’Yourwork——bah！No，Ididn’tmeanthatIt’sallright，dearOfcourseyoumustdoyourwork，and——IthinkI’llsaygood-byeforthisweek。’
’Won’tyouevenstayfortea？
’No，thankyouHaveIyourleavetogo，dear？There’snothingmoreyouparticularlywantmetodo，andtheline-workdoesn’tmatter。’
’Iwishyoucouldstay，andthenwecouldtalkovermypictureIfonlyonesinglepicture’sasuccess，itdrawsattentiontoalltheothersI
knowsomeofmyworkisgood，ifonlypeoplecouldseeAndyouneedn’thavebeensorudeaboutit。’
’I’msorryWe’lltalktheMelancoliaoversomeoneoftheotherSundays。
Therearefourmore——yes，one，two，three，four——beforeyougo。
Good-bye，Maisie。’
Maisiestoodbythestudiowindow，thinking，tillthered-hairedgirlreturned，alittlewhiteatthecornersofherlips。
’Dick’sgoneoff，’saidMaisie’JustwhenIwantedtotalkaboutthepictureIsn’titselfishofhim？’
Hercompanionopenedherlipsasiftospeak，shutthemagain，andwentonreadingTheCityofDreadfulNight-
DickwasinthePark，walkingroundandroundatreethathehadchosenashisconfidanteformanySundayspastHewasswearingaudibly，andwhenhefoundthattheinfirmitiesoftheEnglishtonguehemmedinhisrage，hesoughtconsolationinArabic，whichisexpresslydesignedfortheuseoftheafflictedHewasnotpleasedwiththerewardofhispatientservice；norwashepleasedwithhimself；anditwaslongbeforehearrivedatthepropositionthatthequeencoulddonowrong。
’It’salosinggame，’hesaid’I’mworthnothingwhenawhimofhersisinquestionButinalosinggameatPortSaidweusedtodoublethestakesandgoonShedoaMelancolia！Shehasn’tthepower，ortheinsight，orthetrainingOnlythedesireShe’scursedwiththecurseofReubenShewon’tdoline-work，becauseitmeansrealwork；andyetshe’sstrongerthanIamI’llmakeherunderstandthatIcanbeatheronherownMelancoliaEventhenshewouldn’tcareShesaysIcanonlydobloodandbonesIdon’tbelieveshehasbloodinherveinsAllthesameI
loverher；andImustgoonlovingher；andifIcanhumbleherinordinatevanityIwillI’lldoaMelancoliathatshallbesomethinglikeaMelancolia——“theMelancoliathattranscendsallwit。”I’lldoitatonce，con——blessher。’
Hediscoveredthatthenotionwouldnotcometoorder，andthathecouldnotfreehismindforanhourfromthethoughtofMaisie’sdepartureHetookverysmallinterestinherroughstudiesfortheMelancoliawhensheshowedthemnextweekTheSundayswereracingpast，andthetimewasathandwhenallthechurchbellsinLondoncouldnotringMaisiebacktohimOnceortwicehesaidsomethingtoBinkieabout’hermaphroditicfutilities，’butthelittledogreceivedsomanyconfidencesbothfromTorpenhowandDickthathedidnottroublehistulip-earstolisten。
DickwaspermittedtoseethegirlsoffTheyweregoingbytheDovernight-boat；andtheyhopedtoreturninAugustItwasthenFebruary，andDickfeltthathewasbeinghardlyusedMaisiewassobusystrippingthesmallhouseacrossthePark，andpackinghercanvases，thatshehadnottimeforthoughtDickwentdowntoDoverandwastedadaytherefrettingoverawonderfulpossibilityWouldMaisieattheverylastallowhimonesmallkiss？Hereflectedthathemightcaptureherbythestrongarm，ashehadseemwomencapturedintheSouthernSoudan，andleadheraway；butMaisiewouldneverbeledShewouldturnhergrayeyesuponhimandsay，’Dick，howselfishyouare！’ThenhiscouragewouldfailhimItwouldbebetter，afterall，tobegforthatkiss。
Maisielookedmorethanusuallykissableasshesteppedfromthenight-mailontothewindypier，inagraywaterproofandalittlegrayclothtravelling-capThered-hairedgirlwasnotsolovelyHergreeneyeswerehollowandherlipsweredryDicksawthetrunksaboard，andwenttoMaisie’ssideinthedarknessunderthebr...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：