Joe said: “See first if this cove6 can fly with only one wing.” Then he went, but returned and said: “There’s no water in the bucket — Mother used the last drop to boil th’ punkins,” and renewed the fly-catching. Dad tried to spit, and was going to say something when Mother, half-way between the house and the waterhole, cried out that the grass paddock was all on fire. “So it is, Dad!” said Joe, slowly but surely dragging the head off a fly with finger and thumb.
Dad scrambled7 out of the hole and looked. “Good God!” was all he said. How he ran! All of us rushed after him except Joe — he couldn’t run very well, because the day before he had ridden fifteen miles on a poor horse, bare-back. When near the fire Dad stopped running to break a green bush. He hit upon a tough one. Dad was in a hurry. The bush wasn’t. Dad swore and tugged8 with all his might. Then the bush broke and Dad fell heavily upon his back and swore again.
To save the cockatoo fence that was round the cultivation9 was what was troubling Dad. Right and left we fought the fire with boughs11. Hot! It was hellish hot! Whenever there was a lull12 in the wind we worked. Like a wind-mill Dad’s bough10 moved — and how he rushed for another when one was used up! Once we had the fire almost under control; but the wind rose again, and away went the flames higher and faster than ever.
“It’s no use,” said Dad at last, placing his hand on his head, and throwing down his bough. We did the same, then stood and watched the fence go. After supper we went out again and saw it still burning. Joe asked Dad if he didn’t think it was a splendid sight? Dad didn’t answer him — he didn’t seem conversational13 that night.
We decided14 to put the fence up again. Dan had sharpened the axe15 with a broken file, and he and Dad were about to start when Mother asked them what was to be done about flour? She said she had shaken the bag to get enough to make scones16 for that morning’s breakfast, and unless some was got somewhere there would be no bread for dinner.
Dad reflected, while Dan felt the edge on the axe with his thumb.
Dad said, “Won’t Missus Dwyer let you have a dishful until we get some?”
“No,” Mother answered; “I can’t ask her until we send back what we owe them.”
Dad reflected again. “The Andersons, then?” he said.
Mother shook her head and asked what good there was it sending to them when they, only that morning, had sent to her for some?
“Well, we must do the best we can at present,” Dad answered, “and I’ll go to the store this evening and see what is to be done.”
Putting the fence up again in the hurry that Dad was in was the very devil! He felled the saplings — and such saplings! — TREES many of them were — while we, “all of a muck of sweat,” dragged them into line. Dad worked like a horse himself, and expected us to do the same. “Never mind staring about you,” he’d say, if he caught us looking at the sun to see if it were coming dinner-time —“there’s no time to lose if we want to get the fence up and a crop in.”
Dan worked nearly as hard as Dad until he dropped the butt-end of a heavy sapling on his foot, which made him hop17 about on one leg and say that he was sick and tired of the dashed fence. Then he argued with Dad, and declared that it would be far better to put a wire-fence up at once, and be done with it, instead of wasting time over a thing that would only be burnt down again. “How long,” he said, “will it take to get the posts? Not a week,” and he hit the ground disgustedly with a piece of stick he had in his hand.
“Confound it!” Dad said, “haven’t you got any sense, boy? What earthly use would a wire-fence be without any wire in it?”
Then we knocked off and went to dinner.
No one appeared in any humour to talk at the table. Mother sat silently at the end and poured out the tea while Dad, at the head, served the pumpkin18 and divided what cold meat there was. Mother wouldn’t have any meat — one of us would have to go without if she had taken any.
I don’t know if it was on account of Dan arguing with him, or if it was because there was no bread for dinner, that Dad was in a bad temper; anyway, he swore at Joe for coming to the table with dirty hands. Joe cried and said that he couldn’t wash them when Dave, as soon as he had washed his, had thrown the water out. Then Dad scowled19 at Dave, and Joe passed his plate along for more pumpkin.
Dinner was almost over when Dan, still looking hungry, grinned and asked Dave if he wasn’t going to have some BREAD? Whereupon Dad jumped up in a tearing passion. “D— n your insolence20!” he said to Dan, “make a jest of it, would you?”
“Who’s jestin’?” Dan answered and grinned again.
“Go!” said Dad, furiously, pointing to the door, “leave my roof, you thankless dog!”
Dan went that night.
It was only upon Dad promising21 faithfully to reduce his account within two months that the storekeeper let us have another bag of flour on credit. And what a change that bag of flour wrought22! How cheerful the place became all at once! And how enthusiastically Dad spoke23 of the farm and the prospects24 of the coming season!
Four months had gone by. The fence had been up some time and ten acres of wheat put in; but there had been no rain, and not a grain had come up, or was likely to.
Nothing had been heard of Dan since his departure. Dad spoke about him to Mother. “The scamp!” he said, “to leave me just when I wanted help — after all the years I’ve slaved to feed him and clothe him, see what thanks I get! but, mark my word, he’ll be glad to come back yet.” But Mother would never say anything against Dan.
The weather continued dry. The wheat didn’t come up, and Dad became despondent25 again.
The storekeeper called every week and reminded Dad of his promise. “I would give it you willingly,” Dad would say, “if I had it, Mr. Rice; but what can I do? You can’t knock blood out of a stone.”
We ran short of tea, and Dad thought to buy more with the money Anderson owed him for some fencing he had done; but when he asked for it, Anderson was very sorry he hadn’t got it just then, but promised to let him have it as soon as he could sell his chaff26. When Mother heard Anderson couldn’t pay, she DID cry, and said there wasn’t a bit of sugar in the house, nor enough cotton to mend the children’s bits of clothes.
We couldn’t very well go without tea, so Dad showed Mother how to make a new kind. He roasted a slice of bread on the fire till it was like a black coal, then poured the boiling water over it and let it “draw” well. Dad said it had a capital flavour — HE liked it.
Dave’s only pair of pants were pretty well worn off him; Joe hadn’t a decent coat for Sunday; Dad himself wore a pair of boots with soles tied on with wire; and Mother fell sick. Dad did all he could — waited on her, and talked hopefully of the fortune which would come to us some day; but once, when talking to Dave, he broke down, and said he didn’t, in the name of the Almighty27 God, know what he would do! Dave couldn’t say anything — he moped about, too, and home somehow didn’t seem like home at all.
When Mother was sick and Dad’s time was mostly taken up nursing her; when there was nothing, scarcely, in the house; when, in fact, the wolf was at the very door; — Dan came home with a pocket full of money and swag full of greasy28 clothes. How Dad shook him by the hand and welcomed him back! And how Dan talked of “tallies”, “belly-wool”, and “ringers” and implored29 Dad, over and over again, to go shearing30, or rolling up, or branding — ANYTHING rather than work and starve on the selection.
That’s fifteen years ago, and Dad is still on the farm.
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收听单词发音
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1
shovelling
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| v.铲子( shovel的现在分词 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份 | |
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2
squatted
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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cove
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| n.小海湾，小峡谷 | |
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scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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tugged
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| v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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cultivation
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| n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成 | |
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bough
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| n.大树枝，主枝 | |
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boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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12
lull
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| v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇 | |
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conversational
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| adj.对话的，会话的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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scones
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| n.烤饼，烤小圆面包( scone的名词复数 ) | |
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17
hop
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| n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过 | |
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pumpkin
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| n.南瓜 | |
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scowled
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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insolence
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| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
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promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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despondent
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| adj.失望的，沮丧的，泄气的 | |
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chaff
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| v.取笑，嘲笑；n.谷壳 | |
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27
almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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greasy
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| adj. 多脂的，油脂的 | |
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implored
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| 恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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30
shearing
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| n.剪羊毛，剪取的羊毛v.剪羊毛( shear的现在分词 )；切断；剪切 | |
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