Slimy creatures crawl in the muck under his feet without a croak2 or hiss3. Gaudy4 birds fly from living trees to dead, gaunt stumps5 without a note of music. The fox and wolf which sometimes make the woods vocal7 with their barking, slink away at the approach of man in silence. The whole place seems to be engaged in the deepest conspiracy9 to accomplish something which the slightest sound would disturb or frustrate10.
Generally, a negro walking through the woods alone will bawl11 a song at the top of his voice. For some reason he feels that there is safety in sound, just as the Chinaman beats a tin pan to chase the devil away. But no negro ever has the courage to shatter one of these conspiracies12 of silence when he finds it in the swamp. If everything else begins to make a racket, he will, too. But he won’t start anything.
Which accounts for the fact that two negroes, not two hundred yards apart, were walking through the Little Moccasin Swamp, and were unaware13 of each other’s presence.
One negro was troubled. He stopped, removed his high silk hat, and mopped the sweat from the top of his bald head. He lowered his head and listened, then he raised his head and listened. For a moment he thought he heard something, then he found the silence more intense than ever.
“Dar’s somepin gittin’ ready to happen aroun’ dis woods,” he whispered to himself. “I been listenin’ in dese here swamps all my life, but I ain’t never heard no sound like dat ontil now.”
He squatted14 behind a stump6 and peered anxiously about him. Great trees of the primeval forest reared themselves above him, skirted and frocked like a Druid priest with the funereal15 moss16. Under the wide-spreading branches of these trees long corridors ran in every direction like the floral avenues through some giant hot-house conservatory17. Nothing moved, no sound could be heard under those majestic18 arches of the forest.
The negro stooped and placed his ear to the ground. He had heard an express train at a long distance, and the sound he was hearing at intervals19 was something like that. But he knew it was twenty miles to the nearest railroad which carried a train which could travel fast enough to make a similar sound. He had also heard a wolf-pack coming through the forest on one occasion, and that pad-pad-pad of their flying feet was not dissimilar in sound to what he was hearing. He was also familiar with the herds20 of wild hogs21 which infested22 the Little Moccasin, and when they were moving rapidly at a long distance the sound would be like the persistent23 thrumming he could dimly hear.
“Whutever dat is, ’tain’t hittin’ de groun’ wid its foots,” he announced to himself, as he glanced up about him with fear-shot eyes. “Dis here nigger is gittin’ ready to vacate hisself from dis swamp.”
He glanced up at the sky. It was as clear as a soap bubble. The haze24 of the evening was settling upon the tree-tops like a vail of purple and gold under the setting sun. He was looking for the signs of the sudden storms which blow in from the Gulf25, and he sniffed26 the air for the odor of smoke from a forest fire.
“’Tain’t no fire, an’ it ain’t no cycaloon storm,” he muttered.
He turned and walked rapidly down the little foot-path, still listening, but now more interested in getting out of the darkening woods than in locating the source of the sound. Suddenly he heard the noise so loud and distinct that his next guess was nearer than he dreamed.
“Dat’s a automobile27 engyne!” he chattered28, the goose-flesh rising all over his body. Then he shook his head in mute denial of his assertion. The nearest public highroad was ten miles away.
“Not even a skeart nigger preacher kin8 hear ten miles,” he muttered. “An’ nobody but de debbil could run a automobile in dese here woods whar dar ain’t no road!”
The thought brought him to a quick halt. Suppose the devil were loose in these woods, riding around in a flivver or straddle of a motor-cycle, seeking whom he might devour29?
“I don’t crave30 to meet de debbil,” the colored clergyman murmured, as he reached up for his stove-pipe hat and grasped it firmly in his fingers.
“I done slanderized the debbil too frequent in my sermonts!”
He turned his face until his eyes looked straight into the face of the setting sun, and he began to leave the scenery of the swamp behind him. He did not run. No man can run as fast as the Rev31. Vinegar Atts was traveling.
And Vinegar knew where he was going. In the very heart of that Little Moccasin Swamp was the Moccasin prairie. It was an open space containing nearly a square mile of ground without a tree or stump. It was completely surrounded by water, and two years before a raging forest fire had left it a charred32 ground strewn with ash and soot33. Now it was covered with grass and was as smooth as a baseball diamond. Vinegar was including that open space in his route toward Tickfall because he could travel across it with ease and speed.
Suddenly every winged creature of the swamp broke the silence and became vocal with screams of fright. Hundreds of wild pigeons rose in the air and began to describe mad circles over the head of the running negro. From all the watercourses rose the wild fowls34 that love the low, damp marshes35, and they sailed upward with hoarse36 shrieks37 of fear. The angry, fighting, bark-like call of the hawks38, mingled39 with the scream of eagles, and these fearless birds sailed straight into the glowing red eye of the sun to meet the peril40 that was coming.
Vinegar Atts could not see because he was blinded by the sun. But soon a roar sounded above him like the exhaust of an automobile, and Vinegar looked up.
An airplane was climbing the pathless air in long, spiral flight directly over his head—the first flying-machine that the Rev. Vinegar Atts had ever seen. Its long wings were tipped as with fire by the rays of the setting sun. Beneath it the screaming birds sailed wildly, madly, performing all sorts of aerial stunts41.
Vinegar dropped on his knees, with his arms stretched up toward the graceful42 creation of man’s brain and hands. A few phrases from his old, worn Bible came to his mind, and he bellowed43 them at the top of his voice, as he listened to the exhaust of that great motor.
“Like de noise of chariots on de top of mountains, like de noise of a flame of fire dat devoureth de stubble—all faces shall gather blackness—dey shall run like mighty44 men——”
The birds scattered45 far and wide over the swamp. There was a great silence. Vinegar opened his eyes, and lo, the airplane was sailing slowly downward.
“My Gawd!” Vinegar howled. “De chariot of fire!”
Thereupon he fulfilled the prophecy of the Book of Joel, and rose from the ground and “ran like a mighty man.”
The airplane settled upon the edge of the Moccasin prairie. A young man dismounted from the machine, glanced at it critically, then took a survey of the sky with a rather furtive46 eye, and turned with an air of decision and disappeared in the swamp.
Then a strange negro stepped to the edge of the clearing, waited until he was sure that the airman was not going to return, and walked over to the machine.
“Dat white man is done got enough flyin’ an’ he’s drapped dis car down here fer good,” he decided47. “Dis am four miles from Tickfall, an’ ef dat white man had wanted to land anywise nigh he could hab done it.”
He stood scratching his head and pondering.
“Naw, suh,” he concluded. “Dat white man is done lost dis here flyin’-machine. He lost it a puppus. He ain’t never comin’ back fer it.”
Sniffing48 at the taint49 of hot oil which spoiled the rich odors of the woods, the strange negro wandered on toward Tickfall, his nose in the air.
Incidentally he had some plans in the air.
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1
appalled
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| v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的 | |
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2
croak
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| vi.嘎嘎叫，发牢骚 | |
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hiss
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| v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满 | |
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gaudy
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| adj.华而不实的；俗丽的 | |
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stumps
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| （被砍下的树的）树桩( stump的名词复数 )； 残肢； （板球三柱门的）柱； 残余部分 | |
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stump
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| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
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7
vocal
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| adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目 | |
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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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9
conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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10
frustrate
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| v.使失望；使沮丧；使厌烦 | |
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bawl
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| v.大喊大叫，大声地喊，咆哮 | |
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conspiracies
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| n.阴谋，密谋( conspiracy的名词复数 ) | |
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13
unaware
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| a.不知道的，未意识到的 | |
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squatted
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；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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15
funereal
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| adj.悲哀的；送葬的 | |
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moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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17
conservatory
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| n.温室，音乐学院；adj.保存性的，有保存力的 | |
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majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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19
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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20
herds
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| 兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众 | |
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21
hogs
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| n.（尤指喂肥供食用的）猪( hog的名词复数 )；（供食用的）阉公猪；彻底地做某事；自私的或贪婪的人 | |
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22
infested
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| adj.为患的，大批滋生的（常与with搭配）v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 )；遍布于 | |
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persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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26
sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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27
automobile
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| n.汽车，机动车 | |
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28
chattered
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| （人）喋喋不休( chatter的过去式 )； 唠叨； （牙齿）打战； （机器）震颤 | |
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29
devour
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| v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷 | |
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30
crave
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| vt.渴望得到，迫切需要，恳求，请求 | |
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rev
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| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
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32
charred
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| v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦 | |
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33
soot
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| n.煤烟，烟尘；vt.熏以煤烟 | |
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34
fowls
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| 鸟( fowl的名词复数 )； 禽肉； 既不是这； 非驴非马 | |
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35
marshes
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| n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 ) | |
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36
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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37
shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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38
hawks
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| 鹰( hawk的名词复数 )； 鹰派人物，主战派人物 | |
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39
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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40
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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41
stunts
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| n.惊人的表演( stunt的名词复数 )；（广告中）引人注目的花招；愚蠢行为；危险举动v.阻碍…发育[生长]，抑制，妨碍( stunt的第三人称单数 ) | |
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42
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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43
bellowed
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| v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的过去式和过去分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
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44
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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45
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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46
furtive
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| adj.鬼鬼崇崇的，偷偷摸摸的 | |
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47
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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48
sniffing
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| n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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49
taint
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| n.污点；感染；腐坏；v.使感染；污染 | |
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