chapter 6

 In one of the narrowest streets of this quarter, seated on the floor or rather on his heels, at the door of a very modest but very neat whitewashed¹ house, smoking a clay pipe, was a Moor² of some thirty-five or forty years of age, a dealer³ in eggs and chickens, which the free peasants of Sierra Bullones and Sierra Bermeja brought to him to the gates of Ceuta, and which he sold either in his own house or at the market, with a profit of a hundred per cent. He wore a white woollen chivala and a black woollen, hooded⁴ Arab cloak, and was called by the Spaniards, Manos-gordas, and by the Moors⁵, Admet-Ben-Carime-el-Abdoun.

 

When the Moor saw the Chapel-master approaching, he rose and advanced to meet him, making deep salaams⁶ at every step, and when they were close together, he said cautiously:

 

"You want a little Moorish⁷ girl? I bring to-morrow little dark girl of twelve—"

 

"My wife wants no more Moorish servants," answered the musician stiffly.

 

Manos-gordas began to laugh.

 

"Besides," continued Don Bonifacio, "your infernal little Moorish girls are very dirty."

 

"Wash!" responded the Moor, extending his arms crosswise and inclining his head to one side.

 

"I tell you I want no Moorish girls," said Don Bonifacio. "What I want to-day is that you, who know so much that you are Interpreter of the Fortress⁸, should translate this document into Spanish for me."

 

Manos-gordas took the document, and at the first glance murmured:

 

"It is Moor—"

 

"Of course, it is in Arabic. But I want to know what it says, and if you do not deceive me I will give you a handsome present—when the business which I am about to entrust⁹ you with is concluded."

 

Meantime Admet-Ben-Carime glanced his eye over the document, turning very pale as he did so.

 

"You see that it concerns a great treasure?" the Chapel-master half-affirmed, half-asked.

 

"Me think so," stammered¹⁰ the Mohammedan.

 

"What do you mean by saying you think so? Your very confusion tells plainly that it is so."

 

"Pardon," replied Manos-gordas, a cold sweat breaking out over his body.

"Here words modern Arabic—I understand. Here words ancient, or classic

Arabic—I no understand."

 

"What do the words that you understand signify?"

 

"They signify GOLD, they signify PEARLS, they signify CURSE OF ALA. But I no understand meaning, explanations, or signs. Must see the Dervish of Anghera—wise man and translate all. I take parchment to day and bring parchment to-morrow, and deceive not nor rob Senor Tudela. Moor swear."

 

Saying which he clasped his hands together, and, raising them to his lips, kissed them fervently¹¹.

 

Don Bonifacio reflected; he knew that in order to decipher the meaning of this document he should be obliged to take some Moor into his confidence, and there was none with whom he was so well acquainted and who was so well disposed to him as Manos-gordas; he consented, therefore, to confide¹² the manuscript to him, making him swear repeatedly that he would return on the following day from Anghera with the translation, and swearing to the Moor on his side that he would give him at least a hundred dollars when the treasure should be discovered.

 

The Mussulman and the Christian¹³ then separated, and the latter directed his steps, not to his own house, nor to the cathedral, but to the office of a friend of his, where he wrote the following letter:

 

"Senor Don Matias de Quesada y Sanchez, Alpujarra, Ugijar.

 

"MY DEAREST UNCLE,—Thanks be to God that we have at last received news of you and of Aunt Encarnacion, and as good news as Josefa and I could desire. We, my dear uncle, although younger than you and my aunt, are full of ailments¹⁴ and burdened with children, who will soon be left orphans¹⁵ and compelled to beg for their bread.

 

"Whoever told you that the document you sent me bore any reference to a treasure deceived you. I have had it translated by a competent person, and it turns out to be a string of blasphemies¹⁶ against our Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Virgin¹⁷, and the Saints, written in Arabic verses, by a Moorish dog of the Marquisate of El Cenet, during the rebellion of Aben-Humeya. In view of its sacrilegious nature, and by the advice of the Senor Penitentiary¹⁸, I have just burned this impious testimony¹⁹ to Mohammedan perversity²⁰.

 

"Remembrances to my aunt; Josefa desires to be remembered to you both; she is now for the tenth time in an interesting condition, and your nephew, who is reduced to skin and bone by the wretched affection of the stomach, which you will remember, begs that you will send him some assistance.

"BONIFACIO.

 

"CEUTA, January 29, 1821."

1 whitewashed   

粉饰，美化，掩饰( whitewash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The wall had been whitewashed. 墙已粉过。
• The towers are in the shape of bottle gourds and whitewashed. 塔呈圆形，状近葫芦，外敷白色。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文

2 moor   

n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊

参考例句：

• I decided to moor near some tourist boats.我决定在一些观光船附近停泊。
• There were hundreds of the old huts on the moor.沼地上有成百上千的古老的石屋。

3 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

4 hooded   

adj.戴头巾的；有罩盖的；颈部因肋骨运动而膨胀的

参考例句：

• A hooded figure waited in the doorway. 一个戴兜帽的人在门口等候。
• Black-eyed gipsy girls, hooded in showy handkerchiefs, sallied forth to tell fortunes. 黑眼睛的吉卜赛姑娘，用华丽的手巾包着头，突然地闯了进来替人算命。 来自辞典例句

5 moors   

v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• the North York moors 北约克郡的漠泽
• They're shooting grouse up on the moors. 他们在荒野射猎松鸡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 salaams   

（穆斯林的）额手礼，问安，敬礼( salaam的名词复数 )

参考例句：

7 moorish   

adj.沼地的，荒野的，生[住]在沼地的

参考例句：

• There was great excitement among the Moorish people at the waterside. 海边的摩尔人一阵轰动。 来自辞典例句
• All the doors are arched with the special arch we see in Moorish pictures. 门户造成拱形，形状独特，跟摩尔风暴画片里所见的一样。 来自辞典例句

8 fortress   

n.堡垒，防御工事

参考例句：

• They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
• The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。

9 entrust   

v.信赖，信托，交托

参考例句：

• I couldn't entrust my children to strangers.我不能把孩子交给陌生人照看。
• They can be entrusted to solve major national problems.可以委托他们解决重大国家问题。

10 stammered   

v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He stammered most when he was nervous. 他一紧张往往口吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Barsad leaned back in his chair, and stammered, \"What do you mean?\" 巴萨往椅背上一靠，结结巴巴地说，“你是什么意思？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

11 fervently   

adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地

参考例句：

• "Oh, I am glad!'she said fervently. “哦，我真高兴！”她热烈地说道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• O my dear, my dear, will you bless me as fervently to-morrow?' 啊，我亲爱的，亲爱的，你明天也愿这样热烈地为我祝福么？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

12 confide   

v.向某人吐露秘密

参考例句：

• I would never readily confide in anybody.我从不轻易向人吐露秘密。
• He is going to confide the secrets of his heart to us.他将向我们吐露他心里的秘密。

13 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

14 ailments   

疾病（尤指慢性病），不适( ailment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His ailments include a mild heart attack and arthritis. 他患有轻度心脏病和关节炎。
• He hospitalizes patients for minor ailments. 他把只有小病的患者也送进医院。

15 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

16 blasphemies   

n.对上帝的亵渎，亵渎的言词[行为]( blasphemy的名词复数 )；侮慢的言词（或行为）

参考例句：

• That foul mouth stands there bringing more ill fortune with his blasphemies. 那一张臭嘴站在那儿满嘴喷粪，只能带来更多恶运。 来自辞典例句
• All great truths begin as blasphemies. 一切伟大的真理起初都被视为大逆不道的邪说。 来自辞典例句

17 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

18 penitentiary   

n.感化院；监狱

参考例句：

• He worked as a warden at the state penitentiary.他在这所州监狱任看守长。
• While he was in the penitentiary her father died and the family broke up.他坐牢的时候，她的父亲死了，家庭就拆散了。

19 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

20 perversity   

n.任性；刚愎自用

参考例句：

• She's marrying him out of sheer perversity.她嫁给他纯粹是任性。
• The best of us have a spice of perversity in us.在我们最出色的人身上都有任性的一面。