all still sometimes brushed my brow like the wing of a bat;



and I remember how on this occasion--for the sleeping house and

the concentration alike of our danger and our watch seemed to help--



I felt the importance of giving the last jerk to the curtain.

"I don't believe anything so horrible," I recollect saying;



"no, let us put it definitely, my dear, that I don't. But if I did,

you know, there's a thing I should require now, just without sparing



you the least bit more--oh, not a scrap, come!--to get out of you.

What was it you had in mind when, in our distress, before Miles came back,



over the letter from his school, you said, under my insistence,

that you didn't pretend for him that he had not literally EVER



been `bad'? He has NOT literally `ever,' in these weeks that I

myself have lived with him and so closely watched him; he has been



an imperturbable little prodigy of delightful, lovable goodness.

Therefore you might perfectly have made the claim for him



if you had not, as it happened, seen an exception to take.

What was your exception, and to what passage in your personal



observation of him did you refer?"

It was a dreadfully" target="_blank" title="ad.可怕地；糟透地">dreadfullyaustereinquiry, but levity was not our note, and, at any



rate, before the gray dawn admonished us to separate I had got my answer.

What my friend had had in mind proved to be immensely to the purpose.



It was neither more nor less than the circumstance that for a period

of several months Quint and the boy had been perpetually together.



It was in fact the very appropriate truth that she had ventured to criticize

the propriety, to hint at the incongruity, of so close an alliance,



and even to go so far on the subject as a frank overture to Miss Jessel.

Miss Jessel had, with a most strange manner, requested her to mind her



business, and the good woman had, on this, directly approached little Miles.

What she had said to him, since I pressed, was that SHE liked to see



young gentlemen not forget their station.

I pressed again, of course, at this. "You reminded him that Quint



was only a base menial?"

"As you might say! And it was his answer, for one thing,



that was bad."

"And for another thing?" I waited. "He repeated your words to Quint?"



"No, not that. It's just what he WOULDN'T!" she could

still impress upon me. "I was sure, at any rate," she added,



"that he didn't. But he denied certain occasions."

"What occasions?"



"When they had been about together quite as if Quint were his tutor--

and a very grand one--and Miss Jessel only for the little lady.



When he had gone off with the fellow, I mean, and spent hours with him."

"He then prevaricated about it--he said he hadn't?"



Her assent was clear enough to cause me to add in a moment:

"I see. He lied."



"Oh!" Mrs. Grose mumbled. This was a suggestion that it didn't matter;

which indeed she backed up by a further remark. "You see, after all,



Miss Jessel didn't mind. She didn't forbid him."

I considered. "Did he put that to you as a justification?"



At this she dropped again. "No, he never spoke of it."

"Never mentioned her in connection with Quint?"



She saw, visibly flushing, where I was coming out. "Well, he didn't

show anything. He denied," she repeated; "he denied."



Lord, how I pressed her now! "So that you could see he knew

what was between the two wretches?"



"I don't know--I don't know!" the poor woman groaned.

"You do know, you dear thing," I replied; "only you haven't



my dreadfulboldness of mind, and you keep back, out of timidity

and modesty and delicacy, even the impression that, in the past,



when you had, without my aid, to flounder about in silence,

most of all made you miserable. But I shall get it out of you yet!



There was something in the boy that suggested to you," I continued,

"that he covered and concealed their relation."



"Oh, he couldn't prevent--"

"Your learning the truth? I daresay! But, heavens," I fell,



with vehemence, athinking, "what it shows that they must,

to that extent, have succeeded in making of him!"



"Ah, nothing that's not nice NOW!" Mrs. Grose lugubriously pleaded.

• victim [´viktim] n.牺牲者；受害者 (初中英语单词)


• dreadfully [dredfuli] ad.可怕地；糟透地 (初中英语单词)


• doubtless [´dautlis] ad.无疑地；大概，多半 (初中英语单词)


• measure [´meʒə] n.量度；范围 vt.测量 (初中英语单词)


• instant [´instənt] a.立即的 n.紧迫；瞬间 (初中英语单词)


• dreadful [´dredful] a.可怕的；讨厌的 (初中英语单词)


• resist [ri´zist] v.抵抗；对抗；抵制 (初中英语单词)


• despair [di´speə] vi.&n.绝望 (初中英语单词)


• shield [ʃi:ld] n.盾牌；防御 v.保护 (初中英语单词)


• resolution [,rezə´lu:ʃən] n.决心；坚决；果断 (初中英语单词)


• resistance [ri´zistəns] n.抵抗；抵制；耐力 (初中英语单词)


• instantly [´instəntli] ad.立即，立刻 (初中英语单词)


• suspicion [sə´spiʃən] n.怀(猜)疑；嫌疑 (初中英语单词)


• dismay [dis´mei] n.惊慌 vt.使惊慌 (初中英语单词)


• cultivate [´kʌltiveit] vt.耕作；培植；培养 (初中英语单词)


• conscious [´kɔnʃəs] a.意识的；自觉的 (初中英语单词)


• supposed [sə´pəuzd] a.想象的；假定的 (初中英语单词)


• cunning [´kʌniŋ] a.&n.狡猾(诡诈)的 (初中英语单词)


• pressure [´preʃə] n.压榨 vt.对…施压力 (初中英语单词)


• equally [´i:kwəli] ad.相等地；平等地 (初中英语单词)


• miracle [´mirəkl] n.奇迹；令人惊奇的 (初中英语单词)


• actually [´æktʃuəli] ad.事实上；实际上 (初中英语单词)


• movement [´mu:vmənt] n.活动；运动；动作 (初中英语单词)


• invitation [,invi´teiʃən] n.邀请；请帖；吸引 (初中英语单词)


• review [ri´vju:] v.&n.复习；回顾；检查 (初中英语单词)


• instance [´instəns] n.例子，实例，例证 (初中英语单词)


• stress [stres] n.强调；压力 vt.强调 (初中英语单词)


• scarce [skeəs, skers] a.缺乏的；稀有的 (初中英语单词)


• intelligence [in´telidʒəns] n.智力；消息 (初中英语单词)


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


• concentration [,kɔnsən´treiʃən] n.集中，专心 (初中英语单词)


• definitely [´definitli] ad.明确地；绝对 (初中英语单词)


• distress [di´stres] n.痛苦 vt.使苦恼 (初中英语单词)


• pretend [pri´tend] v.假装；借口；妄求 (初中英语单词)


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


• exception [ik´sepʃən] n.例外；反对，异议 (初中英语单词)


• inquiry [in´kwaiəri] n.询问；质询；调查 (初中英语单词)


• impress [im´pres, ´impres] v.铭刻 n.印记；特征 (初中英语单词)


• suggestion [sə´dʒestʃən] n.建议，提议；暗示 (初中英语单词)


• forbid [fə´bid] vt.禁止，不许，阻止 (初中英语单词)


• connection [kə´nekʃən] n.联系；关系；联运 (初中英语单词)


• impression [im´preʃən] n.印刷；印象；效果 (初中英语单词)


• miserable [´mizərəbəl] a.悲惨的；可怜的 (初中英语单词)


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


• extent [ik´stent] n.长度；程度；范围 (初中英语单词)


• shudder [´ʃʌdə] n.&vi.震颤；发抖 (高中英语单词)


• shabby [´ʃæbi] a.(衣服)破旧的 (高中英语单词)


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


• hitherto [,hiðə´tu:] ad.至今，迄今 (高中英语单词)


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


• acceptance [ək´septəns] n.接受；承认 (高中英语单词)


• extravagant [ik´strævəgənt] a.奢侈的；过度的 (高中英语单词)


• perfectly [´pə:fiktli] ad.理想地；完美地 (高中英语单词)


• exhibition [eksi´biʃ(ə)n] n.展览；显示；表演 (高中英语单词)


• probability [,prɔbə´biliti] n.或有；可能性 (高中英语单词)


• exposure [ik´spəuʒə] n.暴露；曝光(时间) (高中英语单词)


• outbreak [´autbreik] n.(战争等的)爆发 (高中英语单词)


• remedy [´remidi] n.药品 vt.医治；减轻 (高中英语单词)


• positively [´pɔzətivli] ad.确实；断然；绝对 (高中英语单词)


• charity [´tʃæriti] n.施舍；慈悲；博爱 (高中英语单词)


• preference [´prefərəns] n.优先选择；偏爱(物) (高中英语单词)


• fragrant [´freigrənt] a.芳香的，芬芳的 (高中英语单词)


• revelation [,revə´leiʃən] n.展现；揭露(的事物) (高中英语单词)


• divert [dai´və:t] vt.转移注意力；消遣 (高中英语单词)


• intensity [in´tensiti] a.激烈；强度；深度 (高中英语单词)


• nonsense [´nɔnsəns] n.胡说 int.胡说!废话 (高中英语单词)


• literally [´litərəli] ad.逐字地；实际上 (高中英语单词)


• appropriate [ə´prəupri-it, ə´prəuprieit] a.适宜的 vt.私占；拨给 (高中英语单词)


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


• delicacy [´delikəsi] n.精美；娇弱，微妙 (高中英语单词)


• fortify [´fɔ:tifai] vt.设防；加强；证实 (英语四级单词)


• compassion [kəm´pæʃən] n.同情；怜悯 (英语四级单词)


• lamentation [,læmen´teiʃən] n.悲痛，哀悼，痛哭 (英语四级单词)


• prodigious [prə´didʒəs] a.惊人的；巨大的 (英语四级单词)


• complication [,kɔmpli´keiʃən] n.复杂；混乱；纠纷 (英语四级单词)


• loveliness [´lʌvlinis] n.美丽，可爱 (英语四级单词)


• communion [kə´mju:niən] n.共享；交流；圣餐 (英语四级单词)


• recollect [rekə´lekt] v.重新集合；恢复 (英语四级单词)


• austere [ɔ´stiə] a.严峻(格)的；质朴的 (英语四级单词)


• immensely [i´mensli] ad.极大地，无限地 (英语四级单词)


• boldness [´bəuldnis] n.大胆；冒失；显著 (英语四级单词)


• modesty [´mɔdisti] n.谨慎；端庄；羞怯 (英语四级单词)


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


• decency [´di:sənsi] n.正派；体面 (英语六级单词)


• assured [ə´ʃuəd] a.确实的 n.被保险人 (英语六级单词)


• wanting [´wɔntiŋ, wɑ:n-] a.短缺的；不足的 (英语六级单词)


• subtlety [´sʌtlti] n.敏锐；巧妙；微妙 (英语六级单词)


• delusion [di´lu:ʒən] n.欺骗；幻觉；迷惑 (英语六级单词)


• invoke [in´vəuk] vt.调用，请求 (英语六级单词)


• lovable [´lʌvəbəl] a.可爱的 (英语六级单词)


• propriety [prə´praiəti] n.正当；合适；礼貌 (英语六级单词)


• flounder [´flaundə] vi.&n.挣扎；踌躇 (英语六级单词)


• vehemence [´vi:iməns] n.激烈，猛烈；热烈 (英语六级单词)