Chapter 9 chapter eight

Christmas carols came harshly through loud drunken talk and the rattling of iron wheels.Bamu.Kirby didn't like the club car, and the Christmas carols made him sick, but he needed a drink.On this snowy night, the express train roared all the way to Washington, and no passenger on the train had a more cloudy face than him. Rhoda.Henry will probably meet him at Union Station.He felt the joy of a hungry man, but was ashamed of his hunger.She was married, and her husband was the captain of a battleship fighting the Japanese.After he fell in love, in order not to make mistakes again and again, he once begged her to be a long-term husband and wife with him.She was also moved at first, but then withdrew.After all these twists and turns, it would be disgraceful to have an affair again—that's what he was thinking now, and his mood was very low.Dr. Kirby had no religious taboos or moral scruples; he was a strict, decent atheist, and a widower of the old fashion.This kind of unnatural and ulterior affair can be regarded as comforting the suffering of having no wife, but it is too bad.He had to be restrained to avoid scandal, but he had a sense of honor, and felt himself restrained like a married man.Now when he was on the road, he ignored the seductive secretaries and receptionists who sometimes turned their attention to this tall, thin, ugly man with thick gray hair.He often talks to Rhoda on the phone.Pug sent an undersea telegram from Pearl Harbor: "Very good health, battle just beginning." Rhoda read the telegram to Kirby over the phone, to his delight and shame.He cuckolded Pug, but liked and admired the man.It's a terrible thing to do.

But the root of Dr. Kirby's preoccupations was the war.America is already a belligerent state under public international law, but wherever he travels he sees the country crippled by frivolity, indecision, lack of leadership - especially as a holiday comes: Christmas, Christmas ,Christmas!This burst of panic buying, selling, hanging lanterns and festoons, eating and drinking, is accompanied by peace.Crosby's sweet voice chants endlessly, and you can't escape it if you don't want to hear it.Every winter solstice, as a rule, there will be a lot of excitement, hypocritically, it is a celebration of Jesus Christmas; every midwinter, the whole country will have a carnival as usual, as if there is no such person as Hitler in the world, as if there is no one in Pearl Harbor Come and touch, it seems that Wake Island is not in danger.In the advertisement of Happiness brand cigarettes, there is only a cheerful, red-faced Santa Claus wearing a tinplate military cap, which is still tilted in a good way. This image makes people sad, but it is the spirit of the whole country. state.

Around the west coast, Kirby found a more or less wartime atmosphere: hysterical air raid sirens, brief bouts of panic, blackouts in East and West, chaotic and conflicting messages from Army authorities and civil defense. Orders, rumors of Japanese submarine bombardment of San Francisco, and the blind optimism that the United States will win mixed with fear of Japan.All the way to the east, even this superficial awareness of wartime has faded away.By Chicago, the war had faded to the point where it became a topic of conversation over drinks, or a new way to get rich.The idea of ​​losing a battle never occurred to anyone.Who can beat America?A Armageddon was raging ahead of Moscow—the Red Army launched a massive counteroffensive against German troops—but to most Americans, Santa Claus in a tin hat was far more real.

Franklin.Roosevelt's management agencies, production committees, and emergency committees are rapidly multiplying in Washington like amoebas.For all their chaos, these institutions may end up getting a few things done.The combat capabilities of those barracks, naval bases, shipyards, and aircraft factories may be growing.Kirby didn't know much.All he knew was that he had returned from a tour of the country's sources of radioactive uranium with disappointment.He saw one.The factories run by the state were submerged in the snowflakes of orders for military supplies, and the normal production mix was destroyed. Even if scientists theoretically solved the problem of nuclear explosions, those factories would never be able to manufacture nuclear weapons. Come.Crying everywhere: not enough copper, not enough steel, not enough labor, not enough parts, not enough machine tools; skyrocketing prices, government officials who don't know anything, cronyism, corruption, chaos.He travels across the country with a notable certificate from Washington in his pocket;He couldn't divulge what he was investigating.Even if he could (and in fact he had given away a little hint of it), it wouldn't help him.To overwhelmed factory managers, the atomic bomb is as much the stuff of science fiction as the spaceship and the time machine.Articles predicting nuclear power had long been published in science magazines, and even in Time Magazine and Life Illustrated.But people cannot comprehend that the horrors of this future world are upon them.

Yet it is true. Uranium has been decaying harmlessly for eons.It is less than fifty years since human beings discovered the phenomenon of radioactivity.For about forty years, this radioactivity was regarded as an insignificant anomaly of nature.Then in 1932—at Franklin.Roosevelt and Adolph.A year before Hitler also came to power, an Englishman discovered the neutron, the uncharged particle in the atom.Just seven years later—and seven years are only a millionth of a second in the long history—after Italy, France, Germany, and the United States had further opened up (but not yet solved) the secrets inside the atom, Germany Man has shown that bombarding uranium atoms with neutrons can split them and release enormous amounts of energy that have existed since primitive times.

Kirby attended a meeting of physicists in 1939, at which a chilling message was delivered—a whisper at first that grew into an uproar.Some scientists at Columbia University continued their research on the basis of the German experiment and proved that a split uranium atom emits more than one neutron on average.This answers a key theoretical question: Is there any possibility of a chain reaction within the uranium atom?The ominous answer is: it is possible.Thus opened a new golden age of energy for human use.But there is another very scary side.There is only one isotope discovered four years ago called U-235, or "radioactive uranium". Once it explodes, it can be imagined that it can continue to explode in countless stages.But which country can produce enough pure U-235 to make bombs for use in this war?Or, in the treatment of U-235 in large quantities, rather than in small doses in the laboratory, will there be any accidental and favorable situation in nature that makes the whole plan of destroying human beings an innocuous failure, a failure in the Physically impossible?No one in the world can say for sure about these things.

So the current race is how to isolate that dreadful isotope in sufficient quantities to make a bomb.According to Simu.Kirby's personal feelings, as well as the information he can grasp, all explain Adolf.Hitler's scientists would easily win this race.They are way ahead.British science and industry were exhausted, and they could no longer devote all their efforts to the study of the atomic bomb.Unless the United States can catch up with Germany, the Nazi's well-equipped military factories will probably provide enough U-235 bombs to the crazy Fuehrer to wipe the capitals of the world off the map, until one day the governments All at his feet.

This is Bamu.The prospect of radioactive uranium as Kirby sees it.If the future turns out to be as expected, what's the point of other military plans or operations?What is the meaning of the relationship between people? Rhoda.Henry was wearing a black cloth coat with a silver fox fur collar, a small gray hat slanted, and gray gloves in his hands. He was pacing up and down at the gate of the platform. In fact, it was still early for the train to arrive here.She was taking a risk: she might be seen picking him up here, but he had been away on business for almost a month, and this reunion would surely be pivotal.Kirby didn't know that she had written to Pug asking for a divorce, that the attack on Pearl Harbor had disrupted her plans, and that she was drowsing back.All this is now up to her to reveal.

The letter to Pug was a forlorn affair.A succession of unsatisfactory events made Rhoda jump up like a frightened cat.First, his letter home from Moscow concerning the California had arrived; although this was good news, she feared that he would then ask her to go to Hawaii.Bamu.Kirby was far less able to suppress his lust than Pug, and stirred up a late-joyed passion in her heart.She couldn't bear to lose him.She loved Washington and loathed life on a foreign naval base.Kirby just stayed here in Washington, doing his job that wasn't revealing at all, didn't know what it was, and she never asked; it was nice to have him around.

But at the time of Pug's letter, her relationship with Kirby had been shaken.His work made him travel far and wide outside for a long time.The anniversary of his wife's death approached, and he was in a bad mood.He muttered again and said that he felt that he had done something shameless, and the two of them should make a clean break.Once at dinner in a restaurant, he made such a depressing talk that she was surprised. She always took him home with her, but she accompanied him back to his apartment that night.It was such unlucky thing to meet Meggie and Jerry face to face in the hall.Nedson hit it.Meggie couldn't keep her mouth shut, and the Navy wives' gossip had the fastest communication network in the world.I'm afraid this disgraceful thing has already reached the ears of Pug in Hawaii!

Things got so bad that there was no way out, and for three straight days, with sleet and sleet outside, she was alone in her old twelve-room home on Fox Hall Road, and Kirby was on a business trip again and didn't even talk to her on the phone. One, she couldn't help but risk it all.She thought to herself, now that the children have grown up, she will only have five or eight good years in her life, and after that she will be a shriveled old woman.Living with Pug was boring.Kirby was a vigorous lover and a man who made his fortune through personal struggle.He was madly infatuated with her, and Pug seemed to have lost that passion over the years.Maybe it was her fault for the collapse of the marriage, she was probably not a good woman (some of these thoughts came out of her pen when she wrote to her husband), but this was the last chance in a lifetime.After all, among naval officers, divorce is also common; naval families are set up and then torn apart, and some accidents are inevitable after a long period of separation between the two places.Speaking of which, Meggie.One or two of Nadson's scandals are in her stomach too! That's how the letter went.Unexpectedly, her letter was written at an inappropriate time, followed by a surprise attack by the Japanese army, which shattered all of Luo Da's private plans.Rhoda's reaction to the bombing of Pearl Harbor may not have been commendable, but it was human.After a moment of shock passed, the first thing she thought of was that now that the war broke out, the future of a naval officer was very promising, and she might be promoted several ranks at once.Pug.Henry was now in command of a battleship in the Pacific, and with luck again, it was limitless, he would be—who's to say?It goes without saying that he will get the rank of general; maybe he will become the chief of naval operations!Would she make a big mistake by filing for divorce just at this time, like a Wall Street figure who had been hiding oil stocks for twenty years and sold all his stocks just a week before the oil company discovered a new oil field. With these practical calculations came sincere guilt for beating her husband at such a tense moment.She still loved him, more or less as she still loved her grown children.He is part of her life.So she hastened a telegram of repentance, and an impassioned note rescinding her request for a divorce, which was the letter he had read on board the Northampton.His reply filled her with remorse and pride, and relief; , which made her breathe a sigh of relief. In this way, the dark situation had been known to Pug, and he still could not do without her.But what about Kirby?In the billowing steam, seeing that he didn't wear a coat or a hat, he just spread his long legs and walked along the platform in three steps; as long as Rhoda glanced at him, he knew that this man was also indispensable. her.She fought so recklessly, and the result was very good.How can the things in the world be accurate!She stood waiting, her gray gloved hands outstretched, her eyes wide and bright.They didn't kiss; they had never kissed in public. "Bamu, don't you wear a coat? It's icy and snowy outdoors." "I put on panties in Chicago." She gave him a mischievous, intimate look. "Pants! A little bit of President McKinley, honey." The two of them walked out of the crowded terminal side by side, only listening to the report of the bus schedule on the loudspeaker, flat.Crosby's singing made a commotion.They came out of the station into the lit night, and Dr. Kirby looked out through the flakes of snow and said, "Well, well! The capitol dome isn't lit. There must be a real war." "Unfortunately, there are still all kinds of battles going on. The things in the shop are already tense. And the price!" She hugged his arm, her movements elastic and happy. "I'm a very unpatriotic hoarder, my dear. Do you hate me? I bought two dozen stockings yesterday. It's double what it was three weeks ago. Put my size stockings in both stores. I bought all of them! I heard that all the silk is used to make parachutes. It won’t be long before you can even buy nylon socks, which is considered lucky. Huh! Nylon! Nylon socks will bulge around the ankles and stick to the flesh. Gooey." "Any news from Pug?" "No more words." "Rhoda, there are rumors on the west coast that all our battleships at Pearl Harbor were sunk, including the 'California'." "I've heard that too. There's something of that in Pug's letter. It's discouraging. But if it's true, he'll use it for something else. It's bound to happen." They came to the dark parking lot, and Kirby threw his suitcase into Rhoda's car.As soon as the two got into the car, they kissed and whispered something affectionate, his hands slipping under her dress.But not for long.Rhoda sat up, turned on the lights, and started the engine. "Regret, did you hear that Madeleine is here, dear." "Madeline? Really? How long has it been here?" "She broke into my place this afternoon." "Is she going to live?" "Who knew? She muttered about going to be a naval assistant nurse." "What happened to her radio job?" "I think she's going to quit—damn it, you idiot!" A red Buick suddenly sped out from the curb in front of her, forcing her to brake and turn the steering wheel desperately to get the car out of the way. side. "To be honest, in this world, as long as you have money, idiots can buy cars! It's really depressing." This kind of temper tantrum and swearing are common in Rhoda.Her husband doesn't even take it seriously.But Bamu.It was the first time Kirby encountered it, and he felt a little harsh when he heard it. "Well, during the war, the market got better and more people got rich, Rhoda. Now that good things don't happen often, that's one of them." "Perhaps. All I know is that Washington is becoming untenable." Her voice was as sharp and stiff as ever. "It's a mess for those dirty, questioning out-of-towners." Kirby didn't answer, he was thinking about the news that Madeline was at home.Would Rodaken go to his apartment?She is reluctant to go, she has many acquaintances in the building.It seems that this reunion after a little farewell has only resulted in a lack of interest-at least tonight.His mistress was a mother with children, and he could only accommodate. The truth was that Rhoda was trying to take advantage of the fact that Madeleine would come home to help her get through this difficult night.It was a coincidence that Madeline was at home, and she was able to put aside the question of how to deal with it, certain questions of conscience, for example, she had written to Pug that if she wanted to remain husband and wife with him, what should she do? Shouldn't he still be sleeping with Bamu?One way for Rhoda, who is in a dilemma, is: "If possible, don't do anything." Now that her daughter is at home, it is very easy not to do anything.She casually mentioned that Madeline was at home, she was very casual on the surface, but she was very nervous inside. She didn't know how Kirby would react to this, which also made her lose her temper with that "Buick" just now.She was born with a bad temper, but losing her temper in front of Kirby was unimaginable before; when she was about to lose her temper, she would bite the tip of her tongue, forcefully suppress the anger, and keep a smile on her face, The voice of speaking is still sweet.She was amused and relieved to see that he reacted exactly like Pug; he offered a word of persuasion and said nothing more.He was equally easy to pass. They drove past the lights-out White House along the lawn, where there was a Christmas tree and a crowd of onlookers. "I suppose you know Churchill is in the White House," she said cheerfully, feeling the silence was too long. "Churchill himself has come. What times we live in, my dear!" "What an age! Really," he answered, feeling very bad. Like most pretty girls, Madeline.Henry has a suitor who can't be chased away.She had fallen in love with Naval Academy cadet Simon for a brief period.Anderson, at her first ever invited Naval Academy ball.I saw him wearing a white uniform, which fit him perfectly, and he danced the rumba so well.She could not help feeling affection for him; and he, too, was in love with her, and went round the pretty Henley girl in a frenzy, and sent her terrible love-poems.As soon as he graduated, he went to propose to her, but it was just for fun.She is not yet seventeen.At such a young age, there was a captured prisoner crawling under her feet, not to mention her complacency, and Madeline naturally rejected him in person. Captive or not, Simon.Anderson is a beggar.Five years later, he was still courting Madeleine there.Henry.He was with her tonight.That afternoon, she called him from New York, and he got her call and asked for a leave of absence.At the Naval Academy, he was a top student in physics, and now he was Captain Anderson, serving in the Bureau of Ordnance, researching how to completely improve the performance of the fuse of anti-aircraft artillery shells. This is a classified project.But for Madeleine, Sim is still a determined suitor, and he is always there when she calls for him to fill the gap some night; sometimes when her egoism lacks a little stimulation, he needs him to come. Puff up.Anderson accepted his humiliating position, was willing to be trampled by her, and waited for his chance. Rhoda took Dr. Kirby back to the Fox Hall Road house, where they were drinking in front of a wood-burning fire in the spacious sitting room.Rhoda went into the kitchen.Kirby took a mug of brandy and soda and stretched out his legs in front of the roaring fire because they were cold despite his long underwear.Madeleine's coquettishness surprised him.She was dressed in red wool with late eyes, her collar was opened very low, and her legs in silk stockings were raised, exposing her knees.There was also a mischievous look in her eyes. "Ah, Dr. Kirby. You're the one I want to talk to." "Very pleased. What shall we talk about?" Of course, Madeline never dreamed of any relationship between her mother and Kirby other than the friendship between elders.Rhoda's church activities were the same as usual, and her decent speech and demeanor had not changed at all.Kirby seems to be a well-behaved old man, only from his eyes, it can be seen that he is interested in women. Twenty or thirty years ago, maybe those eyes could fascinate people. "Oh, what a crazy thing we were talking about! I'm getting dizzy. Sim said there might be a radioactive bomb that would blow the world up." Anderson said it very simply: "I said it is conceivable." Kirby gave Anderson a wary look.The blond, blue-eyed, medium-built captain looked like any other junior naval officer in appearance: young, chiseled, and featureless. "Are you a physicist, Captain?" "That's what I majored in in college, sir. I did graduate work at Caltech after graduation. I'm a qualified officer in the profession." "Which job are you in now?" Anderson sat up straight, as if answering an oral interview, and said unequivocally: "The Ordnance Bureau's test site washes the students." "I have an electrical engineer from Caltech on my staff. How are you going to go about making this horrible bomb?" "Oh, sir—" he glanced at Madeleine—"this requires a new technology. Of course you know that. All I was saying was that the Germans have probably come a long way in this respect." Way to go. Their technology is amazing. They discovered it first, and they have strong military motives." "If I really believe this kind of thing, boy, don't you want to make me dumbfounded?" Madeleine shouted, "Think about it! Hitler just took out one of these things just to show his power, Throw it at the North Pole, and melt half of the icebergs there, so that the night sky will be so bright that you can see the equator clearly. What kind of disaster will happen then?" "Good question," Kirby replied sadly. "I can't answer. How long are you going to be in Washington, Madeline?" "I may have to stay here forever." Kirby saw the look of surprise and joy on Anderson's face. "Oh, you don't want to be in the radio business anymore?" He had just said this when Rhoda entered, gray silk with a lace apron. "I can't tell. The job is getting more and more unbearable--it's always the idiot's self-indulgence, and it's always the nasty commercials--whether there's war or not. As long as Just patriotic lip service. Hey, there was a songwriter on the show last night, singing his new war ditty: "I'm going to find a dude with a yellow face , beat him red and white first, then beat him blue and swollen! 'What a nuisance! " A boyish smile broke across Anderson's prim face. "You're lying, May." Her mother asked, "Oh, what's the matter, darling? Have you quit your job?" "I'm trying to make up my mind. As for Hugh Cleveland--that selfish man I'm working for--Ma, what do you think he's doing for the war? Hmph , he bought his wife a mink coat, that's all. He went to Palm Springs with her. And put me on the radio, except for a buffoon who didn't talk, called Lester. O'shee's, for amateur performers. My God, what a coat, mother! The collar, the cuffs, it's huge, all pure mink, down to the calf .I said, it's very vulgar to buy and wear a coat like that in war time. I was so sick of it that I came home. I'm going on vacation myself." Madeleine had angrily told Rhoda that Mrs. Cleveland had no reason to suspect that she had anything to do with Cleveland.The mother's behavior towards Madeleine was now audible. "Madeline, sweetheart, are you responsible for your work when you leave like this?" "Why don't you leave? Didn't he just stand up and leave?" She jumped up. "Come, Sim, take me to dinner." "Aren't you two eating at home, dear? There's plenty to eat here." Madeline glanced at Kirby, and the mocking look made him feel his age, which clearly meant that she didn't want to eat at home. "We were just rushing to have a quick lunch before the movie, thanks, Mom." Rhoda took care of her lover as she had taken care of her husband, keeping him well-fed and well-fed.She brought him a plate of deliciously cooked mutton and rice, and a bottle of good wine.She also made him hot mince pies and stoked a pot of his favorite Italian coffee.They brought coffee into the sitting room and sat down by the fire.Kirby put his long legs lazily on the sofa, picked up a cup of coffee, and smiled at her with a warm feeling of happiness in his heart. The time has come, Rhoda thought, and she resolutely walked the tightrope. "Bam, I have something to tell you. About a month ago I wrote Pug asking for a divorce." His smile disappeared.His thick eyebrows came together.He put down his coffee cup and sat up straight.Although this was a sign of discouragement, Rhoda was not surprised.He might have been glad to hear that.She maintains good balance and walks briskly over the wire. "Now, darling, listen, you're as free as the air. Remember this! I don't know if I want to get married again. I'm so confused. You know, I thought he'd tell me to go to Honolulu An's. I just couldn't bear to leave you. So I wrote that letter, and it's been spread out anyway." "What reason did you give him, Rhoda?" "I'll just say this. We meet often, and I'm so in love that I can't extricate myself. If I don't tell him about it, I'll be sorry for him." He shook his head slowly and heavily. "Poor timing." "I agree. I didn't have the foresight, my dear. How did I know that the Japanese were going to bomb Pearl Harbor soon." "Has his reply come?" "Here it is. A touching, heartbreaking letter." "let me see." She went to the bedroom to get the letter. Kirby clasped his hands between his knees and stared blankly at the fire.It immediately occurred to him to propose marriage to her again.In the current circumstances, it appears that this is imperative.However, if you marry Rhoda now.For Henry, the situation is different from what he imagined in the hotel.He is in a position where he has to make a decision.Kirby suddenly felt that the development of things in this way was a strategy of the other party.He is not an easy man to deal with, he knows how to use tactics, and on principle, he will not let him be defeated by tactics. He couldn't help but think of the war again.Then again, how much better was he than the festival-goers he despised?After eating mutton, rice, mince pies, drinking enough wine, thinking about sleeping with other people's wives, maybe planning to steal the man's wife outright while he is killing the enemy at the front, it is difficult Is there anything more wicked and selfish than this?He was supposed to be in his apartment right now, writing a copy of Tomorrow and Guineas.The report used in the Bush meeting... Meanwhile, Rhoda was in her bedroom rereading her husband's letter, and she seemed to be reading it with the engineer's eyes.For a moment she saw herself as a colorful, shallow, vulgar woman, unworthy of the love of her husband or her lover.She was thinking of the best excuse to keep Kirby from reading the letter.But all night, she saw from his eyes that he was courting.This is the most important point.I can't take care of anything else.She took the letter into the sitting room, where he was sitting hunched over, stoking the fire.He read the letter, looked carefully at the photograph of Natalie and Louise (which was somewhat torn), and handed the envelope back to her without a word.He rested his head on the back of the sofa and wiped his eyes. "What's the matter, dear?" "Oh, nothing. I have another report to write tonight." "It's embarrassing, isn't it?—I mean, Madeleine's coming home, and stuff like that." Bamu.Kirby made a sour face, shrugged one shoulder, and said, "It's okay, really." These words are so chilling, Rhoda has only recently felt confident about this man, and now he can blow everything up. "Bam," her voice was full of emotion, "take me to your apartment." His eyelids were drooping, but when she said that, his eyes sparkled. "What? Do you want me to take you there?" "Didn't you think of that, you fool?" The two of them looked at each other.Fiery affection was revealed from Rhoda's face, and a faint smile made her beautiful thin lips form two curves. "You do not want it?" It was about one o'clock when Rhoda got home, there was no light in the living room, and Madeleine was not in her bedroom.She had showered in Kirby's apartment, and now she changed into a civilian dress and came downstairs.She dressed and undressed in such a hurry that she couldn't help feeling a little funny.Apart from this point, she really felt very comfortable—there was a kind of warmth all over her body, and her mood returned to calm.After some fun, Kirby really asked her to marry him.She firmly rejected him.She told him that she would not consider such a forced and expressive marriage proposal.Excellent answer!He was really elated, what was supposed to be a responsible statement turned into a grin and a tight hug. "So, for a while, Rhoda, we're going to—oh, keep seeing each other?" "Honey, if you call this a 'meet', that's fine, there is no second word. Tonight, I am very happy to 'meet' you. Your eyes are really fierce." Rhoda told Kirby feels good about such witty swearing, she and Victor.When Henry was together, it was rare to make such jokes.Kirby laughed so vulgarly at her words that he showed his teeth and gums.After a while, when she was about to leave, he asked without thinking: "When can I 'meet' you again?" She added a few logs to the dark red embers, mixed herself a glass of wine, and read Pug's reply again.Since Kirby had just proposed to her, this letter gave her a different feeling.She was already a grandmother with two grandchildren, and now she had two wonderful men vying to love and want her!Ever since she first fell in love, the phone rang again and again, asking her to go to a dance, she rejected two boys one after another, and expected that there would be a third person she liked more who would call to invite her—since that period, she I have never been so proud of my own attractiveness. She was thinking these things in her mind when the phone rang, startling her.It was a long-distance call from Palm Springs, asking for Madeleine.Henry listened to the phone. "She's not here, I'm her mother." Rhoda could clearly hear Cleveland's voice: "Operator! Operator! I want to talk to the other party... Hello, Mrs. Henry? Sorry to disturb you." It was sent into her ears like comfort. "Is Metti really in Washington?" "Yes, but she went out to socialize tonight." "Look, does she want to be a nurse's assistant? I mean, I'm all for patriotism, Mrs. Henry, but the idea is a joke. Nurses' assistant, what little nigger girl can't be what!" "To tell you the truth, Mr. Cleveland, I admire her. There's a war going on." "I understand that." Cleveland sighed. “可是'快乐时光'能起到振奋人心的作用，也是为战争出了大力呀，我可以向你保证。你真该看看我办公室里，挂在镜框里的那些海陆军将领们的来信！”电话里的声音越发热情亲密了。 “罗达——要是我可以这样冒昧称呼你——两个儿子，一个丈夫，都打仗去了，你作出的牺牲难道还不够大吗？假使他们把她送到海外去呢？那么在打完战争之前，只剩下你一个人了。” “梅德琳不赞成你在这个时候出门去休假，克里弗兰先生。她认为你对战争漠不关心。她还说了一些关于什么貂皮的话。” “嗅，天哪！她怎么说到貂皮来着？” “说到你太太的貂皮大衣来着，我相信。” 克里弗兰低声地叹了一口气说：“天哪，如果不是为了这件事，那总是还有另一件事。她管后台的工作，罗达。我走开一星期还不打紧，她可是不行啊。我们得训练一个人来随时替代她。等她回来了，请她跟我通个电话。” “也许那时候我已经睡了。我给她留个条子吧。” “谢谢。用唇膏写在她的镜子上吧。”这话叫罗达笑了出来。“我不是在哄骗你。今天晚上我一定要跟她说话。” 罗达在炉火边刚喝完酒，听得梅德琳在过道里跟西姆。安德森说再会。做女儿的得意扬扬地大踏步走了进来。“妈。临睡前喝杯酒？我想陪你喝一杯。” “心肝，休。克里弗兰打电话来过了。” 女儿停住脚步，皱皱眉头。 "when?" “刚打来。他在棕榈泉的电话号码在电话机桌子上。” 梅德琳把鼻子朝天一翘，活象小姑娘的样子。她在逐渐熄灭的炉火边坐下来，捡起放在她父亲的信旁的那张快镜照片。“乖乖，勃拉尼的娃娃，嗯？可怜的娜塔丽！看照上，她胖得象条母牛了。妈，你能打听到他们的消息吗？” “她的母亲写过信给国务院。从此以后我没接到过她的来信。” “反正这真是个奇怪的姻缘。大多数婚姻看来都是意想不到的。拿克莱尔。克里弗兰来说吧。她没有时时刻刻跟体打成一片，这使她那一股酸劲儿象疯了一般。我写了一封傻里傻气的信给爸爸，他在信中提到了没有？” “只是顺便带一句。” “他怎么说的？” 罗达翻看那三张信笺。“这儿是了。短短几句话。'梅德琳出了什么事，我不太清楚。对她的事我感到有些厌烦，所以不打算多谈了。如果那家伙准备跟她结婚，把乱子收拾干净，那就再好没有。不然的话，我一定要唯他是问。'” “天哪。多可怜的爸爸呀！”梅德琳把一只小拳头在沙发上啪的敲了一下。“她当然不会跟体离婚！我真不该写那封信。我只是心里一阵慌张，因为我万想不到她会提出控诉。” “再写封信给他，心肝。跟他说，上次写的全是废话。” “我想写。”梅德琳站起身来，打了个大哈欠。“西姆倒多少有点儿亲热劲儿，你知道那样的低头伏小吧？那样的百依百顺！即使我要他把自己的头割下来，他也会去拿把斧子照着我的话做的。可说实话，叫人腻烦。” “去给克里弗兰先生打个电话吧，梅德琳。” 女儿走出去了。后来休。克里弗兰又打电话来了。铃声响了好一阵，结果还是罗达去接。她到女儿房中，隔着浴间的门，夹杂着水龙头哗哗的放水声，叫她去听电话。 “天哪，他到底有什么事呀？”梅德琳叫道。“我不要人来打扰我。告诉他，我正泡在肥皂水里。” 克里弗兰说，他可以等到梅德琳把身子擦干。 “哦，上帝！对他说，我喜欢在上床前，在浴缸里泡上半个小时。真是太岂有此理了，在清晨两点半钟，跟我纠缠不清！” “梅德琳，我不高兴再隔着门，象白痴似的大喊大叫了。你擦干身子出来吧。” “我才不呢。如果这不称他的心，告诉他我不干了，请他不如找根绳子上吊去吧。” “喂？克里弗兰先生吗？还是等早晨再说吧。她这会儿情绪实在很坏哪。” “他早晨再跟你通电话，”她好声好气地说，她那种哄人的、平稳的声调表示梅德琳取得胜利了。 “管它呢，”梅德琳也有腔有调地回答。 差不多有一个小时，罗达在黑暗中翻来覆去地睡不着，于是起身拿了一本信笺和一支笔，在床上坐起身。 最亲爱的帕格：——我能写上四十张信笺，表达我对你的感情、对我们俩共同生活的感情以及我读了你那封了不起的信是怎样想的；可是我要把这信写得短些。有一件事我是说得准的，现在你忙得要命！ 第一件事，梅德琳。说来话长，主要的一点是她受到人家彻头彻尾的诬告，还有被人家彻头彻尾的卑鄙威胁吓坏了。我有把握说，她没有什么不正当的行为，她是清白的。她回家来和我一起度圣诞节，所以我并不感到孤零零的一个人；我还得说，她已长成为一个顶呱呱的纽约姑娘。信不信由你，西姆。安德森还在她身边转来转去地献殷勤呢！今天晚上他带她出去玩。她是能够拿稳主意、应付得了种种情况的，你不必把这个问题放在心上。 如果你能不再为女儿操心，那么在今后几个月里，也请不必为我操心吧，就把我看作一个留在后方家里的小老太太好了。你有一场仗要打。我在上一封信中说的话仍然算数，可是我们信札往返，这中间隔开的时间长得真可怕，我们就是没法靠这种方式来解决什么问题。我是一个过来人了，我不会做出什么顾前不顾后的事来。等你从前方回来，我会象一个海军人员的好妻子那样，在这儿狐狸厅路的宅子里等着你，穿着我最漂亮的衣裳，准备好满满一壶马提尼酒。 你说你愿意忘掉我那封信，仍旧和好如初，我读到这里，哭起来了。真不愧为你，你那样宽宏大量，真叫人受之有愧，我们俩都该静下心来好好思考这个问题。我已经“不是一个女学生”了，这话是不错的；我也确实经历了中年妇女的所谓“热情冲动”。我正在尽我的力把我自己“理出个头绪”来，从头到底。说是你愿意宽恕我——那是别人简直无法想象的，因为他们不象我那样深切了解你。请相信我、读了你那封信之后，我从来没那样敬你、爱你，从来没那样为你而自豪。 娜塔丽和他的娃娃至今不知下落，是吗？这儿没有一点消息。拜伦的点滴情况也请告诉我。向华伦、杰妮丝和小维克问好——当然，还有你，永远惦着你——罗 写好了这封信，信里的每一句都是她的真心话，罗达就熄了灯，象一个问心无愧的人那样睡熟了。