One（1）

One
I
It was dusk when he came to the Ferry.
He could have been there much earlier. The truth was, he had put it offas long as he could.
First his luncheon¹ with friends in Redquay; the light desultory³ conversa-tion, the interchange of gossip about mutual⁴ friends—all that had meantonly that he was inwardly shrinking from what he had to do. His friendshad invited him to stay on for tea and he had accepted. But at last the timehad come when he knew that he could put things off no longer.
The car he had hired was waiting. He said good-bye and left to drive theseven miles along the crowded coast road and then inland down thewooded lane that ended at the little stone quay² on the river.
There was a large bell there which his driver rang vigorously to sum-mon the ferry from the far side.
“You won’t be wanting me to wait, sir?”
“No,” said Arthur Calgary. “I’ve ordered a car to meet me over there inan hour’s time—to take me to Drymouth.”
The man received his fare and tip. He said, peering across the river inthe gloom:
“Ferry’s coming now, sir.”
With a soft-spoken good night he reversed the car and drove away upthe hill. Arthur Calgary was left alone waiting on the quayside. Alone withhis thoughts and his apprehension⁵ of what was in front of him. How wildthe scenery was here, he thought. One could fancy oneself on a Scottishloch, far from anywhere. And yet, only a few miles away, were the hotels,the shops, the cocktail⁶ bars and the crowds of Redquay. He reflected, notfor the first time, on the extraordinary contrasts of the English landscape.
He heard the soft plash of the oars⁷ as the ferry boat drew in to the sideof the little quay. Arthur Calgary walked down the sloping ramp⁸ and gotinto the boat as the ferryman steadied it with a boat-hook. He was an oldman and gave Calgary the fanciful impression that he and his boat be-longed together, were one and indivisible.
A little cold wind came rustling⁹ up from the sea as they pushed off.
“ ’Tis chilly¹⁰ this evening,” said the ferryman.
Calgary replied suitably. He further agreed that it was colder than yes-terday.
He was conscious, or thought he was conscious, of a veiled curiosity inthe ferryman’s eyes. Here was a stranger. And a stranger after the close ofthe tourist season proper. Moreover, this stranger was crossing at an un-usual hour—too late for tea at the café by the pier¹¹. He had no luggage sohe could not be coming to stay. (Why, Calgary wondered, had he come solate in the day? Was it really because, subconsciously¹², he had been puttingthis moment off? Leaving as late as possible, the thing that had to bedone?) Crossing the Rubicon—the river … the river … his mind went backto that other river—the Thames.
He had stared at it unseeingly (was it only yesterday?) then turned tolook again at the man facing him across the table. Those thoughtful eyeswith something in them that he had not quite been able to understand. Areserve, something that was being thought but not expressed….
“I suppose,” he thought, “they learn never to show what they are think-ing.”
The whole thing was pretty frightful¹³ when one came right down to it. Hemust do what had to be done—and after that—forget!
He frowned as he remembered the conversation yesterday. That pleas-ant, quiet, noncommittal voice, saying:
“You’re quite determined¹⁴ on your course of action, Dr. Calgary?”
He had answered, hotly:
“What else can I do? Surely you see that? You must agree? It’s a thing Ican’t possibly shirk.”
But he hadn’t understood the look in those withdrawn¹⁵ grey eyes, andhad been faintly perplexed¹⁶ by the answer.
“One has to look all around a subject—consider it from all aspects.”
“Surely there can be only one aspect from the point of view of justice?”
He had spoken hotly, thinking for a moment that this was an ignoblesuggestion of “hushing up” the matter.
“In a way, yes. But there’s more to it than that, you know. More than—shall we say—justice?”
“I don’t agree. There’s the family to consider.”
And the other had said quickly: “Quite—oh, yes—quite. I was thinking ofthem.”
Which seemed to Calgary nonsense! Because if one were thinking ofthem—
But immediately the other man had said, his pleasant voice unchanged:
“It’s entirely¹⁷ up to you, Dr. Calgary. You must, of course, do exactly asyou feel you have to do.”
The boat grounded on the beach. He had crossed the Rubicon.
The ferryman’s soft West Country voice said:
“That will be fourpence, sir, or do you want a return?”
“No,” Calgary said. “There will be no return.” (How fateful the wordssounded!)
He paid. Then he asked:
“Do you know a house called Sunny Point?”
Immediately the curiosity ceased to be veiled. The interest in the oldman’s eyes leaped up avidly¹⁸.
“Why, surely. ’Tis there, up along to your right — you can just see itthrough them trees. You go up the hill and along the road to the right, andthen take the new road through the building estate. ’Tis the last house—atthe very end.”
“Thank you.”
“You did say Sunny Point, sir? Where Mrs. Argyle—”
“Yes, yes—” Calgary cut him short. He didn’t want to discuss the matter.
“Sunny Point.”
A slow and rather peculiar¹⁹ smile twisted the ferryman’s lips. He lookedsuddenly like an ancient sly faun.
“It was her called the house that—in the war. It were a new house, ofcourse, only just been built—hadn’t got a name. But the ground ’tis builton—that wooded spit—Viper’s Point, that is! But Viper’s Point wouldn’t dofor her—not for the name of her house. Called it Sunny Point, she did. ButViper’s Point’s what we allus call it.”
Calgary thanked him brusquely, said good evening, and started up thehill. Everyone seemed to be inside their houses, but he had the fancy thatunseen eyes were peering through the windows of the cottages; all watch-ing him with the knowledge of where he was going. Saying to each other,“He’s going to Viper’s Point….”
Viper’s Point. What a horrible apposite name that must have seemed….
For sharper than a serpent’s tooth….
He checked his thoughts brusquely. He must pull himself together andmake up his mind exactly what he was going to say….

1 luncheon   

n.午宴，午餐，便宴

参考例句：

• We have luncheon at twelve o'clock.我们十二点钟用午餐。
• I have a luncheon engagement.我午饭有约。

2 quay   

n.码头，靠岸处

参考例句：

• There are all kinds of ships in a quay.码头停泊各式各样的船。
• The side of the boat hit the quay with a grinding jar.船舷撞到码头发出刺耳的声音。

3 desultory   

adj.散漫的，无方法的

参考例句：

• Do not let the discussion fragment into a desultory conversation with no clear direction.不要让讨论变得支离破碎，成为没有明确方向的漫谈。
• The constables made a desultory attempt to keep them away from the barn.警察漫不经心地拦着不让他们靠近谷仓。

4 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

5 apprehension   

n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑

参考例句：

• There were still areas of doubt and her apprehension grew.有些地方仍然存疑，于是她越来越担心。
• She is a girl of weak apprehension.她是一个理解力很差的女孩。

6 cocktail   

n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物

参考例句：

• We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
• At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。

7 oars   

n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He pulled as hard as he could on the oars. 他拼命地划桨。
• The sailors are bending to the oars. 水手们在拼命地划桨。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

9 rustling   

n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的

参考例句：

• the sound of the trees rustling in the breeze 树木在微风中发出的沙沙声
• the soft rustling of leaves 树叶柔和的沙沙声

10 chilly   

adj.凉快的，寒冷的

参考例句：

• I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
• I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。

11 pier   

n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱

参考例句：

• The pier of the bridge has been so badly damaged that experts worry it is unable to bear weight.这座桥的桥桩破损厉害，专家担心它已不能负重。
• The ship was making towards the pier.船正驶向码头。

12 subconsciously   

ad.下意识地，潜意识地

参考例句：

• In choosing a partner we are subconsciously assessing their evolutionary fitness to be a mother of children or father provider and protector. 在选择伴侣的时候，我们会在潜意识里衡量对方将来是否会是称职的母亲或者父亲，是否会是合格的一家之主。
• Lao Yang thought as he subconsciously tightened his grasp on the rifle. 他下意识地攥紧枪把想。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

13 frightful   

adj.可怕的；讨厌的

参考例句：

• How frightful to have a husband who snores!有一个发鼾声的丈夫多讨厌啊！
• We're having frightful weather these days.这几天天气坏极了。

14 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

15 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

16 perplexed   

adj.不知所措的

参考例句：

• The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。
• The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。

17 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

18 avidly   

adv.渴望地，热心地

参考例句：

• She read avidly from an early age—books, magazines, anything. 她从小就酷爱阅读——书籍、杂志，无不涉猎。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her melancholy eyes avidly scanned his smiling face. 她说话时两只忧郁的眼睛呆呆地望着他的带笑的脸。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

19 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。