CHAPTER 42

 "Where have you been, all the afternoon!" Dr. Carmon was fuming¹ in the office. He got up as Aunt Jane came in.

 

"Where have you been?" he demanded. "I've needed you! They looked everywhere for you!"

 

She came calmly in. "I went home with Mr. Medfield." She took up the little tablet slate² on her desk and consulted it absently. "He needed me—he thought he needed me."

 

"What for?" The tone was brusque. "He was well enough when I saw him. Couldn't he go home without upsetting the whole hospital!"

 

"He didn't like to go without me," said Aunt Jane. "In fact, he wouldn't go," she added. She put down the little tablet. "I'm sorry you needed me.... I don't very often go out."

 

"Well"—his tone was mollified—"we managed[Pg 318] to pull through without you. But I like to feel you're around—when I need you."

 

"I generally mean to be," she said placidly³.

 

He glanced at her suspiciously. She was unusually meek⁴.

 

"What have you been doing all the afternoon? It didn't take four hours to go out to Medfield's place and back!"

 

"We had tea—and we talked some."

 

"Umph! Well, we've got him off our hands!"

 

"Yes—we've got him off our hands," assented⁵ Aunt Jane. "He's a good man," she added.

 

"He's got money," said Dr. Carmon, without enthusiasm. "I never heard of his doing much good with it."

 

She opened her little bag and took out the two blue slips and looked at them. Then she returned one of them to the bag and handed the other to him, without comment.

 

He received it blankly and read it—and readjusted his glasses and read it again. He took off the glasses and held them in the tight clutch of one hand, resting on his knee, and surveyed her keenly.

 

[Pg 319]

 

"I suppose you know what it is!"

 

"Fifty thousand," she said meekly⁶.

 

"He's given you fifty thousand dollars!" He shook the little blue slip scornfully.

 

"It isn't for me— It's for us!"

 

"What!" he said sharply. He put on his glasses again. "For the hospital, is it?" He took it up.

 

She nodded. "For the new contagion⁷ wing."

 

"We need it badly enough!" He fingered the check absently. "I didn't suppose we should ever have it, though!"

 

"I told him we needed it," she said casually⁸.

 

"You begged it of him, I suppose!" A little trace of annoyance⁹ ran in the words.

 

She received it equably. "I didn't do any begging, I guess. I just told him we wanted it."

 

"So he handed it out!"

 

"Well—not right then. He said he'd think it over— He gave it to me this afternoon. Put it on my plate—for a kind of surprise." She was looking at something and smiling mistily¹⁰ at it.

 

He watched her uneasily.

 

[Pg 320]

 

"He's a nice man!" she said, meeting the glance he bent¹¹ upon her.

 

"You're tired," he responded abruptly¹².

 

"I am—a little mite¹³ tired."

 

He got up and opened his bag and fussed at bottles and shook something into a bit of folded paper and held it out.

 

"There—take that."

 

"I don't need it!"

 

"You take it!"

 

She accepted it meekly, and he brought a glass of water from behind the screen, and watched her drink it.

 

"Everybody seems to think you can chase all over town for them!" he grumbled¹⁴.

 

"It was quite a nice ride out there," replied Aunt Jane. She wiped the taste of medicine furtively¹⁵ from her lips and set down the glass.

 

"He's going to give me a little home, too."

 

"What!" He glared at her fiercely.

 

She took hold of her bag—as if to protect something. "I knew you wouldn't like it!" she said. "I hated to tell you! I thought maybe I'd put it off ... not tell you for a good while."

 

[Pg 321]

 

"If you will tell me now—and not sit there gibbering and chattering——"

 

She nodded. "Yes—I'd better do it to-night—right off—and get it done with!" She opened the bag slowly. "Of course, I know you won't want me to have it—" She looked at him doubtfully, holding on to the bit of paper.

 

"Let me see it!" He held out an imperious hand, and she gave it up. And he sat, with a check in each hand—one hand on either knee—and looked at her severely¹⁶.

 

"Any more?" he said bitingly.

 

"That's all!" She leaned back with a sigh. The worst was probably over.

 

He read first one check, and then the other, and looked up swiftly—"They're both made out to you!"

 

"Yes! I saw he'd done it that way—I'm going to make the contagion one over to you."

 

"They're both contagion, probably!" He smiled grimly.

 

"No—one is for me—and he said I could build it just the way I want, and furnish it—and have my own way about everything!"

 

[Pg 322]

 

"You'll feel strange, won't you—having your own way!" He almost growled¹⁷, and tossed the checks at her:

 

"Take 'em!"

 

She went over to her desk and looked for her pen and sat down, dipping it in ink, and sat very still—and presently her head nodded—she caught herself, and sat up.

 

"I declare—I'm sleepy!" she said.

 

She dipped the pen again and her head nodded as she wrote.... "I don't know when I've been so sleepy." She reached for the blotter. He came over and took it from her and blotted¹⁸ the little paper carefully, looking down at her kindly¹⁹.

 

"It's time you went to sleep," he said.

 

She looked up. "What do you suppose—is the matter—with me?"

 

He only smiled at her quietly.

 

"It's the powder!" she exclaimed.

 

He nodded. "You'll have a good night's rest. You need it!"

 

"Such foolishness!" She got up, resting one hand on the lid of the desk, and looked about her. "I have to—put out—my lights——"

 

[Pg 323]

 

"I'll put them out," he said impatiently.

 

She waited. "Isn't there something else—I ought—to do—something I need to—?" She looked at him appealingly, and he took her hand.

 

"You need some one to take care of you—that's what you need!" He said it almost gently and he led her to the door.

 

"Sure you can go by yourself?" he said.

 

It was half mocking and half tender; and he watched until the quiet-moving figure disappeared in the distance of the long corridor.

 

Then he put out Aunt Jane's lights and went home.

 

1 fuming   

愤怒( fume的现在分词 )； 大怒； 发怒； 冒烟

参考例句：

• She sat in the car, silently fuming at the traffic jam. 她坐在汽车里，心中对交通堵塞感到十分恼火。
• I was fuming at their inefficiency. 我正因为他们效率低而发火。

2 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

3 placidly   

adv.平稳地，平静地

参考例句：

• Hurstwood stood placidly by, while the car rolled back into the yard. 当车子开回场地时，赫斯渥沉着地站在一边。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• The water chestnut floated placidly there, where it would grow. 那棵菱角就又安安稳稳浮在水面上生长去了。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

4 meek   

adj.温顺的，逆来顺受的

参考例句：

• He expects his wife to be meek and submissive.他期望妻子温顺而且听他摆布。
• The little girl is as meek as a lamb.那个小姑娘像羔羊一般温顺。

5 assented   

同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The judge assented to allow the prisoner to speak. 法官同意允许犯人申辩。
• "No," assented Tom, "they don't kill the women -- they're too noble. “对，”汤姆表示赞同地说，“他们不杀女人——真伟大！

6 meekly   

adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地

参考例句：

• He stood aside meekly when the new policy was proposed. 当有人提出新政策时，他唯唯诺诺地站 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He meekly accepted the rebuke. 他顺从地接受了批评。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 contagion   

n.(通过接触的疾病)传染；蔓延

参考例句：

• A contagion of fear swept through the crowd.一种恐惧感在人群中迅速蔓延开。
• The product contagion effect has numerous implications for marketing managers and retailers.产品传染效应对市场营销管理者和零售商都有很多的启示。

8 casually   

adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地

参考例句：

• She remarked casually that she was changing her job.她当时漫不经心地说要换工作。
• I casually mentioned that I might be interested in working abroad.我不经意地提到我可能会对出国工作感兴趣。

9 annoyance   

n.恼怒，生气，烦恼

参考例句：

• Why do you always take your annoyance out on me?为什么你不高兴时总是对我出气？
• I felt annoyance at being teased.我恼恨别人取笑我。

10 mistily   

adv.有雾地，朦胧地，不清楚地

参考例句：

• My wife is patting Run'er inside the house, murmuring lullaby mistily. 妻在屋里拍着闰儿，迷迷糊糊地哼着眠歌。 来自互联网
• Bits of tulle and fuzzy yarn hang mistily from the rafters. 房间的椽条上缠着薄纱和毛茸茸的纱线。 来自互联网

11 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

12 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

13 mite   

n.极小的东西；小铜币

参考例句：

• The poor mite was so ill.可怜的孩子病得这么重。
• He is a mite taller than I.他比我高一点点。

14 grumbled   

抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声

参考例句：

• He grumbled at the low pay offered to him. 他抱怨给他的工资低。
• The heat was sweltering, and the men grumbled fiercely over their work. 天热得让人发昏，水手们边干活边发着牢骚。

15 furtively   

adv. 偷偷地, 暗中地

参考例句：

• At this some of the others furtively exchanged significant glances. 听他这样说，有几个人心照不宣地彼此对望了一眼。
• Remembering my presence, he furtively dropped it under his chair. 后来想起我在，他便偷偷地把书丢在椅子下。

16 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

17 growled   

v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说

参考例句：

• \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道：“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 blotted   

涂污( blot的过去式和过去分词 )； （用吸墨纸）吸干

参考例句：

• She blotted water off the table with a towel. 她用毛巾擦干桌上的水。
• The blizzard blotted out the sky and the land. 暴风雪铺天盖地而来。

19 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。