第20章

类别:其他 作者:Willa Cather字数:4014更新时间:18/12/26 16:55:51
Thetrainwhistled。Theconductorcamein,smilingnotunkindly。 “Well,youngman,whatareyougoingtodo?WestopatRedOakinthreeminutes。“ “Yes,thankyou。I’llletyouknow。“Theconductorwentout,andtheboydoubledupwithmisery。Hecouldn’tlethisonechancegolikethis。HefeltforhisbreastpocketandcrackledNils’ lettertogivehimcourage。Hedidn’twantNilstobeashamedofhim。Thetrainstopped。Suddenlyherememberedhisbrother’skind,twinklingeyes,thatalwayslookedatyouasiffromfaraway。Thelumpinhisthroatsoftened。“Ah,butNils,Nilswouldunderstand!“hethought。“That’sjustitaboutNils;healwaysunderstands。“ Alank,paleboywithacanvastelescopestumbledoffthetraintotheRedOaksiding,justastheconductorcalled,“Allaboard!“ ThenextnightMrs。Ericsonwassittingaloneinherwoodenrocking-chaironthefrontporch。LittleHildahadbeensenttobedandhadcriedherselftosleep。Theoldwoman’sknittingwasonherlap,butherhandslaymotionlessontopofit。Formorethananhourshehadnotmovedamuscle。Shesimplysat,asonlytheEricsonsandthemountainscansit。Thehousewasdark,andtherewasnosoundbutthecroakingofthefrogsdowninthepondofthelittlepasture。 Ericdidnotcomehomebytheroad,butacrossthefields,wherenoonecouldseehim。Hesethistelescopedownsoftlyinthekitchenshed,andslippednoiselesslyalongthepathtothefrontporch。Hesatdownonthestepwithoutsayinganything。 Mrs。Ericsonmadenosign,andthefrogscroakedon。Atlasttheboyspoketimidly。 “I’vecomeback,Mother。“ “Verywell,“saidMrs。Ericson。 Ericleanedoverandpickedupalittlestickoutofthegrass。 “Howaboutthemilking?“hefaltered。 “That’sbeendone,hoursago。“ “Whodidyouget?“ “Get?Ididitmyself。Icanmilkasgoodasanyofyou。“ Ericslidalongthestepnearertoher。“Oh,Mother,whydidyou?“ heaskedsorrowfully。“Whydidn’tyougetoneofOtto’sboys?“ “Ididn’twantanybodytoknowIwasinneedofaboy,“saidMrs。Ericsonbitterly。Shelookedstraightinfrontofherandhermouthtightened。“Ialwaysmeanttogiveyouthehomefarm,“sheadded。 Theboystaredandslidcloser。“Oh,Mother,“hefaltered,“I don’tcareaboutthefarm。IcamebackbecauseIthoughtyoumightbeneedingme,maybe。“Hehunghisheadandgotnofurther。 “Verywell,“saidMrs。Ericson。Herhandwentoutfromhersuddenlyandrestedonhishead。Herfingerstwinedthemselvesinhissoft,palehair。Histearssplasheddownontheboards; happinessfilledhisheart。 EndTheTrollGardenFlaviaandHerArtistsAsthetrainnearedTarrytown,ImogenWillardbegantowonderwhyshehadconsentedtobeoneofFlavia’shousepartyatall。Shehadnotfeltenthusiasticaboutitsinceleavingthecity,andwasexperiencingaprolongedebbofpurpose,acurrentofchillingindecision,underwhichshevainlysoughtforthemotivewhichhadinducedhertoacceptFlavia’sinvitation。 PerhapsitwasavaguecuriositytoseeFlavia’shusband,whohadbeenthemagicianofherchildhoodandtheheroofinnumerableArabianfairytales。PerhapsitwasadesiretoseeM。Roux,whomFlaviahadannouncedastheespecialattractionoftheoccasion。Perhapsitwasawishtostudythatremarkablewomaninherownsetting。 ImogenadmittedamildcuriosityconcerningFlavia。Shewasinthehabitoftakingpeopleratherseriously,butsomehowfounditimpossibletotakeFlaviaso,becauseoftheveryvehemenceandinsistencewithwhichFlaviademandedit。Submergedinherstudies,Imogenhad,oflateyears,seenverylittleofFlavia; butFlavia,inherhurriedvisitstoNewYork,betweenherexcursionsfromstudiotostudio——herluncheonswiththisladywhohadtoplayatamatinee,andherdinnerswiththatsingerwhohadaneveningconcert——hadseenenoughofherfriend’shandsomedaughtertoconceiveforheraninclinationofsuchviolenceandassuranceasonlyFlaviacouldafford。ThefactthatImogenhadshownrathermarkedcapacityincertainesotericlinesofscholarship,andhaddecidedtospecializeinawell- soundingbranchofphilologyattheEcoledesChartes,hadfairlyplacedherinthatcategoryof“interestingpeople“whomFlaviaconsideredhernaturalaffinities,andlawfulprey。 WhenImogensteppeduponthestationplatformshewasimmediatelyappropriatedbyherhostess,whosecommandingfigureandassuranceofattireshehadrecognizedfromadistance。ShewashurriedintoahightilburyandFlavia,takingthedriver’scushionbesideher,gatheredupthereinswithanexperiencedhand。 “Mydeargirl,“sheremarked,assheturnedthehorsesupthestreet,“Iwasafraidthetrainmightbelate。M。Rouxinsisteduponcomingupbyboatanddidnotarriveuntilafterseven。“ “TothinkofM。Roux’sbeinginthispartoftheworldatall,andsubjecttothevicissitudesofriverboats!Whyintheworlddidhecomeover?“queriedImogenwithlivelyinterest。 “HeisthesortofmanwhomustdissolveandbecomeashadowoutsideofParis。“ “Oh,wehaveahousefulofthemostinterestingpeople,“ saidFlavia,professionally。“WehaveactuallymanagedtogetIvanSchemetzkin。HewasillinCaliforniaatthecloseofhisconcerttour,youknow,andheisrecuperatingwithus,afterhiswearingjourneyfromthecoast。ThenthereisJulesMartel,thepainter;SignorDonati,thetenor;ProfessorSchotte,whohasdugupAssyria,youknow;Restzhoff,theRussianchemist;AlceeBuisson,thephilologist;FrankWellington,thenovelist;andWillMaidenwood,theeditorofWoman。Thenthereismysecondcousin,JemimaBroadwood,whomadesuchahitinPinero’scomedylastwinter,andFrauLichtenfeld。Haveyoureadher?“ ImogenconfessedherutterignoranceofFrauLichtenfeld,andFlaviawenton。 “Well,sheisamostremarkableperson;oneofthoseadvancedGermanwomen,amilitanticonoclast,andthisdrivewillnotbelongenoughtopermitofmytellingyouherhistory。Suchastory!HernovelswerethetalkofallGermanywhenIwastherelast,andseveralofthemhavebeensuppressed——anhonorinGermany,Iunderstand。’AtWhoseDoor’hasbeentranslated。I amsounfortunateasnottoreadGerman。“ “I’mallexcitementattheprospectofmeetingMissBroadwood,“saidImogen。“I’veseenherinnearlyeverythingshedoes。Herstagepersonalityisdelightful。Shealwaysremindsmeofanice,clean,pink-and-whiteboywhohasjusthadhiscoldbath,andcomedownallaglowforarunbeforebreakfast。“ “Yes,butisn’titunfortunatethatshewilllimitherselftothoseminorcomedypartsthataresolittleappreciatedinthiscountry?Oneoughttobesatisfiedwithnothinglessthanthebest,oughtone?“Thepeculiar,breathytoneinwhichFlaviaalwaysutteredthatword“best,“themostworninhervocabulary,alwaysjarredonImogenandalwaysmadeherobdurate。 “Idon’tatallagreewithyou,“shesaidreservedly。“I thoughteveryoneadmittedthatthemostremarkablethingaboutMissBroadwoodisheradmirablesenseoffitness,whichisrareenoughinherprofession。“ Flaviacouldnotendurebeingcontradicted;shealwaysseemedtoregarditinthelightofadefeat,andusuallycoloredunbecomingly。Nowshechangedthesubject。 “Look,mydear,“shecried,“thereisFrauLichtenfeldnow,comingtomeetus。Doesn’tshelookasifshehadjustescapedoutofValhalla?Sheisactuallyoversixfeet。“ Imogensawawomanofimmensestature,inaveryshortskirtandabroad,flappingsunhat,stridingdownthehillsideatalong,swinginggait。TherefugeefromValhallaapproached,panting。Herheavy,Teutonicfeatureswerescarletfromtherigorofherexercise,andherhair,underherflappingsunhat,wastightlybefrizzledaboutherbrow。ShefixedhersharplittleevesuponImogenandextendedbothherhands。 “Sothisisthelittlefriend?“shecried,inarollingbaritone。 Imogenwasquiteastallasherhostess;buteverything,shereflected,iscomparative。AftertheintroductionFlaviaapologized。 “IwishIcouldaskyoutodriveupwithus,FrauLichtenfeld。“ “Ah,no!“criedthegiantess,droopingherheadinhumorouscaricatureofatime-honoredposeoftheheroinesofsentimentalromances。“Ithasneverbeenmyfatetobefittedintocorners。 Ihaveneverknownthesweetprivilegesofthetiny。“ Laughing,Flaviastartedtheponies,andthecolossalwoman,standinginthemiddleofthedustyroad,tookoffherwidehatandwavedthemafarewellwhich,inscopeofgesture,recalledthesaluteofaplumedcavalier。 Whentheyarrivedatthehouse,Imogenlookedaboutherwithkeencuriosity,forthiswasveritablytheworkofFlavia’shands,thematerializationofhopeslongdeferred。Theypasseddirectlyintoalarge,squarehallwithagalleryonthreesides,studiofashion。ThisopenedatoneendintoaDutchbreakfastroom,beyondwhichwasthelargediningroom。Attheotherendofthehallwasthemusicroom。Therewasasmokingroom,whichoneenteredthroughthelibrarybehindthestaircase。Onthesecondfloortherewasthesamegeneralarrangement:asquarehall,and,openingfromit,theguestchambers,or,asMissBroadwoodtermedthem,the“cages。“