首页 >出版文学> The Works of Rudyard Kipling One>第130章
  Aloud。
  Ias-sureyouyoucan’tdoanythingforme,Minnie,andImustreallysettledowntothisWhere’smypouch?
  MRSGCrossingtowriting-table。Hereyouare,BearWhatamessyoukeepyourtablein!
  CAPTGDon’ttouchitThere’samethodinmymadness,thoughyoumightn’tthinkofit。
  MRSGAttable。Iwanttolook-Doyoukeepaccounts,Pip?
  CAPTGBendingoversaddlery。OfasortAreyourummagingamongtheTrooppapers?Becareful。
  MRsGWhy?Isha’n’tdisturbanythingGoodgracious!Ihadnoideathatyouhadanythingtodowithsomanysickhorses。
  CAPTG’WishIhadn’t,buttheyinsistonfallingsickMinnie,if1
  wereyouIreallyshouldnotinvestigatethosepapersYoumaycomeacrosssomethingthatyouwon’tlike。
  MRSGWhywillyoualwaystreatmelikeachild?IknowI’mnotdisplacingthehorridthings。
  CAPTGResignedly。Verywell,thenDon’tblamemeifanythinghappensPlaywiththetableandletmegoonwiththesaddlerySlippinghandintotrousers-pocket。Oh,thedeuce!
  MRSGHerbacktoG。What’sthatfor?
  CAPTGNothingAside。There’snotmuchinit,butIwishI’dtornitup。
  MRSGTurningovercontentsoftable。Iknowyou’llhatemeforthis;butIdowanttoseewhatyourworkislikeApause。
  Pip,whatare“farcybuds“?
  CAPTGHab!Wouldyoureallyliketoknow?Theyaren’tprettythings。
  MRSGThisJournalofVeterinarySciencesaystheyareof“absorbinginterest。”Tellme。
  CAPTGAside。Itmayturnherattention。
  Givesalonganddesignedlyloathsomeaccountofglandersandfarcy。
  MRSGOh,that’senoughDon’tgoon!
  CAPTGButyouwantedtoknow-Thenthesethingssuppurateandmatterateandspread-
  MRSGPin,you’remakingmesick!You’reahorrid,disgustingschoolboy。
  CAPTGOnhiskneesamongthebridles。Youaskedtobetold。
  It’snotmyfaultifyouworrymeintotalkingabouthorrors。
  MasGWhydidn’tyousay-No?
  CAPTGGoodHeavens,child!Haveyoucomeinheresimplytobullyme?
  MasGIbullyyou?HowcouldI!You’resostrongHysterically。
  StrongenoughtopickmeupandputmeoutsidethedoorandleavemetheretocryAren’tyou?
  CAPTGItseemstomethatyou’reanirrationallittlebabyAreyouquitewell?
  MRSGDoIlookill?ReturningtotableWhoisyourladyfriendwiththebiggreyenvelopeandthefatmonogramoutside?
  CAPTGAside。Thenitwasn’tlockedup,confoundit。
  Aloud。
  “Godmadeher,thereforeletherpassforawoman。”Yourememberwhatfarcybudsarelike?
  MasGShowingenvelope。Thishasnothingtodowiththem。
  I’mgoingtoopenitMayI?
  CAPTGCertainly,ifyouwanttoI’dsooneryoudidn’tthoughI
  don’tasktolookatyourletterstotheDeer-courtgirl。
  MasGYou’dbetternot,Sir!Takesletterfromenvelope。Now,mayIlook?Ifyousayno,Ishallcry。
  CAPTGYou’venevercriedinmyknowledgeofyou,andIdon’tbelieveyoucould。
  MasGIfeelverylikeitto-day,PipDon’tbehardonmeReadsletter。Itbeginsinthemiddle,with-outany“DearCaptainGadsby。”oranythingHowfunny!
  CAPTGAside。No,it’snotDearCaptainGadsby,oranything,nowHowfunny!
  MasGWhatastrangeletter!Reads。“Andsothemothhascometoonearthecandleatlast,andhasbeensingedinto-shallI
  sayRespectability?Icongratulatehim,andhopehewillbeashappyashedeservestobe。”Whatdoesthatmean?Isshecongratulatingyouaboutourmarriage?
  CAPTGYes,Isupposeso。
  MasGStillr’adingletter。Sheseemstobeaparticularfriendofyours。
  CAPTGYesShewasanexcellentmatronofsorts-aMrs。
  Herriott-wifeofaColonelHerriottIusedtoknowsomeofherpeopleatHomelongago-beforeIcameout。
  MasGSomeColonel’swivesareyoung-asyoungasmeIknewonewhowasyounger。
  CAPTGThenitcouldn’thavebeenMrsHerriottShewasoldenoughtohavebeenycurmother,dear。
  MasGIremembernowMrsScargillwastalkingaboutherattheDutfins’tennis,beforeyoucameforme,onTuesdayCaptainMafflinsaidshewasa“dearoldwoman。”Doyouknow,IthinkMafilinisaveryclumsymanwithhisfeet。
  CAPTGAside。GoodoldJack!Aloud。Why,dear?
  MasGHehadputhiscupdownonthegroundthen,andheliterallysteppedintoitSomeoftheteaspirtedovermydress-thegreyoneImeanttotellyouaboutitbefore。
  CAPTGAside。TherearethemakingsofastrategistaboutJackthoughhismethodsarecoarseAloud。You’dbettergetanewdress,thenAside。Letuspraythatthatwillturnher。
  MasGOh,itisn’tstainedintheleastIonlythoughtthatI’dtellyouReturningtoletter。Whatanextraordinaryperson!Reads。
  “ButneedIremindyouthatyouhavetakenuponyourselfachargeofwardship“-whatintheworldisachargeofwardship?-“whichasyouyourselfknow,mayendinConsequences“-
  CAPTGAside。It’ssafesttoletemseeeverythingastheycomeacrossit;but’seemstomethatthereareexceptionstotherule。
  Aloud。Itoldyouthattherewasnothingtobegainedfromrearrangingmytable。
  MasGAbsently。Whatdoesthewomanmean?ShegoesontalkingaboutConsequences-’’almostinevitableConsequences“
  withacapitalC-forhalfapageFlushingscarlet。Oh,goodgracious!Howabominable!
  CAPTGPromptly。Doyouthinkso?Doesn’titshowasortofmotherlyinterestinus?Aside。ThankHeavenHarryalwayswrappedhermeaningupsafely!Aloud。Isitabsolutelynecessarytogoonwiththeletter,darling?
  MasGIt’simpertinent-it’ssimplyhorridWhatrighthasthiswomantowriteinthiswaytoyou?Sheoughtn’tto。
  CAPTGWhenyouwritetotheDeercourtgirl,InoticethatyougenerallyfillthreeorfoursheetsCan’tyouletanoldwomanbabbleonpaperonceinaway?Shemeanswell。
  MRSGIdon’tcareSheshouldn’twrite,andifshedid,yououghttohaveshownmeherletter。
  CAPTGCan’tyouunderstandwhyIkeptittomyself,ormustI
  explainatlength-asIexplainedthefarcybuds?
  MasGFuriously。PipIhateyou!Thisisasbadasthoseidioticsaddle-bagsonthefloorNevermindwhetheritwouldpleasemeornot,yououghttohavegivenittometoread。
  CAPTGItcomestothesamethingYoutookityourself。
  MRSGYes,butifIhadn’ttakenit,youwouldn’thavesaidawordIthinkthisHarrietHerriott-it’slikeanameinabook-isaninterferingoldThing。
  CAPTGAside。Solongasyouthoroughlyunderstandthatsheisold,Idon’tmuchcarewhatyouthinkAloud。Verygood,dear。
  Wouldyouliketowriteandtellherso?She’sseventhousandmilesaway。
  MRSGIdon’twanttohaveany-thingtodowithher,butyououghttohavetoldmeTurningtolastpageofletter。Andshepatronizesme,tooI’veneverseenher!Reads。“Idonotknowhowtheworldstandswithyou;inallhumanprobabilityIshallneverknow;butwhateverImayhavesaidbefore,IprayforhersakemorethanforyoursthatallmaybewellIhavelearnedwhatmiserymeans,andIdarenotwishthatanyonedeartoyoushouldsharemyknowledge。”
  CAPTGGoodGod!Can’tyouleavethatletteralone,or,atleast,can’tyourefrainfromreadingitaloud?I’vebeenthroughitonce。
  Putitbackon’hedeskDoyouhearme?
  MasGIrresolutely。Ish-sha’n’t!LooksatG。’seyes。Oh,Pip,please!Ididn’tmeantomakeyouangry-’Deed,Ididn’tPip,I’msosorryIknowI’vewastedyourtime-CAPTGGrimly。YouhaveNow,willyoubegoodenoughtogo-ifthereisnothingmoreinmyroomthatyouareanxioustopryinto?
  MasGPuttingoutherhands。Oh,Pip,don’tlookatmelikethat!I’veneverseenyoulooklikethatbeforeandithu-urtsme!
  I’msorryIoughtn’ttohavebeenhereatall,and-and-and-
  sobbing。Oh,begoodtome!Begoodtome!There’sonlyyou-anywhere!Breaksdowninlongchair,hidingfaceincushions。
  CAPTGAside。Shedoesn’tknowhowsheflickedmeontheraw。
  Aloud,bendingoverchair。Ididn’tmeantobeharsh,dear-Ididn’treallyYoucanstayhereaslongasyouplease,anddowhatyoupleaseDon’tcrylikethatYou’llmakeyourselfsickAside。
  Whatonearthhascomeoverher?Aloud。Darling,what’sthematterwithyou?
  MrsGHerfacestillhidden。Letmego-letmegotomyownroomOnly-onlysayyouaren’tangrywithme。
  CAPTGAngrywithyou,love!OfcoursenotIwasangrywithmyselfI’dlostmytemperoverthesaddlery-Don’thideyourface,PussyIwanttokissit。
  Bendslower,MasGslidesrightarmroundhisneckSeveralinterludesandmuchsobbing。
  MasGInawhisper。Ididn’tmeanaboutthejamwhenIcameintotellyou-
  CAPT’GBotherthejamandtheequipment!Interlude。
  MasGStillmorefaintly。Myfingerwasn’tscaldedatall。
  I-[wantedtospeaktoyouabout-about-somethingelse,and-I
  didn’tknowhow。
  CAPTGSpeakaway,thenLookingintohereyes。Eb!
  Wha-at?
  Minnie!Here,don’tgoaway!Youdon’tmean?
  MasGHysterically,backingtoportiereandhidingherfaceinitsfold’s。The-theAlmostInevitableConsequences!FlitsthroughportiereasGattemptstocatchher,andboltsherselfinherownroom。
  CAPTGHisarmsfullofportiere。Oh!Sittingdownheavilyinchair。I’mabruteapig-abully,andablackguardMypoor,poorlittledarling!“Madetobeamusedonly?”-
  THEVALLEYOFTHESHADOW
  KnowingGoodandEvil。
  SCENE-TheGADSBYS’bungalowinthePlains,inJune。
  Punkah-cooliesasleepinverandawhereCaptainGADBYiswalkingupanddownDOCTOR’StrapinporchJUNIOR
  CHAPLAINdriftinggenerallyanduneasilythroughthehouse。
  Time,3:4OAMHeat94degreesinveranda。
  DOCTORComingintoverandaandtouchingGontheshoulder。Youhadbettergoinandseehernow。
  CAPTGThecolorofgoodcigar-ash。Eb,wha-at?Oh,yes,ofcourseWhatdidyousay?
  DOCTORSyllablebysyllable。Go-in-to-the-room-and-see-
  herShewantstospeaktoyouAside,testily。Ishallhavehimonmyhandsnext。
  JUNIORCHAPLAINInhalf-lighteddiningroom。Isn’tthereany?-
  DOCTORSavagely。Hsb,youlittlefool!
  JUNIORCHAPLAINLetmedomyworkGadsby,stopaminuteIEdgesafterG。
  DOCTORWaittillshesendsforyouatleast-atleastManalive,he’llkillyouifyougointhere!Whatareyoubotheringhimfor?
  JUNIORCHAPLAINComingintoveranda。I’vegivenhimastiffbrandy-pegHewantsitYou’veforgottenhimforthelasttenhoursand-forgottenyourselftoo。
  Gentersbedroom,whichislitbyonenight-lampAyakonthefloorpretendingtobeasleep。
  VOICEFromthebed。Alldownthestreet-suchbonfires!Ayah,goandputthemout!Appealingly。HowcanIsleepwithaninstallationoftheC。I。Einmyroom?No-notC。I。ESomethingelseWhatwasit?
  CAPTGTryingtocontrolhisvoice。Minnie,I’mhere。
  Bendingoverbed。Don’tyouknowme,Mmnie?It’sme-it’sPhil-it’syourhusband。