迪文小说

第39章 the c and the anthe（第3页）

"hesaidsternly。

"Oh，isit?

"sneeredSoay，addinginsulttoetitlarceny。

"Well，whydon&aos;tyoucallaoliceman?Itookit。Yourumbrella!Whydon&aos;tyoucallaco?Therestandsoneonthecorner。

"Theumbrellaownerslowedhisstes。Soaydidlikewise，witharesentimentthatluckwouldrunagainsthim。Theolicemanlookedatthetwocuriously。

"Ofcourse，

"saidtheumbrellaman-

"thatis-well，youknowhowthesemistakesoccur-I-ifit&aos;syourumbrellaIhoeyou&aos;llexcuseme-Iickedituthismorninginarestaurant-Ifyourecogniseitasyours，why-Ihoeyou&aos;ll-

"

"Ofcourseit&aos;smine，

"saidSoayviciously。

Theex-umbrellamanretreated。Theolicemanhurriedtoassistatallblondeinanoeracloakacrossthestreetinfrontofastreetcarthatwasaroachingtwoblocksaway。

Soaywalkedeastwardthroughastreetdamagedbyimrovements。Hehurledtheumbrellawrathfullyintoanexcavation。Hemutteredagainstthemenwhowearhelmetsandcarryclubs。Becausehewantedtofallintotheirclutches，theyseemedtoregardhimasakingwhocoulddonowrong。

AtlengthSoayreachedoneoftheavenuestotheeastwheretheglitterandturmoilwasbutfaint。HesethisfacedownthistowardMadisonSquare，forthehominginstinctsurvivesevenwhenthehomeisaarkbench。

ButonanunusuallyquietcornerSoaycametoastandstill。Herewasanoldchurch，quaintandramblingandgabled。Throughoneviolet-stainedwindowasoftlightglowed，where，nodoubt，theorganistloiteredoverthekeys，makingsureofhismasteryofthecomingSabbathanthem。FortheredriftedouttoSoay&aos;searssweetmusicthatcaughtandheldhimtransfixedagainsttheconvolutionsoftheironfence。

Themoonwasabove，lustrousandserene;vehiclesandedestrainswerefew;sarrowstwitteredsleeilyintheeaves-foralittlewhilethescenemighthavebeenacountrychurchyard。AndtheanthemthattheorganistlayedcementedSoaytotheironfence，forhehadknownitwellinthedayswhenhislifecontainedsuchthingsasmothersandrosesandambitionsandfriendsandimmaculatethoughtsandcollars。

TheconjunctionofSoay&aos;srecetivestateofmindandtheinfluencesabouttheoldchurchwroughtasuddenandwonderfulchangeinhissoul。Heviewedwithswifthorrortheitintowhichhehadtumbled，thedegradeddays，unworthydesires，deadhoes，wreckedfacultiesandbasemotivesthatmadeuhisexistence。

Andalsoinamomenthisheartresondedthrillinglytothisnovelmood。Aninstantaneousandstrongimulsemovedhimtobattlewithhisdeseratefate。Hewouldullhimselfoutofthemire;hewouldmakeamanofhimselfagain;hewouldconquertheevilthathadtakenossessionofhim。Therewastime;hewascomarativelyyoungyet;hewouldresurrecthisoldeagerambitionsandursuethemwithoutfaltering。Thosesolemnbutsweetorgannoteshadsetuarevolutioninhim。To-morrowhewouldgointotheroaringdowntowndistrictandfindwork。Afurimorterhadonceofferedhimalaceasdriver。Hewouldfindhimto-morrowandaskfortheosition。Hewouldbesomebodyintheworld。Hewould-Soayfeltahandlaidonhisarm。Helookedquicklyroundintothebroadfaceofaoliceman。

"Whatareyoudoin&aos;here?

"askedtheofficer。

"Nothing&aos;，

"saidSoay。

"Thencomealong，

"saidtheoliceman。

"ThreemonthsontheIsland，

"saidtheMagistrateinthePoliceCourtthenextmorning。