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CHAPTER XXII
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It seemed to Scott that he had scarcely closed his eyes when he heard the screen door bang and Mr. Graham was standing1 in the doorway2.

“Well, well,” he laughed, “still pounding your ears? I guess you did not get even as much sleep as I said.”

Scott glanced curiously3 at his watch and then listened to see if it was running. It was three-thirty. “Thirteen hours,” he gasped4 in astonishment5.

“Humph,” Murphy grunted6, “that’s nothing. I’ll bet I could do it again right now.”

“Might as well try it if that is the way you feel about it,” Mr. Graham laughed. “It’s so late now that there is no use in our starting till morning.”

“Oh, that is not the reason,” Mr. Graham assured Scott when he noticed his crestfallen7 look. “I’m mean enough to have called you at five o’clock if I had been here to do it, but I just this minute got back. The sheriff was not at home and I thought I’d better escort our friend straight to the jail myself. I did not feel as though I wanted to trust anybody as slick as he has proved himself to be to any sheriff’s woodshed for safe-keeping. That is what the sheriff’s wife suggested.”

“There will not be any chance of his getting word to those other fellows, will there?” Scott asked anxiously.

“No, I think not. I impressed it on the warden8 pretty hard that he was not to be allowed to communicate with any one in any way. I hinted that Uncle Sam was very much interested in his guest’s welfare and he seemed to take it very seriously.”

“Wouldn’t it be a good idea to go down there on the train this afternoon so that we would be on the ground early in the morning?” Scott asked. He was anxious to be doing something now that he was awake.

“I thought of that,” Mr. Graham said, “but I do not want to take the chance. They might have some spies out who would take them the news and we would find the nest empty when we got there. I am not afraid of their running away so soon as this. You said they were planning on lying low there for a couple of weeks. They did not get there till yesterday afternoon, and they would hardly be getting nervous so early. Just how far is that cabin from the railroad station?”

“Must be about seven or eight miles, isn’t it, Murphy?”

“About that, I should say. I hope our swiping that boat did not scare them out.”

“By the way, what did you do with that boat?”

“Left it on the edge of the swamp where we landed.”

“Well, it may make them suspicious, and it may possibly have been the only boat they had, but I do not think so. If they were long-headed enough to rig up that cabin in the swamp against a possible emergency like this I think they probably arranged some pretty sure way of getting to it and the loss of a boat would not be likely to stop them.”

“They had some boats over in the canal,” Scott said, “because I saw them there. They could carry them over there if they had to.”

“We cannot do anything now but hope, anyway,” Mr. Graham remarked. “There is no use in worrying about it. But if you fellows are not going back to sleep right away I wish you would explain to me the exact location of that cabin and all its surroundings so that I will be familiar with the ground when we get there. Are you sure that you will be able to find it again?”

“I don’t think there will be any trouble about that,” Scott answered confidently. “We ran a compass course straight north from it to where we left the boat and while it was not a very accurate course it ought to be straight enough to find a house. I think that I can draw you a pretty good sketch9 of the whole layout.”

So Scott, with occasional suggestions from Murphy, sketched10 the cabin and described it as accurately11 as he could. With this sketch as a basis Mr. Graham planned his campaign for the next day. He pored over it for several hours and it was not till some time after they had finished their supper that he seemed satisfied that it was complete in every detail. He then folded the sketch up thoughtfully and arose with a yawn.

“We shall have to catch that train at four in the morning,” he said, “and if you fellows have any more sleep to make up you better be about it. I am going to bed now.”

“So am I,” said Murphy. “I am not square with the world yet by about ten hours, but if we are not going till morning I am going home to let my wife know that I am still alive. I’ll meet you at the train. Anything in particular you want me to bring along?”

“No, nothing except a shooting iron of some kind. You may have some use for that before we get those other rascals12 in the jug13.”

“There’s where I’ll miss my old Luger,” Murphy said sadly. “I wish I had it out of the bottom of that quicksand, but I guess I can manage. I feel as though I could hit one of those scoundrels with almost anything after the way they were longing14 for a shot at me.”

With that Murphy started for home and Mr. Graham went in to bed. Scott sat on the porch for a little while alone and thought over the events which had crowded themselves so rapidly into the past few days. It was only a little over a week since he had been sitting on that same porch wondering how he would ever accomplish what seemed to him then the almost impossible task which had been assigned him. Now almost as if by magic it had come suddenly to a successful conclusion. It would be an eminently15 successful conclusion if they could only capture the rest of the gang in the morning, but even if they did not get them they had discovered their secret, broken up their operations and jailed the ringleader. It could not exactly be called a failure. It had been a most interesting experience and promised to be even more so in the morning, but he hoped it would not lead him into any more assignments for detective work. He had made good twice largely through what he considered remarkably16 good luck, but he was afraid that he might fall down on the next one.

He did not feel at all nervous at the prospect17 of going under fire the next day, but he was worried for fear Roberts and his gang would not be in their hiding place. He felt that he would always reproach himself with his lack of foresight18 in taking that boat and possibly scaring them away. Under the circumstances there was not very much choice left to them, but he forgot that now and thought only of the possible results.

“Oh, well,” he exclaimed at last, “we shall know pretty quick in the morning and there is no use in worrying about it now,” and he followed Mr. Graham to bed. That gentleman evidently was not losing any sleep over the possibilities of the next day’s work. He was sound asleep and snoring like a trooper. Scott soon joined in the chorus and any one passing by the cabin would have found it hard to believe that the two occupants knew they had to dislodge a band of desperate men from a fortified19 cabin in the morning.

Had they known what was going on in the county jail at about that time they would probably have not been quite so contented20, at least they might not have snored quite so loudly.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
2 doorway 2s0xK     
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径
参考例句:
  • They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
  • Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。
3 curiously 3v0zIc     
adv.有求知欲地;好问地;奇特地
参考例句:
  • He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
  • He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。
4 gasped e6af294d8a7477229d6749fa9e8f5b80     
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要
参考例句:
  • She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
  • People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
5 astonishment VvjzR     
n.惊奇,惊异
参考例句:
  • They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
  • I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。
6 grunted f18a3a8ced1d857427f2252db2abbeaf     
(猪等)作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 ); (指人)发出类似的哼声; 咕哝着说
参考例句:
  • She just grunted, not deigning to look up from the page. 她只咕哝了一声,继续看书,不屑抬起头来看一眼。
  • She grunted some incomprehensible reply. 她咕噜着回答了些令人费解的话。
7 crestfallen Aagy0     
adj. 挫败的,失望的,沮丧的
参考例句:
  • He gathered himself up and sneaked off,crushed and crestfallen.他爬起来,偷偷地溜了,一副垂头丧气、被斗败的样子。
  • The youth looked exceedingly crestfallen.那青年看上去垂头丧气极了。
8 warden jMszo     
n.监察员,监狱长,看守人,监护人
参考例句:
  • He is the warden of an old people's home.他是一家养老院的管理员。
  • The warden of the prison signed the release.监狱长签发释放令。
9 sketch UEyyG     
n.草图;梗概;素描;v.素描;概述
参考例句:
  • My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
  • I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。
10 sketched 7209bf19355618c1eb5ca3c0fdf27631     
v.草拟(sketch的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • The historical article sketched the major events of the decade. 这篇有关历史的文章概述了这十年中的重大事件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He sketched the situation in a few vivid words. 他用几句生动的语言简述了局势。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
11 accurately oJHyf     
adv.准确地,精确地
参考例句:
  • It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
  • Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。
12 rascals 5ab37438604a153e085caf5811049ebb     
流氓( rascal的名词复数 ); 无赖; (开玩笑说法)淘气的人(尤指小孩); 恶作剧的人
参考例句:
  • "Oh, but I like rascals. "唔,不过我喜欢流氓。
  • "They're all second-raters, black sheep, rascals. "他们都是二流人物,是流氓,是恶棍。
13 jug QaNzK     
n.(有柄,小口,可盛水等的)大壶,罐,盂
参考例句:
  • He walked along with a jug poised on his head.他头上顶着一个水罐,保持着平衡往前走。
  • She filled the jug with fresh water.她将水壶注满了清水。
14 longing 98bzd     
n.(for)渴望
参考例句:
  • Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
  • His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。
15 eminently c442c1e3a4b0ad4160feece6feb0aabf     
adv.突出地;显著地;不寻常地
参考例句:
  • She seems eminently suitable for the job. 她看来非常适合这个工作。
  • It was an eminently respectable boarding school. 这是所非常好的寄宿学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
16 remarkably EkPzTW     
ad.不同寻常地,相当地
参考例句:
  • I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
  • He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。
17 prospect P01zn     
n.前景,前途;景色,视野
参考例句:
  • This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
  • The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。
18 foresight Wi3xm     
n.先见之明,深谋远虑
参考例句:
  • The failure is the result of our lack of foresight.这次失败是由于我们缺乏远虑而造成的。
  • It required a statesman's foresight and sagacity to make the decision.作出这个决定需要政治家的远见卓识。
19 fortified fortified     
adj. 加强的
参考例句:
  • He fortified himself against the cold with a hot drink. 他喝了一杯热饮御寒。
  • The enemy drew back into a few fortified points. 敌人收缩到几个据点里。
20 contented Gvxzof     
adj.满意的,安心的,知足的
参考例句:
  • He won't be contented until he's upset everyone in the office.不把办公室里的每个人弄得心烦意乱他就不会满足。
  • The people are making a good living and are contented,each in his station.人民安居乐业。


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