In the midst of a group of his countrymen Henry J. Sherman stood, feet wide apart and straw hat cocked back over his bald spot. He was narrating7 the breathless incidents of the night's dark hour:
"Yes, sir, a soldier comes to our rooms about three-thirty o'clock and hammers on our door. 'Everybody in this hotel's under arrest,' he says. 'Kindly8 dress as soon as possible and report to Major Bishop9 in the office.' And we not five hours before the guests of General and Lady Crandall at Government House. What d'you think of that for a quick change?
"Well, gentlemen, we piled down-stairs—with me minus a collar button and havin' to hold my collar down behind with my hand. And what do we find? This chap Almer, with a face like a side of cream cheese, standing10 in the middle of a bunch of soldiers with guns; another bunch of soldiers surroundin' his Arab boy, who's as innocent a little fellah as ever you set eyes on; and this Major Bishop walkin' up and down, all excited, and sayin' something about somebody's got a scheme to blow up the whole fleet out there. Which might have been done, he says, if it wasn't for that fellah Woodhouse we'd had dinner with just that very evening."
"Who's some sort of a spy. I knew it all the time, you see." Mrs. Sherman was quick to claim her share of her fellow tourists' attention. "Only he's a British spy set to watch the Germans. Major Bishop told me that in confidence after it was all over—said he'd never met a man with the nerve this Captain Woodhouse has."
"Better whisper that word 'spy' soft," Henry J. admonished11 sotto voce. "We're not out of this plagued Europe yet, and we've had about all the excitement we can stand; don't want anybody to arrest us again just the minute we're sailin'. But, as I was sayin', there we all stood, foolish as goats, until in comes General Crandall, followed by this Woodhouse chap. 'Excuse me, people, for causing you this little inconvenience,' the general says. 'Major Bishop has taken his orders too literal. If you'll go back to your rooms and finish dressin' I'll have the army bus down here to take you to the quay. The Hotel Splendide's accommodations have been slightly disarranged by the arrest of its worthy12 proprietor13.' So back we go, and—by cricky, mother, here comes the general and Mrs. Crandall now!"
Henry J. broke through the ring of passengers, and with a waving of his hat, rushed to the curb14. A limousine15 bearing the governor, his lady and Jane Gerson, and with two bulky hampers16 strapped17 to the baggage rack behind, was just drawing up.
"Why, of course we're down here to see you off—and bid you Godspeed to little old Kewanee!" Lady Crandall was quick to anticipate the Shermans' greetings. General Crandall, beaming indulgently on the group of homegoers, had a hand for each.
"Yes—yes," he exclaimed. "After arresting you at three o'clock we're here to give you a clean ticket at five. Couldn't do more than that—what? Regrettable occurrence and all that, but give you something to tell the stay-at-homes about when you get back to—ah——"
"Kewanee, Illynoy, General," Sherman was quick to supply. "No town like it this side the pearly gates."
"No doubt of it, Sherman," Crandall heartily18 agreed. "A quiet place, I'll wager19. Think I'd relish20 a touch of your Kewanee after—ah—life on Gibraltar."
Jane Gerson, who had been standing in the car, anxiously scanning the milling crowd about the landing stage, caught sight of a white helmet and khaki-clad shoulders pushing through the nearer fringes of travelers. She slipped out of the limousine unseen, and waited for the white helmet to be doffed21 before her.
"I was afraid maybe——" the girl began, her cheeks suddenly flaming.
"Afraid that, after all, it wasn't true?" the man she had found in war's vortex finished, his gray eyes compelling hers to tell him their whole message. "Afraid that Captain Cavendish might be as vile22 a deceiver as Woodhouse? Does Cavendish have to prove himself all over again, little girl?"
"No—no!" Her hands fluttered into his, and her lips were parted in a smile. "It's Captain Woodhouse I want to know—always; the man whose pledged word I held to."
"It must have been—hard," he murmured. "But you were splendid—splendid!"
"No, I was not." Tears came to dim her eyes, and the hands he held trembled. "Once—in one terrible moment this morning—when Jaimihr told us you were going to the signal tower—when we waited—waited to hear that awful noise, my faith failed me. I thought you——"
"Forget that moment, Jane, dearest. A saint would have denied faith then."
They were silent for a minute, their hearts quailing23 before the imminent24 separation. He spoke25:
"Go back to the States now; go back and show this Hildebrand person you're a wonder—a prize. Show him what I've known more and more surely every moment since that meeting in Calais. But give him fair warning; he's going to lose you."
"Lose me?" she echoed.
"Inevitably26. Listen, girl! In a year my term of service is up, and if the war's over I shall leave the army, come to the States to you, and—and—do you think I could become a good American?"
"If—if you have the proper teacher," the girl answered, with a flash of mischief27.
"All aboard for the Saxonia!" It was Consul28 Reynolds, fussed, perspiring29, overwhelmed with the sense of his duty, who bustled30 up to where the Shermans were chatting with Lady Crandall and the general. Reynolds' sharp eye caught an intimate tableau31 on the other side of the auto32. "And that means you, Miss Step-lively New York," he shouted, "much as I hate to—ah—interrupt."
Jane Gerson saw her two precious hampers stemming a way through the crowd on the backs of porters, bound for the tender's deck. She could not let them out of her sight.
"Wait, Jane!" His hands were on her arms, and he would not let her go. "Will you be my teacher? I want no other."
"My terms are high." She tried to smile, though trembling lips belied33 her.
"I'd pay with my life," he whispered in a quick gust34 of passion. "Here's my promise——"
He took her in his arms, and between them passed the world-old pledge of man and girl.
The End
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1
quay
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| n.码头，靠岸处 | |
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2
raucous
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| adj.(声音)沙哑的，粗糙的 | |
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3
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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4
thump
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| v.重击，砰然地响；n.重击，重击声 | |
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pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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deluge
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| n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥 | |
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7
narrating
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| v.故事( narrate的现在分词 ) | |
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8
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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9
bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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10
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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11
admonished
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| v.劝告( admonish的过去式和过去分词 )；训诫；（温和地）责备；轻责 | |
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12
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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14
curb
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| n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制 | |
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15
limousine
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| n.豪华轿车 | |
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hampers
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| 妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的第三人称单数 ) | |
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17
strapped
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| adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带 | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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19
wager
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| n.赌注；vt.押注，打赌 | |
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relish
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| n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味 | |
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doffed
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| v.脱去，（尤指）脱帽( doff的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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vile
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| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
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quailing
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| 害怕，发抖，畏缩( quail的现在分词 ) | |
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imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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25
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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inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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27
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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consul
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| n.领事；执政官 | |
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29
perspiring
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| v.出汗，流汗( perspire的现在分词 ) | |
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30
bustled
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| 闹哄哄地忙乱，奔忙( bustle的过去式和过去分词 )； 催促 | |
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31
tableau
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| n.画面，活人画（舞台上活人扮的静态画面） | |
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32
auto
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| n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车 | |
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33
belied
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| v.掩饰( belie的过去式和过去分词 )；证明（或显示）…为虚假；辜负；就…扯谎 | |
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gust
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| n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发 | |
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