Chapter 42 (第1/3页)
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ANOLDACQUAINTANCEOFOLIVER‘S,EXHIBITINGDECIDEDMARKSOFGENIUS,BECOMESAPUBLICCHARACTERINTHEMETROPOLIS
UponthenightwhenNancy,havinglulledMr。Sikestosleep,hurriedonherself-imposedmissiontoRoseMaylie,thereadvancedtowardsLondon,bytheGreatNorthRoad,twopersons,uponwhomitisexpedientthatthishistoryshouldbestowsomeattention。
Theywereamanandwoman;orperhapstheywouldbebetterdescribedasamaleandfemale:fortheformerwasoneofthoselong-limbed,knock-kneed,shambling,bonypeople,towhomitisdifficulttoassignanypreciseage,--lookingastheydo,whentheyareyetboys,likeundergrownmen,andwhentheyarealmostmen,likeovergrownboys。Thewomanwasyoung,butofarobustandhardymake,assheneedhavebeentobeartheweightoftheheavybundlewhichwasstrappedtoherback。Hercompanionwasnotencumberedwithmuchluggage,astheremerelydangledfromastickwhichhecarriedoverhisshoulder,asmallparcelwrappedinacommonhandkerchief,andapparentlylightenough。Thiscircumstance,addedtothelengthofhislegs,whichwereofunusualextent,enabledhimwithmucheasetokeepsomehalf-dozenpacesinadvanceofhiscompanion,towhomheoccasionallyturnedwithanimpatientjerkofthehead:asifreproachinghertardiness,andurginghertogreaterexertion。
Thus,theyhadtoiledalongthedustyroad,takinglittleheedofanyobjectwithinsight,savewhentheysteppedasidetoallowawiderpassageforthemail-coacheswhichwerewhirlingoutoftown,untiltheypassedthroughHighgatearchway;whentheforemosttravellerstoppedandcalledimpatientlytohiscompanion,
‘Comeon,can'tyer?Whatalazybonesyerare,Charlotte。’
‘It'saheavyload,Icantellyou,’saidthefemale,comingup,almostbreathlesswithfatigue。
‘Heavy!Whatareyertalkingabout?Whatareyermadefor?’rejoinedthemaletraveller,changinghisownlittlebundleashespoke,totheothershoulder。‘Oh,thereyerare,restingagain!Well,ifyerain'tenoughtotireanybody'spatienceout,Idon'tknowwhatis!’
‘Isitmuchfarther?’askedthewoman,restingherselfagainstabank,andlookingupwiththeperspirationstreamingfromherface。
‘Muchfarther!Yerasgoodasthere,’saidthelong-leggedtramper,pointingoutbeforehim。‘Lookthere!ThosearethelightsofLondon。’
‘They'reagoodtwomileoff,atleast,’saidthewomandespondingly。
‘Nevermindwhetherthey'retwomileoff,ortwenty,’saidNoahClaypole;forheitwas;‘butgetupandcomeon,orI'llkickyer,andsoIgiveyernotice。’
AsNoah'srednosegrewredderwithanger,andashecrossedtheroadwhilespeaking,asiffullypreparedtoputhisthreatintoexecution,thewomanrosewithoutanyfurtherremark,andtrudgedonwardbyhisside。
‘Wheredoyoumeantostopforthenight,Noah?’sheasked,aftertheyhadwalkedafewhundredyards。
‘HowshouldIknow?’repliedNoah,whosetemperhadbeenconsiderablyimpairedbywalking。
‘Near,Ihope,’saidCharlotte。
‘No,notnear,’repliedMr。Claypole。‘There!Notnear;sodon'tthinkit。’
‘Whynot?’
‘WhenItellyerthatIdon'tmeantodoathing,that'senough,withoutanywhyorbecauseeither,’repliedMr。Claypolewithdignity。
‘Well,youneedn'tbesocross,’saidhiscompanion。
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