奇书网

第29章 The Cup of Tea（第2页）

"Youareverykind，sir。"Thefatmaogatheruphisluggage。

TwostagecoacheswerestandiheihewaytoVillaRealaoa。Passionhiswaytothecoaches，JoaodeSousafoupassengerarguihawaiter。HestoppedtoaskifhewasgoaortoVillaReal。

"Iamgoa，sir，justthinkofit!Aterriblething!Iycupoftea。"

"Thatisaveryseriousmatteri;saidtheyoungmangravely。

"Serious?Ibelieveyou。Whatsortofarestaurantisthis?Thereisnotaleafofblatheplace!"

"Allpassengersfoataketheirplaces，please，"calledouttheguard，aiheoldgdressoftheplace。

&passengeragainsatdownoppositeJoaodeSousa。

"Soyouhavebeendisappointedagain，sir?"

"Don'tspeakofit。Itistooawful。Whatajouromakewithoutmycupoftea!"

"ButyouwillhaveanotherAmatante，wherewegethehorses。"

"Oh，Iamglad。Yood，sir。"

Thecoachrolledhthetryroads，andihemotiohepasse。JoaodeSousaremaigthetrypassuofthemoohehedges，thelightsfromthehousesofavillageonthehillside。PreseotheabridgeofAmaraheinofwhichislostisofthepast。ThecoachpassedintothenarrowstooppedoutsidethefamousoldinnoftheCapadera。Thedining-roomoftheinnwasfulloftobaokeandthesmellofchocolate。Thewaiteradvaoshowthetravelerstotheirseats，alyareallyextsupperwasserved。ThisJoaodeShlyenjthegoodenas。Helookedroundapasseingataerofthetable，waitinganxiouslytospeaktothewaiter。"Waiter，Iandblack，remember。Nootherwilldo。"

"Sir，inaninstant。Imustjustservethesupper，andthenIwillordertheteaforyou。Whatwillyouhaveforsupper，sir?"

"IoteatanythinguntilIhavehadmytea。"

&eruedservidishesofdallkifood;andbottlesofgoodwinewerepassedmerrilyrouhefatpassely。Presentlyitwasahecoachwouldstarties，andtherewasgreatextand。EveryoofihedJoaodeSousaheardtheunhappyvoiceofthefatpassengersaying，"Aer，whataboutthattea?""Ie，sir。"

Allhadtakentheirplacesexceptthefatman，whostoodatthedooroftheihecoabthemountaiarowelveoxee，gaywithreddbrassbells。Theguardcalledtothefatpasseakeyourplace，sir，ifyouplease。Iolo;

&hewaiteringwithasteamingcupofteaonatray。Thefatpassengerhadoohecoach，butheutteredacryofjoy，seizedthedraisedittohislips。Buttheaindistress，andputthecupbathetray。

"Impossibletodrier。Itisboilinghot。Whyditlikethat，whenthecoachisjuststarting?"AndhetohisplaceoppositeJoaodeSousa，tearsofpainandannoyanhiseyes。

&agebedthehillslowlyforfivehedbytheslowbutpowerfuloxen。Afiheenormousoldtreesbesidethemountainroad，andthewihroughtheirbraherelittlestreamsrandowainsnowstowardsthemightyRiverDouro。

Thedriverwalkedbesidetheleaderoftheteam，engtheoxen。AllthepasseJoaodeSousaslept。Theypassedastohouseheroad，ahrewstraionsheruptheypassedalittlecottageabovewhigamassivebloewhichlookedasifitmightfallataheroadgrewheyapproachedthetop，andthesuhiaininmanycolours-purple，pihecoachstoppedatahevillageofQuihosepassengersakedesdedtostretchtheirlegsinthepuremair。

JoaodeSousawalkedalthesplendourofthesery。Peakafterpeakextendedasfarastheeyecouldsee，andlowerdownshochofwater。Thewholelovelypicturewasframedirees，andastheyoungmaodrawabreathofdelight，heheardasloroag。Alongyawnofwearinesssouohisear，andJoaodeSousasmiledatthesightofthefatpasseillhalfasleep，andsodifferentfromtheglowofthenewm。

"Well，sir，howareyou?Whataboutyourteanow?"

"friend，Ihavereallylostallhopes。Thereismiserableinn;theysaynooneeverasksforsug。"

Thehorseswereready，andtheguardgavethesignalforthestart。Theywentfastdowain-sideandweresoonamongdarktreesa。PresentlythepassehegrapesthatgrowbytheDouro。Bythesideofthegreatrivertheydroveformahehousesgrewthidgardetheyereetsoa。Itwasjusthalfpasteightinthem，therighthourforbreakfast。

Asthecoachstoppedatthehotel，afinebuildingwithgreehefatpasseoJoaodeSousawithasmile。"Ithankyou，sir，forallyourcourtesy。Ishouldhavehadadreadfuljouryreeablepany。IottellyouhowIhavesufferedfromthelossofmycupoftea。Itiswrosatmyage。Takemyadviddonotallowanythihahabityouhaveformed，ifitisagoodone。NowIgetmycupofteaatlast。Itislate，itistrue，butbetterlatethaointroducemyself，sir。MynameisBarnadedosAnjos;IamaownofFreixo-de-Espada-a-dIamtravelingtoDouroonbusiness。Ihopetomeetyouagain，sir，andinanycaseIamalwaysatyourservice。Iwishyougoodludasafejourney;andnowIamgoing，mydearyouodrihinacupoftea。"