’I’mtryingtogetthegeographyofmynewpossessions，’saidhe。
’D’yourememberthatniggeryougougedinthesquare？Pityyoudidn’tkeeptheoddeyeItwouldhavebeenusefulAnylettersforme？Givemealltheonesinfatgrayenvelopeswithasortofcrownthingoutside。
They’reofnoimportance。’
TorpenhowgavehimaletterwithablackMontheenvelopeflap。
DickputitintohispocketTherewasnothinginitthatTorpenhowmightnothaveread，butitbelongedtohimselfandtoMaisie，whowouldneverbelongtohim。
’WhenshefindsthatIdon’twrite，she’llstopwritingIt’sbettersoI
couldn’tbeanyusetohernow，’Dickargued，andthetemptersuggestedthatheshouldmakeknownhisconditionEverynerveinhimrevolted’I
havefallenlowenoughalreadyI’mnotgoingtobegforpity。
Besides，itwouldbecrueltoher。’HestrovetoputMaisieoutofhisthoughts；
buttheblindhavemanyopportunitiesforthinking，andasthetidesofhisstrengthcamebacktohiminthelongemploylessdaysofdeaddarkness，Dick’ssoulwastroubledtothecoreAnotherletter，andanother，camefromMaisieThentherewassilence，andDicksatbythewindow，thepulseofsummerintheair，andpicturedherbeingwonbyanotherman，strongerthanhimselfHisimagination，thekeenerforthedarkbackgrounditworkedagainst，sparedhimnosingledetailthatmightsendhimragingupanddownthestudio，tostumbleoverthestovethatseemedtobeinfourplacesatonceWorstofall，tobaccowouldnottasteinthedarknessThearroganceofthemanhaddisappeared，andinitsplaceweresettleddespairthatTorpenhowknew，andblindpassionthatDickconfidedtohispillowatnightTheintervalsbetweentheparoxysmswerefilledwithintolerablewaitingandtheweightofintolerabledarkness。
’ComeoutintothePark，’saidTorpenhow’Youhaven’tstirredoutsincethebeginningofthings。’
’What’stheuse？There’snomovementinthedark；and，besides，’——hepausedirresolutelyattheheadofthestairs，——’somethingwillrunoverme。’
’NotifI’mwithyouProceedgingerly。’
TheroarofthestreetsfilledDickwithnervousterror，andheclungtoTorpenhow’sarm’Fancyhavingtofeelforagutterwithyourfoot！’
hesaidpetulantly，asheturnedintothePark’Let’scurseGodanddie。’
’SentriesareforbiddentopayunauthorisedcomplimentsByJove，therearetheGuards！’
Dick’sfigurestraightened’Let’sgetnear’emLet’sgoinandlook。
Let’sgetonthegrassandrunIcansmellthetrees。’
’MindthelowrailingThat’sallright！’Torpenhowkickedoutatuftofgrasswithhisheel’Smellthat，’hesaid’Isn’titgood？’Dicksniffedluxuriously’Nowpickupyourfeetandrun。’TheyapproachedasneartotheregimentaswaspossibleTheclankofbayonetsbeingunfixedmadeDick’snostrilsquiver。
’Let’sgetnearerThey’reincolumn，aren’tthey？’
’YesHowdidyouknow？’
’FeltitOh，mymen！——mybeautifulmen！’Heedgedforwardasthoughhecouldsee’IcoulddrawthosechapsonceWho’lldraw’emnow？’
’They’llmoveoffinaminuteDon’tjumpwhenthebandbegins。’
’Huh！I’mnotanewchargerIt’sthesilencesthathurtNearer，Torp！——nearer！Oh，myGod，whatwouldn’tIgivetosee’emforaminute！——onehalf-minute！’
Hecouldhearthearmedlifealmostwithinreachofhim，couldheartheslingstightenacrossthebandsman’schestasheheavedthebigdrumfromtheground。
’Stickscrossedabovehishead，’whisperedTorpenhow。
’IknowIknow！WhoshouldknowifIdon’t？H’sh！’
Thedrum-sticksfellwithaboom，andthemenswungforwardtothecrashofthebandDickfeltthewindofthemassedmovementinhisface，heardthemaddeningtrampoffeetandthefrictionofthepouchesonthebeltsThebigdrumpoundedoutthetuneItwasamusic-hallrefrainthatmadeaperfectquickstep——
Hemustbeamanofdecentheight，Hemustbeamanofweight，Hemustcomehomeo...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：