CHAPTER VI. PROGRESS IN MINING.

Almost as soon as Max had dug through the dyke¹, and penetrated² the Last Chance lode³, he saw, to his great satisfaction, that he had reasoned correctly, for the vein⁴ showed even here a much larger proportion than before of the brown streaks⁵ and nodules, which, in their opinion, constituted its value. Whether the rest of the gangue carried gold or silver, could not be known, but that this rusty⁶ material contained one or the other they felt confident. The assurance that it increased the deeper the vein was followed, therefore gave them great encouragement and raised their enthusiasm to the highest pitch.

The moment this vein was struck, however, a new difficulty met them, for they found that in this pact⁷ it was full of crevices,{58} through which water percolated⁸ from above. At first this water was disregarded and trickled⁹ out through the cross-cut, but as they advanced in their digging it grew more and more troublesome, and harmful to their health. Max therefore proposed to cut a drain down through the vein of the Last Chance to the old tunnel entrance, and soon convinced the others that it was necessary to do so.

This was certainly a misfortune, and an unlooked for one. It consumed valuable time, cost money which they could ill spare, and was in itself an intensely disagreeable job, since the workmen would be compelled to use the pick upon their hands and knees, or lying down, and always with wet clothing, since it would not pay to clear out the hole to the size of a regular tunnel, but only to make a passage-way through which the water might escape from the interior of the mine; furthermore, the old tunnel, when it had been reached, must be somewhat cleared, to allow{59} of a proper passage of the water, in spite of the fact that it was an unsafe and unpleasant place to do work in.

Cheered by the thought of future success, all went at this disagreeable task with great alacrity¹⁰, shortening the hours and avoiding all needless labor¹¹. As small a tube was made as it was possible to work in, but now and then a hard surface would require severe work, and these obstacles were dreaded¹², after the first experience, for behind them, when the shell was broken, would often be found a little cavity more or less full of water, which would gush¹³ out by the bucketful and once or twice threatened to drown the young miners like so many ground-squirrels in a burrow¹⁴.

The distance they were obliged to go was only about thirty yards, and as they worked toward one another, from both ends, they made their way through in about ten days. It was a very irregular and unsafe hole, but it drained the rock almost perfectly¹⁵ and served{60} them afterward¹⁶ in another way quite as important.

As, by this new plan, a door was unnecessary on the Last Chance while it might possibly be wanted some day at the Aurora¹⁷, it was removed and set up frame and all at the mouth of the other tunnel, which could now be locked if necessary. This door proved a benefit also, in helping¹⁸ them to regulate the draft of air.

The only incident worth recording¹⁹ that broke their daily loneliness and labor during all the month which had now nearly gone by, was the advent²⁰ of a visitor, who appeared one evening about the time they had completed the cross-cut.

He was a tramping miner who said he had crossed the range from the South, and begged to be allowed to spend the night at their cabin. A man of decent appearance would have been welcomed gladly, but this applicant²¹ was an ill-featured, coarse-grained, blasphemous²² fellow, whom they disliked at{61} once, and yet could not well turn away. It was with great relief, therefore, that they saw him take his thin frame down the trail next morning. In addition to his disagreeable manner he had been much more inquisitive²³ and prying²⁴ than they liked, and had plainly shown himself angry because they had not made a full confidant of him.

Let us follow this visitor and find out more of his habits and associates. It is scarcely fair to condemn²⁵ a man forever out of a single day’s experience.

1 dyke   

n.堤，水坝，排水沟

参考例句：

• If one sheep leap over the dyke,all the rest will follow.一只羊跳过沟，其余的羊也跟着跳。
• One ant-hole may cause the collapse of a thousand-li dyke.千里长堤，溃于蚁穴。

2 penetrated   

adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The knife had penetrated his chest. 刀子刺入了他的胸膛。
• They penetrated into territory where no man had ever gone before. 他们已进入先前没人去过的地区。

3 lode   

n.矿脉

参考例句：

• We discovered the rich lode bellied out.我们发现丰富的矿脉突然增大了。
• A lode of gold was discovered。他们发现了一处黄金矿藏。

4 vein   

n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络

参考例句：

• The girl is not in the vein for singing today.那女孩今天没有心情唱歌。
• The doctor injects glucose into the patient's vein.医生把葡萄糖注射入病人的静脉。

5 streaks   

n.（与周围有所不同的）条纹( streak的名词复数 )；（通常指不好的）特征（倾向）；（不断经历成功或失败的）一段时期v.快速移动( streak的第三人称单数 )；使布满条纹

参考例句：

• streaks of grey in her hair 她头上的绺绺白发
• Bacon has streaks of fat and streaks of lean. 咸肉中有几层肥的和几层瘦的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 rusty   

adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的

参考例句：

• The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
• I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用，我的法语又荒疏了。

7 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

8 percolated   

v.滤( percolate的过去式和过去分词 )；渗透；（思想等）渗透；渗入

参考例句：

• Water had percolated down through the rocks. 水从岩缝间渗漏下去。
• The rumour percolated through the firm. 那谣言在公司里慢慢流传开来。 来自辞典例句

9 trickled   

v.滴( trickle的过去式和过去分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动

参考例句：

• Blood trickled down his face. 血从他脸上一滴滴流下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The tears trickled down her cheeks. 热泪一滴滴从她脸颊上滚下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 alacrity   

n.敏捷，轻快，乐意

参考例句：

• Although the man was very old,he still moved with alacrity.他虽然很老，动作仍很敏捷。
• He accepted my invitation with alacrity.他欣然接受我的邀请。

11 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

12 dreaded   

adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The dreaded moment had finally arrived. 可怕的时刻终于来到了。
• He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital. 他害怕非得在医院过圣诞节不可。 来自《用法词典》

13 gush   

v.喷，涌；滔滔不绝(说话)；n.喷，涌流；迸发

参考例句：

• There was a gush of blood from the wound.血从伤口流出。
• There was a gush of blood as the arrow was pulled out from the arm.当从手臂上拔出箭来时，一股鲜血涌了出来。

14 burrow   

vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞

参考例句：

• Earthworms burrow deep into the subsoil.蚯蚓深深地钻进底土。
• The dog had chased a rabbit into its burrow.狗把兔子追进了洞穴。

15 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

16 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

17 aurora   

n.极光

参考例句：

• The aurora is one of nature's most awesome spectacles.极光是自然界最可畏的奇观之一。
• Over the polar regions we should see aurora.在极地高空,我们会看到极光。

18 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

19 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

20 advent   

n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临

参考例句：

• Swallows come by groups at the advent of spring. 春天来临时燕子成群飞来。
• The advent of the Euro will redefine Europe.欧元的出现将重新定义欧洲。

21 applicant   

n.申请人，求职者，请求者

参考例句：

• He was the hundredth applicant for the job. 他是第100个申请这项工作的人。
• In my estimation, the applicant is well qualified for this job. 据我看, 这位应征者完全具备这项工作的条件。

22 blasphemous   

adj.亵渎神明的，不敬神的

参考例句：

• The book was declared blasphemous and all copies ordered to be burnt.这本书被断定为亵渎神明之作，命令全数焚毀。
• The people in the room were shocked by his blasphemous language.满屋的人都对他那侮慢的语言感到愤慨。

23 inquisitive   

adj.求知欲强的，好奇的，好寻根究底的

参考例句：

• Children are usually inquisitive.小孩通常很好问。
• A pat answer is not going to satisfy an inquisitive audience.陈腔烂调的答案不能满足好奇的听众。

24 prying   

adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开

参考例句：

• I'm sick of you prying into my personal life! 我讨厌你刺探我的私生活！
• She is always prying into other people's affairs. 她总是打听别人的私事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。