That stretch of track is the battlefield, and the victory to be gained is to move over it, without accident, and on time, such passenger and freight trains as the business of the road demands. This is the problem which confronts the dispatcher every time he sits down before his desk.

All this flashed through Allan’s mind in that moment of reflection. And yet he did not really hesitate. He knew that the only road of advancement36 open to him lay through the dispatchers’ office. There was no way around. If he faltered37 now, he must remain an operator always.

“Of course I want the job, sir,” he said. “The only question is whether I’m good enough.”

“Well, there’s only one way to find out,” said Mr. Schofield, grimly. "The principal thing to remember is that never, under any circumstances, must you lose your head. Keep cool, and you’ve got the battle half won. But if you ever let the work get on your nerves, it’s all over. You don’t remember Dan Maroney? He was before your ? 209 ? time. Well, Maroney was one of the best operators we had on the road, a bright fellow, and I finally called him in to take the extra dispatcher’s trick. He seemed to pick up the work all right, and I hadn’t any doubt he would make a good dispatcher. One night, the regular dispatcher reported sick, and so I sent for Dan. He took off his coat and sat down at the desk, and the dispatcher who was going off duty explained to him how the trains lay and what orders had been issued. Dan seemed to catch on all right, so the other dispatcher put on his coat and went home. About twenty minutes later, I happened into the office, and there was Dan, lying back in his chair, white as a sheet and trembling like a leaf.

“‘Why, what’s the matter, Dan?’ I asked. ‘Are you sick?’

“‘No, I ain’t sick, Mr. Schofield,’ he said, and grinned the ghastliest grin I ever saw on a man’s face. ‘But I ain’t fit for this job. I’ve lost my nerve.’

“And, in fact, he was nearly scared to death. Well, we tried to bolster38 him up and help him along, but it was no use. He’d lost his nerve, as he said, and he never got it back again. He’s agent and operator now at Bluefield, and that’s as far as he’ll ever get. So whatever you do, don’t lost your nerve.”

“I’ll try not to,” said Allan.

“I’ve often thought,” added Mr. Schofield, "that ? 210 ? a dispatcher was a good deal like a lion-tamer. You know, the tamer enters the cage with perfect safety so long as he keeps his beasts under control. But the moment he loses his nerve, they seem to know it, some way, and perhaps he gets out of the cage alive and perhaps he doesn’t. If he does, he never dares go back. He’s lost his grip on the beasts and they no longer fear him. Well, the railroad is like that. Lose your grip on it, and it’s all over; the only thing to do is to get out as quick as you can."

“I’m going to do my best,” said Allan. “I’ll look it right in the eye.”

“Good. That’s the spirit! You will report here for duty to-morrow morning at seven o’clock. I’ll send Jones out to Byers in your place.”

And Allan left the office, resolved that whatever happened, he would keep his nerve.

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1 runaway jD4y5     
n.逃走的人,逃亡,亡命者;adj.逃亡的,逃走的
参考例句:
  • The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
  • He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。
2 meditating hoKzDp     
a.沉思的,冥想的
参考例句:
  • They were meditating revenge. 他们在谋划进行报复。
  • The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics. 这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。
3 buffets b5966e2c00f199e717917b0f26c9d03a     
(火车站的)饮食柜台( buffet的名词复数 ); (火车的)餐车; 自助餐
参考例句:
  • All life's buffets should be met with dignity and good sense. 所有人生之打击都应以尊严和理智对付之。
  • In addition to buffets, American families enjoy picnics and barbeques. 除自助餐外,美国家庭还喜欢野餐和户外烧烤餐。
4 sufficiently 0htzMB     
adv.足够地,充分地
参考例句:
  • It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
  • The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。
5 promptly LRMxm     
adv.及时地,敏捷地
参考例句:
  • He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
  • She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。
6 conceited Cv0zxi     
adj.自负的,骄傲自满的
参考例句:
  • He could not bear that they should be so conceited.他们这样自高自大他受不了。
  • I'm not as conceited as so many people seem to think.我不像很多人认为的那么自负。
7 hustle McSzv     
v.推搡;竭力兜售或获取;催促;n.奔忙(碌)
参考例句:
  • It seems that he enjoys the hustle and bustle of life in the big city.看起来他似乎很喜欢大城市的热闹繁忙的生活。
  • I had to hustle through the crowded street.我不得不挤过拥挤的街道。
8 ruffles 1b1aebf8d10c4fbd1fd40ac2983c3a32     
褶裥花边( ruffle的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • You will need 12 yards of ribbon facing for the ruffles. 你将需要12码丝带为衣服镶边之用。
  • It is impossible to live without some daily ruffles to our composure. 我们日常的平静生活免不了会遇到一些波折。
9 dismally cdb50911b7042de000f0b2207b1b04d0     
adv.阴暗地,沉闷地
参考例句:
  • Fei Little Beard assented dismally. 费小胡子哭丧着脸回答。 来自子夜部分
  • He began to howl dismally. 它就凄凉地吠叫起来。 来自辞典例句
10 awfully MPkym     
adv.可怕地,非常地,极端地
参考例句:
  • Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
  • I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。
11 middle-aged UopzSS     
adj.中年的
参考例句:
  • I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
  • The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。
12 heartily Ld3xp     
adv.衷心地,诚恳地,十分,很
参考例句:
  • He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿,就出去找他的马。
  • The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手,热情地和我握手。
13 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
14 adept EJIyO     
adj.老练的,精通的
参考例句:
  • When it comes to photography,I'm not an adept.要说照相,我不是内行。
  • He was highly adept at avoiding trouble.他十分善于避开麻烦。
15 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。
16 jack 53Hxp     
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克
参考例句:
  • I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
  • He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。
17 jealousy WaRz6     
n.妒忌,嫉妒,猜忌
参考例句:
  • Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。
  • I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。
18 invalids 9666855fd5f6325a21809edf4ef7233e     
病人,残疾者( invalid的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The invention will confer a benefit on all invalids. 这项发明将有助于所有的残疾人。
  • H?tel National Des Invalids is a majestic building with a golden hemispherical housetop. 荣军院是有着半球形镀金屋顶的宏伟建筑。
19 admiration afpyA     
n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕
参考例句:
  • He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
  • We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。
20 abashed szJzyQ     
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 )
参考例句:
  • He glanced at Juliet accusingly and she looked suitably abashed. 他怪罪的一瞥,朱丽叶自然显得很窘。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The girl was abashed by the laughter of her classmates. 那小姑娘因同学的哄笑而局促不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》
21 mutual eFOxC     
adj.相互的,彼此的;共同的,共有的
参考例句:
  • We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
  • Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。
22 invalidism bef7e93d6f4f347e18f1c290e5eb8973     
病弱,病身; 伤残
参考例句:
23 evade evade     
vt.逃避,回避;避开,躲避
参考例句:
  • He tried to evade the embarrassing question.他企图回避这令人难堪的问题。
  • You are in charge of the job.How could you evade the issue?你是负责人,你怎么能对这个问题不置可否?
24 relaxation MVmxj     
n.松弛,放松;休息;消遣;娱乐
参考例句:
  • The minister has consistently opposed any relaxation in the law.部长一向反对法律上的任何放宽。
  • She listens to classical music for relaxation.她听古典音乐放松。
25 shanty BEJzn     
n.小屋,棚屋;船工号子
参考例句:
  • His childhood was spent in a shanty.他的童年是在一个简陋小屋里度过的。
  • I want to quit this shanty.我想离开这烂房子。
26 junction N34xH     
n.连接,接合;交叉点,接合处,枢纽站
参考例句:
  • There's a bridge at the junction of the two rivers.两河的汇合处有座桥。
  • You must give way when you come to this junction.你到了这个路口必须让路。
27 banished b779057f354f1ec8efd5dd1adee731df     
v.放逐,驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He was banished to Australia, where he died five years later. 他被流放到澳大利亚,五年后在那里去世。
  • He was banished to an uninhabited island for a year. 他被放逐到一个无人居住的荒岛一年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
28 resolutely WW2xh     
adj.坚决地,果断地
参考例句:
  • He resolutely adhered to what he had said at the meeting. 他坚持他在会上所说的话。
  • He grumbles at his lot instead of resolutely facing his difficulties. 他不是果敢地去面对困难,而是抱怨自己运气不佳。
29 possessed xuyyQ     
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的
参考例句:
  • He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
  • He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。
30 contradictory VpazV     
adj.反驳的,反对的,抗辩的;n.正反对,矛盾对立
参考例句:
  • The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。
  • What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。
31 wreck QMjzE     
n.失事,遇难;沉船;vt.(船等)失事,遇难
参考例句:
  • Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
  • No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。
32 notch P58zb     
n.(V字形)槽口,缺口,等级
参考例句:
  • The peanuts they grow are top-notch.他们种的花生是拔尖的。
  • He cut a notch in the stick with a sharp knife.他用利刃在棒上刻了一个凹痕。
33 initiated 9cd5622f36ab9090359c3cf3ca4ddda3     
n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始,创始,启蒙,介绍加入
参考例句:
  • He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
  • The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。
34 folly QgOzL     
n.愚笨,愚蠢,蠢事,蠢行,傻话
参考例句:
  • Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
  • Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。
35 regiment JATzZ     
n.团,多数,管理;v.组织,编成团,统制
参考例句:
  • As he hated army life,he decide to desert his regiment.因为他嫌恶军队生活,所以他决心背弃自己所在的那个团。
  • They reformed a division into a regiment.他们将一个师整编成为一个团。
36 advancement tzgziL     
n.前进,促进,提升
参考例句:
  • His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
  • The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。
37 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。”
38 bolster ltOzK     
n.枕垫;v.支持,鼓励
参考例句:
  • The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
  • He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。


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