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XXVIII INSIDE THE LITTLE HOUSE
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 The two figures amid the rows of the marked garden paused, in the enveloping1 dusk, and leaned on their hoes, and listened—a low, peevish2 whistle, like the call of a night-jar, on the plain, came to them. Presently the call repeated itself—three wavering notes—and they shouldered their hoes and moved toward the little house.
 
The old man emerged from the gloom, coming toward them. “What was it?” asked one of the figures quickly.
 
The old man chuckled3. “Stole a racer—that’s about all they knew—you got off easy!” He was peering toward them.
 
The larger of the two figures straightened itself. “I am sick of it—I tell you!—my back’s broke!” He moved himself in the dusk, stretching out his great arms and looking about him vaguely4.
 
The old man eyed him shrewdly. “You’re earning a good pile,” he said.
 
“Yes, one-seventy-five a day!” The man laughed a little.
 
The other man had not spoken. He slipped forward through the dusk. “Supper ready?” he asked.
 
They followed him into the house, stopping in an entry to wash their hands and remove their heavy shoes. Through the door opening to a room beyond, a woman could be seen, moving briskly, and the smell of cooking floated out. They sniffed6 at it hungrily.
 
The woman came to the door. “Hurry up, boys—everything’s done to death!”
 
They came in hastily, with half-dried hands, and she looked at them—a laugh in her round, keen face. “You have had a day!” she said. She was tall and angular, and her face had a sudden roundness—a kind of motherly, Dutch doll, set on its high, lean frame. Her body moved in soft jerks.
 
She heaped up the plates with quick hands, and watched the men while they ate. For a time no one spoke5. The old man went to the cellar and brought up a great mug of beer, and they filled their pipes and sat smoking and sipping7 the beer stolidly8. The windows were open to the air and the shades were up. Any one passing on the long road, over the plain, might look in on them. The woman toasted a piece of bread and moistened it with a little milk and put it, with a glass of milk, on a small tray. The men’s eyes followed her, indifferent. They watched her lift the tray and carry it to a door at the back of the room, and disappear.
 
They smoked on in silence.
 
The old man reached out for his glass. He lifted it. “Two weeks—and three more days,” he said. He sipped9 the beer slowly.
 
The larger of the two men nodded. He had dark, regular features and reddish hair. He looked heavy and tired. He opened his lips vaguely.
 
“Don’t talk here!” said the younger man sharply—and he gave a quick glance at the room—as a weasel returns to cover, in a narrow place.
 
The big man smiled. “I wa’n’t going to say anything.”
 
“Better not!” said the other. He cleared his pipe with his little finger. “I don’t even think,” he added softly.
 
The woman had come back with the tray and the men looked up, smoking.
 
She set the tray down by the sink and came over to them, standing10 with both hands on her high hips11. She regarded them gravely and glanced at the tray. The milk and toast were untouched.
 
The old man removed his pipe and looked at her plaintively12. “Can’t ye make her, Lena?” he said. His high voice had a shrill13 note.
 
She shook her head. “I can’t do anything—not anything more.”
 
She moved away and began to gather up the dishes from the table, clearing it with swift jerks. She paused a moment and leaned over—the platter in her hand half-lifted from its place. “She needs the air,” she said, “and to run about—she’s sick—shut up like that!” She lifted the platter and carried it to the sink, a troubled look in her eyes. “I won’t be responsible for her—not much longer,” she said slowly, as she set it down, “not if she doesn’t get down in the air.”
 
The men looked at each other in silence. The old man got up. “Time to go to bed—” he said slowly.
 
They filed out of the room. The woman’s eyes followed them. Presently the door opened and the younger man returned, with soft, quick steps. He looked at her. “I want to talk,” he said.
 
“In a minute,” she replied. She nodded toward the cellar. “The lantern’s down there—you go along.”
 
He opened the door and stepped cautiously into blackness, and she heard a quick, scratching match on the plaster behind the closed door, and his feet descending14 the stairs.
 
She drew forward the kettle on the stove and replenished15 the fire, and blew out the hand lamp on the table. Then she groped her way to the cellar door, opening it with noiseless touch.
 
The young man waited below, impatient. On a huge barrel near by, the lantern cast a yellow circle on the blackness.
 
The woman approached it, her high-stepping figure flung in shadowy movement along the wall behind her.
 
“You can’t back out now!” He spoke quickly. “You’re weakening! And you’ve got to brace16 up—do you hear?”
 
The woman’s round face smiled—over the light on the barrel. “I’m all right,” she said. She hesitated a minute.... “It’s the child that’s not all right,” she added slowly. “And tonight I got scared—yes—” She waited a breath.
 
“What’s the matter?” he said roughly.
 
She waited again. “She wasn’t like flesh and blood to-night,” she said slowly. “I felt as if a breath would blow her out—” She drew her hand quickly across her eyes. “I’ve got fond of the little thing, John—I can’t seem to have her hurt!”
 
“Who’s hurting her?” said the man sharply. “You take care of her—and she’s all right.”
 
“I can’t, John. She needs the outdoors. She’s like a little bird up there—shut up!”
 
“Then let her out—” said the man savagely17. “Let her out—up there!” His lifted hand pointed18 to the plain about them—in open scorn. He leaned forward and spoke more persuasively19, close to her ear—“We can’t back out now—” he said, “the child knows too much!” He gave the barrel beside them a significant tap. “We couldn’t use this plant again—six years—digging it—and waiting and starving!” He struck the barrel sharply. “I tell you we’ve got to put it through! You keep her out of sight!”
 
“Her own mother wouldn’t know her—” said the woman slowly.
 
He met the look—and waited.
 
“I tell you, I’ve done everything,” she said with quick passion. “I’ve fed her and amused her and told her stories—I don’t dare keep her any longer!” She touched the barrel beside them—“I tell you, you might as well put her under that.... You’ll put her under for good—if you don’t look out!” she said significantly.
 
“All right,” said the man sullenly20, “what do you want?”
 
She was smiling again—the round, keen smile, on its high frame. “Let her breathe a bit—like a child—and run out in the sun. The sun will cure her!” she added quickly.
 
“All right—if you take the risk—a hundred-thousand-dollars—and your own daughter thrown to the devil—if we lose—!... You know that!”
 
“I know that, John—I want the money—more than you want it!” She spoke with quick, fierce loyalty21. “I’d give my life for Mollie—or to keep her straight—but I can’t kill a child to keep her straight—not this child—to keep her straight!” Her queer, round face worked, against the yellow light.
 
He looked at it, half contemptuously, and turned to the barrel.
 
“See if everything’s all right,” he said. “If we’re going to take risks—we’ve got to be ready.”
 
The woman lifted the lantern, and he pushed against the barrel. It yielded to his weight—the upper part turning slowly on a pivot22. Something inside swashed against the sides as it turned. The man bent23 over the hole and peered in. He stepped down cautiously, feeling with his foot and disappearing, inch by inch, into the opening. The woman held the light above him, looking down with quick, tense eyes... a hand reached up to her, out of the hole, beckoning24 for the lantern and she knelt down, guiding it toward the waving fingers. A sound of something creaking—a hinge half turned—caught her breath—and she leaned forward, blowing at the lantern. She got quickly to her feet and groped for the swinging barrel, turning it swiftly over the hole—the liquid chugged softly against its side—and stopped. Her breath listened up into the darkness. The door above creaked again softly—and a shuffling25 foot groped at the stair. “You down there—Lena?” called an old voice.
 
She laughed out softly, moving toward the stair. “Go to bed, father.”
 
“What you doing down there?” asked the old voice in the darkness.
 
“Testing the barrel,” said the woman. “John’s gone down.” She came to the foot of the stair. “You go to bed, father—”
 
“You better come to bed—all of ye,” grumbled26 the old man.
 
“We’re coming—in a minute.” She heard his hand fumble27 at the door—and it creaked again—softly—and closed.
 
She groped her way back to the barrel, waiting beside it in the darkness.
 
 

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1 enveloping 5a761040aff524df1fe0cf8895ed619d     
v.包围,笼罩,包住( envelop的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Always the eyes watching you and the voice enveloping you. 那眼睛总是死死盯着你,那声音总是紧紧围着你。 来自英汉文学
  • The only barrier was a mosquito net, enveloping the entire bed. 唯一的障碍是那顶蚊帐罩住整个床。 来自辞典例句
2 peevish h35zj     
adj.易怒的,坏脾气的
参考例句:
  • A peevish child is unhappy and makes others unhappy.一个脾气暴躁的孩子自己不高兴也使别人不高兴。
  • She glared down at me with a peevish expression on her face.她低头瞪着我,一脸怒气。
3 chuckled 8ce1383c838073977a08258a1f3e30f8     
轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
  • She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情,她就轻轻地暗自发笑。
4 vaguely BfuzOy     
adv.含糊地,暖昧地
参考例句:
  • He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
  • He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面,对一切都视而不见。
5 spoke XryyC     
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
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
6 sniffed ccb6bd83c4e9592715e6230a90f76b72     
v.以鼻吸气,嗅,闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 );抽鼻子(尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气);抱怨,不以为然地说
参考例句:
  • When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣,吸了吸鼻子,擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 sipping e7d80fb5edc3b51045def1311858d0ae     
v.小口喝,呷,抿( sip的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • She sat in the sun, idly sipping a cool drink. 她坐在阳光下懒洋洋地抿着冷饮。
  • She sat there, sipping at her tea. 她坐在那儿抿着茶。
8 stolidly 3d5f42d464d711b8c0c9ea4ca88895e6     
adv.迟钝地,神经麻木地
参考例句:
  • Too often people sat stolidly watching the noisy little fiddler. 人们往往不动声色地坐在那里,瞧着这位瘦小的提琴手闹腾一番。 来自辞典例句
  • He dropped into a chair and sat looking stolidly at the floor. 他坐在椅子上,两眼呆呆地望着地板。 来自辞典例句
9 sipped 22d1585d494ccee63c7bff47191289f6     
v.小口喝,呷,抿( sip的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He sipped his coffee pleasurably. 他怡然地品味着咖啡。
  • I sipped the hot chocolate she had made. 我小口喝着她调制的巧克力热饮。 来自辞典例句
10 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
11 hips f8c80f9a170ee6ab52ed1e87054f32d4     
abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯,耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 );[建筑学]屋脊;臀围(尺寸);臀部…的
参考例句:
  • She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
  • They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 plaintively 46a8d419c0b5a38a2bee07501e57df53     
adv.悲哀地,哀怨地
参考例句:
  • The last note of the song rang out plaintively. 歌曲最后道出了离别的哀怨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Birds cry plaintively before they die, men speak kindly in the presence of death. 鸟之将死,其鸣也哀;人之将死,其言也善。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
13 shrill EEize     
adj.尖声的;刺耳的;v尖叫
参考例句:
  • Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
  • The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。
14 descending descending     
n. 下行 adj. 下降的
参考例句:
  • The results are expressed in descending numerical order . 结果按数字降序列出。
  • The climbers stopped to orient themselves before descending the mountain. 登山者先停下来确定所在的位置,然后再下山。
15 replenished 9f0ecb49d62f04f91bf08c0cab1081e5     
补充( replenish的过去式和过去分词 ); 重新装满
参考例句:
  • She replenished her wardrobe. 她添置了衣服。
  • She has replenished a leather [fur] coat recently. 她最近添置了一件皮袄。
16 brace 0WzzE     
n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备
参考例句:
  • My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
  • You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。
17 savagely 902f52b3c682f478ddd5202b40afefb9     
adv. 野蛮地,残酷地
参考例句:
  • The roses had been pruned back savagely. 玫瑰被狠狠地修剪了一番。
  • He snarled savagely at her. 他向她狂吼起来。
18 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
19 persuasively 24849db8bac7f92da542baa5598b1248     
adv.口才好地;令人信服地
参考例句:
  • Students find that all historians argue reasonably and persuasively. 学生们发现所有的历史学家都争论得有条有理,并且很有说服力。 来自辞典例句
  • He spoke a very persuasively but I smelled a rat and refused his offer. 他说得头头是道,但我觉得有些可疑,于是拒绝了他的建议。 来自辞典例句
20 sullenly f65ccb557a7ca62164b31df638a88a71     
不高兴地,绷着脸,忧郁地
参考例句:
  • 'so what?" Tom said sullenly. “那又怎么样呢?”汤姆绷着脸说。
  • Emptiness after the paper, I sIt'sullenly in front of the stove. 报看完,想不出能找点什么事做,只好一人坐在火炉旁生气。
21 loyalty gA9xu     
n.忠诚,忠心
参考例句:
  • She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
  • His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。
22 pivot E2rz6     
v.在枢轴上转动;装枢轴,枢轴;adj.枢轴的
参考例句:
  • She is the central pivot of creation and represents the feminine aspect in all things.她是创造的中心枢轴,表现出万物的女性面貌。
  • If a spring is present,the hand wheel will pivot on the spring.如果有弹簧,手轮的枢轴会装在弹簧上。
23 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。
24 beckoning fcbc3f0e8d09c5f29e4c5759847d03d6     
adj.引诱人的,令人心动的v.(用头或手的动作)示意,召唤( beckon的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • An even more beautiful future is beckoning us on. 一个更加美好的未来在召唤我们继续前进。 来自辞典例句
  • He saw a youth of great radiance beckoning to him. 他看见一个丰神飘逸的少年向他招手。 来自辞典例句
25 shuffling 03b785186d0322e5a1a31c105fc534ee     
adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • Don't go shuffling along as if you were dead. 别像个死人似地拖着脚走。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
  • Some one was shuffling by on the sidewalk. 外面的人行道上有人拖着脚走过。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
26 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。
27 fumble P6byh     
vi.笨拙地用手摸、弄、接等,摸索
参考例句:
  • His awkwardness made him fumble with the key.由于尴尬不安,他拿钥匙开锁时显得笨手笨脚。
  • He fumbled his one-handed attempt to light his cigarette.他笨拙地想用一只手点燃香烟。


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