Eve rested against Canterton’s outspread arm, her head upon his shoulder, as they wandered to and fro between the tall trunks of the firs. They were like ghosts gliding4 side by side, for the carpet of pine needles deadened the sound of their footsteps, and they spoke5 but little, in voices that were but murmurs6.
For a brief hour they were forgetting life and its problems, letting self sink into self, surrendering everything to an intimate exultation7 in their nearness to each other. Sometimes they would pause, swayed by some common impulse, and stand close together, looking into each other’s eyes.
They spoke to each other as a man and woman speak but once or twice in the course of a lifetime.
“Dear heart, is it possible that this is you?”
“Am I not flesh and blood?”
“That you should care!”
“Put your hand here. Can you not feel my heart beating?”
He would slip his hand under her head, draw her face to his, and kiss her forehead, mouth and eyes. And she would sigh with each kiss, closing her eyes in a kind of ecstasy8.
“Did you ever dream of me?”
“Often.”
“It sounds like a child’s question. Strange—I wonder if our dreams crossed. Did you ever dream while I was at Latimer?”
“Nearly every night.”
“And I of you. And all through the day you were with me. I felt you standing9 beside me. That’s why I painted Latimer as I did.”
Canterton had moments of incredulity and of awe10. He would stand motionless, holding Eve’s hands, and looking down into her face.
“It is very wonderful—very wonderful!”
His man’s awe made her smile.
“What a boy you are!”
“Am I?”
“I love you like that. And yet, really, you are so strong and masterful. And I could trust you utterly11, only——”
“Only?”
“You, and not myself. Oh, if we could never wake again!”
“Eve!”
“Ah, that name!”
“Is it so impossible now?”
She reached up and gripped his wrist.
“Don’t spoil this! Oh, don’t spoil it! It will have to last us both for a lifetime. Take me back, dear; it is time.”
He felt a relaxing of her muscles as though she had suddenly grown faint and hesitating.
“Not yet.”
“Yes, now. I ask it of you, Jim.”
They began to wander back towards the road, and sometimes a shaft13 of moonlight struck across their faces. Their exultation weakened, the wings of their flight together were fluttering back towards the ground.
“Eve, to-morrow——”
“There can be no to-morrow.”
“But, dear heart!”
“I could not bear it. Have pity on me, Jim. And remember——”
They saw the white road glimmering15 beyond the black fir trunks. Eve paused. They stood for some moments in silence.
“Say good-bye to me here.”
“I will say good night.”
“Oh, my dearest—my dear!”
He held her very close, and she felt the strength of his great arms. The breath seemed to go out of her body, her eyes were closed.
“Now, let me go.”
He released her, and she stepped back just a little unsteadily, but trying to smile.
“Good-bye! Go back now.”
She turned, went out of the wood, and crossed the moonlit road. It lay between them like some dim river of the underworld. And Canterton was left standing in the gloom of the fir woods.
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收听单词发音
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1
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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2
enchantments
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| n.魅力( enchantment的名词复数 )；迷人之处；施魔法；着魔 | |
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3
yearning
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| a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的 | |
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4
gliding
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| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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5
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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6
murmurs
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| n.低沉、连续而不清的声音( murmur的名词复数 )；低语声；怨言；嘀咕 | |
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7
exultation
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| n.狂喜，得意 | |
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8
ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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9
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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10
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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11
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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12
plaintive
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| adj.可怜的，伤心的 | |
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13
shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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14
vehemence
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| n.热切；激烈；愤怒 | |
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15
glimmering
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| n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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