第 31 节
作者:浮游云中      更新:2021-02-20 16:27      字数:9322
  stream   of   delighted   interjections;   borrowed   from   all   manner   of   classical
  and unclassical tongues。
  〃Strand!     Strand!〃 he cried; when the first tumult of excitement   had
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  subsided;      〃you    most    marvelous      and    incomprehensible        Strand!     From
  what     region    of  heaven     or  earth   did   you   jump    down     into   our   prosaic
  neighborhood?         And what in the world possessed you to choose our barns
  as   the   centre   of   your   operations;   and   nearly   put   me   to   the   necessity   of
  having you arrested for vagrancy?              How I do regret that Cousin Augusta's
  entreaties     mollified     my    heart    toward    you。     Pardon      me;    I  have    not
  introduced       you。    This     is  my    cousin;    Miss    Oddson;      and   this   is  my
  miraculous friend; the world…renowned author; vagrant; and naturalist; Mr。
  Marcus Strand。〃
  Strand stepped forward; made a deep but somewhat awkward bow; and
  was dimly aware that a small soft hand was extended to him; and; in the
  next moment; was enclosed in his own broad and voluminous palm。                             He
  grasped it firmly; and; in one of those profound abstractions into which he
  was apt to fall when under the sway of a strong impression; pressed it with
  increasing      cordiality;    while    he   endeavored      to   find   fitting  answers     to
  Arnfinn's multifarious questions。
  〃To   tell   the   truth;   Vording;〃   he   said;   in   a   deep;   full…ringing   bass;   〃I
  didn't know that these were your cousin's barnsI mean that your uncle〃
  giving the unhappy hand an emphatic shake〃inhabited these barns。〃
  〃No;   thank heaven;   we   are   not quite   reduced to that;〃   cried Arnfinn;
  gayly; 〃we   still boast   a parsonage;   as   you   will presently  discover;   and   a
  very   bright     and   cozy    one;   to  boot。    But;    whatever     you    do;  have    the
  goodness to release Augusta's hand。               Don't you see how desperately she
  is struggling; poor thing?〃
  Strand dropped   the   hand   as   if it   had   been   a   hot   coal;  blushed to   the
  edge   of   his   hair;  and   made   another   profound   reverence。        He   was   a   tall;
  huge…limbed   youth;   with   a   frame   of   gigantic   mold;   and   a   large;   blonde;
  shaggy head;  like  that of some   good…natured antediluvian   animal;  which
  might feel the disadvantages of its size amid the puny beings of this later
  stage    of   creation。    There     was    a  frank   directness     in  his  gaze;    and   an
  unconsciousness of self; which made him very winning; and which could
  not   fail   of   its   effect   upon   a   girl   who;   like   Augusta;   was   fond   of  the
  uncommon;  and hated smooth;  facile   and   well…tailored   young   men;  with
  the   labels   of   society   and   fashion   upon   their   coats;   their   mustaches;   and
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  their    speech。    And      Strand;   with    his  large   sun…burned      face;   his  wild…
  growing   beard;   blue   woolen   shirt;   top   boots;   and   unkempt   appearance
  generally;     was    a  sufficiently    startling   phenomenon        to  satisfy   even    so
  exacting   a   fancy   as   hers;   for;   after   reading   his   book   about   the   Wading
  Birds;    she   had    made    up   her   mind    that   he   must   have    few    points   of
  resemblance   to   the   men   who had hitherto   formed   part   of her   own   small
  world; although she had not until now decided just in what way he was to
  differ。
  〃Suppose   I   help   you   carry   your   knapsack;〃   said   Arnfinn;   who   was
  flitting about like a small nimble spaniel trying to make friends with some
  large;    good…natured      Newfoundland。         〃You     must    be   very   tired;  having
  roamed about in this Quixotic fashion!〃
  〃No;     I  thank   you;〃    responded      Strand;   with    an   incredulous     laugh;
  glancing   alternately  from Arnfinn   to   the  knapsack;   as   if   estimating   their
  proportionate       weight。    〃I   am    afraid   you   would     rue   your   bargain    if  I
  accepted it。〃
  〃I suppose you have a great many stuffed birds at home;〃 remarked the
  girl; looking with self…forgetful admiration at the large brawny figure。
  〃No; I have hardly any;〃 answered he; seating himself on the ground;
  and pulling a thick note…book from his pocket。                   〃I prefer live creatures。
  Their   anatomical       and   physiological      peculiarities   have    been    studied    by
  others;     and    volumes      have    been     written    about    them。      It    is  their
  psychological traits; ii   you will   allow  the expression;  which interest   me;
  and those I can only get at while they are alive。〃
  〃How delightful!〃
  Some minutes later they were all on their way to the Parsonage。                      The
  sun;   in   spite   of   its   mid…   summer   wakefulness;   was   getting   red…eyed   and
  drowsy; and the purple mists which hung in scattered fragments upon the
  forest    below    had    lost  something      of  their   deep…tinged     brilliancy。    But
  Augusta;   quite   blind   to   the   weakened   light   effects;   looked   out   upon   the
  broad      landscape     in   ecstasy;    and;    appealing     to   her    more    apathetic
  companions;   invited   them   to   share   her   joy   at   the   beauty   of   the   faint…
  flushed summer night。
  〃You are getting quite dithyrambic; my dear;〃 remarked Arnfinn; with
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  an   air   of   cousinly  superiority;   which   he   felt   was   eminently  becoming   to
  him; and Augusta looked up with quick surprise; then smiled in an absent
  way; and forgot what she had been saying。              She had no suspicion but that
  her enthusiasm had been all for the sunset。
  III。
  In a life so outwardly barren and monotonous as Augusta'sa life in
  which the small external events were so firmly interwoven with the subtler
  threads of yearnings; wants; and desires the introduction of so large and
  novel a fact as Marcus Strand would naturally produce some perceptible
  result。    It was that deplorable inward restlessness of hers; she reasoned;
  which had hitherto made her existence seem so empty and unsatisfactory;
  but now his presence filled the hours; and the newness of his words; his
  manner; and his whole person afforded inexhaustible material for thought。
  It was now a week since his arrival; and while Arnfinn and Inga chatted at
  leisure; drew caricatures; or read aloud to each other in some shady nook
  of the garden; she and Strand would roam along the beach; filling the vast
  unclouded horizon with large glowing images of the future of the human
  race。    He   always   listened   in   sympathetic   silence   while   she   unfolded   to
  him her often childishly daring schemes for the amelioration of suffering
  and the righting of social wrongs; and when she had finished; and he met
  the earnest appeal of her dark eye; there would often be a pause; during
  which each; with a half unconscious lapse from the impersonal; would feel
  more   keenly   the   joy   of   this   new   and   delicious   mental   companionship。
  And      when    at   length    he   answered;     sometimes       gently   refuting    and
  sometimes       assenting    to  her   proposition;     it  was   always    with   a   slow;
  deliberate earnestness; as if he felt but her deep sincerity; and forgot for
  the   moment   her   sex;   her   youth;   and   her   inexperience。    It   was   just   this
  kind of fellowship for which she had hungered so long; and her heart went
  out with a great gratitude toward this strong and generous man; who was
  willing   to   recognize   her   humanity;   and   to   respond   with   an   ever…ready
  frankness;   unmixed       with   petty   suspicions    and   second   thoughts;     to  the
  eager needs of her half… starved nature。            It is quite characteristic; too; of
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  the   type   of   womanhood   which Augusta   represents   (and   with   which   this
  broad   continent   of   ours   abounds);   that;   with   her   habitual   disregard   of
  appearances; she would have scorned the notion that their intercourse had
  any ultimate en