下载辰思小说免费APP
“Itmakesoneawfullyqueer，don’tyoufind？“hecomplained。
“Thesetreesgetonone’snerves——it’sallsocrazy。
God’sundoubtedlymad。Whatsanepersoncouldhaveconceivedawildernesslikethis，andpeopleditwithapesandalligators？
IshouldgomadifIlivedhere——ravingmad。“
Terenceattemptedtoanswerhim，butMrs。Ambroserepliedinstead。
Shebadehimlookatthewaythingsmassedthemselves——lookattheamazingcolours，lookattheshapesofthetrees。SheseemedtobeprotectingTerencefromtheapproachoftheothers。
“Yes，“saidMr。Flushing。“Andinmyopinion，“hecontinued，“theabsenceofpopulationtowhichHirstobjectsispreciselythesignificanttouch。Youmustadmit，Hirst，thatalittleItaliantownevenwouldvulgarisethewholescene，woulddetractfromthevastness——thesenseofelementalgrandeur。“Heswepthishandstowardstheforest，andpausedforamoment，lookingatthegreatgreenmass，whichwasnowfallingsilent。“Iownitmakesusseemprettysmall——us，notthem。“Henoddedhisheadatasailorwholeantoverthesidespittingintotheriver。“Andthat，Ithink，iswhatmywifefeels，theessentialsuperiorityofthepeasant——“
UndercoverofMr。Flushing’swords，whichcontinuednowgentlyreasoningwithSt。Johnandpersuadinghim，TerencedrewRacheltotheside，pointingostensiblytoagreatgnarledtree-trunkwhichhadfallenandlayhalfinthewater。Hewished，atanyrate，tobenearher，buthefoundthathecouldsaynothing。TheycouldhearMr。Flushingflowingon，nowabouthiswife，nowaboutart，nowaboutthefutureofthecountry，littlemeaninglesswordsfloatinghighinair。AsitwasbecomingcoldhebegantopacethedeckwithHirst。Fragmentsoftheirtalkcameoutdistinctlyastheypassed——art，emotion，truth，reality。
“Isittrue，orisitadream？“Rachelmurmured，whentheyhadpassed。
“It’strue，it’strue，“hereplied。
Butthebreezefreshened，andtherewasageneraldesireformovement。
Whenthepartyrearrangedthemselvesundercoverofrugsandcloaks，TerenceandRachelwereatoppositeendsofthecircle，andcouldnotspeaktoeachother。Butasthedarkdescended，thewordsoftheothersseemedtocurlupandvanishastheashesofburntpaper，andleftthemsittingperfectlysilentatthebottomoftheworld。
Occasionalstartsofexquisitejoyranthroughthem，andthentheywerepeacefulagain。
ThankstoMr。Flushing’sdiscipline，therightstagesoftheriverwerereachedattherighthours，andwhennextmorningafterbreakfastthechairswereagaindrawnoutinasemicircleinthebow，thelaunchwaswithinafewmilesofthenativecampwhichwasthelimitofthejourney。Mr。Flushing，ashesatdown，advisedthemtokeeptheireyesfixedontheleftbank，wheretheywouldsoonpassaclearing，andinthatclearing，wasahutwhereMackenzie，thefamousexplorer，haddiedoffeversometenyearsago，almostwithinreachofcivilisation——Mackenzie，herepeated，themanwhowentfartherinlandthananyone’sbeenyet。Theireyesturnedthatwayobediently。TheeyesofRachelsawnothing。
Yellowandgreenshapesdid，itistrue，passbeforethem，butsheonlyknewthatonewaslargeandanothersmall；shedidnotknowthattheyweretrees。Thesedirectionstolookhereandthereirritatedher，asinterruptionsirritateapersonabsorbedinthought，althoughshewasnotthinkingofanything。Shewasannoyedwithallthatwassaid，andwiththeaimlessmovementsofpeople’sbodies，becausetheyseemedtointerferewithherandtopreventherfromspeakingtoTerence。VerysoonHelensawherstaringmoodilyatacoilofrope，andmakingnoefforttolisten。Mr。FlushingandSt。Johnwereengagedinmoreorlesscontinuousconversationaboutthefutureofthecountryfromapoliticalpointofview，andthedegreetowhichit
