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第23节

the turmoil-第23节

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mother had retired to some upper fastness; but Bibbs  interviewed Jackson and

had the various groups of relatives summoned to  the dining…room for food。

One great…uncle; old Gideon Sheridan from  Boonville; could not be found; and

Bibbs went in search of him。  He  ransacked the house; discovering the missing

antique at last by  accident。  Passing his father's closed door on tiptoe;

Bibbs heard a  murmurous sound; and paused to listen。  The sound proved to be

a quavering  and rickety voice; monotonously bleating:



〃The Lo…ord givuth and the Lo…ord takuth away!  We got to remember that;  we

got to remember that!  I'm a…gittin' along; James; I'm a…gittin'  along; and

I've seen a…many of 'em gotwo daughters and a son the Lord  give me; and He

has taken all away。  For the Lo…ord givuth and the Lo…ord  takuth away!

Remember the words of Bildad the Shuhite; James。  Bildad  the Shuhite says;

'He shall have neither son nor nephew among his people;  nor any remaining in

his dwellings。'  Bildad the Shuhite〃



Bibbs opened the door softly。  His father was lying upon the bed; in his

underclothes; face downward; and Uncle Gideon sat near by; swinging  backward

and forward in a rocking…chair; stroking his long white beard  and gazing at

the ceiling as he talked。  Bibbs beckoned him urgently; but  Uncle Gideon paid

no attention。



〃Bibdad the Shuhite spake and his says; 'If thy children have sinned  against

Him and He have cast them away〃



There was a muffled explosion beneath the floor; and the windows  rattled。

The figure lying face downward on the bed did not move; but  Uncle Gideon

leaped from his chair。  〃My God!〃 he cried。  〃What's that?〃



There came a second explosion; and Uncle Gideon ran out into the hall。   Bibbs

went to the head of the great staircase; and; looking down;  discovered the

source of the distubance。  Gideon's grandson; a boy of  fourteen; had brought

his camera to the funeral and was taking  〃flash…lights〃 of the Moor。  Uncle

Gideon; reassured by Bibbs's  explanation; would have returned to finish his

quotation from Bildad the  Shuhite; but Bibbs detained him; and after a little

argument persuaded  him to descend to the dining…room whither Bibbs followed;

after closing  the door of his father's room。



He kept his eye on Gideon after dinner; diplomatically preventing several

attempts on the part of that comforter to reascend the stairs; and it was  a

relief to Bibbs when George announced that an automobile was waiting to

convey the ancient man and his grandson to their train。  They were the  last

to leave; and when they had gone Bibbs went sighing to his own room。



He stretched himself wearily upon the bed; but presently rose; went to  the

window; and looked for a long time at the darkened house where Mary  Vertrees

lived。  Then he open his trunk; took therefrom a small note…book  half filled

with fragmentary scribblings; and began to write:



     Laughter after a funeral。  In this reaction people will laugh at

anything and at nothing。  The band plays a dirge on the way to the  cemetery;

but when it turns back; and the mourning carriages are out of  hearing; it

strikes up; 〃Darktown is Out To…night。〃  That is natural but there are women

whose laughter is like the whirring of whips。  Why is  it that certain kinds

of laughter seem to spoil something hidden away  from the laughers?  If they

do not know of it; and have never seen it;  how can their laughter hurt it?

Yet it does。   Beauty is not out of place among grave…stones。  It is not

out of  place anywhere。  But a woman who has been betrothed to a man would not

look beautiful at his funeral。  A woman might look beautiful; though; at  the

funeral of a man whom she had known and liked。  And in that case;  too; she

would probably not want to talk if she drove home from the  cemetery with his

brother: nor would she want the brother to talk。   Silence is usually either

stupid or timid。  But for a man who stammers if  he tries to talk fast; and

drawls so slowly; when he doesn't stammer;  that nobody has time to listen to

him; silence is advisable。   Nevertheless; too much silence is open to

suspicion。  It may be  reticence; or it may be a vacuum。  It may be dignity;

or it may be false  teeth。    Sometimes an imperceptible odor will become

perceptible in a  small inclosure; such as a closed carriage。  The ghost of

gasoline rising  from a lady's glove might be sweeter to the man riding beside

her than  all the scents of Arcady in spring。  It depends on the ladybut

there  ARE!    Three miles may be three hundred miles; or it may be three

feet。   When it is three feet you have not time to say a great deal before you

reach the end of it。  Still; it may be that one should begin to speak。     No one

could help wishing to stay in a world that holds some of  the people that are

in this world。  There are some so wonderful you do  not understand how the

dead COULD die。  How could they let themselves?   A falling building does

not care who falls with it。  It does not  choose who shall be upon its roof

and who shall not。  Silence CAN be golden?  Yes。  But perhaps if a woman

of the world  should find herself by accident sitting beside a man for the

length of  time it must necessarily take two slow old horses to jog three

miles; she  might expect that man to say something of some sort!  Even if she

thought  him a feeble hypochondriac; even if she had heard from others that he

was  a disappointment to his own people; even if she had seen for herself that

he was a useless and irritating encumbrance everywhere; she might expect  him

at least to speakshe might expect him to open his mouth and try  to make

sounds; if he only barked。  If he did not even try; but sat every  step of the

way as dumb as a frozen fish; she might THINK him a frozen  fish。  And she

might be right。  She might be right if she thought him  about as pleasant a

companion asas Bildad the Shuhite!



Bibbs closed his note…book; replacing it in his trunk。  Then; after a  period

of melancholy contemplation; he undressed; put on a dressing…gown  and

slippers; and went softly out into the hallto his father's door。   Upon the

floor was a tray which Bibbs had sent George; earlier in the  evening; to

place upon a table in Sheridan's roombut the food was  untouched。  Bibbs

stood listening outside the door for several minutes。   There came no sound

from within; and he went back to his own room and to bed。



In the morning he woke to a state of being hitherto unknown in his

experience。  Sometimes in the process of waking there is a little pause

sleep has gone; but coherent thought has not begun。  It is a curious

half…void; a glimpse of aphasia; and although the person experiencing it  may

not know for that instant his own name or age or sex; he may be  acutely

conscious of depression or elation。  It is the moment; as we say;  before we

〃remember〃; and for the first time in Bibbs's life it came to  him bringing a

vague happiness。  He woke to a sense of new riches; he had  the feeling of a

boy waking to a birthday。  But when the next moment  brought him his memory;

he found nothing that could explain his  exhilaration。  On the contrary; under

the circumstances it seemed  grotesquely unwarranted。  However; it was a brief

visitation and was gone  before he had finished dressing。  It left a little

trail; the pleased  recollection of it and the puzzle of it; which remained

unsolved。  And; in  fact; waking happily in the morning is not usually the

result of a drive  home from a funeral。  No wonder the sequence evaded Bibbs

Sheridan!



His father had gone when he came down…stairs。  〃Went on down to 's  office;

jes' same;〃 Jackson informed him。  〃Came sat breakfas'…table; all  by 'mself;

eat nothin'。  George bring nice breakfas'; but he di'n' eat a  thing。  Yessuh;

went on down…town; jes' same he yoosta do。  Yessuh; I reckon putty much

ev'y…thing goin' go on same as it yoosta do。〃



It struck Bibbs that Jackson was right。  The day passed as other days had

passed。  Mrs。 Sheridan and Edith were in black; and Mrs。 Sheridan cried a

little; now and then; but no other external difference was to be seen。   Edith

was quiet; but not noticeably depressed; and at lunch proved  herself able to

argue with her mother upon the propriety of receiving  calls in the earliest

stages of 〃mourning。〃  Lunch was as usualfor  Jim and his father had always

lunched down…townand the afternoon was  as usual。  Bibbs went for his drive;

and his mother went with him; as she  sometimes did when the weather was

pleasant。  Altogether; the usualness  of things was rather startling to Bibbs。



During the drive Mrs。 Sheridan talked fragmentarily of Jim's childhood。   〃But

you wouldn't remember about that;〃 she said; after narrating an  episode。

〃You were too little。  He was always a good boy; just like  that。  And he'd

save whatever papa gave him; and put it in the bank。  I  reckon it 'll just

about kill

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