At the right moment the tempter appeared. It rained on Saturday and Austin, his neighbor, came over to see him. They cracked walnuts3 and hickory-nuts in the loft4 while the rain pattered noisily on the board roof. Austin had a definite suggestion for Sunday that would break the monotony of life.
"Let's me an' you not go ter meetin' ter-morrow?" the neighbor ventured for a starter.
"All right!" the Boy agreed. "Preachin' makes me tired anyhow."
"Me, too, an' I tell ye what I'll do. I'll get my Ma ter let me come ter your house to stay all day, an' when your folks go off ter meetin', me an' you'll have some fun!"
"What?"
"We'll stay all day on the creek5 banks, find duck nests, turkey and quail6 nests, an',——" Austin paused and dropped his voice, "go in swimmin' if we take a notion——"
The Boy slowly shook his head.
"No, less don't do that."
"Why?"
"'Cause Ma don't 'low me to go in the creek till June—says I might ketch my death o' cold."
"Shucks! I've been in twice already!"
"Have ye?"
"Yep!"
"And ye didn't get sick?"
"Do I look sick?"
"Not a bit."
"Well, then?"
"All right—we'll go."
The spirit of freedom born of the fields and woods had grown into something more than an attitude of mind. He was ready for the deed—the positive act of adventure. He didn't like to disobey his mother. But he couldn't afford to let Austin think that he was a molly-coddle, a mere8 babe hanging to her skirts. He was doing a man's work. It was time he took a few of man's privileges.
He revelled10 in the situation of adventure that night and saw himself the hero of stirring scenes.
Next morning on Austin's arrival he asked his mother to let him stay at home and play.
"Don't you want to go to meeting and hear the new preacher?" she asked persuasively11.
"No, I'm tired."
The mother smiled indulgently. He was young—far too young yet to know the meaning of true religion. She was a Baptist, and the first principle of her religion was personal faith and direct relations of the individual soul with God. She remembered her own hours of torture in childhood.
"All right, Boy," she said graciously. "Be good now, while we're gone."
His big toe was digging in the dirt while he murmured:
"Yes'm."
The wagon13 had no sooner disappeared than he and Austin were flying with swift bare feet along the path that led to the creek. It was the hottest day of the spring—a close air and broiling14 sun to be remembered longer than the hottest day of August.
They ran for a mile without a pause, rolled in the sand on the banks of the creek and shouted their joy in perfect freedom. They explored the deep cane15 brakes and stalked imaginary buffaloes16 and bears without number, encountering nothing bigger than a grey fox and a couple of muskrats17.
"Let's cross over!" Austin cried. "I saw a bear track on that side one day. We can trail him to his den18 and show him to your Pap when he comes home. Here's a log!"
The Boy looked dubiously19, measured it with his eye, and shook his head.
"Nope—it's too little and too high in the air—it'll wobble," he declared.
"But we can coon it over!" Austin urged. "We can grab hold of a limb over there and slide down—it's easy—come on!"
Before he could make further objection, the young adventurer quickly straddled the swaying pole, and, with the agility20 of a cat, hopped21 across, grasped one of the limbs and slipped to the sand.
"Come on!" he shouted. "See how easy it is!"
The Boy looked doubtfully at the swaying sapling and wished he had gone to hear that preacher after all. It would never do to say he was afraid. The other fellow had done it so quickly. And it was no use to argue with Austin that his legs were shorter, his body more compact and so much easier to hold his balance. The idea of cowardice22 was something too vile9 for thought. The Boy felt that he was doomed23 to fall before he moved but he waved a brave little hand in answer:
"All right, I'm comin'!"
Half way across the pole began to tear its roots from the bluff24. He felt it sinking, stopped and held his breath as it suddenly broke with a crash and fell.
"Look out! Hold tight!" Austin yelled.
He did his best, but lost his balance and toppled head downward into the deep still water.
His mouth flew open at the first touch of the chill stream; he gasped25 for breath and drew into his lungs a strangling flood. The blood rushed to his brain in a wild explosion of terror. He struck out madly with his long arms and legs, fighting with desperation for breath and drinking in only the agony and fear of death. His mother's voice came low and faint and far away in some other world, saying softly:
"Be good now, while we're gone!"
Again he struck out blindly, fiercely, madly into the darkness that was slowly swallowing him body and soul.
His hand touched something as he sank, he grasped it with instinctive26 terror and knew no more until he waked in the infernal regions with the Devil sitting on his stomach glaring into his eyes and holding him by the throat trying to choke him to death. His head was down a steep hill.
With a mighty27 effort he threw the Devil off, loosed his hold and sucked in a tiny breath of air, and then another and another, coughing and spluttering and wheezing28 foam29 and water from his mouth and ears and nose and eyes.
At last a voice gasped:
"Is—that—you—Austin?"
"You bet it's me! I got ye a breathin' all right now—who'd ye think it wuz?"
The Boy coughed again and squeezed his lungs clear of water.
"Why—I was afraid I was dead and you was the Old Scratch and had me."
"Well, I thought you was a goner shore nuff till yer hand grabbed the pole I stuck after ye. Man alive, but you did hold onto it! I lakened ter never got yer hand loose so's I could pull ye up on the bank and turn ye upside down and squeeze the water outen ye."
"Did you sit on my stomach and choke me?" the Boy asked.
"I set on yer and mashed30 the water out, but I didn't choke you."
"I thought the Old Scratch had me!"
For an hour they talked in awed31 whispers of Sin and Death and Trouble and then the blood of youth shook off the nightmare.
They were alive and unhurt. They were all right and it was a good joke. They swore eternal secrecy32. The day was yet young and it was a glorious one. Their clothes were wet and they had to be dried before night. That settled it. They would strip, hang their clothes in the hot sun and wallow in the sand and play in the shallow water until sundown.
"And besides," Austin urged, "this here's a warnin' straight from the Lord—me and you must learn ter swim."
"That's so, ain't it?" the Boy agreed.
"It's what I calls a sign from on high—and it pints33 right into the creek!"
They agreed that the thing to do was to heed34 at once this divine revelation and devote the whole Sabbath day to the solemn work—in the creek.
They found a beautifully sunny spot with an immense sand bar and wide shallow safe waters. They carefully placed their clothes to dry and basked35 in the bright sun. They practiced swimming in water waist deep and Austin learned to make three strokes and reach the length of his body before sinking.
They rolled in the sun again and ate their lunch. They ran naked through the woods to a branch that flowed into the creek, followed it to the source and drank at a beautiful spring.
Through the long afternoon they lived in a fairy world of freedom, of dreams and make-believe. They talked of great hunters and discussed the best methods of attacking all manner of wild beasts.
The sun was sinking toward the western hills when they hastily picked up their clothes and found a safe ford7 across which they could wade36, holding their things above their heads.
The Boy reached the house just as the wagon drove up to the door. He hurried to help his father with the horse. A sense of elation12 filled his mind that he was shrewd enough to keep his own secrets. Of course, his mother needn't know what had happened. He was none the worse for it.
In answer to her question of how he had spent the day he vaguely37 answered:
"In the woods. They're awfully38 pretty now with the dogwood all in bloom."
He talked incessantly39 at supper, teasing Sarah about her jolly time at the meeting. Toward the end of the meal he grew silent. A curious sensation began on his back and shoulders and arms. He paid no attention to it at first, but it rapidly grew worse. The more he tried to shake off the feeling the more distinct and sharp it grew. At last every inch of his body seemed to be on fire.
He rose slowly from the table and walked to his stool in the corner wondering—wondering and fearing. He sat in dead silence for half an hour. The perspiration40 began to stand out on his forehead. It was no use longer to try to fool himself, there was something the matter—something big—something terrible! A fierce and scorching41 fever was burning him to death. He dared not move. Every muscle quivered with agony when he tried.
The mother's keen eye saw the tears he couldn't keep back.
"What's the matter, Boy?" she tenderly asked while his father was at the stable putting the wagon under the shed.
"I don't know 'm," he choked. "I'm all on fire—I'm burnin' up——"
She touched his forehead and slipped her arm around his shoulders.
He screamed with pain.
The mother looked into his face with a sudden start.
"Why, what on earth, child? What have you been doing to-day?"
He hesitated and tried to be brave, but it was no use. He felt that he would drop dead the next moment unless relief came. He buried his face in her lap and sobbed42 his bitter confession43.
"Do you think I'm going to die?" he asked.
She smiled:
"No, my Boy, you're only sunburned. How long were you naked in the sun?"
"From 'bout1 ten o'clock till nearly sundown——"
He moved again and screamed with agony.
The mother tenderly undressed the little, red, swollen44 body. The rough clothes had stuck to the blistered45 skin in one place and the pain was so frightful46 he nearly fainted before they were finally removed.
For two days and nights she never left his side, holding his hand to give him courage when he was compelled to move. Almost his entire body, inch by inch, was blistered. She covered it with cream and allowed only two greased linen47 cloths to touch him.
On the second day as he lay panting for breath and holding her hand with feverish48 grasp he looked into her pensive49 grey eyes through his own bleared and bloodshot with pain and said softly:
"I'm sorry, Ma."
She pressed his hand:
"It's all right, my Boy; your mother loves you."
"I'm not sorry for the pain," he gasped. "What hurts me worse is that you're so sweet to me!"
The dark face bent50 and kissed his trembling lips:
"It's all for the best. You couldn't have understood the preacher Sunday when he took the text: 'The stars in their courses fought against Sisera.' You learned it for yourself the only way we really learn anything. God's in the wind and rain, the sun, the storm. All nature works with him. You can easily fool your mother. It's not what you seem to others; it's what you are that counts. God sees and knows. You see and know in your little heart. I want you to be a great man—only a good man can ever be great."
And so for an hour she poured into his heart her faith in God and His glory until He became the one power fixed51 forever in the child's imagination.
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1
bout
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| n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛 | |
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persistence
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| n.坚持，持续，存留 | |
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walnuts
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| 胡桃（树）( walnut的名词复数 )； 胡桃木 | |
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loft
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| n.阁楼，顶楼 | |
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creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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quail
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| n.鹌鹑；vi.畏惧，颤抖 | |
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Ford
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| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
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8
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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vile
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| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
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revelled
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| v.作乐( revel的过去式和过去分词 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉 | |
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persuasively
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| adv.口才好地；令人信服地 | |
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elation
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| n.兴高采烈，洋洋得意 | |
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wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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14
broiling
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| adj.酷热的，炽热的，似烧的v.（用火）烤（焙、炙等）( broil的现在分词 )；使卷入争吵；使混乱；被烤（或炙） | |
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15
cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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16
buffaloes
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| n.水牛（分非洲水牛和亚洲水牛两种）( buffalo的名词复数 )；（南非或北美的）野牛；威胁；恐吓 | |
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muskrats
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| n.麝鼠（产于北美，毛皮珍贵）( muskrat的名词复数 ) | |
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18
den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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dubiously
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| adv.可疑地，怀疑地 | |
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agility
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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hopped
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| 跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花 | |
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cowardice
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| n.胆小，怯懦 | |
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doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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25
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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26
instinctive
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| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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28
wheezing
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| v.喘息，发出呼哧呼哧的喘息声( wheeze的现在分词 )；哮鸣 | |
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29
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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mashed
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| a.捣烂的 | |
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31
awed
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| adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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33
pints
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| n.品脱( pint的名词复数 )；一品脱啤酒 | |
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heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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basked
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| v.晒太阳，取暖( bask的过去式和过去分词 )；对…感到乐趣；因他人的功绩而出名；仰仗…的余泽 | |
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wade
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| v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉 | |
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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incessantly
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| ad.不停地 | |
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perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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41
scorching
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| adj. 灼热的 | |
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42
sobbed
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| 哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说 | |
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confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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44
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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45
blistered
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| adj.水疮状的，泡状的v.（使）起水泡( blister的过去式和过去分词 )；（使表皮等）涨破，爆裂 | |
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46
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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47
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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48
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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49
pensive
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| a.沉思的,哀思的,忧沉的 | |
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50
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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51
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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