With a lurch1 the train came to a dead stop and Margaret Earle, hastily gathering2 up her belongings3, hurried down the aisle4 and got out into the night.
It occurred to her, as she swung her heavy suit-case down the rather long step to the ground, and then carefully swung herself after it, that it was strange that neither conductor, brakeman, nor porter had come to help her off the train, when all three had taken the trouble to tell her that hers was the next station; but she could hear voices up ahead. Perhaps something was the matter with the engine that detained them and they had forgotten her for the moment.
The ground was rough where she stood, and there seemed no sign of a platform. Did they not have platforms in this wild Western land, or was the train so long that her car had stopped before reaching it?
She strained her eyes into the darkness, and tried to make out things from the two or three specks5 of light that danced about like fireflies in the distance. She could dimly see moving figures away up near the engine, and each one evidently carried a lantern. The train was tremendously long. A sudden feeling of isolation6 took possession of her. Perhaps she ought not to have got out until some one came to help her. Perhaps the train had not pulled into the station yet and she ought to get back on it and wait. Yet if the train started before she found the conductor she might be carried on somewhere and be justly blame her for a fool.
There did not seem to be any building on that side of the track. It was probably on the other, but she was standing7 too near the cars to see over. She tried to move back to look, but the ground sloped and she slipped and fell in the cinders8, bruising9 her knee and cutting her wrist.
In sudden panic she arose. She would get back into the train, no matter what the consequences. They had no right to put her out here, away off from the station, at night, in a strange country. If the train started before she could find the conductor she would tell him that he must back it up again and let her off. He certainly could not expect her to get out like this.
She lifted the heavy suit-case up the high step that was even farther from the ground than it had been when she came down, because her fall had loosened some of the earth and caused it to slide away from the track. Then, reaching to the rail of the step, she tried to pull herself up, but as she did so the engine gave a long snort and the whole train, as if it were in league against her, lurched forward crazily, shaking off her hold. She slipped to her knees again, the suit-case, toppled from the lower step, descending10 upon her, and together they slid and rolled down the short bank, while the train, like an irresponsible nurse who had slapped her charge and left it to its fate, ran giddily off into the night.
The horror of being deserted11 helped the girl to rise in spite of bruises12 and shock. She lifted imploring13 hands to the unresponsive cars as they hurried by her—one, two, three, with bright windows, each showing a passenger, comfortable and safe inside, unconscious of her need.
A moment of useless screaming, running, trying to attract some one's attention, a sickening sense of terror and failure, and the last car slatted itself past with a mocking clatter14, as if it enjoyed her discomfort15.
Margaret stood dazed, reaching out helpless hands, then dropped them at her sides and gazed after the fast-retreating train, the light on its last car swinging tauntingly16, blinking now and then with a leer in its eye, rapidly vanishing from her sight into the depth of the night.
She gasped17 and looked about her for the station that but a short moment before had been so real to her mind; and, lo! on this side and on that there was none!
The night was wide like a great floor shut in by a low, vast dome18 of curving blue set with the largest, most wonderful stars she had ever seen. Heavy shadows of purple-green, smoke-like, hovered19 over earth darker and more intense than the unfathomable blue of the night sky. It seemed like the secret nesting-place of mysteries wherein no human foot might dare intrude20. It was incredible that such could be but common sage-brush, sand, and greasewood wrapped about with the beauty of the lonely night.
No building broke the inky outlines of the plain, nor friendly light streamed out to cheer her heart. Not even a tree was in sight, except on the far horizon, where a heavy line of deeper darkness might mean a forest. Nothing, absolutely nothing, in the blue, deep, starry21 dome above and the bluer darkness of the earth below save one sharp shaft22 ahead like a black mast throwing out a dark arm across the track.
As soon as she sighted it she picked up her baggage and made her painful way toward it, for her knees and wrist were bruised23 and her baggage was heavy.
A soft drip, drip greeted her as she drew nearer; something plashing down among the cinders by the track. Then she saw the tall column with its arm outstretched, and looming24 darker among the sage-brush the outlines of a water-tank. It was so she recognized the engine's drinking-tank, and knew that she had mistaken a pause to water the engine for a regular stop at a station.
Her soul sank within her as she came up to the dripping water and laid her hand upon the dark upright, as if in some way it could help her. She dropped her baggage and stood, trembling, gazing around upon the beautiful, lonely scene in horror; and then, like a mirage25 against the distance, there melted on her frightened eyes a vision of her father and mother sitting around the library lamp at home, as they sat every evening. They were probably reading and talking at this very minute, and trying not to miss her on this her first venture away from the home into the great world to teach. What would they say if they could see their beloved daughter, whom they had sheltered all these years and let go forth26 so reluctantly now, in all her confidence of youth, bound by almost absurd promises to be careful and not run any risks.
Yet here she was, standing alone beside a water-tank in the midst of an Arizona plain, no knowing how many miles from anywhere, at somewhere between nine and ten o'clock at night! It seemed incredible that it had really happened! Perhaps she was dreaming! A few moments before in the bright car, surrounded by drowsy27 fellow-travelers, almost at her journey's end, as she supposed; and now, having merely done as she thought right, she was stranded29 here!
She rubbed her eyes and looked again up the track, half expecting to see the train come back for her. Surely, surely the conductor, or the porter who had been so kind, would discover that she was gone, and do something about it. They couldn't leave her here alone on the prairie! It would be too dreadful!
That vision of her father and mother off against the purple-green distance, how it shook her! The lamp looked bright and cheerful, and she could see her father's head with its heavy white hair. He turned to look at her mother to tell her of something he read in the paper. They were sitting there, feeling contented30 and almost happy about her, and she, their little girl—all her dignity as school-teacher dropped from her like a garment now—she was standing in this empty space alone, with only an engine's water-tank to keep her from dying, and only the barren, desolate31 track to connect her with the world of men and women. She dropped her head upon her breast and the tears came, sobbing33, choking, raining down. Then off in the distance she heard a low, rising howl of some snarling34, angry beast, and she lifted her head and stood in trembling terror, clinging to the tank.
That sound was coyotes or wolves howling. She had read about them, but had not expected to experience them in such a situation. How confidently had she accepted the position which offered her the opening she had sought for the splendid career that she hoped was to follow! How fearless had she been! Coyotes, nor Indians, nor wild cowboy students—nothing had daunted35 her courage. Besides, she told her mother it was very different going to a town from what it would be if she were a missionary36 going to the wilds. It was an important school she was to teach, where her Latin and German and mathematical achievements had won her the place above several other applicants37, and where her well-known tact38 was expected to work wonders. But what were Latin and German and mathematics now? Could they show her how to climb a water-tank? Would tact avail with a hungry wolf?
The howl in the distance seemed to come nearer. She cast frightened eyes to the unresponsive water-tank looming high and dark above her. She must get up there somehow. It was not safe to stand here a minute. Besides, from that height she might be able to see farther, and perhaps there would be a light somewhere and she might cry for help.
Investigation39 showed a set of rude spikes40 by which the trainmen were wont42 to climb up, and Margaret prepared to ascend43 them. She set her suit-case dubiously44 down at the foot. Would it be safe to leave it there? She had read how coyotes carried off a hatchet45 from a camping-party, just to get the leather thong46 which was bound about the handle. She could not afford to lose her things. Yet how could she climb and carry that heavy burden with her? A sudden thought came.
Her simple traveling-gown was finished with a silken girdle, soft and long, wound twice about her waist and falling in tasseled47 ends. Swiftly she untied48 it and knotted one end firmly to the handle of her suit-case, tying the other end securely to her wrist. Then slowly, cautiously, with many a look upward, she began to climb.
It seemed miles, though in reality it was but a short distance. The howling beasts in the distance sounded nearer now and continually, making her heart beat wildly. She was stiff and bruised from her falls, and weak with fright. The spikes were far apart, and each step of progress was painful and difficult. It was good at last to rise high enough to see over the water-tank and feel a certain confidence in her defense49.
But she had risen already beyond the short length of her silken tether, and the suit-case was dragging painfully on her arm. She was obliged to steady herself where she stood and pull it up before she could go on. Then she managed to get it swung up to the top of the tank in a comparatively safe place. One more long spike41 step and she was beside it.
The tank was partly roofed over, so that she had room enough to sit on the edge without danger of falling in and drowning. For a few minutes she could only sit still and be thankful and try to get her breath back again after the climb; but presently the beauty of the night began to cast its spell over her. That wonderful blue of the sky! It hadn't ever before impressed her that skies were blue at night. She would have said they were black or gray. As a matter of fact, she didn't remember to have ever seen so much sky at once before, nor to have noticed skies in general until now.
This sky was so deeply, wonderfully blue, the stars so real, alive and sparkling, that all other stars she had ever seen paled before them into mere28 imitations. The spot looked like one of Taylor's pictures of the Holy Land. She half expected to see a shepherd with his crook50 and sheep approaching her out of the dim shadows, or a turbaned, white-robed David with his lifted hands of prayer standing off among the depths of purple darkness. It would not have been out of keeping if a walled city with housetops should be hidden behind the clumps51 of sage-brush farther on. 'Twas such a night and such a scene as this, perhaps, when the wise men started to follow the star!
But one cannot sit on the edge of a water-tank in the desert night alone and muse52 long on art and history. It was cold up there, and the howling seemed nearer than before. There was no sign of a light or a house anywhere, and not even a freight-train sent its welcome clatter down the track. All was still and wide and lonely, save that terrifying sound of the beasts; such stillness as she had not ever thought could be—a fearful silence as a setting for the awful voices of the wilds.
The bruises and scratches she had acquired set up a fine stinging, and the cold seemed to sweep down and take possession of her on her high, narrow seat. She was growing stiff and cramped53, yet dared not move much. Would there be no train, nor any help? Would she have to sit there all night? It looked so very near to the ground now. Could wild beasts climb, she wondered?
Then in the interval54 of silence that came between the calling of those wild creatures there stole a sound. She could not tell at first what it was. A slow, regular, plodding55 sound, and quite far away. She looked to find it, and thought she saw a shape move out of the sage-brush on the other side of the track, but she could not be sure. It might be but a figment of her brain, a foolish fancy from looking so long at the huddled56 bushes on the dark plain. Yet something prompted her to cry out, and when she heard her own voice she cried again and louder, wondering why she had not cried before.
"Help! Help!" she called; and again: "Help! Help!"
The dark shape paused and turned toward her. She was sure now. What if it were a beast instead of a human! Terrible fear took possession of her; then, to her infinite relief, a nasal voice sounded out:
"Who's thar?"
But when she opened her lips to answer, nothing but a sob32 would come to them for a minute, and then she could only cry, pitifully:
"Help! Help!"
"Whar be you?" twanged the voice; and now she could see a horse and rider like a shadow moving toward her down the track.
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收听单词发音
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1
lurch
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| n.突然向前或旁边倒；v.蹒跚而行 | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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belongings
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| n.私人物品，私人财物 | |
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aisle
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| n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道 | |
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specks
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| n.眼镜；斑点，微粒，污点( speck的名词复数 ) | |
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6
isolation
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| n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离 | |
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7
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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cinders
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| n.煤渣( cinder的名词复数 )；炭渣；煤渣路；煤渣跑道 | |
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9
bruising
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| adj.殊死的；十分激烈的v.擦伤(bruise的现在分词形式) | |
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10
descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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12
bruises
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| n.瘀伤，伤痕，擦伤( bruise的名词复数 ) | |
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13
imploring
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| 恳求的，哀求的 | |
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14
clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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discomfort
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| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
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16
tauntingly
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| 嘲笑地，辱骂地； 嘲骂地 | |
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17
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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18
dome
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| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
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19
hovered
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| 鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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20
intrude
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| vi.闯入；侵入；打扰，侵扰 | |
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starry
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| adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的 | |
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22
shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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23
bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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24
looming
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| n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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mirage
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| n.海市蜃楼，幻景 | |
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26
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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27
drowsy
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| adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的 | |
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28
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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29
stranded
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| a.搁浅的，进退两难的 | |
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30
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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31
desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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32
sob
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| n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣 | |
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33
sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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34
snarling
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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35
daunted
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| 使（某人）气馁，威吓( daunt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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36
missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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applicants
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| 申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 ) | |
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38
tact
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| n.机敏，圆滑，得体 | |
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39
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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40
spikes
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| n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划 | |
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41
spike
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| n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效 | |
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42
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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43
ascend
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| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
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44
dubiously
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| adv.可疑地，怀疑地 | |
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45
hatchet
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| n.短柄小斧；v.扼杀 | |
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46
thong
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| n.皮带；皮鞭；v.装皮带 | |
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47
tasseled
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| v.抽穗， （玉米）长穗须( tassel的过去式和过去分词 )；使抽穗， （为了使作物茁壮生长）摘去穗状雄花；用流苏装饰 | |
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48
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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49
defense
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| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
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50
crook
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| v.使弯曲；n.小偷，骗子，贼；弯曲(处) | |
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51
clumps
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| n.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的名词复数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声 | |
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52
muse
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| n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感 | |
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53
cramped
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| a.狭窄的 | |
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54
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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55
plodding
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| a.proceeding in a slow or dull way | |
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56
huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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