Chapter XIII. Out of the Stone House

 As the night wore on, the clamour dulled; the roisterers were surely drunken or wearied; few seemed astir.  I heard the mumble¹ of voices still from the room below me; occasionally the shred² of a chanty from the kitchen; at times, the clatter³ of shoes over the cobbles of the yard, and the outcry of the hound.  But ever the wind blew through the night, seeming to cry to me concerning great waters storm-tossed, whereon I should be sailing after this night to the port of no return.  Night drew toward the hour before dawn; the moon was long since lost in massing clouds packed high against the heaven by the wind.  Lord, how the wind battered⁴ at the house, making new clamour when the clamour died below; always it cried to me of storm-tossed waters,—I had this sense upon me, even when my overwrought mind growing dull, I fell asleep upon the bed, and I had the sense still in my dreams.  But suddenly I woke with a start and a cry, to understand that pebbles⁵ were pattering through the bars and falling into the room, and that a p. 106voice was muttering below the window, “Young Craike,—hey, young Craike!”  I snatched the sacking back, and in the grey dawn saw a dark figure perched upon a ladder, his head a foot or so below the sill.

 

“Galt!” I whispered.

 

“Hist!  They may have heard the stones.  Lord, how you slept!  D’ye hear them stirring?”

 

“No!  No!  Help me!”

 

“Can you slip through the bars?”

 

“No, they’re set too close and firm.”

 

He muttered, “Bart’s sleepin’ on the stair and Martin’s in the hall.  The woman’s got the key.  Can you reach the roof by the chimney?”

 

“Blocked with brick!”

 

“No other way?”

 

“A manhole in the ceiling.  If I could only reach it.”

 

“If you can only break out of that room, I’ll take you out of this.  My horse is saddled, waiting.  I forgot those bars.”

 

I pressed my face down against the bars and whispered, “If you could raise the ladder, we could pass it through the bars.  It’d get me to the trap-door.  There’s sure a way out through the old roof.  And a coil of rope, if there’s one at hand.  Tie that to the ladder.”

 

p. 107Grunting he descended⁶; presently I saw him setting a barrel below the window, and fixing a coil of rope to a rung of the ladder.  He climbed on to the barrel, gripped the ladder, and raised its head towards the window.  I caught the ladder, tilted⁷ it, and presently, rejoicing, had it in the room, with no more sound than the wind should hide from the drunken rogues⁸ below.  Setting the ladder against the wall, and hitching⁹ the coil of rope about my arm, I climbed, and to my joy reached easily the trap-door above me.  Exerting all my strength, I strove to force the trap-door upwards¹⁰.  Lord, the shower of dust that descended, as the door lifted, blinded me; broken slate¹¹ or brick fell with the dust, and the crash on the floor seemed fit to wake the dead.  But, blindly struggling upwards, and gripping a rafter, I pulled myself from the ladder, and squeezed under the half-opened trap into the loft¹² above my room.

 

An instant I lay in the dust and litter, exhausted,—the rats went scurrying¹³ all about me; I heard the flapping of birds under the roof.  Struggling to my shaking knees, I forced the trap back into its place, and without pausing to listen whether the fall of rubbish into the room had roused the house, I groped forward through the blackness, my hope being that I should find a trap p. 108opening on the roof itself, or that, with the rottenness of the slates¹⁴ and the timbers I might break through, and coiling my rope about a chimney, lower myself sufficiently¹⁵ to drop to the ground.  But as yet all was dark about me; a thick litter of dust and feathers lay under my feet; groping still, I touched the slanting¹⁶ roof, but thrusting with my hand found it yet set firmly for all the decay of the years; I believed that I heard hoarse¹⁷ voices without the house, or the growling¹⁸ of the wind upon the roofs.  Creeping forward still, I rejoiced to feel a cold draught¹⁹ of air blow upon me, and to see pale light through many chinks.  Loose slates, rotten wood, surely a decaying patch in the roof, I dared to stand erect²⁰ then, though fearing that the mouldering²¹, worm-eaten rafters would give way beneath me, and I should crash into one of the upper rooms of the Stone House.

 

And as I lurched up, with a crash and splintering of slates, I broke through the rotten roof; I was nigh the chimney stack; I could see the leaden gutters²² below me,—birds flew out in a whirl.  I could see Roger Galt standing²⁴ by his horse away from the house; I could hear the outcry of the hound,—none of the folks save Roger seemed astir.  I wriggled²⁵ out from the hole in the roof, though at first the slates cracked p. 109like thin ice beneath me; and I began slowly to creep towards the chimney stack, finding my hold in the breaks of the slates and the thick growths of moss²⁶ stuck closely to them.  The roof held me; but, ere I reached the chimney, the light was strong; had anyone come out of the Stone House I must have been clear to view, though the sound of the wind hid the rasping of my body over the slates.  And slowly, with the wind beating upon me as if to cast me down, I brought the rope about the chimney, and, securing it, let myself slide down gradually to the gutter²³; gripping rope and gutter, I lowered myself over the edge.  On the instant, the hound broke into furious clamour; a cry sounded below me; Martin was roaring, “Bart!  Blunt!  Come here!  Damn you—here!”

 

I was swinging now down the rope; at the end of the length I was little below the gutter.  At the alarm I lost my grip, and fell—by some chance into a pile of bales of smuggled²⁷ stuffs that they had left lying under the wall; though the breath was knocked out of my body, and I lay there gasping²⁸ an instant, I was unhurt.  I started up; dropped from the bales on to the cobbles, and was staggering off; but, coming in a rush from the house, the rogues were upon me.  Martin and Bart had gripped me; struggling wildly, I was p. 110borne backwards²⁹; on the instant came Roger Galt, riding thunderously upon them.  His riding-whip cracked upon Bart’s head; his horse nigh trod Martin down; Roger’s great hand gripped my collar, and swung me up before him.

 

Martin was screeching³⁰, “Galt!  You’ll hang for this!  Galt!  Damn you!  Stop!”  His pistol cracked after us, as Roger, turning his horse, set him at full speed from the house.  After us they came pell-mell,—Martin and Blunt and his crew; I heard shots and their roaring voices.  The gate was barred against us; swinging back under the wall, Roger Galt suddenly put his horse to it, and with a shock that almost drove my senses from me, the horse brought us safely over.

 

We were away then at a gallop³¹, and the clamour from the Stone House was dying on the wind.

1 mumble   

n./v.喃喃而语，咕哝

参考例句：

• Her grandmother mumbled in her sleep.她祖母含混不清地说着梦话。
• He could hear the low mumble of Navarro's voice.他能听到纳瓦罗在小声咕哝。

2 shred   

v.撕成碎片，变成碎片；n.碎布条，细片，些少

参考例句：

• There is not a shred of truth in what he says.他说的全是骗人的鬼话。
• The food processor can shred all kinds of vegetables.这架食品加工机可将各种蔬菜切丝切条。

3 clatter   

v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声

参考例句：

• The dishes and bowls slid together with a clatter.碟子碗碰得丁丁当当的。
• Don't clatter your knives and forks.别把刀叉碰得咔哒响。

4 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

5 pebbles   

[复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pebbles of the drive crunched under his feet. 汽车道上的小石子在他脚底下喀嚓作响。
• Line the pots with pebbles to ensure good drainage. 在罐子里铺一层鹅卵石，以确保排水良好。

6 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

7 tilted   

v. 倾斜的

参考例句：

• Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。

8 rogues   

n.流氓( rogue的名词复数 )；无赖；调皮捣蛋的人；离群的野兽

参考例句：

• 'I'll show these rogues that I'm an honest woman,'said my mother. “我要让那些恶棍知道，我是个诚实的女人。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• The rogues looked at each other, but swallowed the home-thrust in silence. 那些恶棍面面相觑，但只好默默咽下这正中要害的话。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛

9 hitching   

搭乘； （免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的现在分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上

参考例句：

• The farmer yoked the oxen before hitching them to the wagon. 农夫在将牛套上大车之前先给它们套上轭。
• I saw an old man hitching along on his stick. 我看见一位老人拄着手杖蹒跚而行。

10 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

11 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

12 loft   

n.阁楼，顶楼

参考例句：

• We could see up into the loft from bottom of the stairs.我们能从楼梯脚边望到阁楼的内部。
• By converting the loft,they were able to have two extra bedrooms.把阁楼改造一下，他们就可以多出两间卧室。

13 scurrying   

v.急匆匆地走( scurry的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We could hear the mice scurrying about in the walls. 我们能听见老鼠在墙里乱跑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We were scurrying about until the last minute before the party. 聚会开始前我们一直不停地忙忙碌碌。 来自辞典例句

14 slates   

（旧时学生用以写字的）石板( slate的名词复数 )； 板岩； 石板瓦； 石板色

参考例句：

• The contract specifies red tiles, not slates, for the roof. 合同规定屋顶用红瓦，并非石板瓦。
• They roofed the house with slates. 他们用石板瓦做屋顶。

15 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

16 slanting   

倾斜的，歪斜的

参考例句：

• The rain is driving [slanting] in from the south. 南边潲雨。
• The line is slanting to the left. 这根线向左斜了。

17 hoarse   

adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的

参考例句：

• He asked me a question in a hoarse voice.他用嘶哑的声音问了我一个问题。
• He was too excited and roared himself hoarse.他过于激动，嗓子都喊哑了。

18 growling   

n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼

参考例句：

• We heard thunder growling in the distance. 我们听见远处有隆隆雷声。
• The lay about the deck growling together in talk. 他们在甲板上到处游荡，聚集在一起发牢骚。

19 draught   

n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计

参考例句：

• He emptied his glass at one draught.他将杯中物一饮而尽。
• It's a pity the room has no north window and you don't get a draught.可惜这房间没北窗，没有过堂风。

20 erect   

n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的

参考例句：

• She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头，把背挺得笔直。
• Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。

21 mouldering   

v.腐朽( moulder的现在分词 )；腐烂，崩塌

参考例句：

• The room smelt of disuse and mouldering books. 房间里有一股长期不用和霉烂书籍的味道。
• Every mouldering stone was a chronicle. 每块崩碎剥落的石头都是一部编年史。 来自辞典例句

22 gutters   

（路边）排水沟( gutter的名词复数 )； 阴沟； （屋顶的）天沟； 贫贱的境地

参考例句：

• Gutters lead the water into the ditch. 排水沟把水排到这条水沟里。
• They were born, they grew up in the gutters. 他们生了下来，以后就在街头长大。

23 gutter   

n.沟，街沟，水槽，檐槽，贫民窟

参考例句：

• There's a cigarette packet thrown into the gutter.阴沟里有个香烟盒。
• He picked her out of the gutter and made her a great lady.他使她脱离贫苦生活，并成为贵妇。

24 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

25 wriggled   

v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的过去式和过去分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等）

参考例句：

• He wriggled uncomfortably on the chair. 他坐在椅子上不舒服地扭动着身体。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A snake wriggled across the road. 一条蛇蜿蜒爬过道路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

26 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

27 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

28 gasping   

adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词

参考例句：

• He was gasping for breath. 他在喘气。
• "Did you need a drink?""Yes, I'm gasping!” “你要喝点什么吗？”“我巴不得能喝点！”

29 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

30 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：

• Monkeys were screeching in the trees. 猴子在树上吱吱地叫着。
• the unedifying sight of the two party leaders screeching at each other 两党党魁狺狺对吠的讨厌情景

31 gallop   

v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展

参考例句：

• They are coming at a gallop towards us.他们正朝着我们飞跑过来。
• The horse slowed to a walk after its long gallop.那匹马跑了一大阵后慢下来缓步而行。