The girl stood swaying while he told how the night had betrayed them, how he had wrought5 incredible feats6 of valor7 before the shifting tide of battle had spewed him out the end of the sunken road and left him half dead in the grass. Asensio had lain there until, finding himself growing stronger, he had burrowed8 into a tangle9 of vines at the foot of a wall, where he had remained until the fighting ceased. When the Spaniards had finally discovered their mistake and had ceased riding one another down, when lights came and he heard Colonel Cobo cursing them like one insane, he had wriggled10 away, crossed the calzada, and hidden in the woods until dawn. He had been walking ever since; he had come home to die.
Rosa heard only parts of the story, for her mind was numbed11, her heart frozen. Her emotion was too deep for tears, it paralyzed her for the time being; she merely stood staring, her dark eyes glazed12, her ashen13 lips apart. Finally something snapped, and she knew nothing more until hours afterward14, when she found herself upon her comfortless bed with Evangelina bending over her. All night she had lain inert15, in a merciful stupor16; it was not until the next morning that she gradually came out of her coma17.
Then it was that the negress was really alarmed, fearing that if the girl did rally her mind would be affected18. But Rosa was young and, despite her fragility of form, she was strong—too strong, it seemed to her, and possessed19 of too deep a capacity for suffering. How she ever survived those next few days, days when she prayed hourly to die, was a mystery. And when she found that she could at last shed tears, what agony! The bond between her and Esteban had been stronger than usually exists between sister and brother; he had been her other self; in him she had centered her love, her pride, her ambition. The two had never quarreled; no angry word had ever passed between them: their mutual20 understanding, moreover, had been almost more than human, and where the one was concerned the other had been utterly21 unselfish. To lose Esteban, therefore, split the girl's soul and heart asunder22; she felt that she could not stand without him. Born into the world at the same hour, welded into unity23 by their mother's supreme24 pain, the boy and girl were of the same flesh and spirit; they were animated25 by the same life-current. Never had the one been ill but that the other had suffered corresponding symptoms; never had the one been sad or gay but that the other had felt a like reaction. Personalities26 so closely knit together are not uncommon27, and to sever28 them is often dangerous.
Into Rosa's life, however, there had come one interest which she could not share with her twin—that was her love for O'Reilly. Spanish-reared women, as a rule, do not play with love; when it comes they welcome it, even though it be that first infatuation so often scorned by older, colder people. So it was with Rosa Varona. Whatever might have been the true nature of her first feeling for the Irish-American, suffering and meditation29 had deepened and strengthened it into a mature and genuine passion. As the wise men of old found wisdom in cave or desert, so Rosa in her solitude30 had learned the truth about herself. Now, in the hour of her extremity31, thoughts of O'Reilly acted as a potent32 medicine. Her hungry yearning33 for him and her faith in his coming stimulated34 her desire to live, and so aided her recovery.
The day arrived when her brain was normal and when she could creep about the hut. But she was only the ghost of the girl she had been; she seldom spoke35, and she never smiled. She sat for hours staring out into the sunshine, and when she found tears upon her cheeks she was surprised, for it seemed to her that she must long ago have shed the very last.
Asensio, likewise recovered, but he, too, was sadly changed. There was no longer any martial36 spirit in him; he feared the Spaniards, and tales of their atrocities37 cowed him.
Then Cobo came into the Yumuri. The valley, already well-nigh deserted38, was filled to the brim with smoke from burning fields and houses, and through it the sun showed like a copper39 shield. Refugees passed the bohio, bound farther into the hills, and Asensio told the two women that he and they must also go. So the three gathered up what few things they could carry on their backs and fled.
They did not stop until they had gained the fastnesses of the Pan de Matanzas. Here they built a shelter and again took up the problem of living, which was now more difficult than ever.
Asensio would not have been greatly inconvenienced by the change had he been alone, for certain fruits grew wild in the forests, and the earth, where the Spaniards had not trod, was full of roots upon which a creature of his primitive40 habits could have managed to live. But hampered41 as he was by two women, one of whom was as delicate as a flower, Asensio found his task extremely difficult. And it grew daily more difficult; for there were other people here in the woods, and, moreover, the country round about was being steadily42 scoured43 by the enemy, who had orders to destroy every living, growing thing that was capable of sustaining human life. Stock was butchered and left to rot, trees were cut down, root-fields burned. Weyler's policy of frightfulness44 was in full sway, and starvation was driving its reluctant victims into his net. Meanwhile roving bands of guerrillas searched out and killed the stronger and the more tenacious45 families.
The Pan de Matanzas, so called because of its resemblance to a mighty46 loaf of bread, became a mockery to the hungry people cowering47 in its shelter. Bread! Rosa Varona could not remember when she had last tasted such a luxury. Raw cane48, cocoanuts, the tasteless fruita bomba, roots, the pith from palm tops, these were her articles of diet, and she did not thrive upon them. She was always more or less hungry. She was ragged49, too, and she shivered miserably50 through the long, chill nights. Rosa could measure the change in her appearance only by studying her reflection from the surface of the spring where she drew water, but she could see that she had become very thin, and she judged that the color had entirely51 gone from her cheeks. It saddened her, for O'Reilly's sake.
Time came when Asensio spoke of giving up the struggle and going in. They were gradually starving, he said, and Rosa was ill; the risk of discovery was ever present. It was better to go while they had the strength than slowly but surely to perish here. He had heard that there were twenty thousand reconcentrados in Matanzas; in such a crowd they could easily manage to hide themselves; they would at least be fed along with the others.
No one had told Asensio that the Government was leaving its prisoners to shift for themselves, supplying them with not a pound of food nor a square inch of shelter.
Evangelina at first demurred52 to this idea, declaring that Rosa would never be allowed to reach the city, since the roads were patrolled by lawless bands of troops. Nevertheless her husband continued to argue. Rosa herself took no part in the discussion, for it did not greatly matter to her whether she stayed or went.
Misery53 bred desperation at last; Evangelina's courage failed her, and she allowed herself to be won over. She began her preparations by disguising Rosa. Gathering54 herbs and berries, she made a stain with which she colored the girl's face and body, then she sewed a bundle of leaves into the back of Rosa's waist so that when the latter stooped her shoulders and walked with a stick her appearance of deformity was complete.
On the night before their departure Rosa Varona prayed long and earnestly, asking little for herself, but much for the two black people who had suffered so much for her. She prayed also that O'Reilly would come before it was too late.
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1
frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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miraculous
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| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
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feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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feats
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| 功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 ) | |
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valor
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| n.勇气，英勇 | |
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burrowed
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| v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的过去式和过去分词 )；翻寻 | |
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tangle
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| n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱 | |
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10
wriggled
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| v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的过去式和过去分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等） | |
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11
numbed
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| v.使麻木，使麻痹( numb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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12
glazed
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| adj.光滑的，像玻璃的；上过釉的；呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式)；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神 | |
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13
ashen
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| adj.灰的 | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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inert
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| adj.无活动能力的，惰性的；迟钝的 | |
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stupor
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| v.昏迷；不省人事 | |
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coma
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| n.昏迷，昏迷状态 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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asunder
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| adj.分离的，化为碎片 | |
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unity
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| n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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personalities
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| n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 ) | |
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uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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sever
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| v.切开，割开；断绝，中断 | |
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meditation
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| n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录 | |
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30
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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31
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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32
potent
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| adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的 | |
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yearning
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| a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的 | |
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stimulated
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| a.刺激的 | |
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35
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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36
martial
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| adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的 | |
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atrocities
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| n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪 | |
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38
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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39
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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40
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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41
hampered
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| 妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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42
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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43
scoured
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| 走遍（某地）搜寻（人或物）( scour的过去式和过去分词 )； （用力）刷； 擦净； 擦亮 | |
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44
frightfulness
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| 可怕； 丑恶； 讨厌； 恐怖政策 | |
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45
tenacious
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| adj.顽强的，固执的，记忆力强的，粘的 | |
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46
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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47
cowering
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| v.畏缩，抖缩( cower的现在分词 ) | |
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48
cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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49
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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50
miserably
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| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
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51
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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52
demurred
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| v.表示异议，反对( demur的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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53
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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54
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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