her profile was turned toward him. Looking away toward the



paddock that lay brilliant in sunshine on the skirts of the apple

orchard, she asked, in low, slow tones, twisting her hands in her



lap:

"Don't you think that perhaps, if B found out afterward--



when she had married A, you know--that she had cared for him so

very, very much, he might be a little sorry?"



"If he were a gentleman, he would regret it deeply."

"I mean--sorry on his own account; that--that he had thrown away



all that, you know?"

The professor looked meditative.



"I think," he pronounced, "that it is very possible he would. I

can well imagine it."



"He might never find anybody to love him like that again," she

said, gazing on the gleaming paddock.



"He probably would not," agreed the philosopher.

"And--and most people like being loved, don't they?"



"To crave for love is an almost universalinstinct, Miss May."

"Yes, almost," she said, with a dreary little smile. "You see,



he'll get old and--and have no one to look after him."

"He will."



"And no home."

"Well, in a sense none," corrected the philosopher, smiling.



"But really, you'll frighten me. I'm a bachelor myself, you

know, Miss May."



"Yes," she whispered just audibly.

"And all your terrors are before me."



"Well, unless----"

"Oh, we needn't have that `unless,'" laughed the philosopher



cheerfully. "There's no `unless' about it, Miss May."

The girl jumped to her feet; for an instant she looked at the



philosopher. She opened her lips as if to speak, and, at the

thought of what lay at her tongue's tip, her face grew red. But



the philosopher was gazing past her, and his eyes rested in calm

contemplation on the gleaming paddock.



"A beautiful thing, sunshine, to be sure," said he.

Her blush faded away into paleness; her lips closed. Without



speaking she turned and walked slowly away, her head drooping.

The philosopher heard the rustle of her skirt in the long grass



of the orchard; he watched her for a few moments.

"A pretty, graceful creature," said he, with a smile. Then he



opened his book, took his pencil in his hand, and slipped in a

careful forefinger to mark the fly leaf.



The sun had passed mid-heaven, and began to decline westward

before he finished the book. Then he stretched himself and



looked at his watch.

"Good gracious, two o'clock! I shall be late for lunch!" and he



hurried to his feet.

He was very late for lunch.



"Everything's cold," wailed his hostess. "Where have you been,

Mr. Jerningham?"



"Only in the orchard--reading."

"And you've missed May!"



"Missed Miss May? How do you mean? I had a long talk with her

this morning--a most interesting talk."



"But you weren't here to say goodby. Now, you don't mean to say

that you forgot that she was leaving by the two o'clock



train? What a man you are!"

"Dear me! To think of my forgetting it!" said the philosopher



shamefacedly.

"She told me to say good-by to you for her."



"She's very kind. I can't forgive myself."

His hostess looked at him for a moment; then she sighed, and



smiled, and sighed again.

"Have you everything you want?" she asked.



"Everything, thank you," said he, sitting down opposite the

cheese, and propping his book (he thought he would just run



through the last chapter again) against the loaf; "everything in

the world that I want, thanks."



His hostess did not tell him that the girl had come in from the

apple orchard, and run hastilyupstairs lest her friend should



see what her friend did see in her eyes. So that he had no

suspicion at all that he had received an offer of marriage--and



refused it. And he did not refer to anything of that sort

when he paused once in his reading and exclaimed:



"I'm really sorry I missed Miss May. That was an interesting

• dislike [dis´laik] vt.&n.不喜爱，厌恶 (初中英语单词)


• hastily [´heistili] ad.急速地；草率地 (初中英语单词)


• moderate [´mɔdərit] a.适度的n.温和主义者 (初中英语单词)


• productive [prə´dʌktiv] a.生产的；富饶的 (初中英语单词)


• therefore [´ðeəfɔ:] ad.&conj.因此；所以 (初中英语单词)


• considerable [kən´sidərəbəl] a.重要的；值得重视 (初中英语单词)


• amount [ə´maunt] n.总数；数量 v.合计 (初中英语单词)


• probable [´prɔbəbəl] a.大概的n.很可能的事 (初中英语单词)


• supposed [sə´pəuzd] a.想象的；假定的 (初中英语单词)


• evidently [´evidəntli] ad.明显地 (初中英语单词)


• shallow [´ʃæləu] a.肤浅的；表面的 (初中英语单词)


• measure [´meʒə] n.量度；范围 vt.测量 (初中英语单词)


• purely [´pjuəli] ad.仅仅；简单地 (初中英语单词)


• moreover [mɔ:´rəuvə] ad.再者，此外，而且 (初中英语单词)


• arouse [ə´rauz] vt.唤醒，唤起；激起 (初中英语单词)


• connection [kə´nekʃən] n.联系；关系；联运 (初中英语单词)


• advise [əd´vaiz] vt.忠告；建议；通知 (初中英语单词)


• suitable [´su:təbəl, ´sju:-] a.合适的，适当的 (初中英语单词)


• sufficiently [sə´fiʃəntli] ad.充分地，足够地 (初中英语单词)


• stable [´steibəl] n.马棚 a.稳固的 (初中英语单词)


• affection [ə´fekʃən] n.友爱；慈爱 (初中英语单词)


• discussion [di´skʌʃən] n.讨论；辩论 (初中英语单词)


• extremely [ik´stri:mli] ad.极端地；非常地 (初中英语单词)


• brilliant [´briliənt] a.灿烂的；杰出的 (初中英语单词)


• sunshine [´sʌnʃain] n.日光，阳光 (初中英语单词)


• account [ə´kaunt] vi.说明 vt.认为 n.帐目 (初中英语单词)


• universal [,ju:ni´və:səl] a.宇宙的；普遍的 (初中英语单词)


• instinct [´instiŋkt] n.本能；直觉；天资 (初中英语单词)


• frighten [´fraitn] vt.吓唬，使惊惧 (初中英语单词)


• instant [´instənt] a.立即的 n.紧迫；瞬间 (初中英语单词)


• rustle [´rʌsl] v.&n.(使)沙沙作响 (初中英语单词)


• orchard [´ɔ:tʃəd] n.果园 (初中英语单词)


• graceful [´greisfəl] a.优美的，流畅的 (初中英语单词)


• gracious [´greiʃəs] a.和蔼可亲的；任慈的 (初中英语单词)


• forgive [fə´giv] vt.原谅，谅解，宽恕 (初中英语单词)


• reading [´ri:diŋ] n.(阅)读；朗读；读物 (初中英语单词)


• philosopher [fi´lɔsəfə] n.哲学家；思想家；哲人 (高中英语单词)


• indifferent [in´difrənt] a.不关心的；中立的 (高中英语单词)


• awfully [´ɔ:fuli] ad.令人畏惧地 (高中英语单词)


• wisely [´waizli] ad.明智地，聪明地 (高中英语单词)


• exceedingly [ik´si:diŋli] ad.非常地，极度地 (高中英语单词)


• perfectly [´pə:fiktli] ad.理想地；完美地 (高中英语单词)


• certainty [´sə:tənti] n.确实(性)；确信 (高中英语单词)


• precisely [pri´saisli] ad.精确地；刻板地 (高中英语单词)


• inclination [,inkli´neiʃən] n.倾斜；爱好；天资 (高中英语单词)


• necessarily [´nesisərili] ad.必定，必然地 (高中英语单词)


• temporary [´tempərəri] a.暂时的 n.临时工 (高中英语单词)


• mistaken [mis´teikən] mistake的过去分词 (高中英语单词)


• genuine [´dʒenjuin] a.真正的；真诚的 (高中英语单词)


• intellectual [,inti´lektʃuəl] n.知识分子 (高中英语单词)


• pronounced [prə´naunst] a.发出音的；显著的 (高中英语单词)


• dreary [´driəri] a.阴郁的；枯燥无味的 (高中英语单词)


• bachelor [´bætʃələ] n.未婚男子；学士 (高中英语单词)


• hostess [´həustis] n.女主人；旅馆女老板 (高中英语单词)


• logical [´lɔdʒikəl] a.逻辑(上)的 (英语四级单词)


• uncertainty [ʌn´sə:tənti] n.不可靠；不确定的事 (英语四级单词)


• apprehend [,æpri´hend] vt.理解；忧虑；逮捕 (英语四级单词)


• treatise [´tri:tiz, -tis] n.(专题)论文 (英语四级单词)


• psychological [,saikə´lɔdʒikəl] a.心理学(上)的 (英语四级单词)


• upstairs [,ʌp´steəz] ad.在楼上 a.楼上的 (英语四级单词)


• liking [´laikiŋ] n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 (英语六级单词)


• improbable [im´prɔbəbəl] a.未必有的 (英语六级单词)


• likelihood [´laiklihud] n.可能，相似性 (英语六级单词)


• politeness [pə´laitnis] n.礼貌；文雅；温和 (英语六级单词)


• dandelion [´dændilaiən] n.蒲公英 (英语六级单词)


• engross [in´grəus] vt.吸引；占用；垄断 (英语六级单词)


• profile [´prəufail] n.侧面 vt.画…侧面 (英语六级单词)


• forefinger [´fɔ:,fiŋgə] n.食指 (英语六级单词)