【荆棘鸟】第四章 14

羊群回到了它们正常的牧场上，克利里一家不得不学习内地午睡的习惯了。他们5点钟起床，中午之前把一切都安排妥贴，然后便大汗淋漓地倒身睡去，直到下午5点钟。在家的女人和围场上的男人全部一样。5点钟以后，他们便干那些早些时候无法干的零杂活，太阳西沉以后、就在走廊外的一张桌子上吃饭。所有的床铺也搬到了外面，因为通夜都炎热难耐。几个星期以来，似乎不论是白天或黑夜，温度计的水银柱都没下过100度。吃牛肉已经是很久以前的事了，现在吃的只是小块的、在吃完前不至于腐烂的；绵羊肉。他们希望能换换口昧，不再吃那老一套的烤羊排、炖羊内、绵羊肉做的羊馅馅饼、咖哩羊肉、烤羊腿、水煮腌羊肉和蒸羊肉了。
　　但是，二月初，梅吉和斯图尔特的生活有了突变。他们被送到了基兰博的女修道院寄宿，因为再没有比这更近的学校了。帕迪说，等哈尔够了年龄，可以接受悉尼"黑色男修士"学校的函授教育，但在此期间，由于梅吉和斯图尔特一直习惯有老师教他们，于是玛丽·卡森就慷慨解囊，供他们在"圣士字架"女修道院寄宿和就学。再说，菲要忙着照看哈尔，无法监督函授的课程了。杰克和休吉不能再继续读书了，这在一开始就是不言而喻的。德罗海达需要他们在工地上出力，而这也是他们所喜欢做的事。
　　经过了德罗海达，尤其是在韦汉的圣心修道院里的日子，梅吉和斯图尔特发觉"圣十字架"修道院里的生活是陌生而又平静的。拉尔夫神父曾经用心良深地告诉过修女们，这两个孩子是由他保护的，而他们的姑妈是新南威尔士最富有的女人。于是，梅吉的腼腆从缺点变成了美德，斯图尔待的孤僻以及他那一连几个钟头凝望远方发呆的习惯则被称之为“圣洁”。
　　生活的确十分宁静，因为这里只有寥寥可数的几个寄宿生；这个地区有钱供得起了女上寄宿学校的人无一例外地都宁可把子女送到悉尼去。女修道院里散发着上光漆和花的香味，黑暗而高大的走廊里笼罩着宁温和极为神圣肃穆的气氛。声静响息，生活是在一层薄薄的黑纱背后进行的，没有人用藤条打他们，没有人冲他们大呼小叫，事事都有拉尔夫神父呢。
　　他常常来看他们，并且定期让他们留住在神父宅邸里。他决定用精美的苹果绿来油漆梅吉住的房间。
 

The sheep were moved back to their normal pasture and the Clearys were forced to learn the Outback habit of siesta 1. They rose at five, got everything done before midday, then collapsed 2 in twitching 3, sweating heaps until five in the afternoon. This applied 4 both to the women at the house and the men in the paddocks. Chores which could not be done early were done after five, and the evening meal eaten after the sun had gone down at a table outside on the veranda 5. All the beds had been moved outside as well for the heat persisted through the night. It seemed as if the mercury had not gone below a century in weeks, day or night. Beef was a forgotten memory, only a sheep small enough to last without tainting 6 until it was all eaten. Their palates longed for a change from the eternal round of baked mutton chops, mutton stew 7, shepherd's pie made of minced 8 mutton, curried 9 mutton, roast leg of mutton, boiled pickled mutton, mutton casserole. But at the beginning of February life changed abruptly 10 for Meggie and Stuart. They were sent to the convent in Gillanbone to board, for there was no school closer. Hal, said Paddy, could learn by correspondence from Blackfriars School in Sydney when he was old enough, but in the meantime, since Meggie and Stuart were used to teachers, Mary Carson had generously offered to pay for their board and tuition at the Holy Cross convent. Besides, Fee was too busy with Hal to supervise correspondence lessons as well. It had been tacitly understood from the beginning that Jack 11 and Hughie would go no further with their educations; Drogheda needed them on the land, and the land was what they wanted. Meggie and Stuart found it a strange, peaceful existence at Holy Cross after their life on Drogheda, but especially after the Sacred Heart in Wahine. Father Ralph had subtly indicated to the nuns 12 that this pair of children were his protégés, their aunt the richest woman in New South Wales. So Meggie's shyness was transformed from a vice 13 into a virtue 14, and Stuart's odd isolation 15, his habit of staring for hours into illimitable distances, earned him the epithet 16 "saintly."
It was very peaceful indeed, for there were very few boarders; people of the district wealthy enough to send their offspring to boarding school invariably preferred Sydney. The convent smelled of polish and flowers, its dark high corridors awash with quietness and a tangible 17 holiness. Voices were muted, life went on behind a black thin veil. No one caned 18 them, no one shouted at them, and there was always Father Ralph. He came to see them often, and had them to stay at the presbytery so regularly he decided to paint the bedroom Meggie used a delicate apple green,