I
In the small formal salon1 of the H?tel St. Louis, three ladies were sitting,each engaged in her particular occupation. Mrs. Calvin Baker2, short,plump, with well-blued hair, was writing letters with the same driving en-ergy she applied3 to all forms of activity. No one could have mistaken Mrs.
Calvin Baker for anything but a travelling American, comfortably off, withan inexhaustible thirst for precise information on every subject under thesun.
In an uncomfortable Empire-type chair, Miss Hetherington, who againcould not have been mistaken for anything but travelling English, wasknitting one of those melancholy4 shapeless-looking garments that Englishladies of middle age always seem to be knitting. Miss Hetherington wastall and thin with a scraggy neck, badly arranged hair, and a general ex-pression of moral disappointment in the universe.
Mademoiselle Jeanne Maricot was sitting gracefully6 in an upright chairlooking out of the window and yawning. Mademoiselle Maricot was a bru-nette dyed blonde, with a plain but excitingly made- up face. She waswearing chic7 clothes and had no interest whatsoever8 in the other occu-pants of the room whom she dismissed contemptuously in her mind as be-ing exactly what they were! She was contemplating9 an important changein her sex life and had no interest to spare for these animals of tourists!
Miss Hetherington and Mrs. Calvin Baker, having both spent a couple ofnights under the roof of the St. Louis, had become acquainted. Mrs. CalvinBaker, with American friendliness10, talked to everybody. Miss Hethering-ton, though just as eager for companionship, talked only to English andAmericans of what she considered a certain social standing11. The Frenchshe had no truck with unless guaranteed of respectable family life as evid-enced by little ones who shared the parental12 table in the dining room.
A Frenchman looking like a prosperous business man glanced into thesalon, was intimidated13 by its air of female solidarity14, and went out againwith a look of lingering regret at Mademoiselle Jeanne Maricot.
Miss Hetherington began to count stitches sotto voce.
“Twenty-eight, twenty-nine—now what can I have—Oh, I see.”
A tall woman with red hair looked into the room and hesitated a mo-ment before going on down the passage towards the dining room.
Mrs. Calvin Baker and Miss Hetherington were immediately alert. Mrs.
Baker slewed15 herself round from the writing table and spoke16 in a thrilledwhisper.
“Did you happen to notice that woman with red hair who looked in,Miss Hetherington? They say she’s the only survivor17 of that terrible planecrash last week.”
“I saw her arrive this afternoon,” said Miss Hetherington, dropping an-other stitch in her excitement. “In an ambulance.”
“Straight from the hospital, so the manager said. I wonder now if it waswise—to leave hospital so soon. She’s had concussion18, I believe.”
“She’s got strapping19 on her face, too—cut, perhaps, by the glass. What amercy she wasn’t burnt. Terrible injuries from burning in these air acci-dents, I believe.”
“It just doesn’t bear thinking about. Poor young thing. I wonder if shehad a husband with her and if he was killed?”
“I don’t think so,” Miss Hetherington shook her yellow-grey head. “Itsaid in the paper, one woman passenger.”
“That’s right. It gave her name, too. A Mrs. Beverly—no, Betterton, thatwas it.”
“Betterton,” said Miss Hetherington reflectively. “Now what does that re-mind me of? Betterton. In the papers. Oh, dear, I’m sure that was thename.”
“Tant pis pour Pierre,” Mademoiselle Maricot said to herself. “Il estvraiment insupportable! Mais le petit Jules, lui il est bien gentil. Et son pèreest très bien placé dans les affairs. Enfin, je me décide!”
And with long graceful5 steps Mademoiselle Maricot walked out of thesmall salon and out of the story.

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1
salon
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n.[法]沙龙;客厅;营业性的高级服务室 | |
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2
baker
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n.面包师 | |
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3
applied
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adj.应用的;v.应用,适用 | |
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4
melancholy
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n.忧郁,愁思;adj.令人感伤(沮丧)的,忧郁的 | |
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5
graceful
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adj.优美的,优雅的;得体的 | |
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6
gracefully
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ad.大大方方地;优美地 | |
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7
chic
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n./adj.别致(的),时髦(的),讲究的 | |
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8
whatsoever
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adv.(用于否定句中以加强语气)任何;pron.无论什么 | |
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9
contemplating
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深思,细想,仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 ); 注视,凝视; 考虑接受(发生某事的可能性); 深思熟虑,沉思,苦思冥想 | |
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10
friendliness
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n.友谊,亲切,亲密 | |
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11
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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12
parental
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adj.父母的;父的;母的 | |
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13
intimidated
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v.恐吓;威胁adj.害怕的;受到威胁的 | |
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14
solidarity
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n.团结;休戚相关 | |
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15
slewed
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adj.喝醉的v.杀死,宰杀,杀戮( slay的过去式 )( slew的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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16
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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17
survivor
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n.生存者,残存者,幸存者 | |
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18
concussion
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n.脑震荡;震动 | |
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19
strapping
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adj. 魁伟的, 身材高大健壮的 n. 皮绳或皮带的材料, 裹伤胶带, 皮鞭 动词strap的现在分词形式 | |
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