CHAPTER XLIX. A QUIET WARNING.

I fully¹ expected to be summoned as a witness to the inquest held on George White. However, as it turned out, they left me alone, and for that I was thankful, though indeed I had little to fear from any cross-examination; and Dr. Crackenthorpe would hardly have ventured under the circumstances to use his professional influence to my discomfiture², seeing that I had shown knowledge of the fact that between him and the dead man was once, at least, some species of understanding. So he gave his version of the affair, without any reference to me, who indeed could hardly in any way be held responsible for the catastrophe⁴.

 

And now he lay dead, the latest victim of the inquisition of the wheel, I most fully believed; a poor wretch⁵ withered⁶ under its ban that would reach, it seemed, to agents but remotely connected with the dark history of its immediate⁷ neighbors. He was dead, and with him, I could but think, had passed my one chance of probing the direful mystery in that direction where the core of it festered.

 

Thereafter for weeks I walked in a stubborn rebellion against fate, intensified⁸ by the thought that this stultifying⁹ of my purpose had come upon me on the heels of my triumphant¹⁰ mastery of that old weird¹¹ influence of the mill—a triumph that had seemed to pronounce me the very chosen champion of truth to whom all ways to the undoing¹² of the wicked should be revealed.

 

But, now, as the month drew to its close, a new anxiety came to humble¹³ me with the pathos¹⁴ of the world, and to assimilate all restless emotions into one pale fog of silence, gray and sorrowful.

 

On a certain morning, looking in my father’s face when I brought him his breakfast, I read something there, the import of which I would not consider or dwell upon until I could escape and commune with myself alone.

 

There was little external change in him and he was bright and cheerful. It was only a certain sudden sense of withdrawal¹⁵ that struck a chill into me—a sense as if life, seeking to steal unobserved from its ancient prison, knew itself noticed and affected¹⁶ to be dallying¹⁷ simply with the rusted¹⁸ locks and bolts.

 

Realizing this presently to the full, I determined¹⁹ then and there to put everything else to one side and to devote myself single-handed to the tender ministering to his last days upon earth. And grief and sadness were mingled²⁰ in me, for I loved the old man and could not but rejoice that the inevitable²¹ should come to him so peacefully. But prospect²² of the utter loneliness that would fall upon me when he was gone woke a selfish resentment²³ that he should be taken from me and fought in my heart for mastery over the better emotion.

 

Did he know? Not certainly, perhaps, for slowly dying men give little thought to the way they wander. But something in the prospect opening out before him must, I think, have struck him with a dawning marvel²⁴ at its strangeness; as a sleeper²⁵, wakened from a weird romance of dreaming, finds a wonder of unfamiliarity²⁶ in the world restored to him.

 

It may have been that some increase of care on my part making itself apparent was the first warning to him that all was not as it used to be, for there came a night when he called to me as I was leaving his room—after seeing him comfortably established—in a voice with a queer ring of emotion in it.

 

“What is it, dad?” I asked, hurrying back to his bedside.

 

“I’m wakeful to-night, my lad; well and easy, but wakeful.”

 

“Shall I stop with you a bit longer?”

 

I saw he wished it and sat myself down upon the foot of the bed.

 

“Good lad,” he said. “I don’t deserve all this, Renalt. It should be a blank and empty thing to review a life spent in idleness and self-indulgence. I ought to feel that, and yet I’m at peace. Why wasn’t I of your militant²⁸ philosophers, who treating love like any other luxury, find salve for the bitter sting of it in a brave independence of righteousness!”

 

“As well ask, dad, why in battle the bullets spare some and mangle²⁹ others.”

 

“You mean the faculty³⁰ of overriding³¹ fate is constitutional, not a courageous³² theory, Renalt?”

 

“Yet I think your philosopher would be the first to acknowledge its truth.”

 

“Of course. He’d have a principle to prove. But I can’t gather consolation³³ there for having wittingly sunk myself to the beasts.”

 

“Dad!”

 

“Why should I mince³⁴ matters? Let me look at you full face. I have never been a liar²⁷, but I’ve chosen to deceive myself into the belief that mere³⁵ brute³⁶ self-indulgence was a fine revolt against the tyranny of the gods.”

 

“It may have been nature’s counter-irritant to unbearable³⁷ suffering.”

 

“Sophistry³⁸, my boy. It’s out of the kindness of your heart, but it’s sophistry. Better to die shrieking³⁹ under the knife than to live to be a hopeless, disfigured cripple. Look at me lying here. What heritage of virtue⁴⁰, what example of endurance, shall I leave to my children?”

 

“You have never complained.”

 

“No comfort, Renalt—none. I nursed my resentment from base fear only that by revealing it, it would dissipate. With such a belief I have to face the Supreme⁴¹ Court up there; and”—he looked at me earnestly—“before very long, I think.”

 

I shook my head in silence. I could find no word to say.

 

“Am I afraid?” he went on, still intently regarding me. “I think not—at present. Yet I have some bitter charges to answer.”

 

“This rest will restore you again, dad.”

 

He did not seem to hear me. His eyes left my face and he continued in a murmuring voice:

 

“The last dispossession the old suffer is sleep, it seems. Balm in Gilead—balm in Gilead!”

 

“What little breath will keep the spark alive,” I thought as I sat and watched the worn quiet figure. The face looked as if molded out of wax and so moved me that presently I must rise and bend over it, thinking the end had actually come while I watched.

 

With my rising, however, a sigh broke from it, and a little stir of the limbs, so that my heart that had fallen leaped up again with gladness. Then he looked up at me standing³ above him, and a smile passed like a gleam of sunlight over his features.

 

“I always loved you, my son Renalt,” he murmured, and, murmuring, fell into a light trance once more.

 

The following day there was no change in his condition. I could have thought him floating out of life on that tide of dreaming thoughts that seemed to bear him up so gently and so easily. When, at moments, he would rise to consciousness of my presence, he would nod to me and smile; and again sink back on the pillow of gracious somnolence⁴².

 

I had been sitting reading to myself in my father’s room and all was glowing silence about me, when a sudden clap at the window-casement made me start. I jumped to my feet and looked out. A vast gloomy curtain of cloud was drawing up from the east; even as I looked, some shafts⁴³ of its bitterness drove through the joints⁴⁴ of the lattice, stabbing at me with points of ice, and I shivered, though the sunlight was still upon me.

 

The storm came on with incredible speed; within five minutes of my rising clouds of hail were flogging the streets, and from a whirling fog of night jangle of innumerable voices hooting⁴⁵ and whistling broke like a besieging⁴⁶ cloud of Goths upon the ancient capital.

1 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

2 discomfiture   

n.崩溃；大败；挫败；困惑

参考例句：

• I laughed my head off when I heard of his discomfiture. 听到别人说起他的狼狈相，我放声大笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Without experiencing discomfiture and setbacks,one can never find truth. 不经过失败和挫折，便找不到真理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 standing   

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。

4 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

5 wretch   

n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人

参考例句：

• You are really an ungrateful wretch to complain instead of thanking him.你不但不谢他，还埋怨他，真不知好歹。
• The dead husband is not the dishonoured wretch they fancied him.死去的丈夫不是他们所想象的不光彩的坏蛋。

6 withered   

adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The grass had withered in the warm sun. 这些草在温暖的阳光下枯死了。
• The leaves of this tree have become dry and withered. 这棵树下的叶子干枯了。

7 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

8 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 stultifying   

v.使成为徒劳，使变得无用( stultify的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• the stultifying effects of work that never varies 一成不变的工作造成的使人呆滞的后果
• At its worst it is corrosive and it is stultifying. 在最坏的情况下，时间具有腐蚀作用，而且使人更为愚钝。 来自互联网

10 triumphant   

adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的

参考例句：

• The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
• There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。

11 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

12 undoing   

n.毁灭的原因，祸根；破坏，毁灭

参考例句：

• That one mistake was his undoing. 他一失足即成千古恨。
• This hard attitude may have led to his undoing. 可能就是这种强硬的态度导致了他的垮台。

13 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

14 pathos   

n.哀婉，悲怆

参考例句：

• The pathos of the situation brought tears to our eyes.情况令人怜悯，看得我们不禁流泪。
• There is abundant pathos in her words.她的话里富有动人哀怜的力量。

15 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

16 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

17 dallying   

v.随随便便地对待( dally的现在分词 )；不很认真地考虑；浪费时间；调情

参考例句：

• They've been dallying with the idea for years. 他们多年来一直有这个想法，但从没有认真考虑过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This kind of dallying is, in a sense, optimal. 从某种意义上来说，这种延迟是最理想的。 来自互联网

18 rusted   

v.（使）生锈( rust的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I can't get these screws out; they've rusted in. 我无法取出这些螺丝，它们都锈住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My bike has rusted and needs oil. 我的自行车生锈了，需要上油。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

20 mingled   

混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系]

参考例句：

• The sounds of laughter and singing mingled in the evening air. 笑声和歌声交织在夜空中。
• The man and the woman mingled as everyone started to relax. 当大家开始放松的时候，这一男一女就开始交往了。

21 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

22 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

23 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

24 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

25 sleeper   

n.睡眠者，卧车，卧铺

参考例句：

• I usually go up to London on the sleeper. 我一般都乘卧车去伦敦。
• But first he explained that he was a very heavy sleeper. 但首先他解释说自己睡觉很沉。

26 unfamiliarity   

参考例句：

• And unfamiliarity with a new electoral system may also deter voters. 而对新的选举体系的不熟悉，也会妨碍一些选民投票。 来自互联网
• Her temporary shyness was due to her unfamiliarity with the environment. 她暂时的害羞是因为对环境不熟悉。 来自互联网

27 liar   

n.说谎的人

参考例句：

• I know you for a thief and a liar!我算认识你了，一个又偷又骗的家伙！
• She was wrongly labelled a liar.她被错误地扣上说谎者的帽子。

28 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

29 mangle   

vt.乱砍，撕裂，破坏，毁损，损坏，轧布

参考例句：

• New shoes don't cut,blister,or mangle his feet.新鞋子不会硌脚、起泡或让脚受伤。
• Mangle doesn't increase the damage of Maul and Shred anymore.裂伤不再增加重殴和撕碎的伤害。

30 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

31 overriding   

a.最主要的

参考例句：

• Development is of overriding importance. 发展是硬道理
• My overriding concern is to raise the standards of state education. 我最关心的是提高国民教育水平。

32 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。

33 consolation   

n.安慰，慰问

参考例句：

• The children were a great consolation to me at that time.那时孩子们成了我的莫大安慰。
• This news was of little consolation to us.这个消息对我们来说没有什么安慰。

34 mince   

n.切碎物；v.切碎，矫揉做作地说

参考例句：

• Would you like me to mince the meat for you?你要我替你把肉切碎吗？
• Don't mince matters,but speak plainly.不要含糊其词，有话就直说吧。

35 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

36 brute   

n.野兽，兽性

参考例句：

• The aggressor troops are not many degrees removed from the brute.侵略军简直象一群野兽。
• That dog is a dangerous brute.It bites people.那条狗是危险的畜牲，它咬人。

37 unbearable   

adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的

参考例句：

• It is unbearable to be always on thorns.老是处于焦虑不安的情况中是受不了的。
• The more he thought of it the more unbearable it became.他越想越觉得无法忍受。

38 sophistry   

n.诡辩

参考例句：

• Sophistry cannot alter history.诡辩改变不了历史。
• No one can be persuaded by sophistry.强词夺理不能折服人。

39 shrieking   

v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The boxers were goaded on by the shrieking crowd. 拳击运动员听见观众的喊叫就来劲儿了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They were all shrieking with laughter. 他们都发出了尖锐的笑声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

40 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

41 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

42 somnolence   

n.想睡，梦幻；欲寐；嗜睡；嗜眠

参考例句：

• At length he managed to get him into a condition of somnolence. 他终于促使他进入昏昏欲睡的状态。 来自辞典例句
• A lazy somnolence descended on the crowd. 一阵沉沉欲睡的懒意降落在人群里面。 来自辞典例句

43 shafts   

n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等）

参考例句：

• He deliberately jerked the shafts to rock him a bit. 他故意的上下颠动车把，摇这个老猴子几下。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• Shafts were sunk, with tunnels dug laterally. 竖井已经打下，并且挖有横向矿道。 来自辞典例句

44 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。

45 hooting   

（使）作汽笛声响，作汽车喇叭声( hoot的现在分词 )； 倒好儿； 倒彩

参考例句：

• He had the audience hooting with laughter . 他令观众哄堂大笑。
• The owl was hooting. 猫头鹰在叫。

46 besieging   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They constituted a near-insuperable obstacle to the besieging infantry. 它们就会形成围城步兵几乎不可逾越的障碍。
• He concentrated the sun's rays on the Roman ships besieging the city and burned them. 他把集中的阳光照到攻城的罗马船上，把它们焚毁。