CHAPTER XX THE POSSE

 With apprehensive¹ faces, and yet exchanging looks which boded² no good to Noddy Nixon if this should be his wagon³ coming along the road, the Motor Boys in silence gazed at each other. Tinny expressed the thought of all when he said:

“Maybe this is Noddy now!”

“If it is he’ll find us ready for him!” said Jerry grimly.

“But why is he coming back?” Bob demanded.

“Can he have forced Bill to tell him all he knows about the treasure chest and is he going to let him go?” suggested Ned.

“Maybe he has the treasure chest!” murmured Professor Snodgrass, who was pathetically trying to salvage⁴ something from the wreck⁵ of his boxes.

“The treasure chest of Blue Rock, provided there is such a thing, which, as you know, I very much doubt,” said Tinny, “wouldn’t be here at all. I’m willing to admit that a stage coach did[167] go over the cliff, but that accident happened miles from here.”

“But some one is coming,” remarked Jerry.

There was no question about that, and presently they saw who it was, a party of miners journeying along in one of the rough wagons⁶ used to transport ores to the stamp mills.

“Well, it isn’t Noddy’s crowd, anyhow,” said Bob.

“But maybe they saw him,” suggested Ned.

“We’d better question them,” decided⁷ Tinny.

Accordingly the party was hailed. The driver pulled in his team, and though the men looked rather curiously⁸ at the party, especially at Professor Snodgrass, who had in each hand a half-dead bug⁹ he had rescued from his wreck, they did not express what they must have felt.

Without giving too many particulars of the kidnaping, Tinny told what their object was and asked if the miners had seen the Noddy Nixon crowd.

“No, we haven’t passed any outfit¹⁰ like that,” said the driver. “Have we, boys?”

“Nope!” came the chorus from the miners.

“Then Noddy must have turned off on a side trail,” decided Tinny, as the rattling¹¹ vehicle rumbled¹² on.

“We’d better hurry if we’re going to catch him before dark,” suggested Ned.

[168]

“I’m just thinking,” said Tinny slowly, “that it will hardly be wise to keep on any further just now. It will soon be dark and we aren’t prepared to camp out over night. Besides, in the darkness we can’t do any sure searching.”

“What do you think we’d better do?” asked Ned.

“Go back to camp, get a good night’s rest, and start out fresh in the morning with a posse,” answered Tinny. “I’ll take a bunch of the miners with me, and Hank, you can lead another party. You boys can divide yourselves up if you like, and we can thus follow two or more trails at once, for we shall very likely get on false leads. Besides, I think we’d better get the professor back to camp,” he added in a low voice. “It looks to me as if he was about all in.”

So it was decided, and when as many of the professor’s bugs¹³ and insects had been picked up as it was possible for him to save, he was assisted into the automobile¹⁴ which was turned about and headed for Leftover¹⁶.

It was quite dark when the party arrived, and Hang Gow and some of the men were preparing supper. The miners ate by themselves in a shack¹⁷ of their own, while the Chinese cooked for the Motor Boys, the professor and Tinny.

It was well they had returned as they did, for[169] soon after arriving in camp Professor Snodgrass suffered a collapse¹⁸ and had a nervous chill.

Fortunately Mallison knew something of medicine, and as the professor carried in his bag some simple remedies, the sufferer was soon put to bed and everything possible done for him.

“If he’s this way in the morning we won’t dare leave him,” said Ned to his chums. They were very fond of Professor Snodgrass and would do anything for him.

However, the morning saw a big improvement in the little scientist. He was brighter and more cheerful than in many days, and though his mouth was sore and bruised¹⁹ from the cruel gag and though he felt lame²⁰ and stiff from his mauling and being bound to the tree, he was able to be up and about.

The situation was explained to him—that a posse, or, to be more accurate, two posses, were to set out and try to rescue Bill Cromley and capture Noddy and his fellow conspirators²¹.

“Though what we’ll do with them after we get them is a question,” said Tinny.

“You go right along! Don’t mind me! I’m all right!” declared Professor Snodgrass.

“But we may be gone two or three days,” Jerry said. “And if we leave you here alone you are apt to go out after specimens²², and something may happen to you.”

[170]

“No, I won’t leave camp—I promise you,” declared Uriah Snodgrass. “I can’t do any field work until I make some new specimen²³ boxes, and that will take me quite a while. Go ahead, boys, get Cromley, by all means. I’ll stay in camp. Every one isn’t going, I take it.”

“Oh, no, we’ve got to leave a force to work and guard the mine,” Tinny answered. “And Hang Gow will be here, of course.”

“Sule! Me stay! Me give plofless nice blid-nest soup alle sammee,” promised the Oriental.

“Don’t let him put gasoline on the fire—that’s all I ask of you,” cautioned Tinny, and Professor Snodgrass said he would watch out for this.

So the two posses were organized, and soon after breakfast one, made up of miners, started out on horses in charge of Hank Bowler²⁴, while the boys, who had decided to remain with Tinny, got into the automobile with him, making the second party.

“We’ll take to horses later,” Tinny said, “for very likely we’ll get on trails where an auto¹⁵ is worse than useless.”

So the search for Bill Cromley began again.

1 apprehensive   

adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的

参考例句：

• She was deeply apprehensive about her future.她对未来感到非常担心。
• He was rather apprehensive of failure.他相当害怕失败。

2 boded   

v.预示，预告，预言( bode的过去式和过去分词 )；等待，停留( bide的过去分词 )；居住；（过去式用bided）等待

参考例句：

• The beginning of that summer boded ill. 夏季一开始就来势不善。 来自辞典例句

3 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

4 salvage   

v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救

参考例句：

• All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.抢救失事船只的一切努力都失败了。
• The salvage was piled upon the pier.抢救出的财产被堆放在码头上。

5 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。

6 wagons   

n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车

参考例句：

• The wagons were hauled by horses. 那些货车是马拉的。
• They drew their wagons into a laager and set up camp. 他们把马车围成一圈扎起营地。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

9 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

10 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

11 rattling   

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

参考例句：

• This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
• At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时，一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来，把窗玻璃震得当当地响。

12 rumbled   

发出隆隆声，发出辘辘声( rumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 轰鸣着缓慢行进； 发现…的真相； 看穿（阴谋）

参考例句：

• The machine rumbled as it started up. 机器轰鸣着发动起来。
• Things rapidly became calm, though beneath the surface the argument rumbled on. 事情迅速平静下来了，然而，在这种平静的表面背后争论如隆隆雷声，持续不断。

13 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

15 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

16 leftover   

n.剩货，残留物，剩饭；adj.残余的

参考例句：

• These narrow roads are a leftover from the days of horse-drawn carriages.这些小道是从马车时代沿用下来的。
• Wonder if that bakery lets us take leftover home.不知道那家糕饼店会不会让我们把卖剩的带回家。

17 shack   

adj.简陋的小屋，窝棚

参考例句：

• He had to sit down five times before he reached his shack.在走到他的茅棚以前，他不得不坐在地上歇了五次。
• The boys made a shack out of the old boards in the backyard.男孩们在后院用旧木板盖起一间小木屋。

18 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

19 bruised   

[医]青肿的，瘀紫的

参考例句：

• his bruised and bloodied nose 他沾满血的青肿的鼻子
• She had slipped and badly bruised her face. 她滑了一跤，摔得鼻青脸肿。

20 lame   

adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的

参考例句：

• The lame man needs a stick when he walks.那跛脚男子走路时需借助拐棍。
• I don't believe his story.It'sounds a bit lame.我不信他讲的那一套。他的话听起来有些靠不住。

21 conspirators   

n.共谋者，阴谋家( conspirator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The conspirators took no part in the fighting which ensued. 密谋者没有参加随后发生的战斗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The French conspirators were forced to escape very hurriedly. 法国同谋者被迫匆促逃亡。 来自辞典例句

22 specimens   

n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人

参考例句：

• Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
• The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 specimen   

n.样本，标本

参考例句：

• You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。
• This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。

24 bowler   

n.打保龄球的人，（板球的）投（球）手

参考例句：

• The bowler judged it well,timing the ball to perfection.投球手判断准确，对球速的掌握恰到好处。
• The captain decided to take Snow off and try a slower bowler.队长决定把斯诺撤下，换一个动作慢一点的投球手试一试。