The Withered Arm Chapter 8

At this date, and for several years after, there was a hangman toalmost every jail. Gertrude found, on inquiry¹, that theCasterbridge official dwelt in a lonely cottage by a deep slow riverflowing under the cliff on which the prison buildings were situate--the stream being the self-same one, though she did not know it,which watered the Stickleford and Holmstoke meads lower down in itscourse.

　　Having changed her dress, and before she had eaten or drunk--for shecould not take her ease till she had ascertained² some particulars--Gertrude pursued her way by a path along the water-side to thecottage indicated. Passing thus the outskirts³ of the jail, shediscerned on the level roof over the gateway⁴ three rectangular linesagainst the sky, where the specks⁵ had been moving in her distantview; she recognized what the erection was, and passed quickly on.

　　Another hundred yards brought her to the executioner's house, whicha boy pointed⁶ out It stood close to the same stream, and was hard bya weir⁷, the waters of which emitted a steady roar.

　　While she stood hesitating the door opened, and an old man cameforth shading a candle with one hand. Locking the door on theoutside, he turned to a flight of wooden steps fixed⁸ against the endof the cottage, and began to ascend⁹ them, this being evidently thestaircase to his bedroom. Gertrude hastened forward, but by thetime she reached the foot of the ladder he was at the top. Shecalled to him loudly enough to be heard above the roar of the weir;he looked down and said, 'What d'ye want here?'

　　'To speak to you a minute.'

　　The candle-light, such as it was, fell upon her imploring¹⁰, pale,upturned face, and Davies (as the hangman was called) backed downthe ladder. 'I was just going to bed,' he said; '"Early to bed andearly to rise," but I don't mind stopping a minute for such a one asyou. Come into house.' He reopened the door, and preceded her tothe room within.

　　The implements¹¹ of his daily work, which was that of a jobbinggardener, stood in a corner, and seeing probably that she lookedrural, he said, 'If you want me to undertake country work I can'tcome, for I never leave Casterbridge for gentle nor simple--not I.

　　My real calling is officer of justice,' he added formally.

　　'Yes, yes! That's it. To-morrow!'

　　'Ah! I thought so. Well, what's the matter about that? 'Tis nouse to come here about the knot--folks do come continually, but Itell 'em one knot is as merciful as another if ye keep it under theear. Is the unfortunate man a relation; or, I should say, perhaps'

　　(looking at her dress) 'a person who's been in your employ?'

　　'No. What time is the execution?'

　　'The same as usual--twelve o'clock, or as soon after as the Londonmail-coach gets in. We always wait for that, in case of areprieve.'

　　'O--a reprieve--I hope not!' she said involuntarily,'Well,--hee, hee!--as a matter of business, so do I! But still, ifever a young fellow deserved to be let off, this one does; only justturned eighteen, and only present by chance when the rick was fired.

　　Howsomever, there's not much risk of it, as they are obliged to makean example of him, there having been so much destruction of propertythat way lately.'

　　'I mean,' she explained, 'that I want to touch him for a charm, acure of an affliction, by the advice of a man who has proved thevirtue of the remedy.'

　　'O yes, miss! Now I understand. I've had such people come in pastyears. But it didn't strike me that you looked of a sort to requireblood-turning. What's the complaint? The wrong kind for this, I'llbe bound.'

　　'My arm.' She reluctantly showed the withered¹² skin.

　　'Ah--'tis all a-scram!' said the hangman, examining it.

　　'Yes,' said she.

　　'Well,' he continued, with interest, 'that IS the class o' subject,I'm bound to admit! I like the look of the place; it is truly assuitable for the cure as any I ever saw. 'Twas a knowing-man thatsent 'ee, whoever he was.'

　　'You can contrive¹³ for me all that's necessary?' she saidbreathlessly.

　　'You should really have gone to the governor of the jail, and yourdoctor with 'ee, and given your name and address--that's how it usedto be done, if I recollect¹⁴. Still, perhaps, I can manage it for atrifling fee.'

　　'O, thank you! I would rather do it this way, as I should like itkept private.'

　　'Lover not to know, eh?'

　　'No--husband.'

　　'Aha! Very well. I'll get ee' a touch of the corpse¹⁵.'

　　'Where is it now?' she said, shuddering¹⁶.

　　'It?--HE, you mean; he's living yet. Just inside that little smallwinder up there in the glum¹⁷.' He signified the jail on the cliffabove.

　　She thought of her husband and her friends. 'Yes, of course,' shesaid; 'and how am I to proceed?'

　　He took her to the door. 'Now, do you be waiting at the littlewicket in the wall, that you'll find up there in the lane, not laterthan one o'clock. I will open it from the inside, as I shan't comehome to dinner till he's cut down. Good-night. Be punctual; and ifyou don't want anybody to know 'ee, wear a veil. Ah--once I hadsuch a daughter as you!'

　　She went away, and climbed the path above, to assure herself thatshe would be able to find the wicket next day. Its outline was soonvisible to her--a narrow opening in the outer wall of the prisonprecincts. The steep was so great that, having reached the wicket,she stopped a moment to breathe; and, looking back upon the water-side cot, saw the hangman again ascending¹⁸ his outdoor staircase. Heentered the loft¹⁹ or chamber²⁰ to which it led, and in a few minutesextinguished his light.

　　The town clock struck ten, and she returned to the White Hart as shehad come.

1 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

2 ascertained   

v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The previously unidentified objects have now been definitely ascertained as being satellites. 原来所说的不明飞行物现在已证实是卫星。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I ascertained that she was dead. 我断定她已经死了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

4 gateway   

n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法

参考例句：

• Hard work is the gateway to success.努力工作是通往成功之路。
• A man collected tolls at the gateway.一个人在大门口收通行费。

5 specks   

n.眼镜；斑点，微粒，污点( speck的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Minutes later Brown spotted two specks in the ocean. 几分钟后布朗发现海洋中有两个小点。 来自英汉非文学 - 百科语料821
• Do you ever seem to see specks in front of your eyes? 你眼睛前面曾似乎看见过小点吗？ 来自辞典例句

6 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

7 weir   

n.堰堤，拦河坝

参考例句：

• The discharge from the weir opening should be free.从堰开口处的泻水应畅通。
• Big Weir River,restraining tears,has departed!大堰河，含泪地去了！

8 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

9 ascend   

vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上

参考例句：

• We watched the airplane ascend higher and higher.我们看着飞机逐渐升高。
• We ascend in the order of time and of development.我们按时间和发展顺序向上溯。

10 imploring   

恳求的，哀求的

参考例句：

• Those calm, strange eyes could see her imploring face. 那平静的，没有表情的眼睛还能看得到她的乞怜求情的面容。
• She gave him an imploring look. 她以哀求的眼神看着他。

11 implements   

n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• Primitive man hunted wild animals with crude stone implements. 原始社会的人用粗糙的石器猎取野兽。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• They ordered quantities of farm implements. 他们订购了大量农具。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 withered   

adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The grass had withered in the warm sun. 这些草在温暖的阳光下枯死了。
• The leaves of this tree have become dry and withered. 这棵树下的叶子干枯了。

13 contrive   

vt.谋划，策划；设法做到；设计，想出

参考例句：

• Can you contrive to be here a little earlier?你能不能早一点来？
• How could you contrive to make such a mess of things?你怎么把事情弄得一团糟呢？

14 recollect   

v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得

参考例句：

• He tried to recollect things and drown himself in them.他极力回想过去的事情而沉浸于回忆之中。
• She could not recollect being there.她回想不起曾经到过那儿。

15 corpse   

n.尸体，死尸

参考例句：

• What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
• The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。

16 shuddering   

v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动

参考例句：

• 'I am afraid of it,'she answered, shuddering. “我害怕，”她发着抖，说。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• She drew a deep shuddering breath. 她不由得打了个寒噤，深深吸了口气。 来自飘（部分）

17 glum   

adj.闷闷不乐的，阴郁的

参考例句：

• He was a charming mixture of glum and glee.他是一个很有魅力的人，时而忧伤时而欢笑。
• She laughed at his glum face.她嘲笑他闷闷不乐的脸。

18 ascending   

adj.上升的，向上的

参考例句：

• Now draw or trace ten dinosaurs in ascending order of size.现在按照体型由小到大的顺序画出或是临摹出10只恐龙。

19 loft   

n.阁楼，顶楼

参考例句：

• We could see up into the loft from bottom of the stairs.我们能从楼梯脚边望到阁楼的内部。
• By converting the loft,they were able to have two extra bedrooms.把阁楼改造一下，他们就可以多出两间卧室。

20 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。