North of Boston Robert Frost (desktop ebook reader TXT) š
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- Author: Robert Frost
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If heās untidy now, what will he beā ā?
āIt makes it all the worse. You must be blind.ā
āEstelleās the one. You neednāt talk to me.ā
āCanāt you and I get to the root of it?
Whatās the real trouble? What will satisfy her?ā
āItās as I say: sheās turned from him, thatās all.ā
āBut why, when sheās well off? Is it the neighbours,
Being cut off from friends?ā
āWe have our friends.
That isnāt it. Folks arenāt afraid of us.ā
āSheās let it worry her. You stood the strain,
And youāre her mother.ā
āBut I didnāt always.
I didnāt relish it along at first.
But I got wonted to it. And besidesā ā
John said I was too old to have grandchildren.
But whatās the use of talking when itās done?
She wonāt come backā āitās worse than thatā āshe canāt.ā
āWhy do you speak like that? What do you know?
What do you mean?ā āsheās done harm to herself?ā
āI mean sheās marriedā āmarried someone else.ā
āOho, oho!ā
āYou donāt believe me.ā
āYes, I do,
Only too well. I knew there must be something!
So that was what was back. Sheās bad, thatās all!ā
āBad to get married when she had the chance?ā
āNonsense! See whatās she done! But who, whoā āā
āWhoād marry her straight out of such a mess?
Say it right outā āno matter for her mother.
The man was found. Iād better name no names.
John himself wonāt imagine who he is.ā
āThen itās all up. I think Iāll get away.
Youāll be expecting John. I pity Estelle;
I suppose she deserves some pity, too.
You ought to have the kitchen to yourself
To break it to him. You may have the job.ā
āYou neednāt think youāre going to get away.
Johnās almost here. Iāve had my eye on someone
Coming down Ryanās Hill. I thought ātis him.
Here he is now. This box! Put it away.
And this bill.ā
āWhatās the hurry? Heāll unhitch.ā
āNo, he wonāt, either. Heāll just drop the reins
And turn Doll out to pasture, rig and all.
She wonāt get far before the wheels hang up
On somethingā āthereās no harm. See, there he is!
My, but he looks as if he must have heard!ā
John threw the door wide but he didnāt enter.
āHow are you, neighbour? Just the man Iām after.
Isnāt it Hell,ā he said. āI want to know.
Come out here if you want to hear me talk.
Iāll talk to you, old woman, afterward.
Iāve got some news that maybe isnāt news.
What are they trying to do to me, these two?ā
āDo go along with him and stop his shouting.ā
She raised her voice against the closing door:
āWho wants to hear your news, youā ādreadful fool?ā
A lantern light from deeper in the barn
Shone on a man and woman in the door
And threw their lurching shadows on a house
Near by, all dark in every glossy window.
A horseās hoof pawed once the hollow floor,
And the back of the gig they stood beside
Moved in a little. The man grasped a wheel,
The woman spoke out sharply, āWhoa, stand still!ā
āI saw it just as plain as a white plate,ā
She said, āas the light on the dashboard ran
Along the bushes at the roadsideā āa manās face.
You must have seen it too.ā
āI didnāt see it.
Are you sureā āā
āYes, Iām sure!ā
āā āit was a face?ā
āJoel, Iāll have to look. I canāt go in,
I canāt, and leave a thing like that unsettled.
Doors locked and curtains drawn will make no difference.
I always have felt strange when we came home
To the dark house after so long an absence,
And the key rattled loudly into place
Seemed to warn someone to be getting out
At one door as we entered at another.
What if Iām right, and someone all the timeā ā
Donāt hold my arm!ā
āI say itās someone passing.ā
āYou speak as if this were a travelled road.
You forget where we are. What is beyond
That heād be going to or coming from
At such an hour of night, and on foot too.
What was he standing still for in the bushes?ā
āItās not so very lateā āitās only dark.
Thereās more in it than youāre inclined to say.
Did he look likeā ā?ā
āHe looked like anyone.
Iāll never rest to-night unless I know.
Give me the lantern.ā
āYou donāt want the lantern.ā
She pushed past him and got it for herself.
āYouāre not to come,ā she said. āThis is my business.
If the timeās come to face it, Iām the one
To put it the right way. Heād never dareā ā
Listen! He kicked a stone. Hear that, hear that!
Heās coming towards us. Joel, go inā āplease.
Hark!ā āI donāt hear him now. But please go in.ā
āIn the first place you canāt make me believe itāsā āā
āIt isā āor someone else heās sent to watch.
And nowās the time to have it out with him
While we know definitely where he is.
Let him get off and heāll be everywhere
Around us, looking out of trees and bushes
Till I shaānāt dare to set a foot outdoors.
And I canāt stand it. Joel, let me go!ā
āBut itās nonsense to think heād care enough.ā
āYou mean you couldnāt understand his caring.
Oh, but you see he hadnāt had enoughā ā
Joel, I wonātā āI wonātā āI promise you.
We mustnāt say hard things. You mustnāt either.ā
āIāll be the one, if anybody goes!
But you give him the advantage with this light.
What couldnāt he do to us standing here!
And if to see was what he wanted, why
He has seen all there was to see and gone.ā
He appeared to forget to keep his hold,
But advanced with her as she crossed the grass.
āWhat do you want?ā she cried to all the dark.
She stretched up tall to overlook the light
That hung in both hands hot against her skirt.
āThereās no one; so youāre wrong,ā he said.
āThere is.ā ā
What do you want?ā she cried, and then herself
Was startled when an answer really came.
āNothing.ā It came from well along the road.
She reached a hand to Joel for support:
The smell of scorching woollen made her faint.
āWhat are you doing round this house at night?ā
āNothing.ā A pause: there seemed no more to say.
And then the voice again: āYou seem afraid.
I saw by the way you whipped up the horse.
Iāll just come forward in the lantern light
And let you see.ā
āYes, do.ā āJoel, go back!ā
She stood her ground against the noisy steps
That came on, but her body rocked a little.
āYou see,ā the voice said.
āOh.ā She
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