Life, thought Victoria, life at last! Sitting in her seat at Airways1 Terminalthere had come the magic moment when the words “Passengers for Cairo,Baghdad and Tehran, take your places in the bus, please,” had beenuttered.
Magic names, magic words. Devoid2 of glamour3 to Mrs. Hamilton Clippwho, as far as Victoria could make out, had spent a large portion of her lifejumping from boats into aeroplanes and from aeroplanes into trains withbrief intervals4 at expensive hotels in between. But to Victoria they were amarvellous change from the oft- repeated phrases, “Take down, please,Miss Jones.” “This letter’s full of mistakes. You’ll have to type it again, MissJones.” “The kettle’s boiling, ducks, just make the tea, will you.” “I knowwhere you can get the most marvellous perm.” Trivial boring everydayhappenings! And now: Cairo, Baghdad, Tehran—all the romance of theglorious East (and Edward at the end of it)….
Victoria returned to earth to hear her employer, whom she had alreadydiagnosed as a nonstop talker, concluding a series of remarks by saying:
“—and nothing really clean if you know what I mean. I’m always veryvery careful what I eat. The filth5 of the streets and the bazaars6 youwouldn’t believe. And the unhygienic rags the people wear. And some ofthe toilets—why, you just couldn’t call them toilets at all!”
Victoria listened dutifully to these depressing remarks, but her ownsense of glamour remained undimmed. Dirt and germs meant nothing inher young life. They arrived at Heathrow and she assisted Mrs. Clipp toalight from the bus. She was already in charge of passports, tickets,money, etc.
“My,” said that lady, “it certainly is a comfort to have you with me, MissJones. I just don’t know what I’d have done if I’d had to travel alone.”
Travelling by air, Victoria thought, was rather like being taken on aschool treat. Brisk teachers, kind but firm, were at hand to shepherd youat every turn. Air hostesses, in trim uniform with the authority of nurserygovernesses dealing8 with feeble minded children explained kindly9 justwhat you were to do. Victoria almost expected them to preface their re-marks with “Now, children.”
Tired-looking young gentlemen behind desks extended weary hands tocheck passports, to inquire intimately of money and jewellery. They man-aged to induce a sense of guilt10 in those questioned. Victoria, suggestible bynature, knew a sudden longing11 to describe her one meagre brooch as adiamond tiara value ten thousand pounds, just to see the expression onthe bored young man’s face. Thoughts of Edward restrained her.
The various barriers passed, they sat down to wait once more in a largeroom giving directly on the aerodrome. Outside the roar of a plane beingrevved up gave the proper background. Mrs. Hamilton Clipp was nowhappily engaged in making a running commentary on their fellow travel-lers.
“Aren’t those two little children just too cute for words? But what an or-deal to travel alone with a couple of children. British, I guess they are.
That’s a well cut suit the mother has on. She looks kind of tired, though.
That’s a good-looking man—rather Latin looking, I’d say. What a loudcheck that man has on—I’d call it very bad taste. Business, I guess. Thatman over there’s a Dutchman, he was just ahead of us at the controls. Thatfamily over there is either Turkish or Persian, I should say. There don’tseem to be any Americans. I guess they go mostly Pan American. I’d saythose three men talking together are Oil, wouldn’t you? I just love lookingat people and wondering about them. Mr. Clipp says to me I’ve got realyen for human nature. It seems to me just natural to take an interest inyour fellow creatures. Wouldn’t you say that mink12 coat over there costevery bit of three thousand dollars?”
Mrs. Clipp sighed. Having duly appraised13 her fellow travellers she be-came restless.
“I’d like to know what we are waiting for like this. That plane’s revvedup four times. We’re all here. Why can’t they get on with things? They’recertainly not keeping to schedule.”
“Would you like a cup of coffee, Mrs. Clipp? I see there is a buffet14 at theend of the room.”
“Why, no, thank you, Miss Jones. I had coffee before I started, and mystomach feels too unsettled right now to take anything more. What are wewaiting for, I’d like to know?”
Her question seemed to be answered almost before the words were outof her mouth.
The door leading from the corridor out of the Customs and Passport De-partment swung open with a rush and a tall man came through with theeffect of a gust15 of wind. Air officials of the line hovered16 around him. Twolarge canvas sacks sealed were carried by an officer of BOAC.
Mrs. Clipp sat up with alacrity17.
“He’s certainly some big noise,” she remarked.
“And knows it,” thought Victoria.
There was something of calculated sensationalism about the late travel-ler. He wore a kind of dark-grey travelling cloak with a capacious hood18 atthe back. On his head was what was in essence a wide sombrero, but inlight grey. He had silver grey curling hair, worn rather long, and a beauti-ful silver grey moustache curling up at the ends. The effect was that of ahandsome stage bandit. Victoria, who disliked theatrical19 men who posed,looked at him with disapproval20.
The Air officials were, she noted21 with displeasure, all over him.
“Yes, Sir Rupert.” “Of course, Sir Rupert.” “The plane is leaving immedi-ately, Sir Rupert.”
With a swirl22 of his voluminous cloak, Sir Rupert passed out through thedoor leading to the aerodrome. The door swung to behind him with vehe-mence.
“Sir Rupert,” murmured Mrs. Clipp. “Now who would he be, I wonder?”
Victoria shook her head, though she had a vague feeling that the faceand general appearance were not unknown to her.
“Somebody important in your Government,” suggested Mrs. Clipp.
“I shouldn’t think so,” said Victoria.
The few members of the Government she had ever seen had impressedher as men anxious to apologize for being alive. Only on platforms didthey spring into pompous23 and didactic life.
“Now then, please,” said the smart nursery governess air hostess. “Takeyour seats in the plane. This way. As quickly as you can, please.”
Her attitude implied that a lot of dawdling24 children had been keepingthe patient grown-ups waiting.
Everybody filed out onto the aerodrome.
The great plane was waiting, its engine ticking over like the satisfiedpurring of a gigantic lion.
Victoria and a steward25 helped Mrs. Clipp on board and settled her in herseat. Victoria sat next to her on the aisle26. Not until Mrs. Clipp was comfort-ably ensconced, and Victoria had fastened her safety-belt, did the girl haveleisure to observe that in front of them was sitting the great man.
The doors closed. A few seconds later the plane began to move slowlyalong the ground.
“We’re really going,” thought Victoria in ecstasy27. “Oh, isn’t it frighten-ing? Suppose it never gets up off the ground? Really, I don’t see how itcan!”
During what seemed an age the plane taxied along the aerodrome, thenit turned slowly round and stopped. The engines rose to a ferocious28 roar.
Chewing gum, barley29 sugar and cotton wool were handed round.
Louder and louder, fiercer and fiercer. Then, once more, the aeroplanemoved forward. Mincingly30 at first, then faster—faster still—they wererushing along the ground.
“It will never go up,” thought Victoria, “we’ll be killed.”
Faster—more smoothly—no jars—no bumps—they were off the groundskimming along up, round, back over the car park and the main road, up,higher — a silly little train puffing31 below — doll’s houses — toy cars onroads…Higher still—and suddenly the earth below lost interest, was nolonger human or alive—just a large flat map with lines and circles anddots.
Inside the plane people undid32 their safety belts, lit cigarettes, openedmagazines. Victoria was in a new world—a world so many feet long, and avery few feet wide, inhabited by twenty to thirty people. Nothing else exis-ted.
She peered out of the small window again. Below her were clouds, afluffy pavement of clouds. The plane was in the sun. Below the cloudssomewhere was the world she had known heretofore.
Victoria pulled herself together. Mrs. Hamilton Clipp was talking. Vic-toria removed cotton wool from her ears and bent33 attentively34 towardsher.
In the seat in front of her, Sir Rupert rose, tossed his wide-brimmed greyfelt hat to the rack, drew up his hood over his head and relaxed into hisseat.
“Pompous ass,” thought Victoria, unreasonably35 prejudiced.
Mrs. Clipp was established with a magazine open in front of her. At in-tervals she nudged Victoria, when on trying to turn the page with onehand, the magazine slipped.
Victoria looked round her. She decided36 that air travel was really ratherboring. She opened a magazine, found herself faced with an advertise-ment that said, “Do you want to increase your efficiency as a shorthandtypist?” shuddered37, shut the magazine, leant back, and began to think ofEdward.
They came down at Castel Benito Aerodrome in a storm of rain. Victoriawas by now feeling slightly sick, and it took all her energies to accomplishher duties vis-à-vis her employer. They were driven through scurryingrain to the rest house. The magnificent Sir Rupert, Victoria noted, hadbeen met by an officer in uniform with red tabs, and hurried off in a staffcar to some dwelling38 of the mighty39 in Tripolitania.
They were allotted40 rooms. Victoria helped Mrs. Clipp with her toilet andleft her to rest on her bed in a dressing41 gown until it was time for theevening meal. Victoria retired42 to her own room, lay down and closed hereyes, grateful to be spared the sight of the heaving and sinking floor.
She awakened43 an hour later in good health and spirits and went to helpMrs. Clipp. Presently a rather more peremptory44 air hostess instructedthem that cars were ready to convey them to the evening meal. After din-ner Mrs. Clipp got into conversation with some of her fellow travellers.
The man in the loud check coat seemed to have taken a fancy to Victoriaand told her at some length all about the manufacture of lead pencils.
Later they were conveyed back to their sleeping quarters and told curtlythat they must be ready to depart at 5:30 a.m. the following morning.
“We haven’t seen much of Tripolitania, have we?” said Victoria rathersadly. “Is air travel always like this?”
“Why, yes, I’d say so. It’s just positively45 sadistic46 the way they get you upin the mornings. After that, often they keep you hanging round the aero-drome for an hour or two. Why, in Rome, I remember they called us at3:30. Breakfast in the restaurant at 4 o’clock. And then actually at the Air-port we didn’t leave until eight. Still the great thing is they get you to yourdestination right away with no fooling about on the way.”
Victoria sighed. She could have done with a good deal of fooling about.
She wanted to see the world.
“And what do you know, my dear,” continued Mrs. Clipp excitedly, “youknow that interesting looking man? The Britisher? The one that there’s allthe fuss about. I’ve found out who he is. That’s Sir Rupert Crofton Lee, thegreat traveller. You’ve heard of him, of course.”
Yes, Victoria remembered now. She had seen several pictures in thepress about six months ago. Sir Rupert was a great authority upon the in-terior of China. He was one of the few people who had been to Tibet andvisited Lhasa. He had travelled through the unknown parts of Kurdistanand Asia Minor47. His books had had a wide sale, for they had been racilyand wittily48 written. If Sir Rupert was just noticeably a self-advertiser, itwas with good reason. He made no claims that were not fully7 justified49. Thecloak with the hood and the wide- brimmed hat were, Victoria re-membered now, a deliberate fashion of his own choosing.
“Isn’t that thrilling now?” demanded Mrs. Clipp with all a lion hunter’senthusiasm as Victoria adjusted the bedclothes over her recumbent form.
Victoria agreed that it was very thrilling, but she said to herself that shepreferred Sir Rupert’s books to his personality. He was, she considered,what children call “a show-off!”
A start was made in good order the next morning. The weather hadcleared and the sun was shining. Victoria still felt disappointed to haveseen so little of Tripolitania. Still, the plane was due to arrive at Cairo bylunchtime and the departure to Baghdad did not take place until the fol-lowing morning, so she would at least be able to see a little of Egypt in theafternoon.
They were flying over the sea, but clouds soon blocked out the blue wa-ter below them and Victoria settled back in her seat with a yawn. In frontof her Sir Rupert was already asleep. The hood had fallen back from hishead, which was hanging forwards, nodding at intervals. Victoria ob-served with a faint malicious50 pleasure that he had a small boil starting onthe back of his neck. Why she should have been pleased at this fact washard to say—perhaps it made the great man seem more human and vul-nerable. He was as other men after all—prone to the small annoyances51 ofthe flesh. It may be said that Sir Rupert had kept up his Olympian mannerand had taken no notice whatever of his fellow travellers.
“Who does he think he is, I wonder?” thought Victoria to herself. The an-swer was obvious. He was Sir Rupert Crofton Lee, a celebrity52, and she wasVictoria Jones, an indifferent shorthand typist, and of no accountwhatever.
On arrival at Cairo, Victoria and Mrs. Hamilton Clipp had lunch to-gether. The latter then announced that she was going to nap until sixo’clock, and suggested that Victoria might like to go and see the Pyramids.
“I’ve arranged for a car for you, Miss Jones, because I know that owingto your Treasury53 regulations you won’t be able to cash any money here.”
Victoria who had in any case no money to cash, was duly grateful, andsaid so with some effusion.
“Why, that’s nothing at all. You’ve been very very kind to me. And trav-elling with dollars everything is easy for us. Mrs. Kitchin—the lady withthe two cute children—is very anxious to go also, so I suggested you’d joinup with her—if that suits you?”
So long as she saw the world, anything suited Victoria.
“That’s fine, then you’d better get off right now.”
The afternoon at the Pyramids was duly enjoyable. Victoria, thoughreasonably fond of children, might have enjoyed it more without Mrs. Kit-chin’s offspring. Children when sightseeing is in progress are apt to besomewhat of a handicap. The youngest child became so fretful that thetwo women returned earlier from the expedition than they had meant todo.
Victoria threw herself on her bed with a yawn. She wished very muchthat she could stay a week in Cairo—perhaps go up the Nile. “And whatwould you use for money, my girl?” she asked herself witheringly. It wasalready a miracle that she was being transported to Baghdad free ofcharge.
And what, inquired a cold inward voice, are you going to do once youare landed in Baghdad with only a few pounds in your pocket?
Victoria waved that query54 aside. Edward must find her a job. Or failingthat, she would find herself a job. Why worry?
Her eyes, dazzled with strong sunlight, closed gently.
A knock on the door, as she thought, roused her. She called “Come in,”
then as there was no response, she got off the bed, crossed to the door andopened it.
But the knock had not been at her door, but at the next door down thepassage. Another of the inevitable55 air hostesses, dark haired and trim inher uniform, was knocking at Sir Rupert Crofton Lee’s door. He opened itjust as Victoria looked out.
“What’s the matter now?”
He sounded annoyed and sleepy.
“I’m so sorry to disturb you, Sir Rupert,” cooed the air hostess, “butwould you mind coming to the BOAC office? It’s just three doors down thepassage here. Just a small detail about the flight to Baghdad tomorrow.”
“Oh, very well.”
Victoria withdrew into her room. She was less sleepy now. She glancedat her watch. Only half past four. An hour and a half until Mrs. Clippwould be requiring her. She decided to go out and walk about Heliopolis.
Walking, at least, required no money.
She powdered her nose and resumed her shoes. They felt rather full offeet. The visit to the Pyramids had been hard on her feet.
She came out of her room and walked along the corridor towards themain hall of the hotel. Three doors down she passed the BOAC office. Ithad a card announcing the fact nailed to the door. Just as she passed it, thedoor opened and Sir Rupert came out. He was walking fast and he over-took her in a couple of strides. He went on ahead of her, his cloakswinging, and Victoria fancied that he was annoyed about something.
Mrs. Clipp was in a somewhat petulant56 mood when Victoria reported forduty at six o’clock.
“I’m worried about the excess on my baggage, Miss Jones. I took it thatI’d paid for that right through, but it seems that it’s only paid until Cairo.
We go on tomorrow by Iraqi Airways. My ticket is a through ticket, but notthe excess baggage. Perhaps you’d go and find out if that is really so? Be-cause maybe I ought to change another traveller’s cheque.”
Victoria agreed to make inquiries57. She could not find the BOAC office atfirst, and finally located it in the far corridor—the other side of the hall—quite a big office. The other, she supposed, had been a small office onlyused during the afternoon siesta58 hours. Mrs. Clipp’s fears about the excessbaggage were found to be justified, which annoyed that lady very much.
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1
AIRWAYS
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| 航空公司 | |
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devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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glamour
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| n.魔力，魅力；vt.迷住 | |
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intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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filth
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| n.肮脏，污物，污秽；淫猥 | |
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bazaars
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| （东方国家的）市场( bazaar的名词复数 )； 义卖； 义卖市场； （出售花哨商品等的）小商品市场 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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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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guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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longing
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mink
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appraised
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| v.估价( appraise的过去式和过去分词 )；估计；估量；评价 | |
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buffet
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| n.自助餐；饮食柜台；餐台 | |
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gust
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hovered
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| 鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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alacrity
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hood
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| n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖 | |
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theatrical
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| adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的 | |
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disapproval
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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swirl
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| v.(使)打漩，(使)涡卷；n.漩涡，螺旋形 | |
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pompous
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的；夸大的；豪华的 | |
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dawdling
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steward
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| n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员 | |
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aisle
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| n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道 | |
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ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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barley
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mincingly
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puffing
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| v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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Undid
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| v. 解开, 复原 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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unreasonably
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| adv. 不合理地 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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allotted
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| 分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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peremptory
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| adj.紧急的，专横的，断然的 | |
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positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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sadistic
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| adj.虐待狂的 | |
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minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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wittily
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| 机智地，机敏地 | |
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justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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malicious
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| adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的 | |
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51
annoyances
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| n.恼怒( annoyance的名词复数 )；烦恼；打扰；使人烦恼的事 | |
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52
celebrity
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| n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望 | |
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treasury
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| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
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54
query
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| n.疑问，问号，质问；vt.询问，表示怀疑 | |
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55
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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petulant
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| adj.性急的，暴躁的 | |
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57
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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siesta
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| n.午睡 | |
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