登陆注册
5302400000051

第51章 Containing the history of the breaking of the hors

That the creature should have set his will against all others,and should resist me with such strength and devilishness,rouses in me the passion of the days when I cursed and raved and struck at those who angered me.'Tis fury that possesses me,and I could curse and shriek at him as I flog him,if 'twould be seemly.As it would not be so,I shut my teeth hard,and shriek and curse within them,and none can hear."Among those who made it their custom to miss no day when she went forth on Devil that they might stand near and behold her,there was one man ever present,and 'twas Sir John Oxon.He would stand as near as might be and watch the battle,a stealthy fire in his eye,and a look as if the outcome of the fray had deadly meaning to him.

He would gnaw his lip until at times the blood started;his face would by turns flush scarlet and turn deadly pale;he would move suddenly and restlessly,and break forth under breath into oaths of exclamation.One day a man close by him saw him suddenly lay his hand upon his sword,and having so done,still keep it there,though 'twas plain he quickly remembered where he was.

As for the horse's rider,my Lady Dunstanwolde,whose way it had been to avoid this man and to thrust him from her path by whatsoever adroit means she could use,on these occasions made no effort to evade him and his glances;in sooth,he knew,though none other did so,that when she fought with her horse she did it with a fierce joy in that he beheld her.'Twas as though the battle was between themselves;and knowing this in the depths of such soul as he possessed,there were times when the man would have exulted to see the brute rise and fall upon her,crushing her out of life,or dash her to the earth and set his hoof upon her dazzling upturned face.

Her scorn and deadly defiance of him,her beauty and maddening charm,which seemed but to increase with every hour that flew by,had roused his love to fury.Despite his youth,he was a villain,as he had ever been;even in his first freshness there had been older men--and hardened ones--who had wondered at the selfish mercilessness and blackness of the heart that was but that of a boy.

They had said among themselves that at his years they had never known a creature who could be so gaily a dastard,one who could plan with such light remorselessness,and using all the gifts given him by Nature solely for his own ends,would take so much and give so little.In truth,as time had gone on,men who had been his companions,and had indeed small consciences to boast of,had begun to draw off a little from him,and frequent his company less.He chose to tell himself that this was because he had squandered his fortune and was less good company,being pursued by creditors and haunted by debts;but though there was somewhat in this,perchance 'twas not the entire truth.

"By Gad!"said one over his cups,"there are things even a rake-hell fellow like me cannot do;but he does them,and seems not to know that they are to his discredit."There had been a time when without this woman's beauty he might have lived--indeed,he had left it of his own free vicious will;but in these days,when his fortunes had changed and she represented all that he stood most desperately in need of,her beauty drove him mad.

In his haunting of her,as he followed her from place to place,his passion grew day by day,and all the more gained strength and fierceness because it was so mixed with hate.He tossed upon his bed at night and cursed her;he remembered the wild past,and the memory all but drove him to delirium.He knew of what stern stuff she was made,and that even if her love had died,she would have held to her compact like grim death,even while loathing him.And he had cast all this aside in one mad moment of boyish cupidity and folly;and now that she was so radiant and entrancing a thing,and wealth,and splendour,and rank,and luxury lay in the hollow of her hand,she fixed her beauteous devil's eyes upon him with a scorn in their black depths which seemed to burn like fires of hell.

The great brute who dashed,and plunged,and pranced beneath her seemed to have sworn to conquer her as he had sworn himself;but let him plunge and kick as he would,there was no quailing in her eye,she sat like a creature who was superhuman,and her hand was iron,her wrist was steel.She held him so that he could not do his worst without such pain as would drive him mad;she lashed him,and rained on him such blows as almost made him blind.Once at the very worst,Devil dancing near him,she looked down from his back into John Oxon's face,and he cursed aloud,her eye so told him his own story and hers.In those days their souls met in such combat as it seemed must end in murder itself.

"You will not conquer him,"he said to her one morning,forcing himself near enough to speak.

"I will,unless he kills me,"she answered,"and that methinks he will find it hard to do.""He will kill you,"he said."I would,were I in his four shoes.""You would if you could,"were her words;"but you could not with his bit in your mouth and my hand on the snaffle.And if he killed me,still 'twould be he,not I,was beaten;since he could only kill what any bloody villain could with any knife.He is a brute beast,and I am that which was given dominion over such.Look on till Ihave done with him."

And thus,with other beholders,though in a different mood from theirs,he did,until a day when even the most sceptical saw that the brute came to the fray with less of courage,as if there had at last come into his brain the dawning of a fear of that which rid him,and all his madness could not displace from its throne upon his back.

"By God!"cried more than one of the bystanders,seeing this,despite the animal's fury,"the beast gives way!He gives way!She has him!"And John Oxon,shutting his teeth,cut short an oath and turned pale as death.

同类推荐
  • 针经节要

    针经节要

    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。
  • 金刚童子持念经

    金刚童子持念经

    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。
  • 诸真歌颂

    诸真歌颂

    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。
  • 入阿毗达磨论

    入阿毗达磨论

    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。
  • 明伦汇编人事典九十一岁至百岁部

    明伦汇编人事典九十一岁至百岁部

    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
  • 战族传说(1)

    战族传说(1)

    洪荒岁月,涿鹿一战,战神蚩尤虽亡,却留下不灭魔志,战族子民重承魔志,隐匿于武林之外,成为超越武林的隐世武门,只待五星逆行之时乘时而作,东山再起。岁星、荧惑、填星、太白、辰星五星逆行之日终至,千古战意随着时光的轮回而再现武林,一位神的传人,一位魔的后人,在经过无数次武林纷争后慢慢崛起江湖,而世间的种种魔缘机遇终究将两人铸成了左右武林的盖世高手。
  • 商务英语900句“袋”着走

    商务英语900句“袋”着走

    本书提炼出外企员工日常交流中使用最高频的话题情景,力求生活化,真实化。全书点面结合,通过句型替换,举一反三,以一句顶万句,方便记忆。 本书采用口袋书设计,方便携带,可谓挤地铁乘公交的上选佳品。便于随时随地学习,为自己充电。上班前看一眼,一天都能用得到。
  • 战争与和平

    战争与和平

    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。
  • 以武化修仙

    以武化修仙

    尸身破碎伏满地,山河踏遍行万里。武道苍宇多浮沉,帝王俯视人间戏。胸怀大志却突临厄难,逃出尸山却卷入阴谋。看龙泽如何左右逢源瓦解危机,将利益最大化!脚踏武道绝巅,手拥富可敌国!
  • 无花蔷薇

    无花蔷薇

    不是所有感情都会有始有终孤独尽头不一定惶恐可是生命总免不了最初的一阵痛旧的过去新的生活______无花蔷薇
  • 蛮娇

    蛮娇

    蛮清欢重生了,她发誓这一生再不舞刀弄枪,做一个娇娇柔柔的平庸闺秀,可是总有那么一些人不许她“改过自新“,那她就变本加厉好了!找事的来了,一鞭子解决。求亲的来了,一鞭子解决。二线小男配:“别打,我是真心的。”女主:“我只相信手中的鞭子。”某男在身后跳脚:“还有我,还有我。”女主:“短命鬼也不行。”
  • 从弱鸡到吃鸡的成长之路

    从弱鸡到吃鸡的成长之路

    叶武是个学生党,天天放学回家就玩手机,玩吃鸡,但是,他的技术并没有什么长进……
  • 药妃在上

    药妃在上

    帅哥,江湖救急!借你衣服穿穿!”某女剥光正修炼某邪王,然后逍遥跑路。某邪王清醒之后咬牙:搜!给我掘地三尺也要把她搜出来!他是这个大陆众生膜拜的圣尊,神秘,高贵,不可攀。。她现代杀手之王,对他的评价是:妖孽,变态,神棍。她避他如蛇蝎,他缠她如缠藤。她无情无爱,快意恩仇。他却将她放在心尖尖上,不容任何人轻辱,他说辱我者尚可原谅,辱她者杀无赦!
  • 楚游日记(节选)

    楚游日记(节选)

    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。
  • 冤魂别墅之镜妖

    冤魂别墅之镜妖

    男主孟寒听说Y城郊区有个冤魂别墅最近在闹鬼,便与几个朋友一同前去探探虚实,在这个过程中他们又有那些“意外”收获呢……