第4章

类别:其他 作者:Joseph Crosby Lincoln字数:8988更新时间:19/01/07 14:40:51
\"Tellhimtocallatmyhousenexttimeyouseehim。Andforheaven’ssaketellhimtocometotheservants’door。Don’tyoupeopledownherehaveanyservants’doorstoyourhouses?Therehavebeennolessthanfiftypeddlersonmyporchsinceyesterdayandmybutlerwilldieofapoplexyifitkeepson。He’sagoodone,forawonder,andIdon’twanttolosehim。\" Imadenoreplytothisobservationandhedidnotseemtoexpectany。HewatchedZebrakeforamomentandthenheturnedbacktome。 \"Canyoucomeovertomyhousenow?\"heasked。 IwasnotexpectingthisandagainIdidnothaveananswerready。 \"Canyou?\"hewenton。\"I’vegotabusinessdealtomakewithyouandI’drathermakeitthere。I’vegotalotofcarpentersandpaintersatworkandtheyaskmetenquestionsaminute。TheyareunnecessaryquestionsbutifIdon’tanswerthemthefellowsaresuretomakesomefoolmistakeorother。Theyneedagoverness。 Ifyou’llcomeoverwithmeI’llbeintouchwiththemandyouandIcantalkjustaswell。Cancome,can’tyou?\" Ididnotknowwhattosay。Iwantedtosayno,thatifhehadanybusinesswithmeitcouldbediscussedinthatboathouse。Ididnotlikehismanner,yetIhadafeelingthatitwashisusualoneandthathehadnotmeanttoberude。AndIcouldthinkofnogoodreasonfornotgoingwithhim。 \"Youcancome,can’tyou?\"herepeated。 \"IsupposeIcan。But——\" \"Ofcourseifyou’retoobusytoleave——\" IrememberedthepositionhehadfoundmeinandIratherthinkI hadturnedred。Hedidnotsmile,buttherewasasortofgrimtwinkleinhiseyes。 \"I’llcome,\"Isaid。 \"Muchobliged。Iwon’tkeepyoulong。Comeon。\" HeledthewayandIfollowed,rebellious,andangry,notsomuchwithhimaswithmyself。IwishednowthatIhadgoneovertotheColtonplacewhenIfirstreceivedthesummonstocourt,insteadofmakingproclamationsofdefiancetomotherandLuteRogers。Thisseemedsuchacompletebackdown。AswepassedthehouseIsawLutepeeringfromthebarn。Idevoutlyhopedhemightnotseeme,buthedid。Hismouthopenedandhestared。Then,catchingmyeye,hewinkedtriumphantly。Iwantedtopunchhishead。 TheKingofNewYorkwalkedbrisklyoninsilenceuntilwewerejustattheedgeofthegrovebytheShoreLane。Thenhestoppedandturnedtome。 \"Youownallthisland,don’tyou?\"heasked。 \"Yes。\" \"Humph!Getagoodviewfromhere。\" Iadmittedthattheviewwasgood。Atthatparticularpointitembracednearlythewholeofthebayinfront,andalargeportionofthevillageattheside。 Hewavedhishandtowardtheclusterofhouses。 \"Thereareeighteenhundredpeopleinthistown,theytellme,\"hesaid。\"Permanentresidents,Imean。Whatdotheyalldo?\" \"Do?\" \"Yes。Howdotheygetaliving?Theymustgetitsomehow。Intheregularsummerresortstheysqueezeitoutofthecitypeople,I knowthat。Buttherearen’tsomanycottagersandboardershere。 Whatdoyoualldoforaliving?\" ItoldhimthatmostofmasculineDenborofishedorfarmedorkeptstore。 \"Whichdoyoudo?\"heasked。\"Yousaidyouweren’taboat—builder。\" \"I’mnotdoinganythingatpresent,\"Ireplied,shortly。 \"Outofajob?\" \"Youmightcallitthat。Isthisapartofthebusinessyouwishedtoseemeabout,Mr。Colton?\" Iwasboilinginwardlyandalittleoftheheatwasexpressedinmytone。Idon’tknowwhetherhetookthehintormerelylostinterestinthesubject。Atanyratehisreplywasabrief\"No,\" andwecontinuedourwalk。 AswereachedtheShoreLanehepausedagain,andIthoughthewasabouttospeak。Hedidnot,however,andwecrossedtheboundarylineofmypropertyandenteredtheColtongrounds。AswedrewnearertothehouseIwassurprisedtoseehowlargeitwas。WhentheAtwatersowneditIwasanoccasionalcallerthere,foroldMajorAtwaterwasfondofshootingandsometimesborrowedmydecoys。But,sinceitchangedhands,IhadnotbeennearertoitthantheLane。Withthenewwingandtheotheradditionsitwasenormous。Itfairlyreekedofmoney,though,sofarasIwasajudge,thetasteshowninrebuildinganddecoratingwasgood。Weturnedthecorner,whereAsaPeters,theheadcarpenter,camehurryingup。Asalookedsurprisedenoughtoseemeincompanywithhisemployerandregardedmewonderingly。\"Mr。Colton,\"hesaid,\"Iwantedtoaskyouaboutthemskylights。\"Isteppedbackoutofhearing,butIinferredfromColton’sactionsthatthequestionwasanotheroneofthe\"unnecessary\"oneshehadsoscornfullyreferredtointheboathouse。 \"Jackass!\"heexclaimed,asherejoinedme。IjudgedhewasclassifyingAsa,but,ifso,hedidnottroubletolowerhisvoice。 \"Comeon,Paine,\"headded,andwepassedalonglineofwindows,hungwithcostlycurtains,andsteppeduponahandsomeColonialporticobeforetwobigdoors。 Thedoorswereopenedbyanimposingpersonageindarkblueandbrassbuttons,whobowedprofoundlybeforeColtonandregardedmewithcondescendingsuperiority。Thispersonage,whomIrecognized,fromAlvin’sdescription,asthe\"minister—lookin’\"butler,ledusthroughahallaboutaslargeasoursitting—room,dining—roomandkitchencombined,butbearingnootherresemblancetotheseapartments,andopenedanotherdoor,throughwhich,bowingoncemore,heusheredus。Thenheclosedthedoor,leavinghimself,tomyrelief,outside。IthadbeenalongtimesinceIwaswaiteduponbyabutlerandIfoundthisspecimenratheroverpowering。 Theroomwewereinwasthelibrary,and,thoughitwasbiggerandfarmoresumptuousthanthelibraryIrememberedsowellasaboy,thesightofthebooksintheircasesalongthewallsgavemeafeelingalmostofhomesickness。Myresentmentagainstmymillionaireneighborincreased。Whyshouldheandhishaveeverything,andtherestofusbedeprivedofthelittleweoncehad? Coltonseatedhimselfinaleatherupholsteredchairandwavedhishandtowardanother。 \"Sitdown,\"hesaid。Hetookacigarfromhispocket。\"Smoke?\"heasked。 Iwasaconfirmedsmoker,butIwasnotgoingtosmokeoneofhiscigars——notthen。 \"Nothankyou,\"saidI。Hedidnotcommentonmyrefusal,butlitthecigarhimself,fromthestumpofhisformerone。Thenhecrossedhislegsandproceeded,withcharacteristicabruptness,tohissubject。 \"Paine,\"hebegan,\"youownthislandnexttome,yousay。Yourpropertyendsatthefencethissideofthatroadwejustcrossed,doesn’tit?\" \"Itendswhereyoursbegins,\"Iannounced。 \"Yes。Justthissideofthatroad。\" \"OftheShoreLane。Itisn’taroadexactly。\" \"Idon’tcarewhatyoucallit。Roadorlaneorcow—path。Itendsthere?\" \"Yes。\" \"AnditISyourland?Itbelongstoyou,personally,allofit,freeandclear?\" \"Why——yes;itdoes。\"Icouldnotseewhatbusinessofhismyownershipofthatlandmightbe。 \"Allright。Iaskedthatbecause,ifitwasn’tyours,ifitwastiedupormortgagedinanyway,itmightcomplicatematters。Butitisn’t。\" \"No。\" \"Good!Thenwecangetdowntobrasstacksandsavetime。Iwantapieceofthatland。\" Ilookedathim。 \"Youwant——?\"Irepeated,slowly。 \"Iwantastripofyourland。Wanttobuyit,ofcourse。Idon’texpectyoutogiveittome。What’sitworth,bytheacre,say?\" Ididnotanswer。AllatonceIwasbeginningtoseealight。 CaptainJedDean’smysteriousconversationatthepost—officewasbeginningtolosesomeofitsmystery。 \"Well?\"askedColton,impatiently。Then,withoutwaitinglonger,headded: \"Bytheway,beforeyounameafigure,answermeonemorequestion。 Thatroad——orlane,orwhateveritis——thatisyours,too?Doesn’tbelongtothetown?\" Thelightwasgrowingmorebrilliant。Icouldseebreakersahead。 \"No,\"Ireplied,slowly。\"Itisaprivateway。Itbelongstome。\" \"Good!Well,what’sthatlandofyoursworthbytheacre?\" Ishookmyhead。\"Iscarcelyknow,\"Isaid。\"I’veneverfigureditthatway。\" \"Idon’tcarehowyoufigureit。Here,let’sgetdowntoabusinessproposition。IwanttobuyastripofthatlandfromtheLowerRoad——that’swhatyoucalltheoneabovehere,isn’tit?——tothebeach。ThestripIwantisaboutthreehundredfeetwide,foraguess。Itextendsfrommyfencetotheothersideofthatgrovebythebluff。Whatwillyousellitfor?\" Thebreakerswerecloseaboard。However,Idodgedthemmomentarily。 \"Whydoyouwanttobuy?\"Iasked。 \"Forreasons。\" \"Ishouldthinkyouhadlandenoughalready。\" \"IthoughtIhad,butitseemsIhaven’t。Well,what’syourpriceforthatstrip?\" \"Mr。Colton,I——I’mafraid——\" \"Nevermindthat。Isupposeyou’reafraidyou’llmakethepricetoolow。Now,seehere,I’mabusyman。Ihaven’ttimetodoanybargaining。Nameyourpriceand,ifit’sanywherewithinreason,wewon’thaggle。Iexpecttopaymorethananyoneelsewould。 That’spartofmyfineforbeingacitymanandnotanative。Gad! theprivilegeisworththemoney。I’llpaythefine。What’stheprice?\" \"Butwhydoyouwanttobuy?\" \"Forreasonsofmyown,Itellyou。Theyhaven’tanythingtodowithyourselling。\" \"I’mnotsosure。\" \"Whatdoyoumeanbythat?\" \"ThatstriptakesintheShoreLane,Mr。Colton。\" \"Iknowit。\" \"And,ifyoubuy,IpresumetheLanewillbeclosed。\" Helookedatme,surprised,and,Ithought,alittleannoyed。 \"Well?\"hesaid;\"supposeitis?\" \"Butitwillbe,won’tit?\" \"Youbetyourlifeitwill!Whatofit?\" \"ThenIdon’tknowthatIcaretosell。\" Heleanedbackinhischair。 \"Youdon’tcaretosell!\"herepeated,slowly。\"Whatthedevildoyoumeanbythat?\" \"WhatIsaid。And,besides,Mr。Colton,I——\" Heinterruptedme。 \"Whydon’tyoucaretosell?\"hedemanded。\"Thelandisnogoodtoyou,isit?\" \"Notmuch。No。\" \"Humph!Areyousorichthatyou’vegotallthemoneyyouwant?\" Iwasangryallthrough。Irosefrommychair。 \"Goodday,Mr。Colton,\"Isaid。 \"Here!\"heshouted。\"Holdon!Whereareyougoing?\" \"Ican’tseethatthereisanyuseofourtalkingfurther。\" \"Nouse?Why——There!there!sitdown。It’snoneofmybusinesshowrichyouare,andIbegyourpardon。Sitdown。Sitdown,man,Itellyou!\" Isatdown,reluctantly。Hethrewhiscigar,whichhadgoneout,intothefireplaceandlitanother。 \"Say,\"hesaid,\"yousurpriseme,Paine。Whatdoyoumeanbysayingyouwon’tsellthatland?Youdon’tknowwhatI’llpayforityet。\" \"No,Idon’t。\" \"Thenhowdoyouknowyouwon’tsellit?Ineverhadanythingyet—— exceptmywifeandfamily——thatIwouldn’tsellforaprice。Lookhere!Ihaven’tgottimetodoanyDown—Easthorse—jockeying。I’llmakeyouanoffer。I’llgiveyoufivehundreddollarscashforthatstripofland。Whatdoyousay?\" Ididn’tsayanything。Fivehundreddollarswasagenerousoffer。 Icouldn’thelpthinkingwhatMotherandImightdowiththatfivehundreddollars。 \"Whatdoyousay?\"herepeated。 Ianswered,Yankeefashion,withanotherquestion。\"Mr。Colton,\"I asked,\"whydoyouwanttoclosethatShoreLane?\" \"BecauseIdo。WhatdifferencedoesitmaketoyouwhyIwanttocloseit?\" \"ThatLanehasbeenusedbyDenboropeopleforyears。Itisalmostapublicnecessity。\" Hepuffedtwiceonhiscigarbeforehespokeagain。Whenhediditwasinadifferenttone。 \"Isee,\"hesaid。\"Humph!Isee。Paine,doesthetownpayyourentfortheuseofthatroad?\" \"No。\" \"Hasitbeenbiddingtobuyit?\" \"No。\" \"Isanyoneelseafterit?\" \"No—o。Ithinknot。But——\" \"YouTHINKnot。Thatmeansyou’renotsure。You’vehadabitesomewhere。Somebodyhasbeennibblingatyourhook。Well,they’vegottobitequickandswallowsometogetaheadofme。IwantthatroadclosedandI’mgoingtohaveitclosed,soonerorlater。I’dpreferitsooner。\" \"Butwhydoyouwanttocloseit?\" Beforehecouldanswertherecameaknockatthedoor。Thebutlerappeared。 \"Ibegyourpardon,sir——\"hebegan。Hismastercuthimshort。 \"Tell’emtowait,\"heordered。\"Ican’tseeanyonenow,Johnson。 Ifitisthatdamnedcarpenterhecanwait。\" \"Itisn’tthecarpenter,sir,\"explainedJohnson。\"It’sMrs。 Colton,sir。Shewishestoknowifyouhaveboughtthatroad。Shesaysthreeofthose’orridfishcartshavegonebyinthelasthour,sir,andtheyaremakingherverynervous。That’sall,sir。\" \"TellherI’veboughtit,\"snappedtheheadofthehouse。\"Getout。\" Thebutlerobeyedorders。Coltonturnedtome。 \"Youheardthat,Paine,\"hesaid。\"That’smyreason,theprincipalone。IboughtthisplaceprincipallyonaccountofMrs。Colton’shealth。Thedoctorssaidsheneededquietandrest。Ithoughtshecouldhavethemhere——Godknowstheplacelookedforsakenenough—— butitappearsshecan’t。WheneversheorIsitontheverandaoratawindowwehavetowatchaprocessionofjaysdrivingsmellyfishcartsthroughthatlaneofyours,orbestaredatbyagangofcountrymenhangingoverthefence。It’sanuisance。Itisbadenoughformeormydaughterandourguests,butitwillbetheruinationofmywife’snerves,andIcan’tstandforthat。YouseethepositionI’min。YouheardwhatItoldthatbutler。IsaidI hadboughttheroad。Youwouldn’tmakemealiar,wouldyou?I’llgiveyoufivehundredforthatbunchofsand。Youcouldn’tgetmoreforitifyousolditbythepound,liketea。Sayyes,andclosethedeal。\" Ishookmyhead。 \"Iunderstandyourposition,Mr。Colton,\"Isaid,\"butIcan’tsayyes。Notnow,atanyrate。\" \"Whynot?Isn’tfivehundredenough?\" \"It’sagoodoffer。\" \"Thenwhynotacceptit?\" \"Because,ifIwerecertainthatIwantedtosell,Icouldnotacceptanyofferjustnow。\" \"Whynot?Seehere!areyouafraidthetownwillbesorebecausetheroadisclosed?\" \"Itwouldbeagreatinconveniencetothem。\" \"It’sagreateronetomeasitis。Canyouaffordtobeaphilanthropist?Areyouoneofthosepublic—spiritedcitizenswereadabout?\" Hewassneeringnow,andmyanger,whichhadlessenedsomewhatwhenhespokeofhiswife’sillhealth,wasrisingagain。 \"Areyou?\"herepeated。 \"Idon’tknowastothat。But,asIsaidawhileago,Mr。Colton,Icouldn’tsellthatlandtoyounow。\" \"Whynot?\" \"Because,iftherewerenootherreason,Ipromisednottosellitwithouttellinganotherpersonfirst。\" Hethrewdownhiscigarandstoodup。Irosealso。 \"Isee,\"hesaid,withsarcasm。\"Iknewtherewassomethingbesidepublicspirit。Youthink,byhangingoffandplayingmeagainstthisothersucker,youcangetahigherprice。Well,ifthat’sthegame,I’llkeephimbusy。\" Hetookouthiswatch,glancedatit,andthrustitbackintohispocket。 \"I’vewastedtimeenoughoverthisfoolthing,\"hedeclared。\"NowthatIknowwhatthegameiswe’lltalktothepoint。It’shighwayrobbery,butImighthaveexpectedtoberobbed。I’llgiveyousixhundredforthatland。\" Ididnotanswer。IwasholdingmytemperbymainstrengthandI couldnottrustmyselftospeak。 \"Well?\"hesneered。\"Thatshakesyourpublicspiritsome,hey? Whatdoyousay?\" \"No,\"Ianswered,andstartedforthedoor。 \"What!\"hecouldhardlybelievehisears。\"BytheLordHarry!thefellowiscrazy。Sixhundredandfiftythen,youinfernalrobber。\" \"No。\" \"NO!Say,whatinthunderdoyoumean?\" \"Imeanthatyoumaygotothedevil,\"Iretorted,andreachedforthedoorknob。 Butbeforemyfingerstouchedittherewasthesoundoflaughterandvoicesinthehall。Theknobwasturnedfromwithout。I steppedbackandtoonesideinvoluntarily,asthedooropenedandintothelibrarycame,notthebutler,butayounglady,agirlinanautomobilecoatandbonnet。And,followingher,ayoungman。 \"Father,\"saidtheyounglady,\"Johnsonsaysyou’veboughtthathorridroad。I’msoglad!Whendidyoudoit?\" \"Congratulations,Mr。Colton,\"saidtheyoungman。\"Wejustpassedacartfullofsomething——seaweed,Ibelieveitwas——aswecamealongwiththecar。Oscarhadtoslowdowntosqueezeby,andwecertainlyweresweptbyoceanbreezes。ByJove!Icansmellthemyet。I——\" Theyoungladyinterruptedhim。 \"Hush,Victor,\"shesaid。\"Ibegyourpardon,Father。Ithoughtyouwerealone。Victor,we’reintruding。\" Theopendoorhadpartiallyscreenedmefromthenewcomers。ButColton,redandwrathful,hadnotceasedtoglareinmydirectionandshe,followinghisgaze,sawme。Shedidnotrecognizeme,I think——probablyIhadnotmadesufficientimpressionuponhermindevenforcasualremembrance——butIrecognizedher。Shewasthegirlwiththedarkeyes,whoselookofcontemptuousindifferencehadsowitheredmyself—esteem。Andhercompanionwastheyoungchapwho,fromthetonneauoftheautomobilethatmorning,hadinquiredthewaytoBayport。 Theyoungmanturnedlazily。\"Arewe?\"hesaid。\"I——What!Why,Mabel,it’sthehumorist!\" Thensherecognizedme。Icouldfeelthebloodclimbingfrommytoestotherootsofmyhair。Iwastooastonishedandchagrinedtospeakorevenmove,thoughIwantedtomoveverymuchindeed。 ShelookedatmeandIather。Thensheturnedcoldlyaway。 \"Come,Victor,\"shesaid。 ButVictorwashisownblaseself。Ittookmorethanatrifletoshakehiscalm。Helaughed。 \"It’sthehumorist,\"herepeated。\"Reuben,howareyou?\" Coltonregardedthethreeofuswithamazement。 \"What?\"hebegan。\"Mabel,doyou——\" ButIhadrecoveredmypowersoflocomotion。Iwasonmywayoutofthatlibrary。 \"Here!\"shoutedColton。\"Stop!\" Ididnotstop。FeelingasIdidatthatmomentitwouldhavebeendistinctlyunpleasantforthepersonwhotriedtostopme。Thegirlwasinmywayand,asIapproached,shedrewherskirtsaside。 Nodoubtitwasmyimaginationwhichmadehermannerofdoingitseemlikeaninsult,but,imaginationorreality,itwastheonethingnecessarytoclenchmyresolution。NowwhenshelookedatmeIreturnedthelookwithinterest。Istrodethroughthedoorwayandacrossthehall。Thebutlerwouldhaveopenedtheouterdoorforme,butIopeneditmyselftotheimminentdangerofhisdignifiednose。AsIsteppedfromtheporticoIheardbehindmearoarfromBigJimColtonandashoutoflaughterfromVictor。 Iwalkedhomeattopspeed。OnlyoncedidIlookback。ThatwasjustasIwasabouttoenterthegroveontheothersideoftheShoreLane。ThenIturnedandsaw,atthebigwindowattheendofthe\"Newportvilla,\"agroupofthreestaringinmydirection: Colton,hisdaughterandthatcubVictor。Thedistancewastoogreattoseetheexpressionoftheirfaces,butIknewthattwoofthem,atleast,werelaughing——laughingatme。 Ididnotlaugh。 Lutewaswaitingformebythegateandrantomeetme。Hewaswildwithexcitement。 \"Hecameafteryou,didn’the?\"hecried,grabbingatmycoatsleeve。\"Youwentovertohishousewithhim,didn’tyou!IseeyouandatfustIcouldn’tscurcelybelieveit。Whatdidhewant? Whatdidhesay?\" Ididnotanswer。Heranalongbesideme,stillclingingtomysleeve。 \"Whatdidhewant?\"herepeated。\"Whatdidhesaytoyou?Whatdidyousaytohim?Tellafeller,can’tyou?\" \"Itoldhimtogotothedevil,\"Ianswered,savagely。 Luteletgoofmysleeve。 \"You——you——Bytime,you’restarkloony!\"hegasped;andcollapsedagainstthegatepost。 Iwentintothehouse,upthebackstairstomyroom,andshutthedoor。 CHAPTERV Soshewashisdaughter。Imighthaveguessedit;wouldhaveguesseditifIhadpossessedthecommonestofcommon—sense。I mighthaveknownthattheautowasColton’s。NoothermachinewaslikelytobetravelingontheLowerRoadatthatseasonoftheyear。ShewastheprettydaughterofwhomDorindahadspokentoMother。Well,shewasprettyenough;evenIhadtoadmitthat。 ButIadmitteditgrudgingly。Ihatedherforherbeautyandfineclothesandhaughtyarrogance。Shewastheincarnationofsnobbishness。 Buttobemadetwiceridiculousevenbytheincarnationofsnobbishnesswasgalling。Shewastobemynext—doorneighbor;wewerelikelytomeetalmostanywhereatanytime。WhenIthoughtofthisandofthetwomeetingswhichhadalreadytakenplaceIsworeattheblueandwhitewater—pitcheronmybureaubecauseitdidnotcontainwaterenoughtodrownme。NotthatIwouldcommitsuicideonheraccount。ShewouldnotcareifIdidandcertainlyIdidnotcarewhethershewouldcareornot;butifIweresatisfactorilydeadIprobablyshouldnotrememberwhatafoolIhadmadeofmyself,orFatehadmadeofme。 WhyhadInotgotoutofthatlibrarybeforeshecame?Oh,ifnot,whyhadn’tIstayedandtoldherfather,inherhearing,andwithdignity,justwhatIthoughtofhimandhisremarkstome?Butno; Ihadrunaway。She——orthatVictor——wouldtellofthemeetingatthebridge,andallmyindependenceandtherestofitwouldberegardedasofapiecewiththat,justthebig—headed\"smartness\" ofacountryboor。IntheireyesIwasanuisance,thatwasall。 Adisagreeableone,perhaps,liketheShoreLane,butanuisance,onetolaughatandforget——ifitcouldnotbegottenridof。 WhyhadIgonewithColtonatall?Whyhadn’tIremainedattheboathouseandtheretoldtheKingofNewYorktogotothemischief?orwordstothateffect。ButIhad,atallevents,toldhimthat。InspiteofmychagrinIcouldnothelpchucklingasI thoughtofit。TotellBigJimColtontogotothedevilwas,initsway,Iimagined,aprivilegeenjoyedbyfew。Itmusthaveshakenhisself—satisfactionatrifle。Well,afterall,whatdidIcare?He,andhiswholefamily——includingVictor——hadmypermissiontomigrateinthatdirectionandIwishedOldNickjoyoftheircompany。