I was first on the spot. The village was high up the river, and the inland summer sun was already oppressively warm. Presently I saw my uncle advancing beneath the trees, hat off, and wiping his brow; while far behind struggled poor old Yorpy, with what seemed one of the gates of Gaza on his back.
Upon the black's staggering up to the skiff, I perceived that the great gate of Gaza was transformed into a huge, shabby, oblong box,[302] hermetically sealed. The sphinx-like blankness of the box quadrupled the mystery in my mind.
"Is this the wonderful apparatus," said I in amazement6. "Why, it's nothing but a battered7 old dry-goods box, nailed up. And is this the thing, uncle, that is to make you a million of dollars ere the year be out? What a forlorn-looking, lack-lustre, old ash-box it is."
"Put it into the skiff!" roared my uncle to Yorpy, without heeding9 my boyish disdain10. "Put it in, you grizzled-headed cherub—put it in carefully, carefully! If that box bursts, my everlasting11 fortune collapses12."
"Bursts?—collapses?" cried I, in alarm. "It ain't full of combustibles? Quick, let me go to the further end of the boat!"
"Sit still, you simpleton!" cried my uncle again. "Jump in, Yorpy, and hold on to the box like grim death while I shove off. Carefully! carefully! you dunderheaded black! Mind t'other side of the box, I say! Do you mean to destroy the box?"
"Duyvel take te pox!" muttered old Yorpy, who was a sort of Dutch African. "De pox has been my cuss for de ten long 'ear."
"Now, then, we're off—take an oar8, youngster;[303] you, Yorpy, clinch13 the box fast. Here we go now. Carefully! carefully! You, Yorpy, stop shaking the box! Easy! there's a big snag. Pull now. Hurrah! deep water at last! Now give way, youngster, and away to the island."
"The island!" said I. "There's no island hereabouts."
"There is ten miles above the bridge, though," said my uncle, determinately.
"Ten miles off! Pull that old dry-goods box ten miles up the river in this blazing sun?"
"All that I have to say," said my uncle, firmly, "is that we are bound to Quash Island."
"Mercy, uncle! if I had known of this great long pull of ten mortal miles in this fiery14 sun, you wouldn't have juggled15 me into the skiff so easy. What's in that box?—paving-stones? See how the skiff settles down under it. I won't help pull a box of paving-stones ten miles. What's the use of pulling 'em?"
"Look you, simpleton," quoth my uncle, pausing upon his suspended oar. "Stop rowing, will ye! Now then, if you don't want to share in the glory of my experiment; if you are wholly indifferent to halving16 its immortal17 renown18; I say, sir, if you care not to be present[304] at the first trial of my Great Hydraulic-Hydrostatic Apparatus for draining swamps and marshes19, and converting them, at the rate of one acre the hour, into fields more fertile than those of the Genesee; if you care not, I repeat, to have this proud thing to tell—in far future days, when poor old I shall have been long dead and gone, boy—to your children and your children's children; in that case, sir, you are free to land forthwith."
"Oh, uncle! I did not mean—"
"But, my dear uncle; I declare to you that—"
"Not a syllable23, sir; you have cast open scorn upon the Great Hydraulic-Hydrostatic Apparatus. Yorpy, put him ashore, Yorpy. It's shallow here again. Jump out, Yorpy, and wade24 with him ashore."
"Now, my dear, good, kind uncle, do but pardon me this one time, and I will say nothing about the apparatus."
"Say nothing about it! when it is my express end and aim it shall be famous! Put him ashore, Yorpy."
[305]
"Nay25, uncle, I will not give up my oar. I have an oar in this matter, and I mean to keep it. You shall not cheat me out my share of your glory."
"Ah, now there—that's sensible. You may stay, youngster. Pull again now."
We were all silent for a time, steadily26 plying27 our way. At last I ventured to break water once more.
"I am glad, dear uncle, you have revealed to me at last the nature and end of your great experiment. It is the effectual draining of swamps; an attempt, dear uncle, in which, if you do but succeed (as I know you will), you will earn the glory denied to a Roman emperor. He tried to drain the Pontine marsh20, but failed."
"The world has shot ahead the length of its own diameter since then," quoth my uncle, proudly. "If that Roman emperor were here, I'd show him what can be done in the present enlightened age."
Seeing my good uncle so far mollified now as to be quite self-complacent, I ventured another remark.
[306]
"This is a rather severe, hot pull, dear uncle."
"Glory is not to be gained, youngster, without pulling hard for it—against the stream, too, as we do now. The natural tendency of man, in the mass, is to go down with the universal current into oblivion."
"But why pull so far, dear uncle, upon the present occasion? Why pull ten miles for it? You do but propose, as I understand it, to put to the actual test this admirable invention of yours. And could it not be tested almost anywhere?"
"Simple boy," quoth my uncle, "would you have some malignant28 spy steal from me the fruits of ten long years of high-hearted, persevering29 endeavor? Solitary30 in my scheme, I go to a solitary place to test it. If I fail—for all things are possible—no one out of the family will know it. If I succeed, secure in the secrecy31 of my invention, I can boldly demand any price for its publication."
"Pardon me, dear uncle; you are wiser than I."
"One would think years and gray hairs should bring wisdom, boy."
[307]
"Am I Yorpy, boy? Keep to your oar!"
Thus padlocked again, I said no further word till the skiff grounded on the shallows, some twenty yards from the deep-wooded isle33.
"Hush34!" whispered my uncle, intensely; "not a word now!" and he sat perfectly35 still, slowly sweeping36 with his glance the whole country around, even to both banks of the here wide-expanded stream.
"Wait till that horseman, yonder, passes!" he whispered again, pointing to a speck37 moving along a lofty, riverside road, which perilously38 wound on midway up a long line of broken bluffs39 and cliffs. "There—he's out of sight now, behind the copse. Quick! Yorpy! Carefully, though! Jump overboard, and shoulder the box, and—Hold!"
We were all mute and motionless again.
"Ain't that a boy, sitting like Zaccheus in yonder tree of the orchard40 on the other bank? Look, youngster—young eyes are better than old—don't you see him?"
[308]
"Dear uncle, I see the orchard, but I can't see any boy."
"He's a spy—I know he is," suddenly said my uncle, disregardful of my answer, and intently gazing, shading his eyes with his flattened41 hand. "Don't touch the box, Yorpy. Crouch42! crouch down, all of ye!"
"You don't see the tree I mean," quoth my uncle, with a decided45 air of relief, "but never mind; I defy the boy. Yorpy, jump out, and shoulder the box. And now then, youngster, off with your shoes and stockings, roll up your trousers legs, and follow me. Carefully, Yorpy, carefully. That's more precious than a box of gold, mind."
"There, stop under the bushes there—in among the flags—so—gently, gently—there, put it down just there. Now youngster, are you ready? Follow—tiptoes, tiptoes!"
"I can't wade in this mud and water on my[309] tiptoes, uncle; and I don't see the need of it either."
"Go ashore, sir—instantly!"
"Why, uncle, I am ashore."
"Peace! follow me, and no more."
Crouching47 in the water in complete secrecy, beneath the bushes and among the tall flags, my uncle now stealthily produced a hammer and wrench48 from one of his enormous pockets, and presently tapped the box. But the sound alarmed him.
"Yorpy," he whispered, "go you off to the right, behind the bushes, and keep watch. If you see any one coming, whistle softly. Youngster, you do the same to the left."
We obeyed; and presently, after considerable hammering and supplemental tinkering, my uncle's voice was heard in the utter solitude49, loudly commanding our return.
Again we obeyed, and now found the cover of the box removed. All eagerness, I peeped in, and saw a surprising multiplicity of convoluted50 metal pipes and syringes of all sorts and varieties, all sizes and calibres, inextricably interwreathed together in one gigantic coil. It[310] looked like a huge nest of anacondas and adders51.
"Now then, Yorpy," said my uncle, all animation52, and flushed with the foretaste of glory, "do you stand this side, and be ready to tip when I give the word. And do you, youngster, stand ready to do as much for the other side. Mind, don't budge53 it the fraction of a barley-corn till I say the word. All depends on a proper adjustment."
"I s'ant life de heavy pox," growled old Yorpy, "till de wort pe given; no fear o' dat."
"Oh, boy," said my uncle now, upturning his face devotionally, while a really noble gleam irradiated his gray eyes, locks, and wrinkles; "Oh, boy! this, this is the hour which for ten long years has, in the prospect55, sustained me through all my painstaking56 obscurity. Fame will be the sweeter because it comes at the last; the truer, because it comes to an old man like me, not to a boy like you. Sustainer! I glorify57 Thee."
He bowed over his venerable head, and—as[311] I live—something like a shower-drop somehow fell from my face into the shallows.
"Tip!"
We tipped.
"A leetle more!"
We tipped a little more.
"A leetle more!"
We tipped a leetle more.
"Just a leetle, very leetle bit more."
With great difficulty we tipped just a leetle, very leetle more.
All this time my uncle was diligently58 stooping over, and striving to peep in, up, and under the box where the coiled anacondas and adders lay; but the machine being now fairly immersed, the attempt was wholly vain.
He rose erect59, and waded60 slowly all round the box; his countenance61 firm and reliant, but not a little troubled and vexed62.
It was plain something or other was going wrong. But as I was left in utter ignorance as to the mystery of the contrivance, I could not tell where the difficulty lay, or what was the proper remedy.
Once more, still more slowly, still more vexedly, my uncle waded round the box, the[312] dissatisfaction gradually deepening, but still controlled, and still with hope at the bottom of it.
Nothing could be more sure than that some anticipated effect had, as yet, failed to develop itself. Certain I was, too, that the water-line did not lower about my legs.
"Tip it a leetle bit—very leetle now."
"Dear uncle, it is tipped already as far as it can be. Don't you see it rests now square on its bottom?"
This gust64 of passion on the part of my uncle made the matter seem still more dubious65 and dark. It was a bad symptom, I thought.
"Surely you can tip it just a leetle more!"
"Not a hair, uncle."
"Blast and blister66 the cursed box then!" roared my uncle, in a terrific voice, sudden as a squall. Running at the box, he dashed his bare foot into it, and with astonishing power all but crushed in the side. Then seizing the whole box, he disemboweled it of all its anacondas and adders, and, tearing and wrenching67 them, flung them right and left over the water.
[313]
"Hold, hold, my dear, dear uncle!—do for heaven's sake desist. Don't destroy so, in one frantic68 moment, all your long calm years of devotion to one darling scheme. Hold, I conjure69!"
Moved by my vehement70 voice and uncontrollable tears, he paused in his work of destruction, and stood steadfastly71 eyeing me, or rather blankly staring at me, like one demented.
"It is not yet wholly ruined, dear uncle; come put it together now. You have hammer and wrench; put it together again, and try it once more. While there is life there is hope."
"While there is life hereafter there is despair," he howled.
"Do, do now, dear uncle—here, here, put those pieces together; or, if that can't be done without more tools, try a section of it—that will do just as well. Try it once; try, uncle."
My persistent72 persuasiveness73 told upon him. The stubborn stump of hope, plowed74 at and uprooted75 in vain, put forth21 one last miraculous76 green sprout77.
Steadily and carefully pulling out of the wreck78 some of the more curious-looking fragments,[314] he mysteriously involved them together, and then, clearing out the box, slowly inserted them there, and ranging Yorpy and me as before, bade us tip the box once again.
We did so; and as no perceptible effect yet followed, I was each moment looking for the previous command to tip the box over yet more, when, glancing into my uncle's face, I started aghast. It seemed pinched, shriveled into mouldy whiteness, like a mildewed79 grape. I dropped the box, and sprang toward him just in time to prevent his fall.
Leaving the woeful box where we had dropped it, Yorpy and I helped the old man into the skiff and silently pulled from Quash Isle.
How swiftly the current now swept us down! How hardly before had we striven to stem it! I thought of my poor uncle's saying, not an hour gone by, about the universal drift of the mass of humanity toward utter oblivion.
"Boy!" said my uncle at last, lifting his head. I looked at him earnestly, and was gladdened to see that the terrible blight80 of his face had almost departed.
[315]
"Boy, there's not much left in an old world for an old man to invent."
I said nothing.
"Boy, take my advice, and never try to invent anything but—happiness."
I said nothing.
"Boy, about ship, and pull back for the box."
"Dear uncle!"
"It will make a good wood-box, boy. And faithful old Yorpy can sell the old iron for tobacco-money."
"Dear massa! dear old massa! dat be very fust time in de ten long 'ear yoo hab mention kindly81 old Yorpy. I tank yoo, dear old massa; I tank yoo so kindly. Yoo is yourself agin in de ten long 'ear."
"Ay, long ears enough," sighed my uncle; "Esopian ears. But it's all over now. Boy, I'm glad I've failed. I say, boy, failure has made a good old man of me. It was horrible at first, but I'm glad I've failed. Praise be to God for the failure!"
His face kindled82 with a strange, rapt earnestness. I have never forgotten that look. If the event made my uncle a good old man[316] as he called it, it made me a wise young one. Example did for me the work of experience.
When some years had gone by, and my dear old uncle began to fail, and, after peaceful days of autumnal content, was gathered gently to his fathers—faithful old Yorpy closing his eyes—as I took my last look at his venerable face, the pale resigned lips seemed to move. I seemed to hear again his deep, fervent83 cry—"Praise be to God for the failure!"
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
precisely
|
|
| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
apparatus
|
|
| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
projector
|
|
| n.投影机，放映机，幻灯机 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
hurrah
|
|
| int.好哇，万岁，乌拉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
stump
|
|
| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
amazement
|
|
| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
battered
|
|
| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
oar
|
|
| n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
heeding
|
|
| v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
disdain
|
|
| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
everlasting
|
|
| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
collapses
|
|
| 折叠( collapse的第三人称单数 )； 倒塌； 崩溃； （尤指工作劳累后）坐下 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
clinch
|
|
| v.敲弯，钉牢；确定；扭住对方 [参]clench | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
fiery
|
|
| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
juggled
|
|
| v.歪曲( juggle的过去式和过去分词 )；耍弄；有效地组织；尽力同时应付（两个或两个以上的重要工作或活动） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
halving
|
|
| n.对分，二等分，减半[航空、航海]等分v.把…分成两半( halve的现在分词 )；把…减半；对分；平摊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
immortal
|
|
| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
renown
|
|
| n.声誉，名望 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
marshes
|
|
| n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
marsh
|
|
| n.沼泽，湿地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
ashore
|
|
| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
syllable
|
|
| n.音节；vt.分音节 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
wade
|
|
| v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
nay
|
|
| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
steadily
|
|
| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
plying
|
|
| v.使用（工具）( ply的现在分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
malignant
|
|
| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
persevering
|
|
| a.坚忍不拔的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
solitary
|
|
| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
secrecy
|
|
| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
thatch
|
|
| vt.用茅草覆盖…的顶部；n.茅草(屋) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
isle
|
|
| n.小岛，岛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
hush
|
|
| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
perfectly
|
|
| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
sweeping
|
|
| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
speck
|
|
| n.微粒，小污点，小斑点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
perilously
|
|
| adv.充满危险地，危机四伏地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
bluffs
|
|
| 恐吓( bluff的名词复数 )； 悬崖； 峭壁 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
orchard
|
|
| n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
flattened
|
|
| [医]（水）平扁的，弄平的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
crouch
|
|
| v.蹲伏，蜷缩，低头弯腰；n.蹲伏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
withered
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
bough
|
|
| n.大树枝，主枝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
decided
|
|
| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
growled
|
|
| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
crouching
|
|
| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
wrench
|
|
| v.猛拧；挣脱；使扭伤；n.扳手；痛苦，难受 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
solitude
|
|
| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
convoluted
|
|
| adj.旋绕的；复杂的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
adders
|
|
| n.加法器，（欧洲产）蝰蛇（小毒蛇），（北美产无毒的）猪鼻蛇( adder的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
animation
|
|
| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
budge
|
|
| v.移动一点儿；改变立场 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
tweezers
|
|
| n.镊子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
prospect
|
|
| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
painstaking
|
|
| adj.苦干的；艰苦的，费力的，刻苦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
glorify
|
|
| vt.颂扬，赞美，使增光，美化 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
diligently
|
|
| ad.industriously;carefully | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
erect
|
|
| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
waded
|
|
| （从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
countenance
|
|
| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
vexed
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
hoof
|
|
| n.(马，牛等的)蹄 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
gust
|
|
| n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
dubious
|
|
| adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
blister
|
|
| n.水疱；(油漆等的)气泡；v.(使)起泡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
wrenching
|
|
| n.修截苗根，苗木铲根（铲根时苗木不起土或部分起土）v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的现在分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
frantic
|
|
| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
conjure
|
|
| v.恳求，祈求；变魔术，变戏法 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
vehement
|
|
| adj.感情强烈的；热烈的；(人)有强烈感情的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
steadfastly
|
|
| adv.踏实地，不变地；岿然；坚定不渝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
persistent
|
|
| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
persuasiveness
|
|
| 说服力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
plowed
|
|
| v.耕( plow的过去式和过去分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
uprooted
|
|
| v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
miraculous
|
|
| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
sprout
|
|
| n.芽，萌芽；vt.使发芽，摘去芽；vi.长芽，抽条 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
wreck
|
|
| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
mildewed
|
|
| adj.发了霉的，陈腐的，长了霉花的v.（使）发霉，（使）长霉( mildew的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
blight
|
|
| n.枯萎病；造成破坏的因素；vt.破坏，摧残 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
kindly
|
|
| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
kindled
|
|
| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
fervent
|
|
| adj.热的，热烈的，热情的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |