第31章

Aftersupperthatnighthewentouttothebarn，andMrs。Ripleyheardhimsawingandhammering。Thenthenoiseceased，andhecameinandsatdowninhisusualplace。

“Whaty’be’nmakin’？“sheinquired。Tewksburyhadgonetobed。

Shesatdarningastocking。

“IjestthoughtI’dgitthestagin’readyf’rpaintin’，“hesaidevasively。

“Wal!I’llbegladwhenit’scoveredup。“Whenshegotreadyforbed，hewasstillseatedinhischair，andaftershehaddozedofftwoorthreetimesshebegantowonderwhyhedidn’tcomeWhentheclockstruckten，andsherealizedthathehadnotstirred，shebegantogetimpatient。“Come，arey’goin’tositthereallnight？“

Therewasnoreply。Sheroseupinbedandlookedabouttheroom。Thebroadmoonfloodeditwithlight，sothatshecouldseehewasnotasleepinhischair，asshehadsupposed。Therewassomethingominousinhisdisappearance。

“Ethan!EthanRipley，whereareyeh？“Therewasnoreplytohersharpcall。Sheroseanddistractedlylookedaboutamongthefurniture，asifheinightsomehowbeacatandbehidinginacornersomewhere。Thenshewentupstairswheretheboyslept，herhardlittleheelsmakingacurioustunkingnoiseonthebareboards。

Themoonfellacrossthesleepinghoylikearobeofsilver。Hewasalone。

Shebegantobealarmed。Hereyeswidenedinfear。Ansortsofvaguehorrorssprangunbiddenintoherbrain。Shestillhadthemistofsleepinherbrain。

Shehurrieddownthestairsandoutintothefragrantnight。Thekatydidsweresingingininfinitepeaceunderthesolemnsplendorofthemoon。Thecattlesniffedandsighed，janglingtheirbellsnowandthen，andthechickensinthecoopstirreduneasilyasifoverheated。Theoldwomanstoodthereinherbarefeetandlongnightgown，horror-stricken。Theghastlystoryofamanwhohadhunghimseifinhisbarnbecausehiswifedesertedhimcameintohermindandstayedtherewithfrightfulpersistency。Herthroatfilledchokingly。

Shefeltawildrushofloneliness。Shehadasuddenrealizationofhowdearthatgauntoldfigurewas，withitsgrizzledfaceandreadysmile。Herbreathcamequickandquicker，andshewasatthepointofburstingintoawildcrytoTewksburywhensheheardastrangenoise。Itcamefromthebarn，acreakingnoise。Shelookedthatwayandsawintheshadowedsideadeepershadowmovingtoandfro。

Arevulsiontoastonishmentandangertookplaceinher。

“Lando’Bungay!Ifheain’tpaintin’thatbarn，likeaperfectoldidiot，inthenight。“

UncleEthan，workingdesperately，didnothearherfeetpatteringdownthepath，andwasstartledbyhershrillvoice。

“Well，EthanRipley，whaddyy’thinkyou’redoin’now？“

Hemadetwoorthreeslappingpasseswiththebrushandthensnappedout，“I’ma-paintin’thisbarn-whaddyyes’pose？IIyehadeyesy’wouldn’task。“

“Well，youcomerightstraighttobed。Whatd’youmeanbyactin’

so？“

“Yougobackintothehousean’letmebe。IknowwhatI’ma-doin’。

You’vepesteredmeaboutthissignjestaboutenough。“Hedabbedhisbrushtoandfroashespoke。Hisgauntfiguretoweredaboveherinshadow。Hisslappingbrushhadavicioussound。

Neitherspokeforsometime。Atlengthshesaidmoregently，“Ain’tyoucomin’in？“

“No-nottillIgeta-ready。Yougo’longan’tendtoy’rownbusiness。

Don’tstan’therean’ketchcold。“

Shemovedoffslowlytowardthehouse。Hisshoutsubduedher。

Workingaloneouttherehadrenderedhimsavage；hewasnottobepushedanyfurther。Sheknewbythetoneofhisvoicethathemustnowberespected。

Sheslippedonhershoesandashawl，andcamebackwherehewasworking，andtookaseatonasawhorse。

“I’mgoin’tosetrightheretillyoucomein，EthanRipley，“shesaidinafirmvoice，butgentlerthanusual。

“Wal，you’llsetagoodwhile，“washisungraciousreply，buteachfeltafurtivetendernessfortheother。Heworkedoninsilence。Theboardscrea

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