Plato, bright-eyed and alert, was waiting in the school-yard until the teacher should be ready to start. Having warned away several smaller children who had hung around after school as though to share his prerogative14 of accompanying the teacher, Plato had swung himself into the low branches of an oak at the edge of the clearing, from which he was hanging by his legs, head downward. He dropped from this reposeful15 attitude when the teacher appeared at the door, and took his place at her side.
A premonition of impending16 trouble caused the teacher to hesitate. She wished that she had kept more of the pupils behind. Something whispered that danger lurked17 in the road she customarily followed. Plato seemed insignificantly18 small and weak, and she felt miserably19 unable to cope with any difficult or untoward20 situation.
"Plato," she suggested, "I think we'll go round the other way to-night, if you don't mind."
Visions of Mars Geo'ge disappointed, of a dollar unearned and unspent, flitted through the narrow brain which some one, with the irony21 of ignorance or of knowledge, had mocked with the name of a great philosopher. Plato was not an untruthful lad, but he seldom had the opportunity to earn a dollar. His imagination, spurred on by the instinct of self-interest, rose to the emergency.
"I's feared you mought git snake-bit gwine roun' dat way, Miss Rena. My brer Jim kill't a water-moccasin down dere yistiddy 'bout22 ten feet long."
Rena had a horror of snakes, with which the swamp by which the other road ran was infested23. Snakes were a vivid reality; her presentiment24 was probably a mere25 depression of spirits due to her condition of nervous exhaustion. A cloud had come up and threatened rain, and the wind was rising ominously26. The old way was the shorter; she wanted above all things to get to Elder Johnson's and go to bed. Perhaps sleep would rest her tired brain—she could not imagine herself feeling worse, unless she should break down altogether.
She plunged27 into the path and hastened forward so as to reach home before the approaching storm. So completely was she absorbed in her own thoughts that she scarcely noticed that Plato himself seemed preoccupied28. Instead of capering29 along like a playful kitten or puppy, he walked by her side unusually silent. When they had gone a short distance and were approaching a path which intersected their road at something near a right angle, the teacher missed Plato. He had dropped behind a moment before; now he had disappeared entirely30. Her vague alarm of a few moments before returned with redoubled force.
"Plato!" she called; "Plato!"
There was no response, save the soughing of the wind through the swaying treetops. She stepped hastily forward, wondering if this were some childish prank31. If so, it was badly timed, and she would let Plato feel the weight of her displeasure.
Her forward step had brought her to the junction32 of the two paths, where she paused doubtfully. The route she had been following was the most direct way home, but led for quite a distance through the forest, which she did not care to traverse alone. The intersecting path would soon take her to the main road, where she might find shelter or company, or both. Glancing around again in search of her missing escort, she became aware that a man was approaching her from each of the two paths. In one she recognized the eager and excited face of George Tryon, flushed with anticipation33 of their meeting, and yet grave with uncertainty34 of his reception. Advancing confidently along the other path she saw the face of Jeff Wain, drawn35, as she imagined in her anguish36, with evil passions which would stop at nothing.
What should she do? There was no sign of Plato—for aught she could see or hear of him, the earth might have swallowed him up. Some deadly serpent might have stung him. Some wandering rabbit might have tempted37 him aside. Another thought struck her. Plato had been very quiet—there had been something on his conscience—perhaps he had betrayed her! But to which of the two men, and to what end?
The problem was too much for her overwrought brain. She turned and fled. A wiser instinct might have led her forward. In the two conflicting dangers she might have found safety. The road after all was a public way. Any number of persons might meet there accidentally. But she saw only the darker side of the situation. To turn to Tryon for protection before Wain had by some overt38 act manifested the evil purpose which she as yet only suspected would be, she imagined, to acknowledge a previous secret acquaintance with Tryon, thus placing her reputation at Wain's mercy, and to charge herself with a burden of obligation toward a man whom she wished to avoid and had refused to meet. If, on the other hand, she should go forward to meet Wain, he would undoubtedly39 offer to accompany her homeward. Tryon would inevitably40 observe the meeting, and suppose it prearranged. Not for the world would she have him think so—why she should care for his opinion, she did not stop to argue. She turned and fled, and to avoid possible pursuit, struck into the underbrush at an angle which she calculated would bring her in a few rods to another path which would lead quickly into the main road. She had run only a few yards when she found herself in the midst of a clump41 of prickly shrubs42 and briars. Meantime the storm had burst; the rain fell in torrents43. Extricating44 herself from the thorns, she pressed forward, but instead of coming out upon the road, found herself penetrating45 deeper and deeper into the forest.
The storm increased in violence. The air grew darker and darker. It was near evening, the clouds were dense46, the thick woods increased the gloom. Suddenly a blinding flash of lightning pierced the darkness, followed by a sharp clap of thunder. There was a crash of falling timber. Terror-stricken, Rena flew forward through the forest, the underbrush growing closer and closer as she advanced. Suddenly the earth gave way beneath her feet and she sank into a concealed47 morass48. By clasping the trunk of a neighboring sapling she extricated49 herself with an effort, and realized with a horrible certainty that she was lost in the swamp.
Turning, she tried to retrace50 her steps. A flash of lightning penetrated51 the gloom around her, and barring her path she saw a huge black snake,—harmless enough, in fact, but to her excited imagination frightful52 in appearance. With a wild shriek53 she turned again, staggered forward a few yards, stumbled over a projecting root, and fell heavily to the earth.
When Rena had disappeared in the underbrush, Tryon and Wain had each instinctively54 set out in pursuit of her, but owing to the gathering55 darkness, the noise of the storm, and the thickness of the underbrush, they missed not only Rena but each other, and neither was aware of the other's presence in the forest. Wain kept up the chase until the rain drove him to shelter. Tryon, after a few minutes, realized that she had fled to escape him, and that to pursue her would be to defeat rather than promote his purpose. He desisted, therefore, and returning to the main road, stationed himself at a point where he could watch Elder Johnson's house, and having waited for a while without any signs of Rena, concluded that she had taken refuge in some friendly cabin. Turning homeward disconsolately56 as night came on, he intercepted57 Plato on his way back from town, and pledged him to inviolable secrecy58 so effectually that Plato, when subsequently questioned, merely answered that he had stopped a moment to gather some chinquapins, and when he had looked around the teacher was gone.
Rena not appearing at supper-time nor for an hour later, the elder, somewhat anxious, made inquiries59 about the neighborhood, and finding his guest at no place where she might be expected to stop, became somewhat alarmed. Wain's house was the last to which he went. He had surmised60 that there was some mystery connected with her leaving Wain's, but had never been given any definite information about the matter. In response to his inquiries, Wain expressed surprise, but betrayed a certain self-consciousness which did not escape the elder's eye. Returning home, he organized a search party from his own family and several near neighbors, and set out with dogs and torches to scour5 the woods for the missing teacher. A couple of hours later, they found her lying unconscious in the edge of the swamp, only a few rods from a well-defined path which would soon have led her to the open highway. Strong arms lifted her gently and bore her home. Mrs. Johnson undressed her and put her to bed, administering a homely61 remedy, of which whiskey was the principal ingredient, to counteract62 the effects of the exposure. There was a doctor within five miles, but no one thought of sending for him, nor was it at all likely that it would have been possible to get him for such a case at such an hour.
Rena's illness, however, was more deeply seated than her friends could imagine. A tired body, in sympathy with an overwrought brain, had left her peculiarly susceptible63 to the nervous shock of her forest experience. The exposure for several hours in her wet clothing to the damps and miasma64 of the swamp had brought on an attack of brain fever. The next morning, she was delirious65. One of the children took word to the schoolhouse that the teacher was sick and there would be no school that day. A number of curious and sympathetic people came in from time to time and suggested various remedies, several of which old Mrs. Johnson, with catholic impartiality66, administered to the helpless teacher, who from delirium67 gradually sunk into a heavy stupor68 scarcely distinguishable from sleep. It was predicted that she would probably be well in the morning; if not, it would then be time to consider seriously the question of sending for a doctor.
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1
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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fatigued
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| adj. 疲乏的 | |
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intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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scour
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| v.搜索；擦，洗，腹泻，冲刷 | |
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insignificance
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| n.不重要；无价值；无意义 | |
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pall
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| v.覆盖，使平淡无味；n.柩衣，棺罩；棺材；帷幕 | |
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8
exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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9
consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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undoing
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| n.毁灭的原因，祸根；破坏，毁灭 | |
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12
accentuated
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| v.重读( accentuate的过去式和过去分词 )；使突出；使恶化；加重音符号于 | |
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13
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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14
prerogative
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| n.特权 | |
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15
reposeful
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| adj.平稳的，沉着的 | |
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impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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lurked
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| vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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insignificantly
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miserably
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| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
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untoward
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| adj.不利的，不幸的，困难重重的 | |
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irony
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| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
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bout
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| n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛 | |
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infested
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| adj.为患的，大批滋生的（常与with搭配）v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 )；遍布于 | |
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presentiment
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| n.预感，预觉 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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ominously
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| adv.恶兆地，不吉利地；预示地 | |
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27
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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28
preoccupied
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| adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) | |
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29
capering
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| v.跳跃，雀跃( caper的现在分词 )；蹦蹦跳跳 | |
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30
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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prank
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| n.开玩笑，恶作剧；v.装饰；打扮；炫耀自己 | |
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32
junction
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| n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站 | |
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anticipation
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| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
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34
uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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overt
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| adj.公开的，明显的，公然的 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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41
clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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42
shrubs
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| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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43
torrents
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| n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断 | |
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44
extricating
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| v.使摆脱困难，脱身( extricate的现在分词 ) | |
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45
penetrating
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| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
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46
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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47
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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48
morass
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| n.沼泽，困境 | |
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49
extricated
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| v.使摆脱困难，脱身( extricate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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50
retrace
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| v.折回；追溯，探源 | |
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51
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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52
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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53
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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54
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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55
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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disconsolately
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| adv.悲伤地，愁闷地；哭丧着脸 | |
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57
intercepted
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| 拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻 | |
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58
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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59
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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60
surmised
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| v.臆测，推断( surmise的过去式和过去分词 )；揣测；猜想 | |
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61
homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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62
counteract
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| vt.对…起反作用，对抗，抵消 | |
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63
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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64
miasma
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| n.毒气；不良气氛 | |
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65
delirious
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| adj.不省人事的，神智昏迷的 | |
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66
impartiality
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| n. 公平, 无私, 不偏 | |
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67
delirium
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| n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋 | |
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stupor
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| v.昏迷；不省人事 | |
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