登陆注册
5362200000033

第33章

The convocation passed off with the usual uproar on the part of the students and the usual long-suffering endurance on the part of the dean and faculty and those who were fortunate, or unfortunate, enough to be the orators of the day, the fervent enthusiasm of the undergraduate body finding expression, now in college songs, whose chief characteristic was the vigour with which they were rendered, personal remarks in the way of encouragement, deprecation, pity, or gentle reproof to all who had to take part in the public proceedings, and at intervals in wildly uproarious applause and cheers at the mention of the name of some favourite. At no point was the fervour greater than when Barney was called to receive his medal. To the little group of friends at the left of the desk, consisting of his brother, Margaret, and Iola, it seemed as if the cheering that greeted Barney's name was almost worthy of the occasion. Dr. Trent presented him, and as he spoke of the difficulties he had to contend with in the early part of his course, of the perseverance and indomitable courage the young man had shown, and the singular, indeed the very remarkable, ability he had manifested in the special line of study for which this medal was granted, the dead silence that pervaded the room was even more eloquent than the tumult of cheers that followed Dr. Trent's remarks and that continued until Barney had taken his place again among the graduating class.

Then someone called out, "What's the matter with old Carbuncle?" eliciting the usual vociferous reply, "He's all right!"

"By Jove," said Dick to Margaret, who sat next him, "isn't that great? And the old boy deserves it every bit!" But Margaret made no reply. She was sitting with her eyes cast down, pale except for a spot of red in each cheek. At Dick's words she glanced at him for a moment, and he noticed that the large blue eyes were full of tears.

"It's all right, little girl," he whispered, giving her hand a little pat. He dared say no more, for the sight of her face and the look in her eyes set his own heart beating and gave him a choke in his throat.

On the other side of Margaret sat Iola, her face radiant with pride and joy, and as Barney reached his seat, turning half around and in the face of the whole company, she flashed him a look and a smile so full of pride and love that it seemed to him at that moment as if all he had endured for the last three years were quite worth while.

After the formal proceedings were over, Dr. Bulling made his way to the little group about Barney.

"Congratulations, Boyle," he said, in the somewhat patronizing manner of a graduate of some years' standing to one who holds his parchment in his hand and wears his still blushing honours as men wear new clothes, "that was a remarkable fine reception you had to-day."

Barney's brief word of acknowledgment showed his resentment of Bulling's tone and his dislike of the man. It angered Barney to observe the familiar, almost confidential, manner of Dr. Bulling with Iola, but it made him more furious to notice that, instead of resenting, Iola seemed to be pleased with his manner. Just now, however, she was giving herself to Barney. Her pride in him, her joy in him, and her quiet appreciation of him, were evident to all, so evident, indeed, that after a few words Dr. Bulling took himself off.

"Brute!" said Barney as the doctor retired.

"Why, I am sure he seems very nice," said Iola, raising her eyebrows in surprise.

"Nice!" said Barney contemptuously. "If you knew how the men speak of him about town you wouldn't call him nice. He has money, and he's in the swim, but he's a beast, all the same."

"Oh, Barney, you mustn't say so!" cried Iola, "for you know he's been a great friend to me. He has been very kind. I am quite devoted to him." Something in the tone of her voice, and more in the smile which she gave Barney, took the sting out of her words.

Before many minutes had passed the little group was broken up, chiefly because of the fact that Iola was soon surrounded by a circle of her own admiring friends, and among them the most insistent was Dr. Bulling, who finally, with bluff, good-natured but almost rude aggressiveness, carried her off to the tearoom. It took all the joy out of the day for Barney, and on his behalf, for Margaret and Dick, that for the rest of the afternoon Iola's attention was entirely absorbed by Dr. Bulling and his little coterie of friends.

And this feeling of disappointment in Iola and of resentment against Dr. Bulling he carried with him to a little stag dinner by the hospital staff at the Olympic that evening. The dinner was due chiefly to the exertions of Dr. Trent, and was intended by him not only to bring into closer touch with each other the members of the hospital staff, but also to be a kind of introduction of Barney to the inner circle of medical men in the city. For the past year Barney had acted as his clerk, almost as his assistant, and, indeed, Dr. Trent had made the formal proposition of an assistantship to him. Out of compliment to Barney, Dick had been invited, and young Drake also, who owed his parchment that day to Barney's merciless grinding in surgery, and perhaps more to his steadying friendship.

同类推荐
  • 佛说能断金刚般若波罗蜜多经

    佛说能断金刚般若波罗蜜多经

    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。
  • 龙王兄弟经

    龙王兄弟经

    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。
  • 渠丘耳梦录

    渠丘耳梦录

    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。
  • 肇论

    肇论

    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。
  • 道迹灵仙记

    道迹灵仙记

    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。
热门推荐
  • 女生外语宿舍:白骨手链,今夜无人生还(新惊魂六计)

    女生外语宿舍:白骨手链,今夜无人生还(新惊魂六计)

    《新惊魂六计:女生外语宿舍》汇集当前高校女生外语宿舍最惊奇、最不可思议的事件。不到最后一秒,你一定无法知晓真相。瞧,游走在噩梦边缘,令人窒息的惧意正在蔓延着……白骨手链引发的连续异事件,亡者接二连三…… 谁是谁的张韶涵,谁是谁的护花使者,槐花杀的诅咒持续百年。吸血鬼降临,今夜无人生还!
  • 老水家的井

    老水家的井

    光斑爬上街沿的时候,冰铁皮子的反光刺花了吴承水的眼。这时候,吴承水敲打完最后一锤,将炉子一收,一天的工便算完了。可一天的日程却没有完。自从渔船滩电站开始蓄水后,他每天带着黑子,都会准时地来到中码头的河堤上,望吃水线,望酉水渐渐丰盈的样子,也望河里的机动船和水上的飞鸟。通常这样的时候,他会点上一支烟,蹲在那条石凳子上,黑子就会凑上前来,随他老实地蹲着,老实地望着。爱开玩笑的人都说,黑子跟水老倌夫妻相呢。吴承水听了也不生气,心想狗通人性,总比不通人性的老婆强嘛。其实细究起来,吴承水现在蹲的地方,原先不是河堤,是他家的老屋场。
  • 嫡女重生之妖孽王妃

    嫡女重生之妖孽王妃

    【1V1甜宠爽文】家族背弃,父亲惨死,为保清白她服下毒酒归西——这是白无杳前世人所众知的结局!可又有谁知,她是活生生被自己的夫君剐皮致死?!含恨重生,仇人再见,分外眼红!她语笑嫣然却手段毒辣!姨娘想要寻死?正好送你新的白绫!庶妹妄图自尽?毒药太凉要趁热喝!白莲花赛似妖娆?怼!渣男求抱大腿?滚!某位不愿透露姓名的唐世子笑道:“夫人,你与我太多地方相似!咱两简直是天造地设的一对!”“我们哪里相似?”“我的脸皮和你的心肠一样硬!”“……”且看男女主的强强联手,究竟能掀起如何的滔天巨浪!重生复仇甜宠爽文!粉丝群:574164384,敲门砖,本书任一角色名
  • 爱你是我一生的承诺

    爱你是我一生的承诺

    竹心醉都市言情力作!我愿放弃万众瞩目、星光熠熠的前程,只为与你相生相守!即使我们经历了八年之痛,一度形同陌路,但是我们之间唯一不变的就是——爱情。八年前,热恋中的钟雅慧与江睿阴差阳错的分开,天各一方,成了两条不再相交的平行线。八年后,在浮华璀璨中,两人意外相遇,成了彼此怀念的陌生人。她以为她能控制住心中那汹涌的爱意,却无法抵挡江睿再次投来的关注与爱慕。她以为她能够成全江睿与好友苏楠的幸福,却发现自己才是摧毁一切的源头。江睿的步步紧逼,柏雨泽的殷切希望,对她来说都是无法抵抗的毒药,灼伤了她的灵魂。当江睿寻到了八年前分开的真相,而林默,她的选择是重新幸福,还是彻底遗忘?
  • 宁夏灯谜:1973—2012

    宁夏灯谜:1973—2012

    灯谜发展到现在,从内容、形式到载体都发生了翻天覆地的变化,古老的传统文化获得了新的生命。各地的灯谜创作、灯谜猜射和各种形式的灯谜活动在继承传统的基础上有了许多发展和创新。
  • 下一轮经济危机2:中国凭什么幸免于难

    下一轮经济危机2:中国凭什么幸免于难

    虽然人们将爆发的危机命名为美国次贷危机、美债危机、欧债危机,可为什么中国的经济同样那么艰难?如果说,中国经济下滑的重要原因在于外部环境的恶化,那为什么中国的股价下跌得比美国和欧洲的大部分国家都要严重呢?作者认为,这一轮经济危机的实质在于创新的停滞。创新停滞导致生产力增长乏力,社会支出大于社会产出,主权债务如雪球般越滚越大。而政府基于社会和经济稳定的诉求,在错误思想的指导下,释放流动性,制造通胀。“货币把戏只能收到表面的一时之效,从长远看它肯定会让国家陷入更深重的灾难。”政府对解决危机的一次次拖延,使危机积蓄力量,蓄势待发。
  • 野处类稿

    野处类稿

    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。
  • 律苑事规

    律苑事规

    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。
  • 我与我的世界

    我与我的世界

    《我与我的世界》是曹聚仁先生晚年所写的回忆录,后由家人整理增补,按“传记文学”自觉经营,坦诚自白,纵横上下,酣畅洒脱,是一部具有重要史料价值与文本意义的传记。它将其生平世界“不加掩饰地揭示出来”。从金华童年的”神道黄昏”,到浙江一师的“四大金刚”;从“国学”和“文坛”,到“我与鲁迅”和“文白论战”,从上海春秋、报刊生涯,到抗战军兴、执笔从戎;不但阅历丰富、见识繁多,而且他颇想勾画出那一时代的生活轮廓及文化工作”,所以“史的意味,比较更重一些”。正因如此,才是一本既有史料价值,又具文学可读性的大家作品。
  • “霸王行动”诺曼底登陆战役(上)

    “霸王行动”诺曼底登陆战役(上)

    已经被战局搞得晕头转向的希特勒又赶紧下达“从加来开往诺曼底的装甲兵和步兵立即停止前进”的命令,这样,配有重型装备和久经沙场的德国第15集团军依然留在了加来。希特勒的决定在关键时刻救了盟军,如果第15集团军进入诺曼底战场,其后果是难以想象的。