She rose up, put the food that was left back into the saddle-bags, and took the horses down to the spring to drink. When she returned to the glade Martin Valliant was still walking up and down, his hands gripping the bosom3 of his smock. He did not look at her, and his face had grown gray in the dusk.
Mellis fastened the two horses to a tree for the night, and taking Fulk de Lisle’s sword, she set about gathering4 bracken. The western sky was streaked5 with amber6, and the light was growing dim; yet as Mellis used the sword a faint glimmer7 shone from it, like the glimmer of a star. The bracken was all feathery blackness under the great trees, falling to the sharp blade as she swung it from right to left. The sweet, wild scent8 of the fern was like a plaintive9 memory. The sword made hardly a sound as it cut through the tall stems.
Martin had paused, and was watching her. She showed as a dim figure in the dusk, with white face and hands. And even this strange labor10 of hers seemed part of the mystery of the Forest and of life, so much so that he felt enveloped11 by it, caught in some enchantment12. What was she doing? And why did every act of hers take on a strange significance?
He saw Mellis set the sword in the ground, and gather up a bosomful of bracken. She came past him as he stood, and her eyes were dark and inscrutable. She threw the bracken down under the oak tree, and went back for more. Then Martin understood.
A shiver of emotion went through him; he found himself trembling at the knees. What a silence was this about them! What a falling of the night! What secrecy13! What enchantment! The sunset had died on the hills; nothing but a faint afterglow remained, and above the trees the stars were beginning to shine.
Martin moved to and fro, but all his thoughts were with Mellis, and her gathering of the fern. She had taken the sword and had cut more bracken. The thick green riding-cloak that had been strapped14 behind her saddle served to carry the stuff; she spread the cloak on the ground, piled bracken on it, drew the two ends together, and carried the bundle to the oak tree. Mellis made a dozen such journeys to and fro, till she had built up a deep bed of the soft green fronds15.
Martin saw her spread her cloak on the bracken and set Fulk de Lisle’s sword in the ground at the head thereof.
He turned away, and as he turned she called to him.
“Martin, are you still thinking?”
“Yes.”
“And it is all so simple!”
Then she said:
“I am lonely. And I still have a fear that in the night men will break in and take you away.”
She sat down on the bracken, untied18 her hair, shook it free, and began to comb it with a little ivory comb that she took from her gypsire. It was growing very dark now, and the stars were bright between the trees. Martin strode up and down, discovering a new torment19 in her silence, and in the darkness that seemed to be taking her from him. He could see her white hands moving, but her face was hidden by her hair.
“Mellis!”
Martin went nearer, trying not to be troubled by her silence.
“Mellis!”
A passionate21 whisper came back to him.
He slunk away, threw himself flat on the grass, utterly23 shaken and distraught. The silence of the Forest seemed heavy in his ears, for he was listening for some sound from Mellis, and he could not even hear her breathing. A kind of fury seized him. He tore up handfuls of grass, pressed his mouth against the earth. Why was this agony being thrust upon him? Had he not tried to deal honestly with his own heart? And he had wounded Mellis, humbled24 her, turned away from her love as though it were a poor thing easily abandoned. She was beginning to hate him; or perhaps her pride would never forgive.
What could he say to her? Should he leave her while she slept? But that would be cowardly; he could not desert her till she was in the midst of friends.
He sat up, staring toward where she was, for he thought he had heard a rustling25 of the bracken. But it was so dark now that he could not see Mellis, only the vague outline of the great tree with the stars studding the sky over it.
Of a sudden Martin stopped breathing, every fiber26 of him tense and strained. It was not the rustling of the bracken that he had heard. The sound grew louder, less smothered27, as though it was too bitter and poignant28 to be stifled29. Mellis was weeping—weeping as though the pain could not be borne.
Martin began to tremble. All his blood seemed to be rising to his throat.
Then he uttered a strange, sharp cry, and went blindly through the darkness.
“Mellis!”
He was on his knees beside her. She was lying on her face, her arms spread out.
“Mellis, I can’t bear it. Oh! my love!”
She twisted around, threw her arms around him, and cried:
“My man! My most dear!”
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1
glade
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| n.林间空地，一片表面有草的沼泽低地 | |
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2
cloisters
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| n.（学院、修道院、教堂等建筑的）走廊( cloister的名词复数 )；回廊；修道院的生活；隐居v.隐退，使与世隔绝( cloister的第三人称单数 ) | |
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3
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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4
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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5
streaked
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| adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹 | |
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6
amber
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| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
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7
glimmer
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| v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光 | |
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8
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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9
plaintive
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| adj.可怜的，伤心的 | |
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10
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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11
enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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12
enchantment
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| n.迷惑，妖术，魅力 | |
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13
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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14
strapped
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| adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带 | |
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15
fronds
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| n.蕨类或棕榈类植物的叶子( frond的名词复数 ) | |
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16
smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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17
obstinate
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| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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18
untied
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| 松开，解开( untie的过去式和过去分词 )； 解除，使自由； 解决 | |
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19
torment
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| n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠 | |
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20
spoke
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| 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
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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22
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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23
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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24
humbled
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| adj. 卑下的，谦逊的，粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下，贬低 | |
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25
rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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26
fiber
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| n.纤维，纤维质 | |
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27
smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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28
poignant
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| adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的 | |
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29
stifled
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| （使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵 | |
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