BOOK 2 Six

Six
They had all come.
George breathed a sigh of relief. Up to the last moment he had feared
some last minute defection—but they were all here. Stephen Farraday, tall
and stiff, a little pompous¹ in manner. Sandra Farraday in a severe black
velvet² gown wearing emeralds around her neck. The woman had breed-
ing, not a doubt of it. Her manner was completely natural, possibly a little
more gracious than usual. Ruth also in black with no ornament³ save one
jewelled clip. Her raven⁴ black hair smooth and lying close to her head, her
neck and arms very white—whiter than those of the other women. Ruth
was a working girl, she had no long leisured ease in which to acquire sun
tan. His eyes met hers and, as though she saw the anxiety in his, she
smiled reassurance⁵. His heart lifted. Loyal Ruth. Beside him Iris⁶ was un-
usually silent. She alone showed consciousness of this being an unusual
party. She was pale but in some way it suited her, gave her a grave stead-
fast beauty. She wore a straight simple frock of leaf green. Anthony
Browne came last, and to George’s mind, he came with the quick stealthy
step of a wild creature — a panther, perhaps, or a leopard⁷. The fellow
wasn’t really quite civilized⁸.
They were all there—all safe in George’s trap. Now, the play could be-
gin. . . .
Cocktails⁹ were drained. They got up and passed through the open arch
into the restaurant proper.
Dancing couples, soft negro music, deft¹⁰ hurrying waiters.
Charles came forward and smilingly piloted them to their table. It was
at the far end of the room, a shallow arched alcove¹¹ which held three
tables—a big one in the middle and two small ones for two people either
side of it. A middle-aged¹² sallow foreigner and a blonde lovely were at one,
a slip of a boy and a girl at the other. The middle table was reserved for
the Barton party.
George genially¹³ assigned them to their places.
“Sandra, will you sit here, on my right. Browne next to her. Iris, my
dear, it’s your party. I must have you here next to me, and you beyond
her, Farraday. Then you, Ruth—”
He paused—between Ruth and Anthony was a vacant chair—the table
had been laid for seven.
“My friend Race may be a bit late. He said we weren’t to wait for him.
He’ll be along some time. I’d like you all to know him—he’s a splendid fel-
low, knocked about all over the world and can tell you some good yarns¹⁵.”
Iris was conscious of a feeling of anger as she seated herself. George had
done it on purpose — separated her from Anthony. Ruth ought to have
been sitting where she was, next to her host. So George still disliked and
mistrusted Anthony.
She stole a glance across the table. Anthony was frowning. He did not
look across at her. Once he directed a sharp sideways glance at the empty
chair beside him. He said:
“Glad you’ve got another man, Barton. There’s just a chance I may have
to go off early. Quite unavoidable. But I ran into a man here I know.”
George said smilingly:
“Running business into pleasure hours? You’re too young for that,
Browne. Not that I’ve ever known exactly what your business is?”
By chance there was a lull¹⁶ in the conversation. Anthony’s reply came de-
liberately and coolly.
“Organized crime, Barton, that’s what I always say when I’m asked. Rob-
beries arranged. Larcenies¹⁷ a feature. Families waited upon at their private
addresses.”
Sandra Farraday laughed as she said:
“You’re something to do with armaments, aren’t you, Mr. Browne? An
armament king is always the villain¹⁸ of the piece nowadays.”
Iris saw Anthony’s eyes momentarily widen in a stare of quick surprise.
He said lightly:
“You mustn’t give me away, Lady Alexandra, it’s all very hush-hush. The
spies of a foreign power are everywhere. Careless talk.”
He shook his head with mock solemnity.
The waiter took away the oyster¹⁹ plates. Stephen asked Iris if she would
like to dance.
Soon they were all dancing. The atmosphere lightened.
Presently Iris’s turn came to dance with Anthony.
She said: “Mean of George not to let us sit together.”
“Kind of him. This way I can look at you all the time across the table.”
“You won’t really have to go early?”
“I might.”
Presently he said:
“Did you know that Colonel Race was coming?”
“No, I hadn’t the least idea.”
“Rather odd, that.”
“Do you know him? Oh, yes, you said so, the other day.”
She added:
“What sort of a man is he?”
“Nobody quite knows.”
They went back to the table. The evening wore on. Slowly the tension,
which had relaxed, seemed to close again. There was an atmosphere of
taut²⁰ nerves about the table. Only the host seemed genial¹⁴ and uncon-
cerned.
Iris saw him glance at his watch.
Suddenly there was a roll of drums—the lights went down. A stage rose
in the room. Chairs were pushed a little back, turned sideways. Three men
and three girls took the floor, dancing. They were followed by a man who
could make noises. Trains, steam rollers, aeroplanes, sewing machines,
cows coughing. He was a success. Lenny and Flo followed in an exhibition
dance which was more of a trapeze act than a dance. More applause. Then
another ensemble²¹ by the Luxembourg Six. The lights went up.
Everyone blinked.
At the same time a wave of sudden freedom from restraint seemed to
pass over the party at the table. It was as though they had been subcon-
sciously expecting something that had failed to happen. For on an earlier
occasion the going up of the lights had coincided with the discovery of a
dead body lying across the table. It was as though now the past was defin-
itely past—vanished into oblivion. The shadow of a bygone tragedy had
lifted.
Sandra turned to Anthony in an animated²² way. Stephen made an obser-
vation to Iris and Ruth leaned forward to join in. Only George sat in his
chair staring—staring, his eyes fixed²³ on the empty chair opposite him. The
place in front of it was laid. There was champagne²⁴ in the glass. At any mo-
ment, someone might come, might sit down there—
A nudge from Iris recalled him:
“Wake up, George. Come and dance. You haven’t danced with me yet.”
He roused himself. Smiling at her he lifted his glass.
“We’ll drink a toast first—to the young lady whose birthday we’re celeb-
rating. Iris Marle, may her shadow never grow less!”
They drank it laughing, then they all got up to dance, George and Iris,
Stephen and Ruth, Anthony and Sandra.
It was a gay jazz melody.
They all came back together, laughing and talking. They sat down.
Then suddenly George leaned forward.
“I’ve something I want to ask you all. A year ago, more or less, we were
here before on an evening that ended tragically²⁵. I don’t want to recall past
sadness, but it’s just that I don’t want to feel that Rosemary is completely
forgotten. I’ll ask you to drink to her memory—for Remembrance sake.”
He raised his glass. Everyone else obediently raised theirs. Their faces
were polite masks.
George said:
“To Rosemary for remembrance.”
The glasses were raised to their lips. They drank.
There was a pause—then George swayed forward and slumped²⁶ down in
his chair, his hands rising frenziedly to his neck, his face turning purple as
he fought for breath.
It took him a minute and a half to die.

1 pompous   

adj.傲慢的，自大的；夸大的；豪华的

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities.他有点自大，自视甚高。
• He is a good man underneath his pompous appearance. 他的外表虽傲慢，其实是个好人。

2 velvet   

n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的

参考例句：

• This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。
• The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。

3 ornament   

v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物

参考例句：

• The flowers were put on the table for ornament.花放在桌子上做装饰用。
• She wears a crystal ornament on her chest.她的前胸戴了一个水晶饰品。

4 raven   

n.渡鸟，乌鸦；adj.乌亮的

参考例句：

• We know the raven will never leave the man's room.我们知道了乌鸦再也不会离开那个男人的房间。
• Her charming face was framed with raven hair.她迷人的脸上垂落着乌亮的黑发。

5 reassurance   

n.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• He drew reassurance from the enthusiastic applause.热烈的掌声使他获得了信心。
• Reassurance is especially critical when it comes to military activities.消除疑虑在军事活动方面尤为关键。

6 iris   

n.虹膜，彩虹

参考例句：

• The opening of the iris is called the pupil.虹膜的开口处叫做瞳孔。
• This incredible human eye,complete with retina and iris,can be found in the Maldives.又是在马尔代夫，有这样一只难以置信的眼睛，连视网膜和虹膜都刻画齐全了。

7 leopard   

n.豹

参考例句：

• I saw a man in a leopard skin yesterday.我昨天看见一个穿着豹皮的男人。
• The leopard's skin is marked with black spots.豹皮上有黑色斑点。

8 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

9 cocktails   

n.鸡尾酒( cocktail的名词复数 )；餐前开胃菜；混合物

参考例句：

• Come about 4 o'clock. We'll have cocktails and grill steaks. 请四点钟左右来，我们喝鸡尾酒，吃烤牛排。 来自辞典例句
• Cocktails were a nasty American habit. 喝鸡尾酒是讨厌的美国习惯。 来自辞典例句

10 deft   

adj.灵巧的，熟练的（a deft hand 能手）

参考例句：

• The pianist has deft fingers.钢琴家有灵巧的双手。
• This bird,sharp of eye and deft of beak,can accurately peck the flying insects in the air.这只鸟眼疾嘴快，能准确地把空中的飞虫啄住。

11 alcove   

n.凹室

参考例句：

• The bookcase fits neatly into the alcove.书架正好放得进壁凹。
• In the alcoves on either side of the fire were bookshelves.火炉两边的凹室里是书架。

12 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

13 genially   

adv.亲切地，和蔼地；快活地

参考例句：

• The white church peeps out genially from behind the huts scattered on the river bank. 一座白色教堂从散布在岸上的那些小木房后面殷勤地探出头来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• "Well, It'seems strange to see you way up here,'said Mr. Kenny genially. “咳，真没想到会在这么远的地方见到你，"肯尼先生亲切地说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

14 genial   

adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的

参考例句：

• Orlando is a genial man.奥兰多是一位和蔼可亲的人。
• He was a warm-hearted friend and genial host.他是个热心的朋友，也是友善待客的主人。

15 yarns   

n.纱( yarn的名词复数 )；纱线；奇闻漫谈；旅行轶事

参考例句：

• ...vegetable-dyed yarns. 用植物染料染过色的纱线 来自辞典例句
• Fibers may be loosely or tightly twisted into yarns. 纤维可以是膨松地或紧密地捻成纱线。 来自辞典例句

16 lull   

v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇

参考例句：

• The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
• Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后，地面战又突然爆发了。

17 larcenies   

n.盗窃（罪）( larceny的名词复数 )

参考例句：

18 villain   

n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因

参考例句：

• He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
• The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。

19 oyster   

n.牡蛎；沉默寡言的人

参考例句：

• I enjoy eating oyster; it's really delicious.我喜欢吃牡蛎，它味道真美。
• I find I fairly like eating when he finally persuades me to taste the oyster.当他最后说服我尝尝牡蛎时，我发现我相当喜欢吃。

20 taut   

adj.拉紧的，绷紧的，紧张的

参考例句：

• The bowstring is stretched taut.弓弦绷得很紧。
• Scarlett's taut nerves almost cracked as a sudden noise sounded in the underbrush near them. 思嘉紧张的神经几乎一下绷裂了，因为她听见附近灌木丛中突然冒出的一个声音。

21 ensemble   

n.合奏(唱)组；全套服装；整体，总效果

参考例句：

• We should consider the buildings as an ensemble.我们应把那些建筑物视作一个整体。
• It is ensemble music for up to about ten players,with one player to a part.它是最多十人演奏的合奏音乐，每人担任一部分。

22 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。

23 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

24 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

25 tragically   

adv. 悲剧地，悲惨地

参考例句：

• Their daughter was tragically killed in a road accident. 他们的女儿不幸死于车祸。
• Her father died tragically in a car crash. 她父亲在一场车祸中惨死。

26 slumped   

大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下]

参考例句：

• Sales have slumped this year. 今年销售量锐减。
• The driver was slumped exhausted over the wheel. 司机伏在方向盘上，疲惫得睡着了。