"One would think you might see that," said one of the men, "by the way the horse's nose points."
"What do you want?" said the other, rather sharply.
"Not to intrude1 upon you at all, if you don't like it," replied Todd; "but I am going to Gravesend, and if you will help me on a part of the way, I will pay you well for it. I thought it would be good for my constitution to walk, but I find I am older than I thought I was."
"Name your price," said Todd, "and I will give it. I know you will not be unreasonable3 with me."
"Will you give half a guinea?" said the other.
"Yes, for I am foot-weary."
"Jump up, then, and we will soon take you to Gravesend. You ain't many miles off from it now by the near cuts that we know. Come on."
Todd managed to scramble4 into the cart, and the man who was driving gave the horse an impulse forward, and away they went at a good pace.
Todd began to feel a little easier in his mind now, for the quick motion of the cart in the direction that he wished to go in was most satisfactory to him. He felt quite delighted in a little time, when one of the men pointing ahead, cried out—
"There's the first houses in Gravesend, if you really want to go there."
"Perhaps we can, and perhaps we can't, old fellow; but we will have some talk about that soon. Ha! ha!"
There was something so peculiar7 in the laugh of the man, that Todd began to wonder into what hands he had fallen. They, every now and then, too, gave to each other a very significant look, as though there was some secret between them which they would not converse8 of before him. All this began to make Todd very uneasy, indeed, and the little amount of felicitation which he had been giving to himself so short a time before, rapidly subsided9.
"Am I a prisoner?"
These were the words that occurred to him, but he had no ready means of answering the question. All he could do was to keep upon his guard, and, to tell the truth, well armed and desperate as he was, Todd was no very despicable match for any two men.
Suddenly the man who was driving turned the horse's head down a deep declivity10 that led towards the river, to the right of the road.
The country they were in was all of chalk, and this narrow road, or rather lane, at right angles with the high road, was evidently a cutting through the chalk foundation for the sake of a ready passage from the side of the Thames to the high road.
A more picturesque11 spot could not well have been conceived. The small amount of loam12 upon the surface of the chalk, bore a brilliant vegetation; and upon the tall rugged13 sides of the deep cutting, wherever a small portion of earth had lodged14, tall weeds had grown up, while on each side of the lane, close to the base of the chalky heights, there was a mass of weeds and tall creeping plants, and here and there a young tree, which lent a beautifully verdant15 aspect to the place.
Every step that the horse now went, conducted the cart and its occupants deeper and deeper into the cutting, until, at last, the sky overhead looked only like a thin streak16 of light, and the gloom of a premature17 twilight18 was about the place.
"Halt!" cried the man who was not driving, and the horse was stopped in the gloomiest portion of the lane. Todd turned ghastly pale, and kept his hand plunged19 in his breast upon one of his pistols.
"What have you come down here for?" he said. "Why do you come to a stop in such a place as this?"
"We will soon let you know," said the man who had not been driving, knitting his brows. "No doubt, you thought you had nailed us nicely, my fine fellow."
"Nailed you?"
"Yes. You need not put on such an innocent look, I can tell you. We are pretty good judges in these matters, and it's quite sufficient for me to tell you that we know you."
"Know me?"
"Yes, to be sure. Did you think we were taken in by any such nonsense as your being tired, and so on?—No. We know you, I say, and this hour is your last. You have placed yourself in our power, and we will take good care of you now. There is a well in this lane which keeps secrets capitally."
Todd drew his pistol, and held it against the breast of this man.
"Attempt any violence," he said, "and I fire!"
"Oh, indeed! You are well prepared, are you? I must say that, for an exciseman, you are a bold fellow."
"A what?"
"An exciseman. You know well you have been on the look-out for us for the last week; so it is of no use denying it. You thought you nabbed us, when you got into our cart."
Todd's Adventure With The Smugglers.
Todd's Adventure With The Smugglers.
Todd lowered his pistol.
"This is a foolish enough mistake," he said, "I am no more an exciseman than I am Commander-in-chief of the forces. What could have put such a thing into your heads?"
"Say you so?" cried the other. "But how will you make us believe it? That's the question."
"Well," said Todd, putting on a very candid20 look, "I don't know how a man is to set about proving that he is not an exciseman. I only know that I am not. The real truth is, that I am in debt, and being pressed by my creditors21, have thought proper to get out of their way; and so I want to make the best of my way to Gravesend, that is all. I fancy, by your anger at the idea of my being an exciseman, that you are smugglers; and if so, I can only say that, with all my heart, you may go on smuggling22 with the greatest success until the day of judgment23, before I would interfere24 with you in the matter."
"Dare we believe him?" said one of the men to the other.
"I hardly know," replied the other; "and yet it would be rather a sad thing to take a man's life, when it might turn out that he was not what we took him for."
"How on earth am I to convince you?" said Todd.
"Where do you want to go to?"
"I want to get on board some vessel6, I don't care what, so that it is bound to some continental25 port. My object, I tell you, is to get away, and that is all."
"Would the Port of Havre in France suit you?"
The two men now whispered together for a few moments, and then, one of them, turning to Todd, said:—
"The fact is that we are somewhat connected with a vessel bound for Havre, and it will sail to-night. If you are really what you pretend, and truly want to leave England, you can come with us, and we will give you a passage; but we expect to be paid for it."
"Nothing can be more reasonable," said Todd; "I will pay you a liberal price, and as I wish to go on board as soon as I can, you may feel yourself perfectly easy regarding your suspicions of my being an exciseman, by keeping me in your company, and placing me on board your own vessel as quickly as you can."
"Hang it, that's fair enough," cried one of them. "Come on, then, and let us get to the Lively William as soon as we can. It's rather a mercy we did not knock you on the head, though, at once."
"I am very much obliged," said Todd.
"Oh, don't mention it. I always myself, mind, defer27 anything of that sort till the last. It's a very rough and ugly way of settling matters, at the best; but when you can't reasonably, you know, do anything else, why, you must, and there's an end of it."
"Exactly," said Todd. "I perceive that you are quite a philosopher in such transactions. So now that we have a better understanding together, the sooner we get on board this Lively William you talk of, the better."
"Not a doubt of that. Come up."
The horse's head was turned up the lane again, and in a very few moments the high road was gained, and they went on at a rapid trot28 for Gravesend. The town was soon reached—that town what is all dirt in winter, and chalk-dust in summer—and the two men, by the manner in which they kept their eyes upon Todd while they passed several throngs29 of people, showed that it was a very difficult thing indeed to get rid of suspicion when once it took possession of them.
After, however, getting right through the town, and finding that Todd did not attempt to give the least alarm, but, on the contrary, shrunk from observation as much as he could, their confidence in him was complete, and they really believed him to be what he pretended to be.
Whether, if those men had really known who and what he was, they would have altered their views with regard to him, is a matter difficult to give an opinion upon; but as it was, they had no scruples30 whatever, provided he would pay them a good price for his passage to Havre.
"Now," said one of them, "we know that you have not deceived us, and that it is all right, we don't mind telling you that we are the captain and owner of the Lively William, and that we are in the regular smuggling trade, between the French Ports and this country. We don't make a bad thing of it, one way and another."
"I am glad to hear it," said Todd.
"Ah, you view this sort of thing in a christian-like spirit, we see; and if you have no objection to a drop of as pure champagne31 brandy as ever you tasted, provided you have tasted some of the best, you can have a drop."
"I should like it much," said Todd.
"Just look out ahead, then, and fix your eyes on that old tree yonder, while we get it."
Todd did not care to know what mode of hiding spirits the two men had in their cart; so he did as they required of him, and fixed32 his eyes upon the old tree. After he had kept his eyes upon that object for some few minutes, they called out to him—
"All's right."
Todd looked round, and found one of the men with a small bladder of spirits, and a little horn drinking-cup.
"Here," he said, "you can give us your opinion of this."
Todd tossed off the contents of the cup.
"Excellent!" he cried. "Excellent! That, indeed, is brandy. I do not think that such is to be got in London."
"Scarcely," said the man, as he helped himself, and then handed the bladder and the cup to his companion; "but we are going to put up our horse and cart now, and if you will be so good as to look at the old tree again, we will send the brandy away."
"Certainly," said Todd.
The brandy was soon, in some mysterious manner, disposed of, and then the cart was stopped at the door of a little country-looking inn, the landlord of which seemed to have a perfect understanding with the two men belonging to the Lively William.
"Now," said one of them to Todd, "as you have no objection to go on board at once, we will put you there."
"Objection?" cried Todd. "My objection is to remain on land. I beg that you will let me feel that I am on the deck of your vessel, as quickly as possible."
"That will do. This way."
They led him down a narrow lane with tall hedges upon each side, and then across a straggling mangy-looking field or two, such as are to be found on the banks of the Thames, and on the northern coasts of some portions of England, the Isle33 of Wight in particular, and then they came at once to the bank of the river.
A boatman hailed them, and upon their making signs to him that his services were required, he pulled in to the shore; and Todd, with his two new friends, were in a few moments going through the water to the vessel.
The Lively William did not look particularly lively. It was a slatternly-looking craft, and its black, dingy34 hull35 presented anything but an inviting36 appearance. The genius of dirt and neglect seemed to have taken possession of the vessel, and the nearer Todd got to it, the less he liked it; but still it was a means of his escaping, and had it been ten times a more uncomfortable-looking abode37 than it was, he would have gladly gone on board it.
"Here we are!" cried one of the men.
The boat touched the side of the ship, and in another moment, Todd was upon her deck.
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收听单词发音
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1
intrude
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| vi.闯入；侵入；打扰，侵扰 | |
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dubious
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| adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的 | |
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unreasonable
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| adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的 | |
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scramble
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| v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料 | |
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5
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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7
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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9
subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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10
declivity
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| n.下坡，倾斜面 | |
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picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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loam
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| n.沃土 | |
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13
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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14
lodged
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| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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verdant
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| adj.翠绿的，青翠的，生疏的，不老练的 | |
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streak
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| n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动 | |
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17
premature
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| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
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18
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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19
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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20
candid
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| adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的 | |
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creditors
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| n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 ) | |
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smuggling
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| n.走私 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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continental
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| adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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defer
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| vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从 | |
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trot
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| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 | |
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29
throngs
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| n.人群( throng的名词复数 )v.成群，挤满( throng的第三人称单数 ) | |
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scruples
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| n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 )；顾虑，顾忌v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 ) | |
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champagne
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| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
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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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isle
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| n.小岛，岛 | |
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dingy
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| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
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hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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