beyond the city(城市之上)

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BEYOND THE CITY

Arthur Conan Doyle

BEYOND THE CITY

CHAPTER I.

THE NEW-COMERS.

"If you please, mum," said the voice of a domestic from somewhere

round the angle of the door, "number three is moving in.

Two little old ladies, who were sitting at either side of a table, sprang

to their feet with ejaculations of interest, and rushed to the window of the

sitting-room.

"Take care, Monica dear," said one, shrouding herself in the lace

curtain; "don't let them see us.

"No, no, Bertha. We must not give them reason to say that their

neighbors are inquisitive. But I think that we are safe if we stand like

this."

The open window looked out upon a sloping lawn, well trimmed and

pleasant, with fuzzy rosebushes and a star-shaped bed of sweet-william.

It was bounded by a low wooden fence, which screened it off from a broad,

modern, new metaled road. At the other side of this road were three large

detached deep-bodied villas with peaky eaves and small wooden balconies,

each standing in its own little square of grass and of flowers. All three

were equally new, but numbers one and two were curtained and sedate,

with a human, sociable look to them; while number three, with yawning

door and unkempt garden, had apparently only just received its furniture

and made itself ready for its occupants. A four-wheeler had driven up to

the gate, and it was at this that the old ladies, peeping out bird-like from

behind their curtains, directed an eager and questioning gaze.

The cabman had descended, and the passengers within were handing

out the articles which they desired him to carry up to the house. He stood

red-faced and blinking, with his crooked arms outstretched, while a male

hand, protruding from the window, kept piling up upon him a series of

articles the sight of which filled the curious old ladies with bewilderment.

"My goodness me!" cried Monica, the smaller, the drier, and the more

wizened of the pair. "What do you call that, Bertha? It looks to me like

four batter puddings."

BEYOND THE CITY

"Those are what young men box each other with," said Bertha, with a

conscious air of superior worldly knowledge.

"And those?"

Two great bottle-shaped pieces of yellow shining wood had been

heaped upon the cabman.

"Oh, I don't know what those are," confessed Bertha. Indian clubs

had never before obtruded themselves upon her peaceful and very

feminine existence.

These mysterious articles were followed, however, by others which

were more within their, range of comprehension--by a pair of dumb-bells,

a purple cricket-bag, a set of golf clubs, and a tennis racket. Finally,

when the cabman, all top-heavy and bristling, had staggered off up the

garden path, there emerged in a very leisurely way from the cab a big,

powerfully built young man, with a bull pup under one arm and a pink

sporting paper in his hand. The paper he crammed into the pocket of his

light yellow dust-coat, and extended his hand as if to assist some one else

from the vehicle. To the surprise of the two old ladies, however, the only

thing which his open palm received was a violent slap, and a tall lady

bounded unassisted out of the cab. With a regal wave she motioned the

young man towards the door, and then with one hand upon her hip she

stood in a careless, lounging attitude by the gate, kicking her toe against

the wall and listlessly awaiting the return of the driver.

As she turned slowly round, and the sunshine struck upon her face, the

two watchers were amazed to see that this very active and energetic lady

was far from being in her first youth, so far that she had certainly come of

age again since she first passed that landmark in life's journey. Her finely

chiseled, clean-cut face, with something red Indian about the firm mouth

and strongly marked cheek bones, showed even at that distance traces of

the friction of the passing years. And yet she was very handsome. Her

features were as firm in repose as those of a Greek bust, and her great dark

eyes were arched over by two brows so black, so thick, and so delicately

curved, that the eye turned away from the harsher details of the face to

marvel at their grace and strength. Her figure, too, was straight as a dart,

a little portly, perhaps, but curving into magnificent outlines, which were

BEYOND THE CITY

half accentuated by the strange costume which she wore. Her hair, black

but plentifully shot with grey, was brushed plainly back from her high

forehead, and was gathered under a small round felt hat, like that of a man,

with one sprig of feather in the band as a concession to her sex. A

double-breasted jacket of some dark frieze-like material fitted closely to

her figure, while her straight blue skirt, untrimmed and ungathered, was

cut so short that the lower curve of her finely-turned legs was plainly

visible beneath it, terminating in a pair of broad, flat, low-heeled and

square-toed shoes. Such was the lady who lounged at the gate of number

three, under the curious eyes of her two opposite neighbors.

But if her conduct and appearance had already somewhat jarred upon

their limited and precise sense of the fitness of things, what were they to

think of the next little act in this tableau vivant? The cabman, red and

heavy-jowled, had come back from his labors, and held out his hand for

his fare. The lady passed him a coin, there was a moment of mumbling

and gesticulating, and suddenly she had him with both hands by the red

cravat which girt his neck, and was shaking him as a terrier would a rat.

Right across the pavement she thrust him, and, pushing him up against the

wheel, she banged his head three several times against the side of his own

vehicle.

"Can I be of any use to you, aunt?" asked the large youth, framing

himself in the open doorway.

"Not the slightest," panted the enraged lady. "There, you low

blackguard, that will teach you to be impertinent to a lady."

The cabman looked helplessly about him with a bewildered,

questioning gaze, as one to whom alone of all men this unheard-of and

extraordinary thing had happened. Then, rubbing his head, he mounted

slowly on to the box and drove away with an uptossed hand appealing to

the universe. The lady smoothed down her dress, pushed back her hair

under her little felt hat, and strode in through the hall-door, which was

closed behind her. As with a whisk her short skirts vanished into the

darkness, the two spectators--Miss Bertha and Miss Monica Williams--sat

looking at each other in speechless amazement. For fifty years they had

peeped through that little window and across that trim garden, but never

BEYOND THE CITY

yet had such a sight as this come to confound them.

"I wish," said Monica at last, "that we had kept the field."

"I am sure I wish we had," answered her sister.

----

BEYOND THE CITY

CHAPTER II.

BREAKING THE ICE.

The cottage from the window of which the Misses Williams had

looked out stands, and has stood for many a year, in that pleasant suburban

district which lies between Norwood, Anerley, and Forest Hill. Long

before there had been a thought of a township there, when the Metropolis

was still quite a distant thing, old Mr. Williams had inhabited "The

Brambles," as the little house was called, and had owned all the fields

about it. Six or eight such cottages scattered over a rolling country-side

were all the houses to be found there in the days when the century was

young. From afar, when the breeze came from the north, the dull, low

roar of the great city might be heard, like the breaking of the tide of life,

while along the horizon might be seen the dim curtain of smoke, the grim

spray which that tide threw up. Gradually, however, as the years passed,

the City had thrown out a long brick-feeler here and there, curving,

extending, and coalescing, until at last the little cottages had been gripped

round by these red tentacles, and had been absorbed to make room for the

modern villa. Field by field the estate of old Mr. Williams had been sold

to the speculative builder, and had borne rich crops of snug suburban

dwellings, arranged in curving crescents and tree-lined avenues. The

father had passed away before his cottage was entirely bricked round, but

his two daughters, to whom the property had descended, lived to see the

last vestige of country taken from them. For years they had clung to the

one field which faced their windows, and it was only after much argument

and many heartburnings, that they had at last consented that it should

share the fate of the others. A broad road was driven through their quiet

domain, the quarter was re-named "The Wilderness," and three square,

staring, uncompromising villas began to sprout up on the other side.

With sore hearts, the two shy little old maids watched their steady progress,

and speculated as to what fashion of neighbors chance would bring into

the little nook which had always been their own.

And at last they were all three finished. Wooden balconies and

BEYOND THE CITY

overhanging eaves had been added to them, so that, in the language of the

advertisement, there were vacant three eligible Swiss-built villas, with

sixteen rooms, no basement, electric bells, hot and cold water, and every

modern convenience, including a common tennis lawn, to be let at L100 a

year, or L1,500 purchase. So tempting an offer did not long remain open.

Within a few weeks the card had vanished from number one, and it was

known that Admiral Hay Denver, V. C., C. B., with Mrs. Hay Denver and

their only son, were about to move into it. The news brought peace to

the hearts of the Williams sisters. They had lived with a settled

conviction that some wild impossible colony, some shouting, singing

family of madcaps, would break in upon their peace. This establishment

at least was irreproachable. A reference to "Men of the Time" showed

them that Admiral Hay Denver was a most distinguished officer, who had

begun his active career at Bomarsund, and had ended it at Alexandria,

having managed between these two episodes to see as much service as any

man of his years. From the Taku Forts and the _Shannon_ brigade, to

dhow-harrying off Zanzibar, there was no variety of naval work which did

not appear in his record; while the Victoria Cross, and the Albert Medal

for saving life, vouched for it that in peace as in war his courage was still

of the same true temper. Clearly a very eligible neighbor this, the more

so as they had been confidentially assured by the estate agent that Mr.

Harold Denver, the son, was a most quiet young gentleman, and that he

was busy from morning to night on the Stock Exchange.

The Hay Denvers had hardly moved in before number two also struck

its placard, and again the ladies found that they had no reason to be

discontented with their neighbors. Doctor Balthazar Walker was a very

well-known name in the medical world. Did not his qualifications, his

membership, and the record of his writings fill a long half-column in the

"Medical Directory," from his first little paper on the "Gouty Diathesis" in

1859 to his exhaustive treatise upon "Affections of the Vaso-Motor

System" in 1884? A successful medical career which promised to end in

a presidentship of a college and a baronetcy, had been cut short by his

sudden inheritance of a considerable sum from a grateful patient, which

had rendered him independent for life, and had enabled him to turn his

BEYOND THE CITY

attention to the more scientific part of his profession, which had always

had a greater charm for him than its more practical and commercial aspect.

To this end he had given up his house in Weymouth Street, and had taken

this opportunity of moving himself, his scientific instruments, and his two

charming daughters (he had been a widower for some years) into the more

peaceful atmosphere of Norwood.

There was thus but one villa unoccupied, and it was no wonder that the

two maiden ladies watched with a keen interest, which deepened into a

dire apprehension, the curious incidents which heralded the coming of the

new tenants. They had already learned from the agent that the family

consisted of two only, Mrs. Westmacott, a widow, and her nephew, Charles

Westmacott. How simple and how select it had sounded! Who could

have foreseen from it these fearful portents which seemed to threaten

violence and discord among the dwellers in The Wilderness? Again the

two old maids cried in heartfelt chorus that they wished they had not sold

their field.

"Well, at least, Monica," remarked Bertha, as they sat over their

teacups that afternoon, "however strange these people may be, it is our

duty to be as polite to them as to the others."

"Most certainly," acquiesced her sister.

"Since we have called upon Mrs. Hay Denver and upon the Misses

Walker, we must call upon this Mrs. Westmacott also."

"Certainly, dear. As long as they are living upon our land I feel as if

they were in a sense our guests, and that it is our duty to welcome them."

"Then we shall call to-morrow," said Bertha, with decision.

"Yes, dear, we shall. But, oh, I wish it was over!"

At four o'clock on the next day, the two maiden ladies set off upon

their hospitable errand. In their stiff, crackling dresses of black silk, with

jet-bespangled jackets, and little rows of cylindrical grey curls drooping

down on either side of their black bonnets, they looked like two old

fashion plates which had wandered off into the wrong decade. Half

curious and half fearful, they knocked at the door of number three, which

was instantly opened by a red-headed page-boy.

Yes, Mrs. Westmacott was at home. He ushered them into the front

BEYOND THE CITY

room, furnished as a drawing-room, where in spite of the fine spring

weather a large fire was burning in the grate. The boy took their cards,

and then, as they sat down together upon a settee, he set their nerves in a

thrill by darting behind a curtain with a shrill cry, and prodding at

something with his foot. The bull pup which they had seen upon the day

before bolted from its hiding-place, and scuttled snarling from the room.

"It wants to get at Eliza," said the youth, in a confidential whisper.

"Master says she would give him more'n he brought." He smiled affably

at the two little stiff black figures, and departed in search of his mistress.

"What--what did he say?" gasped Bertha.

"Something about a---- Oh, goodness gracious! Oh, help, help,

help, help, help!" The two sisters had bounded on to the settee, and stood

there with staring eyes and skirts gathered in, while they filled the whole

house with their yells. Out of a high wicker-work basket which stood by

the fire there had risen a flat diamond-shaped head with wicked green eyes

which came flickering upwards, waving gently from side to side, until a

foot or more of glossy scaly neck was visible. Slowly the vicious head

came floating up, while at every oscillation a fresh burst of shrieks came

from the settee.

"What in the name of mischief!" cried a voice, and there was the

mistress of the house standing in the doorway. Her gaze at first had

merely taken in the fact that two strangers were standing screaming upon

her red plush sofa. A glance at the fireplace, however, showed her the

cause of the terror, and she burst into a hearty fit of laughter.

"Charley," she shouted, "here's Eliza misbehaving again."

"I'll settle her," answered a masculine voice, and the young man

dashed into the room. He had a brown horse-cloth in his hand, which he

threw over the basket, making it fast with a piece of twine so as to

effectually imprison its inmate, while his aunt ran across to reassure her

visitors.

"It is only a rock snake, " she explained.

"Oh, Bertha!" "Oh, Monica!" gasped the poor exhausted

gentlewomen.

"She's hatching out some eggs. That is why we have the fire. Eliza

BEYOND THE CITY

always does better when she is warm. She is a sweet, gentle creature, but

no doubt she thought that you had designs upon her eggs. I suppose that

you did not touch any of them?"

"Oh, let us get away, Bertha!' cried Monica, with her thin, black-

gloved hands thrown forwards in abhorrence.

"Not away, but into the next room," said Mrs. Westmacott, with the air

of one whose word was law. "This way, if you please! It is less warm

here." She led the way into a very handsomely appointed library, with

three great cases of books, and upon the fourth side a long yellow table

littered over with papers and scientific instruments. "Sit here, and you,

there," she continued. "That is right. Now let me see, which of you is

Miss Williams, and which Miss Bertha Williams?"

"I am Miss Williams," said Monica, still palpitating, and glancing

furtively about in dread of some new horror.

"And you live, as I understand, over at the pretty little cottage. It is

very nice of you to call so early. I don't suppose that we shall get on, but

still the intention is equally good." She crossed her legs and leaned her

back against the marble mantelpiece.

"We thought that perhaps we might be of some assistance," said Bertha,

timidly. "If there is anything which we could do to make you feel more

at home----"

"Oh, thank you, I am too old a traveler to feel anything but at home

wherever I go. I've just come back from a few months in the Marquesas

Islands, where I had a very pleasant visit. That was where I got Eliza.

In many respects the Marquesas Islands now lead the world."

"Dear me!" ejaculated Miss Williams. "In what respect?"

"In the relation of the sexes. They have worked out the great

problem upon their own lines, and their isolated geographical position has

helped them to come to a conclusion of their own. The woman there is,

as she should be, in every way the absolute equal of the male. Come in,

Charles, and sit down. Is Eliza all right?"

"All right, aunt."

"These are our neighbors, the Misses Williams. Perhaps they will

have some stout. You might bring in a couple of bottles, Charles."

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BEYONDTHECITY1BEYONDTHECITYArthurConanDoyleBEYONDTHECITY2CHAPTERI.THENEW-COMERS."Ifyouplease,mum,"saidthevoiceofadomesticfromsomewhereroundtheangleofthedoor,"numberthreeismovingin.Twolittleoldladies,whoweresittingateithersideofatable,sprangtotheirfeetwithejaculationsofinterest,andrushedtothewindowof...

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