“I want the Greek boy,” she said, “send him to me!”
“Yes, madame.” Marie’s voice hurried itself away... and Alcibiades stood in the doorway12, looking in.
The woman turned to him—a little comfort shining in the sleepless13 eyes. “Come in,” she said, “I want to talk to you—tell me about Athens—the sun shines there!” She glanced again at the hearth and shivered.
The boy came in, flashing a gleam through the dark day. The little sadness of the night before had gone. He was alive and lithe14 and happy. He came over to her, smiling... and she looked at him curiously15. “What have you been doing all day?” she asked.
“I play,” said Alcibiades, “I play—on flute—” His fingers made little music gestures at his lips, and fell away. “And I—run—” he said, “I go in rain—and run—and come in.” He shook his dark head. Little gleams of moisture shone from it. The earth seemed to breathe about him.
She drew a quick breath. “You shall tell me,” she said, “but not here.” She glanced about the room filled with sickness and wild thoughts—not even the boy’s presence dispelled16 them. “We will go away somewhere—to the gallery,” she said quickly, “it is lighter17 there and I have not been there—for weeks.” Her voice dropped a little.
The boy followed her through the hall, across a covered way, to the gallery that held the gems—and the refuse—that Philip Harris had gathered up from the world. She looked about her with a proud, imperious gesture. She knew—better now than when the pictures were purchased—which ones were good, and which were very bad; but she could not interfere18 with the gallery. It was Philip’s own place in the house. It had been his fancy—to buy pictures—when the money came pouring in faster than they could spend it—and the gallery was his own private venture—his gymnasium in culture! She smiled a little. Over there, a great canvas had been taken down and carted off to make room for the little Monticelli in its place. He was learning—yes! But she could not bring guests to the gallery when they came to Idlewood for the day. If he would only let a connoisseur19 go through the place and pick out the best ones—the gallery was not so bad! She looked about her with curious, tolerant smile.
The boy’s gaze followed hers. He had not been in this big room, with the high-reaching skylight, and the vari-coloured pictures and grey walls. His dark eyes went everywhere—and flashed smiles and brought a touch-stone to the place. Eyes trained to the Acropolis were on the pictures; and the temples of the gods spoke20 in swift words or laughed out in quick surprise.
The mistress of the house followed him, with amused step. If Phil could only hear it! She must manage somehow—Phil was too shrewd and practical not to see how true the boy was—and how keen! That great Thing—over the fireplace—Chicago on her throne, with the nations prostrate21 before her—how the boy wondered and chuckled—and questioned her—and brought the colour to her face!... Philip had stood before the picture by the hour—entranced; the man who painted it had made a key to go with it, and Philip Harris knew the meaning of every line and figure—and he gloried and wallowed in it. “That is a picture with some sense in it!” was his proudest word, standing22 before it and waving his hand at the vision on her throne. She was a lovely lady—a little like his wife, Philip Harris thought. Perhaps the artist had not been unaware23 of this. Certainly Mrs. Philip Harris knew it, and loathed24 the Thing. The boy’s words were like music to her soul, under the skylight with the rain dripping softly down. She had thought of covering the Thing up—a velvet25 curtain, perhaps. But she had not quite dared yet.... Across the room another picture was covered by a curtain—the velvet folds sweeping26 straight in front of it, and covering it from top to bottom. Only the rim27 of the gilt28 frame that reached to the ceiling, glimmered29 about the blue folds of the curtain. The boy’s eyes had rested on the curtained picture as they passed before it, but Mrs. Philip Harris had not turned her head. She felt the boy’s eyes now—they had wandered to it again, and he stood with half-parted lips, as if something behind the curtain called to him. She touched him subtly and drew his attention—and he followed her a minute... then his attention wandered and he gazed at the deep folds in the curtain with troubled eyes. She hesitated a moment—and her hand trembled. It was as if the curtain were calling her, too, and she moved toward it, the boy beside her.... They did not speak—they moved blindly and paused a breath... the rain falling on the skylight. The boy flashed a smile to her. “I have not see it,” he said.
She reached out her hand then and drew back the curtain. “It is Betty—my little girl—” she said, “she has gone away—” She was talking aimlessly—to steady her hands. But the boy did not hear her—he had stumbled a little—and his eyes were on the picture—searching the roguish smile, the wide eyes, the straight, true little figure that seemed stepping toward them—out from behind the curtain.... The mother’s eyes feasted on it a moment hungrily and she turned to the boy. But he did not see—his gaze was on the picture—and he took a step—and looked—and drew his hand across his eyes with a little breath. Then he reached out his hands, “—I—see—her,” he said swiftly. “She look at me—on ground—she cry—” His face worked a minute—then it grew quiet and he turned it toward her. “I see—her,” he repeated slowly.
She had seized his shoulder and was questioning him, forcing him toward the picture, calling the words into his ear as if he were deaf, or far away—and the boy responded slowly—truly, each word lighting30 up the scene for her—the great car crashing upon him, the overthrow31 of his cart, the scattered32 fruit on the ground, and the Greek boy crawling toward it—thrust forward as the car pushed by—and his swift, upward glance of the girl’s face as it flashed past, and of the men holding her between them—“She cry,” he said—as if he saw the vision again before him. “She cry—and they stop—hands.” He placed both hands across his mouth, shutting out words and cry.
And the mother fondled him and cried to him and questioned him again. She had no fear—no knowledge of what might hang in the balance—of the delicate grey matter that trembled at her strokes... no surgeon would have dared question so sternly, so unsparingly. But the delicate brain held itself steady and the boy’s eyes were turned to her—piecing her broken words, answering them before they came—as if she drew them forth33 at will—
The door opened and she looked up and sprang forward. “Listen, Phil. He saw Betty!” Her hand trembled to the boy. “He saw her—that last day—it must be—tell him, Alcie—”
The boy was looking at him smiling quietly, and nodding to him.
Philip Harris closed the door with set face.
点击收听单词发音
1 drenched | |
adj.湿透的;充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 );在某人(某物)上大量使用(某液体) | |
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2 foul | |
adj.污秽的;邪恶的;v.弄脏;妨害;犯规;n.犯规 | |
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3 dens | |
n.牙齿,齿状部分;兽窝( den的名词复数 );窝点;休息室;书斋 | |
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4 sordidness | |
n.肮脏;污秽;卑鄙;可耻 | |
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5 coffins | |
n.棺材( coffin的名词复数 );使某人早亡[死,完蛋,垮台等]之物 | |
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6 flickered | |
(通常指灯光)闪烁,摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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7 veins | |
n.纹理;矿脉( vein的名词复数 );静脉;叶脉;纹理 | |
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8 hearth | |
n.壁炉炉床,壁炉地面 | |
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9 crouch | |
v.蹲伏,蜷缩,低头弯腰;n.蹲伏 | |
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10 crouched | |
v.屈膝,蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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11 devouring | |
吞没( devour的现在分词 ); 耗尽; 津津有味地看; 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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12 doorway | |
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径 | |
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13 sleepless | |
adj.不睡眠的,睡不著的,不休息的 | |
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14 lithe | |
adj.(指人、身体)柔软的,易弯的 | |
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15 curiously | |
adv.有求知欲地;好问地;奇特地 | |
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16 dispelled | |
v.驱散,赶跑( dispel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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17 lighter | |
n.打火机,点火器;驳船;v.用驳船运送;light的比较级 | |
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18 interfere | |
v.(in)干涉,干预;(with)妨碍,打扰 | |
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19 connoisseur | |
n.鉴赏家,行家,内行 | |
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20 spoke | |
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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21 prostrate | |
v.拜倒,平卧,衰竭;adj.拜倒的,平卧的,衰竭的 | |
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22 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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23 unaware | |
a.不知道的,未意识到的 | |
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24 loathed | |
v.憎恨,厌恶( loathe的过去式和过去分词 );极不喜欢 | |
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25 velvet | |
n.丝绒,天鹅绒;adj.丝绒制的,柔软的 | |
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26 sweeping | |
adj.范围广大的,一扫无遗的 | |
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27 rim | |
n.(圆物的)边,轮缘;边界 | |
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28 gilt | |
adj.镀金的;n.金边证券 | |
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29 glimmered | |
v.发闪光,发微光( glimmer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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30 lighting | |
n.照明,光线的明暗,舞台灯光 | |
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31 overthrow | |
v.推翻,打倒,颠覆;n.推翻,瓦解,颠覆 | |
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32 scattered | |
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的 | |
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33 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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