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第21章 araby（第2页）

"hesaid。

Ididnotsmile。Myauntsaidtohimenergetically:

"Can&aos;tyougivehimthemoneyandlethimgo?You&aos;vekethimlateenoughasitis。

"

Myunclesaidhewasverysorryhehadforgotten。Hesaidhebelievedintheoldsaying:

"AllworkandnolaymakesJackadullboy。

"HeaskedmewhereIwasgoingand，whenItoldhimasecondtime，heaskedmedidIknowTheArab&aos;sFarewelltohisSteed。WhenIleftthekitchenhewasabouttorecitetheoeninglinesoftheiecetomyaunt。

IheldaflorintightlyinmyhandasIstrodedownBuckinghamStreettowardsthestation。Thesightofthestreetsthrongedwithbuyersandglaringwithgasrecalledtometheuroseofmyjourney。Itookmyseatinathird-classcarriageofadesertedtrain。Afteranintolerabledelaythetrainmovedoutofthestationslowly。Itcretonwardamongruinoushousesandoverthetwinklingriver。AtWestlandRowStationacrowdofeoleressedtothecarriagedoors;buttheortersmovedthemback，sayingthatitwasasecialtrainforthebazaar。Iremainedaloneinthebarecarriage。Inafewminutesthetraindrewubesideanimrovisedwoodenlatform。Iassedoutontotheroadandsawbythelighteddialofaclockthatitwastenminutestoten。Infrontofmewasalargebuildingwhichdislayedthemagicalname。

Icouldnotfindanysixennyentranceand，fearingthatthebazaarwouldbeclosed，Iassedinquicklythroughaturnstile，handingashillingtoaweary-lookingman。Ifoundmyselfinabighallgirdledathalfitsheightbyagallery。Nearlyallthestallswereclosedandthegreaterartofthehallwasindarkness。Irecognizedasilencelikethatwhichervadesachurchafteraservice。Iwalkedintothecentreofthebazaartimidly。Afeweoleweregatheredaboutthestallswhichwerestilloen。Beforeacurtain，overwhichthewordsCafeChantantwerewrittenincolouredlams，twomenwerecountingmoneyonasalver。Ilistenedtothefallofthecoins。

RememberingwithdifficultywhyIhadcome，Iwentovertooneofthestallsandexaminedorcelainvasesandfloweredtea-sets。Atthedoorofthestallayoungladywastalkingandlaughingwithtwoyounggentlemen。IremarkedtheirEnglishaccentsandlistenedvaguelytotheirconversation。

"O，Ineversaidsuchathing!

"

"O，butyoudid!

"

"O，butIdidn&aos;t!

"

"Didn&aos;tshesaythat?

"

"Yes。Iheardher。

"

"O，there&aos;sa。。。fib!

"

Observingme，theyoungladycameoverandaskedmedidIwishtobuyanything。Thetoneofhervoicewasnotencouraging;sheseemedtohavesokentomeoutofasenseofduty。Ilookedhumblyatthegreatjarsthatstoodlikeeasternguardsateithersideofthedarkentrancetothestallandmurmured:

"No，thankyou。

"

Theyoungladychangedtheositionofoneofthevasesandwentbacktothetwoyoungmen。Theybegantotalkofthesamesubject。Onceortwicetheyoungladyglancedatmeoverhershoulder。

Ilingeredbeforeherstall，thoughIknewmystaywasuseless，tomakemyinterestinherwaresseemthemorereal。ThenIturnedawayslowlyandwalkeddownthemiddleofthebazaar。Iallowedthetwoenniestofallagainstthesix-enceinmyocket。Iheardavoicecallfromoneendofthegallerythatthelightwasout。Theuerartofthehallwasnowcomletelydark。

GazinguintothedarknessIsawmyselfasacreaturedrivenandderidedbyvanity;andmyeyesburnedwithanguishandanger。