expostulated--playfully, of course. Happily the road was not

overlooked. Finally, the entire apparatus became rigid, and I



abandoned the unequalcontest. For all practical purposes the

tricycle was no better than a heavy chair without castors. It was



a case of hauling or carrying."

The clergyman's nutriment appeared in the doorway.



"Five miles," said the clergyman. He began at once to eat bread

and butter vigorously. "Happily," he said, "I am an eupeptic,



energetic sort of person on principle. I would all men were

likewise."



"It's the best way," agreed Mr. Hoopdriver, and the conversation

gave precedence to bread and butter.



"Gelatine," said the clergyman, presently, stirring his tea

thoughtfully, "precipitates the tannin in one's tea and renders



it easy of digestion."

"That's a useful sort of thing to know," said Mr. Hoopdriver.



"You are altogether welcome," said the clergyman, biting

generously at two pieces of bread and butter folded together.



In the afternoon our two wanderers rode on at an easy pace

towards Stoney Cross. Conversation languished, the topic of South



Africa being in abeyance. Mr. Hoopdriver was silenced by

disagreeable thoughts. He had changed the last sovereign at



Ringwood. The fact had come upon him suddenly. Now too late he

was reflecting upon his resources. There was twenty pounds or



more in the post office savings bank in Putney, but his book was

locked up in his box at the Antrobus establishment. Else this



infatuated man would certainly have surreptitiously withdrawn the

entire sum in order to prolong these journeyings even for a few



days. As it was, the shadow of the end fell across his happiness.

Strangely enough, in spite of his anxiety and the morning's



collapse, he was still in a curious emotional state that was

certainly not misery. He was forgetting his imaginings and



posings, forgetting himself altogether in his growing

appreciation of his companion. The most tangible trouble in his



mind was the necessity of breaking the matter to her.

A long stretch up hill tired them long before Stoney Cross was



reached, and they dismounted and sat under the shade of a little

oak tree. Near the crest the road looped on itself, so that,



looking back, it sloped below them up to the right and then came

towards them. About them grew a rich heather with stunted oaks on



the edge of a deep ditch along the roadside, and this road was

sandy; below the steepness of the hill, however, it was grey and



barred with shadows, for there the trees clustered thick and

tall. Mr. Hoopdriver fumbled clumsily with his cigarettes.



"There's a thing I got to tell you," he said, trying to be

perfectly calm.



"Yes?" she said.

"I'd like to jest discuss your plans a bit, y'know."



"I'm very unsettled," said Jessie. "You are thinking of writing

Books?"



"Or doing journalism, or teaching, or something like that."

"And keeping yourself independent of your stepmother?"



"Yes."

"How long'd it take now, to get anything of that sort to do?"



"I don't know at all. I believe there are a great many women

journalists and sanitary inspectors, and black-and-white artists.



But I suppose it takes time. Women, you know, edit most papers

nowadays, George Egerton says. I ought, I suppose, to communicate



with a literary agent."

"Of course," said Hoopdriver, "it's very suitable work. Not being



heavy like the drapery."

"There's heavy brain labour, you must remember."



"That wouldn't hurt YOU," said Mr. Hoopdriver, turning a

compliment.



"It's like this," he said, ending a pause. "It's a juiced

nuisance alluding to these matters, but--we got very little more



money."

He perceived that Jessie started, though he did not look at her.



"I was counting, of course, on your friend's writing and your

being able to take some action to-day." 'Take some action' was a



phrase he had learnt at his last 'swop.'

"Money," said Jessie. "I didn't think of money."



"Hullo! Here's a tandem bicycle," said Mr. Hoopdriver, abruptly,

and pointing with his cigarette.



She looked, and saw two little figures emerging from among the

trees at the foot of the slope. The riders were bowed sternly

• situated [´sitʃueitid] a.位于；处于….境地 (初中英语单词)


• spectacle [´spektəkəl] n.展览；表演；景象 (初中英语单词)


• anxious [´æŋkʃəs] a.担忧的；渴望的 (初中英语单词)


• undertake [,ʌndə´teik] vt.从事；承担；担保 (初中英语单词)


• learning [´lə:niŋ] n.学习；学问；知识 (初中英语单词)


• glorious [´glɔ:riəs] a.光荣的；辉煌的 (初中英语单词)


• beginning [bi´giniŋ] n.开始，开端；起源 (初中英语单词)


• career [kə´riə] n.经历；生涯；职业 (初中英语单词)


• second-hand [,sekənd´hænd] a.用过的；间接的 (初中英语单词)


• establishment [i´stæbliʃmənt] n.建(成)立；研究所 (初中英语单词)


• holiday [´hɔlidi] n.假日，假期，节日 (初中英语单词)


• collar [´kɔlə] n.衣领；(狗等的)项圈 (初中英语单词)


• jacket [´dʒækit] n.茄克衫；外套 (初中英语单词)


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


• charming [´tʃɑ:miŋ] a.可爱的；极好的 (初中英语单词)


• portion [´pɔ:ʃən] n.嫁妆；命运 vt.分配 (初中英语单词)


• perceive [pə´si:v] vt.察觉；看出；领悟 (初中英语单词)


• delightful [di´laitful] a.讨人喜欢的 (初中英语单词)


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


• partly [´pɑ:tli] ad.部分地；不完全地 (初中英语单词)


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


• intelligent [in´telidʒənt] a.聪明的；理智的 (初中英语单词)


• whatever [wɔt´evə] pron.&a.无论什么 (初中英语单词)


• contest [kən´test, ´kɔntest] v.争辩 n.争夺；竞赛 (初中英语单词)


• presently [´prezəntli] ad.不久；目前 (初中英语单词)


• altogether [,ɔ:ltə´geðə] ad.完全；总而言之 (初中英语单词)


• sovereign [´sɔvrin] a.至高无上的 n.君主 (初中英语单词)


• anxiety [æŋ´zaiəti] n.挂念；渴望；焦虑的事 (初中英语单词)


• emotional [i´məuʃənəl] a.易动感情的；情感的 (初中英语单词)


• misery [´mizəri] n.痛苦；悲惨；穷困 (初中英语单词)


• companion [kəm´pæniən] n.同伴；同事；伴侣 (初中英语单词)


• literary [´litərəri] a.文学(上)的 (初中英语单词)


• suitable [´su:təbəl, ´sju:-] a.合适的，适当的 (初中英语单词)


• writing [´raitiŋ] n.书写；写作；书法 (初中英语单词)


• learnt [lə:nt] learn 的过去式(分词) (初中英语单词)


• extension [ik´stenʃən] n.延长；扩展；延期 (高中英语单词)


• nowhere [´nəuweə] n.无处；不知道 (高中英语单词)


• thoughtful [´θɔ:tfəl] a.深思的；体贴的 (高中英语单词)


• announcement [ə´naunsmənt] n.通告；宣布；言谈 (高中英语单词)


• disagreeable [,disə´gri:əbl] a.令人不悦的 (高中英语单词)


• theirs [ðeəz] pron.他们的 (高中英语单词)


• customary [´kʌstəməri] a.通常的；惯例的 (高中英语单词)


• seeing [si:iŋ] see的现在分词 n.视觉 (高中英语单词)


• bicycle [´baisik(ə)l] n.自行车 (高中英语单词)


• motion [´məuʃən] n.手势 vt.打手势 (高中英语单词)


• clergyman [´klə:dʒimən] n.牧师；教士 (高中英语单词)


• unexpected [ʌniks´pektid] a.突然的；意外的 (高中英语单词)


• insane [in´sein] a.患神经病的；疯狂的 (高中英语单词)


• apparatus [,æpə´reitəs] n.仪器；装置 (高中英语单词)


• prolong [prə´lɔŋ] vt.延长；拉长；拖延 (高中英语单词)


• ending [´endiŋ] n.结尾，结局 (高中英语单词)


• sternly [´stə:nli] ad.严厉地；坚定地 (高中英语单词)


• haggard [´hægəd] a.憔悴的 (英语四级单词)


• schoolmaster [´sku:l,mɑ:stə] n.教练；(男)教师 (英语四级单词)


• precipitate [pri´sipiteit] v.猛抛；a.仓促的 (英语四级单词)


• trying [´traiiŋ] a.难堪的；费劲的 (英语四级单词)


• ascribe [ə´skraib] vt.归因于；把…归于 (英语四级单词)


• impatience [im´peiʃəns] n.不耐烦，急躁 (英语四级单词)


• unequal [ʌn´i:kwəl] a.不平等的；不同的 (英语四级单词)


• vigorously [´vigərəsli] ad.精力旺盛地；健壮地 (英语四级单词)


• stirring [´stə:riŋ] a.活跃的；热闹的 (英语四级单词)


• withdrawn [wið´drɔ:n] withdraw过去分词 (英语四级单词)


• roadside [´rəudsaid] n.&a.路边(的) (英语四级单词)


• sanitary [´sænitəri, -teri] a.卫生的 n.公共厕所 (英语四级单词)


• wintry [´wintri] a.冬天的；荒凉的 (英语六级单词)


• narrowly [´nærəuli] ad.勉强地；严密地 (英语六级单词)


• heather [´heðə] n.石南属植物 (英语六级单词)


• journalism [´dʒə:nəlizəm] n.新闻业；新闻工作 (英语六级单词)