72 “Well，it takes all kinds of people to make the world go‘round，”Mrs。Hopewell said。“It’s very good we aren’t all alike。”
73 “Some people are more alike than others，”Mrs。Freeman said。
74 Hulga got up and stumped，with about twice the noise that was necessary，into her room and locked the door。She was to meet the Bible salesman at ten o’clock at the gate。She had thought about it half the night。She had started thinking of it as a great joke and then she had begun to see profound implications in it。She had lain in bed imagining dialogues for them that were insane on the surface but that reached below the depths that no Bible salesman would be aware of。Their conversation yesterday had been of this kind。
75 He had stopped in front of her and had simply stood there。His face was bony and sweaty and bright，with a little pointed nose in the center of it，and hislook was different from what it had been at the dinner table。He was gazing at her with open curiosity，with fascination，like a child watching a new fantasticanimal at the zoo，and he was breathing as if he had run a great distance to reach her。His gaze seemed somehow familiar but she could not think where she had been regarded with it before。For almost a minute he didn’t say anything。Then on what seemed an insuck of breath，he whispered，“You ever ate a chicken that was two days old？”
76 The girl looked at him stonily。He might have just put this question up forconsideration at the meeting of a philosophical association。“Yes，”she presently replied as if she had considered it from all angles。
77 “It must have been mighty small！”he said triumphantly and shook all overwith little nervous giggles，getting very red in the face，and subsiding finally into his gaze of complete admiration，while the girl’s expression remained exactly the same。
inclination：n。意願
perceive：vt。察覺
insinuation：n。暗諷
insane：adj。瘋狂的
where she had been regarded with it before：意思是她曾在什麼地方被這種目光審視過。regard 這裏是“仔細端詳”，是較舊的書麵語。
triumphantly：adv。勝利地
giggle：n。傻笑
subside：v。下陷，平息，平靜78“How old are you？”he asked softly。
79 She waited some time before she answered。Then in a flat voice she said，“Seventeen。”
80 His smiles came in succession like waves breaking on the surface of a little lake。“I see you got a wooden leg，”he said。“I think you’re real brave。Ithink you’re real sweet。”
81 The girl stood blank and solid and silent。
82 “Walk to the gate with me，”he said。“You’re a brave sweet little thing and I liked you the minute I seen you walk in the door。”
83 Hulga began to move forward。
84 “What’s your name？”he asked，smiling down on the top of her head。
85 “Hulga，”she said。
86 “Hulga，”he murmured，“Hulga。Hulga。I never heard of anybody name Hulga before。You’re shy，aren’t you，Hulga？”he asked。
87 She nodded，watching his large red hand on the handle of the giant valise。
88 “I like girls that wear glasses，”he said。“I think a lot。I’m not likethese people that a serious thought don’t ever enter their heads。It’s because I may die。”
89 “I may die too，”she said suddenly and looked up at him。His eyes werevery small and brown，glittering feverishly。
90 “Listen，”he said，“don’t you think some people was meant to meet onaccount of what all they got in common and all？Like they both think serious thoughts and all？”He shifted the valise to his other hand so that the hand nearest her was free。He caught hold of her elbow and shook it a little。“I don’t workon Saturday，”he said。“I like to walk in the woods and see what Mother Nature is wearing。O’er the hills and far away。Picnics and things。Couldn’t we go on a picnic tomorrow？Say yes，Hulga，”he said and gave her a dying look as if he felt his insides about to drop out of him。He had even seemed to sway slightly toward her。
91 During the night she had imagined that she seduced him。She imagined that the two of them walked on the place until they came to the storage barn beyond the two back fields and there，she imagined，that things came to such a pass that she very easily seduced him and that then，of course，she had to reckon with hisremorse。True genius can get an idea across even to an inferior mind。She imagined that she took his remorse in hand and changed it into a deeper understandingof life。She took all his shame away and turned it into something useful。
評注：喬伊認為是她巧妙地引誘了“愚笨”的樸恩特。第91段中喬伊的幻想說明她對自己的“智慧”自鳴得意。在她看來，她與樸恩特的約會是她智力上的一次勝利。
92 She set off for the gate at exactly ten o’clock，escaping without drawing Mrs。Hopewell’s attention。She didn’t take anything to eat，forgetting that food is usually taken on a picnic。She wore a pair of slacks and adirty white shirt，and as an afterthought，she had put some Vapex on the collar of it since shedid not own any perfume。When she reached the gate no one was there。
on account of：因為，由於
seduce：v。勾引
things came to such a pass：情況發展到了這種地步
reckon with：認真對付
remorse：n。懊悔，悔恨
inferior：adj。低級的
slacks：n。寬鬆的褲子93She looked up and down the empty highway and had the furious feeling that she had been tricked，that he only meant to make her walk to the gate after the idea of him。Then suddenly he stood up，very tall，from behind a bush on the opposite embankment。Smiling，he lifted his hat which was new and wide-brimmed。He had not worn it yesterday and she wondered if he had bought it for the occasion。It was toast-colored with a red and white band around it and was slightly too large for him。He stepped from behind the bush still carrying the black valise。Hehad on the same suit and the same yellow socks sucked down in his shoes from walking。He crossed the highway and said，“I knew you’d come！”
94 The girl wondered acidly how he had known this。She pointed to the valise and asked，“Why did you bring your Bibles？”
95 He took her elbow，smiling down on her as if he could not stop。“You can never tell when you’ll need the word of God，Hulga，”he said。She had a moment in which she doubted that this was actually happening and then they began to climb the embankment。They went down into the pasture toward the woods。The boy walked lightly by her side，bouncing on his toes。The valise did not seem to be heavy todayhe even swung it。They crossed half the pasture without saying anything and then，putting his hand easily on the small of her back，he asked softly，“Where does your wooden leg join on？”
96 She turned an ugly red and glared at him and for an instant the boy looked abashed。“I didn’t mean you no harm，”he said。“I only meant you’re so brave and all。I guess God takes care of you。”
97 “No，”she said，looking forward and walking fast，“I don’t even believe in God。”
98 At this he stopped and whistled。“No！”he exclaimed as if he were too astonished to say anything else。
99 She walked on and in a second he was bouncing at her side，fanning with hishat。“That’s very unusual for a girl，”he remarked，watching her out of the corner of his eye。When they reached the edge of the wood，he put his hand on her back again and drew her against him without a word and kissed her heavily。
100 The kiss，which had more pressure than feeling behind it，produced that extra surge of adrenalin in the girl that enablesone to carry a packed trunk out of a burning house，but in her，the power went at once to the brain。Even beforehe released her，her mind，clear and detached and ironic anyway，was regarding him from a great distance，with amusement but with pity。She had never been kissed before and she was pleased to discover that it was an unexceptional experience and all a matter of the mind’s control。Some people might enjoy drain water if they were told it was vodka。When the boy，looking expectant but uncertain，pushed her gently away，she turned and walked on，saying nothing as if such business，for her，were common enough。
101 He came along panting at her side，trying to help her when he saw aroot that she might trip over。He caught and held back the long swaying blades of thornvine until she had passed beyond them。She led the way and he came breathing heavily behind her。Then they came out on a sunlit hillside，sloping softly into another one a little smaller。Beyond，they could see the rusted top of the old barn where the extra hay was stored。
embankment：n。堤岸，路基
pasture：n。牧場
surge：n。洶湧，波動
adrenalin：n。腎上腺素
detached：adj。公開的，超然公平的
vodka：n。（俄）伏特加
thorn：n。荊棘
rusted：adj。生鏽的102 The hill was sprinkled with small pink weeds。“Then you ain’t saved？”he asked suddenly，stopping。
103 The girl smiled。It was the first time she had smiled at him at all。“In my economy，”she said，“I’m saved and you are damned but I told you I didn’t believe in God。”
104 Nothing seemed to destroy the boy’s look of admiration。He gazed at her now as if the fantastic animal at the zoo had put its paw through the bars and given him a loving poke。She thought he looked as if he wanted to kiss her again and she walked on before he had the chance。
105 “Ain’t there somewheres we can sit down sometime？”he murmured，his voice softening toward the end of the sentence。
106 “In that barn，”she said。
107 They made for it rapidly as if it might slide away like a train。Itwas a large two-story barn，cool and dark inside。The boy pointed up the ladder that led into the loft and said，“It’s too bad we can’t go up there。”
108 “Why can’t we？”she asked。
109 “Yer leg，”he said reverently。
110 The girl gave him a contemptuous look and putting both hands on theladder，she climbed it while he stood below，apparently awestruck。She pulled herself expertly through the opening and then looked down at him and said，“Well，come on if your coming，”and he began to climb the ladder，awkwardly bringing the suitcase with him。
111 “We won’t need the Bible，”she observed。
112 “You never can tell，”he said，panting。After he had got into the loft，he was a few seconds catching his breath。She had sat down in a pile of straw。A wide sheath of sunlight，filled with dust particles，slanted over her。She lay back against a bale，her face turned away，looking out the front opening of the barn where hay was thrown from a wagon into the loft。The two pink-speckled hillsides lay back against a dark ridge of woods。The sky was cloudless and cold blue。The boy dropped down by her side and put one arm under her and the other over her and began methodically kissing her face，making little noises like a fish。He did not remove his hat but it was pushed far enough back not to interfere。When her glasses got in his way，he took them off of her and slipped them into his pocket。
113 The girl at first did not return any of the kisses but presently she began to and after she had put several on his cheek，she reached his lips and remainedthere，kissing him again and again as if she were trying to draw all the breathout of him。His breath was clear and sweet like a child’s and the kisses were sticky like a child’s。He mumbled about loving her and about knowing when he first seen her that he loved her，but the mumbling was like the sleepy fretting ofa child being put to sleep by his mother。Her mind，throughout this，never stopped or lost itself for a second to her feelings。“You ain’t said you loved me none，”he whispered finally，pulling back from her。“You got to say that。”