BOOK TWO-Thirteen

Thirteen
I’m trying as best I can, though that isn’t saying much, to paint a picture ofthe people who came into our lives, that is to say: who came into my lifebecause, of course, they were in Ellie’s life already. Our mistake was thatwe thought they’d go out of Ellie’s life. But they didn’t. They’d no intentionof doing so. However, we didn’t know that then.
The English side of our life was the next thing that happened. Our housewas finished, we had a telegram from Santonix. He’d asked us to keepaway for about a week, then the telegram came. It said: “Come tomorrow.”
We drove down there, and we arrived at sunset. Santonix heard the carand came out to meet us, standing¹ in front of the house. When I saw ourhouse, finished, something inside me leaped up, leaped up as though toburst out of my skin! It was my house—and I’d got it at last! I held Ellie’sarm very tight.
“Like it?” said Santonix.
“It’s the tops,” I said. A silly thing to say but he knew what I meant.
“Yes,” he said, “it’s the best thing I’ve done… It’s cost you a mint ofmoney and it’s worth every penny of it. I’ve exceeded my estimates allround. Come on, Mike,” he said, “pick her up and carry her over thethreshold. That’s the thing to do when you enter into possession with yourbride!”
I flushed and then I picked up Ellie—she was quite a light weight—andcarried her as Santonix had suggested, over the threshold. As I did so, Istumbled just a little and I saw Santonix frown.
“There you are,” said Santonix, “be good to her, Mike. Take care of her.
Don’t let harm come to her. She can’t take care of herself. She thinks shecan.”
“Why should any harm happen to me?” said Ellie.
“Because it’s a bad world and there are bad people in it,” said Santonix,“and there are some bad people around you, my girl. I know. I’ve seen oneor two of them. Seen them down here. They come nosing around, sniffingaround like the rats they are. Excuse my French but somebody’s got to sayit.”
“They won’t bother us,” said Ellie, “they’ve all gone back to the States.”
“Maybe,” said Santonix, “but it’s only a few hours by plane, you know.”
He put his hands on her shoulders. They were very thin now, verywhite-looking. He looked terribly ill.
“I’d look after you myself, child, if I could,” he said, “but I can’t. It won’tbe long now. You’ll have to fend² for yourself.”
“Cut out the gipsy’s warning, Santonix,” I said, “and take us round thehouse. Every inch of it.”
We went round the house. Some of the rooms were still empty but mostof the things we’d bought, pictures and the furniture and the curtains,were there.
“We haven’t got a name for it,” said Ellie suddenly. “We can’t call it TheTowers, that was a ridiclous name. What was the other name for it thatyou told me once?” she said to me. “Gipsy’s Acre, wasn’t it?”
“We won’t call it that,” I said sharply. “I don’t like that name.”
“It’ll always be called that hereabouts,” said Santonix.
“They’re a lot of silly superstitious³ people,” I said.
And then we sat down on the terrace looking at the setting sun and theview, and we thought of names for the house. It was a kind of game. Westarted quite seriously and then we began to think of every silly name wepossibly could. “Journey’s End,” “Heart’s Delight” and names like board-ing- houses. “Seaview,” “Fairhome,” “The Pines.” Then suddenly it grewdark and cold, and we went indoors. We didn’t draw the curtains, justclosed the windows. We’d brought down provisions with us. On the fol-lowing day an expensively acquired domestic staff was coming.
“They’ll probably hate it and say it’s lonely and they’ll all go away,” saidEllie.
“And then you’ll give them double the money to stay on,” said Santonix.
“You think,” said Ellie, “that everyone can be bought!” But she only saidit laughingly.
We had brought p?té en cro?te with us and French bread and large redprawns. We sat round the table laughing and eating and talking. EvenSantonix looked strong and animated⁴, and there was a kind of wild excite-ment in his eyes.
And then it happened suddenly. A stone crashed in through the windowand dropped on the table. Smashed a wineglass too, and a sliver⁵ of glassslit Ellie’s cheek. For a moment we sat paralysed, then I sprang up, rushedto the window, unbolted it and went out on the terrace. There was no oneto be seen. I came back into the room again.
I picked up a paper napkin and bent⁶ over Ellie, wiping away a trickle⁷ ofblood I saw coursing down her cheek.
“It’s hurt you…There, dear, it’s nothing much. It’s just a wee cut from asliver of glass.”
My eyes met those of Santonix.
“Why did anyone do it?” said Ellie. She looked bewildered.
“Boys,” I said, “you know, young hooligans. They knew, perhaps, wewere settling in. I dare say you were lucky that they only threw a stone.
They might have had an air gun or something like that.”
“But why should they do it to us? Why?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “Just beastliness.”
Ellie got up suddenly. She said:
“I’m frightened. I’m afraid.”
“We’ll find out tomorrow,” I said. “We don’t know enough about thepeople round here.”
“Is it because we’re rich and they’re poor?” said Ellie. She asked it not ofme but of Santonix as though he would know the answer to the questionbetter than I did.
“No,” said Santonix slowly, “I don’t think it’s that….”
Ellie said:
“It’s because they hate us…Hate Mike and hate me. Why? Because we’rehappy?”
Again Santonix shook his head.
“No,” Ellie said, as though she were agreeing with him, “no, it’s some-thing else. Something we don’t know about. Gipsy’s Acre. Anyone wholives here is going to be hated. Going to be persecuted⁸. Perhaps they willsucceed in the end in driving us away….”
I poured out a glass of wine and gave it to her.
“Don’t, Ellie,” I begged her. “Don’t say such things. Drink this. It’s a nastything to happen, but it was only silliness, crude horseplay.”
“I wonder,” said Ellie, “I wonder…” She looked hard at me. “Somebody istrying to drive us away, Mike. To drive us away from the house we’vebuilt, the house we love.”
“We won’t let them drive us away,” I said. I added, “I’ll take care of you.
Nothing shall hurt you.”
She looked again at Santonix.
“You should know,” she said, “you’ve been here while the house wasbuilding. Didn’t anyone ever say anything to you? Come and throw stones—interfere with the building of the house?”
“One can imagine things,” said Santonix.
“There were accidents, then?”
“There are always a few accidents in the building of a house. Nothingserious or tragic⁹. A man falls off a ladder, someone drops a load on hisfoot, someone gets a splinter in his thumb and it goes septic.”
“Nothing more than that? Nothing that might have been meant?”
“No,” said Santonix, “no. I swear to you, no!”
Ellie turned to me.
“You remember that gipsy woman, Mike. How queer she was that day,how she warned me not to come here.”
“She’s just a bit crazy, a bit off her head.”
“We’ve built on Gipsy’s Acre,” said Ellie. “We’ve done what she told usnot to do.” Then she stamped her foot. “I won’t let them drive me away. Iwon’t let anyone drive me away!”
“Nobody shall drive us away,” I said. “We’re g

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 fend   

v.照料（自己），（自己）谋生，挡开，避开

参考例句：

• I've had to fend for myself since I was 14.我从十四岁时起就不得不照料自己。
• He raised his arm up to fend branches from his eyes.他举手将树枝从他眼前挡开。

3 superstitious   

adj.迷信的

参考例句：

• They aim to deliver the people who are in bondage to superstitious belief.他们的目的在于解脱那些受迷信束缚的人。
• These superstitious practices should be abolished as soon as possible.这些迷信做法应尽早取消。

4 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

5 sliver   

n.裂片，细片，梳毛；v.纵切，切成长片，剖开

参考例句：

• There was only one sliver of light in the darkness.黑暗中只有一点零星的光亮。
• Then,one night,Monica saw a thin sliver of the moon reappear.之后的一天晚上，莫尼卡看到了一个月牙。

6 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

7 trickle   

vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散

参考例句：

• The stream has thinned down to a mere trickle.这条小河变成细流了。
• The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.汹涌的车流现在已经变得稀稀拉拉。

8 persecuted   

（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人

参考例句：

• Throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. 人们因宗教信仰而受迫害的情况贯穿了整个历史。
• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。

9 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。