Thirty-one THE LUCKY MAN

Thirty-one THE LUCKY MAN

Ten minutes later Emily was hurrying down the lane. Captain Wyatt, lean-ing over his gate, tried to arrest her progress.
“Hi,” he said, “Miss Trefusis. What’s all this I hear?”
“It’s all true,” said Emily hurrying on.
“Yes, but look here. Come in — have a glass of wine or a cup of tea.
There’s plenty of time. No need to hurry. That’s the worst of you civilizedpeople.”
“We’re awful, I know,” said Emily and sped on.
She burst in on Miss Percehouse with the explosive force of a bomb.
“I’ve come to tell you all about it,” said Emily.
And straightaway she poured forth¹ the complete story. It was punctu-ated by various ejaculations of “Bless us,” “You don’t say so?” “Well, I de-clare,” from Miss Percehouse.
When Emily had finished her narrative², Miss Percehouse raised herselfon her elbow and wagged a finger portentously³.
“What did I say?” she demanded. “I told you Burnaby was a jealousman. Friends indeed! For more than twenty years Trevelyan has doneeverything a bit better than Burnaby. He skied better, and he climbed bet-ter, and he shot better, and he did crossword⁴ puzzles better. Burnabywasn’t a big enough man to stand it. Trevelyan was rich and he was poor.
“It’s been going on a long time. I can tell you it’s a difficult thing to go onreally liking⁵ a man who can do everything just a little bit better than youcan. Burnaby was a narrow-minded, small-natured man. He let it get onhis nerves.”
“I expect you’re right,” said Emily. “Well, I had to come and tell you. Itseemed so unfair you should be out of everything. By the way, did youknow that your nephew knew my Aunt Jennifer? They were having tea to-gether at Deller’s on Wednesday.”
“She’s his godmother,” said Miss Percehouse. “So that’s the ‘fellow’ hewanted to see in Exeter. Borrowing money, if I know Ronnie. I’ll speak tohim.”
“I forbid you to bite anyone on a joyful⁶ day like this,” said Emily. “Good-bye. I must fly. I’ve got a lot to do.”
“What have you got to do, young woman? I should say you’d done yourbit.”
“Not quite. I must go up to London and see Jim’s Insurance Companypeople and persuade them not to prosecute⁷ him over that little matter ofthe borrowed money.”
“H’m,” said Miss Percehouse.
“It’s all right,” said Emily. “Jim will keep straight enough in future. He’shad his lesson.”
“Perhaps. And you think you’ll be able to persuade them?”
“Yes,” said Emily firmly.
“Well,” said Miss Percehouse. “Perhaps you will. And after that?”
“After that,” said Emily. “I’ve finished. I’ll have done all I can for Jim.”
“Then suppose we say—what next?” said Miss Percehouse.
“You mean?”
“What next? Or if you want it put clearer: Which of them?”
“Oh!” said Emily.
“Exactly. That’s what I want to know. Which of them is to be the unfor-tunate man?”
Emily laughed. Bending over she kissed the old lady.
“Don’t pretend to be an idiot,” she said. “You know perfectly⁸ well whichit is.”
Miss Percehouse chuckled⁹.
Emily ran lightly out of the house and down to the gate just as Charlescame racing¹⁰ up the lane.
He caught her by both hands.
“Emily darling!”
“Charles! Isn’t everything marvellous?”
“I shall kiss you,” said Mr. Enderby, and did.
“I’m a made man, Emily,” he said. “Now, look here, darling, what aboutit?”
“What about what?”
“Well—I mean—well, of course, it wouldn’t have been playing the gamewith poor old Pearson in prison and all the rest of it. But he’s cleared nowand—well, he has got to take his medicine just like anybody else.”
“What are you talking about?” said Emily.
“You know well enough I am crazy about you,” said Mr. Enderby, “andyou like me. Pearson was just a mistake. What I mean is—well—you and I,we are made for each other. All this time, we have known it, both of us,haven’t we? Do you like a Registry Office or a Church, or what?”
“If you are referring to marriage,” said Emily, “there’s nothing doing.”
“What—but I say—”
“No,” said Emily.
“But—Emily—”
“If you will have it,” said Emily. “I love Jim. Passionately¹¹!”
Charles stared at her in speechless bewilderment.
“You can’t!”
“I can! And I do! And I always have! And I always shall!”
“You—you made me think—”
“I said,” said Emily demurely¹², “that it was wonderful to have someoneone could rely on.”
“Yes, but I thought—”
“I can’t help what you thought.”
“You are an unscrupulous devil, Emily.”
“I know, Charles darling. I know. I’m everything you like to call me. Butnever mind. Think how great you are going to be. You’ve got your scoop¹³!
Exclusive news for the Daily Wire. You’re a made man. What’s a womananyway? Less than the dust. No really strong man wants a woman. Sheonly hampers¹⁴ him by clinging to him like the ivy¹⁵. Every great man is onewho is independent of women. A career—there’s nothing so fine, so abso-lutely satisfying to a man, as a great career. You are a strong man, Charles,one who can stand alone—”
“Will you stop talking, Emily? It’s like a talk to Young Men on the Wire-less! You’ve broken my heart. You don’t know how lovely you looked asyou came into that room with Narracott. Just like something triumphantand avenging¹⁶ off an arch.”
A footstep crunched¹⁷ on the lane, and Mr. Duke appeared.
“Oh! There you are, Mr. Duke,” said Emily. “Charles, I want to tell you.
This is Ex-Chief-Inspector Duke of Scotland Yard.”
“What?” cried Charles recognizing the famous name. “Not the InspectorDuke?”
“Yes,” said Emily. “When he retired¹⁸, he came here to live, and being niceand modest he didn’t want his renown¹⁹ to get about. I see now why In-spector Narracott twinkled so when I wanted him to tell me what kind ofcrimes Mr. Duke had committed.”
Mr. Duke laughed.
Charles wavered. There was a short tussle²⁰ between the lover and thejournalist. The journalist won.
“I’m delighted to meet you, Inspector,” he said. “Now, I wonder if wecould persuade you to do us a short article, say eight hundred words, onthe Trevelyan case.”
Emily stepped quickly up the lane and into Mrs. Curtis’s cottage. She ranup to her bedroom and pulled out her suitcase. Mrs. Curtis had followedher up.
“You’re not going, Miss?”
“I am. I’ve got a lot to do—London, and my young man.”
Mrs. Curtis drew nearer.
“Just tell me, Miss, which of ’em is it?”
Emily was throwing clothes haphazard²¹ into the suitcase.
“The one in prison, of course. There’s never been any other.”
“Ah! You don’t think, Miss, that maybe you’re making a mistake. You’resure the other young gentleman is worth as much as this one?”
“Oh! no,” said Emily. “He isn’t. This one will get on.” She glanced out ofthe window where Charles was still holding Ex-Chief-Inspector Duke inearnest parley²². “He’s the kind of young man who’s simply born to get on—but I don’t know what would happen to the other one if I weren’t there tolook after him. Look where he would be now if it weren’t for me!”
“And you can’t say more than that, Miss,” said Mrs. Curtis.
She retreated downstairs to where her lawful²³ spouse²⁴ was sitting andstaring into vacancy²⁵.
“The living image of my Great Aunt Sarah’s Belinda she is,” said Mrs.
Curtis. “Threw herself away she did on that miserable²⁶ George Plunketdown at the Three Cows. Mortgaged and all it was. And in two years shehad the mortgage paid off and the place a going concern.”
“Ah!” said Mr. Curtis, and shifted his pipe slightly.
“He was a handsome fellow, George Plunket,” said Mrs. Curtis reminis-cently.
“Ah!” said Mr. Curtis.
“But after he married Belinda he never so much as looked at anotherwoman.”
“Ah!” said Mr. Curtis.
“She never gave him the chance,” said Mrs. Curtis.
“Ah!” said Mr. Curtis.

1 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

2 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

3 portentously   

参考例句：

• The lamps had a portentously elastic swing with them. 那儿路面的街灯正带着一种不祥的弹性摇晃着呢！ 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• Louis surveyed me with his shrewd gray eyes and shook his head portentously. 鲁易用他狡猾的灰色眼睛打量着我，预示凶兆般地摇着头。 来自辞典例句

4 crossword   

n.纵横字谜，纵横填字游戏

参考例句：

• He shows a great interest in crossword puzzles.他对填字游戏表现出很大兴趣。
• Don't chuck yesterday's paper out.I still haven't done the crossword.别扔了昨天的报纸，我还没做字谜游戏呢。

5 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

6 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

7 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

8 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

9 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

10 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

11 passionately   

ad.热烈地，激烈地

参考例句：

• She could hate as passionately as she could love. 她能恨得咬牙切齿，也能爱得一往情深。
• He was passionately addicted to pop music. 他酷爱流行音乐。

12 demurely   

adv.装成端庄地，认真地

参考例句：

• "On the forehead, like a good brother,'she answered demurely. "吻前额，像个好哥哥那样，"她故作正经地回答说。 来自飘（部分）
• Punctuation is the way one bats one's eyes, lowers one's voice or blushes demurely. 标点就像人眨眨眼睛，低声细语，或伍犯作态。 来自名作英译部分

13 scoop   

n.铲子，舀取，独家新闻；v.汲取，舀取，抢先登出

参考例句：

• In the morning he must get his boy to scoop it out.早上一定得叫佣人把它剜出来。
• Uh,one scoop of coffee and one scoop of chocolate for me.我要一勺咖啡的和一勺巧克力的。

14 hampers   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Prejudice sometimes hampers a person from doing the right thing. 有时候，偏见会妨碍人正确行事。
• This behavior is the opposite of modeless feedback, and it hampers flow. 这个行为有悖于非模态的反馈，它阻碍了流。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

15 ivy   

n.常青藤，常春藤

参考例句：

• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。
• The wall is covered all over with ivy.墙上爬满了常春藤。

16 avenging   

adj.报仇的，复仇的v.为…复仇，报…之仇( avenge的现在分词 )；为…报复

参考例句：

• He has devoted the past five years to avenging his daughter's death. 他过去5年一心报丧女之仇。 来自辞典例句
• His disfigured face was like some avenging nemesis of gargoyle design. 他那张破了相的脸，活象面目狰狞的复仇之神。 来自辞典例句

17 crunched   

v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的过去式和过去分词 )；嘎吱作响；（快速大量地）处理信息；数字捣弄

参考例句：

• Our feet crunched on the frozen snow. 我们的脚嘎吱嘎吱地踩在冻雪上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He closed his jaws on the bones and crunched. 他咬紧骨头，使劲地嚼。 来自英汉文学 - 热爱生命

18 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

19 renown   

n.声誉，名望

参考例句：

• His renown has spread throughout the country.他的名声已传遍全国。
• She used to be a singer of some renown.她曾是位小有名气的歌手。

20 tussle   

n.&v.扭打，搏斗，争辩

参考例句：

• They began to tussle with each other for the handgun.他们互相扭打起来，抢夺那支手枪。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

21 haphazard   

adj.无计划的，随意的，杂乱无章的

参考例句：

• The town grew in a haphazard way.这城镇无计划地随意发展。
• He regrerted his haphazard remarks.他悔不该随口说出那些评论话。

22 parley   

n.谈判

参考例句：

• The governor was forced to parley with the rebels.州长被迫与反叛者谈判。
• The general held a parley with the enemy about exchanging prisoners.将军与敌人谈判交换战俘事宜。

23 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

24 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？

25 vacancy   

n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺

参考例句：

• Her going on maternity leave will create a temporary vacancy.她休产假时将会有一个临时空缺。
• The vacancy of her expression made me doubt if she was listening.她茫然的神情让我怀疑她是否在听。

26 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。