Aside from the miserly Daggett the man who caused me the most trouble was the surly, scowling2 Larkin, whom the Major had threatened to shoot on sight if he did not pay me for everything he obtained at my shop. He was a lazy fellow, and did not seem to get ahead as fast as his companions, for that reason. Sometimes, in the heat of the afternoon, he would strike work and come into my hut, where he threatened and bullied3 me and cast longing4 glances at the sacks of gold I had accumulated. Uncle Naboth, who, by the way, labored5 doggedly6 day after day, as he was commanded, often warned me against Larkin, but I had no fears, being assured the Major would protect me from the villain’s hatred7.
One or two others—Hayes and Judson, for instance—were evidently disreputable characters, and affected8 the society of Larkin when they were not at work. But in the main the miners were decent enough fellows, and seemed to have no thought above securing a fortune from the wealth of the golden sands. They paid me liberally, were just in their dealings, and labored industriously9 day by day so as to lessen10 the time of their captivity11 upon the island.
In the evenings the officers and crew of the “Flipper” were wont12 to gather in my hut, where they smoked their pipes and conversed13 more or less gloomily together. None of them, however, was greatly distressed14 at his fate, and it was wonderful how cheerful Uncle Naboth remained through it all. His silent merriment and sly winks15 were by no means lacking in these days of tribulations16 and hard work, and he found many opportunities to exercise his keen sense of humor. In one way his fortunes were really prospering17, and each evening he weighed out the day’s receipts, in golden grains, and calculated the profits to us on the sales. I suppose these must have been satisfactory, for he never complained.
I always slept in my hut, surrounded by the store of merchandise and my sacks of gold; but the rest of the crew of the ship had huts of their own, Nux and Bryonia occupying one together.
One night, after I had been asleep for some hours, I was suddenly awakened18 by the muzzle19 of a pistol pressed close to my forehead. I opened my eyes, and saw Larkin standing20 beside me. A tallow candle had been lighted in the hut, and I could see his evil features distinctly.
“Now, my lad, keep quiet an’ you won’t get hurt.”
“Now, my lad,” said he, “keep quiet an’ you won’t get hurt. But if you raise any rumpus or make a sound, I’ll blow your brains out.”
So I lay quiet, but I kept my eyes open and eagerly watched what was taking place in the room. Besides Larkin, there were present Daggett, Judson and Hayes—the worst characters in the camp. While Larkin remained beside me to threaten me with his pistol, the others spread out a blanket and dumped into it every sack of gold I possessed22. This they secured by tying the corners of the blanket together. Next they spread another blanket and threw into it a quantity of canned meats and other provisions, afterwards tying them up as they had the gold. Then Hayes took the pistol and stood guard over me while the others crept from the hut. They were back in a few minutes, however, bearing another blanket heavily loaded. And now Larkin resumed his place beside me and the others caught up the three parcels and after extinguishing the candle slipped out of the doorway23. There was a moon outside, I knew, but it was quite dark in the hut, and the consciousness of being at the mercy of the scoundrel beside me sent cold shivers creeping up my spine24.
“Look a-here, Sam,” he said gruffly, but in a low voice, “we’ve took some gold and other stuff, as ye know; but we ain’t goin’ to do murder unless we has to. If you’ve got sense enough to keep still for a solid hour, an’ make no fuss, you’ll live to get as much gold, or more, as we’ve just grabbed. But if you try to raise the camp, or foller us, I’ll kill you before you know it. Now, I’m goin’ to stand outside the door for a solid hour—you lay still an’ count sixty seconds to a minute an’ sixty minutes to an hour. If you move before that, you’re a dead one; after the hour ye can howl all ye please, and the louder the better. I ought to stick a knife into you now; but I guess I’ll wait outside the door, an’ see if you mind what I tell you.”
Then with a threatening flourish of his pistol, he slunk away, and as soon as he was outside the door I rose up and followed.
I knew he was lying, well enough, and that his threats were merely meant to terrify me into keeping silent until he escaped. He considered me a mere26 boy, and believed I would be too frightened to cause him any trouble.
But where could he and his fellow thieves go? How could they penetrate27 the wild thicket28? That was the question that puzzled me. And then I remembered that Daggett was with them, who was reputed to be able to travel at will throughout the interior of the island.
When I reached the door and looked around I could at first see no signs of the man who had just left me. Then I discovered a dark form creeping along the edge of the jungle, and at once I sprang into the shade myself and crept after him. He was going slowly, and in my eagerness I closed up most of the distance between us, until I was dangerously near. But he did not look around, and while my eyes were fastened upon him he dropped to his knees, pushed aside a thick bush, and disappeared into the thicket.
That was all the information I wanted, just then; so I hastily marked the place by heaping a mound29 of sand before the bush, and then ran back to my hut as fast as I could go. I was terribly humiliated30 at being robbed so coolly of the gold that had been placed in my care, and rashly resolved that I would recover it by my own efforts, without disturbing the slumbers31 of my uncle or the Major. So, entering the hut, I secured three revolvers, of the Colt type, and several boxes of cartridges32 for them, all of which I had secretly smuggled33 from the ship and hidden among the groceries, for the Major had forbidden any of our crew having fire-arms. I had thought that an emergency might arise, some time, when these revolvers would be useful to us, and now I blessed my foresight34 in secreting35 them.
Having secured the weapons I ran quickly to the hut of Nux and Bryonia, and cautiously awakened them. At my first touch Bry sprang into the air and alighted on his feet.
“What’s matter, Mars Sam?” he demanded.
“I’ve been robbed, Bry!” I panted.
“Robbed!” echoed Nux, who was now beside us.
“Yes; Larkin and his gang have taken every bag of our dust.”
“What you goin’ do, Mars Sam?” asked Bry.
“I’m going to give chase, and make the rascals37 give it back. That is, if you will be my friends, and stand by me,” I said. “By daybreak every bag must be in my hut again.”
“Sure ’nough,” murmured Nux.
“We ready, Mars Sam,” announced Bry, quickly.
“Then take these revolvers, and follow me.”
I gave a weapon to each, having hastily loaded them; and then I turned away, followed by the dark forms of the two Sulus.
“They’re thieves, you know; burglars and outlaws,” I said. “So if we have to shoot them down, no one can blame us.”
They made no answer to this remark, and soon we had left the camp behind and reached the bush underneath39 which Larkin had disappeared. In a low voice I related what I had seen, and Bryonia, who was a master of woodcraft, at once dropped to his knees and vanished into the thicket. I followed closely after him, and Nux brought up the rear. After creeping a few paces through the underbrush Bry grasped my hand and raised me to my feet, and I discovered that we were now in a well-defined but narrow path which allowed us to stand upright.
It was dark as pitch in the grim forest, and we could only feel our way along; but it was not possible for us to get off the path, which had doubtless been cut by Daggett to afford his entrance into the interior of the island, and if our progress was slow those whom we pursued could not proceed at much greater speed themselves; so we crept along, stumbling over roots and tearing our clothes by brushing against the briars on either side, for a period of nearly an hour. Bryonia glided40 before us as stealthily as a panther, and often I was not certain but that he had left us far behind; but Nux made as much noise as I did, and puffed41 much harder to get his breath, so I did not fear being abandoned in the black wilderness42.
The ground seemed to rise gradually as we penetrated43 into the wild interior, but the path remained as narrow as at first. Now that my first excitement and indignation had cooled, this midnight pursuit began to look doubtful of result. The robbers knew the way much better than we did, and they were so far ahead of us that we heard no sound of any sort to guide us. More than once I was tempted44 to abandon the chase, for my folly45 in undertaking46 it grew more and more evident; but the two blacks had no thought of turning back, and I was ashamed to call a halt.
Suddenly I ran plump into Bryonia, who grasped my arm as firmly as if it were in a vise, and held me rigid47. Nux immediately ran into me, but stopped short at the moment of contact.
“What is it, Bry?” I asked, in a whisper.
“Look!” he answered, and swung me around in front of him. Then, as I peered into the darkness, a faint ray of light became visible. In a moment I perceived that it was growing bigger and brighter, and then I knew what it meant.
“They’ve gone into camp, and lit a fire!” said I, pleased to have overtaken them.
But Bry stood like a statue, holding fast to my shoulders and peering over my head at the enemy. We could now see that the forest was much thinner here than at the point we had entered, and just beyond, in a little hollow where Larkin and his men were encamped, the trees grew quite scattered49.
“Our best plan,” said I, after a moment’s thought, “will be to creep up to them and make a sudden attack.”
“One, two, free, fou’,” counted Bry, in his deep voice. “No use to ’tack, Mars Sam. Dey got guns, an’ kill us all quick.”
“We have our revolvers,” I suggested, rather disappointed at his prediction.
“Nux an’ I might hit somefin’, an’ we might not,” said Bry. “If we hit somefin’ it might be a man, an’ it might not.”
This was discouraging, and it called to mind the fact that I was not much used to fire-arms myself.
“Still, I don’t mean to go back without doing something to recover our gold,” said I.
“Wait!” whispered the black, and swung me around back of him again. How he managed this I do not know, for the path was very narrow. Next moment he disappeared, as if the earth had swallowed him up.
Nux gave a laugh, and sat down upon the ground. After a few moments I followed suit, squatting50 in the place I had been standing, for even from that distance I could see by the flickering51 firelight the dim forms of the robbers gathered around it.
And now I perceived that Bry’s decision was wise. We were too far from camp to expect assistance in case of an emergency, even if our friends succeeded in finding the entrance to the jungle that was so cleverly concealed52 under the bush. So whatever was to be done must be done by ourselves—a boy and two black men against four desperate and well-armed villains53, who would stop at no crime to retain the gold they had stolen.
Evidently they did not fear pursuit now, for we could hear the murmur38 of their voices as they laughed and shouted at one another.
We waited in silence for a long time, and as the gloom of the silent forest became intensified54 by the distant light I began to feel for the first time a thrill that was akin21 to fear.
Finally I noticed a black body wriggling55 its way toward us through the brush like some huge snake, and a moment later Bryonia stood before me.
“I creep close an’ hear what dey say, Mars Sam,” he reported. “Dey goin’ watch all night. I watch, too. Tomorrow maybe we catch ’em. You an’ Nux go sleep.”
I protested at once that I was not sleepy; but Bry led us away from the path to a quiet place where he had found a bank of moss56, and here he cautioned us to remain quietly. He himself crept once again toward the camp fire, and a moment later was wholly invisible. Nux whispered to me tales of Bryonia’s skill as a woodsman, wherein it seemed he had excelled in his native land; but they grew monotonous57, in time, and before I knew it I had fallen fast asleep on the mossy bank.
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1
repelled
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| v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开 | |
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scowling
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 ) | |
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bullied
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| adj.被欺负了v.恐吓，威逼( bully的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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labored
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| adj.吃力的，谨慎的v.努力争取(for)( labor的过去式和过去分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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doggedly
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| adv.顽强地，固执地 | |
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7
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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8
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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industriously
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10
lessen
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| vt.减少，减轻；缩小 | |
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captivity
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| n.囚禁；被俘；束缚 | |
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wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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conversed
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的过去式 ) | |
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distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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winks
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| v.使眼色( wink的第三人称单数 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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16
tribulations
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| n.苦难( tribulation的名词复数 )；艰难；苦难的缘由；痛苦 | |
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17
prospering
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| 成功，兴旺( prosper的现在分词 ) | |
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18
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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19
muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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20
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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21
akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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22
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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23
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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24
spine
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| n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊 | |
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25
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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26
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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27
penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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28
thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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29
mound
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| n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫 | |
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30
humiliated
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| 感到羞愧的 | |
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31
slumbers
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| 睡眠，安眠( slumber的名词复数 ) | |
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32
cartridges
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| 子弹( cartridge的名词复数 )； （打印机的）墨盒； 录音带盒； （唱机的）唱头 | |
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33
smuggled
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| 水货 | |
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foresight
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| n.先见之明，深谋远虑 | |
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35
secreting
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| v.（尤指动物或植物器官）分泌( secrete的现在分词 )；隐匿，隐藏 | |
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36
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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37
rascals
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| 流氓( rascal的名词复数 )； 无赖； （开玩笑说法）淘气的人（尤指小孩）； 恶作剧的人 | |
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38
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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39
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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40
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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41
puffed
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| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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42
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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43
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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44
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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45
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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46
undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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47
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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48
chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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49
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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50
squatting
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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51
flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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52
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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53
villains
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| n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼 | |
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54
intensified
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| v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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55
wriggling
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| v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的现在分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等）；蠕蠕 | |
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56
moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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57
monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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