’I——IsupposesoBytheway，howlongdoyouthinkthiswarwilllast？’
’Days，weeks，ormonthsOnecannevertellItmaygoonforyears。’
’IwishIweregoing。’
’GoodHeavens！You’rethemostunaccountablecreature！Hasn’titoccurredtoyouthatyou’regoingtobemarried——thankstome？’
’Ofcourse，yesI’mgoingtobemarried——soIamGoingtobemarried。
I’mawfullygratefultoyouHaven’tItoldyouthat？’
’Youmightbegoingtobehangedbythelookofyou，’saidTorpenhow。
AndthenextdayTorpenhowbadehimgood-byeandlefthimtothelonelinesshehadsomuchdesired。
CHAPTERXIV
Yetatthelast，ereourspearmenhadfoundhim，Yetatthelast，ereasword-thrustcouldsave，Yetatthelast，withhismastersaroundhim，HeoftheFaithspokeasmastertoslave；
Yetatthelast，tho’theKafirshadmaimedhim，Brokenbybondageandwreckedbythereiver，——
Yetatthelast，tho’thedarknesshadclaimedhim，HecalleduponAllahanddiedabeliever——
Kizzilbashi。
’BEGyourpardon，MrHeldar，but——butisn’tnothin’goingtohappen？’
saidMrBeeton。
’No！’Dickhadjustwakedtoanothermorningofblankdespairandhistemperwasoftheshortest。
’’Tain’tmyregularbusiness，o’course，sir；andwhatIsayis，“Mindyourownbusinessandletotherpeoplemindtheirs；“butjustbeforeMr。
Torpenhowwentawayhegivemetounderstand，like，thatyoumightbemovingintoahouseofyourown，sotospeak——asortofhousewithroomsupstairsanddownstairswhereyou’dbebetterattendedto，thoughI
trytoactjustbyallourtenantsDon’tI？’
’Ah！Thatmusthavebeenamad-houseIshan’ttroubleyoutotakemethereyetGetmemybreakfast，please，andleavemealone。’
’IhopeIhaven’tdoneanythingwrong，sir，butyouknowIhopethatasfarasamancanItriestodotheproperthingbyallthegentlemeninchambers——andmoreparticularthosewhoselotishard——suchasyou，forinstance，MrHeldarYoulikessoft-roebloater，don’tyou？
Soft-roebloatersisscarcerthanhard-roe，butwhatIsaysis，“Nevermindalittleextratroublesolongasyougivesatisfactiontothetenants。”’
MrBeetonwithdrewandleftDicktohimselfTorpenhowhadbeenlongaway；therewasnomoreriotinginthechambers，andDickhadsettleddowntohisnewlife，whichhewasweakenoughtoconsidernothingbetterthandeath。
Itishardtolivealoneinthedark，confusingthedayandnight；
droppingtosleepthroughsheerwearinessatmid-day，andrisingrestlessinthechillofthedawnAtfirstDick，onhisawakenings，wouldgropealongthecorridorsofthechamberstillheheardsomeonesnoreThenhewouldknowthatthedayhadnotyetcome，andreturnwearilytohisbedroom。
LaterhelearnednottostirtilltherewasanoiseandmovementinthehouseandMrBeetonadvisedhimtogetupOncedressed——anddressing，nowthatTorpenhowwasaway，wasalengthybusiness，becausecollars，ties，andthelikehidthemselvesinfarcornersoftheroom，andsearchmeanthead-beatingagainstchairsandtrunks——oncedressed，therewasnothingwhatevertodoexcepttositstillandbroodtillthethreedailymealscameCenturiesseparatedbreakfastfromlunchandlunchfromdinner，andthoughamanprayedforhundredsofyearsthathismindmightbetakenfromhim，GodwouldneverhearRatherthemindwasquickenedandtherevolvingthoughtsgroundagainsteachotherasmillstonesgrindwhenthereisnocornbetween；andyetthebrainwouldnotwearoutandgivehimrestItcontinuedtothink，atlength，withimageryandallmannerofreminiscencesItrecalledMaisieandpastsuccess，recklesstravelsbylandandsea，thegloryofdoingworkandfeelingthatitwasgood，andsuggestedallthatmighthavehappenedhadtheeyesonlybeenfaithfultotheirdutyWhenthinkingceasedthroughsheerweariness，therepouredintoDick’ssoultideontideofoverwhelming，purposelessfear——dreadofstarvationalways，terrorlesttheunseenceilingshouldcrushdownuponhim，fearoffireinthechambersandalouse’sdeathinredflame，andagoniesoffiercerhorrorthathadnothingtodowithanyfearofdeathThenDickbowedhishead，andclutchingthearmsofhischairfoughtwithhissweatingselftillthetinkleofplat...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：