He drew rein7 at the corner. Shocked surprise, a nascent8 anger, a vague alarm, an insistent9 curiosity, urged him nearer. Turning the mare10 into the side street and keeping close to the fence, he drove ahead in the shadow of the cedars until he reached a gap through which he could see into the open door and windows of the brightly lighted hall.
There was evidently a ball in progress. The fiddle11 was squeaking12 merrily so a tune13 that he remembered well,—it was associated with one of the most delightful14 evenings of his life, that of the tournament ball. A mellow15 negro voice was calling with a rhyming accompaniment the figures of a quadrille. Tryon, with parted lips and slowly hardening heart, leaned forward from the buggy-seat, gripping the rein so tightly that his nails cut into the opposing palm. Above the clatter16 of noisy conversation rose the fiddler's voice:—
"Swing yo' pa'dners; doan be shy,
Look yo' lady in de eye!
Th'ow yo' ahm aroun' huh wais';
Take yo' time—dey ain' no has'e!"
To the middle of the floor, in full view through an open window, advanced the woman who all day long had been the burden of his thoughts—not pale with grief and hollow-eyed with weeping, but flushed with pleasure, around her waist the arm of a burly, grinning mulatto, whose face was offensively familiar to Tryon.
With a muttered curse of concentrated bitterness, Tryon struck the mare a sharp blow with the whip. The sensitive creature, spirited even in her great weariness, resented the lash17 and started off with the bit in her teeth. Perceiving that it would be difficult to turn in the narrow roadway without running into the ditch at the left, Tryon gave the mare rein and dashed down the street, scarcely missing, as the buggy crossed the bridge, a man standing18 abstractedly by the old canal, who sprang aside barely in time to avoid being run over.
Meantime Rena was passing through a trying ordeal19. After the first few bars, the fiddler plunged20 into a well-known air, in which Rena, keenly susceptible22 to musical impressions, recognized the tune to which, as Queen of Love and Beauty, she had opened the dance at her entrance into the world of life and love, for it was there she had met George Tryon. The combination of music and movement brought up the scene with great distinctness. Tryon, peering angrily through the cedars, had not been more conscious than she of the external contrast between her partners on this and the former occasion. She perceived, too, as Tryon from the outside had not, the difference between Wain's wordy flattery (only saved by his cousin's warning from pointed23 and fulsome24 adulation), and the tenderly graceful25 compliment, couched in the romantic terms of chivalry26, with which the knight27 of the handkerchief had charmed her ear. It was only by an immense effort that she was able to keep her emotions under control until the end of the dance, when she fled to her chamber28 and burst into tears. It was not the cruel Tryon who had blasted her love with his deadly look that she mourned, but the gallant29 young knight who had worn her favor on his lance and crowned her Queen of Love and Beauty.
Tryon's stay in Patesville was very brief. He drove to the hotel and put up for the night. During many sleepless hours his mind was in a turmoil30 with a very different set of thoughts from those which had occupied it on the way to town. Not the least of them was a profound self-contempt for his own lack of discernment. How had he been so blind as not to have read long ago the character of this wretched girl who had bewitched him? To-night his eyes had been opened—he had seen her with the mask thrown off, a true daughter of a race in which the sensuous31 enjoyment32 of the moment took precedence of taste or sentiment or any of the higher emotions. Her few months of boarding-school, her brief association with white people, had evidently been a mere33 veneer34 over the underlying35 negro, and their effects had slipped away as soon as the intercourse36 had ceased. With the monkey-like imitativeness of the negro she had copied the manners of white people while she lived among them, and had dropped them with equal facility when they ceased to serve a purpose. Who but a negro could have recovered so soon from what had seemed a terrible bereavement37?—she herself must have felt it at the time, for otherwise she would not have swooned. A woman of sensibility, as this one had seemed to be, should naturally feel more keenly, and for a longer time than a man, an injury to the affections; but he, a son of the ruling race, had been miserable38 for six weeks about a girl who had so far forgotten him as already to plunge21 headlong into the childish amusements of her own ignorant and degraded people. What more, indeed, he asked himself savagely,—what more could be expected of the base-born child of the plaything of a gentleman's idle hour, who to this ignoble39 origin added the blood of a servile race? And he, George Tryon, had honored her with his love; he had very nearly linked his fate and joined his blood to hers by the solemn sanctions of church and state. Tryon was not a devout40 man, but he thanked God with religious fervor41 that he had been saved a second time from a mistake which would have wrecked42 his whole future. If he had yielded to the momentary weakness of the past night,—the outcome of a sickly sentimentality to which he recognized now, in the light of reflection, that he was entirely43 too prone,—he would have regretted it soon enough. The black streak44 would have been sure to come out in some form, sooner or later, if not in the wife, then in her children. He saw clearly enough, in this hour of revulsion, that with his temperament45 and training such a union could never have been happy. If all the world had been ignorant of the dark secret, it would always have been in his own thoughts, or at least never far away. Each fault of hers that the close daily association of husband and wife might reveal,—the most flawless of sweethearts do not pass scathless through the long test of matrimony,—every wayward impulse of his children, every defect of mind, morals, temper, or health, would have been ascribed to the dark ancestral strain. Happiness under such conditions would have been impossible.
When Tryon lay awake in the early morning, after a few brief hours of sleep, the business which had brought him to Patesville seemed, in the cold light of reason, so ridiculously inadequate46 that he felt almost ashamed to have set up such a pretext47 for his journey. The prospect48, too, of meeting Dr. Green and his family, of having to explain his former sudden departure, and of running a gauntlet of inquiry49 concerning his marriage to the aristocratic Miss Warwick of South Carolina; the fear that some one at Patesville might have suspected a connection between Rena's swoon and his own flight,—these considerations so moved this impressionable and impulsive50 young man that he called a bell-boy, demanded an early breakfast, ordered his horse, paid his reckoning, and started upon his homeward journey forthwith. A certain distrust of his own sensibility, which he felt to be curiously51 inconsistent with his most positive convictions, led him to seek the river bridge by a roundabout route which did not take him past the house where, a few hours before, he had seen the last fragment of his idol52 shattered beyond the hope of repair.
The party broke up at an early hour, since most of the guests were working-people, and the travelers were to make an early start next day. About nine in the morning, Wain drove round to Mis' Molly's. Rena's trunk was strapped53 behind the buggy, and she set out, in the company of Wain, for her new field of labor54. The school term was only two months in length, and she did not expect to return until its expiration55. Just before taking her seat in the buggy, Rena felt a sudden sinking of the heart.
"Oh, mother," she whispered, as they stood wrapped in a close embrace, "I'm afraid to leave you. I left you once, and it turned out so miserably56."
"It'll turn out better this time, honey," replied her mother soothingly57. "Good-by, child. Take care of yo'self an' yo'r money, and write to yo'r mammy."
One kiss all round, and Rena was lifted into the buggy. Wain seized the reins58, and under his skillful touch the pretty mare began to prance59 and curvet with restrained impatience60. Wain could not resist the opportunity to show off before the party, which included Mary B.'s entire family and several other neighbors, who had gathered to see the travelers off.
"Good-by ter Patesville! Good-by, folkses all!" he cried, with a wave of his disengaged hand.
"Good-by, mother! Good-by, all!" cried Rena, as with tears in her heart and a brave smile on her face she left her home behind her for the second time.
When they had crossed the river bridge, the travelers came to a long stretch of rising ground, from the summit of which they could look back over the white sandy road for nearly a mile. Neither Rena nor her companion saw Frank Fowler behind the chinquapin bush at the foot of the hill, nor the gaze of mute love and longing61 with which he watched the buggy mount the long incline. He had not been able to trust himself to bid her farewell. He had seen her go away once before with every prospect of happiness, and come back, a dove with a wounded wing, to the old nest behind the cedars. She was going away again, with a man whom he disliked and distrusted. If she had met misfortune before, what were her prospects62 for happiness now?
The buggy paused at the top of the hill, and Frank, shading his eyes with his hand, thought he could see her turn and look behind. Look back, dear child, towards your home and those who love you! For who knows more than this faithful worshiper what threads of the past Fate is weaving into your future, or whether happiness or misery63 lies before you?
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1
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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2
exclusion
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| n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行 | |
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3
cedars
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| 雪松，西洋杉( cedar的名词复数 ) | |
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festive
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| adj.欢宴的，节日的 | |
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sleepless
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| adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的 | |
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6
suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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rein
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| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
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8
nascent
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| adj.初生的，发生中的 | |
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insistent
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| adj.迫切的，坚持的 | |
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mare
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| n.母马，母驴 | |
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fiddle
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| n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动 | |
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12
squeaking
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| v.短促地尖叫( squeak的现在分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者 | |
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13
tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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14
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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15
mellow
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| adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟 | |
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16
clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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17
lash
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| v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛 | |
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18
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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19
ordeal
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| n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验 | |
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20
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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21
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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22
susceptible
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| adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的 | |
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23
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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24
fulsome
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| adj.可恶的，虚伪的，过分恭维的 | |
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25
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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26
chivalry
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| n.骑士气概，侠义；（男人）对女人彬彬有礼，献殷勤 | |
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27
knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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28
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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29
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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30
turmoil
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| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
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31
sensuous
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| adj.激发美感的；感官的，感觉上的 | |
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32
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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33
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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34
veneer
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| n.(墙上的)饰面，虚饰 | |
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35
underlying
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| adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的 | |
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36
intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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37
bereavement
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| n.亲人丧亡，丧失亲人，丧亲之痛 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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39
ignoble
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| adj.不光彩的，卑鄙的；可耻的 | |
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40
devout
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| adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness) | |
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41
fervor
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| n.热诚；热心；炽热 | |
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42
wrecked
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| adj.失事的，遇难的 | |
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43
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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44
streak
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| n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动 | |
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45
temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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46
inadequate
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| adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的 | |
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47
pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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48
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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49
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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50
impulsive
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| adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的 | |
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51
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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52
idol
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| n.偶像，红人，宠儿 | |
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53
strapped
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| adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带 | |
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54
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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55
expiration
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| n.终结，期满，呼气，呼出物 | |
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56
miserably
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| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
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57
soothingly
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| adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地 | |
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58
reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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59
prance
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| v.（马）腾跃，(人)神气活现地走 | |
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60
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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61
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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