Even if he had not thought of the white-fire creature being held in the room above the apothecary7 shop for his return, Boylan had found it necessary to leave the old mother, since she could not be made to eat with him there. She would have cooked for him until she fell by the fire, but as for her sharing the repast, she begged him to have peace, that time was plentiful8 for that.... He was thinking it all out once more, a most delectable9 incident, as he walked swiftly through the snow toward the apothecary shop, when his shoulder was plucked by a passerby10, and he turned, stiffening11 a bit at the roughness of it. A black-bearded man of much rank peered into his face, crying out:
“Boylan, by the One God!”
“Herr Hartz—by the same!” Big Belt exclaimed.
And now they embraced—a mighty12 affair, a memorable13 spectacle of pounding, of disengagement, of renewed embrace—so that soldiers and hospital men circled wide in passing, and the little street was hushed with the exceeding joy.
“Come and live with me, Boylan. I will not take no for an answer. Come at once, and let us a table between us have, to prevent further inderrupption of travvic—”
At no time would the cause of this majestic14 effusion have been made clear to an outsider, though it was plain that the American correspondent and the German officer of rank shared it alike. The truth: these two, and two others somewhere in the world, were the surviving four of a complement15 of over thirty men who had made up the original outfit16 now known as the Schmedding Polar Failure. Colonel Hartz, detached from his cavalry17 command for service in the prison-hospital at Sondreig, was second in command here as he had been to Schmedding in that former ill-starred expedition.
The table was between them.
“But first,” said Boylan, “there is a little business in which you can help. My friend, Mowbray... is just coming back to life from Russian wounds. I could not leave him without being assured of his care. There is one little nurse from the entrainment wards—it is a good story, which I will tell in good time—competent to care for him. She is there now, but I have already stayed longer than her leave granted. She must be set at rest, and word sent also to her own post—”
“So much words for a little thing—dictate and I write. Then tell me of yourself, which is more imbortant—”
It happened, even after the messages were sent, that Boylan spoke18 very little of himself. He was grappling with a certain final disposal. His talk was colored with desire. In fact, within an hour he had reached the critical part of his narrative19, and was becoming more glib20 momentarily as the way out cleared:
“...You see, they met in Warsaw, where I was stationed before the war. She did not tell him what was in her mind. He parted from her—as any other married man taking the field. We were together with Kohlvihr's column, of which I will tell you later.... Now what do you think?”
Herr Hartz snorted. He did not care to think.
“She didn't stay in Warsaw,” Boylan went on, with great intensity21. “No, my friend, she joined the hospital corps22, and followed him afield—”
“The Russians take anyone for the hosbittles,” the other remarked impatiently.
“Exactly; and my friend Mowbray found her nursing sick soldiers in Judenbach. It happened that they were together when the city changed hands. By the way, there was much of interest in those days of which I will tell you later.... This is the point. She was a Polish prisoner—he an American non-combatant. I advised them to say nothing for the present that they were married. It was very ticklish23 to change hands anyway, and would have complicated the position of each one. So they were separated. He was with me day by day until he was wounded. He moved in a dream without her—a good boy, Colonel—and a good girl—but war. I say, we learned something about men, you and I—long ago—-”
Herr Hartz now beamed.
“We learned it,” he breathed.
“They make only a few on the pattern of Mowbray.... Last night I saw her in the street here at Sondreig.... So you see why I arranged for her to take my place at his side—but you can arrange the rest—”
“For God's sake, what do you want? You talk and talk about such people and women and love stories—when we have so much to say about ourselves—”
“Be patient. We have all time,” said Big Belt. “I only want them together—a true married pair. Then they will be off my hands. You can make Headquarters forget she is Polish—that is all. Some little place apart—for them to be together while he heals—”
“Such a lot of talk for small things. It shall be done, Boylan, with a paper. I will send them to the country and monobolize you myself. This is a big war—yes?”
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收听单词发音
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1
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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2
prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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5
appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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replenished
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| 补充( replenish的过去式和过去分词 )； 重新装满 | |
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7
apothecary
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| n.药剂师 | |
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plentiful
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| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
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9
delectable
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| adj.使人愉快的；美味的 | |
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10
passerby
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| n.过路人，行人 | |
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stiffening
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| n. (使衣服等)变硬的材料, 硬化 动词stiffen的现在分词形式 | |
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12
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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complement
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| n.补足物，船上的定员；补语；vt.补充，补足 | |
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16
outfit
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| n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装 | |
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17
cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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18
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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19
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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glib
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| adj.圆滑的，油嘴滑舌的 | |
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21
intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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22
corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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ticklish
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| adj.怕痒的；问题棘手的；adv.怕痒地；n.怕痒，小心处理 | |
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