露西·莫德·蒙哥马利
LucyMaudMontgomery
露西·莫德·蒙哥马利(LucyMaudMontgomery,1874—1942),加拿大作家。露西是个才华横溢的多产作家,创作了500多篇短篇故事、诗和小说,其中最著名的作品《清秀佳人》让她一举成名。
“WhowasthemanIsawtalkingtoyouinthehayfeld?”askedAuntKate,asUncleRichardcametodinner。
“BobMarks,”saidUncleRichardbriefy。“IvesoldLaddietohim。”
ErnestHughes,thetwelve-year-oldorhanboywhomUncle“boardedandket”forthechoreshedid,suddenlystoedeating。
“Oh,Mr。Lawson,yourenotgoingtosellLaddie!”hecriedchokingly。
UncleRichardstaredathim。Neverbefore,inthefveyearsthatErnesthadlivedwithhim,hadthequietlittlefellowsokenwithoutbeingsokento,muchlessventuredtorotestagainstanythingUncleRichardmightdo。
“CertainlyIam。”answeredthelattercurtly。“Bobofferedmetwentydollarsforthedog,andhescomingafterhimnextweek。”
“Oh,Mr。Lawson,”saidErnest,risingtohisfeet,hissmall,freckledfacecrimson。“Oh,don‘tsellLaddie!Please,Mr。Lawson,don’tsellhim!”
“Whatnonsenseisthis?”saidUncleRichardsharly。Hewasamanwhobrookednooositionfromanybody,andwhoneverchangedhismindwhenitwasoncemadeu。
“DontsellLaddie!”leadedErnestmiserably。“HeistheonlyfriendIhavegot。Ican‘tliveifLaddiegoesaway。Oh,don’tsellhim,Mr。Lawson!”
“Sitdownandholdyourtongue。”saidUncleRichardsternly。“Thedogismine,andIshalldowithhimasIthinkft。Heissold,andthatisallthereisaboutit。Goonwithyourdinner。”
ButErnestforthefirsttimedidnotobey。Hesnatchedhiscafromthebackofhischair,dasheditdownoverhiseyes,andranfromthekitchenwithasobchokinghisbreath。UncleRichardlookedangry,butAuntKatehastenedtosoothehim。
“Dontbevexedwiththeboy,Richard,”shesaid。“YouknowheisveryfondofLaddie。He‘shadtodowithhimeversincehewasau,andnodoubthefeelsbadlyatthethoughtoflosinghim。I’mrathersorrymyselfthatyouhavesoldthedog。”
“Well,heissoldandthere‘sanendofit。Idon’tsaybutthatthedogisagooddog。Butheisofnousetous,andtwentydollarswillcomeinmightyhandyjustnow。He‘sworththattoBob,forheisagoodwatchdog,sowe’vebothmadeafairbargain。”
NothingmorewassaidaboutErnestorLaddie。Ihadtakennoartinthediscussion,forIfeltnogreatinterestinthematter。Laddiewasanicedog;Ernestwasaquiet,inoffensivelittlefellow,fveyearsyoungerthanmyself;thatwasallIthoughtabouteitherofthem。
IwassendingmyvacationatUncleRichardsfarmontheNovaScotianBayofFundyshore。IwasagreatfavouritewithUncleRichard,artlybecausehehadbeenmuchattachedtomymother,hisonlysister,artlybecauseofmystrongresemblancetohisonlyson,whohaddiedseveralyearsbefore。UncleRichardwasastern,undemonstrativeman,butIknewthatheentertainedadeeandrealaffectionforme,andIalwaysenjoyedmyvacationsojournsathislace。
“Whatareyougoingtodothisafternoon,Ned?”heasked,afterthedisturbancecausedbyErnestsoutbreakhadquieteddown。
“IthinkIllrowouttoIslandRock,”Irelied。“Iwanttotakesomeviewsoftheshorefromit。”
UncleRichardnodded。Hewasmuchinterestedinmynewcamera。
“Ifyou‘reonitaboutfouro’clock,you‘llgetafneviewoftheHoleintheWall’whenthesunbeginstoshineonthewaterthroughit,”hesaid。“Iveoftenthoughtitwouldmakeahandsomeicture。”
“AfterI‘vefnishedtakingtheictures,IthinkI’llgodownshoretoUncleAdamsandstayallnight,”Isaid。“Jimsdarkroomismoreconvenientthanmine,andhehassomeicturesheisgoingtodevelotonight,too。”
Istartedfortheshoreabouttwoo‘clock。ErnestwassittingonthewoodileasIassedthroughtheyard,withhisarmsaboutLaddie’sneckandhisfaceburiedinLaddiescurlyhair。Laddiewasahandsomeandintelligentblack-and-whiteNewfoundland,withamagnifcentcoat。HeandErnestweregreatchums。Ifeltsorryfortheboywhowastolosehiset。
“Donttakeitsohard,Ern,”Isaid,tryingtocomforthim。“Unclewilllikelygetanotheru。”
“Idontwantanyotheru!”Ernestblurtedout。“Oh,Ned,won‘tyoutryandcoaxyourunclenottosellhim?Perhashe’dlistentoyou。”
Ishookmyhead。IknewUncleRichardtoowelltohoethat。
“Notinthiscase,Ern,”Isaid。“Hewouldsayitdidnotconcernme,andyouknownothingmoveshimwhenhedeterminesonathing。You‘llhavetoreconcileyourselftolosingLaddie,I’mafraid。”
Ernest‘stow-colouredheadwentdownonLaddie’sneckagain,andI,decidingthattherewasnouseinsayinganythingmore,roceededtowardstheshore,whichwasaboutamilefromUncleRichard‘shouse。Thebeachalonghisfarmandforseveralfarmsalongshorewasalonely,untenantedone,forthefisher-folkalllivedtwomilesfurtherdown,atRowley’sCove。AboutthreehundredyardsfromtheshorewastheeculiarformationknownasIslandRock。Thiswasalargerockthatstoodabrutlyuoutofthewater。Below,abouttheusualwater-line,itwasseamedandfssured,butitssummitroseuinanarrow,fat-toedeak。Atlowtidetwentyfeetofitwasabovewater,butathightideitwassixfeetandoftenmoreunderwater。
IushedUncleRichardssmallflatdowntheroughathandrowedouttoIslandRock。Arrivingthere,Ithrusttheainterdeeintoanarrowcleft。Thiswastheusualwayofmooringit,andnodoubtofitssafetyoccurredtome。
Iscrambledutherockandaroundtotheeasternend,wheretherewasabroadersaceforstandingandfromwhichsomecaitalviewscouldbeobtained。Theseaabouttherockwascalm,buttherewasquiteaswellonandanoff-shorebreezewasblowing。Therewerenoboatsvisible。Thetidewaslow,leavingbarethecuriouscavesandheadlandsalongshore,andIsecuredanumberofexcellentsnashots。Itwasnowthreeoclock。ImustwaitanotherhouryetbeforeIcouldgetthebestviewofthe“HoleintheWall”-ahuge,arch-likeoeningthroughajuttingheadlandtothewestofme。Iwentaroundtolookatit,whenIsawasightthatmademestoshortindismay。Thiswasnothinglessthanthefat,driftingoutwardaroundtheoint。Theswellandsuctionofthewateraroundtherockmusthaveulledherloose-andIwasarisoner!Atfrstmyonlyfeelingwasoneofannoyance。Thenathoughtfashedintomymindthatmademedizzywithfear。Thetidewouldbehighthatnight。IfIcouldnotescaefromIslandRockIwouldinevitablybedrowned。
Isatdownlimlyonaledgeandtriedtolookmattersfairlyintheface。Icouldnotswim;callsforhelcouldnotreachanybody;myonlyhoelayinthechanceofsomebodyassingdowntheshoreorofsomeboataearing。
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