首页 >出版文学> Initials Only>第35章

第35章

  ”Yes,”cameinfalteringreply。”Hehasheardourvoices;Imustgotohim。””SaythatOrlandowisheshimagoodnight,”smiledherheart’senemy,withabowofinfinitegrace。Sheshuddered,andwashasteningfromtheroomwhenherglancefellonMr。Challoner。Hewaspaleandlookedgreatlydisturbed。Theprospectofbeingleftalonewithamanwhomshehadherselfdenouncedtohimashisdaughter’smurderer,mightproveataxtohisstrengthtowhichshehadnorighttosubjecthim。Pausingwithanappealingair,shemadehimaslightgesturewhichheatonceunderstood。”Iwillaccompanyyouintothehall,”saidhe。”Thenifanythingiswrong,youhavebuttospeakmyname。”
  ButOrlandoBrotherson,displeasedbythismove,tookastepwhichbroughthimbetweenthetwo。”Youcanhearherfromhereifshechoosestospeak。There’sapointtobesettledbetweenusbeforeeitherofusleavesthishouse,andthisopportunityisasgoodasanother。Gotomybrother,MissScott;wewillawaityourreturn。”
  Aflashfromtheproudbanker’seye;butnodemur,ratheragestureofconsent。Doris,withalookofdeepanxiety,spedaway,andthetwomenstoodfacetoface。
  Itwasoneofthosemomentswhichmenrecogniseasmemorable。Whathadtheonetosayortheothertohear,worthyofthispreambleandthemorethandoubtfulrelationinwhichtheystoodeachtoeach?
  Mr。Challonerhadmoretimethanheexpectedinwhichtowonderandgirdhimselfforwhateversufferingorshockawaitedhim。For,OrlandoBrotherson,unlikehisusualself,kepthimwaitingwhilehecollectedhisownwits,which,strangetosay,seemedtohavevanishedwiththegirl。
  Butthequestionfinallycame。”Mr。Challoner,doyouknowmybrother?””Ihaveneverseenhim。””Doyouknowhim?Doesheknowyou?””Notatall。Wearestrangers。”
  Itwassaidhonestly。Theydidnotknoweachother。Mr。Challonerwasquitecorrectinhisstatement。
  Buttheotherhadhisdoubts。Whyshouldn’thehave?ThecoincidenceoffindingthismournerifnotavengerofEdithChalloner,inhisowndirectradiusagain,ataspotsodistant,soobscureandsodisconnectedwithanyapparentbusinessreason,wascertainlystartlingenoughunlessthetiecouldbefoundinhisbrother’snameandcloserelationshiptohimself。
  He,therefore,allowedhimselftopressthequestion:”Mensometimescorrespondwhodonotknoweachother。YouknewthataBrothersonlivedhere?””Yes。””Andhopedtolearnsomethingaboutme”No;myinterestwassolelywithyourbrother。””Withmybrother?WithOswald?Whatinterestcanyouhaveinhimapartfromme?Oswaldis-”
  Suddenlyathoughtname-anunimaginableone;onewithpowertoblanchevenhishardycheekandshakeasoulunassailablebyallsmallemotions。”OswaldBrotherson!”herepeated;addinginunintelligibletonestohimself-”O。B。Thesameinitials!Theyarefollowinguptheseinitials。PoorOswald。”Thenaloud:”Ithardlybecomesme,perhaps,toquestionyourmotivesinthisattemptatmakingmybrother’sacquaintance。IthinkIcanguessthem;butyourlabourwillbewasted。Oswald’sinterestsdonotextendbeyondthistown;theyhardlyextendtome。Wearestrangers,almost。Youwilllearnnothingfromhimonthesubjectwhichnaturallyengrossesyou。”
  Mr。Challonersimplybowed。”Idonotfeelcalledupon,”saidhe,”toexplainmyreasonsforwishingtoknowyourbrother。Iwillsimplysatisfyyouuponapointwhichmaywellrouseyourcuriosity。
  Yourememberthat-thatmydaughter’slastactwasthewritingofalettertoalittleprotegeeofhers。MissScottwasthatprotegee。
  Inseekingher,Icameuponhim。Doyourequiremetosaymoreonthissubject?WaittillIhaveseenMr。OswaldBrothersonandthenperhapsIcandoso。”
  Receivingnoanswertothis,Mr。Challonerturnedagaintothemanwhowastheobjectofhisdeepestsuspicions,tofindhimstillinthedazeofthatunimaginablethought,battlingwithit,scoffingatit,succumbingtoitandallwithoutaword。Mr。Challonerwaswithoutclewtothisstruggle,butthemightofitandthemysteryofit,drovehiminextremeagitationfromtheroom。Thoughproofwaslacking,thoughproofmightnevercome,nothingcouldeveralterhisbelieffromthismomentonthatDoriswasrightinherestimateofthisman’sguilt,howeverunsubstantialherreasoningmightappear。
  Howfarhemighthavebeencarriedbythisnewconviction;whetherhewouldhaveleftthehousewithoutseeingDorisagainorexchanginganotherwordwiththemanwhoseverypresencestifledhim,hehadnoopportunitytoshow,forbeforehehadtakenanotherstep,heencounteredthehurryingfigureofDoris,whowasreturningtoherguestswithanairofmarkedrelief。”Hedoesnotknowthatyouarehere,”shewhisperedtoMr。Challoner,asshepassedhim。Then,assheagainconfrontedOrlandowhohastenedtodismisshistroubleatherapproach,shesaidquitegaily,”Mr。Brothersonheardyourvoice,andisgladtoknowthatyou’rehere。Hebademegiveyouthiskeyandsaythatyouwouldhavefoundthingsinbettershapeifhehadbeeninconditiontosuperintendtheremovaloftheboxestotheplacehehadpreparedforyoubeforehebecameill。Iwastheonetodothat,”sheadded,controllingheraversionwithmanifesteffort。”WhenMr。BrothersoncametohimselfheaskedifIhadheardaboutanylargeboxeshavingarrivedatthestationshippedtohisname。Isaidthatseveralnoticesofsuchhadcometothehouse。Atwhichherequestedmetoseethattheywerecarriedatoncetothestrangelookingshedhehadhadputupforhiminthewoods。Ithoughtthattheywereforhim,andIsawtothethingmyself。Twoorthreeothershavecomesinceandbeentakentothesameplace。Ithinkyouwillfindnothingbrokenordisturbed;Mr。Brotherson’swishesareusuallyrespected。””Thatisfortunateforme,”wasthecourteousreply。
  ButOrlandoBrothersonwasnothimself,notatallhimselfashebowedaformaladieuandpastthedrawn-upsentinel-likefigureofMr。Challoner,withoutamotiononhispartoronthepartofthatgentlemantolightenanexitwhichhadsomethinginitofdoomanddreadpresage。
  CHAOS
  ItisnotdifficulttounderstandMr。Challoner’sfeelingsoreventhoseofDorisatthemomentofMr。Brotherson’sdeparture。ButwhythischangeinBrothersonhimself?Whythissenseofsomethingnewandterriblerisingbetweenhimandthesuddenlybecloudedfuture?
  Letusfollowhimtohislonelyhotel-roomandseeifwecansolvethepuzzle。
  Butfirst,doesheunderstandhisowntrouble?Hedoesnotseemto。
  Forwhen,hishatthrownaside,hestops,erectandfrowningundertheflaringgas-jethehadnorecollectionoflighting,hisfirstactwastolifthishandtohisheadinagestureofsurprisinghelplessnessforhim,whilesnatchesofbrokensentencesfellfromhislipsamongwhichcouldbeheard:”Whathascometome?Undoneinanhour!Doublyundone!Firstbyafaceandthenbythisthoughtwhichsurelythedevilshavewhisperedtome。Mr。ChallonerandOswald!Whatisthelinkbetweenthem?GreatGod!whatisthelink?Notmyself?Whothenorwhat?”
  Flinginghimselfintoachair,heburiedhisfaceinhishands。
  Thereweretwodemonstofight-thefirstintheguiseofanangel。
  Doris!Unknownyesterday,unknownanhourago;butnow!Hadthereeverbeenaday-anhour-whenshehadnotbeenastheverythrobofhisheart,thelightofhiseyes,andthecrownorallimaginableblisses?
  Hewasstartledathisownemotionashecontemplatedherimageinhisfancyandlistenedforthelostechoofthefewwordsshehadspoken-wordssofullofmusicwhentheyreferredtohisbrother,sohardandcoldwhenshesimplyaddressedhimself。
  Thiswasnopassingadmirationofyouthforacaptivatingwoman。
  ThiswasnoteventhelovehehadgiventoEdithChalloner。Thiswassomethingspringingfull-bornoutofnothing!aforcewhich,forthefirsttimeinhislife,madehimcomplaisanttothenaturalweaknessesofman!adreamandyetarealitystrongenoughtoblotoutthepast,remakethepresent,changetheaspectofallhishopes,andoutlineanewfate。Hedidnotknowhimself。Therewasnothinginhiswholehistorytogivehimanunderstandingofsuchfeelingsasthese。
  Canamanbeseizedasitwerebythehair,andswungupontheslopesofparadiseordownthesteepsofhell-withoutaforewarning,withoutthechanceeventosaywhetherhewishedsuchacataclysminhislifeorno?
  He,OrlandoBrotherson,hadneverthoughtmuchoflove。Sciencehadbeenhismistress;ambitionhislode-star。Suchfeelingashehadacknowledgedtohadbeenformen-strugglingmen,menwhoweredown-troddenandgaspinginthenarrowboundsofpovertyandhelplessness。MissChallonerhadroused-well,hispride。Hecouldseethatnow。Themightofthisnewemotionmadeplainmanythingshehadpassedbyasuseless,puerile,unworthyofamanofmentalcalibreandmight。HehadneverlovedEdithChalloneratanymomentoftheiracquaintanceship,thoughhehadbeensincereinthinkingthathedid。Doris’beauty,thehourhehadjustpassedwithher,hadundeceivedhim。
  Didhehailtheexperience?Itwasnotlikelytobringhimjoy。