There were four men smoking about the dinner-table. Harry Feversham was unchanged, except for a fair moustache, which contrasted with his dark hair, and the natural consequences of growth. He was now a man of middle height, long-limbed, and well-knit like an athlete, but his features had not altered since that night when they had been so closely scrutinised by Lieutenant7 Sutch. Of his companions two were brother-officers on leave in England, like himself, whom he had that afternoon picked up at his club,—Captain Trench8, a small man, growing bald, with a small, sharp, resourceful face and black eyes of a remarkable9 activity, and Lieutenant Willoughby, an officer of quite a different stamp. A round forehead, a thick snub nose, and a pair of vacant and protruding10 eyes gave to him an aspect of invincible11 stupidity. He spoke12 but seldom, and never to the point, but rather to some point long forgotten which he had since been laboriously13 revolving14 in his mind; and he continually twisted a moustache, of which the ends curled up toward his eyes with a ridiculous ferocity,—a man whom one would dismiss from mind as of no consequence upon a first thought, and take again into one's consideration upon a second. For he was born stubborn as well as stupid; and the harm which his stupidity might do, his stubbornness would hinder him from admitting. He was not a man to be persuaded; having few ideas, he clung to them. It was no use to argue with him, for he did not hear the argument, but behind his vacant eyes all the while he turned over his crippled thoughts and was satisfied. The fourth at the table was Durrance, a lieutenant of the East Surrey Regiment, and Feversham's friend, who had come in answer to a telegram.
This was June of the year 1882, and the thoughts of civilians15 turned toward Egypt with anxiety; those of soldiers, with an eager anticipation16. Arabi Pasha, in spite of threats, was steadily17 strengthening the fortifications of Alexandria, and already a long way to the south, the other, the great danger, was swelling18 like a thunder-cloud. A year had passed since a young, slight, and tall Dongolawi, Mohammed Ahmed, had marched through the villages of the White Nile, preaching with the fire of a Wesley the coming of a Saviour19. The passionate20 victims of the Turkish tax-gatherer had listened, had heard the promise repeated in the whispers of the wind in the withered21 grass, had found the holy names imprinted22 even upon the eggs they gathered up. In 1882 Mohammed had declared himself that Saviour, and had won his first battles against the Turks.
"There will be trouble," said Trench, and the sentence was the text on which three of the four men talked. In a rare interval23, however, the fourth, Harry Feversham, spoke upon a different subject.
"I am very glad you were all able to dine with me to-night. I telegraphed to Castleton as well, an officer of ours," he explained to Durrance, "but he was dining with a big man in the War Office, and leaves for Scotland afterwards, so that he could not come. I have news of a sort."
The three men leaned forward, their minds still full of the dominant24 subject. But it was not about the prospect25 of war that Harry Feversham had news to speak.
"I only reached London this morning from Dublin," he said with a shade of embarrassment26. "I have been some weeks in Dublin."
Durrance lifted his eyes from the tablecloth27 and looked quietly at his friend.
"Yes?" he asked steadily.
"I have come back engaged to be married."
Durrance lifted his glass to his lips.
"Well, here's luck to you, Harry," he said, and that was all. The wish, indeed, was almost curtly28 expressed, but there was nothing wanting in it to Feversham's ears. The friendship between these two men was not one in which affectionate phrases had any part. There was, in truth, no need of such. Both men were securely conscious of it; they estimated it at its true, strong value; it was a helpful instrument, which would not wear out, put into their hands for a hard, lifelong use; but it was not, and never had been, spoken of between them. Both men were grateful for it, as for a rare and undeserved gift; yet both knew that it might entail29 an obligation of sacrifice. But the sacrifices, were they needful, would be made, and they would not be mentioned. It may be, indeed, that the very knowledge of their friendship's strength constrained30 them to a particular reticence31 in their words to one another.
"Thank you, Jack32!" said Feversham. "I am glad of your good wishes. It was you who introduced me to Ethne; I cannot forget it."
Durrance set his glass down without any haste. There followed a moment of silence, during which he sat with his eyes upon the tablecloth, and his hands resting on the table edge.
"Yes," he said in a level voice. "I did you a good turn then."
He seemed on the point of saying more, and doubtful how to say it. But Captain Trench's sharp, quick, practical voice, a voice which fitted the man who spoke, saved him his pains.
"Will this make any difference?" asked Trench.
Feversham replaced his cigar between his lips.
"You mean, shall I leave the service?" he asked slowly. "I don't know;" and Durrance seized the opportunity to rise from the table and cross to the window, where he stood with his back to his companions. Feversham took the abrupt33 movement for a reproach, and spoke to Durrance's back, not to Trench.
"I don't know," he repeated. "It will need thought. There is much to be said. On the one side, of course, there's my father, my career, such as it is. On the other hand, there is her father, Dermod Eustace."
"He wishes you to chuck your commission?" asked Willoughby.
"He has no doubt the Irishman's objection to constituted authority," said Trench, with a laugh. "But need you subscribe34 to it, Feversham?"
"It is not merely that." It was still to Durrance's back that he addressed his excuses. "Dermod is old, his estates are going to ruin, and there are other things. You know, Jack?" The direct appeal he had to repeat, and even then Durrance answered it absently:—
"Yes, I know," and he added, like one quoting a catch-word. "If you want any whiskey, rap twice on the floor with your foot. The servants understand."
"Precisely," said Feversham. He continued, carefully weighing his words, and still intently looking across the shoulders of his companions to his friend:—
"Besides, there is Ethne herself. Dermod for once did an appropriate thing when he gave her that name. For she is of her country, and more, of her county. She has the love of it in her bones. I do not think that she could be quite happy in India, or indeed in any place which was not within reach of Donegal, the smell of its peat, its streams, and the brown friendliness35 of its hills. One has to consider that."
He waited for an answer, and getting none went on again. Durrance, however, had no thought of reproach in his mind. He knew that Feversham was speaking,—he wished very much that he would continue to speak for a little while,—but he paid no heed36 to what was said. He stood looking steadfastly37 out of the windows. Over against him was the glare from Pall38 Mall striking upward to the sky, and the chains of light banked one above the other as the town rose northward39, and a rumble40 as of a million carriages was in his ears. At his feet, very far below, lay St. James's Park, silent and black, a quiet pool of darkness in the midst of glitter and noise. Durrance had a great desire to escape out of this room into its secrecy41. But that he could not do without remark. Therefore he kept his back turned to his companion, and leaned his forehead against the window, and hoped his friend would continue to talk. For he was face to face with one of the sacrifices which must not be mentioned, and which no sign must betray.
Feversham did continue, and if Durrance did not listen, on the other hand Captain Trench gave to him his closest attention. But it was evident that Harry Feversham was giving reasons seriously considered. He was not making excuses, and in the end Captain Trench was satisfied.
"Well, I drink to you, Feversham," he said, "with all the proper sentiments."
"I too, old man," said Willoughby, obediently following his senior's lead.
Thus they drank their comrade's health, and as their empty glasses rattled42 on the table, there came a knock upon the door.
The two officers looked up. Durrance turned about from the window. Feversham said, "Come in;" and his servant brought in to him a telegram.
Feversham tore open the envelope carelessly, as carelessly read through the telegram, and then sat very still, with his eyes upon the slip of pink paper and his face grown at once extremely grave. Thus he sat for an appreciable43 time, not so much stunned44 as thoughtful. And in the room there was a complete silence. Feversham's three guests averted45 their eyes. Durrance turned again to his window; Willoughby twisted his moustache and gazed intently upward at the ceiling; Captain Trench shifted his chair round and stared into the glowing fire, and each man's attitude expressed a certain suspense46. It seemed that sharp upon the heels of Feversham's good news calamity47 had come knocking at the door.
"There is no answer," said Harry, and fell to silence again. Once he raised his head and looked at Trench as though he had a mind to speak. But he thought the better of it, and so dropped again to the consideration of this message. And in a moment or two the silence was sharply interrupted, but not by any one of the expectant motionless three men seated within the room. The interruption came from without.
From the parade ground of Wellington Barracks the drums and fifes sounding the tattoo48 shrilled49 through the open window with a startling clearness like a sharp summons, and diminished as the band marched away across the gravel50 and again grew loud. Feversham did not change his attitude, but the look upon his face was now that of a man listening, and listening thoughtfully, just as he had read thoughtfully. In the years which followed, that moment was to recur51 again and again to the recollection of each of Harry's three guests. The lighted room, with the bright homely52 fire, the open window overlooking the myriad53 lamps of London, Harry Feversham seated with the telegram spread before him, the drums and fifes calling loudly, and then dwindling54 to music very small and pretty—music which beckoned55 where a moment ago it had commanded: all these details made up a picture of which the colours were not to fade by any lapse56 of time, although its significance was not apprehended57 now.
It was remembered that Feversham rose abruptly58 from his chair, just before the tattoo ceased. He crumpled59 the telegram loosely in his hands, tossed it into the fire, and then, leaning his back against the chimney-piece and upon one side of the fireplace, said again:—
"I don't know;" as though he had thrust that message, whatever it might be, from his mind, and was summing up in this indefinite way the argument which had gone before. Thus that long silence was broken, and a spell was lifted. But the fire took hold upon the telegram and shook it, so that it moved like a thing alive and in pain. It twisted, and part of it unrolled, and for a second lay open and smooth of creases60, lit up by the flame and as yet untouched; so that two or three words sprang, as it were, out of a yellow glare of fire and were legible. Then the flame seized upon that smooth part too, and in a moment shrivelled it into black tatters. But Captain Trench was all this while staring into the fire.
"You return to Dublin, I suppose?" said Durrance. He had moved back again into the room. Like his companions, he was conscious of an unexplained relief.
"To Dublin? No; I go to Donegal in three weeks' time. There is to be a dance. It is hoped you will come."
"I am not sure that I can manage it. There is just a chance, I believe, should trouble come in the East, that I may go out on the staff." The talk thus came round again to the chances of peace and war, and held in that quarter till the boom of the Westminster clock told that the hour was eleven. Captain Trench rose from his seat on the last stroke; Willoughby and Durrance followed his example.
"I shall see you to-morrow," said Durrance to Feversham.
"As usual," replied Harry; and his three guests descended61 from his rooms and walked across the Park together. At the corner of Pall Mall, however, they parted company, Durrance mounting St. James's Street, while Trench and Willoughby crossed the road into St. James's Square. There Trench slipped his arm through Willoughby's, to Willoughby's surprise, for Trench was an undemonstrative man.
"You know Castleton's address?" he asked.
"Albemarle Street," Willoughby answered, and added the number.
"He leaves Euston at twelve o'clock. It is now ten minutes past eleven. Are you curious, Willoughby? I confess to curiosity. I am an inquisitive62 methodical person, and when a man gets a telegram bidding him tell Trench something and he tells Trench nothing, I am curious as a philosopher to know what that something is! Castleton is the only other officer of our regiment in London. It is likely, therefore, that the telegram came from Castleton. Castleton, too, was dining with a big man from the War Office. I think that if we take a hansom to Albemarle Street, we shall just catch Castleton upon his door-step."
Mr. Willoughby, who understood very little of Trench's meaning, nevertheless cordially agreed to the proposal.
"I think it would be prudent," said he, and he hailed a passing cab. A moment later the two men were driving to Albemarle Street.
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1
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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gnomes
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| n.矮子( gnome的名词复数 )；侏儒；（尤指金融市场上搞投机的）银行家；守护神 | |
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4
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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5
belied
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| v.掩饰( belie的过去式和过去分词 )；证明（或显示）…为虚假；辜负；就…扯谎 | |
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hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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trench
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| n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕 | |
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9
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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10
protruding
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| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的现在分词 )；凸 | |
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11
invincible
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| adj.不可征服的，难以制服的 | |
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12
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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13
laboriously
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| adv.艰苦地；费力地；辛勤地；（文体等）佶屈聱牙地 | |
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14
revolving
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| adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想 | |
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civilians
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| 平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓 | |
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16
anticipation
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| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
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17
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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saviour
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| n.拯救者，救星 | |
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passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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21
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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imprinted
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| v.盖印（imprint的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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24
dominant
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| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
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25
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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tablecloth
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| n.桌布，台布 | |
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curtly
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| adv.简短地 | |
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entail
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| vt.使承担，使成为必要，需要 | |
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constrained
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| adj.束缚的,节制的 | |
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reticence
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| n.沉默，含蓄 | |
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32
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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34
subscribe
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| vi.(to)订阅，订购；同意；vt.捐助，赞助 | |
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35
friendliness
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| n.友谊，亲切，亲密 | |
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36
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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steadfastly
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| adv.踏实地，不变地；岿然；坚定不渝 | |
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38
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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northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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rumble
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| n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说 | |
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secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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43
appreciable
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| adj.明显的，可见的，可估量的，可觉察的 | |
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44
stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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45
averted
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| 防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移 | |
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46
suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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47
calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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48
tattoo
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| n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于 | |
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49
shrilled
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| （声音）尖锐的，刺耳的，高频率的( shrill的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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51
recur
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| vi.复发，重现，再发生 | |
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52
homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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53
myriad
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| adj.无数的；n.无数，极大数量 | |
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54
dwindling
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| adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 ) | |
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55
beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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56
lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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57
apprehended
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| 逮捕，拘押( apprehend的过去式和过去分词 )； 理解 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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59
crumpled
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| adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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creases
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| （使…）起折痕，弄皱( crease的第三人称单数 )； （皮肤）皱起，使起皱纹 | |
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61
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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inquisitive
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| adj.求知欲强的，好奇的，好寻根究底的 | |
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