首页 >出版文学> The Works of Rudyard Kipling One>第126章
  MRSHPassionately。Thenshehassaidthatshecaresforyou!
  Don’tbelieveher,PipIt’salie-asbadasyourstome!
  CAPTGSsssteady!I’veanotionthatafriendofyoursislookingatyou。
  MRSHHe!IhatehimHeintroducedyoutome。
  CAPTGAside。AndsomepeoplewouldlikewomentoassistinmakingthelawsIntroductiontoimplycondonementAloud。
  Well,yousee,ifyoucanremembersofarbackasthat,Icouldn’t,in’commonpoliteness,refusetheoffer。
  MRSHIncommonpolitenessIWehavegotbeyondthat!
  CAPTGAside。OldgroundmeansfreshtroubleAloud。OnmyhonorMRSHYourwhat?Ha,ha!
  CAPTGDishonor,thenShe’snotwhatyouimagineImeantto-
  MRSHDon’ttellmeanythingabouther!Shewon’tcareforyou,andwhenyoucomeback,afterhavingmadeanexhibitionofyourself,you’llfindmeoccupiedwith-
  CAPTGInsolently。Youcouldn’twhileIamaliveAside。Ifthatdoesn’tbringherpridetoherrescue,nothingwill。
  MRSHDr~wingherselfup。Couldn’tdoit?I’Softening。
  You’rerightIdon’tbelieveIcould-thoughyouarewhatyouare-acowardandaliaringrain。
  CAPTGItdoesn’thurtsomuchafteryourlittlelecture-withdemonstrations。
  MRSHOnemassofvanity!Willnothingevertouchyouinthislife?TheremustbeaHereafterifit’sonlyforthebenefitof-Butyouwillhaveitalltoyourself。
  CAPTGUnderhiseyebrows。Areyoucertainofthat?
  MRSHIshallhavehadmineinthislife;anditwillservemeright,CAPTGButtheadmirationthatyouinsistedonsostronglyamomentago?Aside。Oh,Iamabrute!
  MRSHFiercely。Willthatcon-solemeforknowingthatyouwillgotoherwiththesamewords,thesamearguments,andthe-thesamepetnamesyouusedtome?Andifshecaresforyou,youtwowilllaughovermystoryWon’tthatbepunishmentheavyenoughevenforme-evenforme?-Andit’salluselessThat’sanotherpunishment。
  CAPTGFeebly。Oh,come!I’mnotsolowasyouthink。
  MRSHNotnow,perhaps,butyouwillbeOh,Pip,ifawomanflattersyourvanity,there’snothingonearththatyouwouldnottellher;andnomeannessthatyouwouldnotdoHaveIknownyousolongwithoutknowingthat?
  CAPTGIfyoucantrustmeinnothingelse-andIdon’ts~ewhyI
  shouldbetrusted-youcancountuponmyholdingmytongue。
  MRSHIfyoudeniedeverythingyou’vesaidthiseveninganddeclareditwasallin’funalongpause,I’dtrustyouNototherwiseAllIaskis,don’ttellhermynamePleasedon’tAmanmightforget:awomanneverwouldLooksuptableandseeshostessbeginningtocollecteyes。Soit’sallended,throughnofaultofmine-Haven’tIbehavedbeautifully?I’veacceptedyourdismissal,andyoumanageditascruellyasyoucould,andI
  havemadeyourespectmysex,haven’tI?Arrangingglovesandfan。Ionlypraythatshe’llknowyousomedayasIknowyounow。
  Iwouldn’tbeyouthen,forIthinkevenyourconceitwillbehurtI
  hopeshe’llpayyoubackthehumiliationyou’vebroughtonmeI
  hope-NoIdon’t!Ican’tgiveyouup!ImusthavesomethingtolookforwardtoorIshallgocrazyWhenit’sallover,comebacktome,comebacktome,andyou’llfindthatyou’remyPipstill!
  CAPTGVeryclearly。Falsemove,andyoupayforitIt’sagirl!
  MRSHRising。Thenitwastrue!Theysaid-butIwouldn’tinsultyoubyaskingAgirl!IwasagirlnotverylongagoBegoodtoher,PipIdaresayshebelievesin’you。
  GoesoutwithanuncertainsmileHewatchesherthroughthedoor,andsettlesintoachairasthemenredistributethemselves。
  CAPTGNow,ifthereisanyPowerwholooksafterthisworld,willHekindlytellmewhatIhavedone?Reachingoutfortheclaret,andhalfaloud。WhathaveIdone?
  WITHANYAMAZEMENT
  Andarenotafraidwithanyamazement-
  MarriageService。
  SCENE-Abachelor’sbedroom-toilet-tablearrangedwithunnaturalneat-nessCAPTAINGADSBYasleepandsnoringheavilyTime,10:30AM-agloriousautumndayatSimlaEnterdelicatelyCaptainMAFFLINofGADSBY’sregimentLooksatsleeper,andshakeshisheadmurmuring“PoorGaddy。”Performsviolentfantasiawithhair-brushesonchairback。
  CAPTMWakeup,mysleepingbeauty!Roars。
  “Uprouseye,then,mymerrymerrymen!
  Itisouropeningday!
  Itisouropeningda-ay!”
  Gaddy,thelittledicky-birdshavebeenbillingandcooingforeversolong;andI’mhere!
  CAPTGSittingupandyawning。’Mornin’Thisisawf’lygoodofyou,oldfellowMostawf’lygoodofyou’Don’tknowwhatI
  shoulddowithoutyou’Ponmysoul,Idon’t’Haven’tsleptawinkallnight。
  CAPTMIdidn’tgetintillhalf-pasteleven’Hadalookatyouthen,andyouseemedtobesleepingassoundlyasacondemnedcriminal。
  CAPTGJack,ifyouwanttomakethosedisgustinglyworn-outjokes,you’dbettergoawayWithportentousgravity。It’sthehappiestdayinmylife。
  CAPTMChucklinggrimly。Notbyaverylongchalk,myson。
  You’regoingthroughsomeofthemostrefinedtortureyou’veeverknownButbecalmIamwithyou’Shun!Dress!
  CAPTGEh!Wha-at?
  CAPTMDoyousupposethatyouareyourownmasterforthenexttwelvehours?Ifyoudo,ofcourse-Makesforthedoor。
  CAPTGNo!ForGoodness’sake,oldman,don’tdothat!You’llsee~through,won’tyou?I’vebeenmuggingupthatbeastlydrill,andcan’trememberalineofit。
  CAPTMOverturningG。’suniform。GoandtubDon’tbotherme。
  I’llgiveyoutenminutestodressin。
  interval,filledbythenoiseasO/onesplashinginthebath-room……
  CAPTGEmergingfromdressing-room。Whattimeisit?
  CAPTMNearlyeleven。
  CAPTGFivehoursmoreOLord!
  CAPTMAside。’Firstsignoffunk,that’Wonderifit’sgoingtospreadAloud。Comealongtobreakfast。
  CAPTGIcan’teatanythingIdon’twantanybreakfast。
  CAPTMAside。Soearly!Aloud~CAPTAINGamsby,Iorderyoutoeatbreakfast,andadashedgoodbreak-fast,tooNoneofyourbridalairsandgraceswithme!
  LeadsGdownstairsandstandsoverhimwhileheeatstwochops。
  CAPTGWhohaslookedathiswatchthriceinthelastfiveminutes。Whattimeisit?
  CAPTMTimetocomeforawalkLightup。
  CAPTGIhaven’tsmokedfortendays,andIwon’tnowTakescherootwhichMhascutforhim,andblowssmokethroughhisnoseluxuriously。Wearen’tgoingdowntheMall,arewe?
  CAPTMAside。They’reallalikeinthesestagesAloud。No,myVestalWe’regoingalongthequietestroadwecanfind。
  CAPTGAnychanceofseeingHer?CAPTMInnocent!No!
  Comealong,and,ifyouwantmeforthefinalobsequies,don’tcutmyeyeoutwithyourstick。
  CAPTGSpinninground。Isay,isn’tShethedearestcreaturethateverwalked?What’sthetime?Whatcomesafter“wiltthoutakethiswoman“?
  CAPTMYougofortheringR’clectit’llbeonthetopofmyright-handlittlefinger,andjustbecarefulhowyoudrawitoff,becauseIshallhavetheVerger’sfeessomewhereinmyglove。
  CAPTGWalkingforwardhastily。D-theVerger!Comealong!
  It’spasttwelveandIhaven’tseenHersinceyesterdayevening。
  Spinningroundagain。She’sanabsoluteangel,Jack,andShe’sadasheddealtoogoodformeLookhere,doesShecomeuptheaisleonmyarm,orhow?
  CAPTMIfIthoughtthattherewastheleastchanceofyourrememberinganythingfortwoconsecutiveminutes,I’dtellyou。
  Stoppassagingaboutlikethat!
  CAPTGHaltinginhemiddleoftheroad。Isay,Jack。
  CAPTMKeepquietforanothertenminutesifyoucan,youlunatic;andwalk!
  Thetwotrampatfivemilesanhourforfifteenminutes。
  CAPTGWhat’sthetime?Howaboutthecursedwedding-cakeandtheslippers?Theydon’tthrow’emaboutinchurch,dothey?
  CAPTMIn-variablyThePadreleadsoffwithhisboots。
  CAPTGConfoundyoursillysoul!Don’tmakefunofmeIcan’tstandit,andIwon’t!
  CAPTMUntroubled。So-ooo,oldhorseYou’llhavetosleepforacoupleofhoursthisafternoon。
  CAPTGSpinninground。I’mnotgoingtobetreatedlikeadashedchildunderstandthatCAPTMAside。Nervesgonetofiddle-stringsWhatadaywe’rehaving!TenderlyputtinghishandonG。’sshoulder。MyDavid,howlonghaveyouknownthisJonathan?WouldIcomeupheretomakeafoolofyou-afteralltheseyears?
  CAPTGPenitently。Iknow,Iknow,Jack-butI’masupsetasI
  canbeDon’tmindwhatIsayJusthearmerunthroughthedrillandseeifI’vegotitallright:-“Tohaveandtoholdforbetterorworse,asitwasinthebeginning,isnow,andevershallbe,worldwithoutend,sohelpmeGodAmen。”
  CAPTMSuffocatingwithsuppressedlaughter。YesThat’saboutthegistofitI’llpromptifyougetintoahat。
  CAPTGEarnestly。Yes,you’llstickbyme,Jack,won’tyou?
  I’mawfullyhappy,butIdon’tmindtellingyouthatI’minabluefunk!
  CAPTMGravely。Areyou?Ishouldneverhavenoticedit。
  Youdon’tlooklikeit。
  CAPTGDon’tI?That’sallrightSpinninground。Onmysoulandhonor,Jack,She’sthesweetestlittleangelthatevercamedownfromtheskyThereisn’tawomanonearthfittospeaktoHer。
  CAPTMAside。AndthisisoldGandy!Aloud。Goonifitrelievesyou。
  CAPTGYoucanlaugh!That’sallyouwildassesofbachelorsarefitfor。
  CAPTMDrawling。YouneverwouldwaitforthetrooptocomeupYouaren’tquitemarriedyet,y’know。
  CAPTGUgh!ThatremindsmeIdon’tbelieveIshallbeabletogetintoanybootsLet’sgohomeandtry’emonHurriesforward。
  CAPTM’Wouldn’tbeinyourshoesforanythingthatAsiahastooffer。
  CAPTGSpinninground。Thatjustshowsyourhideousblacknessofsoul-yourdensestupidity-yourbrutalnarrow-mindednessThere’sonly~nefaultaboutyouYou’rethebestofgoodfellows,andIdon’tknowwhat[shouldhavedonewithoutyou,but-youaren’tmarriedWagshisheadgravely。
  Takeawife,Jack。
  CAPTMWithafacelikeawall。Va-asWhoseforchoice?
  CAPTGIfyou’regoingtobeablackguard,I’mgoingon-What’sthetime?
  CAPTMHums。-
  An’since’twasveryclearwedrankonlyginger-beer,Faith,theremustha’beensomestingointheginger。”
  Comeback,youmaniacI’mgoingtotakeyouhome,andyou’regoingtoliedown。
  CAPTGWhatonearthdoIwanttoliedownfor?
  CAPTMGivemealightfromyourcherootandsee。
  CAPTGWatchingcheroot-buttquiverlikeatuning-fork。
  SweetstateI’min!
  CAPTMYouareI’llgetyouapegandyou’llgotosleep。
  TheyreturnandMcompoundsafour-fingerpeg。
  CAPTGObus!bus!It’llmakemeasdrunkasanowl。
  CAPTM’Curiousthing,’twon’thavetheslightesteffectonyou。
  Drinkitoff,chuckyourselfdownthere,andgotobye-bye。
  CAPTGIt’sabsurdIsha’n’tsleep,IknowIsha’n’tlFallsintoheavydozeatendofsevenminutesCAPTMwatcheshimtenderly。
  CAPTMPooroldGandy!I’veseenafewturnedoffbefore,butneveronewhowenttothegallowsinthiscondition’Can’ttellhowitaffects’em,thoughIt’sthethoroughbredsthatsweatwhenthey’rebackedintodouble-harness-Andthat’sthemanwhowentthroughthegunsatAmdheranlikeadevilpossessedofdevils。
  LeansoverG。Butthisisworsethantheguns,oldpal-worsethantheguns,isn’tit?Gturnsinhissleep,andMtoucheshimclumsilyontheforehead。Poor,dearoldGaddyIGoingliketherestof’em-goingliketherestof’em-Friendthatstickethcloserthanabrother-eightyearsDashedbitofaslipofagirl-eightweeks!And-where’syourfriend?Smokesdisconsolatelytillchurchclockstrikesthree。
  CAPTMUpwithyou!Getintoyourkit。