“Dis is whar you mounts down, Popsy,” he said.
“Whut does I git off here fer?” Popsy asked querulously.
“Gawd knows,” Mustard grinned. “I done fotch you out to de plantation as by per yo’ own request. Dis is it.”
He lifted the aged3 man down and walked with him to the house, making slow progress as the old man supported himself with his staff and insisted on stopping at frequent intervals4 to discuss some vagary5 of his mind, or to dispute something that Mustard had said.
At last Mustard assisted him to a chair on the porch and handed him a glass of water.
“Glad to hab you-alls out here wid me, Popsy,” he proclaimed. “Set down an’ rest yo’ hat and foots.”
“I ain’t seed de Nigger-Heel plantation fer nigh onto fifty year,” Popsy whined6. “I used to wuck on dis plantation off an’ on when I wus a growin’ saplin’.”
“Dis place is changed some plenty since you used to potter aroun’ it,” Mustard said pridefully. “Marse Tom specify7 dat dis am one of de show-farms of all Louzanny. I made it jes’ whut it is now.”
“Dis ole house is ’bout all I reckernizes real good,” Popsy replied. “It ain’t changed much.”
“Naw, suh. I don’t let dis house git changed. Marse Tom lived here a long time, an’ when he moved to town I’s kinder kep’ de house like it wus when he lef’ it, only sorter made it like his’n in Tickfall. Marse Tom is gwine lemme live here till I dies. He tole me dat hisse’f.”
“It shore is nice to hab a good home,” Popsy said, looking vacantly toward the near-by woods, where he could hear the loud shouts of Little Bit and Orren Randolph Gaitskill.
“Would you wish to see de insides of de house?” Mustard asked. “I got eve’ything plain an’ simple, but it’s fine an’ dandy fer a nigger whose wife ain’t never out here to keep house. Hopey cooks fer Marse Tom, an’ I got to take keer of things by myse’f.”
“It’s real nice not to hab no lady folks snoopin’ aroun’ de place,” Popsy asserted. “Dey blim-blams you all de time about spittin’ on de flo’ an’ habin’ muddy foots.”
They walked about the house inspecting it. Popsy followed Mustard about, listening inattentively to Mustard’s talk, wondering what it was all about. He came to one room which attracted his attention because it looked as though it held the accumulated junk of years.
“Whut you keep all dis trash in dis room fer, Mustard?”
“Dis ain’t trash. Dese here is Marse Tom’s curiosities,” Mustard explained. “Dis is like a show—all kinds of funny things in here.”
The old man stepped within the room, and Mustard began to act as showman, displaying and expatiating8 upon all the interesting things of the place.
The room bore a remote resemblance to a museum. When Gaitskill had first moved on the plantation, nearly fifty years before, he had amused himself by making a collection of the things he found upon the farm and in the woods, which interested him or took his fancy. For instance, here was a vine which was twisted so that it resembled a snake. That was all there was to it. Because it looked like a snake, Gaitskill had picked it up and brought it to the house and added it to his collection.
Stuff of this sort had accumulated in that room for years. Mustard had no use for the room. Gaitskill had not needed it before him. When the overseer moved in, he had zealously9 guarded Marse Tom’s curiosities. As for Colonel Gaitskill, he did not even know the trash was in existence.
Mustard had added to the accumulation through the years. Now and then, in his work in the fields or woods, he would find something that reminded him of something that Marse Tom had “saved” in that room, so he would bring it in and add that to the pile.
So now Mustard had something to talk to Popsy about, and he talked Popsy to the verge10 of distraction11, proclaiming all sorts of fanciful reasons for the preservation12 of each curious object. The old man was bored as he had never been bored in all his life. His feeble form began to droop13 with weariness, his mind failed to grasp the words which Mustard pronounced with such unction, but Mustard did not notice, and would not have minded if he had observed Popsy’s inattention. He intoned his words impressively and talked on and on.
At last Mustard opened a drawer and drew out a small, green-plush box. He opened this box with impressive gestures, as if it was some sacred object to be handled with extreme reverence14. He held the opened box under Popsy Spout’s nose.
“Dat’s de greatest treasure we’s got in dis house, Popsy,” he announced.
“Dat’s de royal rabbit-foot whut fotch all de luck to de Nigger-Heel plantation,” Mustard proclaimed. “Marse Tom gimme dat foot fifteen years ago. He said dat all his luck come from dat foot. He tole me to keep it an’ it would fotch good luck to me. It shore has done it.”
Popsy gazed down into the plush box. What he saw was a rabbit-foot with a silver cap on one end, and in the center of the cap was a small ring which might be used to hang the rabbit-foot on a watch-chain if one cared to possess such a watch-charm.
A few years ago the rabbit-foot novelty was for sale in any jewelry16 store in the South, and cost about one dollar. Because of the negro superstition17 regarding the luck of the rabbit’s foot, Gaitskill had bought one for his negro overseer.
The white man in the South in his dealings with the negroes is never skeptical18 of their favorite superstitions19. In presenting the rabbit-foot to Mustard, Gaitskill had drawn20 upon his imagination and told a wonderful story of the efficacy of this particular luck-charm. He had been lost in the swamp, so Gaitskill said, and this foot had shown him the way out; he had fallen into the Gulf21 of Mexico, and this foot had saved his life; he had been poor, and now he was rich; he had been sick, and now he was well; he had been young, and now he was old—and all because of the luck of that particular rabbit-foot. All of this emphasized in Mustard’s mind the importance which Gaitskill attached to the possession of the foot, and made him believe that the white man only parted with it because he wanted his favorite negro overseer to share some of the good fortune which had come to him.
The tale had so impressed Mustard that he regarded that plush box with its sacred foot as being the most valuable thing upon the Nigger-Heel plantation. He guarded it constantly, and would have protected it from theft or injury with his life.
“Yes, suh, dat’s whut,” Popsy agreed dreamily “Le’s hunt some place to set down.”
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收听单词发音
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1
wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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2
plantation
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| n.种植园，大农场 | |
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3
aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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4
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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5
vagary
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| n.妄想，不可测之事，异想天开 | |
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6
whined
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| v.哀号( whine的过去式和过去分词 )；哀诉，诉怨 | |
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7
specify
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| vt.指定，详细说明 | |
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8
expatiating
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| v.详述，细说( expatiate的现在分词 ) | |
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9
zealously
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| adv.热心地；热情地；积极地；狂热地 | |
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10
verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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11
distraction
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| n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐 | |
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12
preservation
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| n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持 | |
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13
droop
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| v.低垂，下垂；凋萎，萎靡 | |
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14
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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15
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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16
jewelry
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| n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝 | |
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17
superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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18
skeptical
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| adj.怀疑的，多疑的 | |
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19
superstitions
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| 迷信，迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 ) | |
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20
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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21
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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22
reverent
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| adj.恭敬的，虔诚的 | |
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