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儿童小说:蓝色城堡17
添加时间:2023-11-24 13:12:09 浏览次数: 作者:未知
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  • CHAPTER XVII

    When Valancy had lived for a week at Roaring Abel’s she felt as if years had separated her from her old life and all the people she had known in it. They were beginning to seem remote—dream-like—far-away—and as the days went on they seemed still more so, until they ceased to matter altogether.

    She was happy. Nobody ever bothered her with conundrums1 or insisted on giving her Purple Pills. Nobody called her Doss or worried her about catching2 cold. There were no quilts to piece, no abominable3 rubber-plant to water, no ice-cold maternal4 tantrums to endure. She could be alone whenever she liked, go to bed when she liked, sneeze when she liked. In the long, wondrous5, northern twilights, when Cissy was asleep and Roaring Abel away, she could sit for hours on the shaky back verandah steps, looking out over the barrens to the hills beyond, covered with their fine, purple bloom, listening to the friendly wind singing wild, sweet melodies in the little spruces, and drinking in the aroma6 of the sunned grasses, until darkness flowed over the landscape like a cool, welcome wave.

    Sometimes of an afternoon, when Cissy was strong enough, the two girls went into the barrens and looked at the wood-flowers. But they did not pick any. Valancy had read to Cissy the gospel thereof according to John Foster: “It is a pity to gather wood-flowers. They lose half their witchery away from the green and the flicker7. The way to enjoy wood-flowers is to track them down to their remote haunts—gloat over them—and then leave them with backward glances, taking with us only the beguiling8 memory of their grace and fragrance9.”

    Valancy was in the midst of realities after a lifetime of unrealities. And busy—very busy. The house had to be cleaned. Not for nothing had Valancy been brought up in the Stirling habits of neatness and cleanliness. If she found satisfaction in cleaning dirty rooms she got her fill of it there. Roaring Abel thought she was foolish to bother doing so much more than she was asked to do, but he did not interfere10 with her. He was very well satisfied with his bargain. Valancy was a good cook. Abel said she got a flavour into things. The only fault he found with her was that she did not sing at her work.

    “Folks should always sing at their work,” he insisted. “Sounds cheerful-like.”

    “Not always,” retorted Valancy. “Fancy a butcher singing at his work. Or an undertaker.”

    Abel burst into his great broad laugh.

    “There’s no getting the better of you. You’ve got an answer every time. I should think the Stirlings would be glad to be rid of you. They don’t like being sassed back.”

    During the day Abel was generally away from home—if not working, then shooting or fishing with Barney Snaith. He generally came home at nights—always very late and often very drunk. The first night they heard him come howling into the yard, Cissy had told Valancy not to be afraid.

    “Father never does anything—he just makes a noise.”

    Valancy, lying on the sofa in Cissy’s room, where she had elected to sleep, lest Cissy should need attention in the night—Cissy would never have called her—was not at all afraid, and said so. By the time Abel had got his horses put away, the roaring stage had passed and he was in his room at the end of the hall crying and praying. Valancy could still hear his dismal11 moans when she went calmly to sleep. For the most part, Abel was a good-natured creature, but occasionally he had a temper. Once Valancy asked him coolly:

    “What is the use of getting in a rage?”

    “It’s such a d——d relief,” said Abel.

    They both burst out laughing together.

    “You’re a great little sport,” said Abel admiringly. “Don’t mind my bad French. I don’t mean a thing by it. Jest habit. Say, I like a woman that ain’t afraid to speak up to me. Sis there was always too meek12—too meek. That’s why she got adrift. I like you.”

    “All the same,” said Valancy determinedly13, “there is no use in sending things to hell as you’re always doing. And I’m not going to have you tracking mud all over a floor I’ve just scrubbed. You must use the scraper whether you consign14 it to perdition or not.”

    Cissy loved the cleanness and neatness. She had kept it so, too, until her strength failed. She was very pitifully happy because she had Valancy with her. It had been so terrible—the long, lonely days and nights with no companionship save those dreadful old women who came to work. Cissy had hated and feared them. She clung to Valancy like a child.

    There was no doubt that Cissy was dying. Yet at no time did she seem alarmingly ill. She did not even cough a great deal. Most days she was able to get up and dress—sometimes even to work about in the garden or the barrens for an hour or two. For a few weeks after Valancy’s coming she seemed so much better that Valancy began to hope she might get well. But Cissy shook her head.

    “No, I can’t get well. My lungs are almost gone. And I—don’t want to. I’m so tired, Valancy. Only dying can rest me. But it’s lovely to have you here—you’ll never know how much it means to me. But Valancy—you work too hard. You don’t need to—Father only wants his meals cooked. I don’t think you are strong yourself. You turn so pale sometimes. And those drops you take. Are you well, dear?”

    “I’m all right,” said Valancy lightly. She would not have Cissy worried. “And I’m not working hard. I’m glad to have some work to do—something that really wants to be done.”

    “Then”—Cissy slipped her hand wistfully into Valancy’s—“don’t let’s talk any more about my being sick. Let’s just forget it. Let’s pretend I’m a little girl again—and you have come here to play with me. I used to wish that long ago—wish that you could come. I knew you couldn’t, of course. But how I did wish it! You always seemed so different from the other girls—so kind and sweet—and as if you had something in yourself nobody knew about—some dear, pretty secret. Had you, Valancy?”

    “I had my Blue Castle,” said Valancy, laughing a little. She was pleased that Cissy had thought of her like this. She had never suspected that anybody liked or admired or wondered about her. She told Cissy all about her Blue Castle. She had never told any one about it before.

    “Every one has a Blue Castle, I think,” said Cissy softly. “Only every one has a different name for it. I had mine—once.”

    She put her two thin little hands over her face. She did not tell Valancy—then—who had destroyed her Blue Castle. But Valancy knew that, whoever it was, it was not Barney Snaith.



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    1 conundrums [kəˈnʌndrəmz] a46e5f8b66d51238c7a4a31d910cc653   第12级
    n.谜,猜不透的难题,难答的问题( conundrum的名词复数 )
    参考例句:
    • After all the conundrums of Hungary, the second Turkish Grand Prix promises much. 继匈牙利站所有猜不透的事之后,第二届土耳其大奖赛许诺了太多。 来自互联网
    • I see conundrums, dilemmas, quandaries, impasses, gnarly thickets of fateful possibility with no obvious way out. 眼看问题经纬万端,进退两难、入困境,死路一条,盘根错节的命定可能性,但找不到明显的出路。 来自互联网
    2 catching [ˈkætʃɪŋ] cwVztY   第8级
    adj.易传染的,有魅力的,迷人的,接住
    参考例句:
    • There are those who think eczema is catching. 有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
    • Enthusiasm is very catching. 热情非常富有感染力。
    3 abominable [əˈbɒmɪnəbl] PN5zs   第10级
    adj.可厌的,令人憎恶的
    参考例句:
    • Their cruel treatment of prisoners was abominable. 他们虐待犯人的做法令人厌恶。
    • The sanitary conditions in this restaurant are abominable. 这家饭馆的卫生状况糟透了。
    4 maternal [məˈtɜ:nl] 57Azi   第8级
    adj.母亲的,母亲般的,母系的,母方的
    参考例句:
    • He is my maternal uncle. 他是我舅舅。
    • The sight of the hopeless little boy aroused her maternal instincts. 那个绝望的小男孩的模样唤起了她的母性。
    5 wondrous [ˈwʌndrəs] pfIyt   第12级
    adj.令人惊奇的,奇妙的;adv.惊人地;异乎寻常地;令人惊叹地
    参考例句:
    • The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold. 看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。
    • We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests. 我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。
    6 aroma [əˈrəʊmə] Nvfz9   第9级
    n.香气,芬芳,芳香
    参考例句:
    • The whole house was filled with the aroma of coffee. 满屋子都是咖啡的香味。
    • The air was heavy with the aroma of the paddy fields. 稻花飘香。
    7 flicker [ˈflɪkə(r)] Gjxxb   第9级
    vi./n.闪烁,摇曳,闪现
    参考例句:
    • There was a flicker of lights coming from the abandoned house. 这所废弃的房屋中有灯光闪烁。
    • At first, the flame may be a small flicker, barely shining. 开始时,光辉可能是微弱地忽隐忽现, 几乎并不灿烂。
    8 beguiling [bɪˈgaɪlɪŋ] xyzzKB   第10级
    adj.欺骗的,诱人的v.欺骗( beguile的现在分词 );使陶醉;使高兴;消磨(时间等)
    参考例句:
    • Her beauty was beguiling. 她美得迷人。
    • His date was curvaceously beguiling. 他约会是用来欺骗女性的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
    9 fragrance [ˈfreɪgrəns] 66ryn   第8级
    n.芬芳,香味,香气
    参考例句:
    • The apple blossoms filled the air with their fragrance. 苹果花使空气充满香味。
    • The fragrance of lavender filled the room. 房间里充满了薰衣草的香味。
    10 interfere [ˌɪntəˈfɪə(r)] b5lx0   第7级
    vi.(in)干涉,干预;(with)妨碍,打扰;vt.冲突;介入
    参考例句:
    • If we interfere, it may do more harm than good. 如果我们干预的话,可能弊多利少。
    • When others interfere in the affair, it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件,棘手的事情就来了。
    11 dismal [ˈdɪzməl] wtwxa   第8级
    adj.阴沉的,凄凉的,令人忧郁的,差劲的
    参考例句:
    • That is a rather dismal melody. 那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
    • My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal. 我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。
    12 meek [mi:k] x7qz9   第9级
    adj.温顺的,逆来顺受的
    参考例句:
    • He expects his wife to be meek and submissive. 他期望妻子温顺而且听他摆布。
    • The little girl is as meek as a lamb. 那个小姑娘像羔羊一般温顺。
    13 determinedly [di'tə:mindli] f36257cec58d5bd4b23fb76b1dd9d64f   第7级
    adv.决意地;坚决地,坚定地
    参考例句:
    • "Don't shove me,'said one of the strikers, determinedly. "I'm not doing anything." “别推我,"其中的一个罢工工人坚决地说,"我可没干什么。” 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
    • Dorothy's chin set determinedly as she looked calmly at him. 多萝西平静地看着他,下巴绷得紧紧的,看来是打定主意了。 来自名作英译部分
    14 consign [kənˈsaɪn] uamyn   第8级
    vt.寄售(货品),托运,交托,委托
    参考例句:
    • We cannot agree to consign the goods. 我们不同意寄售此货。
    • We will consign the goods to him by express. 我们将以快递把货物寄给他。

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