CHAPTER XXXIX. DAN DISCOMFITS THE DONOVANS.

 Dan found himself at first bewildered and confused by his sudden descent into the cellar. As his eyes became accustomed to the darkness, he was able to get an idea of his surroundings. It was a common cellar with an earthen floor. Ranged along one side was a row of kegs, some containing whisky, others empty. Besides, there were a few boxes and odds¹ and ends which had been placed here to get them out of the way.

 

"Not a very cheerful-looking place," thought Dan, "though I do get it rent free."

 

He sat down on a box, and began to consider his position. Was there any way of escape? The walls were solid, and although there was a narrow window, consisting of a row of single panes², it was at the top of the cellar, and not easily accessible. He might indeed reach it by the ladder, but he would have to break the glass and crawl through, a mode of escape likely to be attended by personal risk.

 

"No, that won't do," thought Dan. "At any rate, I won't try it till other things fail."

 

[Pg 273]

 

Meanwhile Donovan, in the bar-room above, was in high good humor. He felt that he had done a sharp thing, and more than once chuckled³ as he thought of his prisoner below. Indeed he could not forbear, after about half an hour, lifting the trap and calling down stairs:

 

"Hallo, there!"

 

"Hallo!" said Dan, coolly.

 

"What are you doin'?"

 

"Sitting on a box."

 

"How do you like it?" chuckled Donovan.

 

"Come down and see."

 

"You're an impudent⁴ jackanapes!" retorted Donovan, wrathfully. "You'll get enough of it before you're through."

 

"So will you," answered Dan, boldly.

 

"I'll take the risk," chuckled Donovan. "Do you know what you remind me of?"

 

"Suppose you tell me."

 

"You're like a rat in a trap."

 

"Not exactly," answered Dan, as a bright thought dawned upon him.

 

"Why not?"

 

"Because a rat can do no harm, and I can."

 

It occurred to Donovan that Dan might have some matches in his pocket, and was momentarily alarmed[Pg 274] at the thought that our hero might set the house on fire.

 

"Have you matches with you?" he asked.

 

"No," answered Dan.

 

"If you had," said the saloon-keeper, relieved, "it would do you no good to set a fire. You would only burn yourself up."

 

"I don't mean to set the house on fire," said Dan, composedly.

 

"Then you may do your worst. You can't scare me."

 

"Can't I?" returned Dan, rising from his seat on the box.

 

"What are you going to do?" asked Donovan, following with his glance the boy's motion.

 

"I'll tell you," said Dan. "I'm going to take the spigot out of them whisky-kegs, and let the whisky run out on the floor."

 

"Don't you do it!" exclaimed the saloon-keeper, now thoroughly⁵ frightened.

 

"Then let me up."

 

"I won't."

 

"All right. You must take the consequences."

 

As he spoke⁶ Dan dextrously pulled the spigot from a keg, and Donovan, to his dismay, heard the precious liquid—precious in his eyes—pouring out upon the floor.

 

[Pg 275]

 

With an exertion⁷ he raised the trap-door, hastily descended⁸ the ladder, and rushed to the keg to replace the spigot.

 

Meanwhile Dan ran up the ladder, pulled it after him, and made his late jailer a captive.

 

"Put down the ladder, you young rascal⁹!" roared Donovan, when, turning from his work, he saw how the tables had been turned.

 

"It wouldn't be convenient just yet," answered Dan, coolly.

 

He shut the trap-door, hastily lugged¹⁰ the ladder to the rear of the house (unobserved, for there were no customers present), then dashed up stairs and beckoned¹¹ to Althea to follow him. There was no obstacle, for Mrs. Donovan was stupefied by liquor.

 

Putting on her things, the little girl hastily and gladly obeyed.

 

As they passed through the saloon, Donovan's execrations and shouts were heard proceeding¹² from the cellar.

 

"What's that, Dan?" asked Althea, trembling.

 

"Never you mind, Althea," said Dan. "I'll tell you later."

 

The two children hurried to the nearest horse-car, which luckily came up at the moment, and jumped on board.

 

[Pg 276]

 

Dan looked back with a smile at the saloon, saying to himself:

 

"I rather think, Mr. Donovan, you've found your match this time. I hope you'll enjoy the cellar as much as I did."

 

In about an hour and a half Dan, holding Althea by the hand, triumphantly¹³ led her into his mother's presence.

 

"I've brought her back, mother," he said.

 

"Oh, my dear, dear little girl!" exclaimed Mrs. Mordaunt, joyfully¹⁴. "I thought I should never, never see you again. How did you find her, Dan?"

 

But we will not wait to hear a twice-told tale. Rather let us return to Donovan, where the unhappy proprietor¹⁵ is still a captive in his own cellar. Here he remained till his cries attracted the attention of a wondering customer, who finally lifted the trap-door.

 

"What are you doin' down there?" he asked, amazed.

 

"Put down the ladder and let me up first of all."

 

"I don't see any ladder."

 

"Look round, then. I suppose the cursed boy has hidden it."

 

It was a considerable time before the ladder was[Pg 277] found. Then the saloon-keeper emerged from his prison in a very bad humor.

 

"How did you get shut up there?" asked his liberator¹⁶.

 

"What business is it of yours?" demanded Donovan, irritably¹⁷.

 

"I wish I had left you there," said the customer, with justifiable¹⁸ indignation. "This is your gratitude¹⁹ for my trouble, is it?"

 

"Excuse me, but I'm so mad with that cursed boy. What'll you take? It's my treat."

 

"Come, that's talking," said the placated²⁰ customer. "What boy do you mean?"

 

"Wait a minute," said Donovan, a sudden fear possessing him.

 

He rushed up stairs and looked for Althea.

 

His wife was lying on the floor, breathing heavily, but the little girl was gone.

 

"The boy's got her! What a cursed fool I have been!" exclaimed Donovan, sinking into a chair.

 

Then, in a blind fury with the wife who didn't prevent the little girl's recapture, he seized a pail of water and emptied it over the face of the prostrate²¹ woman.

 

Mrs. Donovan came to, and berated²² her husband furiously.

 

 

"Serves you right, you jade²³!" said the affectionate husband.

 

He went down stairs feeling better. He had had revenge on somebody.

 

It was certainly an unlucky day for the Donovans.

1 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

2 panes   

窗玻璃( pane的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sun caught the panes and flashed back at him. 阳光照到窗玻璃上，又反射到他身上。
• The window-panes are dim with steam. 玻璃窗上蒙上了一层蒸汽。

3 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

4 impudent   

adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的

参考例句：

• She's tolerant toward those impudent colleagues.她对那些无礼的同事采取容忍的态度。
• The teacher threatened to kick the impudent pupil out of the room.老师威胁着要把这无礼的小学生撵出教室。

5 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

6 spoke   

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。

7 exertion   

n.尽力，努力

参考例句：

• We were sweating profusely from the exertion of moving the furniture.我们搬动家具大费气力，累得大汗淋漓。
• She was hot and breathless from the exertion of cycling uphill.由于用力骑车爬坡，她浑身发热。

8 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

9 rascal   

n.流氓；不诚实的人

参考例句：

• If he had done otherwise,I should have thought him a rascal.如果他不这样做，我就认为他是个恶棍。
• The rascal was frightened into holding his tongue.这坏蛋吓得不敢往下说了。

10 lugged   

vt.用力拖拉（lug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• She lugged the heavy case up the stairs. 她把那只沉甸甸的箱子拖上了楼梯。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They used to yell that at football when you lugged the ball. 踢足球的时候，逢着你抢到球，人们总是对你这样嚷嚷。 来自辞典例句

11 beckoned   

v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He beckoned to the waiter to bring the bill. 他招手示意服务生把账单送过来。
• The seated figure in the corner beckoned me over. 那个坐在角落里的人向我招手让我过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

13 triumphantly   

ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地

参考例句：

• The lion was roaring triumphantly. 狮子正在发出胜利的吼叫。
• Robert was looking at me triumphantly. 罗伯特正得意扬扬地看着我。

14 joyfully   

adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地

参考例句：

• She tripped along joyfully as if treading on air. 她高兴地走着，脚底下轻飘飘的。
• During these first weeks she slaved joyfully. 在最初的几周里，她干得很高兴。

15 proprietor   

n.所有人；业主；经营者

参考例句：

• The proprietor was an old acquaintance of his.业主是他的一位旧相识。
• The proprietor of the corner grocery was a strange thing in my life.拐角杂货店店主是我生活中的一个怪物。

16 liberator   

解放者

参考例句：

• The best integrated turf quality was recorded in Ram I、Midnight、America、Connie、Liberator, which could be adopted in Shanxi. RamI、Midnight、America、Connie、Liberator综合质量表现均衡且分值较高，是山西省推广应用的重点品种。
• It is the story of a new world that became a friend and liberator of the old. 这是一部新世界的发展史，是一部后浪推前浪的历史。

17 irritably   

ad.易生气地

参考例句：

• He lost his temper and snapped irritably at the children. 他发火了，暴躁地斥责孩子们。
• On this account the silence was irritably broken by a reproof. 为了这件事，他妻子大声斥责，令人恼火地打破了宁静。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

18 justifiable   

adj.有理由的，无可非议的

参考例句：

• What he has done is hardly justifiable.他的所作所为说不过去。
• Justifiable defense is the act being exempted from crimes.正当防卫不属于犯罪行为。

19 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

20 placated   

v.安抚，抚慰，使平静( placate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She hardly knew how to answer this, and yet her wrath was not placated. 她几乎不知道该如何来回答他，然而她的怒气并没有气息。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

21 prostrate   

v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的

参考例句：

• She was prostrate on the floor.她俯卧在地板上。
• The Yankees had the South prostrate and they intended to keep It'so.北方佬已经使南方屈服了,他们还打算继续下去。

22 berated   

v.严厉责备，痛斥( berate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Marion berated Joe for the noise he made. 玛丽昂严厉斥责乔吵吵闹闹。 来自辞典例句
• It berated Mussolini for selling out to Berlin. 它严厉谴责了墨索里尼背叛、投靠柏林的行径。 来自辞典例句

23 jade   

n.玉石；碧玉；翡翠

参考例句：

• The statue was carved out of jade.这座塑像是玉雕的。
• He presented us with a couple of jade lions.他送给我们一对玉狮子。