CHAPTER XXII. "THEY TAKE NO NOTE OF TIME."

 KATE and Jermyn were so happy in each other's society, now that they had not to pay attention to a lot of mere¹ acquaintances, that they agreed with the hero of Gilbert and Sullivan's "Mikado" that each second was a minute, each minute an hour, each hour a day, and each day a year. Nevertheless, after the illogical manner of lovers, no sooner was the last half of the week under way than they began to complain that each day seemed only an hour long.

 

"Must you really go at the end of your week?" asked Kate. "Does a week, in military parlance², mean literally³ a week—no more, no less?"

 

"Exactly and mathematically a week," sighed Jermyn. "Tis even worse in our case, for the week includes the time I spent in reaching here, the time I will spend in returning, and the day I started, but was taken back by the Admiral."

 

"Oh!" exclaimed Kate, after a startled look, "that means that you must start back to-morrow!"

 

"It does indeed. I've gone over it by every applicable rule of arithmetic, but I can find no other solution."

 

 

Kate at once became so dismal⁴ that she could not talk much, and Jermyn, remembering the ways of his mother and sisters when they had trouble on their minds, suggested that there could be no better time to make his good-bye call upon the Highwoods; he assured himself that a short chat with sympathetic women would enable Kate to bear her trouble more bravely. He got his reward, for Trif chatted so kindly⁵ with him that he himself soon felt much better than he had dared hope, so he felt correspondingly grateful, and wished he might do something in return for the good woman to whose interest he owed so much of his fortune in love. Suddenly there came to him a thought which he voiced at once.

 

"Mrs. Highwood, I shall go back by way of Washington. I'm greatly your debtor⁶; I needn't go into particulars, but wouldn't you like to spend a few hours in Washington? You couldn't have a better guide than I, and—"

 

"'Twould be splendid!" Trif exclaimed. "But you wouldn't be so heartless as to leave Kate behind?"

 

"I'm greatly obliged for the suggestion."

 

"And," continued Trif, who had been thinking rapidly, "would it be dreadful of me to take Trixy also? She has long been wild to see the 'Baby of the White House,' and by some lucky accident she might get a peep at that fortunate child."

 

"It might not be difficult; I've had the honor of meeting the baby's mother, in other years, and am sure she would be delighted to meet a woman like Trixy's mother."

 

 

"We will go," said Trif. "I shan't have to wait to consult Phil, for he asked me why I didn't improve my opportunity to see Washington during our return trip from Old Point."

 

A cheerful party of four started for Washington the next afternoon, and on the morning afterward⁷ Jermyn busied himself in showing the ladies the sights of the capital. But Washington is a large city, and time did fly so rapidly—to Kate and Jermyn, for the latter would be obliged to take the night train for Fort Monroe.

 

Trixy saw the baby of the White House, and devoured⁸ it with her eyes, and asked it questions about its dolls, while two fond mothers looked and listened. The call was short, but, as the party made their adieus, Trixy slipped back and said to the lady of the house:

 

"Your husband can do anything he likes with soldiers, can't he?"

 

"That depends," was the reply. "Why do you ask?"

 

"'Cause I wish he would make Lieutenant⁹ Jermyn go back to New York with us. I'm sure Miss Trewman wishes so too, 'cause they're only just engaged, and he's only been in New York a week, and——"

 

"There goes the only man who could manage an affair of that kind," said the lady, pointing to an alert-looking gentleman who was approaching the house.

 

"Thank you, very much."

 

"Where is Trixy?" asked Trif, as the party passed through the gateway¹⁰. "Why, there she is, talking to a stranger! How the child has [Pg 190]lost her manners! Mr. Jermyn, won't you kindly bring her back?"

 

Jermyn hurried to the rescue, and was somewhat astonished to see that the gentleman with whom Trixy was talking was the Secretary of War.

 

"Mr. Jermyn!" said the Secretary. Jermyn saluted¹¹.

 

"This young lady has been telling me an interesting story. By the way, there are to be some new guns tested at Sandy Hook, New York harbor, in a day or two. It might be of use to some of the classes at the fort if an officer from there were to observe the tests and take back a detailed¹² report. Would your own studies be retarded¹³ if you were to remain absent a week or ten days longer?"

 

"Not in the least," Jermyn replied, with the promptness becoming a soldier.

 

"Call at the Department some time this afternoon, then, for your detail. I'll send a copy of it to your commanding officer, and you will report by letter to him, so that you may be recalled if necessary. Will you do me the honor to introduce me to this young lady?"

 

"With pleasure. Miss Highwood, allow me to present the Honorable the Secretary of War."

 

"What a long name!" exclaimed Trixy, with a curtesy.

 

"I'm sorry, Miss Highwood, that my time won't allow me to show you special attention while you are here, but I hope we may meet again. Good day. Mr. Jermyn, I wish you a pleasant trip!"

 

 

Jermyn hurried the child back to her mother, who said:

 

"I hope, Mr. Jermyn, that you apologized to the gentleman for Trixy's rudeness?"

 

"I hadn't the opportunity," Jermyn replied. "Ladies, I've an interesting announcement to make; I am to accompany you back to New York."

 

"Oh, Jermyn!" exclaimed Kate. "'Tis too good to be true."

 

"Nevertheless, 'tis as true as it is good. The gentleman with whom Trixy was talking was the Secretary of War, and he has ordered me back, for a few days, on duty that will occupy my time for only a few hours a day."

 

"You clever fellow! How did you manage it?"

 

"I didn't. Trixy did it."

 

"Trixy!" echoed both ladies.

 

"Why," said the child, "I only told him all about Mr. Jermyn and Miss Trewman. The lady in the White House told me he was the right man to ask if Mr. Jermyn couldn't go back to New York with us, so I asked him." Then Trixy looked up with the inquiring air she always had when she suspected she had done something wrong, but didn't know what it was.

 

"Bless me!" exclaimed Kate. "I wonder only that she didn't ask the President himself."

 

"That's what I was goin' to do," explained Trixy, "but the lady said the other man was the right one, so I asked him."

 

All three adults stopped and stared fixedly¹⁴ at Trixy, at which the child began to cry; so Trif picked her up and kissed her and told her to "never mind," and Kate stooped and kissed her, and when she lifted her head there were tears in her eyes; so Trif looked hurriedly toward the War Department and said it was good for the public sense of propriety¹⁵ and dignity that the Secretary was out of sight, otherwise it would be just like Kate to kiss him also, as she had kissed the Admiral on a certain occasion.

 

Kate hurried the party away; she explained later that while looking toward the White House she was sure that she saw the hostess looking through the window at her and smiling at her.

 

"I declare!" she said, with downcast eyes and cheeks a-flame, "there's no living with Trixy, nor——"

 

"Nor any living without her—eh?" added Jermyn.

 

The remainder of the day was the very merriest, so four people said, that any party had ever spent in Washington. Jermyn took his guests to the old chamber¹⁶ of the House of Representatives, and mystified them a few moments with the "whispering gallery" over the Speaker's desk, making Kate his latest victim, despite her appeals to him to be quiet, and his assurances that no one else could hear a word he was saying, although he was forty feet away. Kate became so embarrassed that she suddenly withdrew and Trixy took her place—a change which Jermyn did not notice until he heard a peal¹⁷ of childish laughter, and, stepping forward, saw Kate and Trif standing¹⁸ some steps from the arch and Trixy joining them, and saying:

 

 

"That's the funniest thing I ever heard of!"

 

"What is the funniest thing, dear?" asked Trif.

 

"Trixy," exclaimed Jermyn, "don't tell, please."

 

"But I must mind mamma," pleaded the child. "Besides——"

 

"Trixy," exclaimed Jermyn, "if you repeat what I said I'll never speak to you again."

 

"Trixy," said Kate, "if you don't tell I'll never speak to you again—I mean," for Kate had caught an appealing look from Jermyn—"I won't speak to you if you do tell."

 

The child was so confused that she did not know what to do, so she turned to her mother for advice, and Trif hurried her a few steps in advance.

 

"Remember, Trixy!" cried Kate after them.

 

"Don't forget, Trixy!" shouted Jermyn, in his sternest tone of command.

 

Two more uncomfortable lovers than Kate and Jermyn were in the next five minutes could not have been found anywhere, for Kate wondered what it was all about and insisted upon knowing, and Jermyn replied that he would tell her at some future time, and Kate wanted to know why he couldn't tell her at once, and Jermyn replied, somewhat sheepishly, that some things might be said in the privacy of a whispering gallery that could not easily be said face to face in a crowded street, upon which Kate wailed¹⁹:

 

"But that child heard it!"

 

"Never mind, my dear; she'll forget it."

 

 

"Not she! I'm beginning to believe that the smaller the child the less chance there is of her forgetting what shouldn't be remembered. And, oh, Jermyn! Of all men in the world, here comes Admiral Allison! What if she should tell him?"

 

"If she does," said Jermyn desperately²⁰, "I'll never again dare look him in the face; I shall always believe he is laughing at me. 'Tis all your fault, my dear. If you hadn't made me love you so dearly, I wouldn't have said——"

 

"Let us overtake them—quick!" said Kate.

 

"We've been up to the whisp'rin' gall'ry," Trixy was already saying to the Admiral, "and——"

 

"Trixy!" sternly spoke²¹ three voices as one.

 

"What rare fortunes Providence²² has in store for old men!" exclaimed the Admiral. "I greatly wanted and needed to see Jermyn, this very day, and I not only find him unexpectedly, but get a couple of glimpses of Paradise beside—yes, three, for here is Trixy also."

 

"Paradise?" echoed Trixy. "It was somethin' about Paradise that——"

 

"Trixy!" said Jermyn warningly.

 

"Allow me," said the Admiral, "to take you all to a hotel, where I may rob you of Jermyn a few moments."

 

Jermyn took the child's hand, placed himself between her and the Admiral, and thus they walked to the hotel.

1 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

2 parlance   

n.说法；语调

参考例句：

• The term "meta directory" came into industry parlance two years ago.两年前，商业界开始用“元目录”这个术语。
• The phrase is common diplomatic parlance for spying.这种说法是指代间谍行为的常用外交辞令。

3 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

4 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

5 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

6 debtor   

n.借方，债务人

参考例句：

• He crowded the debtor for payment.他催逼负债人还债。
• The court granted me a lien on my debtor's property.法庭授予我对我债务人财产的留置权。

7 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

8 devoured   

吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光

参考例句：

• She devoured everything she could lay her hands on: books, magazines and newspapers. 无论是书、杂志，还是报纸，只要能弄得到，她都看得津津有味。
• The lions devoured a zebra in a short time. 狮子一会儿就吃掉了一匹斑马。

9 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

10 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。

11 saluted   

v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• The sergeant stood to attention and saluted. 中士立正敬礼。
• He saluted his friends with a wave of the hand. 他挥手向他的朋友致意。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

13 retarded   

a.智力迟钝的，智力发育迟缓的

参考例句：

• The progression of the disease can be retarded by early surgery. 早期手术可以抑制病情的发展。
• He was so slow that many thought him mentally retarded. 他迟钝得很，许多人以为他智力低下。

14 fixedly   

adv.固定地；不屈地，坚定不移地

参考例句：

• He stared fixedly at the woman in white. 他一直凝视着那穿白衣裳的女人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The great majority were silent and still, looking fixedly at the ground. 绝大部分的人都不闹不动，呆呆地望着地面。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

15 propriety   

n.正当行为；正当；适当

参考例句：

• We hesitated at the propriety of the method.我们对这种办法是否适用拿不定主意。
• The sensitive matter was handled with great propriety.这件机密的事处理得极为适当。

16 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。

17 peal   

n.钟声；v.鸣响

参考例句：

• The bells of the cathedral rang out their loud peal.大教堂响起了响亮的钟声。
• A sudden peal of thunder leaves no time to cover the ears.迅雷不及掩耳。

18 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

19 wailed   

v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She wailed over her father's remains. 她对着父亲的遗体嚎啕大哭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The women of the town wailed over the war victims. 城里的妇女为战争的死难者们痛哭。 来自辞典例句

20 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

21 spoke   

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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

22 providence   

n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝

参考例句：

• It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
• To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。