The Rubberneck Auto1 was about ready to start. The merry top-riders had been assigned to their seats by the gentlemanly conductor. The sidewalk was blockaded with sightseers who had gathered to stare at sightseers, justifying2 the natural law that every creature on earth is preyed3 upon by some other creature.
The megaphone man raised his instrument of torture; the inside of the great automobile4 began to thump5 and throb6 like the heart of a coffee drinker. The top-riders nervously7 clung to the seats; the old lady from Valparaiso, Indiana, shrieked8 to be put ashore9. But, before a wheel turns, listen to a brief preamble10 through the cardiaphone, which shall point out to you an object of interest on life's sightseeing tour.
Swift and comprehensive is the recognition of white man for white man in African wilds; instant and sure is the spiritual greeting between mother and babe; unhesitatingly do master and dog commune across the slight gulf11 between animal and man; immeasurably quick and sapient12 are the brief messages between one and one's beloved. But all these instances set forth14 only slow and groping interchange of sympathy and thought beside one other instance which the Rubberneck coach shall disclose. You shall learn (if you have not learned already) what two beings of all earth's living inhabitants most quickly look into each other's hearts and souls when they meet face to face.
The gong whirred, and the Glaring-at-Gotham car moved majestically15 upon its instructive tour.
On the highest, rear seat was James Williams, of Cloverdale, Missouri, and his Bride.
Capitalise it, friend typo--that last word--word of words in the epiphany of life and love. The scent16 of the flowers, the booty of the bee, the primal17 drip of spring waters, the overture18 of the lark19, the twist of lemon peel on the cocktail20 of creation--such is the bride. Holy is the wife; revered21 the mother; galliptious is the summer girl--but the bride is the certified22 check among the wedding presents that the gods send in when man is married to mortality.
The car glided24 up the Golden Way. On the bridge of the great cruiser the captain stood, trumpeting26 the sights of the big city to his passengers. Wide-mouthed and open-eared, they heard the sights of the metropolis27 thundered forth to their eyes. Confused, delirious28 with excitement and provincial29 longings30, they tried to make ocular responses to the megaphonic ritual. In the solemn spires31 of spreading cathedrals they saw the home of the Vanderbilts; in the busy bulk of the Grand Central depot32 they viewed, wonderingly, the frugal33 cot of Russell Sage13. Bidden to observe the highlands of the Hudson, they gaped34, unsuspecting, at the upturned mountains of a new- laid sewer35. To many the elevated railroad was the Rialto, on the stations of which uniformed men sat and made chop suey of your tickets. And to this day in the outlying districts many have it that Chuck Connors, with his hand on his heart, leads reform; and that but for the noble municipal efforts of one Parkhurst, a district attorney, the notorious "Bishop36" Potter gang would have destroyed law and order from the Bowery to the Harlem River.
But I beg you to observe Mrs. James Williams--Hattie Chalmers that was--once the belle37 of Cloverdale. Pale-blue is the bride's, if she will; and this colour she had honoured. Willingly had the moss38 rosebud39 loaned to her cheeks of its pink--and as for the violet!--her eyes will do very well as they are, thank you. A useless strip of white chaf--oh, no, he was guiding the auto car--of white chiffon--or perhaps it was grenadine or tulle--was tied beneath her chin, pretending to hold her bonnet40 in place. But you know as well as I do that the hatpins did the work.
And on Mrs. James Williams's face was recorded a little library of the world's best thoughts in three volumes. Volume No. 1 contained the belief that James Williams was about the right sort of thing. Volume No. 2 was an essay on the world, declaring it to be a very excellent place. Volume No. 3 disclosed the belief that in occupying the highest seat in a Rubberneck auto they were travelling the pace that passes all understanding.
James Williams, you would have guessed, was about twenty-four. It will gratify you to know that your estimate was so accurate. He was exactly twenty-three years, eleven months and twenty-nine days old. He was well built, active, strong-jawed, good-natured and rising. He was on his wedding trip.
Dear kind fairy, please cut out those orders for money and 40 H. P. touring cars and fame and a new growth of hair and the presidency41 of the boat club. Instead of any of them turn backward--oh, turn backward and give us just a teeny-weeny bit of our wedding trip over again. Just an hour, dear fairy, so we can remember how the grass and poplar trees looked, and the bow of those bonnet strings42 tied beneath her chin--even if it was the hatpins that did the work. Can't do it? Very well; hurry up with that touring car and the oil stock, then.
Just in front of Mrs. James Williams sat a girl in a loose tan jacket and a straw hat adorned43 with grapes and roses. Only in dreams and milliners' shops do we, alas44! gather grapes and roses at one swipe. This girl gazed with large blue eyes, credulous45, when the megaphone man roared his doctrine46 that millionaires were things about which we should be concerned. Between blasts she resorted to Epictetian philosophy in the form of pepsin chewing gum.
At this girl's right hand sat a young man about twenty-four. He was well-built, active, strong-jawed and good-natured. But if his description seems to follow that of James Williams, divest47 it of anything Cloverdalian. This man belonged to hard streets and sharp corners. He looked keenly about him, seeming to begrudge48 the asphalt under the feet of those upon whom he looked down from his perch49.
While the megaphone barks at a famous hostelry, let me whisper you through the low-tuned cardiaphone to sit tight; for now things are about to happen, and the great city will close over them again as over a scrap50 of ticker tape floating down from the den25 of a Broad street bear.
The girl in the tan jacket twisted around to view the pilgrims on the last seat. The other passengers she had absorbed; the seat behind her was her Bluebeard's chamber52.
Her eyes met those of Mrs. James Williams. Between two ticks of a watch they exchanged their life's experiences, histories, hopes and fancies. And all, mind you, with the eye, before two men could have decided53 whether to draw steel or borrow a match.
The bride leaned forward low. She and the girl spoke54 rapidly together, their tongues moving quickly like those of two serpents-- a comparison that is not meant to go further. Two smiles and a dozen nods closed the conference.
And now in the broad, quiet avenue in front of the Rubberneck car a man in dark clothes stood with uplifted hand. From the sidewalk another hurried to join him.
The girl in the fruitful hat quickly seized her companion by the arm and whispered in his ear. That young man exhibited proof of ability to act promptly55. Crouching56 low, he slid over the edge of the car, hung lightly for an instant, and then disappeared. Half a dozen of the top-riders observed his feat57, wonderingly, but made no comment, deeming it prudent58 not to express surprise at what might be the conventional manner of alighting in this bewildering city. The truant59 passenger dodged60 a hansom and then floated past, like a leaf on a stream between a furniture van and a florist's delivery wagon61.
The girl in the tan jacket turned again, and looked in the eyes of Mrs. James Williams. Then she faced about and sat still while the Rubberneck auto stopped at the flash of the badge under the coat of the plainclothes man.
"What's eatin' you?" demanded the megaphonist, abandoning his professional discourse62 for pure English.
"Keep her at anchor for a minute," ordered the officer. "There's a man on board we want--a Philadelphia burglar called 'Pinky' McGuire. There he is on the back seat. Look out for the side, Donovan."
Donovan went to the hind51 wheel and looked up at James Williams.
"Come down, old sport," he said, pleasantly. "We've got you. Back to Sleepytown for yours. It ain't a bad idea, hidin' on a Rubberneck, though. I'll remember that."
Softly through the megaphone came the advice of the conductor:
"Better step off, sir, and explain. The car must proceed on its tour."
James Williams belonged among the level heads. With necessary slowness he picked his way through the passengers down to the steps at the front of the car. His wife followed, but she first turned her eyes and saw the escaped tourist glide23 from behind the furniture van and slip behind a tree on the edge of the little park, not fifty feet away.
Descended63 to the ground, James Williams faced his captors with a smile. He was thinking what a good story he would have to tell in Cloverdale about having been mistaken for a burglar. The Rubberneck coach lingered, out of respect for its patrons. What could be a more interesting sight than this?
"My name is James Williams, of Cloverdale, Missouri," he said kindly64, so that they would not be too greatly mortified65. "I have letters here that will show--"
"You'll come with us, please," announced the plainclothes man. "'Pinky' McGuire's description fits you like flannel66 washed in hot suds. A detective saw you on the Rubberneck up at Central Park and 'phoned down to take you in. Do your explaining at the station- house."
James Williams's wife--his bride of two weeks--looked him in the face with a strange, soft radiance in her eyes and a flush on her cheeks, looked him in the face and said:
"Go with 'em quietly, 'Pinky,' and maybe it'll be in your favour."
And then as the Glaring-at-Gotham car rolled away she turned and threw a kiss--his wife threw a kiss--at some one high up on the seats of the Rubberneck.
"Your girl gives you good advice, McGuire," said Donovan. "Come on, now."
And then madness descended upon and occupied James Williams. He pushed his hat far upon the back of his head.
"My wife seems to think I am a burglar," he said, recklessly. "I never heard of her being crazy; therefore I must be. And if I'm crazy, they can't do anything to me for killing67 you two fools in my madness."
Whereupon he resisted arrest so cheerfully and industriously68 that cops had to be whistled for, and afterwards the reserves, to disperse69 a few thousand delighted spectators.
At the station-house the desk sergeant70 asked for his name.
"McDoodle, the Pink, or Pinky the Brute71, I forget which," was James Williams's answer. "But you can bet I'm a burglar; don't leave that out. And you might add that it took five of 'em to pluck the Pink. I'd especially like to have that in the records."
In an hour came Mrs. James Williams, with Uncle Thomas, of Madison Avenue, in a respect-compelling motor car and proofs of the hero's innocence--for all the world like the third act of a drama backed by an automobile mfg. co.
After the police had sternly reprimanded James Williams for imitating a copyrighted burglar and given him as honourable72 a discharge as the department was capable of, Mrs. Williams rearrested him and swept him into an angle of the station-house. James Williams regarded her with one eye. He always said that Donovan closed the other while somebody was holding his good right hand. Never before had he given her a word of reproach or of reproof73.
"If you can explain," he began rather stiffly, "why you--"
"Dear," she interrupted, "listen. It was an hour's pain and trial to you. I did it for her--I mean the girl who spoke to me on the coach. I was so happy, Jim--so happy with you that I didn't dare to refuse that happiness to another. Jim, they were married only this morning --those two; and I wanted him to get away. While they were struggling with you I saw him slip from behind his tree and hurry across the park. That's all of it, dear--I had to do it."
Thus does one sister of the plain gold band know another who stands in the enchanted74 light that shines but once and briefly75 for each one. By rice and satin bows does mere76 man become aware of weddings. But bride knoweth bride at the glance of an eye. And between them swiftly passes comfort and meaning in a language that man and widows wot not of.
收听单词发音 |
1
auto
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| n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车 | |
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2
justifying
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| 证明…有理( justify的现在分词 )； 为…辩护； 对…作出解释； 为…辩解（或辩护） | |
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3
preyed
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| v.掠食( prey的过去式和过去分词 )；掠食；折磨；（人）靠欺诈为生 | |
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automobile
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| n.汽车，机动车 | |
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thump
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| v.重击，砰然地响；n.重击，重击声 | |
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throb
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| v.震颤，颤动；(急速强烈地)跳动，搏动 | |
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nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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8
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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preamble
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| n.前言；序文 | |
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gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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sapient
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| adj.有见识的，有智慧的 | |
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sage
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| n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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majestically
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| 雄伟地； 庄重地； 威严地； 崇高地 | |
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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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primal
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| adj.原始的；最重要的 | |
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overture
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| n.前奏曲、序曲，提议，提案，初步交涉 | |
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lark
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| n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏 | |
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20
cocktail
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| n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物 | |
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revered
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| v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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22
certified
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| a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的 | |
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23
glide
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| n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝 | |
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glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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trumpeting
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| 大声说出或宣告（trumpet的现在分词形式） | |
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metropolis
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| n.首府；大城市 | |
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delirious
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| adj.不省人事的，神智昏迷的 | |
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provincial
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| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
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longings
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| 渴望，盼望( longing的名词复数 ) | |
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31
spires
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| n.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的名词复数 ) | |
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32
depot
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| n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站 | |
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frugal
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| adj.节俭的，节约的，少量的，微量的 | |
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34
gaped
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| v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的过去式和过去分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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35
sewer
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| n.排水沟，下水道 | |
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36
bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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belle
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| n.靓女 | |
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38
moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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rosebud
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| n.蔷薇花蕾，妙龄少女 | |
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40
bonnet
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| n.无边女帽；童帽 | |
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41
presidency
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| n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期) | |
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42
strings
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| n.弦 | |
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adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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45
credulous
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| adj.轻信的，易信的 | |
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46
doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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47
divest
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| v.脱去，剥除 | |
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48
begrudge
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| vt.吝啬，羡慕 | |
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49
perch
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| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
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50
scrap
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| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
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51
hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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52
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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53
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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54
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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55
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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56
crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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57
feat
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| n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的 | |
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58
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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59
truant
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| n.懒惰鬼，旷课者；adj.偷懒的，旷课的，游荡的；v.偷懒，旷课 | |
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60
dodged
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| v.闪躲( dodge的过去式和过去分词 )；回避 | |
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61
wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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62
discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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63
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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64
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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65
mortified
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| v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等） | |
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66
flannel
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| n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服 | |
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67
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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68
industriously
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69
disperse
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| vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散 | |
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70
sergeant
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| n.警官，中士 | |
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71
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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72
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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73
reproof
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| n.斥责，责备 | |
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74
enchanted
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| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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75
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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