She had been watching the struggle between him and Shan Daly with breathless interest. She hated Shan with all the hate of her fierce little heart. She loved Murdough. He was their nearest neighbour, her playfellow, her big brother—not that{18} they were of any kin4 to one another—her hero, after a fashion. She adored him as a small schoolboy adores a bigger one, and, like that small schoolboy, laid herself open to be daily and hourly snubbed by the object of her adoration5.
‘Is it hurt you are, Murdough? Murdough dheelish, is it hurt you are? Speak, Murdougheen, speak to me! Did the beast stick you? Speak, I say!’ she asked in quick, eager Irish, pouring out a profusion6 of those tender diminutives7 for which our duller English affords such a meagre and a poverty-stricken equivalent.
But the boy was too angry, too profoundly insulted by the whole foregoing scene, especially the end of it, to make any response. He pushed her from him instead with a quick, angry gesture, and continued to stare at the sea and the other boat with an air of immeasurable offence.{19}
The little girl did not seem to mind. She kept pressing herself closely against him for a minute or two longer, with all the loving, not-to-be-repulsed, pertinacity9 of an affectionate kitten. Then, finding that he took no notice of these attentions, she left him, and trotted10 back to her former perch, clambering over the big stones with an agility11 born of practice, and having dived into a recess12 hidden away between a couple of loose boards, presently found what she was in search of, and, scrambling13 back, came close up to him and thrust the object silently into his hands.
It was only a bit of bread, perfectly14 stale, dry bread, but then it was baker’s bread, not griddle, and as such accounted a high delicacy15 upon Inishmaan, only to be procured16 when a boat went to the mainland, and even then only by the more wealthy of its citizens,{20} such as Con8 O’Malley, who had a fancy for such exotic dainties, and found an eternal diet of potatoes and oatmeal porridge, even if varied17 by a bit of cabbage and stringy bacon upon Sundays and saints’ days, apt at times to pall18.
It seemed as if even this treasured offering would not at first propitiate19 the angry boy. He even went so far as to make a gesture with his hand as if upon the point of flinging it away from him into the sea. Some internal monitor probably made him refrain from this last act of desperation, for it was getting late, and a long time since he had eaten anything. He stood still, however, a picture of sullen20 irresolution21: his good-looking, blunt-featured, thoroughly22 Irish face lowering, his under-lip thrust forward, his hands, one of them with the piece of bread in it, hanging by his side. A sharper voice than Grania’s came, however, to arouse him.{21}
‘Monnum oan d’youl! Monnum oan d’youl!’[3] Con O’Malley shouted angrily from the curragh. ‘Go to her helm this minute, ma bouchaleen, or it will be the worse for you! Is it on to the Inishscattery rocks you’d have us be driving?’
Murdough Blake started; then, with another angry pout23, crossed the deck of the hooker, and went to take up his place beside the helm, upon the same spot on which Con O’Malley himself had stood a few minutes before. The big boat was almost immovable; still, the Atlantic is never exactly a toy to play with, and it was necessary for some hand to be upon the helm in case of a sudden capricious change of wind, or unlooked-for squall arising. Little Grania did not go back to her former place upon the ballast, but, trotting24 after{22} him, scrambled nimbly on to the narrow, almost knife-like edge of the hooker, twisting her small pampootie-clad feet round a rope, so as to get a better purchase and be able to balance herself.
The afternoon was closing in quickly now. Clouds had gathered thickly to northward25. The naked stone-strewn country between Spiddal and Cashla, the wild, almost unvisited, wholly roadless region beyond Greatman’s Bay, were all lost to sight in dull, purplish-brown shadows. Around the boat the water, however, was still grey and luminous26, and the sky above it clear, but the distance was filled with racing27, hurrying streaks28 of darker water; while from time to time sudden flurries of wind broke up the hitherto perfect reflections.
Usually, when these two companions were alone together, an incessant29 chattering30 went{23} on, or, to be accurate, an incessant monologue31; for Murdough Blake already possessed32 one of the more distinctive33 gifts of his countrymen, and his tongue had a power of building up castles in the air—castles in which he himself, of course, was chief actor, owner, lord, general person of importance—castles which would sometimes mount up, tier above tier, higher and higher, tottering34 dizzily before the dazzled eyes of his small companion, till even her admiration35, her capacity for belief, failed to follow them longer.
Neither of them knew a single word of English, for the schoolmaster had not in those days even casually36 visited Inishmaan, which is still, at the moment I write, the most retrograde spot, probably, within the four seas. The loss was none to them, however, for they were unaware37 of it. No one about them spoke38 English, and had they spoken it, nay39, used it habitually40, it would{24} have been less an aid probably than a hindrance41 to these architectural glories. To-day, however, Murdough was in no mood to exhibit any of his usual rhetorical feats42. He was thoroughly out of temper. His vanity had been badly mauled, not so much by Shan Daly’s attack upon him—for, like everyone in and around Inishmaan, he despised Shan Daly—as by the fashion in which Con O’Malley had cut short his own explanations. This had touched it to the quick: and Murdough Blake’s vanity was already a serious possession, not one to be wounded with impunity43. Con being out of reach, and too high in any case for reprisals44, he paid back his wrongs, as most of us do, in snubs upon the person nearest at hand. The tête-à-tête, therefore, was a silent one. From time to time the hooker would give a friendly, encouraging croak45, as if to suggest a topic, sloping now a little to the right,{25} now to the left, as the soft air began to be invaded by fresher currents coming in from the Atlantic—wild nurse, mother, and grandmother of storms, calm enough just then, but with the potentiality of, Heaven only knows how many, unborn tempests for ever and for ever brooding within her restless old breast.
Occasionally Murdough would take a bite out of the slice of white bread, but carelessly, and with a nonchalant air, as much as to say that he would just as soon have been doing anything else. Whenever he did this, little Grania would watch him from the ledge46 upon which she had perched herself, her big dark eyes glistening47 with satisfaction as the mouthful disappeared down his throat. Now and then too she would turn for a moment towards the curragh, and as she did so and as her eye caught sight of Shan Daly’s slouching figure a gleam of intense rage would sweep across the little brown face, the soft upper{26} lip wrinkling and curling expressively48 as one may see a small dog’s lips curl when it longs to bite. Ill would it have fared with Shan-à-veehonee or Shan-à-gaddy (‘Shan the thief)—which was another of his local names—had her power to punish him been equal to her wish to do so. Her hates and her loves ranged at present over a ridiculously narrow compass, but they were not at all ridiculous in their intensity49. It was a small vessel50, but there was an astonishing amount of latent heat, of latent possibilities, alike for good and ill, in it.
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1
regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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2
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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3
perch
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| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
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kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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adoration
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| n.爱慕，崇拜 | |
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profusion
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| n.挥霍；丰富 | |
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7
diminutives
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| n.微小( diminutive的名词复数 )；昵称，爱称 | |
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8
con
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| n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的 | |
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9
pertinacity
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| n.执拗，顽固 | |
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10
trotted
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| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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agility
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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recess
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| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
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13
scrambling
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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14
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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16
procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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17
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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pall
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| v.覆盖，使平淡无味；n.柩衣，棺罩；棺材；帷幕 | |
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19
propitiate
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| v.慰解，劝解 | |
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sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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irresolution
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| n.不决断，优柔寡断，犹豫不定 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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23
pout
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| v.撅嘴；绷脸；n.撅嘴；生气，不高兴 | |
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24
trotting
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| 小跑，急走( trot的现在分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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25
northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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26
luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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27
racing
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| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
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28
streaks
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| n.（与周围有所不同的）条纹( streak的名词复数 )；（通常指不好的）特征（倾向）；（不断经历成功或失败的）一段时期v.快速移动( streak的第三人称单数 )；使布满条纹 | |
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29
incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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30
chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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31
monologue
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| n.长篇大论，（戏剧等中的）独白 | |
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32
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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distinctive
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| adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的 | |
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34
tottering
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| adj.蹒跚的，动摇的v.走得或动得不稳( totter的现在分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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35
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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36
casually
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| adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地 | |
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37
unaware
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| a.不知道的，未意识到的 | |
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38
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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39
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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40
habitually
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| ad.习惯地，通常地 | |
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41
hindrance
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| n.妨碍，障碍 | |
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42
feats
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| 功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 ) | |
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43
impunity
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| n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除 | |
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44
reprisals
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| n.报复（行为）( reprisal的名词复数 ) | |
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45
croak
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| vi.嘎嘎叫，发牢骚 | |
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46
ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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47
glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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48
expressively
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| ad.表示(某事物)地；表达地 | |
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49
intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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50
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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