羊毛战记 Part 2 Proper Gauge 16

　　16,　　The floors flew by faster as they approached home. In the darkest sections of the staircase, betweenquiet floors of people hunkered down and awaiting a return to normalcy, old hands wrapped aroundeach other and swung between two climbers, brazenly ¹ and openly, grasping each other while theirother hands slid up the cool steel of the rails.,　　Jahns let go sporadically ² only to check that her walking stick was secure against her back or tograb Marnes’s canteen from his pack and take a sip ³. They had taken to drinking each other’s water, itbeing easier to reach across than around one’s own back. There was a sweetness to it as well,carrying the sustenance ⁴ another needed and being able to provide and reciprocate ⁵ in a perfectlyequitable relationship. It was a thing worth dropping hands for. Momentarily, at least.,　　Jahns finished a sip, screwed on the metal cap with its dangling ⁶ chain, and replaced it in his outerpouch. She was dying to know if things would be different once they got back. They were onlytwenty floors away. An impossible distance yesterday now seemed like something that could slipaway without her noticing. And as they arrived, would familiar surroundings bring familiar roles?,　　Would last night feel more and more like a dream? Or would old ghosts return to haunt them both?,　　She wanted to ask these things but talked of trivialities instead. When would Jules, as she insistedthey call her, be ready for duty? What case files did he and Holston have open that needed tending tofirst? What concession ⁷ would they make to keep IT happy, to calm down Bernard? And how wouldthey handle Peter Billings’s disappointment? What impact would this have on hearings he might oneday preside over as judge?,　　To start with, they had their sheriff: a fiery ⁸ girl from the down deep who seemed every bit asconfident and inspiring as Marnes had intimated. Jahns saw her kind as the future of the silo. Peoplewho thought long-term, who planned, who got things done. There was a precedent ⁹ of sheriffs runningfor mayor. She thought Juliette would eventually make a fine choice.,　　And speaking of running, the trip had fired up her own goals and ambitions. She was excitedabout the upcoming elections, however unopposed she might be, and had even dreamed up dozens ofshort speeches during the climb. She saw how things could run better, how she could perform herduties more diligently ¹⁰, and how the silo could have new life breathed into old bones.,　　But the biggest change was whatever had grown between herself and Marnes. She had even begunto suspect, just in the last hours, that the real reason for his never taking a promotion ¹¹ was because ofher. As deputy, there was enough space between them to contain his hope, his impossible dream ofholding her. As sheriff, it couldn’t happen: too much conflict of interest, too much his immediatesuperior. This theory of hers contained a powerful sadness and an awe-inspiring sweetness. Shesqueezed his hand as she thought about this theory, and it filled her with a deep hollowness, a crampin her gut ¹² at all he had silently sacrificed, a massive debt to live up to no matter what happened next.,　　They approached the landing to the nursery and had no plans for stopping to see Juliette’s father,to urge him to receive his daughter on the way up, but Jahns changed her mind as she felt her bladderbeg for release.,　　“I’ve got to go pretty bad,” she told Marnes, embarrassed like a child to admit she couldn’t hold it.,"I don't know," he answered, looking her brazenly over. “我也不知道 ，"他厚颜无耻地打量着她 。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹,There are some trees sporadically around his house. 他的房子周围零星地有点树木。 来自辞典例句