"The Battery is all correct and ready to move off, sir."
The Major in his drawing-room voice replied:
"Thank you, Captain Resmith."
Then Colonel Hullocher and his Adjutant pranced9 into sight. The Adjutant saluted the Major and made an inquiry10. The Major saluted, and all three chatted a little.
George, who had accompanied Captain Resmith into the background, murmured to him, as cautiously as a convict talking at exercise:
"He's got his knife into me."
"Who?"
"The Colonel."
"Don't you know why?"
"Well, that's one reason, isn't it? But there was a difficulty between him and the Major as to when you should come. The old man got the better of him—always does. But he's a good officer."
"Who?"
"Hullocher. Shut up."
During the brief colloquy13 Resmith had sat very upright on his horse, the chin slightly lifted, the head quite still, even the lips scarcely moving to articulate. Colonel Hullocher seemed now to be approaching. It was a false alarm. The Colonel and his Adjutant pranced off. After a long time, and at a considerable distance, could just be heard the voice of the Colonel ordering the Brigade to move. But No. 2 Battery did not stir for another long period. Suddenly, amid a devolution of orders, No. 2 Battery moved. The Major, attended by his trumpeter, and followed by the Battery staff of range-takers, director-men, telephonists, and the serjeant-major, inaugurated a sinuous14 procession into the uneven15, rutted track leading to the side-road. Then the guns one by one wheeled to the right, the horses' hoofs16 stamping into the damp ground as they turned, and became part of the procession. Then the quartermaster and other N.C.O.'s and men joined; and last were Captain Resmith, attended by his trumpeter, and George. Resmith looked over his shoulder at the Third Battery which surged behind. There were nearly two hundred men and over a hundred and fifty horses and many vehicles in the Battery. The Major was far out of sight, and the tail of the column was equally out of sight in the rear, for the total length of Major Craim's cavalcade17 exceeded a mile; and of the Brigade three miles, and two other similar Brigades somewhere in the region of Wimbledon were participating in the grand Divisional trek18.
Captain Resmith cantered ahead to a bend in the track, and anxiously watched a gun-team take the sharp curve, which was also a sharp slope. The impression of superb, dangerous physical power was tremendous. The distended19 nostrils20 of horses, the gliding21 of their muscles under the glossy22 skin, the muffled23 thud of their hoofs in the loose soil, the grimacing24 of the men as they used spur and thong25, the fierce straining of straps26 and chains, the creaking, the grinding, and finally the swaying of the 90-millimetre gun, coddled and polished, as it swung helplessly forward, stern first, and its long nose describing an arc in the air behind—these things marvellously quickened the blood.
"Good men!" said Captain Resmith, enthusiastic. "It's great, isn't it? You know, there's nothing so fine as a battery—nothing in the whole world."
"This is the best Battery in the Division," said Resmith religiously.
And George was religiously convinced that it was.
He was astoundingly happy. He thought, amazed, that he had never been so happy, or at any rate so uplifted, in all his life. He simply could not comprehend his state of bliss28, which had begun that morning at 6.30 when the grey-headed, simple-minded servant allotted29 to him had wakened him, according to instructions, with a mug of tea. Perhaps it was the far, thin sound of bugles30 that produced the rapturous effect, or the fresh air blowing in through the broken pane31 of the hut, or the slanting32 sunlight, or the feeling that he had no responsibility and nothing to do but blindly obey orders.
He had gone to sleep as depressed33 as he was tired. A sense of futility34 had got the better of him. The excursion of the afternoon had certainly been ridiculous in a high degree. He had hoped for a more useful evening. Captain Resmith had indeed taken him to the horse-lines, and he had tried a mount which was very suitable, and Captain Resmith had said that he possessed35 a naturally good seat and hands, and had given him a few sagacious tips. It was plain to him that Resmith had the Major's orders to take him in tutelage and make an officer of him. But the satisfactoriness of the evening had suddenly ceased. Scarcely had Resmith begun to expound36 the orders, and George to read the thrilling words, 'Second Lieutenant37 G.E. Cannon38 to ride with Captain Resmith,' when the mess had impulsively39 decided40 to celebrate the last night in camp by a dinner at the hotel near the station, and George, fit for nothing more important, had been detailed41 to run off and arrange for the rich repast. The bulk of the mess was late to arrive, and George spent the time in writing a descriptive and falsely gay letter on slips of yellow Army paper to Lois. The dinner, with its facile laughter and equally facile cynicism, had bored him; for he had joined the Army in order to save an Empire and a world from being enslaved. He had lain down in his truckle-bed and listened to the last echoing sounds in the too-resonant corridor of the hutments, and thought of the wisdom of Sir Isaac Davids, and of the peril42 to his wife, and of the peril to the earth, and of his own irremediable bondage43 to the military machine. He, with all his consciousness of power, had been put to school again; deprived of the right to answer back, to argue, even to think. If one set in authority said that black was white, his most sacred duty was to concur44 and believe. And there was no escape....
And then, no sooner had he gone to sleep than it was bright day, and the faint, clear call of bugles had pierced the clouds of his depression and they had vanished! Every moment of the early morning had been exquisite45. Although he had not been across a horse for months, he rode comfortably, and the animal was reliable. Resmith in fact had had to warn him against fatiguing46 himself. But he knew that he was incapable47 of fatigue48. The day's trek was naught—fifteen miles or less—to Epsom Downs, at a walk!... Lois? He had expected a letter from 'Nunks' or his mother, but there was no letter, and no news was good news, at any rate with 'Nunks' in charge of communications. Lois could not fail to be all right. He recalled the wise generalization49 of 'Nunks' on that point ... Breakfast was a paradisiacal meal. He had never 'fancied' a meal so much. And Resmith had greatly enheartened him by saying sternly: "You've got exactly the right tone with the men. Don't you go trying to alter it." The general excitement was intense, and the solemn synchronizing50 of watches increased it further. An orderly brought a newspaper, and nobody would do more than disdainfully glance at it. The usual daily stuff about the war!... Whereas Epsom Downs glittered in the imagination like a Canaan. And it lay southward. Probably they were not going to France, but probably they would have the honour of defending the coast against invasion. George desired to master gunnery instantly, and Resmith soothed51 him with the assurance that he would soon be sent away on a gunnery course, which would give him beans. And in the meantime George might whet52 his teeth on the detailed arrangements for feeding and camping the Battery on Epsom Downs. This organization gave George pause, especially when he remembered that the Battery was a very trifling53 item in the Division, and when Resmith casually54 informed him that a Division on the trek occupied fifteen miles of road. He began to perceive the difference between the Army and a circus, and to figure the Staff as something other than a club of haughty55, aristocratic idlers in red hats. And when the Battery was fairly under way in the side-road, with another Battery in front and another Battery behind, and more Artillery Brigades and uncounted Infantry56 Brigades and a screen of Yeomanry all invisibly marching over the map in the direction of Epsom, and bound to reach a certain lettered square on the map at a certain minute—when this dynamic situation presented itself to the tentacles57 of his grasping mind, he really did feel that there could be no game equal to war.
The Battery 'rode easy,' the men were smoking, talking, and singing in snatches, when suddenly all sounds were silenced. Captain Resmith, who had been summoned to the Major, reined58 in his horse, and George did likewise, and the Battery passed by them on the left. The Major's voice was heard:
"No. 2 Battery. Eyes— right !"
George asked:
"What's this?"
"C.R.A.'s ahead," murmured Resmith.
Then another officer cried:
"Right section. Eyes— right ."
"A sub-section. Eyes— right ."
Then only did George, from the rear, see the drivers, with a simultaneous gesture, twist their heads very sharply to the right, raise their whips, and fling the thongs60 over the withers61 of the hand-horses, while the section-officer saluted.
Another N.C.O. bawled:
"B sub-section. Eyes— right ."
And the same action followed.
Then another officer cried:
"Left section. Eyes— right ."
Resmith and George had now gone back to their proper places. George could see the drivers of the last gun gathering63 up the whip thongs into their hands preparatory to the salute6. C sub-section received the command.
And then, not many yards ahead, the voice of an N.C.O.:
"D sub-section. Eyes— right ."
"Get ready," muttered Resmith to George.
The figure of the C.R.A., Brigadier-General Rannion, motionless on a charger, came into view. George's heart was beating high. Resmith and he saluted. The General gazed hard at him and never moved. They passed ahead.
The officer commanding the Third Battery had already called:
"Battery. Eyes—right."
The marvellous ceremonial slipped rearwards. George was aware of tears in his eyes. He was aware of the sentiment of worship. He felt that he would have done anything, accomplished66 any deed, died, at the bidding of the motionless figure on the charger. It was most curious.
"One of those G.S. wagons68 has knocked down the Automobile69 Club 'Cross-Roads' sign," he said. "Good thing it wasn't a lamp-post! You see, with their eyes right, they can't look where they're going, and the whip touches up the horses, and before you can say knife they're into something. Jolly glad it's only the Am. Col. Jones will hear of this." He chuckled again. Jones was the Captain commanding the Ammunition70 Column.
The order ran down the line:
"Eyes— front ."
Soon afterwards they came to some policemen, and two girls in very gay frocks with bicycles, and the cross-roads. The Battery swung into the great high road whose sign-post said, 'To Ewell and Epsom.' Another unit had been halted to let the Artillery pass into its definitive71 place in the vast trek. It was about this time that George began to notice the dust. Rain had fallen before dawn and made the roads perfect; but now either all the moisture had evaporated in the blazing sun, or the Battery had reached a zone where rain had not fallen. At first the dust rose only in a shallow sea to the height of fetlocks; but gradually it ascended72 and made clouds, and deposited a layer on the face and on the tongue and in the throat. And the surface itself of the road, exasperated73 by innumerable hoofs and wheels, seemed to be in a kind of crawling fermentation. The smell of humanity and horses was strong. The men were less inclined to sing.
"Left!" yelled a voice.
And another:
" Left !"
And still another, very close on the second one:
"LEFT!"
"Keep your distances there!" Resmith shouted violently.
A horn sounded, and the next moment a motor-car, apparently74 full of red-hats, rushed past the Battery, overtaking it, in a blinding storm of dust. It was gone, like a ghost.
"That's the Almighty75 himself," Resmith explained, with unconscious awe76 and devotion in his powerful voice. "Gramstone, Major-General."
George, profoundly impressed (he knew not why), noticed in his brain a tiny embryo77 of a thought that it might be agreeable to ride in a car.
A hand went up, and the Battery stopped. It was the first halt.
"Look at your watch," said Resmith, smiling.
"Ten to, exactly."
"That's right. We have ten minutes in each hour."
All dismounted, examined horses for galls78, and looked at their shoes, took pulls at water-bottles, lit cigarettes, expectorated, coughed, flicked79 at flies with handkerchiefs. The two chromatic80 girls cycled past slowly, laughing. A stretcher-party also went past, and shortly afterwards returned with the stretcher laden81.
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收听单词发音
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1
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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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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eternity
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| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
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trotted
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| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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6
salute
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| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
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reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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jingling
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| 叮当声 | |
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9
pranced
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| v.（马）腾跃( prance的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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martial
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| adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的 | |
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colloquy
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| n.谈话，自由讨论 | |
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14
sinuous
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| adj.蜿蜒的，迂回的 | |
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uneven
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| adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的 | |
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hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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17
cavalcade
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| n.车队等的行列 | |
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trek
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| vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行 | |
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distended
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| v.（使）膨胀，肿胀( distend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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20
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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21
gliding
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| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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22
glossy
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| adj.平滑的；有光泽的 | |
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23
muffled
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| 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） | |
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24
grimacing
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| v.扮鬼相，做鬼脸( grimace的现在分词 ) | |
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25
thong
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| n.皮带；皮鞭；v.装皮带 | |
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26
straps
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| n.带子( strap的名词复数 )；挎带；肩带；背带v.用皮带捆扎( strap的第三人称单数 )；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带 | |
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27
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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28
bliss
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| n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福 | |
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29
allotted
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| 分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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30
bugles
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| 妙脆角，一种类似薯片但做成尖角或喇叭状的零食； 号角( bugle的名词复数 )； 喇叭； 匍匐筋骨草； （装饰女服用的）柱状玻璃（或塑料）小珠 | |
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31
pane
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| n.窗格玻璃，长方块 | |
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32
slanting
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| 倾斜的，歪斜的 | |
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33
depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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futility
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| n.无用 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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expound
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| v.详述；解释；阐述 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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38
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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impulsively
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| adv.冲动地 | |
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40
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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41
detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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42
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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43
bondage
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| n.奴役，束缚 | |
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concur
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| v.同意，意见一致，互助，同时发生 | |
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45
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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46
fatiguing
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| a.使人劳累的 | |
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incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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49
generalization
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| n.普遍性，一般性，概括 | |
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50
synchronizing
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| v.同步，整步adj.同步的 | |
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51
soothed
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| v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦 | |
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52
whet
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| v.磨快，刺激 | |
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trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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54
casually
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| adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地 | |
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55
haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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56
infantry
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| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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57
tentacles
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| n.触手( tentacle的名词复数 )；触角；触须；触毛 | |
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58
reined
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| 勒缰绳使（马）停步( rein的过去式和过去分词 )； 驾驭； 严格控制； 加强管理 | |
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59
bawled
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| v.大叫，大喊( bawl的过去式和过去分词 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物） | |
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60
thongs
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| 的东西 | |
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withers
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| 马肩隆 | |
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rite
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| n.典礼，惯例，习俗 | |
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63
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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64
outwards
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| adj.外面的，公开的，向外的；adv.向外；n.外形 | |
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swerved
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| v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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68
wagons
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| n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车 | |
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automobile
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| n.汽车，机动车 | |
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70
ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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71
definitive
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| adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的 | |
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72
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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76
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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77
embryo
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| n.胚胎，萌芽的事物 | |
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78
galls
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| v.使…擦痛( gall的第三人称单数 )；擦伤；烦扰；侮辱 | |
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flicked
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| （尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等） | |
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chromatic
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| adj.色彩的，颜色的 | |
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laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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