Dickfelthiswaybacktothebigchair，andwonderedwhatthesethingsmightmeanHedidnotwishtobetendedbythehousekeeper，andyetTorpenhow’sconstanttendernessjarredonhimHedidnotexactlyknowwhathewantedThedarknesswouldnotlift，andMaisie’sunopenedlettersfeltwornandoldfrommuchhandlingHecouldneverreadthemforhimselfaslongaslifeendured；butMaisiemighthavesenthimsomefreshonestoplaywithTheNilghaienteredwithagift，——apieceofredmodelling-waxHefanciedthatDickmightfindinterestinusinghishandsDickpokedandpattedthestuffforafewminutes，and，’Isitlikeanythingintheworld？’hesaiddrearily’TakeitawayImaygetthetouchoftheblindinfiftyyearsDoyouknowwhereTorpenhowhasgone？’
TheNilghaiknewnothing’We’restayinginhisroomstillhecomesbackCanwedoanythingforyou？’
’I’dliketobeleftalone，pleaseDon’tthinkI’mungrateful；butI’mbestalone。’
TheNilghaichuckled，andDickresumedhisdrowsybroodingandsullenrebellionagainstfateHehadlongsinceceasedtothinkabouttheworkhehaddoneintheolddays，andthedesiretodomoreworkhaddepartedfromhimHewasexceedinglysorryforhimself，andthecompletenessofhistendergriefsoothedhimButhissoulandhisbodycriedforMaisie——MaisiewhowouldunderstandHismindpointedoutthatMaisie，havingherownworktodo，wouldnotcareHisexperiencehadtaughthimthatwhenmoneywasexhaustedwomenwentaway，andthatwhenamanwasknockedoutoftheracetheotherstrampledonhim。
’Thenattheleast，’saidDick，inreply，’shecouldusemeasIusedBinat，——forsomesortofastudyIwouldn’taskmorethantobenearheragain，eventhoughIknewthatanothermanwasmakinglovetoherUgh！
whatadogIam！’
Avoiceonthestaircasebegantosingjoyfully——
’Whenwego——go——goawayfromhere，Ourcreditorswillweepandtheywillwail，Ourabsencemuchregrettingwhentheyfindthatthey’vebeengettingOutofEnglandbynextTuesday’sIndianmail。’
Followingthetramplingoffeet，slammingofTorpenhow’sdoor，andthesoundofvoicesinstrenuousdebate，someonesqueaked，’Andsee，yougoodfellows，Ihavefoundanewwater-bottle——firs’-classpatent——eh，howyousay？Openhimselfinsideout。’
DicksprangtohisfeetHeknewthevoicewell’That’sCassavetti，comebackfromtheContinentNowIknowwhyTorpwentaway。
There’sarowsomewhere，and——I’moutofit！’
TheNilghaicommandedsilenceinvain’That’sformysake，’Dicksaidbitterly’Thebirdsaregettingreadytofly，andtheywouldn’ttellmeI
canhearMorten-SutherlandandMackayeHalftheWarCorrespondentsinLondonarethere；——andI’moutofit。’
HestumbledacrossthelandingandplungedintoTorpenhow’sroomHecouldfeelthatitwasfullofmen’Where’sthetrouble？’saidhe’IntheBalkansatlast？Whydidn’tsomeonetellme？’
’Wethoughtyouwouldn’tbeinterested，’saidtheNilghai，shamefacedly。
’It’sintheSoudan，asusual。’
’Youluckydogs！LetmesitherewhileyoutalkIshan’tbeaskeletonatthefeast——Cassavetti，whereareyou？YourEnglishisasbadasever。’
DickwasledintoachairHeheardtherustleofthemaps，andthetalksweptforward，carryinghimwithitEverybodyspokeatonce，discussingpresscensorships，railway-routes，transport，water-supply，thecapacitiesofgenerals，——theseinlanguagethatwouldhavehorrifiedatrustingpublic，——rangint，asserting，denouncing，andlaughingatthetopoftheirvoicesTherewasthegloriouscertaintyofwarintheSoudanatanymomentTheNilghaisaidso，anditwaswelltobeinreadiness。
TheKeneuhadtelegraphedtoCairoforhorses；Cassavettihadstolenaperfectlyinaccuratelistoftroopsthatwouldbeorderedforward，andwasreadingitoutamidprofaneinterruptions，andtheKeneuintroducedtoDicksomemanunknownwhowouldbeemployedaswarartistbytheCentralSouthernSyndicate’It’shisfirstouting，’saidtheKeneu。
’Givehimsometips——aboutridingcamels。’
’Oh，thosecamels！’groanedCassavetti’Ishalllearntoridehimagain，andnowIamsomuchallsoft！Listen，yougoodfellowsIknowyourmilitary...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：