下载辰思小说免费APP
Beforedescendingthefewstepsthegirlturnedherfaceoverhershoulderandsaidquickly：“Youweretobesetuponwhileyouslept。“Jimtellsmeheexperiencedasenseofdeception。Itwastheoldstory。Hewaswearyoftheseattemptsuponhislife。Hehadhadhisfillofthesealarms。Hewassickofthem。Heassuredmehewasangrywiththegirlfordeceivinghim。Hehadfollowedherundertheimpressionthatitwasshewhowantedhishelp，andnowhehadhalfamindtoturnonhisheelandgobackindisgust。“Doyouknow，“hecommented，profoundly，“IratherthinkIwasnotquitemyselfforwholeweeksonendaboutthattime。““Oh，yes。Youwere，though，“Icouldn’thelpcontradicting。
`Butshemovedonswiftly，andhefollowedherintothecourtyard。Allitsfenceshadfalleninalongtimeago；theneighbours’buffaloeswouldpaceinthemorningacrosstheopenspace，snortingprofoundly，withouthaste；theveryjunglewasinvadingitalready。Jimandthegirlstoppedintherankgrass。Thelightinwhichtheystoodmadeadenseblacknessallround，andonlyabovetheirheadstherewasanopulentglitterofstars。
Hetoldmeitwasabeautifulnight——quitecool，withalittlestirofbreezefromtheriver。Itseemshenoticeditsfriendlybeauty。Rememberthisisalove-storyIamtellingyounow。Alovelynightthatseemedtobreatheonthemasoftcaress。Theflameofthetorchstreamednowandthenwithaflutteringnoiselikeaflag，andforatimethiswastheonlysound。“Theyareinthestoreroomwaiting，“whisperedthegirl；“theyarewaitingforthesignal。““Who’stogiveit？“heasked。Sheshookthetorch，whichblazedupafterashowerofsparks。“Onlyyouhavebeensleepingsorestlessly，“shecontinuedinamurmur。“Iwatchedyoursleep，too。“
“You!“heexclaimed，craninghisnecktolookabouthim。“YouthinkIwatchedonthisnightonly!“shesaid，withasortofdespairingindignation。
`Hesaysitwasasifhehadreceivedablowonthechest。Hegasped。
Hethoughthehadbeenanawfulbrutesomehow，andhefeltremorseful，touched，happy，elated。This，letmeremindyouagain，isalovestory；
youcanseeitbytheimbecility，notarepulsiveimbecility，theexaltedimbecilityoftheseproceedings，thisstationintorchlight，asiftheyhadcomethereonpurposetohaveitoutfortheedificationofconcealedmurderers。IfSherifAli’semissarieshadbeenpossessed——asJimremarked——ofapennyworthofspunk，thiswasthetimetomakearush。Hisheartwasthumping——notwithfear——butheseemedtohearthegrassrustle，andhesteppedsmartlyoutofthelight。Somethingdark，imperfectlyseen，flittedrapidlyoutofsight。Hecalledoutinastrongvoice，“Cornelius!OCornelius!“
Aprofoundsilencesucceeded：hisvoicedidnotseemtohavecarriedtwentyfeet。Againthegirlwasbyhisside。“Fly!“shesaid。Theoldwomanwascomingup；herbrokenfigurehoveredincrippledlittlejumpsontheedgeofthelight；theyheardhermumbling，andalight，moaningsigh。“Fly!“
repeatedthegirl，excitedly。“Theyarefrightenednow——thislight——thevoices。Theyknowyouareawakenow——theyknowyouarebig，strong，fearless……““IfIamallthat，“hebegan，butsheinterruptedhim。“Yes——to-night!
Butwhatoftomorrownight？Ofthenextnight？Ofthenightafter——ofallthemany，manynights？CanIbealwayswatching？“Asobbingcatchofherbreathaffectedhimbeyondthepowerofwords。
`Hetoldmethathehadneverfeltsosmall，sopowerless——andastocourage，whatwasthegoodofit？hethought。Hewassohelplessthatevenflightseemedofnouse；andthoughshekeptonwhispering，“GotoDoramin，gotoDoramin，“withfeverishinsistence，herealizedthatforhimtherewasnorefugefromthatlonelinesswhichcentupledallhisdangersexcept——inher。“Ithought，“hesaidtome，“thatifIwentawayfromheritwouldbetheendofeverythingsomehow。“Onlyastheycouldn’tstopthereforeverinthemiddleofthatcourtyard，hemadeuphismindtogoandlookintothestorehouse。Heletherfollowhimwithoutthinkingofanyprotest，asiftheyhadbeenindissolublyunited。“Iamfearless——amI？“hemutteredthroughhisteeth。Sherestrainedhisarm。“Waittillyouhearmyvoice，“
shesaid，and，torchinhand，ranlightlyroundthecorner。Heremainedaloneinthedarkness，hisfacetothedoor：notasound，notabreathcamefromtheotherside。Theoldhagletoutadrearygroansomewherebehindhisback。Heheardahigh-pitchedalmostscreamingcallfromthegirl。
“Now!Push!“Hepushedviolently；thedoorswungwithacreakandaclatter，disclosingtohisintenseastonishmentthelowdungeon-likeinteriorilluminatedbyalurid，waveringglare。Aturmoilofsmokeeddieddownuponanemptywoodencrateinthemiddleofthefloor，alitterofragsandstrawtriedtosoar，butonlystirredfeeblyinthedraught。Shehadthrustthelightthroughthebarsofthewindow。Hesawherbareroundarmextendedandrigid，holdingupthetorchwiththesteadinessofanironbracket。Aconicalraggedheapofoldmatscumberedadistantcorneralmosttotheceiling，andthatwasall。
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