Six minutes to six, said the clock over the information booth in New York's Grand Central Station. The tall young Army lieutenant lifted his sunburned face and narrowed his eyes to note the exact time. His heart was pounding with a beat. In six minutes he would see the woman who had filled such a special place in his life for the past 13 month, the woman he had never seen, yet whose written words had sustained him unfailingly.
Lieutenant Blandford remembered one day in particular, during the worst of the fighting, when his plane had been caught in the midst of a pack of enemy's planes. In one of his letters he had confessed to her that he often felt fear, and only a few days before this battle he had received her answer: "Of course you fear…all brave men do. Next time you doubt yourself, I want you to hear my voice reciting to you: 'yeah, though I walked through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will hear no evil: for thou art with me.'…" He had remembered, and it had renewed his strength.
Now he was going to hear her real voice. Four minutes to six.
A girl passed close to him, and Lieutenant Blandford started. She was wearing a flower, but it was not the little red rose they had agreed upon. Besides, this girl was only
His mind went back to that book he had read in the training camp. Of Human Bondage it was; and throughout the book were notes in a woman's handwriting. He had never believed that a woman could see into a man's heart so tenderly, so understandingly. Her name was on the book plate: Hollis Meynell. He had got hold a New York City telephone book and found her address. He had written; she had answered. Next day he had been shipped out, but they had gone on writing.
For 13 months she had faithfully replied. When his letters did not arrive, she wrote anyway, and now he believed that he loved her and that she loved him.
But she had refused all his pleas to send him her photograph. She had explained:" If you're feeling for me has any reality, what I look like won't matter. Suppose I'm beautiful. I'd always been haunted by the feeling that you had been taking a chance on just that, and that kind of love would disgust me. Suppose I'm plain ( and you must admit that this is more likely), then I'd always fear that you were only going on writing because you were lonely and had no one else. No, don't ask for my picture. When you come to New York, you shall see me and then you shall make your decision."
One minute to six…he put hard on a cigarette. Then Lieutenant Blandford's heart leaped.
A young woman was coming towards him. Her figure was long and slim; her blond hair lay back in curls over her delicate ears. Her eyes were as blue as flowers, her lips and chin had a gentle firmness. In her pale-green suit, she was like springtime come alive.
He started toward her, forgetting to notice that she was wearing no rose, and as he moved, a small, provocative smile curved her lips.
"Going my way, soldier?" she murmured. He made one step closer to her. Then he saw Hollis Meynell.
She was standing almost directly behind the girl, a woman well past 40, her graying hair tucked under a worn hat. She was more than plump; her thick ankled feet were thrust into low-heeled shoes.
But she wore a red rose on her rumpled coat. The girl in the green suit was walking quickly. Blandford felt as though he were being split into two, so keen was his desire to follow the girl, yet so deep was his longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned and upheld his own; and there she stood. He could see her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible; her grey eyes had a warm twinkle.
Lieutenant Blandford did not hesitate. His fingers gripped the worn copy of Human Bondage which was to identify him to her. This would not be love, but it would be something precious, a friendship that he had been and must ever be grateful…
He squared his shoulders, saluted, and held the book out toward the woman, although even well while he spoke he fell the bitterness of disappointment. "I'm John Blandford, and you---you are Miss Meynell. May---may I take you to dinner?"
The woman smiled. "I don't know what this is all
相关单词：lieutenant
lieutenant解释：n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员
lieutenant例句：
He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。
相关单词：bondage
bondage解释：n.奴役，束缚
bondage例句：
Masters sometimes allowed their slaves to buy their way out of bondage.奴隶主们有时允许奴隶为自己赎身。
They aim to deliver the people who are in bondage to superstitious belief.他们的目的在于解脱那些受迷信束缚的人。
相关单词：standing
standing解释：n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的
standing例句：
After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
相关单词：provocative
provocative解释：adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的
provocative例句：
She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。
相关单词：rumpled
rumpled解释：v.弄皱，使凌乱( rumple的过去式和过去分词 )
rumpled例句：
She rumpled his hair playfully. 她顽皮地弄乱他的头发。
The bed was rumpled and strewn with phonograph records. 那张床上凌乱不堪，散放着一些唱片。 来自辞典例句
相关单词：longing
longing解释：n.（for）渴望
longing例句：
Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。
相关单词：saluted
saluted解释：v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂
saluted例句：
The sergeant stood to attention and saluted. 中士立正敬礼。
He saluted his friends with a wave of the hand. 他挥手向他的朋友致意。 来自《简明英汉词典》
相关单词：spoke
spoke解释：n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说
spoke例句：
They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
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