Chapter 4 Fanny Robin disappears

The farm manager had advised Gabriel to go straight to the malthouse in Weatherbury，to ask for somewhere to stay. That was the place where the men of the village spent their evenings，drinking beer and talking by the fire. When Gabriel entered the warm，dark room，some of Bathsheba's workers recognized him.

‘Come in，shepherd¹，you're welcome，’said one.

‘Gabriel Oak² is my name，neighbours. ’

The ancient maltster，with his white hair and long white beard，turned his old head stiffly³ towards Gabriel. ‘Gabriel Oak of Norcombe！’he said. ‘I knew your grandparents well！My boy Jacob and his young son Billy know your family too. ’His boy Jacob was bald⁴ and toothless，and young Billy was about forty.

‘You must be very old，maltster，’said Gabriel politely，‘to have such an old son as Jacob here. ’

‘Yes，I've lived for over a hundred years，’replied the little old man proudly. ‘Sit down and drink with us，shepherd. ’

The cup of warm beer passed round the circle of drinkers. There was silence for a moment. Then Gabriel turned the conversation to the matter closest to his heart.

‘What kind of mistress⁵ is Miss Everdene？’he asked.

‘We know almost nothing of her，shepherd，’answered Jan Coggan，a big，cheerful man with a red face. ‘She only arrived here a few days ago，when her uncle died. But the Everdenes are a good family to work for. Of course，it's the farm manager who'll be giving us our orders. ’

‘Ah！’said the maltster，frowning. ‘Benjy Pennyways！’

‘You can't trust him！’added Jacob darkly.

Soon afterwards Gabriel left with Jan Coggan，who had offered the shepherd a bed in his house. The remaining men were just preparing to leave when suddenly a young man called Laban Tall rushed into the malthouse，almost too excited to speak.

‘It's Benjy Pennyways！’he cried. ‘Miss Everdene's caught him stealing wheat from the barn！She's sent him away！And worse than that——Fanny Robin⁶，you know，Miss Everdene's youngest maid⁷，is missing！The mistress wants us to look for her tomorrow. And Billy Smallbury，she wants you to go to Casterbridge，to see if you can find the young soldier who's been courting Fanny. ’

That night the news spread fast round the village，but did not reach Gabriel，whose dreams were only of Bathsheba. Through the long slow hours of darkness he saw her lovely face and forgot that she did not love him.

The next morning Bathsheba and her maid Liddy were dust-ing some books，when a visitor arrived at the front door. It was Mr Boldwood，who had a large farm in Weatherbury.

‘I can't see him like this，Liddy！’said Bathsheba，looking in horror⁸ at her dusty⁹ dress. ‘Go down and tell him I'm busy. ’

When Liddy came back， after Mr Boldwood had gone，Bathsheba asked，‘What did he want， Liddy？ And who is he，exactly？’

‘He just wanted to ask if Fanny had been found，miss. You know，as she had no family or friends，he was kind enough to pay for her to go to school，and found her a job here with your uncle. He's your neighbour. His farm is next to yours. ’

‘Is he married？ And how old is he？’

‘He isn't married. He's abeut forty，very handsome—and rich. All the girls in the area have tried to persuade him to marry. But he just doesn't seem interested in women. Have you ever had an offer of marriage，miss？’

‘Yes，I have，Liddy，’answered Bathsheba after a pause，thinking of Gabriel. ‘But he wasn't quite good enough for me. ’

‘Oh，how nice to be able to refuse，when most of us are glad to accept the first offer！ And did you love him，miss？’

‘Oh no. But I rather liked him. ’

In the afternoon Bathsheba called her workers together，and spoke¹⁰ to them in the old hall of the farmhouse¹¹.

‘Men，I want to tell you that I'm not going to employ a new farm manager. I shall manage the farm myself. ’There were gasps¹² of surprise from the men. She gave her orders for the next week's farm work and then turned to one of the 46 men. ‘Billy Smallbury， what have you discovered about Fanny Robin？’

‘I think she's run away with her young man，ma'am. The soldiers have left Casterbridge，and I suppose she's gone with them. ’

‘Well，perhaps we'll discover more later. One of you can go and tell Mr Boldwood what Billy says. Now，men，I hope I can trust you all to do your work well for me. Goodnight. ’

Later that evening，in a town many miles north of Weather bury，a small white shape could be seen walking slowly along a path beside a large building. It was a dull，snowy night，with heavy grey clouds hanging low in the sky，the kind of night when hopes are destroyed and love is lost.

‘One. Two. Three. Four. Five. ’The white shape was counting windows in the building. Then it began to throw small stones，covered in snow，at the fifth window. At last the window opened，and a man called out，‘Who's there？’

‘Is that Sergeant¹³ Troy？’asked a girl's voice.

‘Yes，’answered the man. ‘Who are you？’

‘Oh Frank，don't you know me？’cried the girl desperately¹⁴.

‘I'm your—I'm Fanny Robin. ’

‘Fanny！’gasped the man in surprise. ‘How did you get here？’

‘I walked most of the way from Weatherbury. But，Frank，are you glad to see me？ Frank，when will it be？’

‘What are you talking about？’

‘You know，you promised. When shall we be married，Frank？’

‘Oh，I see. Well—you need proper clothes—we must inform the vicar. It takes time. I didn't expect you to come so soon. ’

‘Oh Frank，I love you so！And—you said you'd marry me—’

‘Don't cry now！It's foolish. If I said so，of course I will. I'll come and see you tomorrow to decide the details. ’

‘Oh yes，Frank，do！I'm staying at Mrs Twill’s in North Street. Come tomorrow，Frank！Goodnight，Frank！’

1 shepherd   

n.牧羊者，牧师，指导者；v.看守，领导，指导

参考例句：

• The shepherd boy waited for his sheep to drink.牧童等羊喝水。
• The shepherd and his dog gathered in the sheep.牧羊人和牧羊狗把羊群赶到一块。

2 oak   

n.栎树，橡树，栎木，橡木

参考例句：

• The chair is of solid oak.这把椅子是纯橡木的。
• The carpenter will floor this room with oak.木匠将用橡木铺设这个房间的地板。

3 stiffly   

adv. 顽固地, 硬

参考例句：

• His manner was stiffly formal.他的举止十分僵硬。
• He got out of bed stiffly.他手脚不灵便地起了床。

4 bald   

adj.秃头的；无发的或少发的

参考例句：

• He shaved his head bald.他把头发剃光了。
• The mountain is bald.这座山光秃秃的。

5 mistress   

n.（文学用语）使男子为之倾倒的女人，女主人

参考例句：

• Does his wife know he has a mistress?他的妻子知道他有一个情妇吗？
• Is your mistress at home?你家女主人在家吗？

6 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

7 maid   

n.少女，未婚女子，女仆

参考例句：

• I have sent my maid away.我已把我的女仆解雇了。
• A maid in white is walking along the boardwalk.一位白衣少女漫步于海边的木板路上。

8 horror   

n.惊骇，恐怖，惨事，极端厌恶

参考例句：

• 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。
• The thought of working nights fills me with abject horror.一想到要夜间工作我就觉得惨兮兮的。

9 dusty   

adj.积满灰尘的；无聊的，含糊的，粉末状的

参考例句：

• He was pulling dead roots from the dusty earth.他正在从土中拔出枯死的根茎。
• One spring it was very windy and dusty here.有一年春天这里风沙很大。

10 spoke   

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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 farmhouse   

n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房）

参考例句：

• We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
• We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。

12 gasps   

v.喘气( gasp的第三人称单数 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• He leant against the railing, his breath coming in short gasps. 他倚着栏杆，急促地喘气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• My breaths were coming in gasps. 我急促地喘起气来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

14 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。