Silence — And a Knock
Oswald did not succeed in finding a man to please Orlando. He suggested one person after another to the exacting1 inventor, but none were satisfactory to him and each in turn was turned down. It is not every one we want to have share a world-wide triumph or an ignominious2 defeat. And the days were passing.
He had said in a moment of elation3, “I will do it alone;” but he knew even then that he could not. Two hands were necessary to start the car; afterwards, he might manage it alone. Descent was even possible, but to give the contrivance its first lift required a second mechanician. Where was he to find one to please him? And what was he to do if he did not? Conquer his prejudices against such men as he had seen, or delay the attempt, as Oswald had suggested, till he could get one of his old cronies on from New York. He could do neither. The obstinacy4 of his nature was such as to offer an invincible5 barrier against either suggestion. One alternative remained. He had heard of women aviators6. If Doris could be induced to accompany him into the air, instead of clinging sodden-like to the weight of Oswald’s woe7, then would the world behold8 a triumph which would dwarf9 the ecstasy10 of the bird’s flight and rob the eagle of his kingly pride. But Doris barely endured him as yet, and the thought was not one to be considered for a moment. Yet what other course remained? He was brooding deeply on the subject, in his hangar one evening —(it was Thursday and Saturday was but two days off) when there came a light knock at the door.
This had never occurred before. He had given strict orders, backed by his brother’s authority, that he was never to be intruded12 upon when in this place; and though he had sometimes encountered the prying13 eyes of the curious flashing from behind the trees encircling the hangar, his door had never been approached before, or his privacy encroached upon. He started then, when this low but penetrating14 sound struck across the turmoil15 of his thoughts, and cast one look in the direction from which it came; but he did not rise, or even change his position on his workman’s stool.
Then it came again, still low but with an insistence16 which drew his brows together and made his hand fall from the wire he had been unconsciously holding through the mental debate which was absorbing him. Still he made no response, and the knocking continued. Should he ignore it entirely17, start up his motor and render himself oblivious18 to all other sounds? At every other point in his career he would have done this, but an unknown, and as yet unnamed, something had entered his heart during this fatal month, which made old ways impossible and oblivion a thing he dared not court too recklessly. Should this be a summons from Doris! Should (inconceivable idea, yet it seized upon him relentlessly19 and would not yield for the asking) should it be Doris herself!
Taking advantage of a momentary20 cessation of the ceaseless tap tap, he listened. Silence was never profounder than in this forest on that windless night. Earth and air seemed, to his strained ear, emptied of all sound. The clatter21 of his own steady, unhastened heart-beat was all that broke upon the stillness. He might be alone in the Universe for all token of life beyond these walls, or so he was saying to himself, when sharp, quick, sinister22, the knocking recommenced, demanding admission, insisting upon attention, drawing him against his own will to his feet, and finally, though he made more than one stand against it, to the very door.
“Who’s there?” he asked, imperiously and with some show of anger.
No answer, but another quiet knock.
“Speak! or go from my door. No one has the right to intrude11 here. What is your name and business?”
Continued knocking — nothing more.
With an outburst of wrath23, which made the hangar ring, Orlando lifted his fist to answer this appeal in his own fierce fashion from his own side of the door, but the impulse paused at fulfilment, and he let his arm fall again in a rush of self-hatred which it would have pained his worst enemy, even little Doris, to witness. As it reached his side, the knock came again.
It was too much. With an oath, Orlando reached for his key. But before fitting it into the lock, he cast a look behind him. The car was in plain sight, filling the central space from floor to roof. A single glance from a stranger’s eye, and its principal secret would be a secret no longer. He must not run such a risk. Before he answered this call, he must drop the curtain he had rigged up against such emergencies as these. He had but to pull a cord and a veil would fall before his treasure, concealing24 it as effectually as an Eastern bride is concealed25 behind her yashmak.
Stepping to the wall, he drew that cord, then with an impatient sigh, returned to the door.
Another quiet but insistent26 knock greeted him. In no fury now, but with a vague sense of portent27 which gave an aspect of farewell to the one quick glance he cast about the well-known spot, he fitted the key in the lock, and stood ready to turn it.
“I ask again your name and your business,” he shouted out in loud command. “Tell them or —” He meant to say, “or I do not turn this key.” But something withheld28 the threat. He knew that it would perish in the utterance29; that he could not carry it out. He would have to open the door now, response or no response. “Speak!” was the word with which he finished his demand.
A final knock.
Pulling a pistol from his pocket, with his left hand, he turned the key with his right.
The door remained unopened.
Stepping slowly back, he stared at its unpainted boards for a moment, then he spoke30 up quietly, almost courteously31:
“Enter.”
But the command passed unheeded; the latch32 was not raised, and only the slightest tap was heard.
With a bound he reached forward and pulled the door open. Then a great silence fell upon him and a rigidity33 as of the grave seized and stiffened34 his powerful frame.
The man confronting him from the darkness was Sweetwater.
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1
exacting
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| adj.苛求的，要求严格的 | |
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ignominious
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| adj.可鄙的，不光彩的，耻辱的 | |
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elation
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| n.兴高采烈，洋洋得意 | |
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obstinacy
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| n.顽固；（病痛等）难治 | |
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invincible
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| adj.不可征服的，难以制服的 | |
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aviators
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| 飞机驾驶员，飞行员( aviator的名词复数 ) | |
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woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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8
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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dwarf
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| n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小 | |
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ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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intrude
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| vi.闯入；侵入；打扰，侵扰 | |
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intruded
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| n.侵入的，推进的v.侵入，侵扰，打扰( intrude的过去式和过去分词 )；把…强加于 | |
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prying
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| adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开 | |
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penetrating
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| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
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turmoil
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| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
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insistence
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| n.坚持；强调；坚决主张 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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oblivious
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| adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的 | |
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relentlessly
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| adv.不屈不挠地；残酷地；不间断 | |
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momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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insistent
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| adj.迫切的，坚持的 | |
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portent
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| n.预兆；恶兆；怪事 | |
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28
withheld
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| withhold过去式及过去分词 | |
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29
utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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30
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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31
courteously
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| adv.有礼貌地，亲切地 | |
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32
latch
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| n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁 | |
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33
rigidity
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| adj.钢性，坚硬 | |
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stiffened
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| 加强的 | |
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