紅玫瑰的考驗 Appointment with Love
S.L.基舍/S.L.kishor
Six minutes to six,said the clock over the information booth in New Yorks 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 months,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 planes.In one of his letters he had confessed to her that be 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 walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death,I shall fear 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 about 18，and Hollis Meynell had told him she was 30.“What of it?”he had answered.“Im 32.”He was 29.
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 of 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 your feeling for me has any reality,what I look like won’t matter.Suppose I’m beautiful.I’d always be 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 pulled hard on a cigarette.Then Lieutenant Blandfords heart leaped.
A young woman was coming toward 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 gray 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 for which he had been and must ever be grateful……
He squared his shoulders,saluted,and held the book out toward the woman,although even while he spoke he felt the bitterness of his disappointment.“Im John Blandford,and you-you are Miss Meynell.May-may I take you to dinner?”
The woman smiled.“I dont know what this is all about,son,”she answered.“That young lady in the green suit,she begged me to wear this rose on my coat.And she said that if you asked me to go out with you,I should tell you shes waiting for you in that restaurant across the street.She said it was some kind of a test.”
在紐約地鐵中心總站，谘詢處上方的時鍾指向了5點54分。年輕高大的陸軍中尉抬起他那被太陽曬得黝黑的臉龐，眯著眼睛看著上麵的時間。激動令他心跳不已，6分鍾後，他就要見到那個女人了——在過去的13個月裏她一直在他的心中占據著特殊位置的女人。雖然他們素未謀麵，但她的信卻一直是他的精神支柱。
布蘭福德中尉還記得那天，那是戰鬥中最艱苦的時刻，他的飛機被敵機重重包圍。他曾在一封信裏對她坦言，他常會感到畏懼。就在戰鬥打響的前幾天，他收到了她的回信；“你當然會畏懼，勇士們都會那樣，下次在你不自信時，我希望你能聽到我為你朗誦的聲音，‘啊，是的，盡管我要走過死亡之穀，但我將勇往直前，因為你與我同在。’……”他記得，正是那封信使他重新鼓起了戰鬥的勇氣。
此時，他就要聽到她真實的聲音了，還有4分鍾就6點了。
一個女孩走近他，布蘭福德中尉一驚。她戴著一朵花，但不是他們約好的那種小紅玫瑰。這女孩隻有18歲左右，而霍麗絲·梅內爾告訴過他，她已30歲。“有什麽關係呢？”他還回信說，“我32歲”，其實他隻有29歲。
他又想到了在訓練營時看過的一本書——《人性的枷鎖》，書裏布滿了一個女人的批注。他難以相信，一個女人竟能如此透徹地讀懂男人的心。書簽上有她的名字：霍麗絲·梅內爾。於是他找來一本紐約市電話簿，查到了她的地址，寫信給她，並收到了她的回信。因為執行任務，第二天他就坐船離開了，但他們仍然保持通信。
13個月裏，她始終誠摯地給他回信，通常是他的信還未到，她的信就來了。因而，他深信，他們彼此深愛著。
然而，她拒絕送他照片，並解釋說：“如果你真心對我，我的外表並不重要。如果我長得很漂亮，我會認為，你愛的是我的外貌，那樣會令我很反感。如果我長相平凡（你必須承認這個更有可能），我就會擔心，你和我通信，是因為內心孤獨，無人傾訴。別向我要照片。你來紐約時就可以看到我了，那時，你便可以做出自己的決定。”
還有1分鍾就6點了……布蘭福德猛抽了一口煙，心跳更加快了。
一位年輕的女士向他走來，她身段高挑，金黃的卷發攏在小巧的耳後，雙唇紅潤，下巴精致，眼睛深藍動人。一身淡綠的西裝，渾身散發著青春的活力。
他開始向她走去，根本沒注意她是否戴著玫瑰花，他走近她，看到她嘴角浮起動人的微笑。
“你擋住我了，士兵。”她輕輕地說。他又向她走近一步，接著，他看到了霍麗絲·梅內爾。
霍麗絲·梅內爾就站在這姑娘的身後，一個40多歲的女人，一頭灰白的頭發塞在破舊的帽子下麵，很胖，厚實的雙腳穿著一雙低跟鞋。
可在她那皺巴巴的外衣上別著一朵紅玫瑰。
綠衣女孩匆匆離去。
布蘭福德心碎了，他多想跟著那女孩啊，然而他又真切地渴望見這個女人，是她的精神一直陪伴他，激勵他；而此時她就站在那兒，蒼白豐滿的麵龐，溫柔而理性；灰色的眼睛裏閃著溫和的光芒。
布蘭福德沒有猶豫，他緊抓著那本破舊的《人性的枷鎖》，它是他向她證明身份的依據。盡管這不會是愛情，但會是一種珍貴的東西，是他曾經擁有並將會永遠感激的友情……
布蘭福德擺正雙肩，敬了個禮，然後把書遞給那個女人，盡管他的失望之情似乎已經溢於言表，但他仍彬彬有禮地說道：“我是約翰·布蘭福德，您——您是梅內爾女士吧，我可以——可以請您吃飯嗎？”
女人微笑著。“孩子，我不明白這是怎麽回事，”她說道，“那位穿綠衣服的年輕小姐請求我戴上這朵玫瑰花，她說如果你請我一塊出去，就告訴你，她在街對麵的餐廳等你。她說這是一種考驗。”
詞匯筆記
evil[i:v?l]adj.邪惡的；壞的；惡毒的
Evil get,evil spend.
得之非法，失之必易。
plea[pli:]n.請願；請求；懇求
They made no plea for relief.
他們並沒有申請救濟。
provocative[pr?v?k?tiv]adj.煽動性的；刺激性的；挑釁的
She wore a very provocative dress.
她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
hesitate[heziteit]v.猶豫；躊躇；遲疑不決
If you hesitate too long,you will miss the opportunity.
如果你老是猶豫不決，那就會錯失良機。
小試身手
如果你真心對我，我的外表並不重要。
布蘭福德心碎了，他多想跟著那女孩啊，然而他又真切地渴望見這個女人，是她的精神一直陪伴他，激勵他，而此時，她就站在那兒。
短語家族
Id always be haunted by the feeling that you had been taking a chance on just that,and that kind of love would disgust me.
Take a chance：冒險一試
When you come to New York,you shall see me and then you shall make your decision.
Make ones decision：作出自己的決定