I
It was not really cold in the hospital but it felt cold. There was a smell ofantiseptics in the air. Occasionally in the corridor outside could be heardthe rattle1 of glasses and instruments as a trolley2 was pushed by. HilaryCraven sat in a hard iron chair by a bedside.
In the bed, lying flat under a shaded light with her head bandaged, OliveBetterton lay unconscious. There was a nurse standing3 on one side of thebed and the doctor on the other. Jessop sat in a chair in the far corner ofthe room. The doctor turned to him and spoke4 in French.
“It will not be very long now,” he said. “The pulse is very much weaker.”
“And she will not recover consciousness?”
The Frenchman shrugged5 his shoulders.
“That I cannot say. It may be, yes, at the very end.”
“There is nothing you can do—no stimulant7?”
The doctor shook his head. He went out. The nurse followed him. Shewas replaced by a nun8 who moved to the head of the bed, and stood there,her fingers fingering her rosary. Hilary looked at Jessop and in obedienceto a glance from him came to join him.
“You heard what the doctor said?” he asked in a low voice.
“Yes. What is it you want to say to her?”
“If she regains10 consciousness I want any information you can possiblyget, any password, any sign, any message, anything. Do you understand?
She is more likely to speak to you than to me.”
Hilary said with sudden emotion:
“You want me to betray someone who is dying?”
Jessop put his head on one side in the bird-like manner which he some-times adopted.
“So it seems like that to you, does it?” he said, considering.
“Yes, it does.”
He looked at her thoughtfully.
“Very well then, you shall say and do what you please. For myself I canhave no scruples11! You understand that?”
“Of course. It’s your duty. You’ll do whatever questioning you please,but don’t ask me to do it.”
“You’re a free agent.”
“There is one question we shall have to decide. Are we to tell her thatshe is dying?”
“I don’t know. I shall have to think it out.”
She nodded and went back to her place by the bed. She was filled nowwith a deep compassion12 for the woman who lay there dying. The womanwho was on her way to join the man she loved. Or were they all wrong?
Had she come to Morocco simply to seek solace13, to pass the time until per-haps some definite news could come to her as to whether her husbandwere alive or dead? Hilary wondered.
Time went on. It was nearly two hours later when the click of the nun’sbeads stopped. She spoke in a soft impersonal14 voice.
“There is a change,” she said. “I think, Madame, it is the end that comes.
I will fetch the doctor.”
She left the room. Jessop moved to the opposite side of the bed, standingback against the wall so that he was out of the woman’s range of vision.
The eyelids15 flickered16 and opened. Pale incurious blue-green eyes lookedinto Hilary’s. They closed, then opened again. A faint air of perplexityseemed to come into them.
“Where .?.?. ?”
The word fluttered between the almost breathless lips, just as the doctorentered the room. He took her hand in his, his finger on the pulse, stand-ing by the bed looking down on her.
“You are in hospital, Madame,” he said. “There was an accident to theplane.”
“To the plane?”
The words were repeated dreamily in that faint breathless voice.
“Is there anyone you want to see in Casablanca, Madame? Any messagewe can take?”
Her eyes were raised painfully to the doctor’s face. She said:
“No.”
She looked back again at Hilary.
“Who—who—”
Hilary bent17 forward and spoke clearly and distinctly.
“I came out from England on a plane, too—if there is anything I can doto help you, please tell me.”
“No—nothing—nothing—unless—”
“Yes?”
“Nothing.”
The eyes flickered again and half closed—Hilary raised her head andlooked across to meet Jessop’s imperious commanding glance. Firmly, sheshook her head.
Jessop moved forward. He stood close beside the doctor. The dying wo-man’s eyes opened again. Sudden recognition came into them. She said:
“I know you.”
“Yes, Mrs. Betterton, you know me. Will you tell me anything you canabout your husband?”
“No.”
Her eyelids fell again. Jessop turned quietly and left the room. The doc-tor looked across at Hilary. He said very softly:
“C’est la fin9!”
The dying woman’s eyes opened again. They travelled painfully roundthe room, then they remained fixed18 on Hilary. Olive Betterton made avery faint motion with her hand, and Hilary instinctively19 took the whitecold hand between her own. The doctor, with a shrug6 of his shoulders anda little bow, left the room. The two women were alone together. Olive Bet-terton was trying to speak:
“Tell me—tell me—”
Hilary knew what she was asking, and suddenly her own course of ac-tion opened clearly before her. She leaned down over the recumbentform.
“Yes,” she said, her words clear and emphatic20. “You are dying. That’swhat you want to know, isn’t it? Now listen to me. I am going to try andreach your husband. Is there any message you want me to give him if Isucceed?”
“Tell him—tell him—to be careful. Boris—Boris—dangerous. .?.?.”
The breath fluttered off again with a sigh. Hilary bent closer.
“Is there anything you can tell me to help me—help me in my journey, Imean? Help me to get in contact with your husband?”
“Snow.”
The word came so faintly that Hilary was puzzled. Snow? Snow? She re-peated it uncomprehendingly. A faint, ghost-like little giggle21 came fromOlive Betterton. Faint words came tumbling out.
Snow, snow, beautiful snow!
You slip on a lump, and over you go!
She repeated the last word. “Go .?.?. Go? Go and tell him about Boris. Ididn’t believe it. I wouldn’t believe it. But perhaps it’s true .?.?. If so, if so.?.?.” a kind of agonized22 question came into her eyes which stared up intoHilary’s “.?.?. take care. .?.?.”
A queer rattle came to her throat. Her lips jerked.
Olive Betterton died.
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收听单词发音
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1
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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2
trolley
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| n.手推车，台车；无轨电车；有轨电车 | |
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3
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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4
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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5
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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6
shrug
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| v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
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7
stimulant
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| n.刺激物，兴奋剂 | |
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nun
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| n.修女，尼姑 | |
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fin
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| n.鳍；(飞机的)安定翼 | |
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regains
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| 复得( regain的第三人称单数 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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11
scruples
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| n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 )；顾虑，顾忌v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 ) | |
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12
compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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13
solace
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| n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和 | |
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14
impersonal
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| adj.无个人感情的，与个人无关的，非人称的 | |
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15
eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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16
flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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emphatic
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| adj.强调的，着重的；无可置疑的，明显的 | |
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21
giggle
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| n.痴笑，咯咯地笑；v.咯咯地笑着说 | |
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22
agonized
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| v.使（极度）痛苦，折磨( agonize的过去式和过去分词 )；苦斗；苦苦思索；感到极度痛苦 | |
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