CHAPTER XXIV CLEWS

 Ira ambled¹ along through the woods, emerging at Barrett’s where the dubious² rumors³ of his past career always assured him a ready welcome. He had never been of the Barrett’s set, preferring the quiet of the farm, and the adventurous⁴ game of quietly plaguing Aunt Mira. But they knew him for a former sailor and soldier of fortune (or ill-fortune) and they respected him for the dark traditions which were associated with his name.

He sauntered along the shabby little street till he came to the house of Luke Meadows. He had no better plan than just a quiet tour of observation and inquiry⁵. He intended to chat with Luke. But his curiosity had been greatly enlivened since he had seen the deer.

But at Luke’s house he was doomed⁶ to surprise and disappointment. The alien had gone away with his little girl. There had been no furniture worth moving and the westerner’s few portable belongings⁷ (so the loiterers said) had been taken in a shabby bag.

Luke had not vouchsafed⁸ his neighbors any information touching⁹ the cause of his departure or his destination. There was a picture, unconsciously and crudely drawn¹⁰ by “Missie Ellis,” the neighbor to whose care Meadows had consigned¹¹ his little daughter just before the scout¹² had saved him from arrest and jail. She seemed a motherly person, well chosen by the man who, in his extremity¹³, had thought only of his little daughter.

“I see them go,” said Mrs. Ellis, “and he was carryin’ her in one arm and the bag in the other. They went up the road toward Dawson’s and I says to my man, I says, sumpin is wrong and they’ve gone to git the train. The county men was allus after him, houndin’ him and houndin’ him; Lord knows, I never knew him to do no harm but shoot game. And the little kiddie, she was the livin’ image of her mother. I nursed the poor woman when she died of the flu and Luke he jes stood there by the bed and lookin’ at her and sayin’ not a word. Even after she went not a word did he say.

“She was out of her head, she was, and she was sayin’ how they were back in Cody where they came from and he says, ‘Yes, mommy, we’ll go back; soon as you can travel we’ll go back.’ They was strangers here; I guess they was allus thinkin’ and frettin’ about their big wild west. He says once how he could see miles of prairies, poor man. Sech eyes as he had! Seemed as if he could see across miles of prairies.

“To-day he had some trouble with Terry again. I don’t know what it was all about, but there was a youngster over here, a fine likely lookin’ young lad and they took him away to Chandler. I says to my man, they’ve gone to make the poor, frightened boy tell something and then come back an’ arrest Luke. So I guess he goes away while it was yet time—Lord knows what it was all about.”

Ira walked through the poor, little, deserted¹⁴ house and even he was touched by its bareness. Curious, gossipy neighbors accompanied him, commenting upon the brown, taciturn man who had gone and taken away with him the one thing of value that he possessed¹⁵, his little girl. If he had gone for fear Westy might weaken, under some rustic¹⁶ third degree, and incriminate him, he might have saved himself the slight inconvenience of a hasty departure. The scout who had seen to it that the little motherless girl and her father were not parted, was not likely to say one word more than he intended to say to the authorities or to any one else.

One thing Ira did find in the little house which interested him. This was a collection of as many as a dozen empty tinfoil¹⁷ packages on the wooden shelf above the cooking stove. According to the labels they had contained Mechanic’s Delight Plug Cut tobacco.

1 ambled   

v.（马）缓行( amble的过去式和过去分词 )；从容地走，漫步

参考例句：

• We ambled down to the beach. 我们漫步向海滩走去。
• The old man ambled home through the garden every evening. 那位老人每天晚上经过花园漫步回家。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 dubious   

adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
• He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

3 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 adventurous   

adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的　

参考例句：

• I was filled with envy at their adventurous lifestyle.我很羨慕他们敢于冒险的生活方式。
• He was predestined to lead an adventurous life.他注定要过冒险的生活。

5 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

6 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

7 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

8 vouchsafed   

v.给予，赐予( vouchsafe的过去式和过去分词 )；允诺

参考例句：

• He vouchsafed to me certain family secrets. 他让我知道了某些家庭秘密。
• The significance of the event does, indeed, seem vouchsafed. 这个事件看起来确实具有重大意义。 来自辞典例句

9 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

10 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

11 consigned   

v.把…置于（令人不快的境地）( consign的过去式和过去分词 )；把…托付给；把…托人代售；丟弃

参考例句：

• I consigned her letter to the waste basket. 我把她的信丢进了废纸篓。
• The father consigned the child to his sister's care. 那位父亲把孩子托付给他妹妹照看。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

12 scout   

n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索

参考例句：

• He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
• The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

13 extremity   

n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度

参考例句：

• I hope you will help them in their extremity.我希望你能帮助在穷途末路的他们。
• What shall we do in this extremity?在这种极其困难的情况下我们该怎么办呢？

14 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

15 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

16 rustic   

adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬

参考例句：

• It was nearly seven months of leisurely rustic living before Michael felt real boredom.这种悠闲的乡村生活过了差不多七个月之后,迈克尔开始感到烦闷。
• We hoped the fresh air and rustic atmosphere would help him adjust.我们希望新鲜的空气和乡村的氛围能帮他调整自己。

17 tinfoil   

n.锡纸，锡箔

参考例句：

• You can wrap it up in tinfoil.你可以用锡箔纸裹住它。
• Drop by rounded tablespoon onto tinfoil.Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.用大餐勺把刚刚搅拌好的糊糊盛到锡纸上，烘烤9至11分钟，直到变成金黄色。