I went to the door and with my knuckle5 knocked gently, as is our fashion in that part of the country, crying, "Are ye within, good wife?"
Whereat the strangest unearthly voice answered back to me, as it had been some one reading in the Bible and laughing at the same time—a horrid6 thing to hear in that still place and so near the defenceless young lassies in the Bower7 of the Star.
"The waters of Meribah—the waters of Meribah—for they were bitter!" it cried in a kind of wail8. "Come ben and hae some brose!" And then the thing laughed again.
I took courage to look within, but because it was dark I saw nothing. The whole interior was full of the smoor of reek9, and strange things sped round and round, crossing each other and passing the door continually, like the staves and buckets of a water-mill running round.
"Come awa' ben," again commanded the voice. "Doon, Badrona! Peace, Grimalkin!" The command was addressed to a number of monstrous10 black cats, which had been speeding round the walls of the cot like mad things, to the music of the unearthly crooning song which I had heard from within.
I stepped across the threshold and found a red peat fire upon the hearth11 and a black pot hanging over it. I looked about for the person who had addressed me. At first I could see him nowhere. But as my eyes grew accustomed to the light I saw the queerest being—the sight of whom made my heart grow cold and my hand steal to the little pocket Bible, bound in two halves, that was in my inner pocket.
A small square object sat huddled12 up at the far side of the fire. Upon its head there was a turban, like those the travellers into the lands of the False Prophet tell us of. But this turban was of black bull hide, and the beast's dull eyes looked out underneath13 with a hellish suggestion. The figure was squat14 like a toad15, and sitting thus sunk down upon itself, it seemed to be wholly destitute16 of feet and legs. But a great pair of hairy arms lay out upon the hearth and sometimes clawed together the fiery17 red peats, as though they had just been casten and were being fitted for drying upon the moss.
"Come awa' ben. Ye are welcome, honest stranger," again said the thing of the uncanny look, "I am nane bonny, truth to tell, but I'm nocht to my mither. It's a braw thing that ye are no' to meet wi' her the nicht. She has gane ower by to gather the Black Herb by the licht o' the aval moon. When the moon faas ower on her back like a sheep that canna rise, then is the time to gather the bonny Wolfs Bane, the Deil's Bit, wi' the berries by the water-side that nane kens19 whaur to seek, an' the Mandrake that cries like a murdered bairn when ye pu' it frae the moss. See ye here, there's three dead bairns aneath that hearthstane. Gin ye like I will let ye see the banes. She didna pit me there, for the deil's wife has aye a warm side to the deil's bairn. Sit ye doon and bide21 a wee. It's braw an' heartsome to see a face at Willie's Shiel in the howe o' the Eglin."
After the first horrid surprise of coming in upon such a place, I saw that the thing after all was human—an idiot or natural as I judged, with a monstrous twisted body and strange elricht voice like the crying of the night-wind in a keyhole. But I thought it best to sit down on a seat, even as he bade me, and so I drew a creepie stool carelessly nearer to me with one hand.
"Na, dinna sit on that—that's a stool that naebody can sit on but my mither."
And when I looked at the creepie in the red firelight, for it felt strange to my hand, lo! it was formed of three skulls22 set close together, and the legs of it were of men's leg bones.
Then it flashed to my mind that I had chanced on the house of Corp-licht Kate, the witch wife of the Star, who for many years dwelt alone on the flowe of the Eglin, with only her idiot son with her for company.
"Na," said the object, "nane can sit on that creepie but the minnie o' me—Corp-licht Kate o' the Star. It's weel for me, an' it's weel for you, that my minnie's no' here the nicht. But sit ye down and tak' your rest."
I arose to flee, but the monstrous figure by the red fire waved me down. And I declare that as I looked at him, he seemed to swell23 and glow with a kind of brightness like the moon through mist. He waved his arms abroad, and immediately about me there began the most affrighting turmoil24. Black forms that had been crouching25 in the corners came out and began to circle round us, as it appeared by some devilish cantrip, skimming round the house breast-high, without ever touching26 the floor or the walls. They seemed like an army of cats, black and unearthly, all flying in mid4 air, screeching27 and caterwauling as at a witch's festival. I began to wonder if the foul28, human-headed, toad-like thing that squatted29 by the fire were indeed the black master of witches himself, to whom, for my sins, I had been delivered in the flesh before my time.
But with a wave of his hand the idiot stilled the turmoil, and the flitting demons30 came to the ground in the shape of a dozen or so of cats, black and horrid, with arched tails and fiery eyes—as wild to look at as though they had wandered in from the moor. These retreated into the dark corners of the room, whence we could hear them purring and spitting, and see their fiery eyes set on us in a circle out of the gloom, which was dense31 as night everywhere, save only immediately about the fire.
"I am nae deil, though ye think it, and maist folk says it," said the idiot, fixing his eyes on me. "Some says the daddie o' me was the deil, and some says Mardrochat. I kenna. There's no' muckle to choose between them. Ye can ask my mither gin ye like. I never speered her mysel'. Ye'll hae a sup o' my parritch. They are guid parritch—no' like my mither's parritch. I wad advise ye to hae nocht to do wi' my mither's parritch. Heard ye ever o' the Hefter o' the Star?"
I told him no, and sat down to see what might happen in this strange abode32 so near to the two places where dwelled those whom I loved best—the Bower of the Star and the Cave of Macaterick. But I loosened my sword and felt that the grip of my pistols came easy to my hand.
"Be na feared o' puir Gash33 Gibbie o' the Star Sheiling," cried the object, noticing the action; "he's as honest as he is ugly. But keep wid o' the mither o' him, gin ye wad scape the chiding34 of the channering worm."
The natural seemed to read the fears of my heart before I knew them myself.
"Na, ye'll no' dee like the Hefter o' the Star. He was an ill loon35, him; he wadna let my mither be, when he cam to heft hoggs in the mid o' the year. He spied on us as he sat on a hill-tap to watch that his sheep didna break dykes36. But ken20 ye what my mither did? She gaed oot to him wi' a wee drap kail broth37. Tak' ye nane o' my mither's kail broth. They are no' canny18. But the hefter, silly body, took mair o' them than he was the better o'. He took them doon in a bit hollow to be oot o' the wind, and when they fand him, he had manned it to crawl back to his watcher's hill-tap. But there the silly, feckless loon died like a trout38 on the bank. He didna like my mither's broth. Na, they didna gree weel wi' him!"
And Gash Gibbie went on yammering and grumbling39, while I sat and gazed dumbfounded at him, and at the ugly grimalkins in the dark corners, which stared at me with shining eyes, till I wished myself well out of it all.
"An' ken ye what my mither said when the next hefter cam to see after his sheep on the hill?"
I shook my head.
"She said, 'Watna grand ploy40 it wad be gin this yin were to die as weel!' That was what my mither said."
"And did he die?" I asked.
Gash Gibbie moved his shoulders, and made a kind of nichering laugh to himself, like a young horse whinnying for its corn.
"Na, he was ower cunning for my minnie, him. He wadna bide here, and when my minnie gaed to him with the guid kail broo and the braxy sooming amang it, says the second hefter, 'I'm no' that hungry the day, mistress; I'll gie the hoodie craws a drap drink o't!'
"And so he did, and as fast as the craws got twa fills o' their nebs, they keeled ower on their backs, drew in their taes three times, cried kraigh, and tumbled heels up, as stiff as Methusala! Richt curious, was it na? She is a wonnerfu' woman, my mither!"
The thunder clouds which had been forming all through the heat of the afternoon, began to roar far away by Loch Doon, and as the place and the talk did not conduce to pleasant thoughts, I rose to go.
"What's your hurry?" cried Gash Gibbie, swinging himself round to my side of the fire, and lifting himself on his hands like a man that has no feet. "My minnie will no' be here till the mornin', and then we'll hae company belike. For she's gane to warn Mardrochat to send the sodgers to the twa run-awa' lassies up at the bit bouroch on the Meaull o' Garryhorn."
"To bring the soldiers?" I said, for the words made me suddenly afraid.
"Aye," said the natural, looking cunningly at me, "an' Gash Gibbie wad hae warned the bits o' lassies. But he's ower gruesome a tyke to be welcome guest in lady's bower. But Gibbie wishes the lassies no harm. They are clever, well-busked hizzies."
"I wonder if there are any more wanderers in hiding hereabouts," said I, thinking in my transparent41 guile42 to find out whether the Cove43 Macaterick were also known.
"Na, na, nane nearer than the Caldons in the Howe o' Trool. There's some o' Peden's folk there that my mither has put her spite on—but nane nearer."
The thunder and lightning was just coming on, as I passed the ring of cats in the outer darkness of the hut, and looked out. "Good night to ye, Gibbie," said I, "and thank ye kindly44 for your crack and the warming I hae gotten before the fire!"
"Guid-e'en to yoursel', bonny laddie, an' a guid journey to ye. It's gaun to be a coorse nicht, and Gibbie maun gang awa' ower the heather to see gin his bonny mither doesna' miss the road hame!"
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
moor
|
|
| n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
gaping
|
|
| adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
moss
|
|
| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
mid
|
|
| adj.中央的，中间的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
knuckle
|
|
| n.指节；vi.开始努力工作；屈服，认输 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
horrid
|
|
| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
bower
|
|
| n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
wail
|
|
| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
reek
|
|
| v.发出臭气；n.恶臭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
monstrous
|
|
| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
hearth
|
|
| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
huddled
|
|
| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
underneath
|
|
| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
squat
|
|
| v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
toad
|
|
| n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
destitute
|
|
| adj.缺乏的；穷困的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
fiery
|
|
| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
canny
|
|
| adj.谨慎的，节俭的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
kens
|
|
| vt.知道（ken的第三人称单数形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
ken
|
|
| n.视野，知识领域 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
bide
|
|
| v.忍耐；等候；住 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
skulls
|
|
| 颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
swell
|
|
| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
turmoil
|
|
| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
crouching
|
|
| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
touching
|
|
| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
screeching
|
|
| v.发出尖叫声( screech的现在分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
foul
|
|
| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
squatted
|
|
| 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。 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
demons
|
|
| n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
dense
|
|
| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
abode
|
|
| n.住处，住所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
gash
|
|
| v.深切，划开；n.(深长的)切(伤)口；裂缝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
chiding
|
|
| v.责骂，责备( chide的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
loon
|
|
| n.狂人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
dykes
|
|
| abbr.diagonal wire cutters 斜线切割机n.堤( dyke的名词复数 )；坝；堰；沟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
broth
|
|
| n.原(汁)汤(鱼汤、肉汤、菜汤等) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
trout
|
|
| n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
grumbling
|
|
| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
ploy
|
|
| n.花招，手段 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
transparent
|
|
| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
guile
|
|
| n.诈术 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
cove
|
|
| n.小海湾，小峡谷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
kindly
|
|
| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |