CHAPTER XV. MR. BICKFORD GOES TO THE CIRCUS.

 When Aaron Bickford, balked¹ of his prey², was compelled to get into his wagon³ and start for home, he felt uncommonly⁴ cross. To begin with, he was half famished⁵, having harnessed up and set out on what turned out to be a wild goose chase without breaking his fast. Yet he could have borne this with comparative equanimity⁶ if he had effected the purpose which he had in view—the capture of his expected apprentice⁷.

 

But he had been signally defeated. Indeed he had been humiliated⁸ in presence of Kit⁹ and William Morris, by being unceremoniously picked up and tossed over the fence. As William was an Oakford boy, he foresaw that his discomfiture¹⁰ would soon be known to all his fellow townsmen, and that public ridicule¹¹ would be his portion. There seemed no way to avoid this, unless by begging William to keep silent, and this he could not bring himself to do, even if the request was likely to be granted.

 

"Where's the boy?" asked his wife, as, after unharnessing his horse, he went into the house.

 

"I don't know where he is," answered Bickford, in a surly tone.

 

"Didn't you find him?"

 

"Yes, I found him."

 

"Wouldn't he come back?"

 

"He didn't."[Pg 76]

 

"I'd have made him if I were you."

 

"Perhaps you would, and then perhaps you wouldn't. Perhaps you couldn't."

 

"You don't mean to say, Aaron Bickford, that you let a whippersnapper like that defy you?"

 

"What could I do against a man eight feet high?"

 

"Goodness, Mr. Bickford, have you been drinking?" ejaculated his wife.

 

"No, I haven't been drinking."

 

"Do you mean to tell me that boy is eight feet high?"

 

"No, I don't mean to tell you the boy is eight feet high. But I won't answer any more foolish questions till you give me something to eat. I am fairly faint with hunger."

 

"Sit down, then, and I hope after you've gratified your appetite you'll be a little less mysterious."

 

Mrs. Bickford was privately¹² of opinion that her husband had stopped at some drinking place—otherwise why should he prate¹³ of men eight feet tall?

 

Aaron Bickford ate almost ravenously¹⁴, though the food set before him was not calculated to gratify the taste of an epicure¹⁵. But all things are acceptable to an empty stomach.

 

When he seemed to be satisfied, his wife began anew.

 

"Who is it that is eight feet high?" she asked.

 

"The giant at the circus."

 

"What did you have to do with him?"

 

"Not much, but he had something to do with me," answered Bickford, grimly.

 

"How is that?"

 

"I overhauled¹⁶ the boy, and was dragging him back to the wagon, when this fellow hove in sight. It seems he knew the young rascal¹⁷, and took his[Pg 77] part. He seized me as easily as you would take up a cat, and flung me over the fence."

 

"I wish I'd been there!" exclaimed Mrs. Bickford, angrily.

 

"What could you have done. You would have been flung over too," said her husband, contemptuously.

 

"I would have got a good grip of his hair, and I guess that would have made him let go."

 

"You'd have to stand on a ladder, then."

 

"So the boy got away?"

 

"Of course he did."

 

"And where did he go?"

 

"I expect he went to the circus along with William Morris."

 

"Was that boy with him?"

 

"Yes."

 

"They were pretty well matched. What can they do at the circus?"

 

"I don't know. Perhaps their long-legged friend will give them a ticket to the show."

 

"Aaron, suppose we go to the circus?"

 

"What for?"

 

"You may get hold of the boy, and bring him back. The giant won't be with him all the time."

 

"I'd like to get the boy back," said Bickford, in a wavering tone. "I'd give him a lesson."

 

"And so would I. I guess between us we could subdue¹⁸ him. But of course he must be got back first."

 

"I'll think of it, Sarah."

 

Later in the day Mr. Bickford told his wife he would go to the circus, but he tried to evade¹⁹ taking her in order to save the expense of another ticket. To this, however, she would not agree. The upshot was, that after supper the old horse was harnessed up, and the amiable²⁰ pair, bent²¹ on vengeance²², started for Grafton.

1 balked   

v.畏缩不前，犹豫( balk的过去式和过去分词 )；（指马）不肯跑

参考例句：

• He balked in his speech. 他忽然中断讲演。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They balked the robber's plan. 他们使强盗的计划受到挫败。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

3 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

4 uncommonly   

adv. 稀罕(极，非常)

参考例句：

• an uncommonly gifted child 一个天赋异禀的儿童
• My little Mary was feeling uncommonly empty. 我肚子当时正饿得厉害。

5 famished   

adj.饥饿的

参考例句：

• When's lunch?I'm famished!什么时候吃午饭？我饿得要死了！
• My feet are now killing me and I'm absolutely famished.我的脚现在筋疲力尽，我绝对是极饿了。

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 apprentice   

n.学徒，徒弟

参考例句：

• My son is an apprentice in a furniture maker's workshop.我的儿子在一家家具厂做学徒。
• The apprentice is not yet out of his time.这徒工还没有出徒。

8 humiliated   

感到羞愧的

参考例句：

• Parents are humiliated if their children behave badly when guests are present. 子女在客人面前举止失当，父母也失体面。
• He was ashamed and bitterly humiliated. 他感到羞耻，丢尽了面子。

9 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

10 discomfiture   

n.崩溃；大败；挫败；困惑

参考例句：

• I laughed my head off when I heard of his discomfiture. 听到别人说起他的狼狈相，我放声大笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Without experiencing discomfiture and setbacks,one can never find truth. 不经过失败和挫折，便找不到真理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 ridicule   

v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄

参考例句：

• You mustn't ridicule unfortunate people.你不该嘲笑不幸的人。
• Silly mistakes and queer clothes often arouse ridicule.荒谬的错误和古怪的服装常会引起人们的讪笑。

12 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

13 prate   

v.瞎扯，胡说

参考例句：

• Listen to him prating on about nothing.听他瞎唠叨。
• If the hen does not prate,she will not lay.母鸡不唠叨不下蛋。

14 ravenously   

adv.大嚼地，饥饿地

参考例句：

• We were all ravenously hungry after the walk. 我们散步之后都饿得要命。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The boys dug in ravenously. 男孩们开始狼吞虎咽地吃起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 epicure   

n.行家，美食家

参考例句：

• This cookery book have being wrote by a real epicure.这本食谱是由一位真正的美食家写的。
• He researches diets carefully,and is a true epicure.他对于饮食非常有研究，可以算得上是名副其实的美食家了。

16 overhauled   

v.彻底检查( overhaul的过去式和过去分词 )；大修；赶上；超越

参考例句：

• Within a year the party had drastically overhauled its structure. 一年内这个政党已大刀阔斧地整顿了结构。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A mechanic overhauled the car's motor with some new parts. 一个修理工对那辆汽车的发动机进行了彻底的检修，换了一些新部件。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 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。

18 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。

19 evade   

vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避

参考例句：

• He tried to evade the embarrassing question.他企图回避这令人难堪的问题。
• You are in charge of the job.How could you evade the issue?你是负责人，你怎么能对这个问题不置可否？

20 amiable   

adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的

参考例句：

• She was a very kind and amiable old woman.她是个善良和气的老太太。
• We have a very amiable companionship.我们之间存在一种友好的关系。

21 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

22 vengeance   

n.报复，报仇，复仇

参考例句：

• He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。
• For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。