Morning dawned, and Mistress Mary and Rhoda went up the flight of broad steps rather earlier than usual,--so early that the janitress, who had been awake half the night with an ailing1 baby, was just going in to dust the rooms.
It was she who first caught sight of the old sofa and its occupant, and her exclamation2 drew Mary and Rhoda to the spot. There lay poor Marm Lisa in the dead sleep of exhaustion3, her dress torn and wrinkled, her shoes travel-stained, her hair tangled4 and matted. Their first idea was that the dreaded5 foe6 might have descended7 upon her, and that she had had some terrible seizure8 with no one near to aid and relieve her. But the longer they looked, the less they feared this; her face, though white and tear-stained, was tranquil9, her lips only slightly pale, and her breathing calm and steady. Mary finally noted10 the pathetic grouping of little objects in the red chair, and, touched by this, began to apprehend11 the significance of her own white apron12 close clasped in the child's loyal arms, and fell a-weeping softly on Rhoda's shoulder. 'She needed me, Rhoda,' she said. 'I do not know for what, but I am sure she needed me.'
'I see it all,' said Rhoda, administering soft strokes of consolation13: 'it is something to do with those little beasts; yes, I will call them beasts, and if you don't let me, I'll call them brutes14. They lost themselves yesterday, of course, and dear old Lisa searched for them all the afternoon and half the night, for aught we know, and then came here to be comforted, I suppose--the blessed thing!'
'Hush15! don't touch her,' Mary whispered, as Rhoda went impetuously down on her knees by the sofa; 'and we must not talk in this room, for fear of waking her. Suppose you go at once to Mrs. Grubb's, dear, and, whatever you learn about the twins there, I shall meanwhile call a carriage and take Lisa home to my own bed. The janitress can send Edith to me as soon as she comes, and I will leave her with Lisa while I run back here to consult with you and Helen. I shall telegraph for Dr. Thorne, also, to be sure that this sleep is as natural and healing a thing as it appears to be.'
Mrs. Grubb was surprised, even amused, at Rhoda's exciting piece of news, but she was perfectly16 tranquil.
'Well, don't they beat all!' she exclaimed, leaning against the door- frame and taking her side hair out of waving-pins as she talked. 'No, I haven17't seen them since noon yesterday. I was out to a picnic supper at the Army Headquarters at night, and didn't get home till later than usual, so I didn't go up to their room. I thought they were in bed; they always have been in bed when it was bedtime, ever since they were born.' Here she removed the last pin, and put it with the others in the bosom18 of her dress for safe-keeping. 'This morning, when they didn't turn up, I thought some of you girls had taken a fancy to keep them overnight; I didn't worry, supposing that Lisa was with them.'
'Nobody on earth could take a fancy to the twins or keep them an hour longer than necessary, and you know it, Mrs. Grubb,' said Rhoda, who seldom minced19 matters; 'and in case no one should ever have the bad manners to tell you the whole truth, I want to say here and now that you neglect everything good and sensible and practical,--all the plain, simple duties that stare you directly in the face,--and waste yourself on matters that are of no earthly use to anybody. Those children would have been missed last night if you had one drop of mother's blood in your veins20! You have three helpless children under what you are pleased to call your care' (and here Rhoda's lip curled so scornfully that Mrs. Grubb was tempted21 to stab her with a curling- pin), 'and you went to sleep without knowing to a certainty whether they had had supper or bed! I don't believe you are a woman at all-- you are just a vague abstraction; and the only things you've ever borne or nursed or brooded in your life have been your miserable22, bloodless little clubs and bands and unions!'
Rhoda's eyes flashed summer lightning, her nostrils23 quivered, her cheeks flamed scarlet24, and Mrs. Grubb sat down suddenly and heavily on the front stairs and gasped25 for breath. According to her own belief, her whole life had been passed in a search for truth, but it is safe to say she had never before met it in so uncompromising and disagreeable a shape.
'Perhaps when you are quite through with your billingsgate,' she finally said, 'you will take yourself off my steps before you are ejected. You! to presume to criticise26 me! You, that are so low in the scale of being, you can no more understand my feelings and motives27 than a jellyfish can comprehend a star! Go back and tell Miss Mary,' she went on majestically28, as she gained confidence and breath, 'that it is her duty and business to find the children, since they were last seen with her, and unless she proves more trustworthy they will not be allowed to return to her. Tell her, too, that when she wishes to communicate with me, she must choose some other messenger besides you, you impudent29, grovelling30 little earthworm! Get out of my sight, or you will unfit me for my classes!'
Mrs. Grubb was fairly superb as she launched these thunderbolts of invective31; the staircase her rostrum, her left hand poised32 impressively on the baluster, and the three snaky strands33 of brown hair that had writhed34 out of the waving-pins hissing35 Medusa-wise on each side of her bead36.
Rhoda was considerably37 taken aback by the sudden and violent slamming of the door of No. 1 Eden Place, and she felt an unwelcome misgiving38 as to her wisdom in bringing Mrs. Grubb face to face with truth. Her rage had somewhat subsided39 by the time she reached Mistress Mary's side, for she had stopped on the way to ask a policeman to telephone the various stations for news of the lost children, and report at once to her. 'There is one good thing,' she thought: 'wherever they may be, their light cannot be hid any more than that of a city that is set on a hill. There will be plenty of traces of their journey, for once seen they are never forgotten. Nobody but a hero would think of kidnapping them, and nobody but an idiot would expect a ransom40 for them!'
'I hope you didn't upbraid41 Mrs. Grubb,' said Mary, divining from Rhoda's clouded brow that her interview had not been a pleasant one. 'You know our only peaceful way of rescuing Lisa from her hold is to make a friend of her, and convert her to our way of thinking. Was she much disturbed about the children?'
'Disturbed!' sniffed42 Rhoda disdainfully. 'Imagine Mrs. Grubb disturbed about anything so trivial as a lost child! If it had been a lost amendment43, she might have been ruffled44!'
'What is she doing about it, and in what direction is she searching?'
'She is doing nothing, and she will do nothing; she has gone to a Theosophy lecture, and we are to find the twins; and she says it's your fault, anyway, and unless you prove more trustworthy the seraphs will be removed from your care; and you are not to send me again as a messenger, if you please, because I am an impudent, grovelling little earthworm!'
'Rhoda!'
'Yes'm!'
'Did she call you that?'
'Yes'm, and a jellyfish besides; in fact, she dragged me through the entire animal kingdom; but she is a stellar being--she said so.'
'What did you say to her to provoke that, Rhoda? She is thoroughly45 illogical and perverse46, but she is very amiable47.'
'Yes, when you don't interfere48 with her. You should catch her with her hair in waving-pins, just after she has imbibed49 apple-sauce! Oh, I can't remember exactly what I said, for I confess I was a trifle heated, and at the moment I thought only of freeing my mind. Let me see: I told her she neglected all the practical duties that stared her directly in the face, and squandered50 herself on useless fads51 and vagaries--that's about all. No-o, now that I come to think of it, I did say that the children would have been missed and found last night, if she had had a drop of mother's blood in her veins.'
'That's terse52 and strong--and tactful,' said Mary; 'anything more?'
'No, I don't think so. Oh yes! now that I reflect, I said I didn't believe she was a woman at all. That seemed to enrage53 her beyond anything, somehow; and when I explained it, and tried to modify it by saying I meant that she had never borne or loved or brooded anything in her life but her nasty little clubs, she was white with anger, and told me I was too low in the scale of being to understand her. Good gracious! I wish she understood herself half as well as I understand her!'
Mary gave a hysterical54 laugh. 'I can't pretend you didn't speak the truth, Rhoda, but I am sadly afraid it was ill advised to wound Mrs. Grubb's vanity. Do you feel a good deal better?'
'No,' confessed Rhoda penitently55. 'I did for fifteen minutes,--yes, nearly half an hour; but now I feel worse than ever.'
'That is one of the commonest symptoms of freeing one's mind,' observed Mary quietly.
It was scarcely an hour later when Atlantic and Pacific were brought in by an officer, very dirty and dishevelled, but gay and irresponsible as larks56, nonchalant, amiable, and unrepentant. As Rhoda had prophesied58, there had been no difficulty in finding them; and as everybody had prophesied, once found there had not been a second's delay in delivery. Moved by fiery59 hatred60 of the police matron, who had illustrated61 justice more than mercy, and illustrated it with the back of a hair-brush on their reversed persons; lured62 also by two popcorn63 balls, a jumping-jack, and a tin horse, they accepted the municipal escort with alacrity64; and nothing was ever jauntier65 than the manner in which Pacific, all smiles and molasses, held up her sticky lips for an expected salute--an unusual offer which was respectfully declined as a matter of discipline.
Mary longed for Rhoda's young minister in the next half-hour, which she devoted66 to private spiritual instruction. Psychology67 proved wholly unequal to the task of fathoming68 the twins, and she fancied that theology might have been more helpful. Their idea seemed to be- -if the rudimentary thing she unearthed69 from their consciousness could be called an idea--that they would not mind repenting70 if they could see anything of which to repent57. Of sin, as sin, they had no apparent knowledge, either by sight, by hearsay71 or by actual acquaintance. They sat stolidly72 in their little chairs, eyes roving to the windows, the blackboard, the pictures; they clubbed together and fished a pin from a crack in the floor during one of Mary's most thrilling appeals; finally they appeared so bored by the whole proceeding73 that she felt a certain sense of embarrassment74 in the midst of her despair. She took them home herself at noon, apologised to the injured Mrs. Grubb for Rhoda's unfortunate remarks, and told that lady, gently but firmly, that Lisa could not be moved until she was decidedly better.
'She was wandering about the streets searching for the twins from noon till long after dark, Mrs. Grubb--there can be no doubt of it; and she bears unmistakable signs of having suffered deeply. I have called in a physician, and we must all abide75 by his advice.'
'That's well enough for the present,' agreed Mrs. Grubb reluctantly, 'but I cannot continue to have my studies broken in upon by these excitements. I really cannot. I thought I had made an arrangement with Madame Goldmarker to relieve me, but she has just served me a most unladylike and deceitful trick, and the outcome of it will be that I shall have to send Lisa to the asylum76. I can get her examined by the commissioners77 some time before Christmas, and if they decide she's imbecile they'll take her off my hands. I didn't want to part with her till the twins got older, but I've just found a possible home for them if I can endure their actions until New Year's. Our Army of Present Perfection isn't progressing as it ought to, and it's going to found a colony down in San Diego County, and advertise for children to bring up in the faith. A certain number of men and women have agreed to go and start the thing and I'm sure my sister, if she was alive would be glad to donate her children to such a splendid enterprise. If the commissioners won't take Lisa, she can go to Soul Haven, too--that's the name of the place;--but no, of course they wouldn't want any but bright children, that would grow up and spread the light.' (Mary smiled at the thought of the twins engaged in the occupation of spreading light.) 'I shall not join the community myself, though I believe it's a good thing; but a very different future is unveiling itself before me' (her tone was full of mystery here), 'and some time, if I can ever pursue my investigations78 in peace, you will knock at this door and I shall have vanished! But I shall know of your visit, and the very sound of your footfall will reach my ear, even if I am inhabiting some remote mountain fastness!'
When Lisa awoke that night, she heard the crackling of a wood fire on the hearth79; she felt the touch of soft linen80 under her aching body, and the pressure of something cool and fragrant81 on her forehead. Her right hand, feebly groping the white counterpane, felt a flower in its grasp. Opening her eyes, she saw the firelight dancing on tinted82 walls, and an angel of deliverance sitting by her bedside--a dear familiar woman angel, whose fair crowned head rose from a cloud of white, and whose sweet downward gaze held all of benignant motherhood that God could put into woman's eyes.
Marm Lisa looked up dumbly and wonderingly at first, but the mind stirred, thought flowed in upon it, a wave of pain broke over her heart, and she remembered all; for remembrance, alas83, is the price of reason.
'Lost! my twinnies, all lost and gone!' she whispered brokenly, with long, shuddering84 sobs85 between the words. 'I look--look--look; never, never find!'
'No, no, dear,' Mary answered, stroking the lines from her forehead, 'not lost any more; found, Lisa--do you understand? They are found, they are safe and well, and nobody blames you; and you are safe, too, your new self, your best self unharmed, thank God; so go to sleep, little sister, and dream happy dreams!'
Glad tears rushed from the poor child's eyes, tears of conscious happiness, and the burden rolled away from her heart now, as yesterday's whirring shuttles in her brain had been hushed into silence by her long sleep. She raised her swimming eyes to Mistress Mary's with a look of unspeakable trust. 'I love you! oh, I love, love, love you!' she whispered, and, holding the flower close to her breast, she breathed a sigh of sweet content, and sank again into quiet slumber86.
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1
ailing
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| v.生病 | |
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exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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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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tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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seizure
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| n.没收；占有；抵押 | |
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tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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apprehend
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| vt.理解，领悟，逮捕，拘捕，忧虑 | |
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apron
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| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
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consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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brutes
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| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
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hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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haven
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| n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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minced
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| v.切碎( mince的过去式和过去分词 )；剁碎；绞碎；用绞肉机绞（食物，尤指肉） | |
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veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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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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criticise
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| v.批评，评论；非难 | |
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motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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majestically
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| 雄伟地； 庄重地； 威严地； 崇高地 | |
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impudent
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| adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的 | |
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grovelling
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| adj.卑下的，奴颜婢膝的v.卑躬屈节，奴颜婢膝( grovel的现在分词 )；趴 | |
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invective
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| n.痛骂，恶意抨击 | |
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poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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strands
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| n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 ) | |
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writhed
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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bead
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| n.念珠；(pl.)珠子项链；水珠 | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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misgiving
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕 | |
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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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ransom
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| n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救 | |
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upbraid
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| v.斥责，责骂，责备 | |
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sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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amendment
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| n.改正，修正，改善，修正案 | |
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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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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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perverse
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| adj.刚愎的；坚持错误的，行为反常的 | |
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amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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imbibed
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| v.吸收( imbibe的过去式和过去分词 )；喝；吸取；吸气 | |
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squandered
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| v.（指钱，财产等）浪费，乱花( squander的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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fads
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| n.一时的流行，一时的风尚( fad的名词复数 ) | |
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terse
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| adj.(说话，文笔)精炼的，简明的 | |
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enrage
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| v.触怒，激怒 | |
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hysterical
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| adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的 | |
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penitently
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larks
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| n.百灵科鸟（尤指云雀）( lark的名词复数 )；一大早就起床；鸡鸣即起；（因太费力而不想干时说）算了v.百灵科鸟（尤指云雀）( lark的第三人称单数 )；一大早就起床；鸡鸣即起；（因太费力而不想干时说）算了 | |
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repent
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| v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔 | |
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prophesied
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| v.预告，预言( prophesy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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illustrated
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| adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词 | |
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lured
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| 吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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popcorn
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| n.爆米花 | |
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alacrity
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| n.敏捷，轻快，乐意 | |
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jauntier
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| adj.心满意足的样子，洋洋得意的( jaunty的比较级 ) | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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psychology
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| n.心理，心理学，心理状态 | |
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fathoming
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| 测量 | |
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69
unearthed
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| 出土的（考古） | |
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70
repenting
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| 对（自己的所为）感到懊悔或忏悔( repent的现在分词 ) | |
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71
hearsay
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| n.谣传，风闻 | |
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72
stolidly
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| adv.迟钝地，神经麻木地 | |
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73
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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74
embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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75
abide
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| vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受 | |
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76
asylum
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| n.避难所，庇护所，避难 | |
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77
commissioners
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| n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官 | |
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78
investigations
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| （正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究 | |
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79
hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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80
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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81
fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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82
tinted
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| adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词 | |
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83
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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84
shuddering
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| v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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85
sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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