Jane had a passion for making lists. Years and years and years ago Mr. Carruthers had said to her, “My dear, you must learn to be businesslike. I have never been businesslike myself, and it has always been a great trouble to me.” And then and there he and Jane had, in collaboration1, embarked2 upon the First List. It was a thrilling list, a list of toys for Jane’s very first Christmas tree. Since then she had made lists of her books, lists of her clothes, shopping lists, and an annual list of good resolutions.
Jane stopped writing, and began to think about all those other lists. She had always showed them to Mr. Carruthers, and he had always gazed at them with the same vague benignness, and said how businesslike she was getting.
Dear Cousin James—Jane was rich instead of poor when she thought about him. She looked across at the trees in their new mist of green, and then suddenly the thin April sunshine dazzled in her eyes and the green swam into a blur3. Cousin James was gone, and Jane was alone in Kensington Gardens with two-and-elevenpence and a list.
She opened and shut her eyes very quickly once or twice, and fixed4 her attention upon (a) and (b) in their parallel columns. At the top of the list Jane had written “Cousin Louisa,” and the reason against asking Cousin Louisa’s assistance was set down as, “Because she was a perfect beast to my darling Jimmy, and a worse beast to me, and anyhow, she wouldn’t.”
In moments of irreverence5 the late Mr. Carruthers—the Mr. Carruthers, author of five monumental volumes on Ethnographical Differentiation—had been addressed by his young ward6 and cousin as “darling Jimmy.”
Professor Philpot came next. “A darling, but he is sitting somewhere in Central Africa in a cage learning to talk gorilla7. I do hope they haven’t eaten him, or whatever they do do to people when they catch them.”
It will be observed that Miss Smith’s association with the world of science had not succeeded in chastening her grammar.
Jane’s pencil travelled down the list.
“Mr. Bruce Murray. In Thibet studying Llamas.”
“Henry”—Jane shook her head and solemnly put two thick black lines through Henry’s name. One cannot ask for financial assistance from a young man whose hand one has refused in marriage—“even if it was three years ago, and he’s probably been in love with at least fifteen girls since then.”
“Henry’s mamma—well, the only time she ever loved me in her life was when I refused Henry, so I should think she was an Absolute Wash Out—and that’s the lot.”
Jane folded up the list and put it into her handbag. Two silver shillings and eleven copper8 pennies, and then the workhouse!
It was at this moment that a stout9 lady with a ginger10-coloured pug sat heavily down upon the far end of Jane’s bench. The ginger-coloured pug was on a scarlet11 leather lead, and after seating herself the stout lady bent12 forward creaking, and lifted him to a place beside her.
Jane wondered vaguely13 why a red face and a tightly curled fringe should go with a passion for bugled14 bonnets15 and pugs.
“Was ’ums hungry?” said the stout lady.
The pug breathed stertorously16, after the manner of pugs, and his mistress at once produced two paper bags from a beaded reticule. From one of them she took a macaroon, and from the other a sponge finger. The pug chose the macaroon.
“Precious,” cooed the stout lady, and all at once Jane felt entirely17 capable of theft and murder—theft from the stout lady, and murder upon the person of the ginger pug. For at the sight of food she realised how very, very hungry she was. Bread and margarine for breakfast six hours before, and the April air was keen, and Jane was young.
“Oh, naughty, naughty,” said the stout lady. She half turned towards Jane.
“You really wouldn’t believe how clever he is,” she observed conversationally19; “it’s a cream bun he’s asking for as plain as plain, and yesterday when I bought them for him, he teased and teased until I went back for macaroons; though, of course, a nice plain sponge finger is really better for him than either. I don’t need the vet20. to tell me that. Come along, a naughty, tiresome21 precious then.” She lifted the pug down from the seat, put the paper bags tidily back into her reticule, rose ponderously22 to her feet, and walked away, trailing the scarlet lead and cooing to the ginger pug.
Jane watched her go.
“Why don’t I laugh?” she said. “Why doesn’t she amuse me? One needn’t lose one’s sense of humour even if one is down and out.”
It was at this unpropitious moment that the tall young man who had sat down unseen upon Jane’s other side, laid his hand upon hers and observed in stirring accents:
“Darling.”
Jane whisked round in an icy temper. Her greenish-hazel eyes looked through the young man in the direction of the north pole. He ought to have stiffened23 to an icicle then and there, instead of which he murmured, “Darling,” again, and then added—“but what’s the matter?” Jane stopped looking at him or through him. He had simply ceased to exist. She picked up her two shillings and her eleven pence, put them into her purse, and consigned24 her purse to her handbag. She then closed the handbag with a snap, and rose to her feet.
“Renata!” exclaimed the young man in tones of consternation25.
Jane paused and allowed herself to observe him for the first time. She saw a young man with an intellectual forehead and studious brown eyes. He appeared to be hurt and surprised. She decided26 that this was not a would-be Lothario.
“I think you have made a mistake,” she said, and was about to pass on.
“But, Renata, Renata, darling!” stammered27 the young man even more desperately28. Jane assumed what Cousin Louisa had once described as “that absurdly grand manner.” It was quite kind, but it induced the young man to believe that Jane was conversing29 with him from about the distance of the planet Saturn30.
“I think,” she said, “that you must be taking me for my cousin, Renata Molloy.”
“But I’m engaged to her—no, I mean to you—oh, hang it all, Renata, what’s the sense of a silly joke like this?”
Jane looked at him keenly. “What is my cousin’s middle name?” she inquired.
“Jane. I hate it.”
“Thank you,” said Jane. “My name is Jane Renata Smith, and I am Renata Jane Molloy’s first cousin. Our mothers were twin sisters, and I have always understood that we were very much alike.”
Jane bowed slightly and began to walk away, but, before she had gone a dozen paces, he was beside her again.
“If you’re really Renata’s cousin, I want to talk to you—I must talk to you. Will you let me?”
Jane walked as far as the next seat, and sat down with resignation.
“I don’t even know your name.”
“It’s Todhunter—Arnold Todhunter.” He seemed a trifle breathless. “My sister Daphne was at school with Renata, and she came to stay with us once in the holidays. I said we were engaged, didn’t I? Only, nobody knows it. You won’t tell Mr. Molloy, will you?”
“I’ve never spoken to Mr. Molloy in my life,” said Jane. “There was a most awful row when my aunt married him, and none of us have ever met each other since. My aunt died years and years ago. I think Mr. Molloy is an Anarchist32 of some sort, isn’t he?”
“Yes, yes, yes,” said Mr. Todhunter, with violence. He banged the back of the iron seat with his hand. Jane reflected that he must be very much in love if he failed to notice how hard it was.
“Yes, yes, he is,” repeated Mr. Todhunter, “and worse; and Renata is in the most dreadful position. I must talk to somebody, or I shall go mad.”
“Well, you can talk to me,” said Jane soothingly33. “I have always wanted to meet Renata, and I should love to hear all about her.”
Mr. Todhunter hesitated.
“Miss Smith—you did say Smith, didn’t you?—it’s so difficult to begin. You’ll probably think I’m mad, or trying it on, but it’s like this: I’ve just qualified34 as an engineer, and I’ve got a job in South America. Naturally I wanted to see Mr. Molloy. Renata wouldn’t let me. She hardly knows her father, and she’s most awfully35 scared of him. We used to meet in the Park. Then one day she didn’t come. She went on not coming, and I nearly went mad. At last I went to Molloy’s flat and asked to see her. They said she had left town, but it was a lie. Just before the door shut, I heard her voice.” Mr. Todhunter paused. “Look here, you won’t give any of this away, will you? You know, it’s awfully confusing for me, your being so like Renata. It makes my head go round.”
“Go on,” said Jane.
“Well, the bit I don’t want you to tell any one is this—I mean to say, it’s confidential36, absolutely confidential: when I was at the Engineering School, I knew a chap who had got mixed up with Molloy’s lot. He didn’t get deep in, you’ll understand. They scared him, and he backed out. Well, I remembered a yarn37 he had told me. He was in Molloy’s flat one night, and it was raided. And I remembered that he said a lot of them got away down the fire-escape into a yard, and then out through some mews at the back. Well, I went and nosed about until I found that fire-escape, and I got up it, and I found Renata’s room and talked to her through the window. It’s not so dangerous as it sounds, because they lock her in the flat at night, and go out. And she’s in a frightful38 position—oh, Miss Smith, you simply have no idea of what a frightful position she’s in!”
“I might have, if you would tell me what it is,” said Jane dryly. She found Mr. Todhunter diffuse39.
“Well, she’s a prisoner, to start with. They keep her locked in her room.”
“Who’s they?” interrupted Jane.
Mr. Todhunter rumpled40 his hair. “She doesn’t even know their names,” he said distractedly. His voice dropped to a whisper. “It’s the most appalling41 criminal organisation42, Miss Smith. Molloy’s one of them, but they won’t even let Molloy see her alone now. You see, they think she overheard something. They don’t know whether she did or not. If they were sure that she did, they would kill her.”
“Well, did she?” said Jane.
“I don’t know,” said Mr. Todhunter gloomily. “She cried such a lot, and we were both rather confused, and she’s most awfully frightened, you know.” He glared at Jane as if she had something to do with Renata being frightened. “If I’m to take up this job of mine, I have to sail in three days’ time. I want her to marry me and come too; but she says that, if she runs away, they’ll make sure she heard something, and, if it’s the farthest ends of the earth, they’ll find her and kill her. It seems Molloy told her that. And if she stays here and they bully43 her again, she doesn’t know what she may give away. It’s a frightful position, isn’t it?”
“Why don’t you go to the police?” said Jane.
“I thought of that, but they’d laugh at me. I haven’t heard anything, and I don’t know anything. Molloy would only say that Renata was under age, and that he had locked her in to prevent her running away with me. Then they’d kill her.”
“I see,” said Jane. Then—“What do you want me to do?” she asked.
All the time that Mr. Todhunter had been glooming and groaning44, running his fingers through his hair and depicting45 Renata’s appalling position, the Great Idea had been slowly forming itself in his mind. Every time that he looked at Jane, her likeness46 to Renata made him feel quite giddy. The Great Idea intoxicated47 him. He began to decant48 it.
“Miss Smith, if you would—you see, if we could only get a clear start—what I mean to say is, South America’s a long way off——”
“Quite a distance,” Jane agreed.
“And if they thought that you were Renata, they wouldn’t look for her—and once we were clear away——”
“My dear Mr. Todhunter!” said Jane.
“I could take you up the fire-escape,” said Mr. Todhunter, in low, thrilling accents. “It would be quite easy. They would never know that Renata was not there. You do see what I mean, don’t you?”
“Oh yes,” said Jane in rather an odd voice. “You’ve made it beautifully clear. Renata is in a position of deadly peril49—I think that’s what you called it—and the simple way out is for Renata to elope with you to South America, and for me to be in the position of deadly peril instead. It’s a beautiful plan.”
Jane looked away. Immediately in front of her was a strip of gravelled path. Beyond that there was green grass, and a bed of pale blue hyacinths, and budding daffodils. Two-and-elevenpence, and then the workhouse—the ascent51 of a fire-escape in the April darkness, and at the top of the fire-escape a position of deadly peril.
“Of course,” said Jane, speaking to herself in her own mind. “I might try to be a housemaid, but one has to have a character, and I don’t believe Cousin Louisa would give me one.”
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
collaboration
|
|
| n.合作，协作；勾结 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
embarked
|
|
| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
blur
|
|
| n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
irreverence
|
|
| n.不尊敬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
ward
|
|
| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
gorilla
|
|
| n.大猩猩，暴徒，打手 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
copper
|
|
| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
ginger
|
|
| n.姜，精力，淡赤黄色；adj.淡赤黄色的；vt.使活泼，使有生气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
scarlet
|
|
| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
vaguely
|
|
| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
bugled
|
|
| 吹号（bugle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
bonnets
|
|
| n.童帽( bonnet的名词复数 )；（烟囱等的）覆盖物；（苏格兰男子的）无边呢帽；（女子戴的）任何一种帽子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
stertorously
|
|
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
spat
|
|
| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
conversationally
|
|
| adv.会话地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
vet
|
|
| n.兽医，退役军人；vt.检查 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
tiresome
|
|
| adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
ponderously
|
|
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
stiffened
|
|
| 加强的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
consigned
|
|
| v.把…置于（令人不快的境地）( consign的过去式和过去分词 )；把…托付给；把…托人代售；丟弃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
consternation
|
|
| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
decided
|
|
| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
stammered
|
|
| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
desperately
|
|
| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
conversing
|
|
| v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
Saturn
|
|
| n.农神，土星 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
gasped
|
|
| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
anarchist
|
|
| n.无政府主义者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
soothingly
|
|
| adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
qualified
|
|
| adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
awfully
|
|
| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
confidential
|
|
| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
yarn
|
|
| n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
frightful
|
|
| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
diffuse
|
|
| v.扩散；传播；adj.冗长的；四散的，弥漫的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
rumpled
|
|
| v.弄皱，使凌乱( rumple的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
appalling
|
|
| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
organisation
|
|
| n.组织，安排，团体，有机休 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
bully
|
|
| n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
groaning
|
|
| adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
depicting
|
|
| 描绘，描画( depict的现在分词 )； 描述 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
likeness
|
|
| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
intoxicated
|
|
| 喝醉的，极其兴奋的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
decant
|
|
| v.慢慢倒出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
peril
|
|
| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
oblivious
|
|
| adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
ascent
|
|
| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
chafing
|
|
| n.皮肤发炎v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的现在分词 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
briefly
|
|
| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |