CHAPTER VI. TARBOX IS DEFEATED.

 THE performance had not commenced—indeed, half an hour would elapse before the hour fixed—and several of the performers were to be seen among the spectators about the cages of the animals. One of these Tarbox recognized.

"Look at that boy!" he said, clutching the constable¹'s arm.

He pointed² to Robert Rudd and Charlie Davis, the two young riders, who were walking together.

"What of him?" asked Spriggins.

"That's the young villain³ that was with Enoch."

Spriggins inwardly wished that the warrant was for Robert instead of the giant.

"Why didn't you arrest him instead of the giant?" he asked.

"Perhaps I will yet, for he trespassed⁴ on my grounds; but it was Enoch that shook me up and51 killed Bruiser. Look here, young feller," he said, addressing Robert.

Robert turned and smiled as he recognized the farmer.

"Oh, it's you," he answered.

"Yes, it's me," answered Tarbox sternly. "Where is Enoch?"

"Who do you mean?"

"That overgrown brute⁵ that was with you this afternoon."

Charlie Davis asked a question in a low voice of Robert, and then turning to Tarbox before Robert had a chance to answer him asked: "Do you want to buy a dog, mister?"

"You're too small! I don't want a puppy!" answered Tarbox, scowling⁷.

"Oh, you're too fresh!" answered Charlie, rather annoyed, particularly as Robert laughed.

"Why don't you answer me, boy?" demanded Tarbox angrily.

"I will conduct you to my friend, the Norwegian giant," answered Robert politely.

"Come along, Spriggins!" said Mr. Tarbox, pulling after him the reluctant constable.

Spriggins would have enjoyed a leisurely⁸ examination52 of the Albino sisters, the wild man from Borneo, the living skeleton, and the fat lady, but none of them had attractions for Mr. Tarbox, whose soul was fired by the desire for revenge. All too soon they reached the chair where in massive dignity sat Anak, the Norwegian giant.

As Anak's eyes rested on the approaching visitors, he looked amused.

"I'm glad to see you, my friend," he called out, in the deep tones natural to him, to Tarbox.

"And I'm glad to see you," said Tarbox, spitefully. "I came here expressly to see you."

"You're very kind," said Anak. "Take a good look. There ain't so much of me as there is of my friend, Mme. Leonora," with a wave of the hand towards the fat lady; "but you can look at me as much as you want to."

"I shall soon see you in a prison cell," said Mr. Tarbox, sternly. "Constable Spriggins, do your duty, sir."

Poor Spriggins gazed at the immense man before him, with his heart gradually sinking down into his boots. Never in all his life had he been placed in such an embarrassing position. What utter nonsense it was for him to think of leading53 out such a monster by the collar. Why, he couldn't begin to reach up to Anak's collar.

"Can't we compromise this thing?" he asked, faintly.

"No, we can't, Spriggins; I insist upon your doin' your duty."

"What do you want?" asked Anak, in some curiosity.

"Produce your warrant, Spriggins," said Tarbox.

The constable mechanically drew it out from his inside pocket.

Tarbox saw that he must take the initiative, and he was perfectly⁹ willing to do so.

"Enoch," he said, "this man is an officer of the law. He has a warrant for your arrest."

"For my arrest?" inquired Anak, opening his eyes in amazed surprise.

"Yes, for assault and battery on me, Nathan Tarbox, and the murder of my dog, Bruiser. Such things can be done in Norway, p'r'aps, but they ain't allowed in the State of Massachusetts. Spriggins, do your duty."

The constable looked at the giant uncomfortably, and edged away a little.

54

"What!" said Anak, shaking his sides, "does he want to arrest me?"

"Yes," said Tarbox, grimly. "Spriggins, read the warrant."

"Read it yourself, Mr. Tarbox."

Tarbox did so with evident enjoyment¹⁰, but Anak's enjoyment seemed no less.

"Ho, ho, ho!" he shouted. "This is a joke!"

"You won't find it much of a joke," said Tarbox. "Come, Spriggins, do your duty."

"Mr. Enoch," said the constable, in a trembling voice, "if you'll come with me without making any fuss, I'll see that you are well treated."

"Suppose I don't?" said Anak.

Spriggins looked helplessly at Tarbox. That was a question he could not answer.

"Then it'll be the worse for you," said Tarbox, who was always ready to make up for his companion's deficiencies.

"Can't you wait till the performance is over?" asked the giant, smiling.

"To be sure," said Spriggins, quickly. "Anything to oblige."

"No," said Tarbox, decidedly. "The warrant must be served now. You have no discretion¹¹."

55

"I'd like to oblige the gentleman," said the constable, who wanted to avoid trouble and see the performance.

"You can't. It won't be allowed."

"What's the use of losing the benefit of our money, Mr. Tarbox?"

"That's my affair. I don't want to see the circus. I consider it a wicked snare¹² to lure¹³ souls to Satan."

"But I don't; you can go, you know," suggested Spriggins.

"No; I shall stay here to see that you do your duty."

"You have no charge over me," said the constable, with some spirit.

"All the same you need looking after. Enoch, if you defy the law you'll find it the worse for you. This ain't Norway."

"No; we've got no such fools as you in Norway," retorted the giant. "Tell me what you want."

Tarbox whispered to Spriggins.

The latter in a tremulous voice said, "Enoch, I arrest you in the name of the Commonwealth¹⁴ of Massachusetts, and I require you to come with me at once."

56

"Come and take me," said Anak, his broad face relaxing with a smile.

"What do you mean?" asked Tarbox, quickly.

"I mean that I shan't stir from this chair. My contract with this show requires me to sit here. If the constable wants me, he must take me by force. He needn't be afraid. If he can take me he may."

Even Tarbox looked rather nonplussed¹⁵. Both he and Spriggins together would have found it impossible to carry off a giant weighing over four hundred pounds.

"You see, we'll have to give it up," said Spriggins, with evident pleasure.

"You're glad of it!" said Tarbox, suspiciously. "You don't want to do your duty."

"I've tried to do it, and it's no use," said the constable, with a little show of spirit. "If I had the strength of a yoke¹⁶ of oxen, I might do something; as it is, I can't."

"You'd better come quietly, Enoch," said Tarbox, his own courage beginning to fail.

A crowd had collected about the two, and derisive¹⁷ smiles and remarks greeted the lamentable¹⁸ failure of Tarbox's scheme of revenge.

57

"Get a wheelbarrow, mister," said a boy from a neighboring town.

"Hadn't you better try a derrick?" suggested a man beside him.

"You must be a lunatic!" said another.

"We'd better go, Mr. Tarbox," said Spriggins, uncomfortably.

"I won't stir," said Tarbox, looking around him with a scowl⁶, "till I see that warrant served. I wish I was a constable."

"It wouldn't be healthy for you, old man!" said Charlie Davis, who, with Robert, had been drawn¹⁹ to the scene, and heard the colloquy²⁰.

"I'd make you healthy if I had you with me for a few minutes," said Tarbox, scowling.

"Thank you; you're very kind, but my time is too valuable," said Charlie.

"What is all this?" asked a voice of authority.

It was the voice of the manager, who had been attracted by the crowd as he was going his rounds.

"The matter is that we've got a warrant for this man's arrest!" said Tarbox, pointing to the giant.

"Show me your warrant!"

58

It was handed him.

He smiled as he read it, and handing it back, remarked, "Your warrant is mere²¹ waste paper, gentlemen."

"Why is it?" asked Tarbox, defiantly²².

"Because there is no such man as Enoch in this show."

"Isn't that his name?" asked Tarbox.

"No, it isn't. If you can find a man by that name you are welcome to take him."

"Crushed again," remarked Charlie Davis, mockingly.

Tarbox made a grab for the boy's collar, but failed to secure him.

"Come along out, Spriggins," he said, in a tone of deep depression.

"You can go if you like," said the constable, independently; "I'm going to stay and see the show."

1 constable   

n.(英国)警察，警官

参考例句：

• The constable conducted the suspect to the police station.警官把嫌疑犯带到派出所。
• The constable kept his temper,and would not be provoked.那警察压制着自己的怒气，不肯冒起火来。

2 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

3 villain   

n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因

参考例句：

• He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
• The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。

4 trespassed   

（trespass的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Here is the ringleader of the gang that trespassed on your grounds. 这就是侵犯你土地的那伙人的头子。
• He trespassed against the traffic regulations. 他违反了交通规则。

5 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。

6 scowl   

vi.(at)生气地皱眉，沉下脸，怒视；n.怒容

参考例句：

• I wonder why he is wearing an angry scowl.我不知道他为何面带怒容。
• The boss manifested his disgust with a scowl.老板面带怒色，清楚表示出他的厌恶之感。

7 scowling   

怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• There she was, grey-suited, sweet-faced, demure, but scowling. 她就在那里，穿着灰色的衣服，漂亮的脸上显得严肃而忧郁。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Scowling, Chueh-hui bit his lips. 他马上把眉毛竖起来。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

8 leisurely   

adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的

参考例句：

• We walked in a leisurely manner,looking in all the windows.我们慢悠悠地走着，看遍所有的橱窗。
• He had a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work.他从容的吃了早餐，高兴的开车去工作。

9 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。

10 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。

11 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

12 snare   

n.陷阱，诱惑，圈套；（去除息肉或者肿瘤的）勒除器；响弦，小军鼓；vt.以陷阱捕获，诱惑

参考例句：

• I used to snare small birds such as sparrows.我曾常用罗网捕捉麻雀等小鸟。
• Most of the people realized that their scheme was simply a snare and a delusion.大多数人都认识到他们的诡计不过是一个骗人的圈套。

13 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

14 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

15 nonplussed   

adj.不知所措的，陷于窘境的v.使迷惑( nonplus的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The speaker was completely nonplussed by the question. 演讲者被这个问题完全难倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I was completely nonplussed by his sudden appearance. 他突然出现使我大吃一惊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 yoke   

n.轭；支配；v.给...上轭，连接，使成配偶

参考例句：

• An ass and an ox,fastened to the same yoke,were drawing a wagon.驴子和公牛一起套在轭上拉车。
• The defeated army passed under the yoke.败军在轭门下通过。

17 derisive   

adj.嘲弄的

参考例句：

• A storm of derisive applause broke out.一阵暴风雨般的哄笑声轰然响起。
• They flushed,however,when she burst into a shout of derisive laughter.然而，当地大声嘲笑起来的时候，她们的脸不禁涨红了。

18 lamentable   

adj.令人惋惜的，悔恨的

参考例句：

• This lamentable state of affairs lasted until 1947.这一令人遗憾的事态一直持续至1947年。
• His practice of inebriation was lamentable.他的酗酒常闹得别人束手无策。

19 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

20 colloquy   

n.谈话，自由讨论

参考例句：

• The colloquy between them was brief.他们之间的对话很简洁。
• They entered into eager colloquy with each other.他们展开热切的相互交谈。

21 mere   

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。

22 defiantly   

adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地

参考例句：

• Braving snow and frost, the plum trees blossomed defiantly. 红梅傲雪凌霜开。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。 来自《简明英汉词典》