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CHAPTER 38
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 The sunshine in the Children's Ward1 glinted happily; it touched on bits of brass2 here and there and gleamed, and slipped across the skylight, making shadows in the room. The white-capped nurses had finished their work. Every bed was freshly made, picture-books and toys were scattered3 through the ward. Flowers stood on the little stands by the beds; and a great bunch of roses was on the table in the centre, under the skylight.
 
Aunt Jane standing4 at the door of the ward, looked in, touching5 the arm of the man beside her. "Those are your roses over there—the ones that came yesterday— They look nice, don't they?" She spoke6 in a half-whisper—not to attract the attention of the children.
 
She had wanted him to see the ward like this; and she had wanted him to see Jimmie[Pg 284] Sullivan's new leg. And, most of all, she had wanted a good excuse for persuading Herman Medfield to try his strength a little.... If Dr. Carmon's new patient was to have Suite7 A on Friday, there was no time to waste; and Herman Medfield had been obstinate8 in refusing to exert himself.
 
"I'm very comfortable where I am!" he had declared. And he had refused to budge9, or to wear anything except the æsthetic, blue quilted gown.
 
It was only by deep guilelessness that Aunt Jane had succeeded in bringing him as far as the door of the Children's Ward.
 
Herman Medfield's glance followed the motion of her hand and rested on the roses. It grew interested as it travelled slowly through the ward to the faces of the children. He was taking in the clean, cool look of the place and the sunlight coming in and the happiness that shone everywhere. It was not what he had imagined the Children's Ward in a hospital would be.... And he had a suspicion that all Children's Wards10 were not like this—a suspicion that the woman beside him had more to do with the quiet charm of the[Pg 285] room than one might have guessed from the unconcerned look of her face.
 
Beyond the ward, opening out through big doors and the low, wide windows, he had a glimpse of a balcony—with growing plants along its edge and a striped awning11; and drifting clouds and the blue sky beyond the awning. His glance came back to his roses in the centre of the room. They were a great bunch of the choicest ones that grew in his garden. They looked very well there, he admitted.
 
"But I did not intend them for the Children's Ward—" he said, turning and looking down at her.
 
"I told them Mr. Herman sent them," said Aunt Jane. "I knew you'd like them to have 'em. They take comfort with 'em, you see." She nodded to a child who was lying with her eyes fixed12 on the flowers. There was a patient look in the small, shrewd face.
 
"She likes 'em," said Aunt Jane. "They'll do her a world of good!"
 
She avoided Herman Medfield's eye. She had been a little surprised to find that it was difficult to meet his gaze.... He was almost[Pg 286] like a stranger—dressed in the gray business suit and looking down on her with keen, clear eyes.... She had forgotten that Herman Medfield was tall. As she had remembered him, that first day when she went into the waiting-room with his card in her hand, he had not been so tall. She seemed to remember that she had looked down on him and had put him in his place—easily.... Perhaps his thinness made him seem taller—or was it the little triumphing twinkle that had crept into his eyes.
 
Aunt Jane refused to see the twinkle. She felt sorry for Herman Medfield—somewhere in the back of her mind.
 
"There's Jimmie Sullivan!" she said. "That's your leg—the one you got for him!"
 
"Looks like his own," commented Medfield.
 
Aunt Jane opened the door—and a child looked up from her picture-book.
 
"Aunt Jane's come!" The ward took it up.
 
Aunt Jane looked up at Herman Medfield, half apologizing for the commotion13 they made.
 
"It helps them get well," she said.
 
[Pg 287]
 
He nodded. "I know all about that."
 
They went slowly down the ward to the big chair by the table. She stopped by it. "You can sit down here and rest if you want to— You've done first-rate. You'll be well enough to go, Friday, I guess."
 
She arranged the chair for him and he sat down. "I'm pretty well tired out!" he remarked.
 
"That's natural enough— You see how nice Jimmie gets around on your leg? Come here, Jimmie, and make your manners to Mr. Herman."
 
Jimmie came up proudly, hardly limping at all as he approached the man sitting in the big chair. He stood very straight on his frame leg, his hands in his pockets, and looked him in the eye.
 
"I thank you for my leg!" he said. "It's fine!"
 
"You are welcome." Medfield was smiling.
 
"Show him how it walks, Jimmie."
 
Jimmie strutted14 off, swinging it proudly.
 
"You see—it hardly shows at all!" she said, as they watched him cross the room. "And the older he gets, the better he'll[Pg 288] manage. You've made a man of him!" She beamed approval on Medfield and on Jimmie and the frame leg and on the whole ward.
 
Medfield, leaning back in his chair, smiled at her whimsically.
 
"You spoil everybody!" he said.
 
She ignored it. "You sit there and rest a spell—till I'm ready to go."
 
She moved to a bed near by and leaned over to the child and said something. The girl put up a quick hand and listened and glanced at the man in the big chair and nodded happily.
 
"That's him!" said Aunt Jane looking back to the child and smiling as she went to the next bed.
 
"We like your flowers, Mr. Herman." The child was speaking softly to him.
 
Medfield started and turned.
 
"We like them very much!" said the child, regarding him gravely.
 
"Yes, we do like them!" came from the next bed. "We like them!" "We do like them!" The call was from farther off. "They're fine, you know!"
 
[Pg 289]
 
It came from all sides now! Medfield glanced from one to the other, a little bewildered and touched.
 
"We like Mr. Herman's flowers!" they called out.
 
"I told you they liked 'em," said Aunt Jane. She had come back and was standing smiling at the children. "I thought you'd just like to see how it was yourself!"
 
"You have them well trained!" replied Medfield, "—all but the name," he added.
 
"The name doesn't matter—I thought you'd like it better?"
 
"I do!" He got up, half embarrassed. "I'd better hide somewhere! I never had such an ovation—for a few flowers!"
 
He turned toward the balcony that opened from the side of the room—with its flower-boxes, and the striped awning covering it from the sun.
 
He stepped out into the balcony. Below him were the roofs of houses; and the city stretched away in the distance to a sunny haze15.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 ward LhbwY     
n.守卫,监护,病房,行政区,由监护人或法院保护的人(尤指儿童);vt.守护,躲开
参考例句:
  • The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
  • During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时,我要点根火把,抵挡蚊虫。
2 brass DWbzI     
n.黄铜;黄铜器,铜管乐器
参考例句:
  • Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
  • Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
3 scattered 7jgzKF     
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的
参考例句:
  • Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来,塞进文件夹里。
4 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。
5 touching sg6zQ9     
adj.动人的,使人感伤的
参考例句:
  • It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
  • His letter was touching.他的信很感人。
6 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。
7 suite MsMwB     
n.一套(家具);套房;随从人员
参考例句:
  • She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
  • That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。
8 obstinate m0dy6     
adj.顽固的,倔强的,不易屈服的,较难治愈的
参考例句:
  • She's too obstinate to let anyone help her.她太倔强了,不会让任何人帮她的。
  • The trader was obstinate in the negotiation.这个商人在谈判中拗强固执。
9 budge eSRy5     
v.移动一点儿;改变立场
参考例句:
  • We tried to lift the rock but it wouldn't budge.我们试图把大石头抬起来,但它连动都没动一下。
  • She wouldn't budge on the issue.她在这个问题上不肯让步。
10 wards 90fafe3a7d04ee1c17239fa2d768f8fc     
区( ward的名词复数 ); 病房; 受监护的未成年者; 被人照顾或控制的状态
参考例句:
  • This hospital has 20 medical [surgical] wards. 这所医院有 20 个内科[外科]病房。
  • It was a big constituency divided into three wards. 这是一个大选区,下设三个分区。
11 awning LeVyZ     
n.遮阳篷;雨篷
参考例句:
  • A large green awning is set over the glass window to shelter against the sun.在玻璃窗上装了个绿色的大遮棚以遮挡阳光。
  • Several people herded under an awning to get out the shower.几个人聚集在门栅下避阵雨
12 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
13 commotion 3X3yo     
n.骚动,动乱
参考例句:
  • They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵,引起了一阵骚乱。
  • Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间,整条街道变得一片混乱。
14 strutted 6d0ea161ec4dd5bee907160fa0d4225c     
趾高气扬地走,高视阔步( strut的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The players strutted and posed for the cameras. 运动员昂首阔步,摆好姿势让记者拍照。
  • Peacocks strutted on the lawn. 孔雀在草坪上神气活现地走来走去。
15 haze O5wyb     
n.霾,烟雾;懵懂,迷糊;vi.(over)变模糊
参考例句:
  • I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中,我看不见她。
  • He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。


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