Most of Andrew’s deep thinking was done in the wooden arm-chair by his own fireside. There he is seated, the evening after his interview with Sir Bevil by the cover, considering the plan of campaign against the badger1. The only sound in the room is the click of his grandchild’s knitting-needles. Vennie lies curled up on the floor at his feet. The light of the lamp falls on the Earthstopper’s face, and betrays its absent expression. He is wandering in thought over the moors4 and hills around Kenidzhek, and wondering which of the many earths he knows of, is the white badger’s. By careful examination, he will find sooner or later a few white bristles5 on the walls of one of them, which will give him the necessary clue. Should this plan fail, he will propose watching the earths, and will request the Squire6 to let him do so alone, lest the secret should leak out. Harrowing will his vigils be in that weird7 district; but his fear of ridicule8 is greater than his fear of ghosts, and he would rather have his grey hairs blanched9 with fright than become the laughing-stock of the countryside.
“I hope thee’st nawthin’ troublin’ ee, granfer?” said the girl, who had been casting anxious glances from time to time at the old man.
“No, no, my dear, only I dropped across a badger laast night, and I’ve bin10 thinkin’ how I might come by hes eearth: I’m to see the Squire about et furst thing in the mornin’.”
“But badgers11 are plenty enuf, granfer, I daresay Vennie could find wan2 in a few minits ef you were to turn her out on the moor3.”
“Iss, iss, my dear, grey badgers es plenty enuf as you say, too plenty for me, the varmints; but ’twas a white wan I seed.”
“A white wan, granfer?”
“Iss, a white wan; surely thee dosn’t misdoubt me, Ravena?”
“No, no, granfer dear, I make no doubt thee didst see wan, and I do wish thee luck in catchen of un. You’ll dig it out, I s’pose?”
“Iss, iss, the Squire says theere’s only wan way of taakin’ a badger by fair play, and thet’s by diggin’ un out.”
“Then you must find where et’s earth es, and that may take a bra’ passel of time.”
“Ezackly so, the Squire may fret12 and fume13, but theere, nawthin’ can be done till we knaw wheere et es. Now, my dear, let us be off upstairs for I’m tired.”
After kissing the child, he went to bed and slept soundly. He was early astir, lit the fire, as he always did when at home, and, whilst the kettle was boiling, fetched a pitcher14 of water from the spring, and some sods from the little turf-rick, for the day’s use. After breakfast he set out to lay his plans before the Squire. He had no doubt that they would be accepted, for he could see no alternative, and in matters of this kind the Squire had generally fallen in with his views. His surprise then at the sight that met his eyes as he entered the yard of the Castle may be imagined. The head keeper was seated in a wagonette in charge of three terriers; opposite him was a farmhand with a collection of picks and spades; whilst the coachman, holding the reins15 in one hand, was putting a sack in the boot with the other. “Well, well,” he muttered as he stood near the big gates like one frozen to the cobbles, “what in the world es the maanin’ of thes?” Impulsive16 he knew the Squire to be; but was there ever, thought he, such folly17 as all this preparation for digging out a badger without first knowing where it was? Granting he had seen a white badger, its holt might be almost anywhere within four miles of the Giant’s Quoit where he had found the footprints, and inside that radius18 he knew of at least two score of earths: and was it possible that the Squire could have said anything about the badger? These thoughts passed through the Earthstopper’s mind as he stood there resting on his blackthorn like one “mazed,” whilst the men in the trap exchanged winks19, and wondered what ailed20 him. There was one thing he could do, and would do, no matter what the consequences: that was to see the Squire, and point out the absurdity21 of going on such an expedition.
“Anythin’ amiss wi’ ee, An’rew? arn’t ee going to jump up? et’s a quarter to nine and we’ve bin ready since half-past eight.”
Without replying to the keeper, he inquired rather sharply, “Wheere’s the Squire?”
“Ee’s gone along these two hours and eh left word as you was to follow on.”
This made the blood mount to his cheek; and for a moment he thought of going back home and having nothing to do with the business. But mastering this impulse he walked up to the trap without a word—his lips were too tightly compressed to say anything—and took his seat by the side of the coachman. In a short time the wagonette was rattling22 along a country lane leading to the St Just turnpike road.
“Wheere are ee drivin’ to, coachman?” said Andrew, by way of a feeler when he had found his tongue.
“My horders is to drive to William Trevaskis’ farm as lies under the ’Ooting Cairn.”
“What’s up to taake the Squire out so eearly?”
“Hi don’t know that I can tell ee, but be careful ’ow you speaks to ’im; ee’s that hexcited, you’d think he’d lost the blackbird with a white topknot.”
Andrew, who from the moment he had entered the stable-yard had been under the impression that everyone at the Castle must have heard about the white badger, would have been hopeful now that such was not the case, were it not for an otherwise unaccountable grin that puckered23 the coachman’s cheek and the singularly jaunty24 way in which he handled the whip. However, he kept his misgivings25 to himself, and whilst seemingly engaged in following the fresh tracks of a horse that had galloped26 along the side of the road that morning, was ransacking27 his brain to remember whether he had ever seen a badger’s earth on Cairn Kenidzhek. The fact is, he knew much less of the Hooting28 Cairn than of any hill to the westward29 of Crobben, nor could he call to mind a fox run to ground there. Had it been Mulfra, the Galver, Sancreed Beacon30, Bartinney, or Chapel31 Cairn Brea, he could have walked straight to every holt on their rocky slopes. After nearly an hour’s drive the pile of weird-looking rocks shows plainly against the sky; a few minutes later the face of the hill comes in view and at its base Trevaskis’ house on the edge of a cultivated patch reclaimed32 many years ago from the moorland that stretches away to the northern cliffs. The sun catches Shellal’s tiny attic33 window, the leats where his springes are set, the pool beyond the broad belt of yellow reeds, and lights the white-crested waves of the sea.
When near enough, Andrew makes out the farmer in his shirt sleeves and then—can he believe his own eyes?—three, four, five miners against the turf-rick; Trevaskis is holding a tubbal in one hand and—yes, a furze-chopper in the other; picks and shovels35 are piled in front of the miners; Shellal is holding two buckets, no doubt containing water for the terriers; and, by all that’s good, it is a pair of badger-tongs that the Squire has just brought out of the house, his fingers fidgeting with the guard. In short, a more completely equipped party for an assault on a badger’s fortress36 and, judging by the laughter, a more merry one, it would be difficult to imagine. But the high spirits of Squire, farmer, and miner are not shared by the Earthstopper. The elaborate preparations, no less than the hilarity37, seemed to mock him. He foresaw that the day’s proceedings38 would bring life-long ridicule on himself. The whole countryside would get to hear of Andrew leading the Squire a fool’s chase after a white badger, forsooth! and wherever he went people would jeer39 at his powers of observation or treat him with silent pity, according to their dispositions40. Now after doing his duty to the best of his ability for seven-and-thirty years, and being “plagued to death” well-nigh every other week during the hunting season by badgers scratching out his stoppings and letting the foxes in—an annoyance41 that perhaps no other Earthstopper in the whole of England has to put up with—for the faithful henchman on whom success depended to be dragged willy-nilly into this business was enough not only to rouse his ire but to shake his fealty42 to his master. If Andrew was ever vexed43 in his life, he was vexed now, “vexed as fire.” Near the Squire he would not go, unless sent for, not he; to a peremptory44 summons he would turn a deaf ear. Still, enraged45 though he was, he would not shirk his duty, hopeless as his task might be. He would search till nightfall, though a dozen giggling46 louts dogged his heels. He knew that the badger’s holt might possibly be on Cairn Kenidzhek, but it was about one chance in a hundred. He jumped down from the trap before it reached the gate where the Squire was awaiting it, and seizing the opportunity whilst Sir Bevil was talking to the keeper, jumped the wall and going up to Trevaskis, asked him if he knew of a badger’s earth on the hill.
“Niver had no bisiness,” he replied in a very loud voice, “to climb un not even high by day. I laaves the furze-cuttin’ to Shellaal. The nighest eearth beknown to me es in the croft under the Goomp.” Muttering maledictions on the “git chucklehead,” Andrew shied off long before the harangue47 was finished and, without consulting Shellal, who stood there open-mouthed and still gripping the two buckets, crossed the lane and began with his long strides the ascent48 of the crag-topped hill. It was the best thing he could have done. Only by tremendous exertions49 could he hope to work off his rage, and how he did exert himself!
Seldom had he put his hard sinews and strong muscles to such a strain as he did that morning, when searching the rugged51 slope in quest of the badger’s earth.
Now, he was lost to sight in some tangled52 gulley where he tore through stunted53 blackthorn and brambles to reach its inmost recess54; now, on hands and knees, he explored furze-screened places between small groups of boulders55 that dotted the higher slopes like outworks to the rocky citadel57 on their crest34; now he scanned for beaten track the starved herbage that margined58 the Cairn; now the crevices59 between the rocks for trodden lichen60 that might betray the badger’s way to his fastness. All to no purpose! There remained the other side of the hill to explore; and thither61 he went. Some half-way down the slope there is a belt of ground so barren as to suggest a mineral lode62 just below the surface. Along it the Earthstopper proceeded at a rapid pace, his eyes scrutinising the edge of the sparse63 cover that skirted it. All at once he stopped in his stride as he lit on the run of some animal leading towards the Cairn. Some distance up it was joined, beneath a thorn bush, by a more clearly defined track, and a little way beyond the junction64, where the single track passed between two boulders and was arched over with dead bracken and withered65 bents, so unmistakable was the “creep” that the Earthstopper knew that he was on the trail of a badger. His craft was scarcely needed now, but he followed the trodden path jealously as if once lost it could with difficulty be recovered. Farther up the slope it passed under a clump66 of furze that there ran up to the foot of the Cairn. The bushes were thick and luxuriant, with here and there a yellow bloom, being protected from the westerly wind by the Cairn, and spared by Trevaskis since Shellal had struck against working on that side of the rocks without further rise of wages. On all fours the Earthstopper crept under them, wormed his way quickly forward over the dry spines67, parting the furze above his head now and again to let the light in, and convince himself that he was following the track.
Some distance in he came upon a heap of soil at the mouth of a badger’s earth. He restrains the delight he feels, for fear it may be abandoned. At once he examines the mouth of the set. The floor is well beaten and too hard to record footprints, no moss68 grows there, no spider’s web curtains the entrance.
Lying flat on the ground with his head well inside the hole, he sniffs69 the air of the tunnel, but can detect no taint70 of any inmate71. “Hanrew, Hanrew, wheere are ee?” It is the voice of Shellal, whose weather-beaten and scared face shows round a big boulder56, whence he can see the eastern face of the hill. The Earthstopper hears him, but is too engrossed72 in his work to reply, and too far in the earth to make anyone hear him, except possibly the badger, if he is at home. “Hanrew, Hanrew,” Shellal calls at the top of his voice; and getting no answer but the echo of the rocks, he hurries back, fully73 convinced that nothing more will ever be seen of the Earthstopper. Andrew then gets some matches out of his pocket and, striking one, holds it against the left wall of the earth. His face, which is all aglow74, brightens as he inspects it. Lighting75 another match he removes something from the smooth surface and backs out along the track he came by, no longer angry and desperate, but excited and exultant76. Sir Bevil and the rest of the party now arrived at that side of the Cairn are looking round and wondering what has become of Andrew, when they hear a rustling77 in the furze and at length see his hobnailed boots project from the thick bushes.
The Badger.
The stems of the furze have swept off his cap; so bareheaded, but triumphant78, he goes straight to Sir Bevil, holding up between the forefinger79 and the thumb of his right hand the precious evidence. The men crowd round Squire and Earthstopper with amazement80 written on their faces as they behold81 the white bristle—for such it is—and ready for whatever exertion50 may be needed to secure the trophy82. The Squire, suppressing the excitement he feels, orders the bushes that screen the earth to be cleared away. When Trevaskis and Shellal have done this, Andrew gets permission to send in one of the terriers to make sure that the badger is at home. On being released by the keeper from the chain that holds her, Vixen runs to where Andrew is lying at the mouth of the set, and, after being patted and encouraged, enters the hole and disappears from view. With his head in the tunnel and with one hand raised to silence the chatter83 of the farmer and coachman, who are standing84 a few yards away, the old man listens to the bitch as she makes her way along the galleries of the subterranean85 fastness. After some seconds, neither he nor Sir Bevil, who is lying at full length with his left ear to the ground—he was slightly deaf in the right—can detect any sound of her movements.
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1
badger
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| v.一再烦扰，一再要求，纠缠 | |
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wan
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| (wide area network)广域网 | |
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moor
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| n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊 | |
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moors
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| v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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bristles
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| 短而硬的毛发，刷子毛( bristle的名词复数 ) | |
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squire
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| n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅 | |
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weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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8
ridicule
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| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
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blanched
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| v.使变白( blanch的过去式 )；使（植物）不见阳光而变白；酸洗（金属）使有光泽；用沸水烫（杏仁等）以便去皮 | |
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10
bin
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| n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件 | |
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badgers
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| n.獾( badger的名词复数 )；獾皮；（大写）獾州人（美国威斯康星州人的别称）；毛鼻袋熊 | |
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fret
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| v.(使)烦恼；(使)焦急；(使)腐蚀，(使)磨损 | |
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fume
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| n.(usu pl.)(浓烈或难闻的)烟，气，汽 | |
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pitcher
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| n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手 | |
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reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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impulsive
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| adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的 | |
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folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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radius
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| n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限 | |
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winks
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| v.使眼色( wink的第三人称单数 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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ailed
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| v.生病( ail的过去式和过去分词 )；感到不舒服；处境困难；境况不佳 | |
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absurdity
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| n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论 | |
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rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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23
puckered
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| v.（使某物）起褶子或皱纹( pucker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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24
jaunty
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| adj．愉快的，满足的；adv.心满意足地，洋洋得意地；n.心满意足；洋洋得意 | |
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misgivings
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧 | |
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26
galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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ransacking
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| v.彻底搜查( ransack的现在分词 )；抢劫，掠夺 | |
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hooting
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| （使）作汽笛声响，作汽车喇叭声( hoot的现在分词 )； 倒好儿； 倒彩 | |
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westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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beacon
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| n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔 | |
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chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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reclaimed
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| adj.再生的；翻造的；收复的；回收的v.开拓( reclaim的过去式和过去分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救 | |
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attic
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| n.顶楼，屋顶室 | |
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crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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shovels
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| n.铲子( shovel的名词复数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份v.铲子( shovel的第三人称单数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份 | |
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36
fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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hilarity
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| n.欢乐；热闹 | |
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proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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jeer
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| vi.嘲弄，揶揄；vt.奚落；n.嘲笑，讥评 | |
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40
dispositions
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| 安排( disposition的名词复数 )； 倾向； （财产、金钱的）处置； 气质 | |
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41
annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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42
fealty
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| n.忠贞，忠节 | |
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43
vexed
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| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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peremptory
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| adj.紧急的，专横的，断然的 | |
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45
enraged
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| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
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46
giggling
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| v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 ) | |
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47
harangue
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| n.慷慨冗长的训话，言辞激烈的讲话 | |
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48
ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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49
exertions
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| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
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exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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51
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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stunted
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| adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的 | |
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recess
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| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
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boulders
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| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 | |
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56
boulder
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| n.巨砾；卵石，圆石 | |
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57
citadel
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| n.城堡；堡垒；避难所 | |
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margined
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| [医]具边的 | |
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crevices
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| n.（尤指岩石的）裂缝，缺口( crevice的名词复数 ) | |
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lichen
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| n.地衣, 青苔 | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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62
lode
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| n.矿脉 | |
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sparse
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| adj.稀疏的，稀稀落落的，薄的 | |
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junction
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| n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站 | |
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withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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spines
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| n.脊柱( spine的名词复数 )；脊椎；（动植物的）刺；书脊 | |
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moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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sniffs
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的第三人称单数 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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taint
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| n.污点；感染；腐坏；v.使感染；污染 | |
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inmate
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| n.被收容者；(房屋等的)居住人；住院人 | |
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engrossed
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| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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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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aglow
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| adj.发亮的；发红的；adv.发亮地 | |
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lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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exultant
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| adj.欢腾的，狂欢的，大喜的 | |
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rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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forefinger
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| n.食指 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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trophy
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| n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品 | |
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chatter
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| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
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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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subterranean
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| adj.地下的，地表下的 | |
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