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首页 » 儿童英文小说 » A Loyal Little Red-Coat » CHAPTER XXI—SOME OLD FRIENDS COME TO LIGHT
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CHAPTER XXI—SOME OLD FRIENDS COME TO LIGHT
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T was a comfort to have that matter off his mind, and, whatever might come of it, he had done the right thing. Such were Flutters’s thoughts, as with hands plunged1 deep in his overcoat pockets, he started for home. To be sure, there was no knowing what might happen. What if his father should write to Captain Boniface and tell him that he (Flutters) was a naughty little runaway2, and advise him to have nothing more to do with him? or suppose he should direct to have him sent right back to England, what would he do? Why, then, he thought he’d simply run away again, only that would not be an easy thing to do after having been treated so kindly3 by the Bonifaces. But, as he had himself told the Sergeant4, it was not at all probable that this would happen; and so, like the logical little philosopher he was, he decided5 to think no more about it, and, if taking the advice of the old hymn6, he “gave to the winds his fears,” it was no time at all before they were blown far behind him. During the half hour that he had spent with the Sergeant, a cold northwest blow had set in, making it far more comfortable for him to bend his head downward as he ran, and not take the wind full in his face. And this same northwest wind was playing all sorts of pranks7 with every pliable8 thing it could get hold of. The bare branches of the trees were swaying and crackling, withered9 leaves were swirling10 round in eddies11 and rustling12 loudly, gates were creaking on their rusty13 hinges, and, just as Flutters had reached a point in the road where an old hut stood, the blustering14 wind caught the only shutter15 remaining at one of its windows, and slammed it to with a bang that fairly made him jump. Looking toward the hut that had been deserted16 for years, Flutters saw a faint light shining out through the half of the window that was not screened by the closed shutter.

“That’s queer,” he thought; “who can be living there?” and then, instead of running on without giving the matter another thought—as some boys, I think, would have done—he walked softly in at the gateway17 that had long lacked a gate, straight up to the window and peeped in; nor was it mere18 curiosity that prompted him to do it either. Flutters knew that no one, under ordinary circumstances, would be there; nothing short of utter homelessness would make anybody seek shelter in that wretched place, and so he felt the matter ought to be investigated, and he was not afraid to be the one to do it. And what do you suppose he saw through the broken pane19? Something that would have made the tears come into almost anybody’s eyes, but something that made Flutters’s heart fairly stand still.

The only furniture of the room was a three-legged stool on which a bit of candle was spluttering, fastened to the stool by the melting of its own tallow, and there beside it, on a bundle of straw, lay an old man; and it took but one glance from Flutters’s astonished eyes to see that the man was Bobbin, the old circus drudge20. In another second he had pushed the door open and was kneeling at his friend’s side, and stroking his cold, wrinkled hand.

“Why, who is it?” asked Bobbin, in a cracked, weak voice; “I can’t rightly see, somehow, but it’s good to know some one has come.”

“Why, it’s me, Bobbin, don’t you know me?” said Flutters, scarcely able to speak with emotion.

A bright smile lighted up the old man’s face. “Ah! I thought He’d send somebody. He did send you, didn’t He?”

“No, nobody sent me, Bobbin. I was just going by, and I saw the light, and I peeped in and then I saw you.”

The old man shook his head, as much as to say that he believed that the good Father had sent him, nevertheless.

“I’m glad you were the one to come,” he said, presently; “there’s nobody I’d rather have had than you, Flutters. You were always a kind little chap to old Bobbin.”

Flutters did not say anything—he couldn’t. He just pressed the wrinkled hand a little harder as it lay in his.

“You see, Flutters,” said Bobbin, presently, “I think I am going home to-night, and it was kind of lonely not to have somebody to care for me. Not that I mind going. I’m not a bit afraid, Flutters. I have done the best I could with the poor chance I had, and God will forgive the rest; don’t you think so, Flutters?”

Flutters nodded his head, and then he said in a moment, when he thought he could control his voice: “But, Bobbin, I do not believe you are going to die. You need food and fire and clothes to warm you, and I am going right off to get them for you.”

“Oh, no, please don’t,” pleaded the old man, putting what little strength he had into his hold on Flutters’s hand. “I don’t want food nor anything. I just want to go, and it won’t be long. Promise me you’ll stay till morning, Flutters.”

There was no gainsaying21 the entreaty22 in Bobbin’s voice, and so Flutters said: “I promise you, Bobbin;” and, with a gratified sigh the old man turned on his side and soon fell asleep. After a while, when Flutters dared to move a little, he piled the loose straw that lay about him as closely as possible over Bobbin, and finally decided to dispense23 with his own warm coat, for the sake of stuffing it in the hole of the little paneless window through which the wind was keenly blowing.

Then, after another hour of motionless watching, during which Bobbin still lay sleeping as quietly as a child, it occurred to Flutters to try and make a fire in the blackened fireplace. Some old bits of board were lying in one corner of the room, and, piling them on the hearth24, he easily succeeded in kindling25 them with a bundle of straw lighted at the candle. At first he was afraid that the crackling of the wood would waken the old man; but, undisturbed, he slept quietly on as though his mind was perfectly26 at rest, now that Flutters had come to care for him.

“I do not believe he is going to die,” thought Flutters, after he had again sat motionless for a long time, and then he crept close on hands and knees to look into his face, and to listen if he was breathing quite regularly; and there, bending over him, what did he see but something that made his heart bound for joy, though it was nothing but the corner of a little book showing itself above the ragged27 edge of one of Bobbin’s pockets. And no wonder he was glad, for he knew in a moment that it was his own little Prayer-Book.



0185

At first he thought he ought not to touch it for fear of waking

Bobbin, but how could he help it, and so, as gently as possible, he drew it out from its hiding-place, and crept back to the candle. I suppose we can hardly imagine what the finding of this old friend meant to Flutters. There was his own name on the fly-leaf, in his mother’s writing, together with the date of his birth. Here was the proof, if he ever cared to use it, that he had once known a mother’s love, and that was a deal more than some of the world’s waifs could lay claim to, and besides, he loved the book for its own sake, for the beautiful words and thoughts that were in it. And to think Bobbin had kept it safe for him all these weeks; Flutters began to think that perhaps the Lord had sent him to Bobbin after all. And so he fell to wondering, as many an older head full often wonders, as to how much mere chance has to do with the happenings of this world, and how much the careful guiding of a Heavenly Father; but that the Father above has a great deal to do therewith is no longer a question in the minds of many of us.

Meantime it was growing very late, for the clock on the town-hall was on the verge28 of striking twelve, and the moon was high over head. But Bobbin still slept on, and Flutters dared not leave him. What would Mrs. Boniface think, and how disappointed she would be to find that he was not to be trusted; but there was his promise to Bobbin, and he could not go, so he did the next best thing, he lay down by his side under the protection of the friendly straw and himself fell asleep, while the red-hot embers in the fireplace glowed and crackled as though anxious to make the place as comfortable as possible.

Bobbin did not die that night; he woke with the first ray of sunlight that reached the hovel, but he found his faithful little watcher awake before him. Flutters thought he looked surprised, and perhaps a little disappointed, to find his eyes opening again in this world; at any rate he sighed a little wearily as he seemed slowly to realize where he was, then he looked up to Flutters’s face and said, with a grateful smile, “I knew you would keep your promise. I knew you would not leave me.”

“But you will let me go now, Bobbin, won’t you?” said Flutters, with a world of entreaty in his voice, and wondering what he would do if Bobbin still proved obdurate29; “you see I haven’t lived so very long with the Bonifaces, and they’ll think I’ve run away, and be sorry they ever trusted me. I’ll make up the fire before I go, and I’ll be back soon and bring you something to eat and something perhaps to make you more comfortable.”

“Yes,” said the old man, after what seemed to Flutters a long pause, “I’ll let you go, but not for long, mind that, Flutters; ‘cause now that I can’t do a thing for myself, I believe the Lord says, ‘Flutters, you’re to take care of old Bobbin till the time comes for me to take him away and care for him myself.’”

“I believe so, too,” answered Flutters, pushing the thin, gray hair back from the old man’s forehead, and trying to make him look a little less unkempt and neglected, “and never you fear but I’ll do it, Bobbin.”

Then in a moment Flutters was gone, fairly flying home along the road, and when he reached the house not stopping so much as to say good-morning to old Dinah, who was opening the kitchen windows, and started back as though she had seen a ghost; but straight past her, and straight up to Captain Boniface’s room. Mrs. Boniface slept on a little cot in the corner of the room nearest the door, and Flutters thought, and, as it proved, thought rightly, that he could give a gentle knock, and waken her without disturbing the Captain.

“Who is there?” asked a sweet, low voice, a voice whose every intonation30 Flutters had grown to love.

“It’s only me—Flutters,” came the ungrammatical whisper, “but I wanted you to know that I’m home all right. Nothing happened to me, but I came across an old friend of mine, and I had to stop and take care of him.”

“Wait a moment, dear,” Mrs. Boniface answered, not caring in the least that it was by no means customary to address little mulatto servant-boys in that familiar fashion. Like dear old Janet, in McDonald’s beautiful story, Mrs. Boniface was “one of God’s mothers,” with a mother-love broad enough and deep enough to shelter every little creature who, like Flutters, needed and longed for the protection of a brooding wing.

Flutters sat down on the wood-box in the hall and waited, and in a moment Mrs. Boniface in her soft, blue wrapper, was seated beside him and he was outpouring with breathless eagerness the night’s experiences, winding31 up, when all was told, with, “and I promised to go back as soon as ever I could.”

And Flutters did go back as soon as he could, and Josephine and Hazel went with him; and food and clothing, and blankets and towels went too, and a dozen other things, such as any one would know would add greatly to the comfort of a sick old man who had lain down, as he thought, to die, in an empty and wretched dwelling32. Later in the day, when some of the nearer neighbors had heard Bobbin’s sad story, they were anxious, too, to do something for him, and before nightfall you would hardly have known the poor little shanty33. One of them had sent a cot, and Bobbin had been lifted on to it; another, two or three chairs, one of which was a comfortable old rocker, and a third a table and some necessary cooking utensils34. Indeed, Bobbin’s story, as he narrated35 it to the little group gathered around him that morning after Flutters had found him, was sad enough to touch anybody’s heart.

“I kept on with the troupe36,” he told them, “till we got almost to Albany, but I was getting weaker almost every day, and I missed Flutters dreadfully. I never knew till the boy was gone how much hard work he had saved me in one way and another. So at last, and just as I knowed it would be, the manager came to me one day and said, ‘We ain’t got no use for you any more, Bobbin. Ye can stay behind when we move on to-night.’ An’ I just looked him the eye an’ said: ‘All right, sir; but I’m wondering if you’ll not be left behind when the Lord’s own troupe moves on to the many mansions37.’ I knowed I ought not to have spoke38 like that, but there isn’t a harder heart in the world than his, and that’s the truth.”

“And what did you do then, Bobbin?” Josephine asked, as she sat beside him with tears of indignation standing39 in her eyes.

“Why, right away I began to make my way back to Flutters; somehow I knew I should find him, only when I crawled into this hut last night after three weeks of being on the road, I thought it might not happen in this world.”

And so it came about that Bobbin was made perfectly comfortable in the old shanty, for in those days there were no well-ordered Homes and Hospitals, for sick and homeless people, and Flutters, greatly to his heart’s delight, was established as attendant-in-chief to his old friend.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 plunged 06a599a54b33c9d941718dccc7739582     
v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降
参考例句:
  • The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
  • She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳,从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。
2 runaway jD4y5     
n.逃走的人,逃亡,亡命者;adj.逃亡的,逃走的
参考例句:
  • The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
  • He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。
3 kindly tpUzhQ     
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地
参考例句:
  • Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
  • A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。
4 sergeant REQzz     
n.警官,中士
参考例句:
  • His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
  • How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹?
5 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
6 hymn m4Wyw     
n.赞美诗,圣歌,颂歌
参考例句:
  • They sang a hymn of praise to God.他们唱着圣歌,赞美上帝。
  • The choir has sung only two verses of the last hymn.合唱团只唱了最后一首赞美诗的两个段落。
7 pranks cba7670310bdd53033e32d6c01506817     
n.玩笑,恶作剧( prank的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Frank's errancy consisted mostly of pranks. 法兰克错在老喜欢恶作剧。 来自辞典例句
  • He always leads in pranks and capers. 他老是带头胡闹和开玩笑。 来自辞典例句
8 pliable ZBCyx     
adj.易受影响的;易弯的;柔顺的,易驾驭的
参考例句:
  • Willow twigs are pliable.柳条很软。
  • The finely twined baskets are made with young,pliable spruce roots.这些编织精美的篮子是用柔韧的云杉嫩树根编成的。
9 withered 342a99154d999c47f1fc69d900097df9     
adj. 枯萎的,干瘪的,(人身体的部分器官)因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式
参考例句:
  • The grass had withered in the warm sun. 这些草在温暖的阳光下枯死了。
  • The leaves of this tree have become dry and withered. 这棵树下的叶子干枯了。
10 swirling Ngazzr     
v.旋转,打旋( swirl的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着,旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句
11 eddies c13d72eca064678c6857ec6b08bb6a3c     
(水、烟等的)漩涡,涡流( eddy的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Viscosity overwhelms the smallest eddies and converts their energy into heat. 粘性制服了最小的旋涡而将其能量转换为热。
  • But their work appears to merge in the study of large eddies. 但在大旋涡的研究上,他们的工作看来却殊途同归。
12 rustling c6f5c8086fbaf68296f60e8adb292798     
n. 瑟瑟声,沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的
参考例句:
  • the sound of the trees rustling in the breeze 树木在微风中发出的沙沙声
  • the soft rustling of leaves 树叶柔和的沙沙声
13 rusty hYlxq     
adj.生锈的;锈色的;荒废了的
参考例句:
  • The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
  • I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用,我的法语又荒疏了。
14 blustering DRxy4     
adj.狂风大作的,狂暴的v.外强中干的威吓( bluster的现在分词 );咆哮;(风)呼啸;狂吹
参考例句:
  • It was five and a half o'clock now, and a raw, blustering morning. 这时才五点半,正是寒气逼人,狂风咆哮的早晨。 来自辞典例句
  • So sink the shadows of night, blustering, rainy, and all paths grow dark. 夜色深沉,风狂雨骤;到处途暗路黑。 来自辞典例句
15 shutter qEpy6     
n.百叶窗;(照相机)快门;关闭装置
参考例句:
  • The camera has a shutter speed of one-sixtieth of a second.这架照像机的快门速度达六十分之一秒。
  • The shutter rattled in the wind.百叶窗在风中发出嘎嘎声。
16 deserted GukzoL     
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的
参考例句:
  • The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
  • The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。
17 gateway GhFxY     
n.大门口,出入口,途径,方法
参考例句:
  • Hard work is the gateway to success.努力工作是通往成功之路。
  • A man collected tolls at the gateway.一个人在大门口收通行费。
18 mere rC1xE     
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过
参考例句:
  • That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
  • It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
19 pane OKKxJ     
n.窗格玻璃,长方块
参考例句:
  • He broke this pane of glass.他打破了这块窗玻璃。
  • Their breath bloomed the frosty pane.他们呼出的水气,在冰冷的窗玻璃上形成一层雾。
20 drudge rk8z2     
n.劳碌的人;v.做苦工,操劳
参考例句:
  • I feel like a real drudge--I've done nothing but clean all day!我觉得自己像个做苦工的--整天都在做清洁工作!
  • I'm a poor,miserable,forlorn drudge;I shall only drag you down with me.我是一个贫穷,倒运,走投无路的苦力,只会拖累你。
21 gainsaying 080ec8c966132b5144bb448dc5dc03f0     
v.否认,反驳( gainsay的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • There is no gainsaying his honesty. 他的诚实是不可否认的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • There is no gainsaying the fact that brinkmanship is a dangerous game. 不可能否认这样的事实:即战争的边缘政策是一种危险的游戏。 来自辞典例句
22 entreaty voAxi     
n.恳求,哀求
参考例句:
  • Mrs. Quilp durst only make a gesture of entreaty.奎尔普太太仅做出一种哀求的姿势。
  • Her gaze clung to him in entreaty.她的眼光带着恳求的神色停留在他身上。
23 dispense lZgzh     
vt.分配,分发;配(药),发(药);实施
参考例句:
  • Let us dispense the food.咱们来分发这食物。
  • The charity has been given a large sum of money to dispense as it sees fit.这个慈善机构获得一大笔钱,可自行适当分配。
24 hearth n5by9     
n.壁炉炉床,壁炉地面
参考例句:
  • She came and sat in a chair before the hearth.她走过来,在炉子前面的椅子上坐下。
  • She comes to the hearth,and switches on the electric light there.她走到壁炉那里,打开电灯。
25 kindling kindling     
n. 点火, 可燃物 动词kindle的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • There were neat piles of kindling wood against the wall. 墙边整齐地放着几堆引火柴。
  • "Coal and kindling all in the shed in the backyard." “煤,劈柴,都在后院小屋里。” 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
26 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
27 ragged KC0y8     
adj.衣衫褴褛的,粗糙的,刺耳的
参考例句:
  • A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
  • Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。
28 verge gUtzQ     
n.边,边缘;v.接近,濒临
参考例句:
  • The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
  • She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。
29 obdurate N5Dz0     
adj.固执的,顽固的
参考例句:
  • He is obdurate in his convictions.他执着于自己所坚信的事。
  • He remained obdurate,refusing to alter his decision.他依然固执己见,拒不改变决定。
30 intonation ubazZ     
n.语调,声调;发声
参考例句:
  • The teacher checks for pronunciation and intonation.老师在检查发音和语调。
  • Questions are spoken with a rising intonation.疑问句是以升调说出来的。
31 winding Ue7z09     
n.绕,缠,绕组,线圈
参考例句:
  • A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
  • The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。
32 dwelling auzzQk     
n.住宅,住所,寓所
参考例句:
  • Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
  • He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。
33 shanty BEJzn     
n.小屋,棚屋;船工号子
参考例句:
  • His childhood was spent in a shanty.他的童年是在一个简陋小屋里度过的。
  • I want to quit this shanty.我想离开这烂房子。
34 utensils 69f125dfb1fef9b418c96d1986e7b484     
器具,用具,器皿( utensil的名词复数 ); 器物
参考例句:
  • Formerly most of our household utensils were made of brass. 以前我们家庭用的器皿多数是用黄铜做的。
  • Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。
35 narrated 41d1c5fe7dace3e43c38e40bfeb85fe5     
v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Some of the story was narrated in the film. 该电影叙述了这个故事的部分情节。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Defoe skilfully narrated the adventures of Robinson Crusoe on his desert island. 笛福生动地叙述了鲁滨逊·克鲁索在荒岛上的冒险故事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
36 troupe cmJwG     
n.剧团,戏班;杂技团;马戏团
参考例句:
  • The art troupe is always on the move in frontier guards.文工团常年在边防部队流动。
  • The troupe produced a new play last night.剧团昨晚上演了一部新剧。
37 mansions 55c599f36b2c0a2058258d6f2310fd20     
n.宅第,公馆,大厦( mansion的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Fifth Avenue was boarded up where the rich had deserted their mansions. 第五大道上的富翁们已经出去避暑,空出的宅第都已锁好了门窗,钉上了木板。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
  • Oh, the mansions, the lights, the perfume, the loaded boudoirs and tables! 啊,那些高楼大厦、华灯、香水、藏金收银的闺房还有摆满山珍海味的餐桌! 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
38 spoke XryyC     
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
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
39 standing 2hCzgo     
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。


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