CHAPTER X. TRAPPED.

 ROBERT foresaw that trouble was in store for him, as he had seen enough of the farmer to understand his disposition¹. However, the boy was not easily startled, nor was he of a nervous temperament². He looked calmly at Tarbox and said: "Very well, sir, what do you want of me?"

"What do I want of you? I shouldn't think you'd need to be told. You remember me, don't you?"

"Perfectly³ well," answered Robert.

"Perhaps you can remember where you saw me last?"

"In the circus last evening."

"No, I don't mean that—before that."

"In your own field, trying to whip a poor boy who was going to call the doctor for his sick mother."

"Look here, boy," said Tarbox, reddening; "none of your impudence⁴!"

86

"Did I tell the truth?" asked Robert quietly.

"Never mind whether you did or not. I ain't going to stand any of your impudence. Where's that big brute⁵ Enoch?"

"If you mean Anak, I left him in the tent."

"He needn't think he can go round insulting and committing assault and battery on his betters," said Tarbox.

"You can tell him that if you like, sir; I am not responsible for him."

"No, but you are responsible for trespassin' on my grounds."

"I would do it again if I saw you trying to flog a defenceless boy," said Robert, independently.

"You would, hey?" sneered⁶ Tarbox. "Well, now, you may change your opinion on that subject before we part company."

"Come, Rob, let's be going," said Charlie Davis, who didn't find this conversation interesting.

"You can go," said Tarbox; "I hav'nt anything ag'inst you; but this boy's got to stay."

"What for?" asked Charlie.

"What for? He'll find out what for."

87

"If you touch him, I'll send Anak after you," said Charlie.

"You will, hey? So you are impudent⁷, too. Well, I'll have to give you a lesson, too."

Tarbox felt that it was time to commence business, and made a grab for Robert's collar, but the boy was agile⁸, and quickly dodging⁹ ran to one side.

Charlie Davis laughed, which further annoyed and provoked Mr. Tarbox, but the wrath¹⁰ of the farmer was chiefly directed against Robert, who had witnessed his discomfiture¹¹ at the hands of the Norwegian giant. He therefore set out to catch the young circus-rider, but Robert was fleet-footed, and led him a fruitless chase around trees, and Tarbox was not able to get his hand on him. What annoyed the farmer especially was that the boy did not seem at all frightened, and it appeared to be no particular effort to him to elude¹² his grasp.

Tarbox was of a dogged, determined¹³ disposition, and the more difficult he found it to carry out his purpose the more resolved he was to accomplish it. It would never do to yield to two boys, who both together had less strength than88 he. It was different from encountering Anak, who was a match for three ordinary men.

But Tarbox, in spite of his anger, and in spite of his superior strength, was destined¹⁴ to come to grief.

He had not paid any special attention to the younger boy, being intent upon capturing Robert. Charlie, taking advantage of this, picked up a stout¹⁵ stick, which had apparently¹⁶ been cut for a cane¹⁷ and then thrown aside, and took it up first with the intention of defending himself, if necessary. But as Tarbox dashed by without noticing him, a new idea came to Charlie, and thrusting out the stick so that it passed between the legs of the pursuer, Tarbox was thrown violently to the ground, on which he lay for a moment prostrate¹⁸ and bewildered.

"Climb that tree, Rob!" called out Charlie quickly.

Robert accepted the suggestion. He saw that no time was to be lost, and with the quickness of a trained athlete made his way up the trunk and into the branches of a tall tree near at hand, while Charlie with equal quickness took refuge on another.

89

Tarbox fell with such violence that he was jarred and could not immediately recover from the shock of his fall. When he did rise he was more angry than ever. He looked for the two boys and saw what had become of them. By this time Robert was at least twenty-five feet from the ground.

"Come down here, you, sir!" said the farmer, his voice shaking with passion.

"Thank you, sir," answered Robert coolly; "but at present I find it more agreeable up here."

"Come down here, and I'll give you the worst thrashing you ever had!"

"Your intentions are very kind, but the inducement isn't sufficient."

"If I hadn't fallen just as I did, I'd have had you by this time."

"That's just what I thought when I put the stick between your legs," called out Charlie Davis from another tree.

It may seem singular, but until then Tarbox had not understood how he came to fall. He had an idea that he had tripped over the root of a tree.

"Did you do that?" he asked wrathfully, turning to the smaller boy.

90

"Yes, I did."

"If I could catch you, you wouldn't get out of this wood alive."

"Then I'm glad you can't get me," said Charlie, looking unconcernedly down upon his stalwart enemy.

"You're two of the worst boys I ever saw," proceeded the farmer, wrathfully.

"And I'm sure you're the worst man I ever saw."

"What's your name?" asked Tarbox, abruptly¹⁹.

"Charlie Davis; I'm sorry I haven't got my card with me, or I'd throw it down to you."

"I'd like to have the bringing up of you."

"All right! Perhaps I'll appoint you my guardian²⁰."

"You're more impudent than the other one, though you ain't so big."

"Are you comin' down?" he inquired of Robert.

"Not at present."

"I won't stir from here till you do, if I have to stay all night."

This was not a cheerful reflection, for the two boys were expected to be present and ride in the evening, and their absence would be regretted,91 not only by the manager, but also by the public, with whom they were favorites.

"I say, Rob," called out Charlie, "how fond he is of our company!"

"So it seems!" responded Robert, who was quite cool but rather annoyed by the farmer's persistence²¹.

"I only wish Bruiser were alive!" said Tarbox. "Then I'd know what to do."

"What would you do?" asked Charlie.

"I'd leave him to guard you, and then I'd go home and get my gun."

"What for?"

"I'd soon bring you down if I had that," answered the farmer, grimly.

"If that's what you would do I'm glad old Bruiser's kicked the bucket," said Charlie.

"I never shall get such another dog!" said Tarbox, half to himself, in a mournful voice. "Nobody dared to go across my ground when he was alive."

"Was that the dog that Anak killed?" asked Charlie.

"Yes," answered Robert, briefly²². "He was a vicious-looking brute and deserved to die."

92

At that moment Tarbox chanced to notice the stick which had produced his downfall, and a new idea came to him.

He picked it up, and breaking it in two seized one piece and flung it with all his force at Robert.

The latter caught and flung it back, knocking off the farmer's hat.

Tarbox was naturally incensed²³, and began again to hurl²⁴ the missile, but anger disturbed his aim so that this time it went wide of the mark.

"I say, Robert," said Charlie, "this is interesting."

"I'm glad you find it so," answered Robert. "I can't say I enjoy it."

"You may just as well come down and take your thrashing now," said Tarbox, "for you're sure to get it."

"If you're in a hurry to get home to supper, perhaps we'll wait for you here," suggested Charlie, politely.

"Shut up, you saucebox! You won't have much appetite for supper!" retorted Tarbox.

He sat down where he could have a full view of both trees, when presently he heard Charlie93 call out in a terrified tone, "Rob, look there! The tiger's got loose! See him coming this way! Can he climb trees?"

Tarbox stopped to hear no more. He sprang to his feet, and without waiting to bid the boys good-by he took to his heels and fled from the wood, feeling that his life was in peril²⁵.

1 disposition   

n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署

参考例句：

• He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。
• He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。

2 temperament   

n.气质，性格，性情

参考例句：

• The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。
• Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。

3 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。

4 impudence   

n.厚颜无耻；冒失；无礼

参考例句：

• His impudence provoked her into slapping his face.他的粗暴让她气愤地给了他一耳光。
• What knocks me is his impudence.他的厚颜无耻使我感到吃惊。

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 sneered   

讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sneered at people who liked pop music. 他嘲笑喜欢流行音乐的人。
• It's very discouraging to be sneered at all the time. 成天受嘲讽是很令人泄气的。

7 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。

8 agile   

adj.敏捷的，灵活的

参考例句：

• She is such an agile dancer!她跳起舞来是那么灵巧！
• An acrobat has to be agile.杂技演员必须身手敏捷。

9 dodging   

n.避开，闪过，音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 )；回避

参考例句：

• He ran across the road, dodging the traffic. 他躲开来往的车辆跑过马路。
• I crossed the highway, dodging the traffic. 我避开车流穿过了公路。 来自辞典例句

10 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

11 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》

12 elude   

v.躲避，困惑

参考例句：

• If you chase it,it will elude you.如果你追逐着它， 它会躲避你。
• I had dared and baffled his fury.I must elude his sorrow.我曾经面对过他的愤怒，并且把它挫败了；现在我必须躲避他的悲哀。

13 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

14 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

16 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

17 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

18 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。

19 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

20 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

21 persistence   

n.坚持，持续，存留

参考例句：

• The persistence of a cough in his daughter puzzled him.他女儿持续的咳嗽把他难住了。
• He achieved success through dogged persistence.他靠着坚持不懈取得了成功。

22 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

23 incensed   

盛怒的

参考例句：

• The decision incensed the workforce. 这个决定激怒了劳工大众。
• They were incensed at the decision. 他们被这个决定激怒了。

24 hurl   

vt.猛投，力掷，声叫骂

参考例句：

• The best cure for unhappiness is to hurl yourself into your work.医治愁苦的最好办法就是全身心地投入工作。
• To hurl abuse is no way to fight.谩骂决不是战斗。

25 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。