During five minutes Philip watched the struggle between Goliah and his subjects with no slight amusement. The baboon1’s long tail made an excellent handle, and by the aid of it the apes swung him around and around, with the jar still covering his head, in what was at the same time a most laughable and dangerous manner.
It would have been possible for the baboon to release himself at any moment by loosening his hold of the jar; but the dainties to be found therein were too enticing2 to be relinquished3 so readily, and without protest he allowed himself to be flung from one side of the room to the other, he eating greedily all the while.
This struggle was not confined to the baboon and those who were swinging him around in such a lively fashion. It was only possible for half a dozen of his followers4 to grasp the tail, and the others were not content to remain simply as spectators when there was a possible opportunity to gorge5 themselves. The two old counselors6 had managed to seize the jar, but their united efforts were not sufficient to wrest8 it from Goliah; yet, having smeared9 their fingers with the juice which trickled[118] over the leader’s shoulders, both were wildly eager to gain possession of some portion of the dainty.
Nor were they the only ones possessed10 with the same desire. The entire company seemed to have but one idea, which was to partake of preserved ginger11 at the earliest possible moment, and before five minutes elapsed there was every indication of an extensive riot. Each ape had begun to struggle with his neighbor, urged on alike by his love of sweetmeats and his instincts of imitation.
Now, while Philip would have welcomed the sudden death of the huge baboon who held him captive, he was by no means disposed to have the party engage in deadly combat if it could be avoided. He knew full well that before the fight had progressed very far one or more of the company would seize upon him; and in this encounter, where heads were pounded against the wall without any regard to the thickness of skull12, he would stand in very much the same position as did the fragile vase when the bull made his way into the china-shop.
Unfortunately there was but one jar of preserved ginger, and although he held out glass after glass of the jam and other preserves, not a single member of the party accepted the gift. Each was looking for a prize of the same size as that in Goliah’s possession, and nothing smaller would satisfy his ambition.
Then Philip attempted to leave the room, thinking they might follow, or that he would at least be free; but this was a movement impossible of execution[119] owing to the whirling apes between him and the door, and any retreat was out of the question because the closet was too narrow to serve as a place of refuge.
Each second the strife13 waxed warmer, until it seemed as if the apartment was filled with monkeys of all sizes, who were being swung in the air by their tails; and more than once was Philip knocked down by the heads or arms of these living missiles.
At the moment when he had given up all hope of being able to check the wild scramble14 his eyes lighted upon a bag of nuts. In a twinkling he emptied them on the floor, and in an equally short space of time the confusion ceased as every ape began to scramble for his share of the fruit.
Goliah was the only one who did not join in this last scene. When those who had attached themselves to his tail let go their hold he was flung into one corner of the room with the jar still pressed tightly to his shoulders, and there he remained, unheeded and unheeding, gorging15 himself with the sweetmeats until the skin of his stomach was stretched as tight as the head of a drum.
While the long-tailed company were enjoying this unwonted feast, and strewing16 the floor thickly with nutshells, Philip made all haste to satisfy his hunger. There were plenty of sardines17 in the way of solid food, and these, with ship’s-biscuit, made a reasonably hearty18 meal, which he ate standing19 half in the cupboard, lest his companions should suddenly become possessed of the idea to indulge in these oily delicacies20 also.
[120]
During this time, and before the other feasters had exhausted21 the supply of nuts, he held the closet-door only partially22 open, determined23 to shut and lock it when his hunger was appeased24, for he knew full well it would be but the work of a few seconds for the apes to clear everything from the shelves if they were given the opportunity.
But it was while taking the greatest precautions that he was in reality the most careless.
Having eaten enough he desired to quench25 his thirst, and to that end had broken the top from a bottle of wine, there being many cases in the cupboard. In the absence of a glass he was forced to use the bottle as a drinking-vessel, and to do so it was necessary to raise it above his head. He was thus obliged to turn partially around, forgetting the fact that he was exhibiting himself to the company.
Before his thirst was assuaged26 he had painful evidence of his indiscretion. In the twinkling of an eye every ape ceased cracking nuts and leaped toward the closet, while Philip, taken thus by surprise, had not time to shut the door. As a matter of course all the party could not come within reach of the cupboard at the same moment, but those in advance passed the wine-bottles to their companions in the rear until every monkey had enough of this unusual beverage27 to make him tipsy in short order.
As soon as possible Philip shut the cupboard-door; but it was a case of “locking the stable after the horse had been stolen,” and he looked around with dismay as he saw each of his long-tailed companions[121] holding a bottle to his mouth, evidently wondering how the stupid man could have found so much satisfaction in what was to them very dry fun.
The fact that they did not know enough to draw the corks28 caused him to hope none of the party would succeed in getting any liquor; but in this he was speedily disappointed.
It was one of Goliah’s advisers29 who, after watching Philip stealthily, had begun the rush for the bottles, and this old fellow knew exactly how their prisoner had set about extracting the contents.
The aged7 ape struck off the head of the bottle with a potato-masher which was on the table, and five minutes later the floor was strewn with broken glass, while every animal in the room except Goliah was busily engaged in making himself more brutish than nature intended.
Philip stood gazing at this apparently30 convivial31 company with dismay written on every feature of his countenance32. If sober apes were disagreeable companions, what would be the result when he was surrounded by three or four hundred drunken animals? There could be no question but that they would be intoxicated33 when each had finished his bottle, and then the position of the captive, already disagreeable, must necessarily be increased a hundred-fold.
It was probably the silence of the feasters which aroused Goliah from his ginger-dream. He withdrew his head, plentifully34 besmeared with the saccharine36 liquid, to gaze stupidly about him, while pieces of the[122] preserves hung from his nose, ears and eyebrows37 in the most picturesque38 fashion. Gorged39 though he was, the sweet repast did not suffice when his followers had something different, and with one bound he leaped upon the smallest monkey-toper. To choke the astonished little reveler and wrest his bottle from him was but the work of a moment, and then the king of the island began his vinous portion of the feast.
Now, as if he had not already done himself sufficient injury, Philip speedily set the example of a yet more alarming phase in this monkey orgy.
Angry because of what he had unwittingly done he dashed his empty bottle against the cupboard-door.
This example was contagious40. In another instant every ape was busily engaged in belaboring41 his companions with bottles, and fragments of glass flew in all directions.
Now, more than ever, was it difficult to leave the apartment. The hailstorm of glass was so thick as almost to obscure the vision, and Philip crouched42 behind the cooking-stove to protect himself from the flying particles.
Two seconds later a groan43 of horror burst from his lips, for every one of the half-drunken monkeys immediately conceived it necessary to do the same thing, and he was undermost in the living stack, each member of which continued to beat the other with such fragments of glass as had survived the first onslaught.
[123]
It seemed certain he would be crushed to death—crushed between two or three hundred quarts of wine encased in apes’ skins, and each of these animated44 bottles writhing45, twisting and scratching to get undermost.
It was fully35 fifteen minutes before Philip could so far extricate46 himself as to be able once more to divert the attention of the party, and then he seized the first possible means of deliverance. Wresting47 a half-shattered bottle from the clutch of the nearest ape, he threw it toward the window, and, as a natural consequence, every monkey about him struggled to his feet that he might repeat the movement.
While this afforded him some slight relief, it was decidedly a dangerous experiment. The wine had begun its work, and the apes were now so thoroughly48 intoxicated as to have no idea of direction.
Instead of hurling49 the sharp fragments through the window, as Philip intended they should, the long-tailed drunkards threw them at the doors, the stove, or their companions, until one would have thought himself in a fierce storm, where hail-stones were replaced by glass.
To remain upright without great danger of being seriously wounded, if not killed, was impossible, and he who had begun this last and most dangerous amusement was forced to throw himself on the floor to avoid the flying particles.
Again did he witness another painful proof of an ape’s power of imitation. In a twinkling every animal[124] in the room threw himself on the floor, and once more did Philip find himself the “under dog in the fight.”
He was wounded in numberless places from the claws of his companions or the fragments of glass, and yet, whether he arose or remained passive, there was still the sad satisfaction of knowing that it was he, and he alone, who set the fashion in this kingdom of apes.
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1
baboon
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| n.狒狒 | |
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enticing
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| adj.迷人的；诱人的 | |
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relinquished
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| 交出，让给( relinquish的过去式和过去分词 )； 放弃 | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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counselors
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| n.顾问( counselor的名词复数 )；律师；（使馆等的）参赞；（协助学生解决问题的）指导老师 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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wrest
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| n.扭，拧，猛夺；v.夺取，猛扭，歪曲 | |
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smeared
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| 弄脏； 玷污； 涂抹； 擦上 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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ginger
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| n.姜，精力，淡赤黄色；adj.淡赤黄色的；vt.使活泼，使有生气 | |
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skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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scramble
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| v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料 | |
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gorging
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| v.（用食物把自己）塞饱，填饱( gorge的现在分词 )；作呕 | |
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strewing
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| v.撒在…上( strew的现在分词 )；散落于；点缀；撒满 | |
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sardines
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| n. 沙丁鱼 | |
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hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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delicacies
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| n.棘手( delicacy的名词复数 )；精致；精美的食物；周到 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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appeased
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| 安抚，抚慰( appease的过去式和过去分词 )； 绥靖（满足另一国的要求以避免战争） | |
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quench
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| vt.熄灭，扑灭；压制 | |
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assuaged
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| v.减轻( assuage的过去式和过去分词 )；缓和；平息；使安静 | |
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beverage
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| n.(水，酒等之外的)饮料 | |
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corks
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| n.脐梅衣；软木( cork的名词复数 )；软木塞 | |
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advisers
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| 顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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convivial
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| adj.狂欢的，欢乐的 | |
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32
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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intoxicated
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| 喝醉的，极其兴奋的 | |
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plentifully
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| adv. 许多地，丰饶地 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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saccharine
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| adj.奉承的，讨好的 | |
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37
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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38
picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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39
gorged
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| v.（用食物把自己）塞饱，填饱( gorge的过去式和过去分词 )；作呕 | |
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40
contagious
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| adj.传染性的，有感染力的 | |
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41
belaboring
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| v.毒打一顿( belabor的现在分词 )；责骂；就…作过度的说明；向…唠叨 | |
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42
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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43
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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44
animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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45
writhing
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 ) | |
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46
extricate
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| v.拯救，救出；解脱 | |
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47
wresting
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| 动词wrest的现在进行式 | |
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48
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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49
hurling
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| n.爱尔兰式曲棍球v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的现在分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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