chapter 5

 By the time Flournoy and Skeeter had reached the ground, the volunteer firemen had grown weary and gone home. The engines, hose-wagon, ladder-trucks, automobiles¹, all had gone home.

“I’ll leave you here for the rest of the night, Skeeter,” Flournoy remarked as he turned his flash upon his watch to see the time. “I think Vinegar Atts must have delirium² tremens, or something like that.”

“He didn’t git ’em at de Hen-Scratch, Marse John,” Skeeter said earnestly. “He buys all his drinks on credick, an’ I holds him down till he’s mighty³ nigh teetotal prohibitionist⁴.”

“You mean that you are the prohibitionist and he is of necessity the almost total abstainer⁵.”

“Yes, suh, it’s jes’ as much dat way as it is de way I said it.”

Half an hour later Skeeter sneaked⁶ up the steps, unlatched the trap-door, and pushed it open. Seven negroes were standing⁷ with anxious faces at the opening, and they welcomed Skeeter with exclamations⁸ of thanksgiving which sounded like a Shoofly prayer and praise service.

One by one they climbed down the ladder, then marched in single file to the kitchen.

Skeeter switched on the electric light, and the eight idiots stood about in dejected attitudes, sleepy, winking⁹ at the light, worn with excitement and fatigue¹⁰, depressed¹¹ by their frightful¹² experiences.

Pap Curtain was a man of age and discretion¹³; he had had various legal experiences which had put a special emphasis for him upon the motto: “Safety First.”

He looked his seven companions in evil over very searchingly, then turned to them with these words:

“You niggers cross yo’ heart an’ body!”

They made the sign.

“Repeat dese here words after me,” Pap snarled¹⁴. Then the words came in short phrases, easy to repeat: “I solemnly swears on de Bible an’ all de opossums dat I won’t say nothin’ about de doin’s of dis night, now an’ ferever, amen. An’ ef I does, I hopes I may die!”

“An’ ef anybody blabs, I’ll be de nigger dat’ll cause yo’ onhappy end!” Pap warned them menacingly.

“Suppose de white folks ax questions?” Little Bit inquired.

“Dat’s easy,” Pap replied with a sneering¹⁵ grin. “Tell eve’ybody dat axes you dat all us niggers thinks Marse Tom Gaitskill ole house is ha’nted. Dat’ll be aplenty to say to white folks.”

Dazzle Zenor walked over and put her arms around Skeeter Butts¹⁶.

“You is a brave cullud man, Skeeter,” she told him. “I loves you.”

Skeeter disengaged her arms and pushed her away.

“Wus you lyin’ to me when you telerphomed dat robbers wus in dis house?” he asked.

“Naw, suh, I wus jokin’. I wanted to see wus you brave enough to come an’ rescue me—an’ you wus, Skeeter, an’ I loves you mo’ dan ever.”

But Skeeter evaded¹⁷ her outstretched arms as she advanced again for a clinch¹⁸, and with a contemptuous wave of his yellow hand he delivered this good-night message:

“Git away! You done made me burn up a shirt an’ waste a good night’s sleep. Dat’s plum’ plenty fer you! I’m always a brave nigger!”

Then eight negroes uttered a low moan of fright. The electric light had gone out, leaving them in darkness in that haunted house!

The electric lights went out every night at one o’clock, but they didn’t think of that.

Eight negroes left that kitchen in a hurry. They sped away in eight different directions, at various speeds, each according to his capability¹⁹. But everyone did his best, each chased by a “ha’nt”—for thus doth conscience make cowards of us all.

1 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 delirium   

n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋

参考例句：

• In her delirium, she had fallen to the floor several times. 她在神志不清的状态下几次摔倒在地上。
• For the next nine months, Job was in constant delirium.接下来的九个月，约伯处于持续精神错乱的状态。

3 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

4 Prohibitionist   

禁酒主义者

参考例句：

5 abstainer   

节制者，戒酒者，弃权者

参考例句：

• Abstainer: a weak person who yields to the temptation of denying himself a pleasure. 戒酒者：一个意志薄弱的人，经不起拒绝享受的诱惑。
• Abstainer: a weak person who yield to the temptation of deny himself a pleasure. 戒酒（烟）者，是经不起要他放弃某一乐趣的诱惑而屈服的弱者。

6 sneaked   

v.潜行( sneak的过去式和过去分词 )；偷偷溜走；（儿童向成人）打小报告；告状

参考例句：

• I sneaked up the stairs. 我蹑手蹑脚地上了楼。
• She sneaked a surreptitious glance at her watch. 她偷偷看了一眼手表。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 exclamations   

n.呼喊( exclamation的名词复数 )；感叹；感叹语；感叹词

参考例句：

• The visitors broke into exclamations of wonder when they saw the magnificent Great Wall. 看到雄伟的长城，游客们惊叹不已。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After the will has been read out, angry exclamations aroused. 遗嘱宣读完之后，激起一片愤怒的喊声。 来自辞典例句

9 winking   

n.瞬眼，目语v.使眼色( wink的现在分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮

参考例句：

• Anyone can do it; it's as easy as winking. 这谁都办得到，简直易如反掌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The stars were winking in the clear sky. 星星在明亮的天空中闪烁。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

11 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

12 frightful   

adj.可怕的；讨厌的

参考例句：

• How frightful to have a husband who snores!有一个发鼾声的丈夫多讨厌啊！
• We're having frightful weather these days.这几天天气坏极了。

13 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

14 snarled   

v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说

参考例句：

• The dog snarled at us. 狗朝我们低声吼叫。
• As I advanced towards the dog, It'snarled and struck at me. 我朝那条狗走去时，它狂吠着向我扑来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 sneering   

嘲笑的，轻蔑的

参考例句：

• "What are you sneering at?" “你冷笑什么？” 来自子夜部分
• The old sorceress slunk in with a sneering smile. 老女巫鬼鬼崇崇地走进来，冷冷一笑。

16 butts   

笑柄( butt的名词复数 )； （武器或工具的）粗大的一端； 屁股； 烟蒂

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。
• The house butts to a cemetery. 这所房子和墓地相连。

17 evaded   

逃避( evade的过去式和过去分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出

参考例句：

• For two weeks they evaded the press. 他们有两周一直避而不见记者。
• The lion evaded the hunter. 那狮子躲开了猎人。

18 clinch   

v.敲弯，钉牢；确定；扭住对方 [参]clench

参考例句：

• Clinch the boards together.用钉子把木板钉牢在一起。
• We don't accept us dollars,please Swiss francs to clinch a deal business.我方不收美元，请最好用瑞士法郎来成交生意。

19 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。