原文
Anne marched. That is, she stumbled over the bridge and went shuddering
up the horrible dim path beyond. Anne never forgot that walk. Bitterly
did she repent the license she had given to her imagination. The goblins
of her fancy lurked in every shadow about her, reaching out their cold,
fleshless hands to grasp the terrified small girl who had called them
into being. A white strip of birch bark blowing up from the hollow over
the brown floor of the grove made her heart stand still. The long-drawn
wail of two old boughs rubbing against each other brought out the
perspiration in beads on her forehead. The swoop of bats in the darkness
over her was as the wings of unearthly creatures. When she reached Mr.
William Bell's field she fled across it as if pursued by an army of
white things, and arrived at the Barry kitchen door so out of breath
that she could hardly gasp out her request for the apron pattern.
Diana was away so that she had no excuse to linger. The dreadful
return journey had to be faced. Anne went back over it with shut eyes,
preferring to take the risk of dashing her brains out among the boughs
to that of seeing a white thing. When she finally stumbled over the log
bridge she drew one long shivering breath of relief.
語彙など
- march:行進する
- stumble over:〜につまずく,足をもつれさせる
- shudderingly:ゾッとしながら,ブルブル震えて
- horrible:ひどい
- dim:薄暗い
- bitterly:苦々しく,ひどく
- repent:悔やむ
- license:許可する
- goblin:ゴブリン,悪鬼,小鬼
- fancy:想像,夢
- lurk in the shadows:物陰に潜む
- fleshless:肉のない,肉の落ちた
- grasp:つかむ
- terrified:怖がった
- strip:細長い切れ
- birch:カバノキ,樺の木
- bark:木の皮,樹皮
- hollow:盆地,くぼ地,谷間
- grove:林
- stand still:活動しない,静止する
- wail:もの悲しい音
- bough:大きな枝
- rub:こする
- bring out:引き出す
- perspiration:汗
- bead:ビーズ,ネックレス
- forehead:額
- swoop:急降下
- bat:コウモリ
- wing:翼
- unearthly:この世のものとは思えない
- creature:生き物
- flee:逃げる
- pursue:追いかける
- out of breath:息を切らして
- gasp out:あえぎながら言う
- excuse to:〜する口実
- linger:ぐずぐずする
- dreadful:非常に恐ろしい
- dash:粉々に打ち砕く
- stumble over:〜につまずく
- shiver:震える
- relief:安堵