XVIII “ONCE—I—SAW—”

 Miss Stone sat by the boy on the lawn at Idlewood. A great canopy¹ of khaki duck was spread above them, and the boy lay on a wicker couch that could be lifted and carried from place to place as the wind or the sun, or a whim² directed.

 

Five days they had been here—every day full of sunshine and the fragrance³ of flowers from the garden that ran along the terraces from the house to the river bank, and was a riot of midsummer colour and scent⁴. The boy’s face had gained clear freshness and his eyes, fixed⁵ on Miss Stone’s face, glowed. “I like—it—here,” he said.

 

“Yes, Alcie.” Miss Stone bent⁶ toward him. “You are getting strong every day—you will soon be able to walk—to-morrow, perhaps.” She glanced at the thin legs under their light covering.

 

The boy laughed a little and moved them. “I can walk now—” he declared.

 

But she shook her head. “No, I will tell you a story.” So her voice went on and on in the summer quiet—insects buzzed faintly, playing the song of the day. Bees bumbled among the flowers and flew past, laden⁷. The boy’s eyes followed them. The shadow of a crow’s wing dropped on the grass and drifted by. The summer day held itself—and Miss Stone’s voice wove a dream through it.

 

When the boy opened his eyes again she was sitting very quiet, her hands in her lap, her eyes fixed on the river that flowed beyond the garden. The boy’s eyes studied her face. “Once—I—saw—you—” he said. His hand stole out and touched the grey dress.

 

Miss Stone started. They had waited a long time—but not for this. “Yes, Alcie, once you saw me—go on—”

 

“—saw you—in a carriage,” finished Alcie, with quick smile. “You ride straight—you—straight—now.” He looked at her with devoted⁸ eyes.

 

“Yes.” She was holding her breath, very evenly—and she did not look at him, but at the distant river. They seemed held in a charm—a word might break it.

 

The boy breathed a happy sigh—that bubbled forth⁹. “I like it—here,” he said dreamily.... Should she speak?

 

The long silence spread between them. The bird sang in the wood—a clear, mid-summer call.

 

The boy listened, and turned his eyes. “A little girl—with you then,” he said softly, “in carriage. Where is little girl?” It was the first question he had asked.

 

She swayed a little—in her grey softness—but she did not look at him, but at the river. “You would like that little girl, Alcie,” she said quietly. “We all love her. Some day you shall see her—only get well and you shall see her.” It was a soft word, like a cry, and the boy looked at her with curious eyes.

 

“I get well,” he said contentedly¹⁰, “I see her.” He slipped a hand under his cheek and lay quiet.

 

“Doing well,” said the surgeon, “couldn’t be better.” He had run down for the day and was to go back in the cool evening.

 

He stood with Philip Harris on the terrace overlooking the river. Harris threw away a stump¹¹ of cigar. “You think he will make complete recovery?”

 

“No doubt of it,” said the surgeon promptly¹².

 

“Then—?” Philip Harris turned a quick eye on him.

 

But the man shook his head. “Wait,” he said—and again, slowly, “wait.”

 

The darkness closed around them, but they did not break it. A faint questioning honk¹³ sounded, and Philip Harris turned. “The car is ready,” he said, “to take you back.”

 

 

 

1 canopy   

n.天篷，遮篷

参考例句：

• The trees formed a leafy canopy above their heads.树木在他们头顶上空形成了一个枝叶茂盛的遮篷。
• They lay down under a canopy of stars.他们躺在繁星点点的天幕下。

2 whim   

n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想

参考例句：

• I bought the encyclopedia on a whim.我凭一时的兴致买了这本百科全书。
• He had a sudden whim to go sailing today.今天他突然想要去航海。

3 fragrance   

n.芬芳，香味，香气

参考例句：

• The apple blossoms filled the air with their fragrance.苹果花使空气充满香味。
• The fragrance of lavender filled the room.房间里充满了薰衣草的香味。

4 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

5 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

6 bent   

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。

7 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

8 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

9 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

10 contentedly   

adv.心满意足地

参考例句：

• My father sat puffing contentedly on his pipe.父亲坐着心满意足地抽着烟斗。
• "This is brother John's writing,"said Sally,contentedly,as she opened the letter.

11 stump   

n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走

参考例句：

• He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
• He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

12 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

13 honk   

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。