Chapter 3 Chapter 2 Characters and Sorrow Hand in Hand Appear on the Wasteland

An old man walked on this ancient road, his silver hair was like a snow mountain.His shoulders are hunchbacked, his face is haggard, and his figure is aging.He wore a starched hat, a sailor's cloak of very old fashion, and a pair of shoes; the brass buttons of each suit had an anchor carved on it.He carried a cane with a silver tip in his hand, and he used it as his third leg, and every few inches he walked, he persistently pressed the end of the cane on the ground.People would say, back then, he must have been a naval officer, or something like that. Stretching forward in front of his eyes was this long and strenuous ancient road, empty and lonely, dry and white.Both sides of the road are unobstructed, and you can see the wilderness at a glance. It is like a slit in a black-haired head, dividing this dark wilderness into two, winding away until Finally disappearing at the far end of the horizon.

From time to time, the old man raised his eyes and looked intently at the road in front of him.He finally saw that, far in front of him, there was a moving object, which looked like a large cart, and from the direction it was moving, it was going in the same direction as him.This is also the only little thing that can move in this vast wasteland.Its presence only shows how lonely and desolate this vastness is.The car was moving very slowly, and the old man was obviously approaching it a little bit. When he got closer, he could see that it was a large van with springs. The shape of the car was no different from that of an ordinary carriage, but the color of the body was very special, all blood red.The driver walked on the side of the car, and like his van, he was all red.His clothes, his hat, his boots, his face and hands were all dyed red with this colour.He wasn't dyed red temporarily, the color had permeated his whole body.

The old man knew what was going on at a glance.The traveler with the cart was a peddler of red clay, the trade that a peddler sells to farmers to dye their sheep red.Since the last century, people engaged in this trade have been in Wessex [Note: a region in the south-west of England. 】It is rapidly dying out, and it can only be seen in rural areas today, just like the increasingly rare dodo bird in the animal world [Note: A rare bird that became extinct in the seventeenth century. 】.It is a rare, interesting, nearly extinct industry, a link between a dead past and a thriving way of life. The aging naval officer approached his fellow traveler and wished him good evening.The red clay dealer turned his head and said hello absently in a mournful tone.This is a young man, his face is not far from handsome, even if he is not quite handsome, no one can deny that if this face is returned to its true colors, it should be said that it is still very attractive.His eyes, gazing strangely out of a face that was dyed all around, had their own attraction: sharp as a bird of prey, blue as an autumn mist.He has no whiskers or mustaches, which makes the soft contours of the lower half of his face visible at a glance.His lips were very thin, and although it was obvious that he was thinking, his lips would twitch from time to time, which was very tempting.He wore tight-fitting corduroys of a fine, not-too-worn material, the right material for his occupation; .The clothes showed off his toned figure just right.There was an air of abundance about him that made it known that he wasn't doing too badly for his profession.Those who saw him would naturally have such a question: Why did such a promising young man hide his pleasing appearance in such a way and choose such a rare career?

After returning his greetings to the old man, the young man showed that he did not want to talk further, even though they were walking side by side at this time, and the old man showed that he wanted a companion to talk to.There was no sound except the rustling of the tawny grass that surrounded them, the rattle of the wheels, the footsteps of the two men, and the hooves of the two maned cart-horses. .They were two hardy colts, between Galloway and [Note: A small, strong breed of horse. ] and Exmoor ponies [Note: A horse with a bushy mane. ] is a kind of wild pony in this area. And so they went on, the red-monger now and then leaving his fellow travelers to run behind the caravan and peep into it through a small window.His eyes always looked very anxious.After looking at it, he would go back to the old man, and the old man would say a word or two about the state of the country, to which the red clay dealer would just pay off, and then the two of them would fall into silence again.This silence did not cause them any discomfort; hikers in this desert solitude often, after meeting and exchanging greetings, would slowly walk for miles without talking; the mutual contact It turned into a wordless conversation. When encountering this kind of situation in the city, as long as anyone wants to part ways, this situation can be avoided immediately. But in this place, as long as this kind of contact is still maintained, it means that each other is in this situation. communicated in a wordless conversation.

If the red clay dealer hadn't visited so often in the back of his caravan, it is likely that the two would have remained silent until they parted.When he turned back to the car after his fifth visit, the old man asked: Is there anything else in the car besides your cargo? Yes. Does anyone need attention? Yes. Not long after that, there was a soft cry in the carriage.The red clay dealer hurried to the back of the car, looked in, and then came forward again. Dude, you got a kid in the car? No, sir, there is a woman there. Good for you!Why is she shouting? Oh, she just fell asleep, she's not used to traveling, she doesn't feel very well, and she keeps dreaming.

a young woman? Yes, a young woman. Going back forty years, it would have interested me.Is she your wife? my wife!The other party said bitterly that she would not marry someone like me.However, I see no reason why I should tell you this. That's right.But you don't necessarily have a reason not to tell me.What can I do to you or her? The red clay dealer carefully looked at the old man's face.Well, sir, he said at last, I didn't know her until today, but then it might be better if I didn't know her.But she has nothing to do with me, nor have I accosted her, nor would she have taken me at all if there had been a better carriage there at the time.

Let me ask, where did you meet her? At Fort Horn. I know that town very well.What is she doing there? Cough, there is no need to say more.But now she was dead tired and uncomfortable, and that was why she was so restless.She had just dozed off an hour ago, and that made her feel better. Needless to say, she must be a pretty girl? You can say so. The old man looked back into the car window with interest, and without looking away, he said again, can I go and see her? No, replied the red clay dealer stiffly.It's too dark, you can't see her clearly, not to mention, I have no right to promise you.Thank goodness she slept well and I hope she doesn't wake up until we get home.

who is she?Live in this area? Sorry, it doesn't matter who she is. Could it be the girl from Hualuo Village?People have been talking about her more or less lately.If it's her, I know it; and I can guess what's going on. Then you don't have to worry about it. Well, sir, I'm sorry, but we're going to part ways soon, I'm afraid.My ponies are tired, and I have a long way to go, and I want them to rest for an hour under this ridge. The old man nodded indifferently, and the red soil dealer turned his horse and pulled his cart to the pasture, saying good night.The old man saluted back, and went on his way as before.

The red clay dealer watched the figure of the old man get farther and farther away until it turned into a small black spot on the ancient road and disappeared into the gradually thickening night.He had just taken some hay from a bale hanging under the wagon, threw some towards the two horses, and with the rest he made himself a resting bedding on the ground beside the wagon, on which he He sat down and leaned against the wheel.He heard a soft breathing sound from inside the carriage.He seemed satisfied with this, observing the situation in front of him thoughtfully, as if considering what to do next.

At this moment of change of weather, the valleys in the Eden Moor themselves are showing a state of dullness, pause and indecision, so deliberation and step by step seem to be the duty of people to follow at this time. A policy.The scene now had an inseparable tranquility which was not really a stagnation but an incredible slowness of progress.It would be noticeable if a healthy life seemed almost lifeless; and the heath had at once the inanimateness of the desert, yet at the same time conceived the kind that is found on small dairy farms, or even in forests. There is an exuberance in it, which attracts the attention of those who contemplate the wilderness, as one usually pays attention to some hesitant and insincere statement.

The landform displayed in front of the eyes of the red soil dealers has gradually risen to the hinterland of the wasteland since the ancient road.It contained hills, ravines, ridges, and slopes, one after the other, until it was stopped by a high mountain rising suddenly in the twilight horizon.The traveler's eye lingered for a moment on the scene, and at last rested on an interesting object on the horizon.It was an ancient tomb.This protruding mound was higher than the average grave-mound, and it occupied one of the most prominent positions on this most solitary mountain in this wasteland.Although viewed from the side of the valley, it looks like the giant Atlas [Note: The giant in Greek mythology. 】A meat wart on the forehead, but in fact, this bump is really huge.It is simply the main axis of this wasteland world. The resting man looked at the ancient tomb, and he saw clearly that there was something higher at the highest point of the whole protrusion.It pokes out of the semicircular tumulus like a spear protruding from a helmet.An imaginative stranger will immediately think that it is the Celts who built this ancient tomb. ], he will immediately feel that the ancient past is reappearing in this scene.The man seemed to be the last of the Celts; as if brooding before sinking with his kin into eternal night. The figure just stood there, just like the hill under his feet, motionless.The hill protrudes above the wasteland, the ancient tomb protrudes above the hill, and the human figure protrudes above the ancient tomb.And above this human form, there is nothing to draw except the sky. With such a human figure standing on the dark hill, one feels that the outline of the hill is so perfectly and delicately outlined that it has become an indispensable stroke, which makes people feel very satisfied.Without this figure, it is as if the dome lacked a tower; with it, the architectural requirements of this huge object are fully satisfied.The valley, the plateau, and the tumulus gave the whole scene a strange harmony, and the figure atop the tumulus seemed even more in harmony with it.Therefore, looking only at this or that object in the whole, one feels that what one sees is not a perfect whole, but only a piecemeal part of it. The figure was so much a part of this motionless whole that to see it move suddenly seemed a strange phenomenon.The main feature of this whole is that it is still. The human figure is also a part of the whole. Therefore, it is incomprehensible that the stillness of any part is broken. However, this situation does happen.It can be clearly seen that the figure stopped standing still, took a step or two, and then turned around.As if frightened, it went down the right side of the tumulus, like a drop of water on a bud, and disappeared.The figure's gait made it clear that it was a woman. The reason for her sudden departure became immediately clear.As her figure disappeared from the right, the figure of a newcomer carrying something appeared in the sky on the left, boarded the ancient tomb, and placed the burden on the top of the tomb.Then came a second, a third, a fourth, a fifth, and finally, the entire ancient tomb was covered with figures carrying burdens. This human-shaped shadow play with the sky as the background clearly shows that the woman has nothing to do with the group of people who took her place. She is carefully avoiding these people. The purpose of her climbing the ancient tomb is obviously related to these people. different.Our observer's thoughts are more focused on the disappearing lonely figure. In his imagination, she is more interesting, more important, and has a story worth knowing than the newcomers. He subconsciously The land regards the newcomers as intruders.They stopped, however, on the top of the barrow, and took possession of it; and now it seemed that the solitary man who had formerly acted alone and ruled the deserted fields like a queen alone would not return for a time.