【英文读物】The Girls from Fieu Dayol.docx

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1、【英文读物】The Girls from Fieu Dayolchapter 1 Up until the moment when he first looked into Hippolyte Adolphe Taines History of English Literature, Herbert Quidleys penchant for old books had netted him nothing in the way of romance and intrigue. Not that he was a stranger to either. Far from it. But hit

2、herto the background for both had been bedrooms and bars, not libraries.On page 21 of the Taine tome he happened upon a sheet of yellow copy paper folded in four. Unfolding it, he read:asdf ;lkj asdf ;lkj asdf ;lkj asdf ;lkj asdf ;lkj asdf ;lkj Cai: Sities towms copeis wotnid. Gind snoll doper nckli

3、! Wilbe Fieu Dayol fot ig habe mot toseo knwote bijk weil en snoll doperKlio, asdf ;lkj asdf ;lkj asdf ;lkj asdf ;lkjSince when, Quidley wondered, refolding the paper and putting it back in the book, had high-school typing students taken to reading Taine? Thoughtfully he replaced the book on the she

4、lf and moved deeper into the literature section.He had just taken down Xenophons Anabasis when he saw the girl walk in the door.Let it be said forthwith that old books were not the only item on Herbert Quidleys penchant-list. He liked old wood, too, and old paintings, not to mention old wine and old

5、 whiskey. But most of all he liked young girls. He especially liked them when they looked the way Helen of Troy must have looked when Paris took one gander at her and started building his ladder. This one was tall, with hyacinth hair and liquid blue eyes, and she had a Grecian symmetry of shape that

6、 would have made Paris eyes pop had he been around to take notice. Paris wasnt, but Quidleys eyes, did the job.After coming in the door, the girl deposited a book on the librarians desk and headed for the literature section. Quickly Quidley lowered his eyes to the Anabasis and henceforth followed he

7、r progress out of their corners. When she came to the Os she paused, took down a book and glanced through it. Then she replaced it and moved on to the Ps . the Qs . the Rs. Barely three feet from him she paused again and took down Taines History of English Literature.He simply could not believe it.

8、The odds against two persons taking an interest in so esoteric a volume on a single night in a single library were ten thousand to one. And yet there was no gainsaying that the volume was in the girls hands, and that she was riffling through it with the air of a seasoned browser.Presently she return

9、ed the book to the shelf, selected anotherseemingly at randomand took it over to the librarians desk. She waited statuesquely while the librarian processed it, then tucked it under her arm and whisked out the door into the misty April night. As soon as she disappeared, Quidley stepped over to the Ts

10、 and took Taine down once more. Just as he had suspected. The makeshift bookmark was gone.He remembered how the asdf-;lkj exercise had given way to several lines of gibberish and then reappeared again. A camouflaged message? Or was it merely what it appeared to be on the surfacethe efforts of an imp

11、atient typing student to type before his time?He returned Taine to the shelf. After learning from the librarian that the girls name was Kay Smith, he went out and got in his hardtop. The name rang a bell. Halfway home he realized why. The typing exercise had contained the word Cai, and if you pronou

12、nced it with hard c, you got Kaior Kay. Obviously, then, the exercise had been a message, and had been deliberately inserted in a book no average person would dream of borrowing.By whomher boy friend?Quidley winced. He was allergic to the term. Not that he ever let the presence of a boy friend deter

13、 him when he set out to conquer, but because the term itself brought to mind the word fiance, and the word fiance brought to mind still another word, one which repelled him violently. I.e., marriage. Just the same, he decided to keep Taines History under observation for a while.Her boy friend turned

14、 out to be her girl friend, and her girl friend turned out to be a tall and lissome, lovely with a Helenesque air of her own. From the vantage point of a strategically located reading table, where he was keeping company with his favorite little magazine, The Zeitgeist, Quidley watched her take a see

15、mingly haphazard route to the shelf where Taines History reposed, take the volume down, surreptitiously slip a folded sheet of yellow paper between its pages and return it to the shelf.After she left he wasted no time in acquainting himself with the second message. It was as unintelligible as the fi

16、rst:asdf ;lkj asdf ;lkj asdf ;lkj asdf ;lkj asdf ;lkj asdf ;lkj Cai: Habe wotnid ig ist ending ifedererer te. Tlide sid Fieu Dayol po jestig toseo knwo, bijk weil en snoll doper entlingYoolna. asdf ;lkj asdf ;lkj asdf ;lkj asdf ;lkjWell, perhaps not quite as unintelligible. He knew, at least, who Ca

17、i was, and he knewfrom the reappearance of the words wotnid, Fieu Dayol and snoll doperthat the two communications were in the same code. And certainly it was reasonable to assume that the last wordYoolnawas the name of the girl he had just seen, and that she was a different person from the Klio who

18、se name had appended the first message.He refolded the paper, replaced it between the pages, returned the book to the shelf and went back to the reading table and The Zeitgeist.Kay didnt show up till almost closing time, and he was beginning to think that perhaps she wouldnt come around for the pick

19、up till tomorrow when she finally walked in the door. She employed the same tactics she had employed the previous night, arriving, as though by chance, at the T-section and transferring the message with the same undetectable legerdemain to her purse. This time, when she walked out the door, he was n

20、ot far behind her.She climbed into a sleek convertible and pulled into the street. It took him but a moment to gain his hardtop and start out after her. When, several blocks later, she pulled to the curb in front of an all-night coffee bar, he followed suit. After that, it was merely a matter of fol

21、lowing her inside.He decided on Operation Spill-the-sugar. It had stood him in good stead before, and he was rather fond of it. The procedure was quite simple. First you took note of the position of the sugar dispensers, then you situated yourself so that your intended victim was between you and the

22、 nearest one, then you ordered coffee without sugar in a low voice, and after the counterman or countergirl had served you, you waited till he/she was out of earshot and asked your i.v. to please pass the sugar. When she did so you let the dispenser slip from your fingers in such a way that some of

23、its contents spilled on her lapIm terribly sorry, he said, righting it. Here, let me brush it off.Its all right, its only sugar, she said, laughing.Im hopelessly clumsy, he continued smoothly, brushing the gleaming crystals from her pleated skirt, noting the clean sweep of her thighs. I beseech you

24、to forgive me.Youre forgiven, she said, and he noticed then that she spoke with a slight accent.If you like, you can send it to the cleaners and have them send the bill to me. My address is 61 Park Place. He pulled out his wallet, chose an appropriate card, and handed it to herHerbert Quidley: Profi

25、liste Her forehead crinkled. Profiliste?I paint profiles with words, he said. You may have run across some of my pieces in the Better Magazines. I employ a variety of pseudonyms, of course.How interesting. She pronounced it anteresting.Not famous profiles, you understand. Just profiles that strike m

26、y fancy. He paused. She had raised her cup to her lips and was taking a dainty sip. You have a rather striking profile yourself, MissSmith. Kay Smith. She set the cup back on the counter and turned and faced him. For a second her eyes seemed to expand till they preoccupied his entire vision, till he

27、 could see nothing but their disturbingly clearand suddenly coldblueness. Panic touched him, then vanished when she said, Would you really consider word-painting my profile, Mr. Quidley?Would he! When can I call?She hesitated for a moment. Then: I think it will be better if I call on you. There are

28、quite a number of people living in ourour house. Im afraid the quarters would be much too cramped for an artist like yourself to concentrate.Quidley glowed. Usually it required two or three days, and sometimes a week, to reach the apartment phase. Fine, he said. When can I expect you?She stood up an

29、d he got to his feet beside her. She was even taller than he had thought. In fact, if he hadnt been wearing Cuban heels, shed have been taller than he was. Ill be in town night after next, she said. Will nine oclock be convenient for you?Perfectly.Good-by for now then, Mr. Quidley.He was so elated t

30、hat when he arrived at his apartment he actually did try to write a profile. His own, of course. He sat down at his custom-built chrome-trimmed desk, inserted a blank sheet of paper in his custom-built typewriter and tried to arrange his thoughts. But as usual his mind raced ahead of the moment, and

31、 he saw the title, Self Profile, nestling noticeably on the contents page of one of the Better Magazines, and presently he saw the piece itself in all its splendid array of colorful rhetoric, sparkling imagery and scintillating wit, occupying a two-page spread.It was some time before he returned to

32、reality, and when he did the first thing that met his eyes was the uncompromisingly blank sheet of paper. Hurriedly he typed out a letter to his father, requesting an advance on his allowance, then, after a tall glass of vintage wine, he went to bed.In telling him that she would be in town two night

33、s hence, Kay had unwittingly apprised him that there would be no exchange of messages until that time, so the next evening he skipped his vigil at the library. The following evening, however, after readying his apartment for the forthcoming assignation, he hied himself to his reading-table post and

34、took up The Zeitgeist once again.He had not thought it possible that there could be a third such woman.And yet there she was, walking in the door, tall and blue-eyed and graceful; dark of hair and noble of mien; browsing in the philosophy section now, now the fiction section, now moving leisurely in

35、to the literature aisle and toward the Ts.The camouflage had varied, but the message was typical enough:fdsa jkl; fdsa jkl; fdsa jkl; fdsa jkl; fdsa jkl; fdsa jkl; Cai: Gind en snoll doper nckli! Wotnid antwaterer Fieu Dayol hid jestig snoll doper ifedererer te. Dep gogensplo snoll dopers ensing!Gor

36、ka. fdsa jkl; fdsa jkl; fdsa jkl; fdsa jkl;Judging from the repeated use of the words, snoll dopers were the topic of the day. Annoyed, Quidley replaced the message and put the book back on the shelf. Then he returned to his apartment to await Kay.He wondered what her reaction would be if he asked h

37、er point-blank what a snoll doper was; whether she would reveal the nature of the amateur secret society to which she and Klio and Yoolna and Gorka belonged. It virtually had to be an amateur secret society. Unless, of course, they were foreigners. But what on earth foreign organization would be qui

38、xotic enough to employ Taines History of English Literature as a communications medium when there was a telephone in every drugstore and a mailbox on every corner?Somehow the words what on earth foreign organization got turned around in his mind and became what foreign organization on earth and befo

39、re he could summon his common sense to succor him, he experienced a rather bad moment. By the time the door chimes sounded he was his normal self again.He straightened his tie with nervous fingers, checked to see if his shirt cuffs protruded the proper length from his coat sleeves, and looked around

40、 the room to see if everything was in place. Everything wasthe typewriter uncovered and centered on the chrome-trimmed desk, with the sheaf of crinkly first-sheets beside it; the reference books stacked imposingly nearby; Harpers, The Atlantic and The Saturday Review showing conspicuously in the mag

41、azine rack; the newly opened bottle of bourbon and the two snifter glasses on the sideboard; the small table set cozily for twoThe chimes sounded again. He opened the door.She walked in with a demure, Hello. He took her wrap. When he saw what she was wearing he had to tilt his head back so that his

42、eyes wouldnt fall out of their sockets.Skin, mostly, in the upper regions. White, glowing skin on which her long hair lay like forest pools. As for her dress, it was as though she had fallen forward into immaculate snow, half-burying her breasts before catching herself on her elbows, then turning in

43、to a sitting position, the snow clinging to her skin in a glistening veneer; arising finally to her feet, resplendently attired.He went over to the sideboard, picked up the bottle of bourbon. She followed. He set the two snifter glasses side by side and tilted the bottle. Say when. When! I admire yo

44、ur dressnever saw anything quite like it. Thank you. The material is something new. Feel it. Itsits almost like foam rubber. Cigarette? Thanks. Is something wrong, Mr. Quidley? No, of course not. Why? Your hands are trembling. Oh. ImIm afraid its the present company, Miss Smith. Call me Kay.They tou

45、ched glasses: Your liquor is as exquisite as your living room, Herbert. I shall have to come here more often. I hope you will, Kay. Though such conduct, Im told, is morally reprehensible on the planet Earth. Not in this particular circle. Your hair is lovely. Thank you. You havent mentioned my perfu

46、me yet. Perhaps Im standing too far away. There! Itsits as lovely as your hair, Kay. Um, kiss me again. II never figuredI mean, I engaged a caterer to serve us dinner at 9:30. Call him up. Make it 10:30.The following evening found Quidley on tenter-hooks. The snoll-doper mystery had acquired a new t

47、ang. He could hardly wait till the next message transfer took place.He decided to spend the evening plotting the epic novel which he intended to write someday. He set to work immediately. He plotted mentally, of coursenotes were for the hacks and the other commercial non-geniuses who infested the mo

48、dern literary world. Closing his eyes, he saw the whole vivid panorama of epic action and grand adventure flowing like a mighty and majestic river before his literary vision: the authentic and awe-inspiring background; the hordes of colorful characters; the handsome virile hero, the compelling Helenesque heroine. God, it was going to be great! The best thing hed ever done! See, already there was a crowd of book lovers in front of the bookstore, staring into the window where the new Herbert Quidley was on display, trying to force its way into the jammed interior. Cut to i