第 27 节
作者:冬恋      更新:2021-04-30 17:00      字数:9321
  woman; a tall and slender girl; like a lily on its stem。             She stood talking
  with the doctor; who held his hat in his hand with as much deference as
  though she were the proudest dame in town。               Her face was partly turned
  away from the window; but as Tryon's eye fell upon her; he gave a great
  start。   Surely; no two women could be so much alike。                  The height; the
  graceful droop of the shoulders; the swan…like poise of the head; the well…
  turned   little   ear;surely;   no   two   women   could   have   them   all   identical!
  But; pshaw! the notion was absurd; it was merely the reflex influence of
  his morning's dream。
  She   moved   slightly;   it   was   Rena's   movement。     Surely   he   knew   the
  gown; and the style of hair… dressing!           She rested her hand lightly on the
  back of a chair。      The ring that glittered on her finger could be none other
  than his own。
  The doctor bowed。        The girl nodded in response; and; turning; left the
  store。    Tryon leaned forward from the buggy…seat and kept his eye fixed
  on the figure that moved across the floor of the drugstore。               As she came
  out;   she   turned   her   face   casually   toward   the   buggy;   and   there   could   no
  longer be any doubt as to her identity。
  When Rena's   eyes   fell upon the   young man   in   the buggy;  she   saw  a
  face as pale as death; with starting eyes; in which love; which once had
  reigned   there;   had    now   given   place   to  astonishment   and     horror。   She
  stood a moment as if turned to stone。           One appealing glance she gave;a
  look that might have softened adamant。             When she saw that it brought no
  answering sign of love or sorrow or regret; the color faded from her cheek;
  the light from her eye; and she fell fainting to the ground。
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  XVI
  THE BOTTOM FALLS OUT
  The   first   effect   of   Tryon's   discovery   was;   figuratively   speaking;   to
  knock   the   bottom   out   of   things   for   him。   It   was   much   as   if   a   boat   on
  which   he   had   been   floating   smoothly   down   the   stream   of   pleasure   had
  sunk     suddenly     and    left  him    struggling     in   deep    waters。     The     full
  realization   of   the   truth;   which   followed   speedily;   had   for   the   moment
  reversed his mental attitude toward her; and love and yearning had given
  place    to  anger    and   disgust。   His    agitation    could   hardly   have    escaped
  notice   had   not   the   doctor's   attention;   and   that   of   the   crowd   that   quickly
  gathered;   been   absorbed   by   the   young   woman   who   had   fallen。        During
  the   time   occupied     in  carrying    her   into  the   drugstore;   restoring    her  to
  consciousness;   and   sending   her   home   in   a   carriage;   Tryon   had   time   to
  recover in some degree his self…possession。               When Rena had been taken
  home;   he   slipped   away   for   a   long   walk;   after   which   he   called   at   Judge
  Straight's office and received the judge's report upon the matter presented。
  Judge   Straight   had   found   the   claim;   in   his   opinion;   a   good   one;   he   had
  discovered      property   from   which;      in  case   the  claim   were    allowed;    the
  amount might be realized。           The judge; who had already been informed of
  the incident at the drugstore; observed Tryon's preoccupation and guessed
  shrewdly at its cause; but gave no sign。             Tryon left the matter of the note
  unreservedly   in   the   lawyer's   hands;   with   instructions   to   communicate   to
  him any further developments。
  Returning      to   the   doctor's    office;   Tryon     listened    to  that   genial
  gentleman's comments on the accident; his own concern in which he; by a
  great effort; was able to conceal。           The doctor insisted upon his returning
  to the Hill for supper。       Tryon pleaded illness。        The doctor was solicitous;
  felt   his   pulse;   examined      his   tongue;    pronounced       him    feverish;   and
  prescribed a sedative。        Tryon sought refuge in his room at the hotel; from
  which he did not emerge again until morning。
  His emotions were varied and stormy。               At first he could see nothing
  but the fraud of which he had been made the victim。                    A negro girl had
  been foisted upon him for a white woman; and he had almost committed
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  the   unpardonable   sin   against   his   race   of   marrying   her。  Such   a   step;   he
  felt; would have been criminal at any time; it would have been the most
  odious treachery at this epoch; when his people had been subjugated and
  humiliated by the Northern invaders; who had preached negro equality and
  abolished the wholesome laws decreeing the separation of the races。                     But
  no Southerner who loved his poor; downtrodden country; or his race; the
  proud Anglo…Saxon race which traced the clear stream of its blood to the
  cavaliers     of   England;     could    tolerate   the   idea    that  even    in   distant
  generations that unsullied current could be polluted by the blood of slaves。
  The   very   thought   was   an   insult   to   the   white   people   of   the   South。 For
  Tryon's liberality; of which he had spoken so nobly and so sincerely; had
  been     confined    unconsciously;      and   as   a  matter   of   course;   within    the
  boundaries of his own race。            The Southern mind; in discussing   abstract
  questions       relative    to    humanity;      makes      always;      consciously      or
  unconsciously; the mental reservation that the conclusions reached do not
  apply to the negro; unless they can be made to harmonize with the customs
  of the country。
  But   reasoning   thus   was   not   without   effect   upon   a   mind   by   nature
  reasonable above the average。           Tryon's race impulse and social prejudice
  had carried him too far; and the swing of the mental pendulum brought his
  thoughts rapidly back in the opposite direction。              Tossing uneasily on the
  bed; where he had thrown himself down without undressing; the air of the
  room oppressed him; and he threw open the window。                    The cool night air
  calmed      his  throbbing     pulses。    The    moonlight;     streaming     through    the
  window;   flooded   the   room   with   a   soft   light;   in   which   he   seemed   to   see
  Rena standing before him; as she had appeared that afternoon; gazing at
  him with eyes that implored charity and forgiveness。                He burst into tears;…
  … bitter tears; that strained his heartstrings。          He was only a   youth。        She
  was his first love; and he had lost her forever。            She was worse than dead
  to him; for if he had seen her lying in her shroud before him; he could at
  least have cherished her memory; now; even this consolation was denied
  him。
  The town clockwhich so long as it was wound up regularly recked
  nothing   of   love   or   hate;   joy   or   sorrowsolemnly   tolled   out   the   hour   of
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  midnight and sounded the knell of his lost love。              Lost she was; as though
  she had never been; as she had indeed had no right to be。                  He resolutely
  determined to banish her image from his mind。                  See her again he could
  not; it would be painful to them both; it could be productive of no good to
  either。    He had felt the power and charm of love; and no ordinary shook
  could   have   loosened   its   hold;   but   this   catastrophe;   which   had   so   rudely
  swept away the groundwork of his passion; had stirred into new life all the
  slumbering       pride   of  race   and   ancestry    which    characterized     his  caste。
  How      much    of  this  sensitive    superiority   was    essential   and   how    much
  accidental; how much of it was due to the ever…suggested comparison with
  a   servile   race;   how   much   of   it   was   ignorance   and   self…conceit;   to   what
  extent the boasted purity of his race would have been contaminated by the
  fair   woman   whose   image   filled   his   memory;of   these   things   he   never
  thought。     He was not influenced by sordid considerations; he would have
  denied that his course was controlled by any narrow prudence。                     If Rena