章节正文
sister. "I must go--to meet Ernest."
"If Ernest has as much sense as he showed this morning,"
returned her affectionate brother, " Ernest will go to his
Pullman and stay there. As I told you, the only sure way to
get anywhere is by railroad train."
When they passed through Bridgeport it was so late that the
electric lights of Fairview Avenue were just beginning to
sputter and glow in the twilight, and as they came along the
shore road into New Haven, the first car out of New Haven in
the race back to New York leaped at them with siren shrieks of
warning, and dancing, dazzling eyes. It passed like a thing
driven by the Furies; and before the Scarlet Car could swing
back into what had been an empty road, in swift pursuit of the
first came many more cars, with blinding searchlights, with a
roar of throbbing, thrashing engines, flying pebbles, and
whirling wheels. And behind these, stretching for a twisted
mile, came hundreds of others; until the road was aflame with
flashing Will-o'-the-wisps, dancing fireballs, and long,
shifting shafts of light.
Miss Forbes sat in front, beside Winthrop, and it pleased her
to imagine, as they bent forward, peering into the night, that
together they were facing so many fiery dragons, speeding to
give them battle, to grind them under their wheels. She felt
the elation of great speed, of imminent danger. Her blood
tingled with the air from the wind-swept harbor, with the rush
of the great engines, as by a handbreadth they plunged past
her. She knew they were driven by men and half-grown boys,
joyous with victory, piqued by defeat, reckless by one touch
too much of liquor, and that the young man at her side was
driving, not only for himself, but for them.
Each fraction of a second a dazzling light blinded him, and he
swerved to let the monster, with a hoarse, bellowing roar,
pass by, and then again swept his car into the road. And each
time for greater confidence she glanced up into his face.
Throughout the mishaps of the day he had been deeply concerned
for her comfort, sorry for her disappointment, under Brother
Sam's indignant ironies patient, and at all times gentle and
considerate. Now, in the light from the onrushing cars, she
noted his alert, laughing eyes, the broad shoulders bent
across the wheel, the lips smiling with excitement and in the
joy of controlling, with a turn of the wrist, a power equal to
sixty galloping horses. She found in his face much comfort.
And in the fact that for the moment her safety lay in his
hands, a sense of pleasure. That this was her feeling puzzled
and disturbed her, for to Ernest Peabody it seemed, in some
way, disloyal. And yet there it was. Of a certainty, there
was the secret pleasure in the thought that if they escaped
unhurt from the trap in which they found themselves, it would
be due to him. To herself she argued that if the chauffeur
were driving, her feeling would be the same, that it was the
nerve, the skill, and the coolness, not the man, that moved
her admiration. But in her heart she knew it would not be the
same.
At West Haven Green Winthrop turned out of the track of the
racing monsters into a quiet street leading to the railroad
station, and with a half-sigh, half-laugh, leaned back
comfortably.
"Those lights coming up suddenly make it hard to see," he
said.
"Hard to breathe," snorted Sam; "since that first car missed
us, I haven't drawn an honest breath. I held on so tight that
I squeezed the hair out of the cushions."
When they reached the railroad station, and Sam had finally
fought his way to the station master, that half-crazed
official informed him he had missed the departure of Mrs.
Taylor Holbrooke's car by just ten minutes.
Brother Sam reported this state of affairs to his companions.
"God knows we asked for the fish first," he said; "so now
we've done our duty by Ernest, who has shamefully deserted us,
and we can get something to eat, and go home at our leisure.
As I have always told you, the only way to travel
independently is in a touring-car."
At the New Haven House they bought three waiters, body and
soul, and, in spite of the fact that in the very next room the
team was breaking training, obtained an excellent but chaotic
dinner; and by eight they were on their way back to the big
city.
The night was grandly beautiful. The waters of the Sound
flashed in the light of a cold, clear moon, which showed them,
like pictures in silver print, the sleeping villages through
which they passed, the ancient elms, the low-roofed cottages,
the town hall facing the common. The post road was again
empty, and the car moved as steadily as a watch.
"Just because it knows we don't care now when we get there,"
said Brother Sam, "you couldn't make it break down with an
axe."
From the rear, where he sat with Fred, he announced he was
going to sleep, and asked that he be not awakened until the
car had crossed the State line between Connecticut and New
York. Winthrop doubted if he knew the State line of New York.
"It is where the advertisements for Besse Baker's twenty-seven
stores cease," said Sam drowsily, "and the billposters of
Ethel Barrymore begin."
In the front of the car the two young people spoke only at
intervals, but Winthrop had never been so widely alert, so
keenly happy, never before so conscious of her presence.
And it seemed as they glided through the mysterious moonlit
world of silent villages, shadowy woods, and wind-swept bays
and inlets, from which, as the car rattled over the planks of
the bridges, the wild duck rose in noisy circles, they alone
were awake and living.
The silence had lasted so long that it was as eloquent as
words. The young man turned his eyes timorously, and sought
those of the girl. What he felt was so strong in him that it
seemed incredible she should be ignorant of it. His eyes
searched the gray veil. In his voice there was both challenge
and pleading.
"`Shall be together,'" he quoted, "`breathe and ride. So, one
day more am I deified; who knows but the world may end
to-night?'"
The moonlight showed the girl's eyes shining through the veil,
and regarding him steadily.
"If you don't stop this car quick," she said, "the world
WILL end for all of us."
He shot a look ahead, and so suddenly threw on the brake that
Sam and the chauffeur tumbled awake. Across the road
stretched the great bulk of a touring-car, its lamps burning
dully in the brilliance of the moon. Around it, for greater
warmth, a half-dozen figures stamped upon the frozen ground,
and beat themselves with their arms. Sam and the chauffeur
vaulted into the road, and went toward them.
"It's what you say, and the way you say it," the girl
explained. She seemed to be continuing an argument. "It
makes it so very difficult for us to play together."
The young man clasped the wheel as though the force he were
holding in check were much greater than sixty horse-power.
"You are not married yet, are you?" he demanded.
The girl moved her head.
"And when you are married, there will probably be an altar
from which you will turn to walk back up the aisle?"
"Well?" said the girl.
"Well," he answered explosively, "until you turn away from that
altar, I do not recognize the right of any man to keep me
quiet, or your right either. Why should I be held by your
engagement? I was not consulted about it. I did not give my
consent, did I? I tell you, you are the only woman in the
world I will ever marry, and if you think I am going to keep
silent and watch some one else carry you off without making a
fight for you, you don't know me."
"If you go on," said the girl, "it will mean that I shall not
see you again."
"Then I will write letters to you."
"I will not read them," said the girl. The young man laughed
defiantly.
"Oh, yes, you will read them!" He pounded his gauntleted fist
on the rim of the wheel. "You mayn't answer them, but if I
can write the way I feel, I will bet you'll read them."
His voice changed suddenly, and he began to plead. It was as
though she were some masculine giant bullying a small boy.
"You are not fair to me," he protested. "I do not ask you to
be kind, I ask you to be fair. I am fighting for what means
more to me than anything in this world, and you won't even
listen. Why should I recognize any other men! All I
recognize is that _I_ am the man who loves you, that `I am the
man at your feet.' That is all I know, that I love you."
The girl moved as though with the cold, and turned her head
from him.
"I love you," repeated the young man.
The girl breathed like one who has been swimming under water,
but, when she spoke, her voice was calm and contained.
"Please!" she begged, "don't you see how unfair it is. I can't
go away; I HAVE to listen."
The young man pulled himself upright, and pressed his lips
together.
"I beg your pardon," he whispered.
There was for some time an unhappy silence, and then Winthrop
added bitterly: "Methinks the punishment exceeds the
offence."
"Do you think you make it easy for ME?" returned the girl.
She considered it most ungenerous of him to sit staring into
the moonlight, looking so miserable that it made her heart
ache to comfort him, and so extremely handsome that to do so
was quite impossible. She would have liked to reach out her
hand and lay it on his arm, and tell him she was sorry, but
she could not. He should not have looked so unnecessarily
handsome.
Sam came running toward them with five grizzly bears, who
balanced themselves apparently with some slight effort upon
their hind legs. The grizzly bears were properly presented
as: "Tommy Todd, of my class, and some more like him. And,"
continued Sam, "I am going to quit you two and go with them.
Tom's car broke down, but Fred fixed it, and both our cars can
travel together. Sort of convoy," he explained.
His sister signalled eagerly, but with equal eagerness he
retreated from her.
"Believe me," he assured her soothingly, "I am just as good a
chaperon fifty yards behind you, and wide awake, as I am in
the same car and fast asleep. And, besides, I want to hear
about the game. And, what's more, two cars are much safer
than one. Suppose you two break down in a lonely place?
We'll be right behind you to pick you up. You will keep
Winthrop's car in sight, won't you, Tommy?" he said.
The grizzly bear called Tommy, who had been examining the
Scarlet Car, answered doubtfully that the only way he could
keep it in sight was by tying a rope to it.
"That's all right, then," said Sam briskly, "Winthrop will go
slow."
So the Scarlet Car shot forward with sometimes the second car
so far in the rear that they could only faintly distinguish
the horn begging them to wait, and again it would follow so
close upon their wheels that they heard the five grizzly bears
"If Ernest has as much sense as he showed this morning,"
returned her affectionate brother, " Ernest will go to his
Pullman and stay there. As I told you, the only sure way to
get anywhere is by railroad train."
When they passed through Bridgeport it was so late that the
electric lights of Fairview Avenue were just beginning to
sputter and glow in the twilight, and as they came along the
shore road into New Haven, the first car out of New Haven in
the race back to New York leaped at them with siren shrieks of
warning, and dancing, dazzling eyes. It passed like a thing
driven by the Furies; and before the Scarlet Car could swing
back into what had been an empty road, in swift pursuit of the
first came many more cars, with blinding searchlights, with a
roar of throbbing, thrashing engines, flying pebbles, and
whirling wheels. And behind these, stretching for a twisted
mile, came hundreds of others; until the road was aflame with
flashing Will-o'-the-wisps, dancing fireballs, and long,
shifting shafts of light.
Miss Forbes sat in front, beside Winthrop, and it pleased her
to imagine, as they bent forward, peering into the night, that
together they were facing so many fiery dragons, speeding to
give them battle, to grind them under their wheels. She felt
the elation of great speed, of imminent danger. Her blood
tingled with the air from the wind-swept harbor, with the rush
of the great engines, as by a handbreadth they plunged past
her. She knew they were driven by men and half-grown boys,
joyous with victory, piqued by defeat, reckless by one touch
too much of liquor, and that the young man at her side was
driving, not only for himself, but for them.
Each fraction of a second a dazzling light blinded him, and he
swerved to let the monster, with a hoarse, bellowing roar,
pass by, and then again swept his car into the road. And each
time for greater confidence she glanced up into his face.
Throughout the mishaps of the day he had been deeply concerned
for her comfort, sorry for her disappointment, under Brother
Sam's indignant ironies patient, and at all times gentle and
considerate. Now, in the light from the onrushing cars, she
noted his alert, laughing eyes, the broad shoulders bent
across the wheel, the lips smiling with excitement and in the
joy of controlling, with a turn of the wrist, a power equal to
sixty galloping horses. She found in his face much comfort.
And in the fact that for the moment her safety lay in his
hands, a sense of pleasure. That this was her feeling puzzled
and disturbed her, for to Ernest Peabody it seemed, in some
way, disloyal. And yet there it was. Of a certainty, there
was the secret pleasure in the thought that if they escaped
unhurt from the trap in which they found themselves, it would
be due to him. To herself she argued that if the chauffeur
were driving, her feeling would be the same, that it was the
nerve, the skill, and the coolness, not the man, that moved
her admiration. But in her heart she knew it would not be the
same.
At West Haven Green Winthrop turned out of the track of the
racing monsters into a quiet street leading to the railroad
station, and with a half-sigh, half-laugh, leaned back
comfortably.
"Those lights coming up suddenly make it hard to see," he
said.
"Hard to breathe," snorted Sam; "since that first car missed
us, I haven't drawn an honest breath. I held on so tight that
I squeezed the hair out of the cushions."
When they reached the railroad station, and Sam had finally
fought his way to the station master, that half-crazed
official informed him he had missed the departure of Mrs.
Taylor Holbrooke's car by just ten minutes.
Brother Sam reported this state of affairs to his companions.
"God knows we asked for the fish first," he said; "so now
we've done our duty by Ernest, who has shamefully deserted us,
and we can get something to eat, and go home at our leisure.
As I have always told you, the only way to travel
independently is in a touring-car."
At the New Haven House they bought three waiters, body and
soul, and, in spite of the fact that in the very next room the
team was breaking training, obtained an excellent but chaotic
dinner; and by eight they were on their way back to the big
city.
The night was grandly beautiful. The waters of the Sound
flashed in the light of a cold, clear moon, which showed them,
like pictures in silver print, the sleeping villages through
which they passed, the ancient elms, the low-roofed cottages,
the town hall facing the common. The post road was again
empty, and the car moved as steadily as a watch.
"Just because it knows we don't care now when we get there,"
said Brother Sam, "you couldn't make it break down with an
axe."
From the rear, where he sat with Fred, he announced he was
going to sleep, and asked that he be not awakened until the
car had crossed the State line between Connecticut and New
York. Winthrop doubted if he knew the State line of New York.
"It is where the advertisements for Besse Baker's twenty-seven
stores cease," said Sam drowsily, "and the billposters of
Ethel Barrymore begin."
In the front of the car the two young people spoke only at
intervals, but Winthrop had never been so widely alert, so
keenly happy, never before so conscious of her presence.
And it seemed as they glided through the mysterious moonlit
world of silent villages, shadowy woods, and wind-swept bays
and inlets, from which, as the car rattled over the planks of
the bridges, the wild duck rose in noisy circles, they alone
were awake and living.
The silence had lasted so long that it was as eloquent as
words. The young man turned his eyes timorously, and sought
those of the girl. What he felt was so strong in him that it
seemed incredible she should be ignorant of it. His eyes
searched the gray veil. In his voice there was both challenge
and pleading.
"`Shall be together,'" he quoted, "`breathe and ride. So, one
day more am I deified; who knows but the world may end
to-night?'"
The moonlight showed the girl's eyes shining through the veil,
and regarding him steadily.
"If you don't stop this car quick," she said, "the world
WILL end for all of us."
He shot a look ahead, and so suddenly threw on the brake that
Sam and the chauffeur tumbled awake. Across the road
stretched the great bulk of a touring-car, its lamps burning
dully in the brilliance of the moon. Around it, for greater
warmth, a half-dozen figures stamped upon the frozen ground,
and beat themselves with their arms. Sam and the chauffeur
vaulted into the road, and went toward them.
"It's what you say, and the way you say it," the girl
explained. She seemed to be continuing an argument. "It
makes it so very difficult for us to play together."
The young man clasped the wheel as though the force he were
holding in check were much greater than sixty horse-power.
"You are not married yet, are you?" he demanded.
The girl moved her head.
"And when you are married, there will probably be an altar
from which you will turn to walk back up the aisle?"
"Well?" said the girl.
"Well," he answered explosively, "until you turn away from that
altar, I do not recognize the right of any man to keep me
quiet, or your right either. Why should I be held by your
engagement? I was not consulted about it. I did not give my
consent, did I? I tell you, you are the only woman in the
world I will ever marry, and if you think I am going to keep
silent and watch some one else carry you off without making a
fight for you, you don't know me."
"If you go on," said the girl, "it will mean that I shall not
see you again."
"Then I will write letters to you."
"I will not read them," said the girl. The young man laughed
defiantly.
"Oh, yes, you will read them!" He pounded his gauntleted fist
on the rim of the wheel. "You mayn't answer them, but if I
can write the way I feel, I will bet you'll read them."
His voice changed suddenly, and he began to plead. It was as
though she were some masculine giant bullying a small boy.
"You are not fair to me," he protested. "I do not ask you to
be kind, I ask you to be fair. I am fighting for what means
more to me than anything in this world, and you won't even
listen. Why should I recognize any other men! All I
recognize is that _I_ am the man who loves you, that `I am the
man at your feet.' That is all I know, that I love you."
The girl moved as though with the cold, and turned her head
from him.
"I love you," repeated the young man.
The girl breathed like one who has been swimming under water,
but, when she spoke, her voice was calm and contained.
"Please!" she begged, "don't you see how unfair it is. I can't
go away; I HAVE to listen."
The young man pulled himself upright, and pressed his lips
together.
"I beg your pardon," he whispered.
There was for some time an unhappy silence, and then Winthrop
added bitterly: "Methinks the punishment exceeds the
offence."
"Do you think you make it easy for ME?" returned the girl.
She considered it most ungenerous of him to sit staring into
the moonlight, looking so miserable that it made her heart
ache to comfort him, and so extremely handsome that to do so
was quite impossible. She would have liked to reach out her
hand and lay it on his arm, and tell him she was sorry, but
she could not. He should not have looked so unnecessarily
handsome.
Sam came running toward them with five grizzly bears, who
balanced themselves apparently with some slight effort upon
their hind legs. The grizzly bears were properly presented
as: "Tommy Todd, of my class, and some more like him. And,"
continued Sam, "I am going to quit you two and go with them.
Tom's car broke down, but Fred fixed it, and both our cars can
travel together. Sort of convoy," he explained.
His sister signalled eagerly, but with equal eagerness he
retreated from her.
"Believe me," he assured her soothingly, "I am just as good a
chaperon fifty yards behind you, and wide awake, as I am in
the same car and fast asleep. And, besides, I want to hear
about the game. And, what's more, two cars are much safer
than one. Suppose you two break down in a lonely place?
We'll be right behind you to pick you up. You will keep
Winthrop's car in sight, won't you, Tommy?" he said.
The grizzly bear called Tommy, who had been examining the
Scarlet Car, answered doubtfully that the only way he could
keep it in sight was by tying a rope to it.
"That's all right, then," said Sam briskly, "Winthrop will go
slow."
So the Scarlet Car shot forward with sometimes the second car
so far in the rear that they could only faintly distinguish
the horn begging them to wait, and again it would follow so
close upon their wheels that they heard the five grizzly bears
- anywhere [´eniweə]
ad.无论何处；任何地方 (初中英语单词) - beginning [bi´giniŋ] n.开始，开端；起源 (初中英语单词)
- twilight [´twailait] n.黎明；黄昏 (初中英语单词)
- scarlet [´skɑ:lit] n.猩红色 a.猩红的 (初中英语单词)
- pursuit [pə´sju:t] n.追踪；追击；事务 (初中英语单词)
- driven [´driv(ə)n] drive 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- victory [´viktəri] n.胜利，战胜 (初中英语单词)
- liquor [´likə] n.酒类；(溶)液 (初中英语单词)
- monster [´mɔnstə] n.怪物 a.大得异常的 (初中英语单词)
- disappointment [,disə´pɔintmənt] n.失望；挫折 (初中英语单词)
- excitement [ik´saitmənt] n.兴奋；骚动；煽动 (初中英语单词)
- admiration [,ædmə´reiʃən] n.赞赏，钦佩 (初中英语单词)
- breath [breθ] n.呼吸；气息 (初中英语单词)
- departure [di´pɑ:tʃə] n.离开，出发 (初中英语单词)
- sleeping [´sli:piŋ] n.&a.睡着(的) (初中英语单词)
- steadily [´stedili] ad.坚定地；不断地 (初中英语单词)
- conscious [´kɔnʃəs] a.意识的；自觉的 (初中英语单词)
- mysterious [mi´stiəriəs] a.神秘的；难以理解的 (初中英语单词)
- ignorant [´ignərənt] a.无知的，愚昧的 (初中英语单词)
- moonlight [´mu:nlait] n.&a.月光(的) (初中英语单词)
- frozen [´frəuzn] freeze 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- argument [´ɑ:gjumənt] n.辩论；争论；论证 (初中英语单词)
- unhappy [ʌn´hæpi] a.不幸的；不快乐的 (初中英语单词)
- bitterly [´bitəli] ad.悲痛地；憎恨地 (初中英语单词)
- punishment [´pʌniʃmənt] n.罚，刑罚 (初中英语单词)
- miserable [´mizərəbəl] a.悲惨的；可怜的 (初中英语单词)
- extremely [ik´stri:mli] ad.极端地；非常地 (初中英语单词)
- running [´rʌniŋ] a.奔跑的；流动的 (初中英语单词)
- properly [´prɔpəli] ad.适当地；严格地 (初中英语单词)
- eagerly [´i:gəli] ad.渴望地，急切地 (初中英语单词)
- lonely [´ləunli] a.孤独的；无人烟的 (初中英语单词)
- affectionate [ə´fekʃənit] a.亲爱的 (高中英语单词)
- reckless [´rekləs] a.不注意的；鲁莽的 (高中英语单词)
- fraction [´frækʃən] n.小部分；一点儿 (高中英语单词)
- certainty [´sə:tənti] n.确实(性)；确信 (高中英语单词)
- shadowy [´ʃædəui] a.有阴影的；模糊的 (高中英语单词)
- incredible [in´kredəbəl] a.不能相信的；惊人的 (高中英语单词)
- regarding [ri´gɑ:diŋ] prep.关于 (高中英语单词)
- repeated [ri´pi:tid] a.反复的；重复的 (高中英语单词)
- upright [´ʌprait] a.直立的 ad.直立地 (高中英语单词)
- grizzly [´grizli] a.灰(白)色的，灰白的 (高中英语单词)
- apparently [ə´pærəntli] ad.显然，表面上地 (高中英语单词)
- eagerness [´i:gənis] n.渴望；热忱 (高中英语单词)
- faintly [´feintli] ad.微弱地，软弱无力的 (高中英语单词)
- hoarse [hɔ:s] a.嘶哑的；嗓门粗哑的 (英语四级单词)
- indignant [in´dignənt] a.义愤的，愤慨的 (英语四级单词)
- eloquent [´eləkwənt] a.流利的；雄辩的 (英语四级单词)
- chauffeur [´ʃəufə,ʃeu´fə:] n.(汽车)司机 (英语四级单词)
- masculine [´mæ:skjulin] a.男性的 n.男子 (英语四级单词)
- unfair [ʌn´feə] a.不公平的；不正直的 (英语四级单词)
- briskly [´briskli] ad.轻快地；活泼地 (英语四级单词)
- imminent [´iminənt] a.临头的，逼近的 (英语六级单词)
- coolness [´ku:lnis] n.凉，凉爽；冷静 (英语六级单词)
- brilliance [´briljəns] n.光辉，辉煌 (英语六级单词)
- assured [ə´ʃuəd] a.确实的 n.被保险人 (英语六级单词)
- doubtfully [´dautfuli] ad.怀疑地，可疑地 (英语六级单词)
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章节正文
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