Next morning, I bethought me, I, too, had business at L-; so I mounted my horse, and set forth1 on the expedition soon after breakfast. It was a dull, drizzly2 day; but that was no matter: it was all the more suitable to my frame of mind. It was likely to be a lonely journey; for it was no market-day, and the road I traversed was little frequented at any other time; but that suited me all the better too.
As I trotted3 along, however, chewing the cud of - bitter fancies, I heard another horse at no great distance behind me; but I never conjectured4 who the rider might be, or troubled my head about him, till, on slackening my pace to ascend5 a gentle acclivity, or rather, suffering my horse to slacken his pace into a lazy walk - for, rapt in my own reflections, I was letting it jog on as leisurely6 as it thought proper - I lost ground, and my fellow- traveller overtook me. He accosted7 me by name, for it was no stranger - it was Mr. Lawrence! Instinctively8 the fingers of my whip-hand tingled9, and grasped their charge with convulsive energy; but I restrained the impulse, and answering his salutation with a nod, attempted to push on; but he pushed on beside me, and began to talk about the weather and the crops. I gave the briefest possible answers to his queries10 and observations, and fell back. He fell back too, and asked if my horse was lame11. I replied with a look, at which he placidly12 smiled.
I was as much astonished as exasperated13 at this singular pertinacity14 and imperturbable15 assurance on his part. I had thought the circumstances of our last meeting would have left such an impression on his mind as to render him cold and distant ever after: instead of that, he appeared not only to have forgotten all former offences, but to be impenetrable to all present incivilities. Formerly16, the slightest hint, or mere17 fancied coldness in tone or glance, had sufficed to repulse18 him: now, positive rudeness could not drive him away. Had he heard of my disappointment; and was he come to witness the result, and triumph in my despair? I grasped my whip with more determined19 energy than before - but still forbore to raise it, and rode on in silence, waiting for some more tangible20 cause of offence, before I opened the floodgates of my soul and poured out the dammed-up fury that was foaming21 and swelling22 within.
'Markham,' said he, in his usual quiet tone, 'why do you quarrel with your friends, because you have been disappointed in one quarter? You have found your hopes defeated; but how am I to blame for it? I warned you beforehand, you know, but you would not - '
He said no more; for, impelled23 by some fiend at my elbow, I had seized my whip by the small end, and - swift and sudden as a flash of lightning - brought the other down upon his head. It was not without a feeling of savage24 satisfaction that I beheld25 the instant, deadly pallor that overspread his face, and the few red drops that trickled26 down his forehead, while he reeled a moment in his saddle, and then fell backward to the ground. The pony27, surprised to be so strangely relieved of its burden, started and capered28, and kicked a little, and then made use of its freedom to go and crop the grass of the hedge-bank: while its master lay as still and silent as a corpse29. Had I killed him? - an icy hand seemed to grasp my heart and check its pulsation30, as I bent31 over him, gazing with breathless intensity32 upon the ghastly, upturned face. But no; he moved his eyelids33 and uttered a slight groan34. I breathed again - he was only stunned35 by the fall. It served him right - it would teach him better manners in future. Should I help him to his horse? No. For any other combination of offences I would; but his were too unpardonable. He might mount it himself, if he liked - in a while: already he was beginning to stir and look about him - and there it was for him, quietly browsing36 on the road-side.
So with a muttered execration37 I left the fellow to his fate, and clapping spurs to my own horse, galloped38 away, excited by a combination of feelings it would not be easy to analyse; and perhaps, if I did so, the result would not be very creditable to my disposition39; for I am not sure that a species of exultation40 in what I had done was not one principal concomitant.
Shortly, however, the effervescence began to abate41, and not many minutes elapsed before I had turned and gone back to look after the fate of my victim. It was no generous impulse - no kind relentings that led me to this - nor even the fear of what might be the consequences to myself, if I finished my assault upon the squire42 by leaving him thus neglected, and exposed to further injury; it was, simply, the voice of conscience; and I took great credit to myself for attending so promptly43 to its dictates44 - and judging the merit of the deed by the sacrifice it cost, I was not far wrong.
Mr. Lawrence and his pony had both altered their positions in some degree. The pony had wandered eight or ten yards further away; and he had managed, somehow, to remove himself from the middle of the road: I found him seated in a recumbent position on the bank, - looking very white and sickly still, and holding his cambric handkerchief (now more red than white) to his head. It must have been a powerful blow; but half the credit - or the blame of it (which you please) must be attributed to the whip, which was garnished45 with a massive horse's head of plated metal. The grass, being sodden46 with rain, afforded the young gentleman a rather inhospitable couch; his clothes were considerably47 bemired; and his hat was rolling in the mud on the other side of the road. But his thoughts seemed chiefly bent upon his pony, on which he was wistfully gazing - half in helpless anxiety, and half in hopeless abandonment to his fate.
I dismounted, however, and having fastened my own animal to the nearest tree, first picked up his hat, intending to clap it on his head; but either he considered his head unfit for a hat, or the hat, in its present condition, unfit for his head; for shrinking away the one, he took the other from my hand, and scornfully cast it aside.
'It's good enough for you,' I muttered.
My next good office was to catch his pony and bring it to him, which was soon accomplished48; for the beast was quiet enough in the main, and only winced49 and flirted50 a trifle till I got hold of the bridle51 - but then, I must see him in the saddle.
'Here, you fellow - scoundrel - dog - give me your hand, and I'll help you to mount.'
No; he turned from me in disgust. I attempted to take him by the arm. He shrank away as if there had been contamination in my touch.
'What, you won't! Well! you may sit there till doomsday, for what I care. But I suppose you don't want to lose all the blood in your body - I'll just condescend52 to bind53 that up for you.'
'Let me alone, if you please.'
'Humph; with all my heart. You may go to the d-l, if you choose - and say I sent you.'
But before I abandoned him to his fate I flung his pony's bridle over a stake in the hedge, and threw him my handkerchief, as his own was now saturated54 with blood. He took it and cast it back to me in abhorrence55 and contempt, with all the strength he could muster56. It wanted but this to fill the measure of his offences. With execrations not loud but deep I left him to live or die as he could, well satisfied that I had done my duty in attempting to save him - but forgetting how I had erred57 in bringing him into such a condition, and how insultingly my after-services had been offered - and sullenly58 prepared to meet the consequences if he should choose to say I had attempted to murder him - which I thought not unlikely, as it seemed probable he was actuated by such spiteful motives60 in so perseveringly61 refusing my assistance.
Having remounted my horse, I just looked back to see how he was getting on, before I rode away. He had risen from the ground, and grasping his pony's mane, was attempting to resume his seat in the saddle; but scarcely had he put his foot in the stirrup, when a sickness or dizziness seemed to overpower him: he leant forward a moment, with his head drooped62 on the animal's back, and then made one more effort, which proving ineffectual, he sank back on the bank, where I left him, reposing63 his head on the oozy64 turf, and to all appearance, as calmly reclining as if he had been taking his rest on his sofa at home.
I ought to have helped him in spite of himself - to have bound up the wound he was unable to staunch, and insisted upon getting him on his horse and seeing him safe home; but, besides my bitter indignation against himself, there was the question what to say to his servants - and what to my own family. Either I should have to acknowledge the deed, which would set me down as a madman, unless I acknowledged the motive59 too - and that seemed impossible - or I must get up a lie, which seemed equally out of the question - especially as Mr. Lawrence would probably reveal the whole truth, and thereby65 bring me to tenfold disgrace - unless I were villain66 enough, presuming on the absence of witnesses, to persist in my own version of the case, and make him out a still greater scoundrel than he was. No; he had only received a cut above the temple, and perhaps a few bruises67 from the fall, or the hoofs68 of his own pony: that could not kill him if he lay there half the day; and, if he could not help himself, surely some one would be coming by: it would be impossible that a whole day should pass and no one traverse the road but ourselves. As for what he might choose to say hereafter, I would take my chance about it: if he told lies, I would contradict him; if he told the truth, I would bear it as best I could. I was not obliged to enter into explanations further than I thought proper. Perhaps he might choose to be silent on the subject, for fear of raising inquiries69 as to the cause of the quarrel, and drawing the public attention to his connection with Mrs. Graham, which, whether for her sake or his own, he seemed so very desirous to conceal70.
Thus reasoning, I trotted away to the town, where I duly transacted71 my business, and performed various little commissions for my mother and Rose, with very laudable exactitude, considering the different circumstances of the case. In returning home, I was troubled with sundry72 misgivings73 about the unfortunate Lawrence. The question, What if I should find him lying still on the damp earth, fairly dying of cold and exhaustion74 - or already stark75 and chill? thrust itself most unpleasantly upon my mind, and the appalling76 possibility pictured itself with painful vividness to my imagination as I approached the spot where I had left him. But no, thank heaven, both man and horse were gone, and nothing was left to witness against me but two objects - unpleasant enough in themselves to be sure, and presenting a very ugly, not to say murderous appearance - in one place, the hat saturated with rain and coated with mud, indented77 and broken above the brim by that villainous whip-handle; in another, the crimson78 handkerchief, soaking in a deeply tinctured pool of water - for much rain had fallen in the interim79.
Bad news flies fast: it was hardly four o'clock when I got home, but my mother gravely accosted me with - 'Oh, Gilbert! - Such an accident! Rose has been shopping in the village, and she's heard that Mr. Lawrence has been thrown from his horse and brought home dying!'
This shocked me a trifle, as you may suppose; but I was comforted to hear that he had frightfully fractured his skull80 and broken a leg; for, assured of the falsehood of this, I trusted the rest of the story was equally exaggerated; and when I heard my mother and sister so feelingly deploring81 his condition, I had considerable difficulty in preventing myself from telling them the real extent of the injuries, as far as I knew them.
'You must go and see him to-morrow,' said my mother.
'Or to-day,' suggested Rose: 'there's plenty of time; and you can have the pony, as your horse is tired. Won't you, Gilbert - as soon as you've had something to eat?'
'No, no - how can we tell that it isn't all a false report? It's highly im-'
'Oh, I'm sure it isn't; for the village is all alive about it; and I saw two people that had seen others that had seen the man that found him. That sounds far-fetched; but it isn't so when you think of it.'
'Well, but Lawrence is a good rider; it is not likely he would fall from his horse at all; and if he did, it is highly improbable he would break his bones in that way. It must be a gross exaggeration at least.'
'No; but the horse kicked him - or something.'
'What, his quiet little pony?'
'How do you know it was that?'
'He seldom rides any other.'
'At any rate,' said my mother, 'you will call to-morrow. Whether it be true or false, exaggerated or otherwise, we shall like to know how he is.'
'Fergus may go.'
'Why not you?'
'He has more time. I am busy just now.'
'Oh! but, Gilbert, how can you be so composed about it? You won't mind business for an hour or two in a case of this sort, when your friend is at the point of death.'
'He is not, I tell you.'
'For anything you know, he may be: you can't tell till you have seen him. At all events, he must have met with some terrible accident, and you ought to see him: he'll take it very unkind if you don't.'
'Confound it! I can't. He and I have not been on good terms of late.'
'Oh, my dear boy! Surely, surely you are not so unforgiving as to carry your little differences to such a length as - '
'Little differences, indeed!' I muttered.
'Well, but only remember the occasion. Think how - '
'Well, well, don't bother me now - I'll see about it,' I replied.
And my seeing about it was to send Fergus next morning, with my mother's compliments, to make the requisite82 inquiries; for, of course, my going was out of the question - or sending a message either. He brought back intelligence that the young squire was laid up with the complicated evils of a broken head and certain contusions (occasioned by a fall - of which he did not trouble himself to relate the particulars - and the subsequent misconduct of his horse), and a severe cold, the consequence of lying on the wet ground in the rain; but there were no broken bones, and no immediate83 prospects84 of dissolution.
It was evident, then, that for Mrs. Graham's sake it was not his intention to criminate me.
收听单词发音 |
1
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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drizzly
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| a.毛毛雨的(a drizzly day) | |
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trotted
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| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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conjectured
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| 推测，猜测，猜想( conjecture的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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ascend
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| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
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leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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accosted
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| v.走过去跟…讲话( accost的过去式和过去分词 )；跟…搭讪；（乞丐等）上前向…乞讨；（妓女等）勾搭 | |
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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tingled
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| v.有刺痛感( tingle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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queries
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| n.问题( query的名词复数 )；疑问；询问；问号v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的第三人称单数 )；询问 | |
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lame
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| adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的 | |
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placidly
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| adv.平稳地，平静地 | |
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exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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pertinacity
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| n.执拗，顽固 | |
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imperturbable
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| adj.镇静的 | |
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formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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repulse
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| n.击退，拒绝；vt.逐退，击退，拒绝 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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tangible
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| adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的 | |
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foaming
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| adj.布满泡沫的；发泡 | |
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swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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impelled
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| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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trickled
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| v.滴( trickle的过去式和过去分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动 | |
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pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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capered
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| v.跳跃，雀跃( caper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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pulsation
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| n.脉搏，悸动，脉动；搏动性 | |
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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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intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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browsing
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| v.吃草( browse的现在分词 )；随意翻阅；（在商店里）随便看看；（在计算机上）浏览信息 | |
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execration
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| n.诅咒，念咒，憎恶 | |
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galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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exultation
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| n.狂喜，得意 | |
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abate
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| vi.(风势，疼痛等)减弱，减轻，减退 | |
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squire
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| n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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dictates
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| n.命令，规定，要求( dictate的名词复数 )v.大声讲或读( dictate的第三人称单数 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
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garnished
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| v.给（上餐桌的食物）加装饰( garnish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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sodden
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| adj.浑身湿透的；v.使浸透；使呆头呆脑 | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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winced
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| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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flirted
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| v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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condescend
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| v.俯就，屈尊；堕落，丢丑 | |
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bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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saturated
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| a.饱和的，充满的 | |
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abhorrence
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| n.憎恶；可憎恶的事 | |
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muster
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| v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册 | |
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erred
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| 犯错误，做错事( err的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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sullenly
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| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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perseveringly
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| 坚定地 | |
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drooped
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| 弯曲或下垂，发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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reposing
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的现在分词 ) | |
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oozy
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| adj.软泥的 | |
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thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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bruises
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| n.瘀伤，伤痕，擦伤( bruise的名词复数 ) | |
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hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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transacted
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| v.办理（业务等）( transact的过去式和过去分词 )；交易，谈判 | |
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sundry
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| adj.各式各样的，种种的 | |
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misgivings
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧 | |
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74
exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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75
stark
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| adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地 | |
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76
appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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77
indented
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| adj.锯齿状的，高低不平的；缩进排版 | |
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78
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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79
interim
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| adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间 | |
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80
skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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81
deploring
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| v.悲叹，痛惜，强烈反对( deplore的现在分词 ) | |
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82
requisite
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| adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品 | |
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83
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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84
prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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