Chapter 3

 It was not yet dawn. Peter heard the moaning of the men as they awoke and turned in their bandages. Surgeon and assistants passed through; two of the latter remained to start up the malingerers. Machine and rapid-fire men especially were needed at the front, it was said. Four thousand men had fallen in the past three days, and this was to be the day of the most furious battle—Kohlvihr to drive a hole through the hills, this day. An early incident revealed certain facts—personal—and had a temporary numbing¹ influence upon Mowbray. The day had risen and Samarc awakened², when a strange orderly entered the ward³, and came leisurely⁴ to the cot where Peter sat:

 

“What have you here?”

 

“A shrapnel wound in the face.”

 

The orderly looked under the cot for the uniform, as if to determine Samarc's place and rank.

 

“Where's the blouse?” he asked.

 

“It was covered with blood,” said Peter. “They took it away.”

 

“What branch of the service?”

 

Peter was not sure—infantry possibly. He didn't care for the stranger's manner, nor to have this particular gunner of the rapid-fire pieces hurried to the field unhealed. The orderly bent⁵ suddenly, whispering.

 

“She told me to tell you that she wants to come, but that it isn't safe—”

 

...Moritz Abel looking for an interpreter would have been interested now; also the Old Man of The States. The stranger had spoken leisurely. Peter's temptation was conquered before he was half through.

 

“Are you sure you were to give me some message?” he asked.

 

“Yes.”

 

“But I wasn't expecting anyone.”

 

The other regarded him keenly. Peter was well trained for that. An officer appeared in the doorway⁷ and beckoned⁸ the orderly.

 

“It must have been a mistake,” the latter muttered.

 

Peter was thinking fast. The fact remained that their meeting the night before had been noted⁹. He was leaving for the field shortly; the harm of suspicion would fall upon her.

 

“I promised to call a moment this morning at the amputation¹⁰ house—but no one was to come for me,” he added.

 

“I have made a mistake,” the orderly repeated.

 

“...I wonder if I have?” Peter thought.

 

Samarc's hand came up to him, and the pull that meant he wanted to speak. Peter invariably paled before this ordeal¹¹. Not through words but sounds were the meanings tortured out.... Samarc meant to take the field. In the usual course there would be no coming back for him at nightfall, because he had “ceased to kill—”

 

“But must your officers know?” Peter whispered.

 

...The officers would know if it were the same old crew, because they knew Samarc's work. This was the substance of the answer.

 

“But why go?”

 

...They would take off the bandages to be sure that he required further hospital care. He could not endure that. The bandages must never come off.... He would rather be afield.

 

Peter saw the grim finality of it. Samarc wasn't changed. He meant to end it. It was not only Spenski, but the havoc¹² under the cloths....

 

A young assistant surgeon at a near cot was rather too hastily laying bare the lint¹³ from a severe shoulder wound.

 

Exchange with Samarc had of course stopped. Peter, thinking deeply, watched with but half attention until the assistant surgeon briskly rebound¹⁴ the wound, and began tugging¹⁵ at the soldier to get on his feet. The wounded one whimpered his weakness.

 

“Get up!”

 

The order was repeated. “Into your clothes, man. Scores are already in the column with wounds worse than yours.”

 

The man groaned¹⁶, stirred, but fell back. Peter had seen the wound—not a desperate one, but enough to lay a man up for a fortnight at home, and this could not have been more than three days old. There wasn't much chance of malingering.

 

“Come, come!” the young officer urged angrily.

 

The soldier tried to raise himself, but did not make good work of it.

 

“I'll get you up, damn you—”

 

A quick scream from the man on the cot. Peter did not know what the doctor did, but he smelled acid. All was cloudy before his eyes. He was a bit surprised a second after to feel the Russian's neck in his two hands:

 

“None but a beast would take from the stable a horse crippled like that,” he was saying.

 

The assistant was but a boy. Peter caught this before lasting¹⁷ damage was done. He left the place half crying, threatening to kill Mowbray later. His superior appeared. Peter smiled at him. Samarc was up, drawing on his clothes.

 

“A bit of bad judgment,” Peter said, not explaining whether it was his or the young doctor's.

 

The surgeon did not ask, but turned to the great muffled¹⁸ face.

 

“This man was from one of the rapid-fire commands, I believe?”

 

Peter was prevented from further glibness¹⁹ by a decisive nod from Samarc.

 

“The Fatherland will need you to-day,” the surgeon said with a peculiar²⁰ significance.

 

To Peter's trained ear the sounds from Samarc were dangerously like, “Fatherland-hell.”

 

“A shrapnel splinter struck him in the mouth,” he explained. “He says he is ready to take the field.”

 

Samarc spoke⁶ again.

 

“His blouse is gone,” said Peter hastily. “I can manage for him.”

 

“Has he a fever?”

 

“I'm afraid so—a slight fever.”

 

The surgeon turned to the other cot. “Let this fellow sleep another day,” he said.

 

The soldier lying there gave Peter a look almost uncanny in its gratitude²¹.

 

“Sit down, Samarc. I'll get you a blouse,” the latter said and left the ward.

 

1 numbing   

adj.使麻木的，使失去感觉的v.使麻木，使麻痹( numb的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Watching television had a numbing effect on his mind. 看电视使他头脑麻木。
• It was numbing work, requiring patience and dedication. 这是一种令人麻木的工作，需要有耐心和忘我精神。 来自辞典例句

2 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

4 leisurely   

adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的

参考例句：

• We walked in a leisurely manner,looking in all the windows.我们慢悠悠地走着，看遍所有的橱窗。
• He had a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work.他从容的吃了早餐，高兴的开车去工作。

5 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

6 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。

7 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

8 beckoned   

v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He beckoned to the waiter to bring the bill. 他招手示意服务生把账单送过来。
• The seated figure in the corner beckoned me over. 那个坐在角落里的人向我招手让我过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 amputation   

n.截肢

参考例句：

• In ancient India,adultery was punished by amputation of the nose.在古代印度，通奸要受到剖鼻的处罚。
• He lived only hours after the amputation.截肢后，他只活了几个小时。

11 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

12 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

13 lint   

n.线头；绷带用麻布，皮棉

参考例句：

• Flicked the lint off the coat.把大衣上的棉绒弹掉。
• There are a few problems of air pollution by chemicals,lint,etc.,but these are minor.化学品、棉花等也造成一些空气污染问题，但这是次要的。

14 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。

15 tugging   

n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Tom was tugging at a button-hole and looking sheepish. 汤姆捏住一个钮扣眼使劲地拉，样子显得很害羞。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• She kicked him, tugging his thick hair. 她一边踢他，一边扯着他那浓密的头发。 来自辞典例句

16 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

18 muffled   

adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己）

参考例句：

• muffled voices from the next room 从隔壁房间里传来的沉闷声音
• There was a muffled explosion somewhere on their right. 在他们的右面什么地方有一声沉闷的爆炸声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 glibness   

n.花言巧语；口若悬河

参考例句：

• Mr Samgrass replied with such glibness and at such length, telling me of mislaid luggage. 桑格拉斯先生却油嘴滑舌，事无巨细地告诉我们说行李如何被错放了。 来自辞典例句

20 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

21 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。