nearer to her to see if she sobbed for weeping or for want of

breath. "What are we to do now?" her voice asked.



"Are you tired?" he asked.

"I will do what has to be done."



The two black figures in the broken light were silent for a

space. "Do you know," she said, "I am not afraid of you. I am



sure you are honest to me. And I do not even know your name!"

He was taken with a sudden shame of his homely patronymic. "It's



an ugly name," he said. "But you are right in trusting me. I

would--I would do anything for you. . . . This is nothing."



She caught at her breath. She did not care to ask why. But

compared with Bechamel!--"We take each other on trust," she said.



"Do you want to know--how things are with me?"

"That man," she went on, after the assent of his listening



silence, "promised to help and protect me. I was unhappy at

home--never mind why. A stepmother--Idle, unoccupied, hindered,



cramped, that is enough, perhaps. Then he came into my life, and

talked to me of art and literature, and set my brain on fire. I



wanted to come out into the world, to be a human being--not a

thing in a hutch. And he--"



"I know," said Hoopdriver.

"And now here I am--"



"I will do anything," said Hoopdriver.

She thought. "You cannot imagine my stepmother. No! I could not



describe her--"

"I am entirely at your service. I will help you with all my



power."

"I have lost an Illusion and found a Knight-errant." She spoke of



Bechamel as the Illusion.

Mr. Hoopdriver felt flattered. But he had no adequate answer.



"I'm thinking," he said, full of a rapture of protective

responsibility, " what we had best be doing. You are tired, you



know. And we can't wander all night--after the day we've had."

"That was Chichester we were near?" she asked.



"If," he meditated, with a tremble in his voice, "you would make

ME your brother, MISS BEAUMONT."



"Yes?"

"We could stop there together--"



She took a minute to answer. "I am going to light these lamps,"

said Hoopdriver. He bent down to his own, and struck a match on



his shoe. She looked at his face in its light, grave and intent.

How could she ever have thought him common or absurd?



"But you must tell me your name--brother," she said,

"Er--Carrington," said Mr. Hoopdriver, after a momentary pause.



Who would be Hoopdriver on a night like this?

"But the Christian name?"



"Christian name? MY Christian name. Well--Chris." He snapped his

lamp and stood up. "If you will hold my machine, I will light



yours," he said.

She came round obediently and took his machine, and for a moment



they stood face to face. "My name, brother Chris," she said, "is

Jessie."



He looked into her eyes, and his excitement seemed arrested.

"JESSIE," he repeated slowly. The mute emotion of his face



affected her strangely. She had to speak. "It's not such a very

wonderful name, is it?" she said, with a laugh to break the



intensity.

He opened his mouth and shut it again, and, with a sudden wincing



of his features, abruptly" target="_blank" title="ad.突然地；粗鲁地">abruptly turned and bent down to open the

lantern in front of her machine. She looked down at him, almost



kneeling in front of her, with an unreasonable approbation in her

eyes. It was, as I have indicated, the hour and season of the



full moon.

XXV



Mr. Hoopdriver conducted the rest of that night's journey with

the same confidentdignity as before, and it was chiefly by good



luck and the fact that most roads about a town converge

thereupon, that Chichester was at last attained. It seemed at



first as though everyone had gone to bed, but the Red Hotel still

• immense [i´mens] a.广大的，无限的 (初中英语单词)


• furious [´fjuəriəs] a.狂怒的；猛烈的 (初中英语单词)


• pursuit [pə´sju:t] n.追踪；追击；事务 (初中英语单词)


• detective [di´tektiv] n.侦探 a.侦探的 (初中英语单词)


• evidently [´evidəntli] ad.明显地 (初中英语单词)


• probable [´prɔbəbəl] a.大概的n.很可能的事 (初中英语单词)


• explanation [,eksplə´neiʃən] n.解释；说明；辩解 (初中英语单词)


• abruptly [ə´brʌptli] ad.突然地；粗鲁地 (初中英语单词)


• opening [´əupəniŋ] n.开放；开端 a.开始的 (初中英语单词)


• moonlight [´mu:nlait] n.&a.月光(的) (初中英语单词)


• wicked [´wikid] a.邪恶的；不道德的 (初中英语单词)


• wretched [´retʃid] a.可怜的；倒霉的 (初中英语单词)


• sufficiently [sə´fiʃəntli] ad.充分地，足够地 (初中英语单词)


• modest [´mɔdist] a.谦虚的；朴素的 (初中英语单词)


• breath [breθ] n.呼吸；气息 (初中英语单词)


• flight [flait] n.逃走；飞行；班机 (初中英语单词)


• policeman [pə´li:smən] n.警察 (初中英语单词)


• rescue [´reskju:] vt.&n.救援；挽救 (初中英语单词)


• sunlight [´sʌnlait] n.日光 (初中英语单词)


• sleeping [´sli:piŋ] n.&a.睡着(的) (初中英语单词)


• cathedral [kə´θi:drəl] n.大教堂 (初中英语单词)


• intent [in´tent] a.专心致志的 n.意图 (初中英语单词)


• running [´rʌniŋ] a.奔跑的；流动的 (初中英语单词)


• outline [´autlain] n.外形 vt.画出…轮廓 (初中英语单词)


• hidden [´hid(ə)n] hide 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)


• goddess [´gɔdis] n.女神 (初中英语单词)


• daylight [´deilait] n.日光；黎明 (初中英语单词)


• visible [´vizəbəl] a.可见的；明显的 (初中英语单词)


• spiritual [´spiritʃuəl] a.精神(上)的；神圣的 (初中英语单词)


• glitter [´glitə] n.光辉 vi.闪烁，炫耀 (初中英语单词)


• crystal [´kristəl] n.水晶 a.水晶的 (初中英语单词)


• overhead [´əuvə,hed] ad.当头 a.在头上的 (初中英语单词)


• attendant [ə´tendənt] n.随员 a.伴随的 (初中英语单词)


• unhappy [ʌn´hæpi] a.不幸的；不快乐的 (初中英语单词)


• literature [´litərətʃə] n.文学；文献；著作 (初中英语单词)


• adequate [´ædikwit] a.足够的；适当的 (初中英语单词)


• wander [´wɔndə, ´wɑ:n:dər] v.徘徊；流浪 (初中英语单词)


• excitement [ik´saitmənt] n.兴奋；骚动；煽动 (初中英语单词)


• emotion [i´məuʃən] n.感情；情绪；激动 (初中英语单词)


• strangely [´streindʒli] ad.奇怪地；陌生地 (初中英语单词)


• dignity [´digniti] n.尊严，尊贵；高官显贵 (初中英语单词)


• chiefly [´tʃi:fli] ad.主要地；尤其 (初中英语单词)


• everyone [´evriwʌn] pron.=everybody 每人 (初中英语单词)


• enjoyment [in´dʒɔimənt] n.享受；愉快；乐趣 (高中英语单词)


• infinite [´infinit] a.无限的，无穷的 (高中英语单词)


• memorable [´memərəbəl] a.难忘的；重大的 (高中英语单词)


• saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)


• abrupt [ə´brʌpt] a.突然的；粗鲁的 (高中英语单词)


• prompt [prɔmpt] a.敏捷的 vt.促使 (高中英语单词)


• northward [´nɔ:θwəd] ad.&a.向北(的) n.北 (高中英语单词)


• westward [´westwəd] a.向西的 n.西方；西部 (高中英语单词)


• tumult [´tju:mʌlt, ´tu:-] n.喧哗；激昂；烦乱 (高中英语单词)


• substantial [səb´stænʃəl] a.实质的，真的 (高中英语单词)


• spacious [´speiʃəs] a.广阔的，宽敞的 (高中英语单词)


• brightly [´braitli] ad.明亮地；聪明地 (高中英语单词)


• profound [prə´faund] a.深奥的；渊博的 (高中英语单词)


• inland [´inlənd, in´lænd] a.&n.内地的 ad.在内地 (高中英语单词)


• sweeping [´swi:piŋ] a.掠过的 n.扫除；清除 (高中英语单词)


• homely [´həumli] a.朴素的；不漂亮的 (高中英语单词)


• assent [ə´sent] vi.&n.同意，赞成 (高中英语单词)


• illusion [i´lu:ʒən] n.幻觉；幻影；错觉 (高中英语单词)


• rapture [´ræptʃə] n.着迷；全神贯注 (高中英语单词)


• repeated [ri´pi:tid] a.反复的；重复的 (高中英语单词)


• confident [´kɔnfidənt] a.有信心的，自信的 (高中英语单词)


• frenzy [´frenzi] n.&vt.(使)狂乱 (英语四级单词)


• anticipation [æn,tisi´peiʃən] n.预期；预料；期望 (英语四级单词)


• ridden [´ridn] ride 的过去分词 (英语四级单词)


• arisen [ə´rizn] arise的过去分词 (英语四级单词)


• drapery [´dreipəri] n.布业，布匹，帐帘 (英语四级单词)


• lighting [´laitiŋ] n.照明，发光 (英语四级单词)


• amidst [ə´midst] prep.=amid (英语四级单词)


• intricate [´intrikit] a.错综复杂的；难懂的 (英语四级单词)


• gracefully [´greisfuli] ad.优美地，斯文地 (英语四级单词)


• fairyland [´fɛərilænd] n.仙境，奇境 (英语四级单词)


• texture [´tekstʃə] n.(织物等的)质地 (英语四级单词)


• momentary [´məuməntəri] a.瞬息间的 (英语四级单词)


• unreasonable [ʌn´ri:zənəbl] a.不合理的；荒唐的 (英语四级单词)


• knuckle [´nʌkəl] n.指关节 vi.屈从 (英语六级单词)


• abandoned [ə´bændənd] a.被抛弃的；无约束的 (英语六级单词)


• infernal [in´fə:nəl] a.地狱的，恶魔似的 (英语六级单词)


• truthful [´tru:θfəl] a.诚实的；真实的 (英语六级单词)


• outskirts [´autskə:ts] n.外边；郊区 (英语六级单词)


• speaking [´spi:kiŋ] n.说话 a.发言的 (英语六级单词)


• shimmer [´ʃimə] v.&n.闪烁；微微发光 (英语六级单词)


• ghostly [´gəustli] a.鬼的；朦胧的 (英语六级单词)


• seaward [´si:wəd] a.&ad.朝海(的) (英语六级单词)


• holding [´həuldiŋ] n.保持，固定，存储 (英语六级单词)


• weeping [´wi:piŋ] a.&n.哭泣(的) (英语六级单词)


• trusting [´trʌstiŋ] a.信任的；相信的 (英语六级单词)


• unoccupied [ʌn´ɔkjupaid] a.空闲的，没人住的 (英语六级单词)


• stepmother [´step,mʌðə] n.继母，后母 (英语六级单词)