PresentlyhecameoutandfoundmeleavingcardsontheMess。
Therewasnooneelseintheante-room。
Hesaid：“TheBoyhasgoneoutshootingDOESamanshootteturwitharevolverandawriting-case？”
Isaid：“Nonsense，Major！”forIsawwhatwasinhismind。
Hesaid：“Nonsenseornonsense，I’mgoingtotheCanalnow——atonceIdon’tfeeleasy。”
Thenhethoughtforaminute，andsaid：“Canyoulie？”
“Youknowbest。”Ianswered“It’smyprofession。”
“Verywell。”saidtheMajor；“youmustcomeoutwithmenow——atonce——inanekkatotheCanaltoshootblack-buckGoandputonshikar-kit——quick——anddriveherewithagun。”
TheMajorwasamasterfulman；andIknewthathewouldnotgiveordersfornothingSoIobeyed，andonreturnfoundtheMajorpackedupinanekka——gun-casesandfoodslungbelow——allreadyforashooting-trip。
HedismissedthedriveranddrovehimselfWejoggedalongquietlywhileinthestation；butassoonaswegottothedustyroadacrosstheplains，hemadethatponyflyAcountry-bredcandonearlyanythingatapinchWecoveredthethirtymilesinunderthreehours，butthepoorbrutewasnearlydead。
OnceIsaid：“What’stheblazinghurry，Major？”
Hesaid，quietly：“TheBoyhasbeenalone，byhimself，for——one，two，five——fourteenhoursnow！Itellyou，Idon’tfeeleasy。”
Thisuneasinessspreaditselftome，andIhelpedtobeatthepony。
WhenwecametotheCanalEngineer’sRestHousetheMajorcalledforTheBoy’sservant；buttherewasnoanswerThenwewentuptothehouse，callingforTheBoybyname；buttherewasnoanswer。
“Oh，he’soutshooting。”saidI。
JustthenIsawthroughoneofthewindowsalittlehurricane-lampburningThiswasatfourintheafternoonWebothstoppeddeadintheverandah，holdingourbreathtocatcheverysound；andweheard，insidetheroom，the“brr——brr——brr“ofamultitudeoffliesTheMajorsaidnothing，buthetookoffhishelmetandweenteredverysoftly。
TheBoywasdeadonthecharpoyinthecentreofthebare，lime-
washedroomHehadshothisheadnearlytopieceswithhisrevolverThegun-caseswerestillstrapped，sowasthebedding，andonthetablelayTheBoy’swriting-casewithphotographsHehadgoneawaytodielikeapoisonedrat！
TheMajorsaidtohimselfsoftly：“PoorBoy！Poor，POORdevil！”
Thenheturnedawayfromthebedandsaid：“Iwantyourhelpinthisbusiness。”
KnowingTheBoywasdeadbyhisownhand，Isawexactlywhatthathelpwouldbe，soIpassedovertothetable，tookachair，litacheroot，andbegantogothroughthewriting-case；theMajorlookingovermyshoulderandrepeatingtohimself：“Wecametoolate！——Likearatinahole！——Poor，POORdevil！”
TheBoymusthavespenthalfthenightinwritingtohispeople，andtohisColonel，andtoagirlatHome；andassoonashehadfinished，musthaveshothimself，forhehadbeendeadalongtimewhenwecamein。
Ireadallthathehadwritten，andpassedovereachsheettotheMajorasIfinishedit。
WesawfromhisaccountshowveryseriouslyhehadtakeneverythingHewroteabout“disgracewhichhewasunabletobear“——
“indelibleshame“——“criminalfolly“——“wastedlife。”andsoon；
besidesalotofprivatethingstohisFatherandMothertoomuchtoosacredtoputintoprintThelettertothegirlatHomewasthemostpitifulofall；andIchokedasIreaditTheMajormadenoattempttokeepdry-eyedIrespectedhimforthatHereadandrockedhimselftoandfro，andsimplycriedlikeawomanwithoutcaringtohideitThelettersweresodrearyandhopelessandtouchingWeforgotallaboutTheBoy’sfollies，andonlythoughtofthepoorThingonthecharpoyandthescrawledsheetsinourhandsItwasutterlyimpossibletoletthelettersgoHome。
TheywouldhavebrokenhisFather’sheartandkilledhisMotherafterkillingherbeliefinherson。
AtlasttheMajordriedhiseyesopenly，andsaid：“NicesortofthingtospringonanEnglishfamily！Whatshallwedo？”
Isaid，knowingwhattheMajorhadbroughtmebutfor：“TheBoydiedofcholeraWewerewithhimatthetimeWecan’tcommitourselvestohalf-measuresComealong。”
ThenbeganoneofthemostgrimycomicscenesIhaveevertake...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：