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X FOR A LONG DRIVE
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 Betty Harris sat very still—her hands in her lap, her face lifted to the breeze that touched it swiftly and fingered her hair and swept past. Presently she looked up with a nod—as if the breeze reminded her. “I should like to see Mr. Achilles,” she said.
 
“Not to-day,” answered Miss Stone, “we must do the errands for mother to-day, you know.”
 
The child’s face fell. “I wanted to see Mr. Achilles,” she said simply. She sat very quiet, her eyes on the lake. When she looked up, the eyes had brimmed over.
 
“I didn’t mean to,” said the child. She was searching for her handkerchief and the little cherries bobbed forward. “I didn’t know they would spill!” She had found the handkerchief now and was wiping them away, and she smiled at Miss Stone—a brave smile—that was going to be happy—
 
Miss Stone smiled back, with a little head-shake. “Foolish, Betty!”
 
“I didn’t expect them,” said the child, “I was just thinking about Mr. Achilles and they came—just came!—They just came!” she repeated sternly. She gave a final dab1 to the handkerchief and stowed it away, sitting very erect2 and still.
 
Miss Stone’s eyes studied her face. “We cannot go to-day,” she said, “—and to-morrow we start for the country. Perhaps—” she paused, thinking it out.
 
But the child’s eyes took it up—and danced. “He can make us a visit,” she said, nodding—“a visit of three weeks!” She smiled happily.
 
Miss Stone smiled back, shaking her head. “He could not leave the fruit-shop—”
 
But the child ignored it. “He will come,” she said quickly, “and we shall talk—and talk—about the gods, you know—” She lifted her eyes, “and we shall go in the fields—He will come!” She drew a deep sigh of satisfaction and lifted her head.
 
And Miss Stone, watching her, had a feeling of quick relief. She had known for a day or two that the child was not well, and they had hurried to get away to the fields. This was their last drive. To-morrow the horses would be sent on; and the next day they would all go—in the great touring car that would eat up the miles, and pass the horses, and reach Idlewood long before them.
 
No one except Betty and Miss Stone used the horses now. They would have been sold long ago had it not been for the child. The carriage was a part of her—and the clicking hoofs3 and soft-shining skins and arching necks. The sound of the hoofs on the pavement played little tunes4 for Betty. Her mother had protested against expense, and her father had grumbled5 a little; but if the child wanted a carriage rather than the great car that could whir her away in a breath, it must be kept.
 
It made a pretty picture this morning as it turned into the busier street and took its way among the dark, snorting cars that pushed and sped. It was like a delicate dream that shimmered7 and touched the pavement—or like a breath of the past... and the great cars skimmed around it and pushed on with quick honk8 and left it far behind.
 
But the carriage kept its way with unhurried rhythm—into the busy street and out again into a long avenue where great houses of cement and grey stone stood guard.
 
No one was in sight, up and down its clear length—only the morning sun shining on the grey stones and on the pavement—and the little jingling9 in the harness and the joyous10 child and the quiet grey woman beside her.
 
“I shall not be gone a minute, Betty,” said Miss Stone. The carriage had drawn11 up before the great shadow of a house. She gave the child’s hand a little pat and stepped from the carriage.
 
But at the door there was a minute’s question and, with a nod to Betty, she stepped inside.
 
When the door opened again, and she came out with quick step she glanced at her watch—the errand had taken more than its minute, and there were others to be done, and they were late. She lifted her eyes to the carriage—and stopped.
 
The coachman, from the corner of his eye, waited for orders. But Miss Stone did not stir. Her glance swept the quiet street and came back to the carriage—standing with empty cushions in the shadow of the house.
 
The coachman turned a stolid12 eye and caught a glimpse of her face and wheeled quickly—his eye searching space. “There wa’n’t nobody!” he said. He almost shouted it, and his big hands gripped hard on the reins13.... His face was grey—“There wa’n’t nobody here!” he repeated dully.
 
But Miss Stone did not look at him. “Drive to the Greek’s. You know—where she went before.” She would not give herself time to think—sitting a little forward on the seat—of course the child had gone to the Greek—to Mr. Achilles.... They should find her in a minute. There was nothing else to think about—no shadowy fear that had leaped to meet the look in James’s face when it turned to her. The child would be there—
 
The carriage drew up before the shop, with its glowing lines of fruit under the striped awning14, and Miss Stone had descended15 before the wheel scraped the curb16, her glance searching the door and the dim room beyond. She halted on the threshold, peering in.
 
A man came from the rear of the room, his hands outstretched to serve her. The dark, clear face, with its Greek lines, and the eyes that looked out at her held a welcome. “You do me honour,” he said. “I hope Madame is well—and the little Lady—?” Then he stopped. Something in Miss Stone’s face held him—and his hand groped a little, reaching toward her—“You—tell me—” he said.
 
But she did not speak, and the look in her face grew very still.
 
He turned sharply—calling into the shop behind him, and a boy came running, his eyes flashing a quick laugh, his teeth glinting.
 
“I go,” said the man, with quick gesture—“You keep shop—I go.” He had taken off his white apron17 and seized a hat. He touched the woman on the shoulder. “Come,” he said.
 
She looked at him with dazed glance and put her hand to her head. “I cannot think,” she said slowly.
 
He nodded with steady glance. “When we go, you tell—we find her,” he said.
 
She started then and looked at him—and the clear colour came to her face. “You know—where—she is!”
 
But he shook his head. “We find her,” he repeated. “You tell.”
 
And as they threaded the streets—into drays and past clanging cars and through the tangle18 of wheels and horses and noise—and she told him the story, shouting it above the rumble6 and hurry of the streets, into the dark ear that bent19 beside her.
 
The look in Achilles’s face deepened, but its steady quiet did not change. “We find her,” he repeated each time, and Miss Stone’s heart caught the rhythm of it, under the hateful noise. “We find her.”
 
Then the great house on the lake faced them.
 
She looked at him a minute in doubt. Her face broke—“She may have come—home?” she said.
 
“I go with you,” said Achilles.
 
There was no sign of life, but the door swung open before them and they went into the great hall—up the long stairway that echoed only vacant softness, and into the library with its ranging rows of perfect books. She motioned him before her. “I must tell them,” she said. She passed through the draperies of another door and the silence of the great house settled itself about the man and waited with him.
 
 
 

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 dab jvHzPy     
v.轻触,轻拍,轻涂;n.(颜料等的)轻涂
参考例句:
  • She returned wearing a dab of rouge on each cheekbone.她回来时,两边面颊上涂有一点淡淡的胭脂。
  • She gave me a dab of potatoes with my supper.她给我晚饭时,还给了一点土豆。
2 erect 4iLzm     
n./v.树立,建立,使竖立;adj.直立的,垂直的
参考例句:
  • She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头,把背挺得笔直。
  • Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。
3 hoofs ffcc3c14b1369cfeb4617ce36882c891     
n.(兽的)蹄,马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.(兽的)蹄,马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • The stamp of the horse's hoofs on the wooden floor was loud. 马蹄踏在木头地板上的声音很响。 来自辞典例句
  • The noise of hoofs called him back to the other window. 马蹄声把他又唤回那扇窗子口。 来自辞典例句
4 tunes 175b0afea09410c65d28e4b62c406c21     
n.曲调,曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 );调整;(给收音机、电视等)调谐;使协调
参考例句:
  • a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
  • When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时,她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 grumbled ed735a7f7af37489d7db1a9ef3b64f91     
抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 ); 发牢骚; 咕哝; 发哼声
参考例句:
  • He grumbled at the low pay offered to him. 他抱怨给他的工资低。
  • The heat was sweltering, and the men grumbled fiercely over their work. 天热得让人发昏,水手们边干活边发着牢骚。
6 rumble PCXzd     
n.隆隆声;吵嚷;v.隆隆响;低沉地说
参考例句:
  • I hear the rumble of thunder in the distance.我听到远处雷声隆隆。
  • We could tell from the rumble of the thunder that rain was coming.我们根据雷的轰隆声可断定,天要下雨了。
7 shimmered 7b85656359fe70119e38fa62825e4f8b     
v.闪闪发光,发微光( shimmer的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The sea shimmered in the sunlight. 阳光下海水闪烁着微光。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • A heat haze shimmered above the fields. 田野上方微微闪烁着一层热气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 honk TdizI     
n.雁叫声,汽车喇叭声
参考例句:
  • Don't honk the horn indiscriminately.不要乱鸣喇叭!
  • While passing another vehicle,you must honk your horn.通过另一部车时必须鸣按喇叭。
9 jingling 966ec027d693bb9739d1c4843be19b9f     
叮当声
参考例句:
  • A carriage went jingling by with some reclining figure in it. 一辆马车叮当驶过,车上斜倚着一个人。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
  • Melanie did not seem to know, or care, that life was riding by with jingling spurs. 媚兰好像并不知道,或者不关心,生活正马刺丁当地一路驶过去了呢。
10 joyous d3sxB     
adj.充满快乐的;令人高兴的
参考例句:
  • The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
  • They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。
11 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
12 stolid VGFzC     
adj.无动于衷的,感情麻木的
参考例句:
  • Her face showed nothing but stolid indifference.她的脸上毫无表情,只有麻木的无动于衷。
  • He conceals his feelings behind a rather stolid manner.他装作无动于衷的样子以掩盖自己的感情。
13 reins 370afc7786679703b82ccfca58610c98     
感情,激情; 缰( rein的名词复数 ); 控制手段; 掌管; (成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的)保护带
参考例句:
  • She pulled gently on the reins. 她轻轻地拉着缰绳。
  • The government has imposed strict reins on the import of luxury goods. 政府对奢侈品的进口有严格的控制手段。
14 awning LeVyZ     
n.遮阳篷;雨篷
参考例句:
  • A large green awning is set over the glass window to shelter against the sun.在玻璃窗上装了个绿色的大遮棚以遮挡阳光。
  • Several people herded under an awning to get out the shower.几个人聚集在门栅下避阵雨
15 descended guQzoy     
a.为...后裔的,出身于...的
参考例句:
  • A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
  • The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。
16 curb LmRyy     
n.场外证券市场,场外交易;vt.制止,抑制
参考例句:
  • I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
  • You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。
17 apron Lvzzo     
n.围裙;工作裙
参考例句:
  • We were waited on by a pretty girl in a pink apron.招待我们的是一位穿粉红色围裙的漂亮姑娘。
  • She stitched a pocket on the new apron.她在新围裙上缝上一只口袋。
18 tangle yIQzn     
n.纠缠;缠结;混乱;v.(使)缠绕;变乱
参考例句:
  • I shouldn't tangle with Peter.He is bigger than me.我不应该与彼特吵架。他的块头比我大。
  • If I were you, I wouldn't tangle with them.我要是你,我就不跟他们争吵。
19 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。


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