CHAPTER XXX THE CIRCUS

 Speeding toward them came the big beast, lashing¹ his sides with his tail, evidently in a state of great excitement. Gerald trembled as he saw him. There are few, whatever their courage, who would not do so. He did not dare to set out on the way to the village. He thought it better to remain with the lion's keeper and under his protection.

 

Paul King stood calm and imperturbable², waiting the arrival of his lost charge. There was a time when he, too, would have fled, but he had become used to lions and their ways, and felt perfect confidence in his power to subdue³ them.

 

As Nero came nearer, Gerald could see that his jaws⁴ were bloody⁵. He guessed that the blood was that of his ill-fated horse.

 

"He has killed your horse, sure enough," said King. "Was he valuable?"

 

"I paid a hundred dollars for him."

 

"He wasn't insured against lions?"

 

"No."

 

"I am sorry for your loss."

 

"I shall not mind that if I save my own life."

 

"Your life is in no danger."

 

By this time the lion was almost upon them. He looked terrible, with the blood-stains about his jaws, but Paul King's equanimity⁶ was not shaken. One thing, however, he failed to consider, and that was the effect of blood upon the savage⁷ brute⁸. Great as was his ascendency over Nero, the savage instinct of the great animal destroyed the effect of years of discipline.

 

Paul King understood this when Nero advanced upon him, unheeding his tone of command.

 

"Down, Nero!" he cried; but Nero would not down. His wicked eyes glared, his tail lashed⁹ his sides, and he rushed at his keeper with hostile intent.

 

It flashed upon King that Nero was becoming dangerous.

 

"I shall have to kill you!" he cried, between his set teeth.

 

He fired at the lion, but either the huge animal swerved¹⁰ or something affected¹¹ his aim, for it did not hit the mark.

 

Then Gerald thought it was time for him to act. His life as well as the keeper's was in peril¹². Raising his weapon he took steady aim.

 

"Shoot him in the eye!" exclaimed King.

 

Gerald obeyed, directions. As a boy, of course, he was not a practised marksman; but luck—or perhaps it would be better to say Providence—was on his side, and the bullet entered Nero's eye and penetrated¹³ to his brain. The lion swayed a moment, and then fell over on his side. Death seemed to be instantaneous.

 

"By Jove! you have killed him!" exclaimed Paul King. "It was a fine shot!"

 

"Is he really dead?" asked Gerald, finding it difficult to believe in his success.

 

"Yes, he is dead fast enough. He is dead, and the circus is out nearly five thousand dollars."

 

"That was better than to have him kill either of us."

 

"You are right. I never knew Nero in such a mood. It must have been the horse's blood that excited him."

 

"Have you any other lion in the show?"

 

"Yes, one; but this was the best."

 

"Shall you leave him here?"

 

"I will send out some of my men to bury him. He was a grand beast, and deserves burial. And now let us be going back."

 

"I will get off the horse and leave him to you," said Gerald.

 

"No; since my lion killed your horse, it is only fair that you should ride on mine. To be sure you killed the lion."

 

"I feel proud of it. I never expected to kill a lion."

 

"You have reason to be proud. You are the only boy I ever knew that could say as much."

 

Though Goldwin was a small town, a circus performance was given there during the evening. Five miles away was a mining station, and some seventy-five miners were in attendance. Gerald was glad to go, partly because it filled up his evening agreeably, and partly from the taste for such performances which he had in common with most boys of his age.

 

It was a small show, but Goldwin had never had a visit from Barnum or Forepaugh, and vociferously¹⁴ applauded the clown, the bareback riders, the trapeze performers, and other acts familiar to the regular circus goer.

 

In cages, in full view of the audience, were a few animals, including a Bengal tiger and a lioness. Paul King, Gerald's acquaintance of the afternoon, described these in succession. When he came to the lioness, he said: "I am sorry not to be able to show you the lion Nero, one of the finest specimens¹⁵ ever imported from Africa. He has been connected with our show for five years, but this morning he escaped and started out on a jaunt¹⁶ across country. He nearly killed a boy, who slipped off his horse and left the lion to chase the unfortunate animal. He overtook and tore the horse to pieces, and then started on his return.

 

"I had gone out in search of him, having confidence in my power over him. But I was mistaken. The blood which he had tasted roused his savage nature, and I was compelled to use my gun. But by bad luck I failed, and should myself have fallen a victim, but for the boy who had joined me and shot him in the eye, instantly killing¹⁷ him.

 

"I cannot show you the lion Nero, but I am able to show you the boy who killed him, the only boy within my knowledge who ever killed a lion."

 

He signaled, to Gerald, who rose from his seat, flushed and bashful. The whole audience, and especially the miners, cheered him loudly. Gerald bowed his acknowledgment and sat down.

 

When the performance was over more than one went up to Gerald and shook his hand. Among them was a tall, slabsided Yankee, who closely resembled the pictures of Uncle Sam.

 

"I tell you, boy, you're true grit," he said; "take the word of Joshua Burdoch for that. I've shot a panther, but I own I shouldn't dare to tackle a lion."

 

"It was a case of necessity," said Gerald, smiling. "Either I must kill him, or he would have killed me."

 

"Weren't you afraid?"

 

"Yes, I was."

 

"I think better of you for saying so. Some would have denied it and said they were perfectly¹⁸ cool."

 

"I hope I shall never meet another lion," said Gerald. "I am satisfied with killing one."

 

"Where are you going when you leave here?"

 

"To Ransom¹⁹."

 

"So am I. Suppose we hitch²⁰ horses?"

 

"I shall be very glad of your company, Mr. Burdoch; but, as to hitching²¹ horses, I shall have to buy one first. The poor animal I came on was killed by Nero."

 

"You can buy one in town, and if you need money I will lend you some."

 

"There won't be any trouble about that. I am well provided."

 

Gerald was pleased to have secured as companion, an honest man whom he could trust. Moreover, in case of danger or difficulty, he felt that he could rely on Joshua Burdoch for help.

 

1 lashing   

n.鞭打；痛斥；大量；许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The speaker was lashing the crowd. 演讲人正在煽动人群。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rain was lashing the windows. 雨急打着窗子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 imperturbable   

adj.镇静的

参考例句：

• Thomas,of course,was cool and aloof and imperturbable.当然，托马斯沉着、冷漠，不易激动。
• Edward was a model of good temper and his equanimity imperturbable.爱德华是个典型的好性子，他总是沉着镇定。

3 subdue   

vt.制服，使顺从，征服；抑制，克制

参考例句：

• She tried to subdue her anger.她尽力压制自己的怒火。
• He forced himself to subdue and overcome his fears.他强迫自己克制并战胜恐惧心理。

4 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

5 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

6 equanimity   

n.沉着，镇定

参考例句：

• She went again,and in so doing temporarily recovered her equanimity.她又去看了戏，而且这样一来又暂时恢复了她的平静。
• The defeat was taken with equanimity by the leadership.领导层坦然地接受了失败。

7 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

8 brute   

n.野兽，兽性

参考例句：

• The aggressor troops are not many degrees removed from the brute.侵略军简直象一群野兽。
• That dog is a dangerous brute.It bites people.那条狗是危险的畜牲，它咬人。

9 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 swerved   

v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She swerved sharply to avoid a cyclist. 她猛地急转弯，以躲开一个骑自行车的人。
• The driver has swerved on a sudden to avoid a file of geese. 为了躲避一队鹅，司机突然来个急转弯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

12 peril   

n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物

参考例句：

• The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
• The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。

13 penetrated   

adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The knife had penetrated his chest. 刀子刺入了他的胸膛。
• They penetrated into territory where no man had ever gone before. 他们已进入先前没人去过的地区。

14 vociferously   

adv.喊叫地，吵闹地

参考例句：

• They are arguing vociferously over who should pay the bill. 他们为谁该付账单大声争吵。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Annixter had cursed him so vociferously and tersely that even Osterman was cowed. 安尼克斯特骂了他的声音之大，语气之凶，连奥斯特曼也不禁吓了一跳。 来自辞典例句

15 specimens   

n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人

参考例句：

• Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
• The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 jaunt   

v.短程旅游；n.游览

参考例句：

• They are off for a day's jaunt to the beach.他们出去到海边玩一天。
• They jaunt about quite a lot,especially during the summer.他们常常到处闲逛，夏天更是如此。

17 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

18 perfectly   

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。

19 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

20 hitch   

v.免费搭(车旅行)；系住；急提；n.故障；急拉

参考例句：

• They had an eighty-mile journey and decided to hitch hike.他们要走80英里的路程，最后决定搭便车。
• All the candidates are able to answer the questions without any hitch.所有报考者都能对答如流。

21 hitching   

搭乘； （免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的现在分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上

参考例句：

• The farmer yoked the oxen before hitching them to the wagon. 农夫在将牛套上大车之前先给它们套上轭。
• I saw an old man hitching along on his stick. 我看见一位老人拄着手杖蹒跚而行。