登陆注册
5291400000036

第36章 CHAPTER XIII.(1)

The news was true. The life--the one fragile life--that had been used as a measuring-tape of time by law, was in danger of being frayed away. It was the last of a group of lives which had served this purpose, at the end of whose breathings the small homestead occupied by South himself, the larger one of Giles Winterborne, and half a dozen others that had been in the possession of various Hintock village families for the previous hundred years, and were now Winterborne's, would fall in and become part of the encompassing estate.

Yet a short two months earlier Marty's father, aged fifty-five years, though something of a fidgety, anxious being, would have been looked on as a man whose existence was so far removed from hazardous as any in the parish, and as bidding fair to be prolonged for another quarter of a century.

Winterborne walked up and down his garden next day thinking of the contingency. The sense that the paths he was pacing, the cabbage- plots, the apple-trees, his dwelling, cider-cellar, wring-house, stables, and weathercock, were all slipping away over his head and beneath his feet, as if they were painted on a magic-lantern slide, was curious. In spite of John South's late indisposition he had not anticipated danger. To inquire concerning his health had been to show less sympathy than to remain silent, considering the material interest he possessed in the woodman's life, and he had, accordingly, made a point of avoiding Marty's house.

While he was here in the garden somebody came to fetch him. It was Marty herself, and she showed her distress by her unconsciousness of a cropped poll.

"Father is still so much troubled in his mind about that tree," she said. "You know the tree I mean, Mr. Winterborne? the tall one in front of the house, that he thinks will blow down and kill us. Can you come and see if you can persuade him out of his notion? I can do nothing."

He accompanied her to the cottage, and she conducted him up- stairs. John South was pillowed up in a chair between the bed and the window exactly opposite the latter, towards which his face was turned.

"Ah, neighbor Winterborne," he said. "I wouldn't have minded if my life had only been my own to lose; I don't vallie it in much of itself, and can let it go if 'tis required of me. But to think what 'tis worth to you, a young man rising in life, that do trouble me! It seems a trick of dishonesty towards ye to go off at fifty-five! I could bear up, I know I could, if it were not for the tree--yes, the tree, 'tis that's killing me. There he stands, threatening my life every minute that the wind do blow. He'll come down upon us and squat us dead; and what will ye do when the life on your property is taken away?"

"Never you mind me--that's of no consequence," said Giles. "Think of yourself alone."

He looked out of the window in the direction of the woodman's gaze. The tree was a tall elm, familiar to him from childhood, which stood at a distance of two-thirds its own height from the front of South's dwelling. Whenever the wind blew, as it did now, the tree rocked, naturally enough; and the sight of its motion and sound of its sighs had gradually bred the terrifying illusion in the woodman's mind that it would descend and kill him. Thus he would sit all day, in spite of persuasion, watching its every sway, and listening to the melancholy Gregorian melodies which the air wrung out of it. This fear it apparently was, rather than any organic disease which was eating away the health of John South.

As the tree waved, South waved his head, making it his flugel-man with abject obedience. "Ah, when it was quite a small tree," he said, "and I was a little boy, I thought one day of chopping it off with my hook to make a clothes-line prop with. But I put off doing it, and then I again thought that I would; but I forgot it, and didn't. And at last it got too big, and now 'tis my enemy, and will be the death o' me. Little did I think, when I let that sapling stay, that a time would come when it would torment me, and dash me into my grave."

"No, no," said Winterborne and Marty, soothingly. But they thought it possible that it might hasten him into his grave, though in another way than by falling.

"I tell you what," added Winterborne, "I'll climb up this afternoon and shroud off the lower boughs, and then it won't be so heavy, and the wind won't affect it so."

"She won't allow it--a strange woman come from nobody knows where-- she won't have it done."

"You mean Mrs. Charmond? Oh, she doesn't know there's such a tree on her estate. Besides, shrouding is not felling, and I'll risk that much."

He went out, and when afternoon came he returned, took a billhook from the woodman's shed, and with a ladder climbed into the lower part of the tree, where he began lopping off--"shrouding," as they called it at Hintock--the lowest boughs. Each of these quivered under his attack, bent, cracked, and fell into the hedge. Having cut away the lowest tier, he stepped off the ladder, climbed a few steps higher, and attacked those at the next level. Thus he ascended with the progress of his work far above the top of the ladder, cutting away his perches as he went, and leaving nothing but a bare stem below him.

The work was troublesome, for the tree was large. The afternoon wore on, turning dark and misty about four o'clock. From time to time Giles cast his eyes across towards the bedroom window of South, where, by the flickering fire in the chamber, he could see the old man watching him, sitting motionless with a hand upon each arm of the chair. Beside him sat Marty, also straining her eyes towards the skyey field of his operations.

A curious question suddenly occurred to Winterborne, and he stopped his chopping. He was operating on another person's property to prolong the years of a lease by whose termination that person would considerably benefit. In that aspect of the case he doubted if he ought to go on. On the other hand he was working to save a man's life, and this seemed to empower him to adopt arbitrary measures.

同类推荐
  • 重刻宝王三昧念佛直指

    重刻宝王三昧念佛直指

    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。
  • 十六国春秋

    十六国春秋

    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。
  • Poems of Cheer

    Poems of Cheer

    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。
  • 云峰集

    云峰集

    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。
  • 佛说法受尘经

    佛说法受尘经

    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。
热门推荐
  • 致命的错误

    致命的错误

    悬疑之父,大师之中的大师,只可模仿,不可超越的巅峰,直逼理性与疯狂、压制与抗争的心理极限,你永远都猜不到故事的结局,你也无法预想故事情节的发展!精品、经典、精装、超值价蕾遇生与死、罪与罚的灵魂拷问。
  • 与你相遇好幸运

    与你相遇好幸运

    国内法医甘甜甜为了躲避母亲大人的相亲轰炸,背起行囊逃到意大利留学,刚踏上意大利的土地就碰到了抢劫的人,甘甜甜随手拉开的警车,竟为她开启了和暖萌浪漫的意大利汉子卢卡默爱情之旅。他神秘莫测却如影随形,甘甜甜不管在哪,似乎都可以看到这个魅力满分的意大利汉子。“卢卡!你特么到底是哪个行业的?巡警车里有你!火警车里有你!省财政办公室里也有你!现在连大广场上卖艺都有你的份儿!”“你不知道这首歌叫什么名字?”“想要大声说爱你……你到底,明不明白啊?”故事的最终,都是王子跟公主幸福快乐地生活在一起,纵使我不是公主,你也只不过是个没落的贵族,但是我们也可以——幸福而快乐地生活在一起。就像童话的结局,一样美好。
  • Pellucidar

    Pellucidar

    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。
  • 鬼马女神捕①:绝密卧底(上)

    鬼马女神捕①:绝密卧底(上)

    凤凰蓝翎和鸡妖姬十四生活在无忧无虑的灵界。他们的故乡叫灵谷,那里鸟语花香美不胜收。蓝翎最大的梦想是像父亲一样,成为一名威风凛凛的灵界神捕。不过,才三百多岁的她连报名参加捕快选拔的资格都没有。原本以为梦想离自己很远,可是蓝翎最近发现,梦想近在咫尺——她没有经过任何测试,直接当上了见习捕快。并且很快接到了一项特殊任务——化身人类少女,潜伏在人界的樱宁学校,找出并封印从灵界逃到人界的的许愿妖星夜姬。鸡妖姬十四因觊觎蓝翎的第一次涅槃之火,被烧掉了羽毛,所以誓死跟在蓝翎身后,直到她还回自己的羽毛。作为附属“物品”,姬十四被蓝翎带到了人界,一只灵兽和一只小妖开启了他们笑料不断、状况百出的人界卧底之旅。
  • 池塘里的儿子

    池塘里的儿子

    听到屋外传来低微的呻唤声,李中天先是凝神片刻,然后一步跨出屋门。正在屋外一棵海棠树边孵太阳的罗圆圆仰着头,右手拿着一小块餐巾纸,按在自己的两个鼻孔下,餐巾纸已经由白变红。李中天有点手足无措。“出鼻血啦,你到我房间里去拿几个棉花球,在桌上的小玻璃瓶里。”李中天样子有点慌张地走到罗圆圆房间里。罗圆圆的房间里有一股淡淡的香味,吃不准是床头柜上的那盆花发出的,还是残存在罗圆圆衣服上的香水发出的。
  • 穿越之悍妃妖娆

    穿越之悍妃妖娆

    谁动了谁的琴弦响起了思念,谁守着谁的伤悲独自泪成涟,谁应了谁的劫,谁又变成了谁的执念,最后血月凶兆出现,他们这世注定不能相守吗?那来世再从相见到相知,相伴,从相伴到相惜,相爱,从相爱到相依,相守,可愿?【情节虚构,请勿模仿】
  • 痞王霸妃

    痞王霸妃

    水姓?杨花?一朝穿越,二八少女变奶娃不说还给了她一个这么有创意的名字!她虽然有那么一点点贪财,一点点好色可她骨子里可是很纯洁滴的好不好仰天悲呼老天!来道雷劈了她吧!好像这还不够小小的年纪,居然已经嫁人了相公貌似还不止一只---------美男排排站,看着很养眼是没错可是个个都想要她的命不过是耍了点手段,使了点诡计怎么一个个开始双眼放光的看着她---------一号美相公“君子守承诺,既然拜了堂,那今生今世,你都是我的妻。”“拜堂?有这回事吗?”承诺?当初他要杀她的时候,怎么不见他记得承诺?二号美相公“女人,你什么时候给我生个娃?”“那个,我还小-----”生娃?一阵恶寒,她都还是个娃的好不好?三号美相公“这个姿势好像不错,要不?娘子咱俩试试?”“那个,现在大白天的------”被他打败了,哪有大男人整天抱着春宫图研究的!四号美相公“就你这样的女人,爷一搂一大把,给爷提鞋,爷都嫌你碍眼。”“那正好,这个休书你拿好。”小样,嫌弃姐,姐还嫌你是播种机呢!五号美相公“娘子,你可不能厚此薄彼,圆房可不能漏下我?”“那个,你行吗?”摆脱,十三四岁的小毛娃,知道什么是圆房吗?无耻神棍“小美人,人数还不够呢,加上我怎样?”“命里有时终须有,道士,你别强求。”什么嘛?说她有七个相公!开什么玩笑,五个都把她折腾疯了,七个?她还不早死早超生啊!冷酷杀手“你说,你是想要活着跟我们一起,还是让我杀了他们给你陪葬?”“我还有的选择吗?”卑鄙无耻,怎么还有这样威胁人滴!“众相公听令,关门放狗------”内容简介:这个不知道从哪里冒出来的‘天外飞仙’是怎么回事?蛮不讲理的赖在她家里,吃她的住她的,还像个大爷似地让她侍候着----------她忍了!谁让她酒后驾车撞到了他可是这该死的家伙怎么回事?不就是踹了他一脚,怎么就把她弄到这什么‘鬼地方’?情景一:“你怎么在我床上?”瞪着占据她大床一半的美男一只,某女惊呼出声。“你说呢?”某男横躺在床,一脸哀戚的看着她。“我们……”某女迷茫,宿醉的脑袋一片混沌,还有些隐隐抽疼。“我身上的痕迹足以说明一切了。”某男低头看着身上咬痕加抓痕,郁闷得想杀人。情景二:“你怎么在我床上?”某男看着斜倚在床头的女子,惊呼出声。
  • 烟屿楼笔记

    烟屿楼笔记

    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。
  • 锅庄

    锅庄

    龙仁青,当代著名作家。1967年3月生于青海湖畔铁卜加草原1986年7月毕业于青海海南民族师范学校藏语言文学专业。先后从事广播、电视、报纸等媒体的新闻翻译(汉藏文)、记者、编辑、导演、制片等职,现供职于青海电视台影视部。
  • 十天神境

    十天神境

    身为轮回之体,修炼众人都不能修炼的隐属性,行走于大陆之间,穿梭于光明与黑暗的位面,感悟轮回法则,打破轮回,超脱轮回之外,手持轮回剑,斩断世间轮回,破苍天,成神位,噬天神体又如何?看我双剑斩噬天!