CHAPTER VIII IN THE ARBOUR

We must go back to three o'clock. At three o'clock Bobby, walking in the garden smoking a cigarette, had crossed the front of the arbour—Arbour No. 1. The grass path, soundless as a Turkey carpet, did not betray his footsteps.

There were two people in the arbour and they were "canoodling"—Simon and Julia Delyse. She was keeping her hand in, perhaps, or the attraction Simon had always had for her had betrayed her into allowing him to hold her hand. Anyhow, he was holding it. Bobby looked at her, and Julia snatched her hand away. Simon laughed; he seemed to think it a good joke, and his vain soul was doubtless pleased with having got the better of Bobby with Bobby's girl.

Bobby passed on, saying, "I beg your pardon." It was the only thing he could think of to say. Then, when out of hearing, he too laughed. He had got the better of Julia. That brooding presence would brood no more.

An hour later Simon, walking in the garden alone and in meditation¹, reached the bowling-green. He drew close to Arbour No. 2. The grass silencing his footsteps, he passed the arbour opening and looked in. The two people there did not see him for a moment, then they unlocked.

It was Cerise and Bobby.

Simon stood, mouth open, stock still, cigar dropped on grass.

He had laughed when Bobby had caught him with Julia. He did not laugh now.

The shock of the poaching business had left him untouched, unshaken, but Cerise, in some strange way, was his centre of gravity, his compass, and sometimes his rudder. He loved Cerise; the other girls were phantoms². Perhaps Cerise was the only real thing in his mental state.

For a moment he stood, his hand to his head like a man stunned³.

Bobby ran to him and caught him.

"Where am I?" said Uncle Simon. "Oh—oh—I see." He leaned heavily on Bobby, looking about him in a dazed way like a man half awakened⁴. Madame Rossignol, who had just come out of the hotel, seeing his condition, ran towards him, and Simon, as though recognising a guardian⁵ angel, held out his hand.

Then Bobby and the old lady gently, very gently, began to lead him back to the house.

As they drew near the back entrance three men, one following the other, came out.

Simon stopped.

He had recognised Tidd; he seemed also to recognise more fully⁶ his own position and to remember. Bobby felt his hand tightly clasping his own.

"Why, this is Mr. Tidd," said Simon.

"Mr. Pettigrew," said Tidd, "where are my papers—the papers in the case of Renshaw?"

"Tidd v. Renshaw," said Simon's accurate mind. "They are in the top left-hand drawer of my bureau in Charles Street, Westminster."

1 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

2 phantoms   

n.鬼怪，幽灵( phantom的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They vanished down the stairs like two phantoms. 他们像两个幽灵似的消失在了楼下。 来自辞典例句
• The horrible night that he had passed had left phantoms behind it. 他刚才度过的恐布之夜留下了种种错觉。 来自辞典例句

3 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

4 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。