"Good morning, Madam," said Hoopdriver, as Jessie came into the breakfast room of the Golden Pheasant on Monday morning, and he smiled, bowed, rubbed his hands together, and pulled out a chair for her, and rubbed his hands again.
She stopped abruptly1, with a puzzled expression on her face. "Where HAVE I seen that before?" she said.
"The chair?" said Hoopdriver, flushing.
"No--the attitude."
She came forward and shook hands with him, looking the while curiously2 into his face. "And--Madam?"
"It's a habit," said Mr. Hoopdriver, guiltily. "A bad habit. Calling ladies Madam. You must put it down to our colonial roughness. Out there up country--y'know--the ladies--so rare--we call 'em all Madam."
"You HAVE some funny habits, brother Chris," said Jessie. "Before you sell your diamond shares and go into society, as you say, and stand for Parliament--What a fine thing it is to be a man!--you must cure yourself. That habit of bowing as you do, and rubbing your hands, and looking expectant."
"It's a habit."
"I know. But I don't think it a good one. You don't mind my telling you?"
"Not a bit. I'm grateful."
"I'm blessed or afflicted3 with a trick of observation," said Jessie, looking at the breakfast table. Mr. Hoopdriver put his hand to his moustache and then, thinking this might be another habit, checked his arm and stuck his hand into his pocket. He felt juiced awkward, to use his private formula. Jessie's eye wandered to the armchair, where a piece of binding4 was loose, and, possibly to carry out her theory of an observant disposition5, she turned and asked him for a pin.
Mr. Hoopdriver's hand fluttered instinctively6 to his lappel, and there, planted by habit, were a couple of stray pins he had impounded.
"What an odd place to put pins!" exclaimed Jessie, taking it.
"It's 'andy," said Mr. Hoopdriver. "I saw a chap in a shop do it once."
"You must have a careful disposition," she said, over her shoulder, kneeling down to the chair.
"In the centre of Africa--up country, that is--one learns to value pins," said Mr. Hoopdriver, after a perceptible pause. "There weren't over many pins in Africa. They don't lie about on the ground there." His face was now in a fine, red glow. Where would the draper break out next? He thrust his hands into his coat pockets, then took one out again, furtively7 removed the second pin and dropped it behind him gently. It fell with a loud 'ping' on the fender. Happily she made no remark, being preoccupied8 with the binding of the chair.
Mr. Hoopdriver, instead of sitting down, went up to the table and stood against it, with his finger-tips upon the cloth. They were keeping breakfast a tremendous time. He took up his rolled serviette looked closely and scrutinisingly at the ring, then put his hand under the fold of the napkin and examined the texture9, and put the thing down again. Then he had a vague impulse to finger his hollow wisdom tooth--happily checked. He suddenly discovered he was standing10 as if the table was a counter, and sat down forthwith. He drummed with his hand on the table. He felt dreadfully hot and self-conscious.
"Breakfast is late," said Jessie, standing up.
"Isn't it?"
Conversation was slack. Jessie wanted to know the distance to Ringwood. Then silence fell again.
Mr. Hoopdriver, very uncomfortable and studying an easy bearing, looked again at the breakfast things and then idly lifted the corner of the tablecloth11 on the ends of his fingers, and regarded it. "Fifteen three," he thought, privately12.
"Why do you do that?" said Jessie.
"WHAT?" said Hoopdriver, dropping the tablecloth convulsively.
"Look at the cloth like that. I saw you do it yesterday, too."
Mr. Hoopdriver's face became quite a bright red. He began pulling his moustache nervously13. "I know," he said. "I know. It's a queer habit, I know. But out there, you know, there's native servants, you know, and--it's a queer thing to talk about--but one has to look at things to see, don't y'know, whether they're quite clean or not. It's got to be a habit."
"How odd!" said Jessie.
"Isn't it?" mumbled14 Hoopdriver.
"If I were a Sherlock Holmes," said Jessie, "I suppose I could have told you were a colonial from little things like that. But anyhow, I guessed it, didn't I?"
"Yes," said Hoopdriver, in a melancholy15 tone, "you guessed it."
Why not seize the opportunity for a neat confession16, and add, "unhappily in this case you guessed wrong." Did she suspect? Then, at the psychological moment, the girl bumped the door open with her tray and brought in the coffee and scrambled17 eggs.
"I am rather lucky with my intuitions, sometimes," said Jessie.
Remorse18 that had been accumulating in his mind for two days surged to the top of his mind. What a shabby liar19 he was!
And, besides, he must sooner or later, inevitably20, give himself away.
收听单词发音 |
1
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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3
afflicted
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| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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4
binding
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| 有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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6
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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7
furtively
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| adv. 偷偷地, 暗中地 | |
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8
preoccupied
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| adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) | |
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9
texture
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| n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理 | |
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10
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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11
tablecloth
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| n.桌布，台布 | |
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privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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13
nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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14
mumbled
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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15
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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16
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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17
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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18
remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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19
liar
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| n.说谎的人 | |
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inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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