“Yes, I have come,” said Walter Cunningham wearily.
He looked ready to drop, and there was an expression of sadness on his face.
“You seem very tired,” said Bernard compassionately2.
“Yes, I was afraid I would be too late. Why are you all out here? What is going to happen?”
“I’ll tell you,” said Sanderson. “These gentlemen were about to kill us. They had just offered us the choice of how to die. But now that you have come with the money——”
“I have no money,” said Cunningham in a low voice.
“What!” exclaimed Sanderson, in dismay.
“What have you been doing all this time, then?” asked the American.
“I will tell you, but I must sit. I have been walking for hours.”
He sat down on a broken branch of a tree and breathed a deep sigh.
The bandits looked puzzled. They did not understand what he had said, but felt that it was something of importance, and they looked to the interpreter for an explanation. The latter said nothing, but waited.
“Listen,” began Cunningham; “a week since I left here and went to Naples.”
“You did go to Naples, then?”
“Yes, I reached Naples, though it took me rather longer than I anticipated. I went to see the bankers, and——”
“Got the money?”
“Yes, I got the money.”
“Then I don’t understand.”
“You will soon. I was delayed two days, and this will account in part for the length of time I have been absent. As soon as I could I started on my return.”
“With the money?”
“Is this true?” asked the interpreter.
“Yes; I wish it were not.”
“And you have come here with empty pockets?”
“Yes.”
“Why, then, did you come back at all?”
“Because I felt that I could not desert my comrades. I went out as their agent, and it was my duty to report to them, and share their fate if any harm should befall them.”
“You hear that, Mr. Sanderson?” said Bernard triumphantly6.
“If I had been the messenger this thing would not have happened.”
“Will you explain to these gentlemen what I have said?” said Cunningham to the interpreter.
The latter did so, and the result was scowling7 looks on the swarthy faces of the three Italians. The three captives awaited in silence the result of their conference. They had not to wait long.
“I am sorry, gentlemen,” said the interpreter, “for what is going to happen. My friends here are deeply disappointed.”
“It is not our fault,” said Amos Sanderson.
“They have stated the terms of release. They required five thousand scudi, and they are not forthcoming. Under the circumstances they have no choice but to doom8 you all to death.”
“At least spare the boy—spare Bernard,” said Walter Cunningham.
“We can make no exception,” replied the interpreter, after a brief conference with the bandits. “All we can do is to give you the choice of the knife or the pistol.”
“I choose the pistol,” said the Englishman.
“Look here, you are making fools of yourselves,” cried Amos Sanderson. “Send me to Naples, and I will bring back the money. I see that you are in earnest, and I will keep my word.”
“My friends do not trust you,” he said. “You would not return.”
Sanderson wished to argue the question, but the interpreter silenced him by an imperative11 gesture.
“No words of yours can alter our purpose,” he said. “We have been more lenient12 with you than with most of our prisoners. We have given you seven days to get the money for your ransom13, and it is not here. We have no time to waste. What is to be done must be done quickly.”
“There seems no help for it, Bernard,” said the Englishman.
Within five minutes the three captives, with hands tied, were bound to trees, and with blanched14 faces awaited the fatal volley from the three bandits, who stationed themselves at the distance of twenty paces fronting them.
Bernard gave himself up for lost when something unexpected happened. He heard shots, and for the moment thought they came from the pistols of their intended murderers. But to his astonishment15 it was the robber opposite him who fell. Another shot and another and the other two fell, fatally wounded. Then a party of soldiers came dashing forward, accompanied by a man whose face looked familiar to Bernard.
“Mr. Penrose!” he exclaimed.
“Yes, Bernard, it is I. I was robbed by these men a month since. I tracked them, and I have at last brought them to justice.”
“You’re a trump16, squire17!” said Amos Sanderson. “I never felt so relieved in the whole course of my life. Come and untie18 me.”
“You have the prior claim on me,” he said.
It was found that two of the bandits were dead.
The third was taken by the soldiers, and carried on an extemporized20 litter to the nearest town, where he was imprisoned21, but later tried and sentenced to be executed.
Overjoyed at their unexpected rescue from peril22, the three travelers made the best of their way to Naples, where, despite the loss of five thousand scudi, Walter Cunningham and Amos Sanderson enjoyed themselves by trips to Mt. Vesuvius, Pompeii, and a ride to Sorrento along the shores of the magnificent Bay of Naples.
“Have you consoled yourself for the loss of two thousand scudi?” asked Bernard, addressing himself to the American, as they sat on a balcony in their Sorrento hotel, looking out upon the moonlit waters of the famous sea.
“Yes,” answered Mr. Sanderson. “Now that the three rascals23 who captured us and nearly put us to death have met the same fate themselves, I don’t make any account of the money. Thank Providence24, I have plenty, left.”
“That’s the right way to look upon it,” said Walter Cunningham.
“I am the only one who has lost nothing,” said Bernard. “I have the best reason to be satisfied.” The three still remained together. They had been companions in misfortune, and this was a tie that still held them. Yet, truth to tell, neither Bernard nor his English friend enjoyed the society of the American, who was hardly congenial, and had some objectionable qualities.
“I have no prejudice against your countrymen,” said Mr. Cunningham to Bernard. “I have known many cultivated and refined Americans, whose society I enjoyed, but they differed essentially25 from Mr. Sanderson. I own I wish he would leave us.”
“He seems determined26 to stand by us,” said Bernard.
“Yes, so it seems.”
“There is one chance of separating from him. He has made up his mind to go to Sicily and wants us to go with him.”
“We can refuse. But in that case he may give up his plan.”
“I don’t think he will. He tells me he has always wanted to go to Sicily.”
“He may stand a chance of being again captured by banditti. I understand that Sicily is more infested27 with them than the mainland.”
“I earnestly hope not. I don’t care especially for Mr. Sanderson, but I think he has had his share of that kind of peril.”
That evening Mr. Sanderson broached28 the subject, and strongly urged his two companions to start with him for Palermo.
“We shall have to disappoint you,” said Walter Cunningham. “We have other plans.”
The next day, however, Mr. Cunningham was provided with an excuse. He received a letter from England informing him that an uncle, his mother’s brother, was dying, and wished to see him.
“Are you ready to go back to England with me at once, Bernard?” he said.
“I shall be glad to do so.”
“Then pack your luggage, and we will go.”
In London Bernard received a letter from America that interested him.
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收听单词发音
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1
joyfully
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| adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地 | |
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2
compassionately
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| adv.表示怜悯地，有同情心地 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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waylaid
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| v.拦截，拦路( waylay的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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5
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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scowling
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 ) | |
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doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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9
quailed
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| 害怕，发抖，畏缩( quail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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10
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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11
imperative
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| n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的 | |
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12
lenient
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| adj.宽大的，仁慈的 | |
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13
ransom
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| n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救 | |
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14
blanched
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| v.使变白( blanch的过去式 )；使（植物）不见阳光而变白；酸洗（金属）使有光泽；用沸水烫（杏仁等）以便去皮 | |
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15
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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trump
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| n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭 | |
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squire
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| n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅 | |
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untie
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| vt.解开，松开；解放 | |
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untied
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| 松开，解开( untie的过去式和过去分词 )； 解除，使自由； 解决 | |
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20
extemporized
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| v.即兴创作，即席演奏( extemporize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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21
imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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23
rascals
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| 流氓( rascal的名词复数 )； 无赖； （开玩笑说法）淘气的人（尤指小孩）； 恶作剧的人 | |
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24
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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26
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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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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28
broached
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| v.谈起( broach的过去式和过去分词 )；打开并开始用；用凿子扩大（或修光）；（在桶上）钻孔取液体 | |
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surmise
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| v./n.猜想，推测 | |
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