The day was still young, for the wayfarer13, starting early and in the fullness of his strength, had this day covered three miles in the time that one had taken him when he walked that road before. So he left the smithy and pushed on across the heath and far beyond it, marking each familiar farm and village and country house, until night had fallen and the stars had come out, when he laid him down under a hedge and slept.
He was thinking, when he fell asleep, of Nell Entick. He remembered very well her handsome face, her head held so high, her white throat and bare arms. He was going back to the inn to claim fulfillment of her promise and he pictured her as waiting for him there. In most ways he was a bold, resolute14 youth who had seen much of life; but in some ways, nevertheless, he was a lad of small experience, and if he thought at all that she had been a little overbold, a little overwilling, he thought only that she was as honestly frank as he.
Waking that night upon his bed of leaves, he saw far away on a hill the dancing flames of a campfire, concerning which he greatly wondered. For, having been long out of England, he had small knowledge of the ups and downs of parliaments and kings; and in the brief time since his return, of which he had spent nearly all in prison, he had heard nothing of the tumultuous state of the kingdom, save a few words dropped here or there while he was passing through hamlets and villages, and seen nothing thereof save such show of arms as in one place or another had caught his eye but not his thought. Although he knew it not, since he was a plain lad with no gift of second-sight, he lay in a country poised16 on the brink17 of war and his bed was made in the field where a great battle was to be fought.
He went on at daylight, and going through a village at high noon saw a preacher in clipped hair and sober garb18, who was calling on the people to be valiant19 and of good courage against those wicked men who had incited20 riot and rebellion among the Roman Catholics in Ireland, whereby the King might find pretext21 for raising a vast army to devastate22 and enslave England. Sorely perplexed23 by this talk, of which he understood little, Phil besought24 a sneering25 young fellow, who stood at no great distance, for an explanation; to which the fellow replied that it was talk for them that wore short hair and long ears, and that unless a man kept watch upon his wits his own ears would grow as long from hearing it as those of any Roundhead ass15 in the country. At this Phil took umbrage26; but the fellow cried Nay27, that he would fight no such keen blade, who was, it seemed, a better man than he looked. And with a laugh he waved the matter off and strolled away.
So to the inn Phil came in due time, having meditated28 much, meanwhile, on the talk of the King and war and the rights of Parliament, which was in the mouths and ears of all men. But he put such things out of his mind when at last he saw the inn, for the moment was at hand when his dreams should come true and he should find waiting for him the Nell Entick he remembered from long ago.
Surely a lad of enterprise, who had ventured the world over with pirates, could find in any English village something to which he could turn his hand. Indeed, who knew but some day he might keep the inn himself—or do better? Who knew? He remembered Little Grimsby and drew a long breath. Caught in a whirl of excitement that set the blood drumming in his ears, he strode into the house and, boldly stepping up to the public bar, called loudly, "Holla, I say! I would have speech of Mistress Nell Entick."
From a tall settle in the corner, where he sat taking tobacco, there rose a huge man with red and angry face.
"Who in the Devil's name art thou," he roared, "that comes ranting29 into an honest house and bawls30 out thus the name of Mistress Nell Entick?"
There were as usual a couple of countrymen sitting with pots of ale, who reared their heads in vast amazement31, and in the noisy kitchen down the passage a perceptible hush32 followed the loud words. The house seemed to pause and listen; the countrymen set down their pots; there was a sound of creaking hinges and of lightly falling feet.
Very coolly, smiling slightly, Philip Marsham met the eyes of the big, red-faced man. "It seems," said he, "thou art riding for another fall."
A look of recognition, at first incredulous, then profoundly displeased33, dawned on the red face and even greater anger followed.
"Thou banging, basting34, broiling35 brogger!" he thundered. "Thou ill-contrived, filthy36 villain37! Out the door! Begone!"
"It seems, Jamie Barwick, that thy wits are struck with years. Have care. Thy brother is already on the road to Wapping—they have signed and sealed his passage."
The fat man came to Phil with the slow gait and the low-hung head of a surly dog. He thrust his red face close to Phil's own.
"Yea, it is thou," he sneered38. "I am minded to beat thee and bang thee till thou goest skulking39 under the hedges for cover. But it seems thou hast good news. What is this talk of the hangman's budget?"
"It is true. By now thine excellent brother hath in all likelihood donned the black cap and danced on air. As for beating and banging—scratch thy head and agitate40 thy memory and consider if I have given thee reason to hope for quietness and submission41."
There was a flicker42 of doubt in the man's small eyes, whereby it seemed his memory served him well.
"And what meanest thou by saying thou would'st have speech of Mistress Nell Entick?" he asked suspiciously.
"That concerns thee not."
And then a high voice cried, "Who called my name?"
They turned and Phil Marsham's face lighted, for she stood in the door. She was not so fair as he had pictured her—what lad's memory will not play such tricks as that?—and he thought that when he had taken her away from the inn she need never again wear a drabbled gown. But it was she, the Nell Entick who had so lightly given him her promise and kissed him as he fled, and he had come for her.
"Back again, John? Nay, John was not thy name. Stay! No, it hath escaped me, but I remember well thy face. And shall I bring thee ale? Or sack? We have some rare fine sack."
He stared at her as if he could not believe his ears had told him right. "I have come," he said, "to claim a certain promise—"
She looked bewildered, puzzled, then laughed loudly. "Silly boy!" she cried. "I am these six months a wife."
"A wife!"
"Yea, and mine," cried Barwick. "Come, begone I I'll have no puppies sniffling at her heels."
At something in the man's manner, the full truth dawned on Philip Marsham. "I see. And you have taken the inn?"
"Yea, that I have! Must I split thy head to let in knowledge? Begone!"
She laid her hand on Barwick's wrist. "The lad means no harm," she whispered. "Come, it is folly44 to drive trade away." And over Barwick's shoulder she cast Phil such a glance that he knew, maid or matron, she would philander45 still.
But Phil had seen her with new eyes and the old charm was broken. (Perhaps if Tom Marsham had waited a year before he leaped into marriage, I had had no story to tell!) All that was best in the father had come down to the son, and Phil turned his back on the siren with the bold, bright eyes. He turned his back on the inn, too, and all the dreams he had built around it—a boy's imaginings raised on the sands of a moment's fancy. Nay, he turned his back on all the world he had hitherto known.
With a feeling that he was rubbing from his face a spider's web of sordidness,—that he was cutting the last cord that bound him to his old, wild life,—stirred by a new and daring project, he went out of the inn and turned to the left and took the road in search of Sir John Bristol.
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1
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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3
pennants
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| n.校旗( pennant的名词复数 )；锦标旗；长三角旗；信号旗 | |
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4
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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5
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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6
tangles
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| （使）缠结， （使）乱作一团( tangle的第三人称单数 ) | |
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7
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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8
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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9
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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10
rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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11
bellows
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| n.风箱；发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的名词复数 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的第三人称单数 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
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12
anvil
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| n.铁钻 | |
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13
wayfarer
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| n.旅人 | |
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14
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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15
ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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16
poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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17
brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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18
garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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19
valiant
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| adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人 | |
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20
incited
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| 刺激，激励，煽动( incite的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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21
pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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22
devastate
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| v.使荒芜，破坏，压倒 | |
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23
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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24
besought
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| v.恳求，乞求（某事物）( beseech的过去式和过去分词 )；(beseech的过去式与过去分词) | |
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25
sneering
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| 嘲笑的，轻蔑的 | |
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26
umbrage
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| n.不快；树荫 | |
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27
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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28
meditated
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| 深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑 | |
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29
ranting
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| v.夸夸其谈( rant的现在分词 )；大叫大嚷地以…说教；气愤地)大叫大嚷；不停地大声抱怨 | |
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30
bawls
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| v.大叫，大喊( bawl的第三人称单数 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物） | |
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31
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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32
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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33
displeased
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| a.不快的 | |
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34
basting
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| n.疏缝；疏缝的针脚；疏缝用线；涂油v.打( baste的现在分词 )；粗缝；痛斥；（烤肉等时）往上抹[浇]油 | |
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35
broiling
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| adj.酷热的，炽热的，似烧的v.（用火）烤（焙、炙等）( broil的现在分词 )；使卷入争吵；使混乱；被烤（或炙） | |
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36
filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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37
villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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38
sneered
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| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39
skulking
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| v.潜伏，偷偷摸摸地走动，鬼鬼祟祟地活动( skulk的现在分词 ) | |
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40
agitate
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| vi.(for,against)煽动，鼓动；vt.搅动 | |
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41
submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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42
flicker
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| vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现 | |
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43
scowled
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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44
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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45
philander
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| v.不真诚地恋爱，调戏 | |
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