The plateau on which he had alighted was a table-land standing7 high above the surrounding country. It stretched around him, treeless, houseless. There was nothing to break the lines of the horizon but a group of gaunt grey stones, the remains8, so he told himself, of some ancient menhir, common enough to the lonely desert lands of Brittany. In general the stones lie overthrown9 and scattered11, but this particular specimen12 had by some strange chance remained undisturbed through all the centuries. Mildly interested, Flight Commander Raffleton strolled leisurely13 towards it. The moon was at its zenith. How still the quiet night must have been was impressed upon him by the fact that he distinctly heard, and counted, the strokes of a church clock which must have been at least six miles away. He remembers looking at his watch and noting that there was a slight difference between his own and the church time. He made it eight minutes past twelve. With the dying away of the last vibrations14 of the distant bell the silence and the solitude15 of the place seemed to return and settle down upon it with increased insistence16. While he was working it had not troubled him, but beside the black shadows thrown by those hoary17 stones it had the effect almost of a presence. It was with a sense of relief that he contemplated18 returning to his machine and starting up his engine. It would whir and buzz and give back to him a comfortable feeling of life and security. He would walk round the stones just once and then be off. It was wonderful how they had defied old Time. As they had been placed there, quite possibly ten thousand years ago, so they still stood, the altar of that vast, empty sky-roofed temple. And while he was gazing at them, his cigar between his lips, struggling with a strange forgotten impulse that was tugging19 at his knees, there came from the very heart of the great grey stones the measured rise and fall of a soft, even breathing.
Young Raffleton frankly20 confesses that his first impulse was to cut and run. Only his soldier's training kept his feet firm on the heather. Of course, the explanation was simple. Some animal had made the place its nest. But then what animal was ever known to sleep so soundly as not to be disturbed by human footsteps? If wounded, and so unable to escape, it would not be breathing with that quiet, soft regularity21, contrasting so strangely with the stillness and the silence all round. Possibly an owl22's nest. Young owlets make that sort of noise—the "snorers," so country people call them. Young Raffleton threw away his cigar and went down upon his knees to grope among the shadows, and, doing so, he touched something warm and soft and yielding.
But it wasn't an owl. He must have touched her very lightly, for even then she did not wake. She lay there with her head upon her arm. And now close to her, his eyes growing used to the shadows, he saw her quite plainly, the wonder of the parted lips, the gleam of the white limbs beneath their flimsy covering.
Of course, what he ought to have done was to have risen gently and moved away. Then he could have coughed. And if that did not wake her he might have touched her lightly, say, on the shoulder, and have called to her, first softly, then a little louder, "Mademoiselle," or "Mon enfant." Even better, he might have stolen away on tiptoe and left her there sleeping.
This idea does not seem to have occurred to him. One makes the excuse for him that he was but three-and-twenty, that, framed in the purple moonlight, she seemed to him the most beautiful creature his eyes had ever seen. And then there was the brooding mystery of it all, that atmosphere of far-off primeval times from which the roots of life still draw their sap. One takes it he forgot that he was Flight Commander Raffleton, officer and gentleman; forgot the proper etiquette24 applying to the case of ladies found sleeping upon lonely moors25 without a chaperon. Greater still, the possibility that he never thought of anything at all, but, just impelled26 by a power beyond himself, bent27 down and kissed her.
Not a platonic28 kiss upon the brow, not a brotherly kiss upon the cheek, but a kiss full upon the parted lips, a kiss of worship and amazement29, such as that with which Adam in all probability awakened30 Eve.
Her eyes opened, and, just a little sleepily, she looked at him. There could have been no doubt in her mind as to what had happened. His lips were still pressing hers. But she did not seem in the least surprised, and most certainly not angry. Raising herself to a sitting posture31, she smiled and held out her hand that he might help her up. And, alone in that vast temple, star-roofed and moon-illumined, beside that grim grey altar of forgotten rites32, hand in hand they stood and looked at one another.
"I beg your pardon," said Commander Raffleton. "I'm afraid I have disturbed you."
He remembered afterwards that in his confusion he had spoken to her in English. But she answered him in French, a quaint33, old-fashioned French such as one rarely finds but in the pages of old missals. He would have had some difficulty in translating it literally34, but the meaning of it was, adapted to our modern idiom:
"Don't mention it. I'm so glad you've come."
He gathered she had been expecting him. He was not quite sure whether he ought not to apologise for being apparently35 a little late. True, he had no recollection of any such appointment. But then at that particular moment Commander Raffleton may be said to have had no consciousness of anything beyond just himself and the wondrous36 other beside him. Somewhere outside was moonlight and a world; but all that seemed unimportant. It was she who broke the silence.
"How did you get here?" she asked.
He did not mean to be enigmatical. He was chiefly concerned with still gazing at her.
"I flew here," he answered. Her eyes opened wider at that, but with interest, not doubt.
"Where are your wings?" she asked. She was leaning sideways, trying to get a view of his back.
He laughed. It made her seem more human, that curiosity about his back.
"Over there," he answered. She looked, and for the first time saw the great shimmering37 sails gleaming like silver under the moonlight.
She moved towards it, and he followed, noticing without surprise that the heather seemed to make no sign of yielding to the pressure of her white feet.
She halted a little away from it, and he came and stood beside her. Even to Commander Raffleton himself it looked as if the great wings were quivering, like the outstretched pinions38 of a bird preening39 itself before flight.
"Is it alive?" she asked.
"Not till I whisper to it," he answered. He was losing a little of his fear of her. She turned to him.
"Shall we go?" she asked.
He stared at her. She was quite serious, that was evident. She was to put her hand in his and go away with him. It was all settled. That is why he had come. To her it did not matter where. That was his affair. But where he went she was to go. That was quite clearly the programme in her mind.
To his credit, let it be recorded, he did make an effort. Against all the forces of nature, against his twenty-three years and the red blood pulsing in his veins40, against the fumes41 of the midsummer moonlight encompassing42 him and the voices of the stars, against the demons43 of poetry and romance and mystery chanting their witches' music in his ears, against the marvel44 and the glory of her as she stood beside him, clothed in the purple of the night, Flight Commander Raffleton fought the good fight for common sense.
Young persons who, scantily45 clad, go to sleep on the heather, five miles from the nearest human habitation, are to be avoided by well-brought-up young officers of His Majesty's Aerial Service. The incidence of their being uncannily beautiful and alluring46 should serve as an additional note of warning. The girl had had a row with her mother and wanted to get away. It was this infernal moonlight that was chiefly responsible. No wonder dogs bayed at it. He almost fancied he could hear one now. Nice, respectable, wholesome-minded things, dogs. No damned sentiment about them. What if he had kissed her! One is not bound for life to every woman one kisses. Not the first time she had been kissed, unless all the young men in Brittany were blind or white blooded. All this pretended innocence47 and simplicity48! It was just put on. If not, she must be a lunatic. The proper thing to do was to say good-bye with a laugh and a jest, start up his machine and be off to England—dear old practical, merry England, where he could get breakfast and a bath.
It wasn't a fair fight; one feels it. Poor little prim23 Common Sense, with her defiant49, turned-up nose and her shrill50 giggle51 and her innate52 vulgarity. And against her the stillness of the night, and the music of the ages, and the beating of his heart.
So it all fell down about his feet, a little crumbled53 dust that a passing breath of wind seemed to scatter10, leaving him helpless, spellbound by the magic of her eyes.
"Who are you?" he asked her.
"Malvina," she answered him. "I am a fairy."
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1
wireless
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| adj.无线的；n.无线电 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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arsenal
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| n.兵工厂，军械库 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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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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7
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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8
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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overthrown
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| adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词 | |
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scatter
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| vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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14
vibrations
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| n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动 | |
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15
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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insistence
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| n.坚持；强调；坚决主张 | |
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hoary
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| adj.古老的；鬓发斑白的 | |
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contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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tugging
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| n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 ) | |
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frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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regularity
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| n.规律性，规则性；匀称，整齐 | |
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owl
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| n.猫头鹰，枭 | |
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prim
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| adj.拘泥形式的，一本正经的；n.循规蹈矩，整洁；adv.循规蹈矩地，整洁地 | |
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etiquette
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| n.礼仪，礼节；规矩 | |
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moors
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| v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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impelled
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| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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27
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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platonic
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| adj.精神的；柏拉图（哲学）的 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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30
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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31
posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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32
rites
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| 仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
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quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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wondrous
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| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
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37
shimmering
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| v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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pinions
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| v.抓住[捆住]（双臂）( pinion的第三人称单数 ) | |
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39
preening
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| v.（鸟）用嘴整理（羽毛）( preen的现在分词 ) | |
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40
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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41
fumes
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| n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体 | |
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42
encompassing
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| v.围绕( encompass的现在分词 )；包围；包含；包括 | |
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43
demons
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| n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念 | |
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44
marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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45
scantily
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| adv.缺乏地；不充足地；吝啬地；狭窄地 | |
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46
alluring
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| adj.吸引人的，迷人的 | |
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47
innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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48
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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49
defiant
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| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
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50
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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51
giggle
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| n.痴笑，咯咯地笑；v.咯咯地笑着说 | |
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52
innate
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| adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的 | |
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53
crumbled
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| （把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏 | |
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