05-04-远离尘嚣 [45]
the darkness.
‘Who's there？’said Bathsheba's voice.
‘It's Gabriel. I'm on the rick，thatching. ’
‘Oh Gabriel！I'm so worried about the ricks！Can we save them？The thunder woke me. I can't find my husband. Is he there？’
‘No，he isn't. He's—asleep in the barn. ’
‘He promised me the ricks would be covered，and he hasn't done it！Can I help you？Let me help！’
‘You can bring the straw up to me in armfuls，if you aren't afraid to climb the ladder in the dark，’said Gabriel.
‘I'll do anything to help！’she said. She started to go up and down the ladder，carrying the straw. In the brightness of the lightning Gabriel saw their two shadows，wildly enlarged，on the hill in front of him. Then came the loudest crash so far.
‘How terrible！’cried Bathsheba，and held on to his arm. The lightning flashed in a wild dance of death，and thunder came from every part of the huge sky. Bathsheba and Gabriel could only stare，and tremble at the strange and dangerous beauty of the storm.
As they watched，a tall tree in front of them seemed to be burning with a white flame. There was a final，violent crash of thunder，and in the bright light they saw that the tree had been torn in half by the lightning.
‘That was close to us！’said Gabriel. ‘We'd better go down. ’They climbed down and stood together in the darkness，Bathsheba seeming to think only of the storm，Gabriel thinking only of her.
At last he said，‘The storm appears to have passed，but the rain will be coming soon. I'll go up and finish thatching the ricks. ’
‘Gabriel，you are kind to me！Oh why aren't the others here？Don't tell me，I know. They're all drunk in the barn，aren't they？It was my husband's fault. Gabriel，I want to tell you something. ’The soft flashes of the dying lightning showed her face，very white against the black sky. ‘I care about your good opinion of me，so I want to explain why I went to Bath that night. It wasn't to marry Troy，it was to break off my relationship with him. Perhaps you wonder why I married him then？Well，I suppose I must tell you. It was because he told me he had seen a woman more beautiful than me，and said that if I wanted him as a husband，I must marry him at once！I was wild with love and jealousy，so I married him！’Gabriel did not reply.
‘I'll bring some more straw up to you，shall I？’she offered.
She made several more journeys before he noticed her tired－ness. ‘I think you'd better go indoors now，’he said，as gently as a mother. ‘I'll finish the work alone. ’
‘If I'm useless，I'll go，’said Bathsheba. ‘But，oh，if you fell…！’
‘You aren't useless，but you're tired. You've done well. ’
‘And you've done better，’she said gratefully. ‘Thank you a thousand times，Gabriel！Goodnight. ’
She disappeared in the darkness. He went on thatching in a kind of dream. She had spoken more warmly to him tonight than she had ever done when she was unmarried and free to speak as warmly as she liked.
The wind changed and became stronger. At the same time heavy rain started falling. As Gabriel worked on the top of the ricks，he suddenly remembered that，eight months before，he had been fighting against fire in the same place as desperately as he was fighting against water now—and for love of the same woman，who did not love him.
It was not until seven o'clock in the morning that Gabriel climbed down from the last rick，exhausted and wet to the skin. He noticed figures coming out of the barn，walking slowly and painfully to their homes. They all looked ashamed except Troy，who was whistling cheerfully as he entered the farmhouse. None of them thought of looking at the ricks.
On his way back to Coggan's house，Gabriel met Boldwood.
‘How are you，sir？’asked Gabriel.
150
‘Yes，it's a wet day. Oh，I'm very well，thank you.
‘Who's there？’said Bathsheba's voice.
‘It's Gabriel. I'm on the rick，thatching. ’
‘Oh Gabriel！I'm so worried about the ricks！Can we save them？The thunder woke me. I can't find my husband. Is he there？’
‘No，he isn't. He's—asleep in the barn. ’
‘He promised me the ricks would be covered，and he hasn't done it！Can I help you？Let me help！’
‘You can bring the straw up to me in armfuls，if you aren't afraid to climb the ladder in the dark，’said Gabriel.
‘I'll do anything to help！’she said. She started to go up and down the ladder，carrying the straw. In the brightness of the lightning Gabriel saw their two shadows，wildly enlarged，on the hill in front of him. Then came the loudest crash so far.
‘How terrible！’cried Bathsheba，and held on to his arm. The lightning flashed in a wild dance of death，and thunder came from every part of the huge sky. Bathsheba and Gabriel could only stare，and tremble at the strange and dangerous beauty of the storm.
As they watched，a tall tree in front of them seemed to be burning with a white flame. There was a final，violent crash of thunder，and in the bright light they saw that the tree had been torn in half by the lightning.
‘That was close to us！’said Gabriel. ‘We'd better go down. ’They climbed down and stood together in the darkness，Bathsheba seeming to think only of the storm，Gabriel thinking only of her.
At last he said，‘The storm appears to have passed，but the rain will be coming soon. I'll go up and finish thatching the ricks. ’
‘Gabriel，you are kind to me！Oh why aren't the others here？Don't tell me，I know. They're all drunk in the barn，aren't they？It was my husband's fault. Gabriel，I want to tell you something. ’The soft flashes of the dying lightning showed her face，very white against the black sky. ‘I care about your good opinion of me，so I want to explain why I went to Bath that night. It wasn't to marry Troy，it was to break off my relationship with him. Perhaps you wonder why I married him then？Well，I suppose I must tell you. It was because he told me he had seen a woman more beautiful than me，and said that if I wanted him as a husband，I must marry him at once！I was wild with love and jealousy，so I married him！’Gabriel did not reply.
‘I'll bring some more straw up to you，shall I？’she offered.
She made several more journeys before he noticed her tired－ness. ‘I think you'd better go indoors now，’he said，as gently as a mother. ‘I'll finish the work alone. ’
‘If I'm useless，I'll go，’said Bathsheba. ‘But，oh，if you fell…！’
‘You aren't useless，but you're tired. You've done well. ’
‘And you've done better，’she said gratefully. ‘Thank you a thousand times，Gabriel！Goodnight. ’
She disappeared in the darkness. He went on thatching in a kind of dream. She had spoken more warmly to him tonight than she had ever done when she was unmarried and free to speak as warmly as she liked.
The wind changed and became stronger. At the same time heavy rain started falling. As Gabriel worked on the top of the ricks，he suddenly remembered that，eight months before，he had been fighting against fire in the same place as desperately as he was fighting against water now—and for love of the same woman，who did not love him.
It was not until seven o'clock in the morning that Gabriel climbed down from the last rick，exhausted and wet to the skin. He noticed figures coming out of the barn，walking slowly and painfully to their homes. They all looked ashamed except Troy，who was whistling cheerfully as he entered the farmhouse. None of them thought of looking at the ricks.
On his way back to Coggan's house，Gabriel met Boldwood.
‘How are you，sir？’asked Gabriel.
150
‘Yes，it's a wet day. Oh，I'm very well，thank you.