下载辰思小说免费APP
Asifwashedbytheairhervoicesoundedmorespiritualandsofterthanusual。Voicesatalittledistanceansweredher，“Yes。“
Throughthedarknessshewaslookingatthemboth，andtryingtodistinguishhim。Whatwasthereforhertosay？Rachelhadpassedbeyondherguardianship。Avoicemightreachherears，butneveragainwoulditcarryasfarasithadcarriedtwenty-fourhoursago。
Nevertheless，speechseemedtobeduefromherbeforeshewenttobed。
Shewishedtospeak，butshefeltstrangelyoldanddepressed。
“D’yourealisewhatyou’redoing？“shedemanded。“She’syoung，you’rebothyoung；andmarriage——“Heresheceased。Theybeggedher，however，tocontinue，withsuchearnestnessintheirvoices，asiftheyonlycravedadvice，thatshewasledtoadd:
“Marriage！well，it’snoteasy。“
“That’swhatwewanttoknow，“theyanswered，andsheguessedthatnowtheywerelookingateachother。
“Itdependsonbothofyou，“shestated。HerfacewasturnedtowardsTerence，andalthoughhecouldhardlyseeher，hebelievedthatherwordsreallycoveredagenuinedesiretoknowmoreabouthim。
Heraisedhimselffromhissemi-recumbentpositionandproceededtotellherwhatshewantedtoknow。Hespokeaslightlyashecouldinordertotakeawayherdepression。
“I’mtwenty-seven，andI’veaboutsevenhundredayear，“hebegan。
“Mytemperisgoodonthewhole，andhealthexcellent，thoughHirstdetectsagoutytendency。Well，then，IthinkI’mveryintelligent。“
Hepausedasifforconfirmation。
Helenagreed。
“Though，unfortunately，ratherlazy。IintendtoallowRacheltobeafoolifshewantsto，and——Doyoufindmeonthewholesatisfactoryinotherrespects？“heaskedshyly。
“Yes，IlikewhatIknowofyou，“Helenreplied。
“Butthen——oneknowssolittle。“
“WeshallliveinLondon，“hecontinued，“and——“Withonevoicetheysuddenlyenquiredwhethershedidnotthinkthemthehappiestpeoplethatshehadeverknown。
“Hush，“shecheckedthem，“Mrs。Flushing，remember。She’sbehindus。“
Thentheyfellsilent，andTerenceandRachelfeltinstinctivelythattheirhappinesshadmadehersad，and，whiletheywereanxioustogoontalkingaboutthemselves，theydidnotliketo。
“We’vetalkedtoomuchaboutourselves，“Terencesaid。“Tellus——“
“Yes，tellus——“Rachelechoed。Theywerebothinthemoodtobelievethateveryonewascapableofsayingsomethingveryprofound。
“WhatcanItellyou？“Helenreflected，speakingmoretoherselfinaramblingstylethanasaprophetessdeliveringamessage。
Sheforcedherselftospeak。
“Afterall，thoughIscoldRachel，I’mnotmuchwisermyself。
I’molder，ofcourse，I’mhalf-waythrough，andyou’rejustbeginning。
It’spuzzling——sometimes，Ithink，disappointing；thegreatthingsaren’tasgreat，perhaps，asoneexpects——butit’sinteresting——
Oh，yes，you’recertaintofinditinteresting——Andsoitgoeson，“
theybecameconscioushereoftheprocessionofdarktreesintowhich，asfarastheycouldsee，Helenwasnowlooking，“andtherearepleasureswhereonedoesn’texpectthem(youmustwritetoyourfather)，andyou’llbeveryhappy，I’venodoubt。ButImustgotobed，andifyouaresensibleyouwillfollowintenminutes，andso，“
sheroseandstoodbeforethem，almostfeaturelessandverylarge，“Good-night。“Shepassedbehindthecurtain。
Aftersittinginsilenceforthegreaterpartofthetenminutessheallowedthem，theyroseandhungovertherail。Beneaththemthesmoothblackwaterslippedawayveryfastandsilently。
Thesparkofacigarettevanishedbehindthem。“Abeautifulvoice，“
Terencemurmured。
Rachelassented。Helenhadabeautifulvoice。
Afterasilencesheasked，lookingupintothesky，“AreweonthedeckofasteameronariverinSouthAmerica？AmIRachel，areyouTerence？“
Thegreatblackworldlayroundthem。Astheyweredrawnsmoothlyalongitseemedpossessedofimmensethicknessandendurance。
Theycoulddiscernpointedtree-topsandbluntroundedtree-tops。
Raisingtheireyesabovethetrees，
