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CHAPTER XVII AT THE PLAY
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But little light was thrown on the disappearance1 of Tavia through any information Dorothy could obtain from Grace Barnum. In fact that young lady was quite as puzzled as was Dorothy, and when told that Tavia was not to be found at home a few days previous (this being within the time when Tavia had left Buffalo2 ostensibly for her residence in Dalton), Miss Barnum wanted to communicate immediately with the missing girl’s parents.
 
Nat, with kind consideration, had declined to step inside when Dorothy called at the Barnum home. He thought he might better give the two young ladies a chance to discuss the situation alone, and so, under pretense3 of strolling through the little park opposite the house, left Grace and Dorothy together.
 
[162]
It took the girls but a moment to arrive at the same point of interest. Grace showed keenest anxiety when Dorothy inquired for Tavia, for she had fears of her own—since her friend’s visit.
 
“I must write at once,” she insisted. “What would Mrs. Travers think of me if anything happened to Tavia?”
 
“But I have already begun a letter,” stated Dorothy, truthfully enough, “so perhaps I had better make the inquiry4. You know how excitable Mrs. Travers is. Perhaps I could write without causing her any alarm, whereas she would surely expect you to know whether or not Tavia was home. I haven’t the slightest doubt but that she is home—now,” Dorothy hastened to add. “I am expecting her at North Birchland any day.”
 
This had the effect of putting Grace at her ease. Of course, she reflected, Tavia might even be at the Cedars5 now, as her mother had given her permission to go about almost as she wished, and she had expected to pay a number of visits to friends, no special time being set for them. This Grace knew for she had seen a letter to that effect from Mrs. Travers to Tavia.
 
“You see,” said Dorothy, rising to go, “they have always given Tavia so much her own way. She has been—well, sort of superior to the others at home. That, I think, is a real mistake, for a girl is expected to know more of the world and its ways than is consistent with her actual experience.”
 
[163]
“Exactly,” admitted Grace. “That is what I thought once when Tavia acted so—well so self-reliant. I do hope she is safe at home. You will let me know, won’t you Dorothy? I may call you that, mayn’t I? I feel as if I had known you for a long time, as Tavia has talked so much about you.”
 
So the two girls parted, and Dorothy’s heart seemed to grow heavier at each new turn in her quest for the missing one.
 
“Why should Tavia act so?” she asked herself over and over again, as she walked along with Nat who tried to cheer her up.
 
“If you don’t stop worrying, Doro,” he counseled as he noted6 the look of anxiety on her face, “you’ll be a sick girl ’way out here in Buffalo.”
 
“I’m going to be excused from the party to-night,” she answered. “I really have a headache, and I must have time to write some letters.”
 
“Great headache cure—letter writing. But I suppose you’ll not rest until you sift7 this matter to the very bottom. And, to be honest, Doro, I can’t say I blame you. I’d give a whole lot, right now, to know where the wily Tavia tarries.”
 
[164]
As discreetly8 as she could, Dorothy wrote the letter to Mrs. Travers to ask the mooted9 question. She did not say she had been to Grace Barnum’s, but simply inquired for Tavia’s address. On an early mail the next day (a remarkable10 thing for Mrs. Travers to answer a letter so promptly) came the reply that Tavia was at the Barnums! There was some other news of Dalton in the epistle, but that concerning Tavia, which her mother had apparently11 set down as a matter of fact, stood out prominently from all the rest.
 
In spite of her fears, when the letter presented the actual fact that Tavia was not at home, and, as Dorothy knew she was not at Grace’s, it came like a shock to the girl already in a highly nervous state because of what she had gone through. Hoping against hope she had clung to the slim possibility that some explanation might come from Dalton, but now even this was shattered.
 
One thing Dorothy quickly decided12 upon. She must have another talk with Alma Mason, and she must be careful not to excite suspicion as to the real purpose of the conversation.
 
Realizing at once that she must now move cautiously in the matter, for the slightest intimation that Tavia was away from home and friends, without either the latter or relatives having a clue to her whereabouts, would be sure to ruin Tavia’s reputation, Dorothy now determined13 that even Nat should not know of her plans for continuing the search.
 
[165]
How hopeless Dorothy felt all alone in such a work! But find Tavia she must, and to find her very soon she felt was imperative14, for, even in Buffalo, with her friends, Dorothy could see the dangers of a large city to an unprotected and unsuspecting young girl.
 
But the boys were going back to North Birchland the next day! How could Dorothy act in time to get to Rochester? For to Rochester she felt that she now must go. Everything pointed15 to the fact that Tavia was either there, or that there a clue to her whereabouts could be obtained.
 
On taking her morning walk alone, for Rose-Mary was a little indisposed, after the party of the evening previous, Dorothy met Miss Mason. It was not difficult to renew the conversation concerning Tavia. Bit by bit Alma told of Tavia’s infatuation for the stage, until Dorothy became more than ever convinced that it was in theatrical16 surroundings that the missing girl would be found.
 
[166]
Mrs. Markin had planned a little theatre party for Rose-Mary and some of her Buffalo friends that afternoon. The play was one especially interesting to young girls—a drama built on lines, showing how one ambitious girl succeeded in the world with nothing but a kind heart and a worthy17 purpose to start with. It abounded18 in scenes of rural home life, wholesome19 and picturesque20, and one of the features, most conspicuous21 in the advertising22 on the billboards23 was that of the character Katherine, the heroine, holding a neighborhood meeting in a cornfield, among the laborers24 during the noon hour. The girl appeared in the posters perched upon a water barrel and from that pulpit in the open she, as the daughter of a blind chair caner25, won hearts to happiness with the gospel of brotherly love—the new religion of the poor and the oppressed.
 
While Rose-Mary and Alma enthused over the prospect26 of a particularly pleasant afternoon, Dorothy seemed nervous, and it was with some misgivings27 that she finally agreed to attend the party that was really arranged for her special entertainment. The boys, Ned, Nat and Jack28 were going, of course, and to make the affair complete Rose-Mary had also invited Grace Barnum.
 
[167]
Grace was a particularly bright girl, the sort that cares more for books than pretty clothes, and who had the temerity29 to wear her hair parted directly in the middle in the very wildest of pompadour days. Not that Grace lacked beauty, for she was of the classic type that seems to defy nationality to such an extent, that it might be a matter of most uncertain guess to say to what country her ancestors had belonged.
 
This “neutrality” was a source of constant delight to Grace, for each new friend would undertake to assign her to a different country, and so she felt quite like the “real thing in Cosmopolitan30 types” as she expressed it. The fact, however, might have been accounted for by the incident of Grace having been born under missionary31 skies in China. Her mother was an American blond, her father a dark foreigner of French and Spanish ancestry32 and, with all this there was in the Barnum family a distinct strain, of Puritan stock, from which the name Barnum came. Grace, being distinctly different from other girls, no doubt attracted Tavia to her, and now, when received among Tavia’s friends she was welcomed with marked attention that at once established a bond of friendship between her and the other girls.
 
The boys, naturally, were not slow to “discover her” so that, altogether, the little matinee party, when it had reached the theatre, was a very merry throng33 of young people. Mrs. Markin acted as chaperone and, five minutes before the time set for the play to begin Dorothy and her friends sat staring at the green fire-proof curtain from a roomy box. Dorothy was like one in a dream.
 
[168]
All about her the others were eagerly waiting, looking the while at the programmes, but Dorothy sat there with the pink leaflet lying unheeded in her lap.
 
“How much that picture of Katherine resembles Tavia,” was the thought that disturbed her. “The same hair—the same eyes—what if it should be she?”
 
The curtain was swaying to and fro as those behind it brushed past in their preparations for the presentation of “Katherine, the Chair Caner’s Daughter.”
 
Dorothy’s heart beat wildly when she fancied Tavia amid such scenes—Tavia the open-hearted girl, the little Dalton “wild flower” as Dorothy liked to call her. Surely no stage heroine could be more heroic than she had always been in her role of shedding happiness on all who came within her sphere of life.
 
Suddenly Rose-Mary turned to Nat and remarked:
 
“How Tavia would enjoy this.” She looked around on the gay scene as the theatre was filling up. “What a pity we could not bring her with us for the good time.”
 
[169]
Dorothy felt her face flush as Nat made some irrelevant34 reply. Jack turned directly to Dorothy and, noting her inattention to the programme opened his to point out some of the items of interest.
 
But still Dorothy stared nervously35 at the big asbestos curtain and made feeble efforts to answer her companion’s questions. Even Mrs. Markin observed Dorothy’s rather queer manner, and she, too, showed concern that her daughter’s guest should be ill at ease.
 
“Aren’t you well, dear?” she asked quietly.
 
Dorothy fumbled36 with a lace flounce on her sleeve.
 
“Yes,” she answered, “but there is so much to see and think about.” She felt as if she were apologizing. “I am not accustomed to city theatres,” she added.
 
Then the orchestra broke into the opening number, and presently a flash of light across the curtain told that the players were ready to begin.
 
[170]
The introductory scenes were rather of an amateur order—a poor country home—the blind chair caner at work, and his more or less amusing customers. One flashily-dressed woman wanted him to put a rush bottom in a chair that had belonged to her grandmother, but absolutely refused to pay even the very low price the caner asked for the work. She wanted it as cheaply as though rush bottoms could be made by machinery37. He was poor and needed work but he could not accept her terms.
 
The woman in a red silk gown, with a bewildering shower of veils floating about her, did not gain any applause for her part in the play. Dorothy noted that even on the stage undesirable38 persons do not please, and that the assumed character is taken into account as well as their acting39.
 
It was when the blind man sat alone at his door step, with his sightless eyes raised pitifully to the inviting40 sunset, that the pretty Katherine came skipping into view across the footlights.
 
Instinctively41 Nat reached out and, without being observed grasped Dorothy’s hand. “How like Tavia!” he mused42, while Dorothy actually seemed to stop breathing. From that moment to the very end of the play Nat and Dorothy shared the same thought—it might be Tavia. The others had each remarked the resemblance, but, being more interested in the drama than in the whereabouts of Dorothy’s chum (whom they had no occasion to worry about for they did not know the circumstances,) they merely dwelt on it as a passing thought—they were interested in what happened to the chair caner’s daughter.
 
[171]
At last every member of the company found some excuse to get on the stage, and then the end was reached, and the curtain went down while the throng hurried out, seemingly indifferent to the desire of the actors to show themselves again as the curtain shot up for a final display of the last scene.
 
The Markin party was to go to a restaurant for ice-cream, and so hurried from the box. Dorothy drifted along with them for a few moments, and then again that one thought came to her, overwhelming her.
 
“What if that should really be Tavia?”
 
She had but a moment to act, then, when the crowd pressed closer and there was difficulty in walking because of the blockade, Dorothy slipped back, stepped out of her place, and was at once swallowed up in a sea of persons.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 disappearance ouEx5     
n.消失,消散,失踪
参考例句:
  • He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
  • Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。
2 buffalo 1Sby4     
n.(北美)野牛;(亚洲)水牛
参考例句:
  • Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
  • The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。
3 pretense yQYxi     
n.矫饰,做作,借口
参考例句:
  • You can't keep up the pretense any longer.你无法继续伪装下去了。
  • Pretense invariably impresses only the pretender.弄虚作假欺骗不了真正的行家。
4 inquiry nbgzF     
n.打听,询问,调查,查问
参考例句:
  • Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
  • The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。
5 cedars 4de160ce89706c12228684f5ca667df6     
雪松,西洋杉( cedar的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The old cedars were badly damaged in the storm. 风暴严重损害了古老的雪松。
  • Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. 1黎巴嫩哪,开开你的门,任火烧灭你的香柏树。
6 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
7 sift XEAza     
v.筛撒,纷落,详察
参考例句:
  • Sift out the wheat from the chaff.把小麦的壳筛出来。
  • Sift sugar on top of the cake.在蛋糕上面撒上糖。
8 discreetly nuwz8C     
ad.(言行)审慎地,慎重地
参考例句:
  • He had only known the perennial widow, the discreetly expensive Frenchwoman. 他只知道她是个永远那么年轻的寡妇,一个很会讲排场的法国女人。
  • Sensing that Lilian wanted to be alone with Celia, Andrew discreetly disappeared. 安德鲁觉得莉莲想同西莉亚单独谈些什么,有意避开了。
9 mooted 42b8b549ab8fce09813022dde6051a3b     
adj.未决定的,有争议的,有疑问的v.提出…供讨论( moot的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The is sue was mooted on the Senate floor. 该问题在参院被提出讨论。 来自辞典例句
  • The question mooted in the board meeting is still a moot point. 那个在董事会上(提出讨论)的问题仍(未决的)。 来自互联网
10 remarkable 8Vbx6     
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的
参考例句:
  • She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
  • These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。
11 apparently tMmyQ     
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎
参考例句:
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
12 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
13 determined duszmP     
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。
14 imperative BcdzC     
n.命令,需要;规则;祈使语气;adj.强制的;紧急的
参考例句:
  • He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
  • The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。
15 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
16 theatrical pIRzF     
adj.剧场的,演戏的;做戏似的,做作的
参考例句:
  • The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果,叫人失望。
  • She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。
17 worthy vftwB     
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的
参考例句:
  • I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
  • There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。
18 abounded 40814edef832fbadb4cebe4735649eb5     
v.大量存在,充满,富于( abound的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Get-rich-quick schemes abounded, and many people lost their savings. “生财之道”遍地皆是,然而许多人一生积攒下来的钱转眼之间付之东流。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
  • Shoppers thronged the sidewalks. Olivedrab and navy-blue uniforms abounded. 人行道上逛商店的人摩肩接踵,身着草绿色和海军蓝军装的军人比比皆是。 来自辞典例句
19 wholesome Uowyz     
adj.适合;卫生的;有益健康的;显示身心健康的
参考例句:
  • In actual fact the things I like doing are mostly wholesome.实际上我喜欢做的事大都是有助于增进身体健康的。
  • It is not wholesome to eat without washing your hands.不洗手吃饭是不卫生的。
20 picturesque qlSzeJ     
adj.美丽如画的,(语言)生动的,绘声绘色的
参考例句:
  • You can see the picturesque shores beside the river.在河边你可以看到景色如画的两岸。
  • That was a picturesque phrase.那是一个形象化的说法。
21 conspicuous spszE     
adj.明眼的,惹人注目的;炫耀的,摆阔气的
参考例句:
  • It is conspicuous that smoking is harmful to health.很明显,抽烟对健康有害。
  • Its colouring makes it highly conspicuous.它的色彩使它非常惹人注目。
22 advertising 1zjzi3     
n.广告业;广告活动 a.广告的;广告业务的
参考例句:
  • Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
  • The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。
23 billboards 984a8d026956f1fd68b7105fc9074edf     
n.广告牌( billboard的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Large billboards have disfigured the scenery. 大型告示板已破坏了景色。 来自辞典例句
  • Then, put the logo in magazines and on billboards without telling anyone what it means. 接着我们把这个商标刊在杂志和广告看板上,却不跟任何人透漏它的涵意。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年4月号
24 laborers c8c6422086151d6c0ae2a95777108e3c     
n.体力劳动者,工人( laborer的名词复数 );(熟练工人的)辅助工
参考例句:
  • Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言
25 caner dd506372f8a94d8d2854e475ae30dcd2     
n.藤椅编制工
参考例句:
  • They are trying to reduce the occurrence of caner by 50%. 他们正在设法将癌症的产生率减少百分之五十。 来自互联网
  • These mites carry the caner like picorna-like viruses. 这些瓦螨就携带有类微小核糖核酸病毒。 来自互联网
26 prospect P01zn     
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。
27 misgivings 0nIzyS     
n.疑虑,担忧,害怕;疑虑,担心,恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 );疑惧
参考例句:
  • I had grave misgivings about making the trip. 对于这次旅行我有过极大的顾虑。
  • Don't be overtaken by misgivings and fear. Just go full stream ahead! 不要瞻前顾后, 畏首畏尾。甩开膀子干吧! 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
28 jack 53Hxp     
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克
参考例句:
  • I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
  • He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。
29 temerity PGmyk     
n.鲁莽,冒失
参考例句:
  • He had the temerity to ask for higher wages after only a day's work.只工作了一天,他就蛮不讲理地要求增加工资。
  • Tins took some temerity,but it was fruitless.这件事做得有点莽撞,但结果还是无用。
30 cosmopolitan BzRxj     
adj.世界性的,全世界的,四海为家的,全球的
参考例句:
  • New York is a highly cosmopolitan city.纽约是一个高度世界性的城市。
  • She has a very cosmopolitan outlook on life.她有四海一家的人生观。
31 missionary ID8xX     
adj.教会的,传教(士)的;n.传教士
参考例句:
  • She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
  • I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。
32 ancestry BNvzf     
n.祖先,家世
参考例句:
  • Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
  • He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。
33 throng sGTy4     
n.人群,群众;v.拥挤,群集
参考例句:
  • A patient throng was waiting in silence.一大群耐心的人在静静地等着。
  • The crowds thronged into the mall.人群涌进大厅。
34 irrelevant ZkGy6     
adj.不恰当的,无关系的,不相干的
参考例句:
  • That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
  • A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上,一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。
35 nervously tn6zFp     
adv.神情激动地,不安地
参考例句:
  • He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇,努力忍着不哭出来。
  • He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。
36 fumbled 78441379bedbe3ea49c53fb90c34475f     
(笨拙地)摸索或处理(某事物)( fumble的过去式和过去分词 ); 乱摸,笨拙地弄; 使落下
参考例句:
  • She fumbled in her pocket for a handkerchief. 她在她口袋里胡乱摸找手帕。
  • He fumbled about in his pockets for the ticket. 他(瞎)摸着衣兜找票。
37 machinery CAdxb     
n.(总称)机械,机器;机构
参考例句:
  • Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗?
  • Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。
38 undesirable zp0yb     
adj.不受欢迎的,不良的,不合意的,讨厌的;n.不受欢迎的人,不良分子
参考例句:
  • They are the undesirable elements among the employees.他们是雇员中的不良分子。
  • Certain chemicals can induce undesirable changes in the nervous system.有些化学物质能在神经系统中引起不良变化。
39 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
参考例句:
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
40 inviting CqIzNp     
adj.诱人的,引人注目的
参考例句:
  • An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
  • The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人,使人感到亲切温馨。
41 instinctively 2qezD2     
adv.本能地
参考例句:
  • As he leaned towards her she instinctively recoiled. 他向她靠近,她本能地往后缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He knew instinctively where he would find her. 他本能地知道在哪儿能找到她。 来自《简明英汉词典》
42 mused 0affe9d5c3a243690cca6d4248d41a85     
v.沉思,冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 );沉思自语说(某事)
参考例句:
  • \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们,”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道:‘我们这是在干什么?” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史


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