And St. George was in pursuit. So were Amory and Jarvo, and Rollo of the oil-skins, but these mattered very little, for it was St. George whose eyes burned in his pale face and were striving to catch the faintest motion in that fleeing car ahead.
"Faster, Jarvo," he said, "we're not gaining on them. I think they're gaining on us. Put ahead, can't you?"
Amory vexed5 the air with frantic6 questionings. "How did it happen?" he said. "Who did it? Was it the guard? What did they do it for?"
"It looks to me," said St. George only, peering distractedly into the gloom, "as if all those fellows had on uniforms. Can you see?"
"It is true, adôn," he said, "they are of the guard. This is what they had planned," he added to Amory. "I feared the harm would be to you. It is the same. Your turn would be the next."
"What do you mean?" St. George demanded.
Amory, with some incoherence, told him what Jarvo had come to them to propose, and heightened his own excitement by plunging8 into the business of that night and the next, as he had had it from the little brown man's lips.
"Up the mountain to-morrow night," he concluded fervently9, "what do you think of that? Do you see us?"
"Maniac10, no," said St. George shortly, "what do we want to go up the mountain for if Miss Holland is somewhere else? Faster, Jarvo, can't you?" he urged. "Why, this thing is built to go sixty miles an hour. We're creeping."
"Perhaps it's better to start in gentle and work up a pace, sir," observed Rollo inspirationally, "like a man's legs, sir, beggin' your pardon."
St. George looked at him as if he had first seen him, so that Amory once more explained his presence and pointed11 to the oil-skins. And St. George said only:
"Now we're coming up a little—don't you think we're coming up a little? Throw it wide open, Jarvo—now, go!"
"What are you going to do when you catch them?" demanded Amory. "We can't lunge into them, for fear of hurting Miss Holland. And who knows what devilish contrivance they've got—dum-dum bullets with a poison seal attachment," prophesied12 Amory darkly. "What are you going to do?"
"I don't know what we're going to do," said St. George doggedly13, "but if we can overtake them it won't take us long to find out."
Never so slightly the pursuers were gaining. It was impossible to tell whether those in the flying car knew that they were followed, and if they did know, and if Olivia knew, St. George wondered whether the pursuit were to her a new alarm, or whether she were looking to them for deliverance. If she knew! His heart stood still at the thought—oh, and if they had both known, that morning at breakfast at the Boris, that this was the way the genie14 would come out of the jar. But how, if he were unable to help her? And how could he help her when these others might have Heaven knew what resources of black art, art of all the colours of the Yaque spectrum15, if it came to that? The slim-trunked trees flew past them, and the tender branches brushed their shoulders and hung out their flowers like lamps. Warm wind was in their faces, sweet, reverberant16 voices of the wood-things came chorusing, and ahead there in the dimness, that misty17 will-o'-the-wisp was her veil, Olivia's veil. St. George would have followed if it had led him between-worlds.
In a manner it did lead him between-worlds. Emerging suddenly upon a broader avenue their car followed the other aside and shot through a great gateway18 of the palace wall—a wall built of such massive blocks that the gateway formed a covered passageway. From there, delicately lighted, greenly arched, and on this festal night, quite deserted19, went the road by which, the night before, they had entered Med.
"Now," said St. George between set teeth, "now see what you can do, Jarvo. Everything depends on you."
Evidently Jarvo had been waiting for this stretch of open road and expecting the other car to take it. He bent20 forward, his wiry little frame like a quivering spring controlling the motion. The motor leaped at his touch. Away down the road they tore with the wind singing its challenge. Second by second they saw their gain increase. The uniforms of the guards in the car became distinguishable. The white of Olivia's veil merged21 in the brightness of her gown—was it only the shining of the gold of the uniforms or could St. George see the floating gold of her hair? Ah, wonderful, past all speech it was wonderful to be fleeing toward her through this pale light that was like a purer element than light itself. With the phantom22 moving of the boughs23 in the wood on either side light seemed to dance and drip from leaf to leaf—the visible spirit of the haunted green. The unreality of it all swept over him almost stiflingly24. Olivia—was it indeed Olivia whom he was following down lustrous25 ways of a land vague as a star; or was his pursuit not for her, but for the exquisite26, incommunicable Idea, and was he following it through a world forth-fashioned from his own desire?
Suddenly indistinguishable sounds were in his ears, words from Amory, from Jarvo certain exultant27 gutturals. He felt the car slacken speed, he looked ahead for the swift beckoning28 of the veil, and then he saw that where, in the delicate distance, the other motor had sped its way, it now stood inactive in the road before them, and they were actually upon it. The four guards in the motor were standing29 erect30 with uplifted faces, their gold uniforms shining like armour31. But this was not all. There, in the highway beside the car, the mist of her veil like a halo about her, Olivia stood alone.
St. George did not reckon what they meant to do. He dropped over the side of the tonneau and ran to her. He stood before her, and all the joy that he had ever known was transcended32 as she turned toward him. She threw out her hands with a little cry—was it gladness, or relief, or beseeching33? He could not be certain that there was even recognition in her eyes before she tottered34 and swayed, and he caught her unconscious form in his arms. As he lifted her he looked with apprehension35 toward the car that held the guards. To his bewilderment there was no car there. The pursued motor, like a winged thing of the most innocent vagaries36, had taken itself off utterly37. And on before, the causeway was utterly empty, dipping idly between murmurous38 green. But at the moment St. George had no time to spend on that wonder.
He carried Olivia to the tonneau of Jarvo's car, jealous when Rollo lifted her gown's hem1 from the dust of the road and when Amory threw open the door. He held her in his arms, half kneeling beside her, profoundly regardless where it should please the others to dispose themselves. He had no recollection of hearing Jarvo point the way through the trees to a path that led away, as far from them as a voice would carry, to the Ilex Tower whose key burned in Amory's pocket, promising39 radiant, intangible things to his imagination. St. George understood with magnificent unconcern that Amory and Rollo were gone off there to wait for the return of him and Jarvo; he took it for granted that Jarvo had grasped that Olivia must be taken back to her aunt and her friends at the palace; and afterward40 he knew only, for an indeterminate space, that the car was moving across some dim, heavenly foreground to some dim, ultimate destination in which he found himself believing with infinite faith.
For this was Olivia, in his arms. St. George looked down at her, at the white, exquisite face with its shadow of lashes41, and it seemed to him that he must not breathe, or remember, or hope, lest the gods should be jealous and claim the moment, and leave him once more forlorn. That was the secret, he thought, not to touch away the elusive42 moment by hope or memory, but just to live it, filled with its ecstasies43, borne on the crest44 of its consciousness. It seemed to him in some intimately communicated fashion, that the moment, the very world of the island, was become to him a more intense object of consciousness than himself. And somehow Olivia was its expression—Olivia, here in his arms, with the stir of her breath and the light, light pressure of her body and the fall of her hair, not only symbols of the sovereign hour, but the hour's realities.
On either side the phantom wood pressed close about them, and its light seemed coined by goblin fingers. Dissolving wind, persuading little voices musical beyond the domain45 of music that he knew, quick, poignant46 vistas47 of glades48 where the light spent itself in its longed-for liberty of colour, labyrinthine49 ways of shadow that taught the necessity of mystery. There was something lyric50 about it all. Here Nature moved on no formal lines, understood no frugality51 of beauty, but was lavish52 with a divine and special errantry to a divine and special understanding. And it had been given St. George to move with her merely by living this hour, with Olivia in his arms.
The sweet of life—the sweet of life and the world his own. The words had never meant so much. He had often said them in exultation53, but he had never known their truth: the world was literally54 his own, under the law. Nothing seemed impossible. His mind went back to the unexplained disappearing of that other motor and, however it had been, that did not seem impossible either. It seemed natural, and only a new doorway55 to new points of contact. In this amazing land no speculation56 was too far afield to be the food of every day. Here men understood miracle as the rest of the world understands invention. Already the mere4 existence of Yaque proved that the space of experience is transcended—and with the thought a fancy, elusive and profound, seized him and gripped at his heart with an emotion wider than fear. What had become of the other car? Had it gone down some road of the wood which the guards knew, or ... The words of Prince Tabnit came back to him as they had been spoken in that wonderful tour of the island. "The higher dimensions are being conquered. Nearly all of us can pass into the fifth at will, 'disappearing,' as you have the word." Was it possible that in the vanishing of the pursued car this had been demonstrated before him? Into this space, inclusive of the visible world and of Yaque as well, had the car passed without the pursuers being able to point to the direction which it had taken? St. George smiled in derision as this flashed upon him, and it hardly held his thought for a moment, for his eyes were upon Olivia's face, so near, so near his own ... Undoubtedly57, he thought vaguely58, that other motor had simply swerved59 aside to some private opening of the grove60 and, from being hard-pressed and almost overtaken, was now well away in safety. Yet if this were so, would they not have taken Olivia with them? But to that strange and unapparent hyperspace they could not have taken her, because she did not understand. "...just as one," Prince Tabnit had said, "who understands how to die and come to life again would not be able to take with him any one who himself did not understand how to accompany him..."
Some terrifying and exalting61 sense swept him into a new intimacy62 of understanding as he realized glimmeringly63 what heights and depths lay about his ceasing to see that car of the guard. Yet, with Olivia's head upon his arm, all that he theorized in that flash of time hung hardly beyond the border of his understanding. Indeed, it seemed to St. George as if almost—almost he could understand, as if he could pierce the veil and know utterly all the secrets of spirit and sense that confound. "We shall all know when we are able to bear it," he had once heard another say, and it seemed to him now that at last he was able to bear it, as if the sense of the uninterrupted connection between the two worlds was almost a part of his own consciousness. A moment's deeper thought, a quicker flowing of the imagination, a little more poignant projecting of himself above the abyss and he, too, would understand. It came to him that he had almost understood every time that he had looked at Olivia. Ah, he thought, and how exquisite, how matchless she was, and what Heaven beyond Heaven the world would hold for him if only she were to love him. St. George lifted the little hand that hung at her side, and stooped momentarily to touch his cheek to the soft hair that swept her shoulder. Here for him lay the sweet of life—the sweet of the world, ay, and the sweet of all the world's mysteries. This alien land was no nearer the truth than he. His love was the expression of its mystery. They went back through the great archway, and entered the palace park. Once more the slim-trunked trees flew past them with the fringes of light expressing the borders of the dusk. St. George crouched64, half-kneeling, on the floor of the tonneau, his free hand protecting Olivia's face from the leaning branches of heavy-headed flowers. He had been so passionately65 anxious that she should know that he was on the island, near her, ready to serve her; but now, save for his alarm and anxiety about her, he felt a shy, profound gratitude66 that the hour had fallen as it had fallen. Whatever was to come, this nearness to her would be his to remember and possess. It had been his supreme67 hour. Whether she had recognized him in that moment on the road, whether she ever knew what had happened made, he thought, no difference. But if she was to open her eyes as they reached the border of the park, and if she was to know that it was like this that the genie had come out of the jar—the mere notion made him giddy, and he saw that Heaven may have little inner Heaven-courts which one is never too happy to penetrate68.
But Olivia did not stir or unclose her eyes. The great strain of the evening, the terror and shock of its ending, the very relief with which she had, at all events, realized herself in the hands of friends were more than even an island princess could pass through in serenity69. And when at last from the demesne70 of enchantment71 the car emerged in the court of the palace, Olivia knew nothing of it and, as nearly as he could recall afterward, neither did St. George. He understood that the courtyard was filled with murmurs72, and that as Olivia was lifted from the car the voice of Mrs. Medora Hastings, in all its excesses of tone and pitch, was tilted73 in a kind of universal reproving. Then he was aware that Jarvo, beseeching him not to leave the motor, had somehow got him away from all the tumult74 and the questioning and the crush of the other motors setting tardily75 off down the avenue in a kind cf majestic76 pursuit of the princess. After that he remembered nothing but the grateful gloom of the wood and the swift flight of the car down that nebulous way, thin darkness flowing about him.
He was to go back to join Amory in some kind of tower, he knew; and he was infinitely77 resigned, for he remembered that this was in some way essential to his safety, and that it had to do with the ascent78 of Mount Khalak to-morrow night. For the rest St. George was certain of nothing save that he was floating once more in a sea of light, with the sweet of the world flowing in his veins79; and upon his arm and against his shoulder he could still feel the thrill of the pressure of Olivia's head.
The genie had come out of the jar—and never, never would he go back.
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1
hem
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| n.贴边，镶边；vt.缝贴边；(in)包围，限制 | |
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conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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3
glimmered
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| v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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vexed
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| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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7
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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8
plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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fervently
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| adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地 | |
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maniac
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| n.精神癫狂的人；疯子 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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prophesied
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| v.预告，预言( prophesy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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doggedly
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| adv.顽强地，固执地 | |
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14
genie
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| n.妖怪，神怪 | |
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spectrum
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| n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列 | |
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reverberant
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| a.起回声的 | |
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misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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gateway
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| n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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20
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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21
merged
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| （使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中 | |
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phantom
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| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
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23
boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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stiflingly
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| adv. 令人窒息地(气闷地，沉闷地) | |
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lustrous
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| adj.有光泽的；光辉的 | |
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26
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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exultant
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| adj.欢腾的，狂欢的，大喜的 | |
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28
beckoning
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| adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 ) | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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armour
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| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
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transcended
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| 超出或超越（经验、信念、描写能力等）的范围( transcend的过去式和过去分词 )； 优于或胜过… | |
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33
beseeching
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| adj.恳求似的v.恳求，乞求（某事物）( beseech的现在分词 ) | |
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34
tottered
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| v.走得或动得不稳( totter的过去式和过去分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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vagaries
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| n.奇想( vagary的名词复数 )；异想天开；异常行为；难以预测的情况 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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38
murmurous
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| adj.低声的 | |
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promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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41
lashes
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| n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 )；鞭子；突然猛烈的一击；急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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42
elusive
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| adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的 | |
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43
ecstasies
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| 狂喜( ecstasy的名词复数 )； 出神； 入迷； 迷幻药 | |
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44
crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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45
domain
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| n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围 | |
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46
poignant
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| adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的 | |
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47
vistas
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| 长条形景色( vista的名词复数 )； 回顾； 展望； （未来可能发生的）一系列情景 | |
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48
glades
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| n.林中空地( glade的名词复数 ) | |
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49
labyrinthine
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| adj.如迷宫的；复杂的 | |
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50
lyric
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| n.抒情诗，歌词；adj.抒情的 | |
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51
frugality
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| n.节约，节俭 | |
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52
lavish
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| adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍 | |
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53
exultation
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| n.狂喜，得意 | |
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54
literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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55
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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56
speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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57
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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58
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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59
swerved
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| v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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60
grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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61
exalting
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| a.令人激动的，令人喜悦的 | |
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62
intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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63
glimmeringly
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| 微光，隐约的一瞥 | |
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64
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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65
passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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66
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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67
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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68
penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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69
serenity
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| n.宁静，沉着，晴朗 | |
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70
demesne
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| n.领域，私有土地 | |
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71
enchantment
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| n.迷惑，妖术，魅力 | |
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72
murmurs
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| n.低沉、连续而不清的声音( murmur的名词复数 )；低语声；怨言；嘀咕 | |
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73
tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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74
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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75
tardily
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| adv.缓慢 | |
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76
majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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77
infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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78
ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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79
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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