CHAPTER XII

 As the sound of the furious voice stopped short, there fell a stricken silence upon these three men.

 

Old Carson Tinker's gaze drifted downward from his employer's face. He sat, then, gazing into the rosy¹ little fire until something upon the lapel of his coat caught his attention—a wilted² and disreputable carnation³. He threw it into the fire; and, with a sombre satisfaction, watched it sizzle. This brief pleasure ended, he became expressionless and relapsed into complete mummification.

 

Potter cleared his throat several times, and as many times seemed about to speak, and did not; but finally, hearing a murmur⁴ from the old man gazing at the fire, he requested to be informed of its nature.

 

“What?” Tinker asked, feebly.

 

“I said: 'What are you mumbling⁵ about?'”

 

“Nothing.”

 

“What was it you said?”

 

“I said it was the bride-look,” said the old man gently. “That's what it was about her—the bride-look.”

 

“The bride-look!”

 

It was a word that went deep into the mourning heart of the playwright⁶. “The bride-look!” That was it: the bride's happiness!

 

“She had more than that,” said Potter peevishly⁷, but, if the others had noticed it his voice shook. “She could act! And I don't know how the devil to get along without that hypocrite. Just like her to marry the first regular man that asked her!”

 

Then young Stewart Canby had a vision of a room in a boarding-house far over in Brooklyn, and of two poor, brave young people there, and of a loss more actual than his own—a vision of a hard-working, careworn⁸, stalwart Packer trying to comfort a weeping little bride who had lost her chance—the one chance—“that might never have come!”

 

Something leaped into generous life within him.

 

“I think I was almost going to ask her to marry me, to-morrow,” he said, turning to Talbot Potter. “But I'm glad Packer's the man. For years he's been a kind of nurse for you, Mr. Potter. And that's what she needs—a nurse—because she's a genius, too. And it will all be wasted if she doesn't get her chance!”

 

“Are you asking me to take her back?” Potter cried fiercely. “Do you think I'll break one of my iron—”

 

“We couldn't all have married her!” said the playwright with a fine inspiration. “But if you take her back we can all see her—every day!”

 

The actor gazed upon him sternly, but with sensitive lips beginning to quiver. He spoke⁹ uncertainly.

 

“Well,” he began. “I'm no stubborn Frenchman—”

 

“Do it!” cried Canby.

 

Then Potter's expression changed; he looked queer.

 

He clapped his hands loudly;—Sato appeared.

 

“Sato, take that stuff out.” He pointed¹⁰ to the untouched whiskey. “Order supper at ten o'clock—for five people. Champagne¹¹. Orchids¹². Get me a taxicab in half an hour.”

 

“Yisso!”

 

Tinker rose, astounded¹³. “Taxicab? Where you—”

 

“To Brooklyn!” shouted Potter with shining eyes. “She'll drive with me if I bring them both, I guess, won't she?”

 

He began to sing:

 

    “For to-night we'll merry, merry be!

     For to-night we'll merry, merry be—”

 

Leaping uproariously upon the aged¹⁴ Tinker, he caught him by the waist and waltzed him round and round the room.

1 rosy   

adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的

参考例句：

• She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作，生活看上去很美好。
• She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。

2 wilted   

（使）凋谢，枯萎( wilt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The flowers wilted in the hot sun. 花在烈日下枯萎了。
• The romance blossomed for six or seven months, and then wilted. 那罗曼史持续六七个月之后就告吹了。

3 carnation   

n.康乃馨（一种花）

参考例句：

• He had a white carnation in his buttonhole.他在纽扣孔上佩了朵白色康乃馨。
• He was wearing a carnation in his lapel.他的翻领里别着一枝康乃馨。

4 murmur   

n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言

参考例句：

• They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。
• There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。

5 mumbling   

含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I could hear him mumbling to himself. 我听到他在喃喃自语。
• He was still mumbling something about hospitals at the end of the party when he slipped on a piece of ice and broke his left leg. 宴会结束时，他仍在咕哝着医院里的事。说着说着，他在一块冰上滑倒，跌断了左腿。

6 playwright   

n.剧作家，编写剧本的人

参考例句：

• Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
• The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。

7 peevishly   

adv．暴躁地

参考例句：

• Paul looked through his green glasses peevishly when the other speaker brought down the house with applause. 当另一个演说者赢得了满座喝彩声时，保罗心里又嫉妒又气恼。
• "I've been sick, I told you," he said, peevishly, almost resenting her excessive pity. “我生了一场病，我告诉过你了，"他没好气地说，对她的过分怜悯几乎产生了怨恨。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

8 careworn   

adj.疲倦的，饱经忧患的

参考例句：

• It's sad to see the careworn face of the mother of a large poor family.看到那贫穷的一大家子的母亲忧劳憔悴的脸庞心里真是难受。
• The old woman had a careworn look on her face.老妇脸上露出忧心忡忡的神色。

9 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

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。

10 pointed   

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。

11 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

12 orchids   

n.兰花( orchid的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Wild flowers such as orchids and primroses are becoming rare. 兰花和报春花这类野花越来越稀少了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She breeds orchids in her greenhouse. 她在温室里培育兰花。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 astounded   

v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶

参考例句：

• His arrogance astounded her. 他的傲慢使她震惊。
• How can you say that? I'm absolutely astounded. 你怎么能说出那种话？我感到大为震惊。

14 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。