下载辰思小说免费APP
“Thelivesofthesepeople，“shetriedtoexplain，theaimlessness，thewaytheylive。Onegoesfromonetoanother，andit’sallthesame。
Onenevergetswhatonewantsoutofanyofthem。“
HeremotionalstateandherconfusionwouldhavemadeheraneasypreyifHelenhadwishedtoargueorhadwishedtodrawconfidences。
Butinsteadoftalkingshefellintoaprofoundsilenceastheywalkedon。Aimless，trivial，meaningless，ohno——whatshehadseenatteamadeitimpossibleforhertobelievethat。
Thelittlejokes，thechatter，theinanitiesoftheafternoonhadshrivelledupbeforehereyes。Underneaththelikingsandspites，thecomingstogetherandpartings，greatthingswerehappening——
terriblethings，becausetheyweresogreat。Hersenseofsafetywasshaken，asifbeneathtwigsanddeadleavesshehadseenthemovementofasnake。Itseemedtoherthatamoment’srespitewasallowed，amoment’smake-believe，andthenagaintheprofoundandreasonlesslawasserteditself，mouldingthemalltoitsliking，makinganddestroying。
ShelookedatRachelwalkingbesideher，stillcrushingtheleavesinherfingersandabsorbedinherownthoughts。Shewasinlove，andshepitiedherprofoundly。Butsherousedherselffromthesethoughtsandapologised。“I’mverysorry，“shesaid，“butifI’mdull，it’smynature，anditcan’tbehelped。“Ifitwasanaturaldefect，however，shefoundaneasyremedy，forshewentontosaythatshethoughtMr。Flushing’sschemeaverygoodone，onlyneedingalittleconsideration，whichitappearedshehadgivenitbythetimetheyreachedhome。Bythattimetheyhadsettledthatifanythingmorewassaid，theywouldaccepttheinvitation。
WhenconsideredindetailbyMr。FlushingandMrs。Ambrosetheexpeditionprovedneitherdangerousnordifficult。
Theyfoundalsothatitwasnotevenunusual。EveryyearatthisseasonEnglishpeoplemadepartieswhichsteamedashortwayuptheriver，landed，andlookedatthenativevillage，boughtacertainnumberofthingsfromthenatives，andreturnedagainwithoutdamagedonetomindorbody。Whenitwasdiscoveredthatsixpeoplereallywishedthesamethingthearrangementsweresooncarriedout。
SincethetimeofElizabethveryfewpeoplehadseentheriver，andnothinghasbeendonetochangeitsappearancefromwhatitwastotheeyesoftheElizabethanvoyagers。ThetimeofElizabethwasonlydistantfromthepresenttimebyamomentofspacecomparedwiththeageswhichhadpassedsincethewaterhadrunbetweenthosebanks，andthegreenthicketsswarmedthere，andthesmalltreeshadgrowntohugewrinkledtreesinsolitude。
Changingonlywiththechangeofthesunandtheclouds，thewavinggreenmasshadstoodthereforcenturyaftercentury，andthewaterhadrunbetweenitsbanksceaselessly，sometimeswashingawayearthandsometimesthebranchesoftrees，whileinotherpartsoftheworldonetownhadrisenupontheruinsofanothertown，andthemeninthetownshadbecomemoreandmorearticulateandunlikeeachother。Afewmilesofthisriverwerevisiblefromthetopofthemountainwheresomeweeksbeforethepartyfromthehotelhadpicnicked。SusanandArthurhadseenitastheykissedeachother，andTerenceandRachelastheysattalkingaboutRichmond，andEvelynandPerrottastheystrolledabout，imaginingthattheyweregreatcaptainssenttocolonisetheworld。
Theyhadseenthebroadbluemarkacrossthesandwhereitflowedintothesea，andthegreencloudoftreesmassthemselvesaboutitfartherup，andfinallyhideitswatersaltogetherfromsight。
Atintervalsforthefirsttwentymilesorsohouseswerescatteredonthebank；bydegreesthehousesbecamehuts，and，laterstill，therewasneitherhutnorhouse，buttreesandgrass，whichwereseenonlybyhunters，explorers，ormerchants，marchingorsailing，butmakingnosettlement。
ByleavingSantaMarinaearlyinthemorning，drivingtwentymilesandridingeight，theparty，whichwascomposedfinallyofsixEnglishpeople，reachedtheriver-sideasthenightfell。
Theycamecanteringthroughthetrees——Mr。andMrs。Flushing，HelenAmbrose，Rachel，Terence，andSt。John。Thetiredlittlehorsesthenstoppedautomatically，andtheEn
