Somehow the news of impending4 battle had leaked out among the rest of the body of squires5, and a buzz of suppressed excitement hummed through the dormitory that evening. The bachelors, to whom, no doubt, vague rumors6 had been blown, looked lowering, and talked together in low voices, standing7 apart in a group. Some of them made a rather marked show of secreting8 knives in the straw of their beds, and no doubt it had its effect upon more than one young heart that secretly thrilled at the sight of the shining blades. However, all was undisturbed that evening. The lights were put out, and the lads retired9 with more than usual quietness, only for the murmur10 of whispering.
All night Myles's sleep was more or less disturbed by dreams in which he was now conquering, now being conquered, and before the day had fairly broken he was awake. He lay upon his cot, keying himself up for the encounter which he had set upon himself to face, and it would not be the truth to say that the sight of those knives hidden in the straw the night before had made no impression upon him. By-and-by he knew the others were beginning to awake, for he heard them softly stirring, and as the light grew broad and strong, saw them arise, one by one, and begin dressing11 in the gray morning. Then he himself arose and put on his doublet and hose, strapping12 his belt tightly about his waist; then he sat down on the side of his cot.
Presently that happened for which he was waiting; two of the younger squires started to bring the bachelors' morning supply of water. As they crossed the room Myles called to them in a loud voice—a little uneven14, perhaps: “Stop! We draw no more water for any one in this house, saving only for ourselves. Set ye down those buckets, and go back to your places!”
The two lads stopped, half turned, and then stood still, holding the three buckets undecidedly.
In a moment all was uproar15 and confusion, for by this time every one of the lads had arisen, some sitting on the edge of their beds, some nearly, others quite dressed. A half-dozen of the Knights16 of the Rose came over to where Myles stood, gathering17 in a body behind him and the others followed, one after another.
The bachelors were hardly prepared for such prompt and vigorous action.
“What is to do?” cried one of them, who stood near the two lads with the buckets. “Why fetch ye not the water?”
“Falworth says we shall not fetch it,” answered one of the lads, a boy by the name of Gosse.
“What mean ye by that, Falworth?” the young man called to Myles.
Myles's heart was beating thickly and heavily within him, but nevertheless he spoke18 up boldly enough. “I mean,” said he, “that from henceforth ye shall fetch and carry for yourselves.”
“Look'ee, Blunt,” called the bachelor; “here is Falworth says they squires will fetch no more water for us.”
The head bachelor had heard all that had passed, and was even then hastily slipping on his doublet and hose. “Now, then, Falworth,” said he at last, striding forward, “what is to do? Ye will fetch no more water, eh? By 'r Lady, I will know the reason why.”
He was still advancing towards Myles, with two or three of the older bachelors at his heels, when Gascoyne spoke.
“Thou hadst best stand back, Blunt,” said he, “else thou mayst be hurt. We will not have ye bang Falworth again as ye once did, so stand thou back!”
Blunt stopped short and looked upon the lads standing behind Myles, some of them with faces a trifle pale perhaps, but all grim and determined20 looking enough. Then he turned upon his heel suddenly, and walked back to the far end of the dormitory, where the bachelors were presently clustered together. A few words passed between them, and then the thirteen began at once arming themselves, some with wooden clogs21, and some with the knives which they had so openly concealed23 the night before. At the sign of imminent25 battle, all those not actively26 interested scuttled27 away to right and left, climbing up on the benches and cots, and leaving a free field to the combatants. The next moment would have brought bloodshed.
Now Myles, thanks to the training of the Crosbey-Dale smith, felt tolerably sure that in a wrestling bout13 he was a match—perhaps more than a match—for any one of the body of squires, and he had determined, if possible, to bring the battle to a single-handed encounter upon that footing. Accordingly he suddenly stepped forward before the others.
“Look'ee, fellow,” he called to Blunt, “thou art he who struck me whilst I was down some while since. Wilt28 thou let this quarrel stand between thee and me, and meet me man to man without weapon? See, I throw me down mine own, and will meet thee with bare hands.” And as he spoke, he tossed the clog22 he held in his hand back upon the cot.
“So be it,” said Blunt, with great readiness, tossing down a similar weapon which he himself held.
“Do not go, Myles,” cried Gascoyne, “he is a villain29 and a traitor30, and would betray thee to thy death. I saw him when he first gat from bed hide a knife in his doublet.”
“Thou liest!” said Blunt. “I swear, by my faith, I be barehanded as ye see me! Thy friend accuses me, Myles Falworth, because he knoweth thou art afraid of me.”
“There thou liest most vilely31!” exclaimed Myles. “Swear that thou hast no knife, and I will meet thee.”
“Hast thou not heard me say that I have no knife?” said Blunt. “What more wouldst thou have?”
“Then I will meet thee halfway,” said Myles.
Gascoyne caught him by the sleeve, and would have withheld32 him, assuring him that he had seen the bachelor conceal24 a knife. But Myles, hot for the fight, broke away from his friend without listening to him.
As the two advanced steadily33 towards one another a breathless silence fell upon the dormitory in sharp contrast to the uproar and confusion that had filled it a moment before. The lads, standing some upon benches, some upon beds, all watched with breathless interest the meeting of the two champions.
As they approached one another they stopped and stood for a moment a little apart, glaring the one upon the other. They seemed ill enough matched; Blunt was fully34 half a head taller than Myles, and was thick-set and close-knit in young manhood. Nothing but Myles's undaunted pluck could have led him to dare to face an enemy so much older and stouter35 than himself.
The pause was only for a moment. They who looked saw Blunt slide his hand furtively36 towards his bosom37. Myles saw too, and in the flash of an instant knew what the gesture meant, and sprang upon the other before the hand could grasp what it sought. As he clutched his enemy he felt what he had in that instant expected to feel—the handle of a dagger38. The next moment he cried, in a loud voice: “Oh, thou villain! Help, Gascoyne! He hath a knife under his doublet!”
In answer to his cry for help, Myles's friends started to his aid. But the bachelors shouted, “Stand back and let them fight it out alone, else we will knife ye too.” And as they spoke, some of them leaped from the benches whereon they stood, drawing their knives and flourishing them.
For just a few seconds Myles's friends stood cowed, and in those few seconds the fight came to an end with a suddenness unexpected to all.
A struggle fierce and silent followed between the two; Blunt striving to draw his knife, and Myles, with the energy of despair, holding him tightly by the wrist. It was in vain the elder lad writhed39 and twisted; he was strong enough to overbear Myles, but still was not able to clutch the haft of his knife.
Then again some of his friends started forward to his aid, but they were not needed, for before they came, the fight was over.
Blunt, finding that he was not able to draw the weapon, suddenly ceased his endeavors, and flung his arms around Myles, trying to bear him down upon the ground, and in that moment his battle was lost.
In an instant—so quick, so sudden, so unexpected that no one could see how it happened—his feet were whirled away from under him, he spun41 with flying arms across Myles's loins, and pitched with a thud upon the stone pavement, where he lay still, motionless, while Myles, his face white with passion and his eyes gleaming, stood glaring around like a young wild-boar beset42 by the dogs.
The next moment the silence was broken, and the uproar broke forth19 with redoubled violence. The bachelors, leaping from the benches, came hurrying forward on one side, and Myles's friends from the other.
Myles turned upon the speaker like a flash, and with such a passion of fury in his face that the other, a fellow nearly a head taller than he, shrank back, cowed in spite of himself. Then Gascoyne came and laid his hand on his friend's shoulder.
“Who touches me?” cried Myles, hoarsely44, turning sharply upon him; and then, seeing who it was, “Oh, Francis, they would ha' killed me!”
“Come away, Myles,” said Gascoyne; “thou knowest not what thou doest; thou art mad; come away. What if thou hadst killed him?”
The words called Myles somewhat to himself. “I care not!” said he, but sullenly45 and not passionately46, and then he suffered Gascoyne and Wilkes to lead him away.
Meantime Blunt's friends had turned him over, and, after feeling his temples, his wrist, and his heart, bore him away to a bench at the far end of the room. There they fell to chafing47 his hands and sprinkling water in his face, a crowd of the others gathering about. Blunt was hidden from Myles by those who stood around, and the lad listened to the broken talk that filled the room with its confusion, his anxiety growing keener as he became cooler. But at last, with a heartfelt joy, he gathered from the confused buzz of words that the other lad had opened his eyes and, after a while, he saw him sit up, leaning his head upon the shoulder of one of his fellow-bachelors, white and faint and sick as death.
“Thank Heaven that thou didst not kill him!” said Edmund Wilkes, who had been standing with the crowd looking on at the efforts of Blunt's friends to revive him, and who had now come and sat down upon the bed not far from Myles.
“Aye,” said Myles, gruffly, “I do thank Heaven for that.”
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1
repented
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| 对（自己的所为）感到懊悔或忏悔( repent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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2
repentance
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| n.懊悔 | |
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3
furrow
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| n.沟；垄沟；轨迹；车辙；皱纹 | |
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impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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squires
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| n.地主，乡绅( squire的名词复数 ) | |
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6
rumors
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| n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷 | |
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7
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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8
secreting
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| v.（尤指动物或植物器官）分泌( secrete的现在分词 )；隐匿，隐藏 | |
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9
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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11
dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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12
strapping
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| adj. 魁伟的, 身材高大健壮的 n. 皮绳或皮带的材料, 裹伤胶带, 皮鞭 动词strap的现在分词形式 | |
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13
bout
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| n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛 | |
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14
uneven
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| adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的 | |
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15
uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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16
knights
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| 骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马 | |
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17
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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18
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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19
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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21
clogs
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| 木屐； 木底鞋，木屐( clog的名词复数 ) | |
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22
clog
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| vt.塞满，阻塞；n.[常pl.]木屐 | |
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23
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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24
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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25
imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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26
actively
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| adv.积极地，勤奋地 | |
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27
scuttled
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| v.使船沉没( scuttle的过去式和过去分词 )；快跑，急走 | |
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28
wilt
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| v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱 | |
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29
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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30
traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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31
vilely
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| adv.讨厌地，卑劣地 | |
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32
withheld
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| withhold过去式及过去分词 | |
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33
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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34
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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35
stouter
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| 粗壮的( stout的比较级 )； 结实的； 坚固的； 坚定的 | |
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36
furtively
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| adv. 偷偷地, 暗中地 | |
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37
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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38
dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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39
writhed
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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40
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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41
spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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42
beset
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| v.镶嵌；困扰，包围 | |
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43
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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44
hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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45
sullenly
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| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
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46
passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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47
chafing
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| n.皮肤发炎v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的现在分词 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒 | |
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