About the time that Dom Silvius made his second pilgrimage to the beech wood above Goldspur, Grimbald was so well recovered of his wounds that he could sit up on his bed, and take his food with great relish17. Being also an industrious18 soul he made the swineherd throw him down billets of seasoned oak, a knife, and a hatchet19, and set himself to carve heads of the saints for decorating the corbels of his little church. But either St. Paul and St. Simon were in an ill humour, or Grimbald knew little of his craft, for the saints emerged pulling most villainous faces, sour, evil, and grotesque20, with flat noses, and slits21 for eyes. So Grimbald gave up his struggle with them, and heaved them up out of the pit to be burnt, and took to pointing and feathering arrows, for your woodlander was often his own fletcher.
The flesh prospering22 so well with him, and the end of his sojourn23 in the saw-pit seeming near, Grimbald sent the swineherd for some of the Goldspur folk. The very same evening the swineherd brought in the two men Oswald and Peter, both of them full to the brim with gossip, and ready to empty themselves at their spiritual father’s feet. Grimbald sat on his bed in the pit, whittling24 a yew25 bough26 with his knife; Oswald and Peter squatted27 side by side on a faggot like a couple of solemn brown owls28 on a bough.
“Father,” quoth Oswald, “we have seen the devil in St. Denise’s wood.”
Peter chimed in to add to the impression.
“A black devil with a black horse that breathed fire and smoke.”
“And he came and went like the wind, Father!”
Even such honest men as these had imaginations wherewith to decorate an experience. Grimbald’s face looked the colour of brown earth in the darkness of the pit, and to Oswald and Peter his eyeballs seemed to glare like two white pebbles29 at the bottom of a well.
“And you ran away from this devil?” he said. “Yes, you ran, my sons, as fast as your legs could carry you. When shall I come by a Christian30 who is not afraid to stand on his own feet, and to astonish us by making the devil run?”
Though Grimbald scoffed31 at them, the two men knew his methods. No one had anything to fear from Grimbald so long as he looked him straight in the face and spoke32 the simple truth. But a liar33 or a fawner were likely to be thrashed, since Grimbald’s chastening of souls was not wholly a matter of the tongue. He used his hands like a Christian, and for the love of their flesh he did not spare them.
“Assuredly, Father, it was the devil we saw in the beech wood. Night was just falling——”
“We would take oath it was the devil, Father.”
“Oswald, Oswald, you seem too familiar with the face of Satan! You are too fond of the mead36-horn, my man.”
The accused one accepted the charge meekly37, knowing that it was true in the abstract, and that Father Grimbald knew it, for there had been an occasion of second baptism in a somewhat dirty ditch. But Oswald was stolidly38 sure of his innocence39 on the night in question, nor had he as yet finished his confessions40.
“I had no mead froth on my beard that day, Father,” said he. “Whether it was the devil or no we saw, we saw him with these eyes of ours. And he rode like a black north wind. But what is worse, Father, we have never had sight of our saint since then.”
This was news that struck the irony out of Grimbald’s mouth. He laid the yew bough aside on the heather, and became at once the demi-god, and the seer.
“What is that you are saying, man Oswald? Why are you troubled for Denise?”
Oswald looked like a wise dog that has come by kicks undeservedly, and is now to be commended.
“The door of the cell is always shut,” he said, “and never a word or a sound have we now from our lady. What is more, Father, the stuff we took there two days ago was still by the wicket when one of the lads went up this morning.”
Grimbald looked thoughtful.
“Have you tried the door?” he asked.
“We durst not, thinking she might be in a vision or in prayer.”
“Did you call to her?”
“Not above asking her blessing41, Father, and telling of the food, and news of you. And it was four days ago that her voice answered us, but since then we have heard no sound.”
“God helping43 me, I could sit a horse,” he said. “This must be looked to. Oswald, my son, you had a fat pony44. Bring the beast here to-morrow, at dawn.”
“It shall be done, Father.”
And they departed with his blessing, but Grimbald was awake all that night, troubled lest any harm should have befallen Denise.
“Devil!” thought he. “Oswald’s devil was one of good human kidney, or I have no sense of smell. Satan need not heat himself with galloping46 in these parts. We have enough of him in the flesh.”
Meanwhile at Pevensey, Aymery of Goldspur had thrown the preaching part of himself aside, for that which Gaillard had thrust under his door had stung the manhood in him, and left the poison of a great fear in his blood. The hair was Denise’s hair; he could have sworn to that on the relics48 of the Cross. How had they come by it, here in Pevensey? Was Denise also a caged bird, and if not, what had happened in that beech wood, where the great trees built dark winding49 ways with the sweep of their mighty50 branches? Aymery’s thoughts plunged51 in amid those trees, grimly and passionately52, yet with the sheen of a woman’s hair luring53 him on like the mystic light from the Holy Grael. Had evil befallen her because of him? What devil’s mockery might there be in the way the truth had been thrust into his ken9! Had Gaillard any hand in it? And at the thought of Gaillard, Aymery twisted Denise’s hair about his wrists, and yearned54 to feel those hands of his leaping at the Gascon’s throat. God! What did it avail him to pretend that he feared for Denise as he would have feared for a sister? She was the ripe earth to him, the dawn of dawns, the freshness of June woods after rain. He could cover his eyes no longer as to what was in his heart.
To break out into the world, to gallop45 a horse, to feel his muscles in their strength, that was the fever in him, the restless fever of a chained hawk55 beating his wings upon a perch56. To be out of this hole in a stone tower, but how? He had no weapons, not so much as a piece of wood, or the rag of a linen57 sheet. They had taken his leather belt, but left him his shirt, tunic58 and shoes, and he laughed despite his grimness, for they might as well have left him naked. The man who brought him bread and water, filled a cracked flask59 for him, and took the water-pot away. And what a weapon that great earthen jar would have made, swung with the verve and sinew of a young man’s arm.
Impatient with his own impotence, he stood at the narrow window looking seawards, drawing Denise’s hair to and fro between his fingers as he would have drawn60 a swath of silk. A thought came to him, but at first he revolted from it as from a piece of sacrilege. His sturdy sense saved him, however, from being fooled by a shred61 of sentiment, and he twisted the strands62 of hair till he had wound them into a fine and silken cord. Wrapping the ends about his wrists he looped the cord over his bent63 knee, tried the strength thereof, and smiled as though satisfied.
That evening there was the sound of a scuffle when the bread bringer drew back the bolts and pushed the heavy door open with his foot. The fellow had made light of his duty of late, for Aymery had seemed quiet and tame, and still feeble after his wounds. He had marched in perfunctorily while Aymery waited for him behind the door. There was the crash of the pitcher64 on the stones. The jailer’s knees gave under him; he sank sideways driving the door to with his weight.
Aymery had no wish to end the poor devil’s life, so he left him there to get back breath and consciousness, after robbing him of his rough cloak and the knife he carried at his girdle. Pushing the body aside, he swung the door to cautiously, and shot the bolts. Almost instinctively65 he had wound Denise’s hair about his wrist, and as he descended66 the winding stair he tossed the man’s cloak over his shoulders, turned up the hood47, and kept the knife hidden but ready for any hazard. Going down boldly he came out into the inner court, crossed it and reached the gate without being challenged by any of the men who loitered there.
Aymery’s heels were itching67 for a gallop, but he held himself in hand, and walked on coolly, whistling through his teeth. He was under the gateway68, through it, and crossing the bridge. Someone called to him, but he laughed, crowed like a cock, and gave a wave of the hand.
The outer court with its great garden still lay before him, and he followed the paved track, praying God to keep all officious fools at a distance. Fifty paces, twenty paces, ten paces, and he was at the outer gate, with the cypresses69 black behind him, and no betrayal as yet. The gate still stood open, though it was closed at sunset, and to Aymery it was an arch of gold, a dark tunnel way with a tympanum cut from the evening sky.
He was half through it, when a lounger at the guard-room door lurched forward and caught him roughly by the cloak. It may have been a mere70 challenge to horse-play or the grip of a swift suspicion. Aymery did not wait to decide the matter, but struck the man across the face with the knife, broke loose, and ran.
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1
manors
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| n.庄园（manor的复数形式） | |
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hogs
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| n.（尤指喂肥供食用的）猪( hog的名词复数 )；（供食用的）阉公猪；彻底地做某事；自私的或贪婪的人 | |
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beech
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| n.山毛榉；adj.山毛榉的 | |
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acorns
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| n.橡子，栎实( acorn的名词复数 ) | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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fortified
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| adj. 加强的 | |
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inquisitiveness
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| 好奇，求知欲 | |
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clotted
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| adj.凝结的v.凝固( clot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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ken
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| n.视野，知识领域 | |
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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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rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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bellicose
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| adj.好战的；好争吵的 | |
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purgatory
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| n.炼狱；苦难；adj.净化的，清洗的 | |
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doused
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| v.浇水在…上( douse的过去式和过去分词 )；熄灯[火] | |
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fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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relish
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| n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味 | |
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18
industrious
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| adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的 | |
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hatchet
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| n.短柄小斧；v.扼杀 | |
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grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
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slits
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| n.狭长的口子，裂缝( slit的名词复数 )v.切开，撕开( slit的第三人称单数 )；在…上开狭长口子 | |
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prospering
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| 成功，兴旺( prosper的现在分词 ) | |
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sojourn
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| v./n.旅居，寄居；逗留 | |
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whittling
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| v.切，削（木头），使逐渐变小( whittle的现在分词 ) | |
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yew
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| n.紫杉属树木 | |
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bough
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| n.大树枝，主枝 | |
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squatted
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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owls
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| n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 ) | |
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pebbles
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| [复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 ) | |
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30
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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31
scoffed
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| 嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32
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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liar
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| n.说谎的人 | |
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charcoal
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| n.炭，木炭，生物炭 | |
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irony
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| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
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mead
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| n.蜂蜜酒 | |
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meekly
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| adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地 | |
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stolidly
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| adv.迟钝地，神经麻木地 | |
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innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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confessions
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| n.承认( confession的名词复数 )；自首；声明；（向神父的）忏悔 | |
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41
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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propping
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| 支撑 | |
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43
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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45
gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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47
hood
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| n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖 | |
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relics
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| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
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49
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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50
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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51
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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52
passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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53
luring
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| 吸引，引诱（lure的现在分词形式） | |
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yearned
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| 渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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55
hawk
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| n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员 | |
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56
perch
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| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
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linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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tunic
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| n.束腰外衣 | |
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flask
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| n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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shred
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| v.撕成碎片，变成碎片；n.碎布条，细片，些少 | |
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strands
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| n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 ) | |
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63
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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pitcher
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| n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手 | |
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65
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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66
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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itching
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| adj.贪得的，痒的，渴望的v.发痒( itch的现在分词 ) | |
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gateway
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| n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法 | |
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69
cypresses
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| n.柏属植物，柏树( cypress的名词复数 ) | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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