I had slept but two nights at King's Cobb, when I saw distinctly that the novel with which I was to revolutionize society and my own fortunes, and with the purpose of writing which in an unvexed seclusion1 I had buried myself in this expedient2 hamlet on the South Coast, was withered3 in the bud beyond redemption. To this lamentable4 canker of a seedling5 hope the eternal harmony of the sea was a principal contributor; but Miss Whiffle confirmed the blight6. I had fled from the jangle of a city, and the worries incidental to a life of threepenny sociabilities; and the result was—
I had rooms on the Parade—a suggestive mouthful. But then the Parade is such a modest little affair. The town itself is flung down a steep hill, at the mouth of a verdurous gorge7; and lies pitched so far as the very waterside, a picturesque8 jumble9 of wall and roof. Its banked edges bristle10 and stand up in the bight of a vaster bay, with a crooked11 breakwater, like a bent12 finger, beckoning13 passing sails to its harbourage—an invitation which most are coy of accepting. For the attractions of King's Cobb are—comparatively—limited, and its nearest station is a full six miles distant along a switchback road.
Possibly this last fact may have militated against the popularity of King's Cobb as a holiday resort. If so, all the better; and may enterprise for ever languish14 in the matter. For vulgarity can claim no commoner purpose with fashion than is shown in that destruction of ancient landmarks16 and double gilding17 of new which follows the "opening out" of some unsophisticated colony of simple souls.
King's Cobb, if "remote and unfriended," is neither "melancholy18" nor "slow"; but it is small, and all its fine little history—for it has had a stirring one—has ruffled19 itself out on a liliputian platform.
Than this, its insignificance20, I desired nothing better. I wished to feel the comparative importance of the individual, which one cannot do in crowded colonies. I coveted21 surroundings that should be primitive—an atmosphere in which my thoughts could speak to me coherent. I would be as one in a cave, looking forth22 on sea, and sky, and the buoyant glory of Nature; unvexed of conventions; untrammelled by social observances; building up my enchanted24 palace of the imagination against such a background as only the unsullied majesty25 of sky and ocean could present. For the result was to crown with my name an epoch26 in literature; and hither in future ages should the pilgrim stand at gaze, murmuring to himself, 'And here he wrote it!'
I laid my head on my pillow, that first night of my stay, with a brimming brain and a heart of high resolve. The two little windows, under a thatched roof, of my sleeping place (that lay over my sitting-room28, and both looked oceanwards) were open to the inpour of sweet hot air; and only the regular wash of the sea below broke the close stillness of the night. I say this was all; and, with the memory upon me, I could easily, at any time, break the second commandment.
I had thought myself fortunate in my lodgings29. They were in a most charming old-world cottage—as I have said on the Parade—and at high tide I could have thrown a biscuit into the sea with merely a lazy jerk. My sitting-room put forth a semi-circular window—like a lighthouse lantern—upon the very pathway, and it had been soothing31 during the afternoon to look from out this upon the little world of sea and sky and striding cliff that was temporarily mine. From the Parade four feet of stone wall dipped to a second narrow terrace, and this, in its turn, was but a step above a slope of shingle32 that ran down to the water.
Veritably had I pitched my tent on the wide littoral33 of rest. So I thought with a smile, as I composed myself for slumber34.
I slept, and I woke, and I lay awake for hours. Every vext problem of my life and of the hereafter presented itself to me, and had to be argued out and puzzled over with maddening reiteration35. The reason for this was evident and flagrant. It had woven itself into the tissue of my brief unconsciousness, and was now recognised as, ineradicably, part of myself.
The tide was incoming, that was all, and the waves currycombed the beach with a swishing monotony that would have dehumanized an ostler.
This rings like the undue36 inflation of a little theme. I ask no pity for it, nor do I make apology for my weakness. Men there may be, no doubt, to whom the unceasing recurrent thump37 and scream of a coasting tide on shingle speaks, even in sleep, of the bountiful rhythm of Nature. I am not one of them—at least, since I visited King's Cobb. The noise of the waters got into my brain and stayed there. It turned everything else out—sleep, thought, faith, hope, and charity. From that first awakening38 my skull39 was a mere30 globe of stagnant40 fluid, for any disease germs that listed to propagate in.
Perhaps I was too near the coast-line. The highest appreciations41 of Nature's thunderous forces are conceived, I believe, in the muffled42 seclusion of the study. I had heard of still-rooms. I did not quite know what they were; but they seemed to me an indispensable part of seaside lodgings, and for the rest of that night I ardently43 and almost tearfully longed to be in one.
I came down in the morning jaded45 and utterly46 unrefreshed. It was patent that I was in no state to so much as outline the preliminaries of my great undertaking47. "Use shall accustom48 me," I groaned49. "I shall scarcely notice it to-night."
And it was at this point that Miss Whiffle walked like a banshee into the disturbed chambers50 of my life, and completed my demoralization.
I must premise51 that I am an exquisitively nervous man—one who would accept almost ridiculous impositions if the alternative were a "scene." Strangers, I fancy, are quick to detect the signs of this weakness in me; but none before had ever ventured to take such outrageous52 advantage of it as did Miss Whiffle, with the completest success.
This lady had secured me for a month. My rights extended over the lantern-windowed sitting-room and the bedroom above it. They were to include, moreover, board of a select quality.
"Select" represented Miss Whiffle's brazen53 mean of morality; and, indeed, it is an elastic54 and accommodating word. One, for instance, may select an aged55 gander for its wisdom, knowing that the youthful gosling is proverbially "green." Miss Whiffle selected the aged gander for me, and I gnawed56 its sinewy57 limbs without a protest. On a similar principle she appeared to ransack58 the town shops for prehistoric59 joints60 (the locality was rich in fossils), and vegetables that, like eggs, only grew harder the more they were boiled.
I submitted, of course; and should have done no less by a landlady61 not so obstreperously62 constituted. But this terrible person gauged63 and took me in hand from the very morning following my arrival.
She came to receive my orders after breakfast (tepid chicory and an omelette like a fragment of scorched64 blanket) with her head wrapped up in a towel. Thus habited she had the effrontery65 to trust the meal had been to my liking66. I gave myself away at once by weakly answering, "Oh, certainly!"
"As to dinner, sir," she said faintly, "it is agreed, no kitching fire in the hevening. That is understood."
I said, "Oh, certainly!" again.
"What I should recommend," she said—and she winced67 obtrusively68 at every sixth word—"is an 'arty meal at one, and a light supper at height."
"That will suit me admirably," I said.
She tapped her fingers together indulgently.
"So I thought," she murmured. "Now, what do you fancy, sir?"
"Dear me!" I exclaimed, for her face was horribly contorted. "Are you in pain?"
"Agonies!" said Miss Whiffle.
"Toothache?"
"Neuralgia, sir, for my sins."
"Is there—is there no remedy?"
She was taken with a sharp spasm69 of laughter, mirthless, but consciously expressive70 of all the familiar processes of self-effacement under torture.
"I arks nothing but my duty, sir," she said. "That is the myrrh and balsam to a racking 'ed. Not but what I owns to a shrinking like unto death over the thought of what lays before me this very morning. Rest and quiet is needful, but it's little I shall get of either out of a kitching fire in the dog days. And what would you fancy for your dinner, sir?"
"I am sorry," I murmured, "that you should suffer on my account. I suppose there is nothing cold—"
"Not enough, sir, in all the 'ouse to bait a mousetrap. Nor would I inconvenience you, if not for your own kind suggestion. But potted meats is 'andy and ever sweet, and if I might make bold to propose a tin—"
"Very well. Get me what you like, Miss Whiffle."
"I must arks your pardin, sir. But to walk out in this 'eat, and every rolling pebble71 under my foot a knife through my 'ed—no, sir. I make bold to claim that consideration for myself."
Then I added, in the forlorn hope of justifying73 my moral ineptitude74 to myself, "If you take my advice, you will lie down."
"And where, sir?" she answered, with a particularly patient smile. "The beds is unmade as yet, sir," she went on, in a suffering decline, "and rumpled75 sheets is thorns to a bursting brain."
Then she looked meaningly at the sitting-room sofa.
"I made bold to think, if you 'ad 'appened to been a-going to bathe, the only quiet place in the 'ouse—" she murmured, in semi-detached sentences, and put her hand to her brow.
Five minutes later (I fear no one will credit it) I was outside the house, and Miss Whiffle was installed, towel and all, upon my sofa.
For a moment I really think the outrageous absurdity76 of the situation did goad77 me to the tottering78 point of rebellion. I had not the courage, however, to let myself go, and, as usual, succumbed79 to the tyranny of circumstances.
It was a blazing morning. The flat sea lay panting on its coasts, as if, for all its liquid sparkle, it were athirst; and the town, under the oven of its hills, burned red-hot, like pottery80 in a kiln81.
I went and bought my tinned meat (a form of preserve quite odious82 to me) and strolled back disconsolately83 to the Parade. Occasionally, flitting past the lantern window, I would steal a side glance into the cool luminosity of my own inaccessible84 parlour; and there always, reclining at her ease upon my sofa, was the ineradicable presentment of Miss Whiffle.
At one o'clock I ventured to reclaim85 my own, and sat me down at table, a scorched and glutinous86 wreck87, too overcome with lassitude to tackle the obnoxious88 meal of my own providing. And to the sofa, already made familiar of that dishonoured89 towel, I was fain presently to confide90 the empty problem of my own aching head.
All this was but the forerunner91 and earnest of a month's long martyrdom. That night the sea had me by the nerves again, and for many nights after; and, although I grew in time to a certain tolerance92 of the booming monotony, it was the tolerance of a dully resigned, not an indifferent, brain.
When it came to the second morning, not only the novel, but the mere idea of my ever having contemplated93 writing one, was a thing with me to feebly marvel94 over. And from that time I set myself down to exist and broil95 only, doling96 out a languid interest to the locality, the shimmer97 of whose baking hill-sides made all life a quivering, glaring phantom98 of itself.
Miss Whiffle tyrannized over me more or less according to her mood; but she did not usurp99 my sitting-room again. I used to sit by the hour at the lantern window, in a sort of greasy100 blankness, like a meat pudding, and vacantly scrutinize101 the loiterers who passed by on the hot asphalt of the Parade. Screened by the window curtains, I could see and hear without endangering my own privacy; and many were the odd interchanges of speech that fell from strangers unconscious of a listener.
One particularly festering day after dinner I had the excitement of quite a pretty little quarrel for dessert. Miss Whiffle had stuffed me with suet, in meat and pudding, to a point of stupefaction that stopped short only of absolute insensibility; and in this state I took up my usual post at the window, awaiting in swollen102 vacuity103 the possibilities of the afternoon.
On the horizon violet-hot sea and sky showed scarce a line of demarcation between them. Nearer in the waves snored stertorously104 from exhausted105 lungs, as if the very tide were in extremis. Not a breath of air fanned the pitiless Parade, and the sole accent on life came from a droning, monotonous106 voice pitched from somewhere in querulous complaint.
"Frarsty!" it wailed107, "Frarsty! I warnt thee!" and again, "I warnt thee, Frarsty! Frarsty! Frar—r—r—rsty!" drawn108 out in an inconceivable passionlessness of desire again and again, till I felt myself absorbing the ridiculous yearning109 for an absurd person and inclined to weep hysterical110 tears at his unresponsiveness.
Then through the suffocating111 miasma112 thridded another sound—the whine113 of a loafing tramp slowly pleading along the house fronts—vainly, too, as it appeared.
"Friends," went his formula, nasal and forcibly spasmodic in the best gull-catcher style, "p'raps you will ask why I, a able-bodied man, are asking for ass—ist—ance in your town. Friends, I answer, becorse I cannot get work and becorse I cannot starve. Any honest work I would be thankful for; but no one will give it to me."
Then followed an elaborate presentation, in singsong verse, of his own undeserved indigence114 and the brutality115 of employers, and so the recitation again:—
"Friends, the least ass—ist—ance would be welcome. I am a honest British workman, and employ—ment I cannot ob—tain. You sit in your com—for—ta—ble 'ouses, and I ask you to ass—ist a fellow creature, driven to this for no fault of his own—for many can 'elp one where one cannot 'elp many."
Then he hove into sight—a gastropodous tub of a fellow, with a rascally116 red eye; and I shrank behind my curtains, for I never court parley117 with such gentlemen.
He spotted118 me, of course,—rogues of his feather have a hawk's eye for timid quarry,—and his bloated face appeared at the window.
"Sir—friend," he said, in a confidential119, hoarse120 whisper, "won't you 'elp a starvin' British workman?"
I gave him sixpence, cursing inwardly this my concession121 to pure timorousness122, and the bestial123 mask of depravity vanished with a grin.
After that I was left to myself, heat and haze124 alone reigning125 without; and presently, I think, I must have fallen into a suetty doze126, for I was semi-conscious of voices raised in dispute for a length of time, before I roused to the fact that two people were quarrelling just outside my window.
They were a young man—almost a boy—and a girl of about his own age; and both evidently belonged to the labouring classes.
She was, I took occasion to notice, aggressively pretty in that hot red and black style that finds its warmest admirers in a class cultivated above that to which she belonged; and she was scorning and flouting127 her slow, perplexed128 swain with that over-measure of vehemence129 characteristic of a sex devoid130 of the sense of proportion.
"Aw!" she was saying, as I came into focus of their dispute. "That's the moral of a mahn, it is. Yer ter work when ye like an' ter play when ye like, and the girls hahs ter sit and dangle131 their heels fer yer honours' convenience."
"I doan't arlays get my likes, Jenny, or I shud a' met you yesterday."
"Ay, as yer promused."
"We worked ower late pulling the lias, I tell yer. 'Twould 'a' meant half a day's wages garn if I'd com', and theer, my dear, 'ud been reason for another delay in oor getting spliced132."
"You're fine and vulgar, upon my word! A little free, too, and a little mistook. I've no mind ter get spliced, as yer carls it, wi' a chap as cannot see's way ter keep tryst133."
"Yer doan't mean thart?"
"Doan't I? Yer'll answer fer me in everything, 't seems. But yer've got enough ter answer fer yerself, Jack134 Curtice. I'm none of the sort ter go or stay at anny mahn's pleasure. There's kerps and dabs135 in the sea yet, Jack Curtice; and fatter ones ter fish fer, too."
"But yer doan't understand."
"I understand my own vally; and that isn't ter be kep' drarging my toes on the Parade half an a'rtenoon fer a chap as thinks he be better engaged summer else."
"And yer gone ter break wi' me fer thart?"
"Good-bye, Mr. Curtice," she said, and jerked her nose high and walked off.
Now here was an inconsistent jade44, and I felt sorry and relieved for the sake of the young fellow.
He stood, after the manner of his kind, amazed and speechless. Man's saving faculty136 of logic137 was in him, but tongue-tied; and he could not express his intuitive recognition of the self-contradictory. Such natures frequently make reason articulate through a blow—a rough way of knocking her into shape, but commonly effectual. Jack, however, was evidently a large gentle swain of the dumb-suffering type—one of those unresisting leviathans of good-humour, upon whom a woman loves to vent23 that passion of the illogical which an antipathetic sex has vainly tried to laugh her out of conceit138 with.
I peered a little longer, and presently saw Mr. Curtice walk off in a state compound of bewilderment and abject139 depression.
This was the beginning to me of an interest apart from that which had brought me to King's Cobb. A real nutshell drama had usurped140 the place of that fictitious141 one that had as yet failed to mark an epoch by so much as a scratch. I accepted the former as some solace142 for the intolerable wrong inflicted143 upon me by the sea and Miss Whiffle.
I happened across my unconscious friends fairly frequently after that my first introduction to them; so often, indeed, that, judged by what followed, it would almost seem as if Fate, desiring record of an incident in the lives of these two, had intentionally144 worked to discomfit145 me from a task more engrossing146.
Apart, and judged on their natural merits, I took Jack for a good stolid147 fellow, innately148 and a little aggravatingly149 virtuous150, and perhaps a trifle more just than generous.
Jenny, I felt, had the spurious brilliancy of that division of her sex that claims as intuition an inability to master the processes of thought, and attributes to this faculty all fortunate conclusions, but none that is faulty. I thought, with some commiseration151 for him, that at bottom her manner showed some real leaning towards the lover she had discarded—that she felt the need of a pincushion, as it were, into which to stick the little points of her malevolence152. I think I was inclined to be hard on her. I have felt the same antagonism153 many times towards beauty that was unattainable by me. For she was richly pretty, without doubt.
When in the neighbourhood of one another, however, they were wont154 to assume an elaborate artificiality of speech and manner in communion with their friends, that was designed with each to point the moral of a complete indifference155 and forgetfulness. But the girl was by far the better actor; and not only did she play her own part convincingly, but she generally managed to show up in her rival that sense of mortification156 that it was his fond hope he was effectually concealing157.
A fortnight passed; and, lo! there came the end of the lovers' quarrel in all dramatic appropriateness.
By that time the doings of Jack and Jenny had come to be my mind's only refuge from such a vacancy158 of outlook as I had never before experienced. "All down the coast," that summer, "the languid air did swoon." The earth broiled159, and very thought perspired160; and Miss Whiffle's voice was like a steam-whistle.
One day, as I was exhaustedly161 trifling162 with my meridian163 meal, and balancing the gratification against the trouble of eating lumpy tapioca pudding, a muffled, rolling thud broke upon my ears, making the window and floor vibrate slightly. It seemed so distant and unimportant that I took no notice of it; and it was only when, ten minutes later, I became aware that certain excited townsfolk were scurrying164 past outside that I roused slowly to the thought that here was something unusual toward. Then, indeed, a sort of insane abandon flashed into life in me, and I leapt to my feet with maniac166 eyes. Something stirring in King's Cobb! I should have thought nothing less than the last trump167 could have pricked168 it out of its accustomed grooves169; and that even then it would have slipped back into them with a sluggish170 sense of grievance171 after the first flourish.
I left my congealing172 dish, snatched up my hat, and joined the attenuated173 chase. It was making in one direction—a point, apparently174, to the east of the town. As I sped excited through the narrow and tortuous175 streets, a great bulge176 of acrid177 dust bellied178 upon me suddenly at a corner; and, turning the latter, I plunged179 into a perfect fog of the same gritty smoke. In this, phantom figures moved, appeared, and vanished; hoarse cries resounded180, and a general air of wild confusion and alarm prevailed. For the moment, I felt as if some history of the town's past were re-enacting181, as if a sudden swoop182 of Frank or Dutchman upon the coast had called forth all the defensive183 ardour of its people. There was nothing of gunpowder184 in the stringent185 opacity186, however; but, rather, a strong suggestion of ancient and disintegrated187 mortar188.
A shape sped by me in the fog, and I managed to stay and question it.
"What is it all?" I asked.
"House fell down," was the breathless answer; "and a poor chap left aloft on the ruins."
Then I grew as insane as the rest of the company. I strode aimlessly to and fro, striving at every coign to pierce with my eyesight the white drift. I pushed back my hat; I gnawed my knuckles189; I felt that I could not stay still, yet knew not for what point to make. Almost I felt that in another moment I should screech190 out—when a breath of sea air caught the skirt of the cloud, and rolled the bulk of it up and away over the house-tops.
Then, at once, was revealed to me the cause and object of all this gaggle, and confusion, and outcry. It was revealed to the crowd, too, that stood about me, and, in the revelation, the noise of its mouthing went off and faded, till a tense silence reigned191 and the murmur27 of one's breathing seemed a sacrilege.
I saw before me a ruinous space—a great ragged192 gap in a lofty block of brick and mortar. This block had evidently, at one time, consisted of two high semi-detached houses, and of these, one lay a monstrous193 heap of tumbled and shattered débris. A ruin, but not quite; for, as the course of a landslip will often tower with great spires194 and pinnacles195 of rock and ragged earth that have withstood the pull and onset196 of the moving hill-side, so here a high sheet of shattered wall, crowned with a cluster of toppling chimneys, stood up stark197 in the midst of the general overthrow198. And there aloft, clinging to the crumbling199 stack, that might at any moment part, and fling and crush him into the savage200 ruin below, stood the figure of a solitary201 man. And the man was my friend of the Parade, Jack Curtice.
I could see and recognise him plainly—even the frantic202 clutch of his hands and the deadly pallor of his face.
The block—an ancient one—had been, as I afterwards learned, in course of demolition203 when the catastrophe204 took place. At the moment the poor fellow had been alone at his work, and now his destruction seemed a mere matter of seconds.
White dust rose from the heap, like smoke from an extinguished fire; and ever, as we looked, spars and splinters of brick tore away from the high fragment yet standing205, and plunged with a thud into the wrack206 underneath207.
It was glaringly evident that not long could elapse before wall and man would come down with a hideous208, shattering run. A slip, a wilder clutch at his frail209 support, might in an instant precipitate210 the calamity211.
Then from the upturned faces of the women cries of pity and anguish15 broke forth, and men nipped one another's arms and gasped212, and knew not what counsel to offer.
"Do summut! do summut!" cried the women; and their mates only shook off their pleadings with a peevish213 show of callousness214, that was merely the dumb anguish of undemonstrativeness. For, while their throats were thick, their practical brains were busy.
Some one suggested a ladder, and in a moment there was an aimless scurrying and turning amongst the women.
"Why don't 'ee stir theeself and hunt for un, Jarge?" panted one that stood near me, twisting hysterically215 upon a slow youth at her side.
"Shut up, 'Liza!" he answered gruffly; then, with a sort of indrawn gasp—"Look art the wall, lass—look art the wall!"
It was obvious to the least knowing what he meant. To lean so much as a broomstick, it seemed, against that tottering ruin would infallibly complete its destruction.
One foot of the clinging figure high up was seen to move slightly, and a little bomb of mortar span out into the air and burst into dust on a projecting brick. A long shrill216 sigh broke from the crowd.
Then the male wiseheads came together, and, desperate to snap the chord of impotent suspense217, mooted218 and rejected plan after plan that their sane165 judgment219 knew from the first to be impracticable.
At the outset it was plainly impossible for a soul to approach the ruins. Apart from the almost certain mangling220 such a venture would entail221 upon the explorer, the least stirring or shifting of the great heap of rubbish flung about the base of the wall would certainly risk the immediate222 collapse223 of the latter.
Success, it was evident, must come, if at all, from a distance—but how?
One suggested slinging224 a rope from window to window of adjacent houses across the path of the broken chimney-stack—a good method of rescue had circumstances lent themselves to it. They did not. On the ruin side a wide space intervened; on the other, the sister house to that which had fallen, and which was also included in the order of demolition, was itself affected225 by the loss of its support, and leaned in a sinister226 manner, its party walls bulged227 and rent towards the scene of devastation228.
Nothing short of the great Roc itself could, it seemed, snatch the poor fellow from his death perch229.
There came suddenly an ominous230 silence. Then strode out in front of his fellows—and he moved so close to the ruin that the women whimpered and held one another—an old, rough-bearded chap in stained corduroy.
"Whart's he gone to do?" gasped the sibilant voices.
He hollowed his hands to his mouth, he cleared his hoarse throat two or three times. Only a little trailing screech came from it at first. Then he cursed his weakness, and pulled himself together.
"Jark! Jark Curtus!" he hailed, in an explosive voice.
"Hullo!"
The weak, small response floated down.
"My lard! my poor lard! we've thought oor best, arnd we can do nothun fower 'ee."
Instantly a shrill protest of horror went up from the women. This was not what they had expected.
"What! leave the mis'rable boy to his fate!"
There followed a storm of hisses231 from them—absolutely unreasonable232, of course. The old fellow turned to retire, with hanging head.
At the moment a girl, flushed, blowzed, breathless, broke through the skirt of the mob and barred his retreat.
"Oh!" she panted, shaking her jet-black noddle at him—"here's a parcel o' gor-crows for discussin' help to a Christian233 marn! What! a score o' wiselings, and not one to hit oot the means and the way?"
She had only just heard, and had run a mile to the rescue of her old lad.
The women caught her enthusiasm, and jeered234 and cheered formlessly, as their manner is; for each desired for her own voice a separate recognition.
Jenny pushed rudely past the abashed235 gaffer. She was hatless, and her hair had tumbled abroad. She raised her face, with the eyes shining.
"Jack!" she cried, in a shrill voice—"Jack!"
The little weak response wailed down again.
"Jenny! I'm anigh done."
"Hold on a bit longer, Jack!" she screamed. "Don't move till I tell 'ee.
I'm agone to save thee, Jack!"
Again from the women a rapturous cry broke out. What incompetent236 noodles appeared their masters in juxtaposition237 with this fearless, defiant238 creature.
The man up aloft seemed to shiver in the shock of the outcry; and once more some fragments of mortar rolled from under his feet and bounded into the depths. The girl rounded upon the voicers.
"Hold thee blazing tongues!" she cried in fury. "D'ee warnt to shake un from his perch?"
She turned to the foremost group of men.
Her quick eyes and intelligence had found what she wanted in a builder's yard no great distance away.
"Follow, a dozen o' you!" she cried; and sped off in the direction she had indicated.
Just twelve men, and no more, obeyed her. She was mistress of the situation, and the crowd felt it. They made room for the dominant240 intellect, and awaited developments, watching, in suppressed excitement and trepidation241, the figure—whom exhaustion242 was slowly mastering—high up above them.
Suddenly a sort of huge L-shaped structure moved down the street, until it stood opposite the ruined house. Then, twisting and rearing itself aloft, it took to itself the form of a lofty, slender gallows243.
It was formed of a couple of forty-foot scaffolding poles, stoutly244 bound and corded together, the base of one to the top of the other, so that they stood at right angles. Five or six feet of the butt245 of the horizontal one was projected beyond its lashings, and to this three lengths of rope were fastened, and trailed long ends in the dust as the structure was held aloft and pushed and dragged into position.
"Now!" shrieked246 the girl, red-hot, reliant, never still for a moment; "as marny as can hold to each end there, and swing the blessed boom out towards him!"
Fifty may have responded. They swarmed247 like ants about the upraised pole, and she drove them into position—a black knot of men hauling on the triple cordage—left, right, and middle, like the ribs248 of a tent.
They saw her meaning and fell into place with a shout. To hold the projecting pole levered up at that height was a test of weight and muscle, even without their man on the end of it; but there were plenty more to help pull, did their united force waver.
"Jack!" screamed the girl again, in a wildness of excitement. "Only a second longer, Jack! Hold on by your eyelids249, and snatch the stick the moment it comes agen thee!"
The horizontal spar pointed250 down the street. Slowly the men worked round with the ropes, and slowly the point of the pole turned in the direction of the chimney-stack and its forlorn burden. There was room and to spare for the process in the wide gap made by the tumbled house.
The crowd held its breath. Here and there a strangled sob251 was rent from overstrained lungs; here and there the wailing252 voice of a baby whined253 up and subsided254.
The pole swung round with the toiling255 men—neared him on the ruin. He turned his head and saw, shifted his position and staggered. Jenny gave a piercing screech. The men, thinking something was wrong, paused a moment.
On the instant there came a crackling, tearing sound—a heaving roll—a splintering crash and uproar256. The man aloft was seen to make a flying leap—or was it only a hurled257 fragment of the falling chimney?—and white dust rose in a fog once more and blotted258 out all the tragedy that might be enacting behind it.
A horrible silence succeeded, then a single woman yelled, and her cry was echoed by fifty hoarse voices.
The noise came from those at the ropes. They were straining and tugging259, and some of them bobbed up and down like peas on a drum.
"More on ye! more on ye! We've hooked un, and he's got the pull of a sea sarpint!"
Then the point of the boom swung slowly out of the fog, and there was the rescued man swinging and swaying at the end of it.
They lowered him gradually into the street. But the strain upon them was awful, and he came down with a run the last few yards.
Then they let the angle of the gallows wheel over as it listed, and stood and mopped their hot foreheads, while the crowd rushed for the poor shaky subject of all its turmoil261.
I could not get within fifty feet of him; or, I think, I should have given him and Jenny then and there all my fortune.
Later, I made their acquaintance in a casual way, and compromised with my conscience by presenting them with a very pretty tea-service to help them set up house with.
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1
seclusion
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| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
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2
expedient
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| adj.有用的，有利的；n.紧急的办法，权宜之计 | |
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3
withered
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| 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 | |
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4
lamentable
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| adj.令人惋惜的，悔恨的 | |
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5
seedling
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| n.秧苗，树苗 | |
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6
blight
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| n.枯萎病；造成破坏的因素；vt.破坏，摧残 | |
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7
gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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8
picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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9
jumble
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| vt.使混乱，混杂；n.混乱；杂乱的一堆 | |
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10
bristle
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| v.（毛发）直立，气势汹汹，发怒；n.硬毛发 | |
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11
crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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12
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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13
beckoning
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| adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 ) | |
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14
languish
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| vi.变得衰弱无力，失去活力，（植物等）凋萎 | |
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15
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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16
landmarks
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| n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址） | |
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17
gilding
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| n.贴金箔，镀金 | |
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18
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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19
ruffled
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| adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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20
insignificance
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| n.不重要；无价值；无意义 | |
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21
coveted
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| adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图 | |
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22
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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24
enchanted
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| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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25
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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26
epoch
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| n.(新)时代；历元 | |
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27
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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28
sitting-room
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| n.（BrE）客厅，起居室 | |
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29
lodgings
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| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
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30
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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31
soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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32
shingle
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| n.木瓦板；小招牌(尤指医生或律师挂的营业招牌)；v.用木瓦板盖（屋顶）；把（女子头发）剪短 | |
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33
littoral
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| adj.海岸的；湖岸的；n.沿（海）岸地区 | |
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34
slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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35
reiteration
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| n. 重覆, 反覆, 重说 | |
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36
undue
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| adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的 | |
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37
thump
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| v.重击，砰然地响；n.重击，重击声 | |
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38
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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39
skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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40
stagnant
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| adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的 | |
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41
appreciations
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| n.欣赏( appreciation的名词复数 )；感激；评定；（尤指土地或财产的）增值 | |
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42
muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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43
ardently
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| adv.热心地，热烈地 | |
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44
jade
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| n.玉石；碧玉；翡翠 | |
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45
jaded
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| adj.精疲力竭的；厌倦的；（因过饱或过多而）腻烦的；迟钝的 | |
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46
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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47
undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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48
accustom
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| vt.使适应，使习惯 | |
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49
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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50
chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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51
premise
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| n.前提；v.提论，预述 | |
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52
outrageous
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| adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的 | |
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53
brazen
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| adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的 | |
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54
elastic
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| n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的 | |
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55
aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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56
gnawed
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| 咬( gnaw的过去式和过去分词 )； （长时间） 折磨某人； （使）苦恼； （长时间）危害某事物 | |
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57
sinewy
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| adj.多腱的，强壮有力的 | |
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58
ransack
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| v.彻底搜索，洗劫 | |
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59
prehistoric
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| adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的 | |
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60
joints
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| 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） | |
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61
landlady
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| n.女房东，女地主 | |
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62
obstreperously
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63
gauged
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| adj.校准的；标准的；量规的；量计的v.（用仪器）测量( gauge的过去式和过去分词 )；估计；计量；划分 | |
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64
scorched
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| 烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦 | |
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65
effrontery
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| n.厚颜无耻 | |
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66
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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67
winced
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| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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obtrusively
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| adv.冒失地，莽撞地 | |
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69
spasm
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| n.痉挛，抽搐；一阵发作 | |
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70
expressive
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| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
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71
pebble
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| n.卵石，小圆石 | |
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72
catering
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| n. 给养 | |
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73
justifying
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| 证明…有理( justify的现在分词 )； 为…辩护； 对…作出解释； 为…辩解（或辩护） | |
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74
ineptitude
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| n.不适当；愚笨，愚昧的言行 | |
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75
rumpled
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| v.弄皱，使凌乱( rumple的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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76
absurdity
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| n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论 | |
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77
goad
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| n.刺棒，刺痛物；激励；vt.激励，刺激 | |
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78
tottering
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| adj.蹒跚的，动摇的v.走得或动得不稳( totter的现在分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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79
succumbed
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| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
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80
pottery
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| n.陶器，陶器场 | |
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81
kiln
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| n.（砖、石灰等）窑，炉；v.烧窑 | |
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82
odious
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| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
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83
disconsolately
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| adv.悲伤地，愁闷地；哭丧着脸 | |
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84
inaccessible
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| adj.达不到的，难接近的 | |
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85
reclaim
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| v.要求归还，收回；开垦 | |
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86
glutinous
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| adj.粘的，胶状的 | |
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87
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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88
obnoxious
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| adj.极恼人的，讨人厌的，可憎的 | |
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89
dishonoured
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| a.不光彩的，不名誉的 | |
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90
confide
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| v.向某人吐露秘密 | |
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forerunner
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| n.前身，先驱（者），预兆，祖先 | |
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92
tolerance
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| n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差 | |
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contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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94
marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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95
broil
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| v.烤，烧，争吵，怒骂；n.烤，烧，争吵，怒骂 | |
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96
doling
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| 救济物( dole的现在分词 )； 失业救济金 | |
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97
shimmer
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| v./n.发微光，发闪光；微光 | |
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98
phantom
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| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
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99
usurp
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| vt.篡夺，霸占；vi.篡位 | |
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100
greasy
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| adj. 多脂的，油脂的 | |
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101
scrutinize
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| n.详细检查，细读 | |
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102
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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103
vacuity
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| n.(想象力等)贫乏，无聊，空白 | |
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104
stertorously
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105
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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106
monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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107
wailed
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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108
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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109
yearning
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| a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的 | |
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110
hysterical
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| adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的 | |
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suffocating
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| a.使人窒息的 | |
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112
miasma
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| n.毒气；不良气氛 | |
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113
whine
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| v.哀号，号哭；n.哀鸣 | |
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114
indigence
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| n.贫穷 | |
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115
brutality
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| n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮 | |
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116
rascally
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| adj. 无赖的，恶棍的 adv. 无赖地，卑鄙地 | |
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117
parley
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| n.谈判 | |
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118
spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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119
confidential
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| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
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120
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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121
concession
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| n.让步，妥协；特许(权) | |
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122
timorousness
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| n.羞怯，胆怯 | |
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123
bestial
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| adj.残忍的；野蛮的 | |
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124
haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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125
reigning
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| adj.统治的，起支配作用的 | |
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126
doze
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| v.打瞌睡；n.打盹，假寐 | |
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127
flouting
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| v.藐视，轻视( flout的现在分词 ) | |
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128
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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129
vehemence
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| n.热切；激烈；愤怒 | |
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130
devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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131
dangle
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| v.(使)悬荡，(使)悬垂 | |
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132
spliced
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| adj.（针织品）加固的n.叠接v.绞接( splice的过去式和过去分词 )；捻接（两段绳子）；胶接；粘接（胶片、磁带等） | |
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133
tryst
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| n.约会；v.与…幽会 | |
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134
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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135
dabs
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| 少许( dab的名词复数 )； 是…能手； 做某事很在行； 在某方面技术熟练 | |
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136
faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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137
logic
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| n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性 | |
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138
conceit
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| n.自负，自高自大 | |
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139
abject
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| adj.极可怜的，卑屈的 | |
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140
usurped
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| 篡夺，霸占( usurp的过去式和过去分词 )； 盗用； 篡夺，篡权 | |
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141
fictitious
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| adj.虚构的，假设的；空头的 | |
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142
solace
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| n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和 | |
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143
inflicted
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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144
intentionally
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| ad.故意地，有意地 | |
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145
discomfit
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| v.使困惑，使尴尬 | |
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146
engrossing
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| adj.使人全神贯注的，引人入胜的v.使全神贯注( engross的现在分词 ) | |
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147
stolid
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| adj.无动于衷的，感情麻木的 | |
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148
innately
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| adv.天赋地；内在地，固有地 | |
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149
aggravatingly
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150
virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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151
commiseration
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| n.怜悯，同情 | |
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152
malevolence
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| n.恶意，狠毒 | |
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153
antagonism
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| n.对抗，敌对，对立 | |
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154
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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155
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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156
mortification
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| n.耻辱，屈辱 | |
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157
concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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158
vacancy
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| n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺 | |
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159
broiled
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| a.烤过的 | |
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160
perspired
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| v.出汗，流汗( perspire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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161
exhaustedly
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| adv.exhausted（精疲力竭的）的变形 | |
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162
trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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163
meridian
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| adj.子午线的；全盛期的 | |
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164
scurrying
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| v.急匆匆地走( scurry的现在分词 ) | |
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165
sane
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| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
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166
maniac
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| n.精神癫狂的人；疯子 | |
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167
trump
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| n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭 | |
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168
pricked
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| 刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛 | |
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169
grooves
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| n.沟( groove的名词复数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏v.沟( groove的第三人称单数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏 | |
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170
sluggish
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| adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的 | |
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171
grievance
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| n.怨愤，气恼，委屈 | |
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172
congealing
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| v.使凝结，冻结( congeal的现在分词 )；（指血）凝结 | |
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173
attenuated
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| v.（使）变细( attenuate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）变薄；（使）变小；减弱 | |
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174
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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175
tortuous
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| adj.弯弯曲曲的，蜿蜒的 | |
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176
bulge
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| n.突出，膨胀，激增；vt.突出，膨胀 | |
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177
acrid
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| adj.辛辣的，尖刻的，刻薄的 | |
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178
bellied
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| adj.有腹的，大肚子的 | |
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179
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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180
resounded
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| v.（指声音等）回荡于某处( resound的过去式和过去分词 )；产生回响；（指某处）回荡着声音 | |
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181
enacting
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| 制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的现在分词 ) | |
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182
swoop
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| n.俯冲，攫取；v.抓取，突然袭击 | |
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183
defensive
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| adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的 | |
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184
gunpowder
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| n.火药 | |
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185
stringent
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| adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的 | |
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186
opacity
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| n.不透明；难懂 | |
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187
disintegrated
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| v.（使）破裂[分裂，粉碎]，（使）崩溃( disintegrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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188
mortar
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| n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合 | |
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189
knuckles
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| n.（指人）指关节( knuckle的名词复数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝v.（指人）指关节( knuckle的第三人称单数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝 | |
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190
screech
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| n./v.尖叫；(发出)刺耳的声音 | |
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191
reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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192
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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193
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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194
spires
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| n.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的名词复数 ) | |
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195
pinnacles
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| 顶峰( pinnacle的名词复数 )； 顶点； 尖顶； 小尖塔 | |
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196
onset
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| n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始 | |
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197
stark
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| adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地 | |
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198
overthrow
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| v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆 | |
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199
crumbling
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| adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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200
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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201
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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202
frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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203
demolition
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| n.破坏,毁坏,毁坏之遗迹 | |
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204
catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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205
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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206
wrack
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| v.折磨；n.海草 | |
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207
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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208
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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209
frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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210
precipitate
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| adj.突如其来的；vt.使突然发生；n.沉淀物 | |
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211
calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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212
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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213
peevish
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| adj.易怒的，坏脾气的 | |
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214
callousness
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215
hysterically
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| ad. 歇斯底里地 | |
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216
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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217
suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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218
mooted
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| 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 ) | |
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219
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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220
mangling
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| 重整 | |
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221
entail
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| vt.使承担，使成为必要，需要 | |
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222
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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223
collapse
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| vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷 | |
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224
slinging
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| 抛( sling的现在分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往 | |
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225
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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226
sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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227
bulged
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| 凸出( bulge的过去式和过去分词 )； 充满； 塞满（某物） | |
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228
devastation
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| n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤 | |
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229
perch
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| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
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230
ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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231
hisses
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| 嘶嘶声( hiss的名词复数 ) | |
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232
unreasonable
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| adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的 | |
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233
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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234
jeered
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| v.嘲笑( jeer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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235
abashed
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| adj.窘迫的，尴尬的v.使羞愧，使局促，使窘迫( abash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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236
incompetent
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| adj.无能力的，不能胜任的 | |
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237
juxtaposition
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| n.毗邻，并置，并列 | |
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238
defiant
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| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
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239
fathom
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| v.领悟，彻底了解 | |
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240
dominant
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| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
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241
trepidation
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| n.惊恐，惶恐 | |
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242
exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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243
gallows
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| n.绞刑架，绞台 | |
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244
stoutly
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| adv.牢固地，粗壮的 | |
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245
butt
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| n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶 | |
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246
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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247
swarmed
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| 密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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248
ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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249
eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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250
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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251
sob
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| n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣 | |
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252
wailing
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱 | |
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253
whined
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| v.哀号( whine的过去式和过去分词 )；哀诉，诉怨 | |
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254
subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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255
toiling
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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256
uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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257
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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258
blotted
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| 涂污( blot的过去式和过去分词 )； （用吸墨纸）吸干 | |
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259
tugging
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| n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 ) | |
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260
medley
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| n.混合 | |
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261
turmoil
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| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
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