Chapter 4

The last days of Tom’s fortnight seemed to rush by in spate¹; they blew before the March wind like the dust. Thyrza hurried on her little preparations for his departure—she was making him new shirts, and with loving hands repairing all of his that was frayed² and worn, from his shirt to his soul.... For even Tom’s simple soul had been touched by the blight³ of war, and there was a look at the back of his eyes which came from things he never spoke⁴ of ... things he had seen out there in the land of horrors, which the folk at home did not realise—and he was unaccountable glad they did not. Thyrza’s love had driven that look to the back of his eyes and those memories to the back of his heart, though probably she would never be able to drive either the look or the memories quite away. Such things were now the lot of boys....

He still went occasionally to Worge, and sat with his father and mother in the kitchen, or gave Harry⁵ a hand on the farm. He persuaded Mus’ Beatup to engage a lad for cow and stable work, so that his brother’s burden was made lighter⁶. One day Ivy⁷ came over with Sergeant⁸ Staples⁹. The slow formalities of his discharge were crawling on, and she hoped to be married and to sail for Canada before the summer was out. It struck Tom that she had sweetened and sobered since he saw her last. Rumours¹⁰ of her affair with Seagrim had reached him, [253] and he was glad to have her settled down. “Ricky’s a valiant¹¹ pal,” she said once, and the words struck the difference between her love for him and the love she had had for Seagrim, and would have explained, if anyone had cared for an explanation, the comparative ease and quickness with which she had turned from one to the other. Seagrim had never been a pal—he had been a spell, a marvel¹², a magic that would never come back, a wonder which a woman’s heart must know but can seldom keep. Ricky, with his red hair and grinning monkeyish face, would never throw over Ivy’s world the glamour¹³ of those weeks with Seagrim, he would never transfigure the earth or turn pots to gold.... On the other hand, as Ivy said, he was better to jog along with, and she was certainly born for the ardours and endurances of a colonial’s wife—“So that’s settled and done with,” she thought to herself with a contented¹⁴ sigh—“and I reckon I’m a middling lucky girl. It’s queer how Nell and me have seemingly done just the saum—lost our hearts to one man and then gone and married another. But I kept my head and did it sensible, while she, reckon she lost hers and did it unsensible. Poor Nell! ... but I told her straight as Kadwell wur a swine.”

Nell had left the farm about four days after Tom’s return. Her husband had suddenly claimed her, and had fetched her away to spend his last leave with him in London. He expected to go to France in a week or two now. Tom did not dislike his new brother-in-law; he thought him a “good feller,” and considered him wonderfully forbearing with Nell when she cried on saying good-bye to her mother, and went away with her pretty face all marbled and blotched with tears.

“I’ve got no patience wud girls wot taake on them silly maidenish¹⁵ airs,” he said to Thyrza. “You never [254] cried when you caum to me, surelye.”

“I’d no mother to say good-bye to. Some girls always cry when they say good-bye to their mothers.”

“Nell never used to be so set on mother in the oald times.”

“But it’s different now—it always is,” said Thyrza wisely—“that’s why some folks ud sooner have a darter than a son. When a son goes marrying he turns away from his parents, but a girl, the more she loves outside the more she loves at home.”

Tom pondered her words, and found himself beginning to feel a little guilty.

“Maybe you’re right. I hope Will woan’t go and disremember us when he weds¹⁶.”

“Reckon he will,” said Thyrza—“it’s only nature.”

Tom went up to Worge every evening till the end of his leave.

1 spate   

n.泛滥，洪水，突然的一阵

参考例句：

• Police are investigating a spate of burglaries in the area.警察正在调查这一地区发生的大量盗窃案。
• Refugees crossed the border in full spate.难民大量地越过了边境。

2 frayed   

adj.磨损的v.（使布、绳等）磨损，磨破( fray的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His shirt was frayed. 他的衬衫穿破了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The argument frayed their nerves. 争辩使他们不快。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 blight   

n.枯萎病；造成破坏的因素；vt.破坏，摧残

参考例句：

• The apple crop was wiped out by blight.枯萎病使苹果全无收成。
• There is a blight on all his efforts.他的一切努力都遭到挫折。

4 spoke   

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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

6 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

7 ivy   

n.常青藤，常春藤

参考例句：

• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。
• The wall is covered all over with ivy.墙上爬满了常春藤。

8 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

9 staples   

n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly. 订书机上的铁砧安装错位。 来自辞典例句
• I'm trying to make an analysis of the staples of his talk. 我在试行分析他的谈话的要旨。 来自辞典例句

10 rumours   

n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传

参考例句：

• The rumours were completely baseless. 那些谣传毫无根据。
• Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。

11 valiant   

adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人

参考例句：

• He had the fame of being very valiant.他的勇敢是出名的。
• Despite valiant efforts by the finance minister,inflation rose to 36%.尽管财政部部长采取了一系列果决措施，通货膨胀率还是涨到了36%。

12 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

13 glamour   

n.魔力，魅力；vt.迷住

参考例句：

• Foreign travel has lost its glamour for her.到国外旅行对她已失去吸引力了。
• The moonlight cast a glamour over the scene.月光给景色增添了魅力。

14 contented   

adj.满意的，安心的，知足的

参考例句：

• He won't be contented until he's upset everyone in the office.不把办公室里的每个人弄得心烦意乱他就不会满足。
• The people are making a good living and are contented,each in his station.人民安居乐业。

15 maidenish   

处女的，似处女的

参考例句：

16 weds   

v.嫁，娶，（与…）结婚( wed的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Confetti showered down on the newly-weds. 彩屑撒在一双新人身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The newly-weds are head over heels in love. 这对新婚夫正情溶意蜜。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》