Chapter 39 A Matter Of Hours

"Father--Father; can--you--can--you--forgive me?"

The man on his knees raised his head.

"Forgive you, my son? Forgive you? My dear boy, there has never been in my heart a thought but of love and sympathy. Pain there has been, I can't deny, but it has helped me to know what you have suffered. I understand it now, my boy. I understand it all, for I, too, have felt it. But when I first knew, even beneath all the hurt, I was glad--glad to know, I mean. It is a father's right to suffer with his child, my son. It hurt most, when the secret stood between us, and I could not enter into your life, but I understand that, too. I understand why you could not tell me. I, too, came away because I was not strong enough."

"I--I thought it would be easier for you never to know," said the son as he lay on the bed. "I am--sorry, now. And I am glad that you know. But I must tell you all about it just the same. I must tell you myself, you see, so that it will be all clear and straight when I--when I go." He turned his eyes to the picture on the wall.

"When you go?"

Howard laid a hand upon the gray head. "Poor father; yes, I am going. It was an accident, but it was a kindness. It will be much better that way--only--only I am sorry for you, father. I thought I could save you all this. I intended to slip quietly away without your ever knowing, but when Pete said that Dr. Coughlan was here, I could not go without--without--"

The little doctor came forward. "I am a fool, Howard, an old fool. Blast¹ it all; no business to go poking² into this; no business at all! Daniel would have sent if he had wanted me. Ought to have known. Old native can give me lessons on being a gentleman every time. Blast it all! What's wrong, Howard? Get hurt? Now I am here, might as well be useful."

"Indeed, Doctor, you did right to come. You will be such a help to father. You will help us both, just as you have always done. Will you excuse us, father, while Dr. Coughlan looks at this thing here in my side?"

The physician arranged the light so that it shone full upon the man on the bed, then carefully removed the bandages from an ugly wound in the artist's side. Dr. Coughlan looked very grave. "When did this happen, Howard?"

"I--I can't tell exactly. You see I thought at first I could get along with Pete to help, and I did, for a week, I guess. Then things--didn't go so well. Some fever, I think, for she--she came." He turned his eyes toward the picture again. "And I--I lost all track of time. It was the night of the eighteenth. Father will know."

"Two weeks," muttered³ the physician.

A low exclamation⁴ came from the shepherd. "It was you--you who brought the horses to the ranch⁵ that night?"

The artist smiled grimly⁶. "The officers saw me, and thought that I was one of the men they wanted. It's alright, though." The old scholar instinctively⁷ lifted his hands and looked at them. He remembered the saddle, wet with blood.

Making a careful examination, the doctor asked more questions. When he had finished and had skilfully⁸ replaced the bandages, the wounded man asked, "What about it, Dr. Coughlan?" The kind hearted physician jerked⁹ out a volley of scientific words and phrases that meant nothing, and busied himself with his medicine case.

When his patient had taken the medicine, the doctor watched him for a few minutes, and then asked, "Feel stronger, Howard?"

The artist nodded. "Tell me the truth, now, Doctor. I know that I am going. But how long have I? Wait a minute first. Where's Pete? Come here, my boy." The lad drew near. "Father." Mr. Howitt seated himself on the bedside. "You'll be strong, father? We are ready now, Dr. Coughlan."

"Yes, tell us, David," said the shepherd, and his voice was steady.

The physician spoke¹⁰, "Matter of hours, I would say. Twenty-four, perhaps; not more; not more."

"There is no possible chance, David?" asked the shepherd.

Again the little doctor took refuge¹¹ behind a broadside of scientific terms before replying, "No; no possible chance."

A groan¹² slipped from the gray bearded lips of the father. The artist turned to the picture and smiled. Pete looked wonderingly from face to face.

"Poor father," said the artist. "One thing more, Doctor; can you keep up my strength for awhile?"

"Reasonably well, reasonably well, Howard."

"I am so glad of that because there is much to do before I go. There is so much that must be done first, and I want you both to help me."

1 blast   

v.炸毁，摧毁；n.爆炸，爆破，一阵，汽笛声

参考例句：

• A huge bomb blast rocked central London last night.昨晚一次剧烈的炸弹爆炸震动了伦敦市中心。
• Not until last week was the project in full blast.工程直到上星期才全部开工。

2 poking   

n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
• He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。

3 muttered   

轻声低语，咕哝地抱怨( mutter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He muttered a curse at the other driver. 他低声咒骂另一位开车的人。
• She turned away and muttered something unintelligible. 她转向一旁，嘴里不知咕哝些什么。

4 exclamation   

n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词

参考例句：

• He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
• The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号，以引起读者的注意。

5 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

6 grimly   

ad.坚定地；不屈地

参考例句：

• "We failed," he announced grimly. “我们失败了”，他严肃地宣布道。
• His voice was grimly determined. 他语气非常坚决。

7 instinctively   

adv.本能地

参考例句：

• As he leaned towards her she instinctively recoiled. 他向她靠近，她本能地往后缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He knew instinctively where he would find her. 他本能地知道在哪儿能找到她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 skilfully   

adv. (美skillfully)熟练地

参考例句：

• Hall skilfully weaves the historical research into a gripping narrative. 霍尔巧妙地把历史研究揉进了扣人心弦的故事叙述。
• Enthusiasm alone won't do. You've got to work skilfully. 不能光靠傻劲儿，得找窍门。

9 jerked   

猛拉( jerk的过去式和过去分词 )； （使…）猝然一动[颤动]

参考例句：

• He jerked the phone away from her. 他猛然一下从她那儿把电话抢走。
• When she heard the news, she jerked upright in surprise. 当听到这则消息时，她惊讶得跳了起来。

10 spoke   

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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 refuge   

n.避难（处），庇护（所）；v.庇护，避难（所）

参考例句：

• They took refuge in a cave yesterday.他们昨天是在一个洞里避难的。
• We took refuge in the lee of the wall.我们在墙的背风处暂避。

12 groan   

vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音

参考例句：

• The wounded man uttered a groan.那个受伤的人发出呻吟。
• The people groan under the burden of taxes.人民在重税下痛苦呻吟。