Harry2 and his mother had not realised till then how hard Reuben could be. Hitherto they had never truly known him, for he had hidden in himself his dominant3 passion. But now it was nakedly displayed, and they began to glimpse his iron and steel through the elusive4 nebulousness that had veiled them—as one might see the body of a steam-engine emerge through the clouds of draping smoke its activity has flung round it.
They could not help wondering at his strenuousness6, his unlimited7 capacity for work, though they failed to understand or sympathise with the object that inspired them. Blackman, grumbling8 and perplexed9, had gone off early in March to the milder energies of Raisins10 Farm; Becky, for want of a place, had married the drover at Kitchenhour—and it was no empty boast of[Pg 34] Reuben's that he would take the greater part of their work on his own shoulders. From half-past four in the morning till nine at night he laboured almost without rest. He drove the cows to pasture, milked them, and stalled them—he followed the plough over the spring-sown crops, he groomed11 and watered the horses, he fed the fowls12, watched the clutches, fattened13 capons for market—he cleaned the pigsty14, and even built a new one in a couple of strenuous5 days—he bent15 his back over his spade among the roots, over his barrow, wheeling loads of manure—he was like a man who has been starved and at last finds a square meal before him. He had all the true workman's rewards—the heart-easing ache of tired muscles, the good bath of sweat in the sun's heat, the delicious sprawl16, every sinew limp and throbbing17, in his bed at nights—and then sleep, dreamless, healing, making new.
But though Reuben bore the brunt of the new enterprise, he had no intention of sparing others their part. All that he by any exertions19 could do himself he did, but the things which inevitably20 he could not compass, because he had only two hands, one back, one head, and seven days a week to work in, must be done by others. He showed himself unexpectedly stiff, and Mrs. Backfield and Harry found themselves obeying him as if he were not the son of the one and only a year older than the other. As a matter of fact, custom gave Reuben authority, in spite of his years. He was the master, the eldest21 son inheriting his father's lordship with his father's farm. Mrs. Backfield and Harry would have been censured22 by public opinion if they had set themselves against him.
Besides, what was the use?—it was only for a few months, and then Harry would be in a little house of his own, living very like his father, though more dreamily, more delicately. Then Mrs. Backfield would once more wear muslin aprons23 instead of sacking ones,[Pg 35] would sit with her hands folded, kid shoes on the fender.... Sometimes, in the rare moments they had together, Harry would paint this wonderland for her.
He had been left a small sum by his father—resulting from the sale of a water-meadow, and securely banked at Rye. Naomi, moreover, was well dowered; and Tom Gasson, anxious to see the young couple established, had promised to help them start a grass farm in the neighbourhood. The project had so far gone no further than discussion. Reuben was opposed to it—he would have liked Harry to stay on at Odiam after his marriage; Naomi, too, would be useful in many ways, her dowry supplying a much-felt want of capital. However, he realised that in this direction his authority had its limits. He was powerless to prevent Harry leaving Odiam, and there was nothing to do but to wring24 as much as possible out of him while he stayed. Of his mother's planned escape he knew nothing.
Naomi often came over to Odiam, driving in her father's gig. Reuben disliked her visits, for they meant Harry's abandonment of spade and rake for the weightier matters of love. Reuben, moiling more desperately25 than ever, would sometimes catch a glimpse of her coloured gown through the bushes of some coppice, or skirting a hedge beside Harry's corduroy. He himself spoke26 to her seldom. He could not help being conscious of her milky27 sweetness, the soft droop28 of her figure under its muslins, her voice full of the music of stock-doves. But he disliked her, partly because she was taking Harry from Odiam, partly because he was jealous of Harry. It ought to be he who was to make a wealthy marriage, not his brother. He chafed29 to think what Naomi's money might do for the farm if only he had control of it.
Marriage was beginning to enter into his scheme. Some day he must marry and beget30 children. As the farm grew he would want more hands to work it, and[Pg 36] he would like to think of others carrying on its greatness after he was dead. He must marry a woman with money and with health, and he was not so dustily utilitarian31 as not also to demand something of youth and good looks.
Since his father's death he had denied himself woman's company, after two years lived in the throb18 and sweetness of it. A warm and vigorous temperament32, controlled by a strong will, had promised a successful libertinism33, and more than once he had drunk the extasies of passion without those dregs which spoil it for the more weakly dissolute. But now, with that same fierce strength and relentless34 purpose which had driven him to do the work of two men, to live hard, and sleep rough, he renounced35 all the delights which were only just beginning. Henceforth, with his great ambition before him, there could be nothing but marriage—prudent, solid, and constructive36. His girl at the Forstal knew him no more, nor any of her kind. He had set himself to build a house, and for the sake of that house there was nothing, whether of his own or of others, that he could not tame, break down, and destroy.
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1
divested
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| v.剥夺( divest的过去式和过去分词 )；脱去（衣服）；2。从…取去…；1。（给某人）脱衣服 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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3
dominant
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| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
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elusive
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| adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的 | |
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5
strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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6
strenuousness
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7
unlimited
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| adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的 | |
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8
grumbling
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| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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9
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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raisins
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| n.葡萄干( raisin的名词复数 ) | |
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groomed
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| v.照料或梳洗（马等）( groom的过去式和过去分词 )；使做好准备；训练；（给动物）擦洗 | |
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12
fowls
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| 鸟( fowl的名词复数 )； 禽肉； 既不是这； 非驴非马 | |
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13
fattened
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| v.喂肥( fatten的过去式和过去分词 )；养肥（牲畜）；使（钱）增多；使（公司）升值 | |
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pigsty
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| n.猪圈，脏房间 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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16
sprawl
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| vi.躺卧，扩张，蔓延；vt.使蔓延；n.躺卧，蔓延 | |
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17
throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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throb
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| v.震颤，颤动；(急速强烈地)跳动，搏动 | |
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exertions
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| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
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20
inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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censured
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| v.指责，非难，谴责( censure的过去式 ) | |
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aprons
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| 围裙( apron的名词复数 )； 停机坪，台口（舞台幕前的部份） | |
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24
wring
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| n.扭绞；v.拧，绞出，扭 | |
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desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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26
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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milky
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| adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的 | |
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28
droop
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| v.低垂，下垂；凋萎，萎靡 | |
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29
chafed
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| v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的过去式 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒 | |
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30
beget
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| v.引起；产生 | |
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31
utilitarian
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| adj.实用的，功利的 | |
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32
temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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33
libertinism
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| n.放荡，玩乐，（对宗教事物的）自由思想 | |
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34
relentless
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| adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的 | |
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35
renounced
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| v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃 | |
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36
constructive
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| adj.建设的，建设性的 | |
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