Both Mrs. Sherwood and Sansome applied1 themselves to relieving whatever embarrassment2 Nan might feel over this unusual situation. Sansome was possessed3 of great charm and social experience. He could play the game of light conversation to perfection. By way of bridging the pause in events, he set himself to describing the society in which the Keiths would shortly find themselves launched. His remarks were practically a monologue4, interspersed5 by irrepressible gurgles of laughter from Nan. Mrs. Sherwood sat quietly by. She did not laugh, but it was evident she was amused. In this congenial atmosphere Sansome outdid himself.
"They are all afraid of each other," he told her, "because they don't know anything about each other. Each ex-washerwoman thinks the other ex- washerwoman must have been at least a duchess at home. It's terribly funny. If they can get hold of six porcelain6 statuettes, a half-dozen antimacassars, some gilt7 chairs, and a glass bell of wax flowers, they imagine they're elegantly furnished. And their functions! I give you my word, I'd as soon attend a reasonably pleasant funeral! Some of them try to entertain by playing intellectual games--you know, rhyming or spelling games--seriously!" He went on to describe some of the women, mentioning no names, however. "You'll recognize them when you meet them," he assured her. "There's one we'll call the Social Agitator--she isn't happy unless she is running things. I believe she spent two weeks once in London--or else she buys her boots there--anyway, when discussions get lively she squelches8 them by saying, 'Of course, my dear, that may be absolutely _au fait_ in New York--but in London--' It corks9 them up every time. And 'pon honour, three quarters of the time she's quite wrong! Then there's the Lady Thug, Square jaw10, square shoulder, sort of bulging11 out at the top--you know--in decollete one cannot help thinking 'one more struggle and she'll be free!'"
"Oh, fie, Mr. Sansome," laughed Nan, half shocked.
Sansome rattled12 on. The ultimate effect was to convey an impression of San Francisco society--such as existed at all--as stodgy13, stupid, pretentious14, unattractive. Nan was immensely amused, but inclined to take it all with a grain of salt.
"Mrs. Sherwood doesn't bear you out," she told him, "and she's the only one I've seen yet. I think we're going to have a pretty good time."
But at this point Keith returned. He was quite sobered from his temporary exhilaration, but still most cordial and enthusiastic over his little party, Sansome noted15 with quiet amusement that his light curly hair was damp. Evidently he had taken his own prescription16 as to the pump.
"Well," he announced, "I have a room--such as it is. Can't say much for it. The baggage is all here; nothing missing for a wonder. I've spoken to the manager about dinner for five." He turned to Nan with brightening interest. "Guess what I saw on the bill of fare! Grizzly17 bear steak! Think of that! I ordered some."
"What's the matter?" inquired Keith.
"Did you ever try it before? Tough, stringy, unfit for human consumption."
But Keith was fascinated by the name of the thing.
"There's plenty else," he urged defensively, "and I always try everything once."
It was agreed that they should all meet again after an hour. Sansome renewed his promises to be on hand.
The room Keith had engaged was on the second story, and quite a different sort of affair from that of the Sherwoods'. Indeed it was little more than a pine box, containing only the bare necessities. One window looked out on an unkempt backyard, now mercifully hidden by darkness.
"This is pretty tough," said Keith, "but it is the very best I could do. And the price is horrible. We'll have to hunt up a living place about the first thing we do."
"Oh, it's all right," said Nan indifferently. The lassitude of seasickness20 had left her, and the excitement of new surroundings was beginning. She felt gently stirred by the give and take of the light conversation in the Sherwoods' room; and, although she did not quite realize it, she was responding to the stimulation21 of having made a good impression. Her subconscious22 self was perfectly23 aware that in the silken negligee, under the pink-shaded lamp, her clear soft skin, the pure lines of her radiant childlike beauty, the shadows of her tumbled hair, had been very appealing and effective. She moved about a trifle restlessly, looking at things without seeing them. "I'm glad to see the brown trunk. Open it, will you, dear? Heavens, what a mirror!" She surveyed herself in the flawed glass, moving from side to side, fascinated at the strange distortions.
"I call it positive extortion, charging what they do for a room like this," grumbled25 Keith, busy at the trunk. "The Sherwoods must pay a mint of money for theirs. I wonder what he does!"
Her attention attracted by this subject, she arrested her posing before the mirror.
"They certainly are quick to take the stranger in," she commented lightly.
Something in her tone arrested Keith's attention, and he stopped fussing at his keys. Nan had meant little by the remark. It had expressed the vague instinctive26 recoil27 of the woman brought up in rather conventional circumstances and in a conservative community from too sudden intimacy28, nothing more. She did not herself understand this.
"Don't you like the Sherwoods?" he instantly demanded, with the masculine insistence29 on dissecting30 every butterfly.
"Why, she's charming!" said Nan, opening her eyes in surprise. "Of course, I like her immensely!"
"I should think so," grumbled Keith. "They certainly have been mighty31 good to us."
But Nan had dropped her negligee about her feet, and was convulsed at the figure made of her slim young body by the distorted mirror.
"Come here, Milt," she gasped32.
She clung to him, gurgling with laughter, pointing one shaking finger at the monstrosity in the glass.
"Look--look what you married!"
They dressed gayly. His optimism and enthusiasm boiled over again. It was a shame, his leaving her all that afternoon, he reiterated33; but she had no idea what giant strides he had made. He told her of the city, and he enumerated34 some of the acquaintances he had made--Calhoun Bennett, Bert Taylor, Major Marmaduke Miles, Michael Rowlee, Judge Caldwell, and others. They had been most cordial to him, most kind; they had taken him in without delay.
"It's the spirit of the West, Nan," he cried, "hospitable35, unsuspicious, free, eager to welcome! Oh, this is going to be the place for me; opportunity waits at every corner. They are not tied down by conventions, by the way somebody else has done things--"
He went on rapidly to detail to her some of the things he had been told-- the contemplated36 public improvements, the levelling of the sand hills, the building of a city out of nothing.
"Why, Nan, do you realize that only four years ago this very Plaza37 had only six small buildings around it, that there were only three two-story structures in town, that the population was only about five hundred--there are thirty-five thousand now, that--" he rattled on, detailing his recently acquired statistics. Oh, potent38 influence of the Western spirit--already, eight hours after his landing on California's shores, Milton Keith was a "booster."
With an expansion of relief that only a woman could fully19 appreciate, Nan unpacked39 and put on a frock that had nothing whatever to do with the sea voyage, and which she had not for some time seen. In ordinary accustomed circumstances she would never have thought of donning so elaborate a toilette for a hotel dining-room, but she was yielding to reaction. In her way she was "celebrating," just as was Keith. Her hair she did low after the fashion of the time, and bound it to her brow by a bandeau of pearls. The gown itself was pale green and filmy. It lent her a flowerlike semblance40 that was very fresh and lovely.
"By Jove, Nan, you certainly have recovered from the sea!" cried Keith, and insisted on kissing her.
"Look how you've mussed me all up!" chided Nan, but without irritation41.
They found the other three waiting for them, and without delay entered the dining-room. This, as indeed all the lower story, was in marked contrast of luxury with the bare pine bedrooms upstairs. Long red velvet42 curtains, held back by tasselled silken cords, draped the long windows; fluted43 columns at regular intervals45 upheld the ceiling; the floor was polished and slippery; the tables shone with white and silver. An obese46 and tremendous darkey in swallowtail waved a white-gloved hand at them, turned ponderously47, and preceded them down the aisle48 with the pomp of a drum major. His dignity was colossal49, awe24 inspiring, remote. Their progress became a procession, a triumphal procession, such as few of Caesar's generals had ever known. Arrived at the predestined table, he stood one side while menials drew out the chairs. Then he marched tremendously back to the main door, his chin high, his expression haughty50, his backbone51 rigid52. This head waiter was the feature of the Bella Union Hotel, just as the glass columns were the feature of the Empire, or the clockwork mechanism53 of the El Dorado.
The dinner itself went well. Everybody seemed to be friendly and at ease, but by one of those strange and sudden social transitions it was rather subdued54. This was for various reasons. Nan Keith, after her brief reaction, found herself again suffering from the lassitude and fatigue55 of a long voyage; she needed a night's rest and knew it. Keith himself was a trifle sleepy as an after affect to the earlier drinking. Sherwood was naturally reserved and coolly observing; Mrs. Sherwood was apparently56 somehow on guard; and Sansome, as always, took his tone from those about him. The wild spirits of the hour before had taken their flight. It was, however, a pleasant dinner--without constraint57, as among old friends. After the meal they went to the public parlour, a splendid but rather dismal58 place. Sherwood almost immediately excused himself. After a short and somewhat awkward interval44, Nan decided59 she would go to bed for her needed rest.
"You won't think me rude, I know." said she.
Keith, whose buoyant temper had been sadly divided between a genuine wish to do the proper and dutiful thing by his wife and a great desire to see more of this fascinating city, rose with so evident an alacrity60 under restraint that Mrs. Sherwood scarcely, concealed61 a smile. She said her adieux at the same time, and left the room, troubling herself only to the extent of that ancient platitude62 about "letters to write."
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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monologue
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| n.长篇大论，（戏剧等中的）独白 | |
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interspersed
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| adj.[医]散开的；点缀的v.intersperse的过去式和过去分词 | |
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porcelain
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| n.瓷；adj.瓷的，瓷制的 | |
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gilt
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| adj.镀金的；n.金边证券 | |
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squelches
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| v.发吧唧声，发扑哧声( squelch的第三人称单数 )；制止；压制；遏制 | |
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corks
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| n.脐梅衣；软木( cork的名词复数 )；软木塞 | |
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jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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bulging
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| 膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱 | |
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rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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stodgy
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| adj.易饱的；笨重的；滞涩的；古板的 | |
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pretentious
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| adj.自命不凡的，自负的，炫耀的 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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prescription
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| n.处方，开药；指示，规定 | |
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grizzly
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| adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊 | |
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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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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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seasickness
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| n.晕船 | |
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stimulation
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| n.刺激，激励，鼓舞 | |
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subconscious
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| n./adj.潜意识(的)，下意识(的) | |
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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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awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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instinctive
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| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
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recoil
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| vi.退却，退缩，畏缩 | |
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intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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insistence
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| n.坚持；强调；坚决主张 | |
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dissecting
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| v.解剖（动物等）( dissect的现在分词 )；仔细分析或研究 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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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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reiterated
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| 反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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enumerated
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| v.列举，枚举，数( enumerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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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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plaza
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| n.广场，市场 | |
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potent
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| adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的 | |
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unpacked
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| v.从（包裹等）中取出（所装的东西），打开行李取出( unpack的过去式和过去分词 )；拆包；解除…的负担；吐露（心事等） | |
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semblance
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| n.外貌，外表 | |
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irritation
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| n.激怒，恼怒，生气 | |
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42
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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fluted
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| a.有凹槽的 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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45
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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obese
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| adj.过度肥胖的，肥大的 | |
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ponderously
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aisle
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| n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道 | |
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colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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51
backbone
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| n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气 | |
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52
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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53
mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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54
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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56
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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57
constraint
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| n.(on)约束，限制；限制(或约束)性的事物 | |
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58
dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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60
alacrity
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| n.敏捷，轻快，乐意 | |
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61
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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62
platitude
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| n.老生常谈，陈词滥调 | |
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