“If de kunnel knowed we wus settin’ in dis boodwar, he’d bu’st our necks,” Dazzle Zenor giggled3 as she sat down on the stool at the grand piano and ran her slim ebony fingers over the white keys.
“I’ll shore fergit to tell him whar we spent our time while he wus gone,” Hopey chuckled4, as she raised herself from the chair and waddled5 across the room to turn on all the electric lights. “Whut Marse Tom ain’t know won’t hurt us.”
“I needs a beau to entertain me in dis nice room,” Dazzle smiled, looking up at the chandelier now blazing with light. “All dis noble arrangement is wasted on me ’thout no man to see me in de middle of it.”
“Dat remark shows dat Skeeter Butts7 is still pesterin’ yo’ mind,” Hopey told her. “Ef he takes a notion to pay a call-visit, I’ll shore set right here an’ chapperoon him.”
“Us won’t need you,” the girl remarked in a dreamy tone as she ran her fingers down the keyboard of the piano. “Skeeter shore do look brave in his soldier suit.”
“Brave!” Hopey snorted. “Brave! Dat Skeeter Butts is de biggest coward in de Nunited States of Loozanny!”
“He ain’t!” Dazzle protested.
“He am!” Hopey insisted, nodding her big head on her fat shoulders. “Skeeter ain’t never seed nothin’ in his life dat he wusn’t skeart of. He’s a nachel-bawn ’fraid-cat!”
“I don’t b’lieve dat,” Dazzle snapped. “Didn’t he go off an’ jine de army at de fust off-startin’ of de war?”
“Suttin he did!” Hopey chuckled. “But how come? Three nigger womens wus in dis town on de very same day; each one had a weddin’ license8 to marry Skeeter Butts—an’ you wus one of dem three womens! An’ whut did Skeeter up an’ do?”
“He volunteered to jine de army.”
“Shore! He wus forced to volunteer! Don’t dat show he’s a coward an’ a ’fraid-cat?” Hopey howled. “Why didn’t he stay in Tickfall like a brave man an’ marry dem three nigger womens?”
“He didn’t run because he wus skeart,” Dazzle asserted in Skeeter’s defense9. “He jined de army because a lifelong war wid three nigger women wifes is too much of a muchness fer even a brave soldier like Skeeter.”
“I wish dat Mr. Bill Kaiser’s war had kotch him,” Hopey growled10 disloyally. “I bet dem Hunches11 would ’a’ throwed a skeer into Skeeter dat mought ’a’ skeart all de skeer out of him.”
“Skeeter wus a brave soldier,” Dazzle repeated obstinately12.
“Soldier!” Hopey repeated with a contemptuous sniff13. “Skeeter wusn’t nothin’ but a boot-black in de army, totin’ pink notes to de kunnel fer de lady folks.”
“Skeeter told me dat him an’ de military kunnel looked fer Mr. Bill Kaiser eve’ywhar,” Dazzle informed her. “It wus Mr. Bill dat wus skeart of Skeeter. He hid out, an’ Skeeter couldn’t connect up wid him or find him nowhars. Skeeter is a dangersome nigger.”
“Skeeter wus jes’ tryin’ to locate Mr. Kaiser so he would know whut place to stay away from,” Hopey growled. “He imagined he warn’t skeart of de Hunches, but he warn’t aimin’ to let de Hunches run him.”
“’Tain’t so,” Dazzle answered sharply. “I bet ef I wus in danger right now, Skeeter would come up here an’ rescue me.”
“Suttinly,” Hopey grumbled14. “Fust-off, he’d break a leg runnin’ up to Sheriff Flournoy’s orfice to git de sheriff to he’p him, because he growed up in Marse John’s house, an’ he is de sheriff’s little pet nigger. Next-off, he’d git all de white folks an’ niggers in town and lead ’em up on dis hill. Den15 he’d sneak16 aroun’ behime a tree an’ wait till de rookus wus over, an’ at de last he’d hop1 in an’ ack like he done it all!”
Dazzle was angry. She glared at Hopey with fine rage, and tried to think of something to say that would crush the fat woman flat. But nothing but a falling planet would ever flatten17 Hopey, so that young colored actress with several histrionic manifestations18 of intense indignation flounced out of the room, followed by the exasperating19 chuckles20 of the victorious21 Hopey Prophet.
In the rear hallway Dazzle paused at sight of the telephone. Her milk-white teeth gnawed22 at her lower lip as she debated something in her mind. Then, with an air of decision, she sat down at the desk and lifted the receiver from the hook.
“Central, I wants to talk to de Hen-Scratch saloon, please, ma’am!”
“Is dat you, Skeeter Butts? Listen! Dis here am Dazzle Zenor. I’s at Marse Tom Gaitskill’s home wid Hopey Prophet. Somebody is tryin’ to bu’st in dis house an’ rob it——”
A squealing24 shriek25 sounded so sharply in Dazzle’s ear that she jerked her head away from the receiver, ceased speaking, and waited until the vocal26 disturbances27 had subsided28.
“Dey is tryin’ to bu’st in de front door, Skeeter!” Dazzle told him. “Me an’ Hopey lef’ de kitchen door onlocked so Vinegar Atts could come in when he got back. Ef dem robbers goes aroun’ to de back side de house, dey’ll shore git in. Come up here right away an’ rescue us!”
A squealing interrogation sounded through the phone, and Dazzle smiled as she answered:
“Dar ain’t more’n seven robbers, Skeeter. But you kin6 lick ’em like you done in de army. Don’t git skeart!”
Although Skeeter’s reply was not intelligible29, his shrieking30 voice, in reply, was audible even in the drawing-room, where Hopey sat shaking like a jelly-bowl with laughter.
“Come all alone by yo’se’f, Skeeter!” Dazzle implored31 him. “Us don’t want no crowd up here an’ no excitemunt. Don’t tell no white folks!”
Dazzle paused to listen to a few more excited squawkings from the telephone, then she commanded:
“Come by yo’se’f, an’ come in a hurry, befo’ I gits kilt! Fer Gawd’s sake, hurry, Skeeter!”
She left the telephone and entered the room where Hopey sat, smiling with great satisfaction.
“You done played a fool now!” Hopey told her.
“Skeeter’s comin’, Hopey,” Dazzle giggled. “’Tain’t no matter how big a coward a feller is, he’s afraid to cornfess dat he’s a ’fraid-cat!”
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收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
hop
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| n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过 | |
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2
parlor
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| n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅 | |
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3
giggled
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| v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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4
chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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5
waddled
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| v.（像鸭子一样）摇摇摆摆地走( waddle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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6
kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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7
butts
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| 笑柄( butt的名词复数 )； （武器或工具的）粗大的一端； 屁股； 烟蒂 | |
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8
license
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| n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许 | |
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9
defense
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| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
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10
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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11
hunches
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| 预感，直觉( hunch的名词复数 ) | |
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12
obstinately
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| ad.固执地，顽固地 | |
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13
sniff
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| vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视 | |
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14
grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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15
den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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16
sneak
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| vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行 | |
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17
flatten
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| v.把．．．弄平，使倒伏；使(漆等)失去光泽 | |
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18
manifestations
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| n.表示，显示（manifestation的复数形式） | |
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19
exasperating
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| adj. 激怒的 动词exasperate的现在分词形式 | |
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20
chuckles
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的名词复数 ) | |
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21
victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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22
gnawed
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| 咬( gnaw的过去式和过去分词 )； （长时间） 折磨某人； （使）苦恼； （长时间）危害某事物 | |
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23
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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24
squealing
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| v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的现在分词 ) | |
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25
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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26
vocal
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| adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目 | |
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27
disturbances
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| n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍 | |
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28
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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29
intelligible
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| adj.可理解的，明白易懂的，清楚的 | |
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30
shrieking
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| v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
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31
implored
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| 恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32
preened
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| v.（鸟）用嘴整理（羽毛）( preen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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