CHAPTER XXIII.

 "It's just right," said Grief.

 

"It isn't quite cool enough," said Wrinkles.

 

"Well, I guess I know the proper temperature for claret."

 

"Well, I guess you don't. If it was buttermilk, now, you would know, but you can't tell anything about claret."

 

Florinda ultimately decided¹ the question. "It isn't quite cool enough," she said, laying her hand on the bottle. "Put it on the window ledge², Grief."

 

"Hum! Splutter, I thought you knew more than——"

 

"Oh, shut up!" interposed the busy Pennoyer from a remote corner. "Who is going after the potato salad? That's what I want to know. Who is going?"

 

"Wrinkles," said Grief.

 

"Grief," said Wrinkles.

 

"There," said Pennoyer, coming forward and scanning a late work with an eye of satisfaction. "There's the three glasses and the little tumbler; and then, Grief, you will have to drink out of a mug."

 

"I'll be double-dyed black if I will!" cried Grief. "I wouldn't drink claret out of a mug to save my soul from being pinched!"

 

"You duffer, you talk like a bloomin' British chump on whom the sun never sets! What do you want?"

 

"Well, there's enough without that—what's the matter with you? Three glasses and the little tumbler."

 

"Yes, but if Billie Hawker comes——"

 

"Well, let him drink out of the mug, then. He——"

 

"No, he won't," said Florinda suddenly. "I'll take the mug myself."

 

"All right, Splutter," rejoined Grief meekly³. "I'll keep the mug. But, still, I don't see why Billie Hawker——"

 

"I shall take the mug," reiterated⁴ Florinda firmly.

 

"But I don't see why——"

 

"Let her alone, Grief," said Wrinkles. "She has decided that it is heroic. You can't move her now."

 

"Well, who is going for the potato salad?" cried Pennoyer again. "That's what I want to know."

 

"Wrinkles," said Grief.

 

"Grief," said Wrinkles.

 

"Do you know," remarked Florinda, raising her head from where she had been toiling⁵ over the spaghetti, "I don't care so much for Billie Hawker as I did once?" Her sleeves were rolled above the elbows of her wonderful arms, and she turned from the stove and poised⁶ a fork as if she had been smitten⁷ at her task with this inspiration.

 

There was a short silence, and then Wrinkles said politely, "No."

 

"No," continued Florinda, "I really don't believe I do." She suddenly started. "Listen! Isn't that him coming now?"

 

The dull trample⁸ of a step could be heard in some distant corridor, but it died slowly to silence.

 

"I thought that might be him," she said, turning to the spaghetti again.

 

"I hope the old Indian comes," said Pennoyer, "but I don't believe he will. Seems to me he must be going to see——"

 

"Who?" asked Florinda.

 

"Well, you know, Hollanden and he usually dine together when they are both in town."

 

Florinda looked at Pennoyer. "I know, Penny. You must have thought I was remarkably⁹ clever not to understand all your blundering. But I don't care so much. Really I don't."

 

"Of course not," assented¹⁰ Pennoyer.

 

"Really I don't."

 

"Of course not."

 

"Listen!" exclaimed Grief, who was near the door. "There he comes now." Somebody approached, whistling an air from "Traviata," which rang loud and clear, and low and muffled¹¹, as the whistler wound among the intricate hallways. This air was as much a part of Hawker as his coat. The spaghetti had arrived at a critical stage. Florinda gave it her complete attention.

 

When Hawker opened the door he ceased whistling and said gruffly, "Hello!"

 

"Just the man!" said Grief. "Go after the potato salad, will you, Billie? There's a good boy! Wrinkles has refused."

 

"He can't carry the salad with those gloves," interrupted Florinda, raising her eyes from her work and contemplating¹² them with displeasure.

 

"Hang the gloves!" cried Hawker, dragging them from his hands and hurling¹³ them at the divan¹⁴. "What's the matter with you, Splutter?"

 

Pennoyer said, "My, what a temper you are in, Billie!"

 

"I am," replied Hawker. "I feel like an Apache. Where do you get this accursed potato salad?"

 

"In Second Avenue. You know where. At the old place."

 

"No, I don't!" snapped Hawker.

 

"Why——"

 

"Here," said Florinda, "I'll go." She had already rolled down her sleeves and was arraying herself in her hat and jacket.

 

"No, you won't," said Hawker, filled with wrath¹⁵. "I'll go myself."

 

"We can both go, Billie, if you are so bent," replied the girl in a conciliatory voice.

 

"Well, come on, then. What are you standing¹⁶ there for?"

 

When these two had departed, Wrinkles said: "Lordie! What's wrong with Billie?"

 

"He's been discussing art with some pot-boiler," said Grief, speaking as if this was the final condition of human misery¹⁷.

 

"No, sir," said Pennoyer. "It's something connected with the now celebrated¹⁸ violets."

 

Out in the corridor Florinda said, "What—what makes you so ugly, Billie?"

 

"Why, I am not ugly, am I?"

 

"Yes, you are—ugly as anything."

 

Probably he saw a grievance¹⁹ in her eyes, for he said, "Well, I don't want to be ugly." His tone seemed tender. The halls were intensely dark, and the girl placed her hand on his arm. As they rounded a turn in the stairs a straying lock of her hair brushed against his temple. "Oh!" said Florinda, in a low voice.

 

"We'll get some more claret," observed Hawker musingly²⁰. "And some cognac for the coffee. And some cigarettes. Do you think of anything more, Splutter?"

 

As they came from the shop of the illustrious purveyors of potato salad in Second Avenue, Florinda cried anxiously, "Here, Billie, you let me carry that!"

 

"What infernal nonsense!" said Hawker, flushing. "Certainly not!"

 

"Well," protested Florinda, "it might soil your gloves somehow."

 

"In heaven's name, what if it does? Say, young woman, do you think I am one of these cholly boys?"

 

"No, Billie; but then, you know——"

 

"Well, if you don't take me for some kind of a Willie, give us peace on this blasted glove business!"

 

"I didn't mean——"

 

"Well, you've been intimating that I've got the only pair of gray gloves in the universe, but you are wrong. There are several pairs, and these need not be preserved as unique in history."

 

"They're not gray. They're——"

 

"They are gray! I suppose your distinguished²¹ ancestors in Ireland did not educate their families in the matter of gloves, and so you are not expected to——"

 

"Billie!"

 

"You are not expected to believe that people wear gloves only in cold weather, and then you expect to see mittens²²."

 

On the stairs, in the darkness, he suddenly exclaimed, "Here, look out, or you'll fall!" He reached for her arm, but she evaded²³ him. Later he said again: "Look out, girl! What makes you stumble around so? Here, give me the bottle of wine. I can carry it all right. There—now can you manage?"

1 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。

2 ledge   

n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁

参考例句：

• They paid out the line to lower him to the ledge.他们放出绳子使他降到那块岩石的突出部分。
• Suddenly he struck his toe on a rocky ledge and fell.突然他的脚趾绊在一块突出的岩石上，摔倒了。

3 meekly   

adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地

参考例句：

• He stood aside meekly when the new policy was proposed. 当有人提出新政策时，他唯唯诺诺地站 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He meekly accepted the rebuke. 他顺从地接受了批评。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

5 toiling   

长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉

参考例句：

• The fiery orator contrasted the idle rich with the toiling working classes. 这位激昂的演说家把无所事事的富人同终日辛劳的工人阶级进行了对比。
• She felt like a beetle toiling in the dust. She was filled with repulsion. 她觉得自己像只甲虫在地里挣扎，心中涌满愤恨。

6 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

7 smitten   

猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• From the moment they met, he was completely smitten by her. 从一见面的那一刻起，他就完全被她迷住了。
• It was easy to see why she was smitten with him. 她很容易看出为何她为他倾倒。

8 trample   

vt.踩，践踏；无视，伤害，侵犯

参考例句：

• Don't trample on the grass. 勿踏草地。
• Don't trample on the flowers when you play in the garden. 在花园里玩耍时,不要踩坏花。

9 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

10 assented   

同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The judge assented to allow the prisoner to speak. 法官同意允许犯人申辩。
• "No," assented Tom, "they don't kill the women -- they're too noble. “对，”汤姆表示赞同地说，“他们不杀女人——真伟大！

11 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》

12 contemplating   

深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想

参考例句：

• You're too young to be contemplating retirement. 你考虑退休还太年轻。
• She stood contemplating the painting. 她站在那儿凝视那幅图画。

13 hurling   

n.爱尔兰式曲棍球v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的现在分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• The boat rocked wildly, hurling him into the water. 这艘船剧烈地晃动，把他甩到水中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Fancy hurling away a good chance like that, the silly girl! 想想她竟然把这样一个好机会白白丢掉了，真是个傻姑娘！ 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 divan   

n.长沙发；（波斯或其他东方诗人的）诗集

参考例句：

• Lord Henry stretched himself out on the divan and laughed.亨利勋爵伸手摊脚地躺在沙发椅上，笑着。
• She noticed that Muffat was sitting resignedly on a narrow divan-bed.她看见莫法正垂头丧气地坐在一张不宽的坐床上。

15 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

16 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。

17 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

18 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

19 grievance   

n.怨愤，气恼，委屈

参考例句：

• He will not easily forget his grievance.他不会轻易忘掉他的委屈。
• He had been nursing a grievance against his boss for months.几个月来他对老板一直心怀不满。

20 musingly   

adv.沉思地，冥想地

参考例句：

21 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

22 mittens   

不分指手套

参考例句：

• Cotton mittens will prevent the baby from scratching his own face. 棉的连指手套使婴儿不会抓伤自己的脸。
• I'd fisted my hands inside their mittens to keep the fingers warm. 我在手套中握拳头来保暖手指。

23 evaded   

逃避( evade的过去式和过去分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出

参考例句：

• For two weeks they evaded the press. 他们有两周一直避而不见记者。
• The lion evaded the hunter. 那狮子躲开了猎人。