登陆注册
5268500000027

第27章 NEMESIS AND THE CANDY MAN(1)

"We sail at eight in the morning on the Celtic," said Honoria, plucking a loose thread from her lace sleeve.

"I heard so," said young Ives, dropping his hat, and muffing it as he tried to catch it, "and I came around to wish you a pleasant voyage."

"Of course you heard it," said Honoria, coldly sweet, "since we have had no opportunity of inform- ing you ourselves."

Ives looked at her pleadingly, but with little hope.

Outside in the street a high-pitched voice chanted, not unmusically, a commercial gamut of "Cand-de-ee-ee-s! Nice, fresh cand-ee-ee-ee-ees!d "It's our old candy man," said Honoria, leaning out the window and beckoning. "I want some of his motto kisses. There's nothing in the Broadway shops half so good."

The candy man stopped his pushcart in front of the old Madison Avenue home. He had a holiday and festival air unusual to street peddlers. His tie was new and bright red, and a horseshoe pin, almost life-size, glittered speciously from its folds. His brown, thin face was crinkled into a semi-foolish smile. Striped cuffs with dog-head buttons covered the tan on his wrists.

"I do believe he's going to get married," said Honoria, pityingly. "I never saw him taken that way before. And to-day is the first time in months that he has cried his wares, I am sure."

Ives threw a coin to the sidewalk. The candy man knows his customers. He filled a paper bag, climbed the old-fashioned stoop and banded it in.

"I remember -- " said Ives.

"Wait," said Honoria.

She took a small portfolio from the drawer of a writing desk and from the portfolio a slip of flimsy paper one-quarter of an inch by two inches in size.

"This," said Honoria, inflexibly, "was wrapped about the first one we opened."

"It was a year ago," apologized Ives, as he held out his hand for it, "As long as skies above are blue To you, my love, I will be true."

This he read from the slip of flimsy paper.

"We were to have sailed a fortnight ago," said Honoria, gossipingly. "It has been such a warm summer. The town is quite deserted. There is no- where to go. Yet I am told that one or two of the roof gardens are amusing. The, singing -- and the dancing -- on one or two seem to have met with ap- proval."

Ives did not wince. When you are in the ring you are not surprised when your adversary taps you on the ribs.

"I followed the candy man that time," said Ives, irrelevantly, "and gave him five dollars at the corner of Broadway."

He reached for the paper bag in Honoria's lap, took out one of the square, wrapped confections and slowly unrolled it.

Sara Chillingworth's father," said Honoria, "has given her an automobile."

"Read that," said Ives, handing over the slip that had been wrapped around the square of candy.

"Life teaches us -- how to live, Love teaches us -- to forgive."

Honoria's checks turned pink.

"Honoria!" cried Ives, starting up from his chair.

"Miss Clinton," corrected Honoria, rising like Venus from the head on the surf. "I warned you not to speak that name again."'

"Honoria," repeated Ives, "you must bear me. I know I do not deserve your forgiveness, but I must have it. There is a madness that possesses one some- times for which his better nature is not responsible.

I throw everything else but you to the winds. I strike off the chains that have bound me. I re- nounce the siren that lured me from you. Let the bought verse of that street peddler plead for me. It is you only whom I can love. Let your love forgive, and I swear to you that mine will be true 'as long as skies above are blue.'

On the west side, between Sixth and Seventh Ave- nues, an alley cuts the block in the middle. It per- ishes in a little court in the centre of the block. The district is theatrical; the inhabitants, the bubbling froth of half a dozen nations. The atmosphere is Bohemian, the language polyglot, the locality pre- carious.

In the court at the rear of the alley lived the candy man. At seven o'clock be pushed his cart into the narrow entrance, rested it upon the irregular stone slats and sat upon one of the handles to cool himself.

There was a great draught of cool wind through the alley.

There was a window above the spot where be al- ways stopped his pushcart. In the cool of the after- noon, Mlle. Adele, drawing card of the Aerial Roof Garden, sat at the window and took the air. Gen- erally her ponderous mass of dark auburn hair was down, that the breeze might have the felicity of aid- ing Sidonie, the maid, in drying and airing it.

About her shoulders -- the point of her that the pho- tographers always made the most of -- was loosely draped a heliotrope scarf. Her arms to the elbow were bare -- there were no sculptors there to rave over them -- but even the stolid bricks in the walls of the alley should not have been so insensate as to disapprove. While she sat thus Fe1ice, another maid, anointed and bathed the small feet that twinkled and so charmed the nightly Aerial audiences.

Gradually Mademoiselle began to notice the candy man stopping to mop his brow and cool himself be- neath her window. In the hands of her maids she was deprived for the time of her vocation -- the charming and binding to her chariot of man. To lose time was displeasing to Mademoiselle. Here was the candy man - no fit game for her darts, truly -- but of the sex upon which she had been born to make war.

After casting upon him looks of unseeing coldness for a dozen times, one afternoon she suddenly thawed and poured down upon him a smile that put to shame the sweets upon his cart.

"Candy man," she said, cooingly, while Sidonie followed her impulsive dive, brushing the heavy auburn hair, "don't you think I am beautiful?

同类推荐
  • 佛说十吉祥经

    佛说十吉祥经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • RUTH

    RUTH

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 教诫新学比丘行护律仪

    教诫新学比丘行护律仪

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 松峰说疫

    松峰说疫

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 明伦汇编人事典十八岁部

    明伦汇编人事典十八岁部

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 毒步天下:嫡女御夫有术

    毒步天下:嫡女御夫有术

    庶女重生,侮辱,算计,陷害都将成为过去式,抓鬼,除恶,治疗流行一时的男人病;宅斗,宫斗,复仇,在一大群变态的女人堆里鹤立鸡群!天底下最奇美最绝情的王爷殿下,为她不惜颠覆朝纲,与天下人为敌!--情节虚构,请勿模仿
  • 穿文之女配人生

    穿文之女配人生

    穿进文里没什么,穿成女配也没什么,只要能躲得过命运就好。于她:原本只是邻家小弟,可是不知不觉中发现他是那么独特的存在于她的生活。于他:原本只是世交的陌生人,可是在不知不觉中却发现她成为了自己生命中的束缚。可是生活中太多的不确定性,让他们之间有太多的阻碍。生活在教会他们成长。这是个想改变命运的女配,如愿远离了男女主,却被披着羊皮的狼孩子吃掉的故事。文中所提作品为作者虚构。
  • 万古第一天骄

    万古第一天骄

    浩渺天地,天骄当世,群雄并起。少年江枫,因一块龙血魂玉,被视作天煞孤星,弃于妖兽山脉。然,天不亡我,一朝崛起,制霸五域。一人一剑,败天骄,压群雄,成就绝世神君之名。
  • 石板塘(上卷)

    石板塘(上卷)

    洞庭湖南岸那一大片低矮的丘陵上,有一座孤零零的高山突兀而起。那山呈带状,高低起伏,绵延百里,很像一条卧伏的蚕虫,故名卧蚕山。但卧蚕山只是地图上的名字,老百姓并不这么叫她。当地人最重风水,起房盖屋时,讲究“前有照,后有靠,左右山环水抱”。卧蚕山巍然耸立,气势雄伟,形状颇有点像照壁,且终年郁郁葱葱,风光秀丽,还有许多历史遗迹、离奇传说以及名人的活动踪影。
  • 篮坛指挥官

    篮坛指挥官

    “没有什么事情是一个徽章解决不了的!如果有,那就再来一个!”“如何评价我的对手们?唔,总冠军只有一个,挺对不起他们的……”“怎么让队友信任我?很简单,只要听我指挥,那他们要什么有什么!”……自从韩淼得到了某神秘而腹黑的系统后,NBA的赛场上,就多了一个指挥官的传说……小寒第二本篮球文,不一样的设定,一样的精彩,喜欢本书的朋友欢迎加群,群号码:618582460,嗨起来~
  • 从长城开始的次元远征

    从长城开始的次元远征

    穿越到宋朝成为了一名八十多岁的老怪物,身为无影禁军的殿帅看赵公明如何用山海异兽、武功心法、绝世神兵武装自己的军团,多年之后赵公明微笑着看着跟随自己征战万界的无影禁军…………看我们的主角赵公明如何用坑爹的召唤系统打造出一只属于自己的无影禁军。萌新勿喷…………
  • 妃临天下

    妃临天下

    -------藏头诗------静从心生本禅机女由天成自清纯其眸一回惊花雨姝色凝眸若翩云爱恨纠缠,情意迷乱,阴暗皇宫,快意江湖,杀场征战……看懦弱隐忍的小女子如何成长为一代天骄,如何左右几个男人的一生!让静姝带你去祁国,经历血腥风雨,柔肠千转!投票,投票,还是投票!收藏,收藏,还是收藏!留言,留言,还是留言!===============推荐自己的文:穿到古代寻美男,笑到手脚抽筋:火爆王爷虐情妃,爱到肝肠寸断:极品小太监(BL)另类刺激的爱:*******☆☆★★隆重推出【潇湘十二少】大作★★☆☆蓝大少:【傻儿相公】颜二少:【丫鬟不出墙】本人:段家三少:【妃临天下】云四少:【冷宫弃后】诺五少:【抢孕妈咪】丫六少:【妻上夫下】乐七少:【吃你吃上瘾】彤八少:【王爷,我休了你】吧十少:【圈养绝色相公】银十一少:【无福消受美男恩】妖十二少:【养个奴隶做老婆】好友冷雨:【次品奶爸驯稚妻】蓝颜紫妖:【堇色柔妃双面皇】http://m.wkkk.net/edit/静的博客
  • 破天雷帝

    破天雷帝

    重生天玄大陆,石破惊天一雪前耻,自此雷帝披靡!
  • 倾世枭凰

    倾世枭凰

    她贵为将军府七小姐,才华卓绝,艳冠群芳,明明可靠脸蛋吃饭,却为了所谓的真爱,帮他出谋划策,智斗群臣,稳保江山。然而最后换来的确实她将军府通敌叛国,被满门抄斩,最后她也被刺瞎右眼,挑断手脚筋,惨死他那些女人手中。重活一世她只想保护家人,让害过她的人都付出代价。她把一切都计划好了,却遇到了一个计划之外的人。他说:你要杀的人,我帮你杀!你要谋的国,我帮你谋!
  • 卧虎藏龙

    卧虎藏龙

    锄奸队队长龙飞,刚正不阿,嫉恶如仇,一次偶然机会打入汪伪政府的监察厅,成为了二队队长,在于敌人的较量,斗智斗勇,一次次化解危机,拯救百姓,杀鬼子,除汉奸,谱写抗日传奇!