CHAPTER XXIV. CONCLUSION.

The month of July had passed and gone, and yet Ruby¹ had not yet kept her promise to Clark. The reason partly was that father Gibault had already gone before the American commandant could inform him of the nature of his discovery, and of the need of his services, partly because Ruby herself begged off with unwonted humility², till father Gibault returned from St. Vincent’s.

In the meantime the awakened³ lovers passed many a pleasant hour together, and explained away many a mystery of[102] the past. Then first Ruby learned that the apparent coldness with which Clark had treated her at Harrodsburg was put on only to hide the real interest he had felt in her from the first. Then, too, the colonel learned how Ruby’s mother was a niece of one of the Henry family, and how she had first obtained the letter which had introduced her under the name of John Frank. He learned also how the interest between them had been mutual⁴, but hightened by pique⁵ on the part of Ruby at his supposed indifference⁶. He learned how she had followed him to Kaskaskia, keeping in constant communication with her father’s warriors⁷ all the way, resolved to succor⁸ him if need should be. When she saw what an impression she had produced on him with her beauty in full dress, then it was that for the first time she resolved to try and see if he really loved her. Assisted by her Indian confederates, she had paraded about a dummy⁹ figure dressed in the adjutant’s uniform, so as to disarm¹⁰ any suspicion that might arise that Ruby and the little officer were one and the same person; and then, after exhibiting herself on several occasions at full speed, along with the dummy figure, on horseback, she dropped the pretense¹¹ and boldly enacted¹² either character at will.

At last August came in, and with it father Gibault. The old priest had been completely successful in his mission to St. Vincent’s. The French inhabitants, heartily¹³ sick of their English rulers, no sooner heard the priest’s news than they met in a body at their church, took the oath of allegiance to America in the most solemn manner, hoisted¹⁴ the American flag in their empty fort, and elected Helm their commandant. Thus was the last fruit of harvest saved without plucking, and the conquest of Illinois finished.

It was not many days after that Adjutant Frank disappeared to be seen no more. His chief said he had returned to Kentucky, but the men were all sorry to miss him. On the same day Captain Joseph Montgomery took Governor Rocheblave a prisoner to Richmond, and all the bells of Kaskaskia rung a joyful¹⁵ peal¹⁶ to celebrate the union of the border leader with his beautiful bride, Ruby Roland.

THE END.

1 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

2 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。

3 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 mutual   

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。

5 pique   

v.伤害…的自尊心，使生气 n.不满，生气

参考例句：

• She went off in a fit of pique.她一赌气就走了。
• Tom finished the sentence with an air of pique.汤姆有些生气地说完这句话。

6 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

7 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

8 succor   

n.援助，帮助；v.给予帮助

参考例句：

• In two short hours we may look for succor from Webb.在短短的两小时内，韦布将军的救兵就可望到达。
• He was so much in need of succor,so totally alone.他当时孑然一身，形影相吊，特别需要援助。

9 dummy   

n.假的东西；(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头

参考例句：

• The police suspect that the device is not a real bomb but a dummy.警方怀疑那个装置不是真炸弹，只是一个假货。
• The boys played soldier with dummy swords made of wood.男孩们用木头做的假木剑玩打仗游戏。

10 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

11 pretense   

n.矫饰，做作，借口

参考例句：

• You can't keep up the pretense any longer.你无法继续伪装下去了。
• Pretense invariably impresses only the pretender.弄虚作假欺骗不了真正的行家。

12 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

13 heartily   

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。

14 hoisted   

把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He hoisted himself onto a high stool. 他抬身坐上了一张高凳子。
• The sailors hoisted the cargo onto the deck. 水手们把货物吊到甲板上。

15 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

16 peal   

n.钟声；v.鸣响

参考例句：

• The bells of the cathedral rang out their loud peal.大教堂响起了响亮的钟声。
• A sudden peal of thunder leaves no time to cover the ears.迅雷不及掩耳。