Chapter 3

 Goylan was back in Judenbach. It was four in the afternoon. He had searched everywhere for Peter Mowbray. The whole war zone was getting blacker and blacker to his sight. He had even gone to the Grim House to look for the white-fire creature who had taken his companion to her breast, figuratively speaking; but neither she, nor the weak-shouldered little chap who had brought the hospital steward¹'s blouse, was there. There remained Dabnitz, who more than any other was aware generally of what passed. Big Belt returned to headquarters and waited. Darkness was thickening before the Lieutenant² came in.

 

“Where's Mowbray?”

 

Dabnitz came close and looked at the other sorrowfully.

 

“How long have you known Mr. Mowbray?”

 

Boylan tried to think. His faculties³ were at large. According to facts he had known Peter (and not at all intimately) during a mere⁴ ten weeks before the column left Warsaw. Facts, however, hadn't anything to do with the reality. Peter Mowbray was his own property. He said as much, his voice going back on him.

 

“Mr. Boylan, I have seldom been more hard hit. He was my friend, too. A more charming and accomplished⁵ young American would be hard to find, but we who are out for service, a life and death matter for our country, must not let these things enter. Mr. Mowbray is affiliated⁶ in various ways with our enemies—not the Austrians, but enemies more subtle and insidious⁷.”

 

“For God's sake—Dabnitz!”

 

“I thought it would hurt you.”

 

“You might just as well say it of me.”

 

“Not at all. Your record stands. It was well known to us when you were accepted to accompany our column. You will recall that it was your estimate of Mr. Mowbray's superior that decided⁸ us to accept the younger man—”

 

“I have been with Mowbray night and day. He is a newspaper man, brain and soul—one of the coolest and most effective I have ever met. He has been for years in Paris and Berlin, before Warsaw.”

 

“I am sorry. You did not know that he caught a young surgeon by the throat this morning, when the former was very properly stimulating⁹ a malingerer¹⁰?”

 

“I did not. But a personal matter ought not to weigh against a man's life—”

 

“You did not know that he was seen in somewhat extended conversation yesterday and last evening with one of the most dangerous of our recent discoveries among the revolutionists?”

 

“I did not.”

 

“Or that a woman came to him last night, in the heart of the night—and talked long—and was called for by the same revolutionist; that Mr. Mowbray went to her a little after daybreak this morning—”

 

“Ah, Dabnitz—a little romance! All night he was serving in the hospital. I went out to find him this morning, and saw him turn into the amputation¹¹ house. Following, I saw him standing¹² there.... He had probably never seen her until last night. You know how some young fellows are. They—you turn around—and they are in an affair—”

 

“But the two were overheard to speak of days in Warsaw together. It is not such a little affair.”

 

“I know nothing of it, but is such a thing fatal?”

 

“She is under arrest with the other revolutionist that I mentioned—a case against her that is hardly breakable—”

 

Boylan sat down,

 

“Of course you are aware—of the remark he made this morning in the field headquarters? I saw how gallantly¹³ you tried to cover it. It was that remark, by the way, which nearly cost the life of our General. The hospital steward, took up the action as you know—”

 

“Dabnitz, I was shocked as you. Peter was beside himself. He had come in from the field—the actuality of it. He forgot where he was. The unparalleled energy of the General to win the day, you know—and Peter had just come in from the hollows where the men lay—”

 

“My dear Boylan, I'm sorry—”

 

For the first time, Big Belt felt the iron personality of the other. There was something commercial in the manner of the last, a kind of ushering¹⁴ out one who would not do. There are men who remain as aloof¹⁵ as the peaks of Phyrges, though their words and intonations¹⁶ come down running softly out of a smile. Boylan looked away, and then, with an inner groan¹⁷, turned back.

 

“I tell you it is a mistake. The boy is as sound as—”

 

He couldn't finish. There were exceptions to everything he thought of. “I want to see him,” he added.

 

“I'll try to manage that for you, a little later.”

 

It was darkening. In the front room of the house, Kohlvihr sat bung-eyed by a telegraph instrument. The further strategy from Judenbach was still in the dark to Boylan. He wished the heavens would fall. As never before, he had the sense that he had pinned his life and faith to matters of no account; not that Peter Mowbray belonged to these matters, but that he, too, was meshed¹⁸ in them.... A shot from somewhere below in the town. Boylan shivered. There was shooting from time to time for various butchering reasons, but this particular shot was all Big Belt needed to finish the picture.

 

“Why, they'll shoot the lad,” he muttered.

 

The sentence remained in his brain in lit letters.

 

The States of America couldn't help him; even Mother Nature had turned her face from this war.... “My dear Boylan, I'm sorry—” something crippling in that.

 

Dabnitz returned, bringing a pair of saddle bags.

 

“They're Mr. Mowbray's,” he said. “His horse got loose and tangled¹⁹ himself in a battery. One of the men brought in the bags.”

 

“Thanks, Lieutenant,” said Boylan.

 

Dabnitz started to the door when Boylan called, “Oh, I say, did you look through 'em?”

 

The Russian smiled deprecatingly.

 

“Of course, I needn't have asked that, but I wanted you to. I'll gamble you didn't find anything—”

 

“A little book of poems by a man we're familiar with. A woman's name on the front page—a woman we're familiar with. Nothing startling, Mr. Boylan.”

 

Dabnitz was gone, the bags lying on the floor. Big Belt opened the nearest flap. On top was a case containing a tooth brush and a pair of razors.

 

“Peter will want these,” he muttered.

 

1 steward   

n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员

参考例句：

• He's the steward of the club.他是这家俱乐部的管理员。
• He went around the world as a ship's steward.他当客船服务员，到过世界各地。

2 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。

3 faculties   

n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院

参考例句：

• Although he's ninety, his mental faculties remain unimpaired. 他虽年届九旬，但头脑仍然清晰。
• All your faculties have come into play in your work. 在你的工作中，你的全部才能已起到了作用。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

6 affiliated   

adj. 附属的, 有关连的

参考例句：

• The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
• All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。

7 insidious   

adj.阴险的，隐匿的，暗中为害的，（疾病）不知不觉之间加剧

参考例句：

• That insidious man bad-mouthed me to almost everyone else.那个阴险的家伙几乎见人便说我的坏话。
• Organized crime has an insidious influence on all who come into contact with it.所有和集团犯罪有关的人都会不知不觉地受坏影响。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 stimulating   

adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的

参考例句：

• shower gel containing plant extracts that have a stimulating effect on the skin 含有对皮肤有益的植物精华的沐浴凝胶
• This is a drug for stimulating nerves. 这是一种兴奋剂。

10 malingerer   

n.装病以逃避职责的人

参考例句：

11 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。

12 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。

13 gallantly   

adv. 漂亮地，勇敢地，献殷勤地

参考例句：

• He gallantly offered to carry her cases to the car. 他殷勤地要帮她把箱子拎到车子里去。
• The new fighters behave gallantly under fire. 新战士在炮火下表现得很勇敢。

14 ushering   

v.引，领，陪同( usher的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They were right where the coach-caller was swinging open a coach-door and ushering in two ladies. "他们走到外面时，叫马车的服务员正打开车门，请两位小姐上车。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Immediately the two of them approached others, thanking them, ushering them out one by one. 他们俩马上走到其他人面前，向他们道谢，一个个送走了他们。 来自辞典例句

15 aloof   

adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的

参考例句：

• Never stand aloof from the masses.千万不可脱离群众。
• On the evening the girl kept herself timidly aloof from the crowd.这小女孩在晚会上一直胆怯地远离人群。

16 intonations   

n.语调，说话的抑扬顿挫( intonation的名词复数 )；（演奏或唱歌中的）音准

参考例句：

• Being able to say simple sentences in correct stresses and intonations. 能以正确的重音及语调说出简单的句子。 来自互联网
• Peculiar intonations and interesting stories behind every character are what motivated Asmaa to start learning Chinese. 奇特的声调，有故事的汉字，让吴小莉在阴阳上去中、点横竖撇拉中开始了咿呀学语阶段。 来自互联网

17 groan   

vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音

参考例句：

• The wounded man uttered a groan.那个受伤的人发出呻吟。
• The people groan under the burden of taxes.人民在重税下痛苦呻吟。

18 meshed   

有孔的，有孔眼的，啮合的

参考例句：

• The wheels meshed well. 机轮啮合良好。
• Their senses of humor meshed perfectly. 他们的幽默感配合得天衣无缝。

19 tangled   

adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Your hair's so tangled that I can't comb it. 你的头发太乱了，我梳不动。
• A movement caught his eye in the tangled undergrowth. 乱灌木丛里的晃动引起了他的注意。