To be generally helpful was one of the chief points in the character of Charlie Brooke.
He was evidently born to aid mankind. He began by helping1 himself to everything in life that seemed at all desirable. This was natural, not selfish.
At first there were few things, apparently2, that did seem to his infant mind desirable, for his earliest days were marked by a sort of chronic3 crossness that seemed quite unaccountable in one so healthy; but this was eventually traced to the influence of pins injudiciously disposed about the person by nurse. Possibly this experience may have tended to develop a spirit of brave endurance, and might perhaps account for the beautiful modifications4 of character that were subsequently observed in him. At all events, sweet, patient amiability5 was a prevailing6 feature in the boy long before the years of infancy7 were over, and this heavenly aspect of him was pleasantly diversified8, in course of time, by occasional displays of resolute—we might almost say heroic—self-will, which proved a constant source of mingled9 pride and alarm to his widowed mother.
From a very early period of life little Charlie manifested an intense desire, purpose, and capacity for what may be called his life-work of rescuing human beings from trouble and danger. It became a passion with him as years rolled on, and was among the chief means that brought about the changes in his chequered career.
Appropriately enough he began—almost in babyhood—by rescuing himself!
It happened thus. One day, when he had reached the immature10 age of five, he was left in the nursery for a few moments in company with a wash-tub, in which his mother had been cleansing11 the household linen12.
Mrs Brooke, it may be remarked, although in the middle ranks of life, was very much below the middle ranks in financial prosperity, and had therefore to perform much household drudgery13.
Charlie’s earnest desire to please and obey his mother constantly came into collision with that self-will to which we have referred. Separately, these qualities may perhaps work quietly, at least as regards their possessor, but unitedly they form a mixture which is apt to become explosive in early youth.
“Don’t touch the tub, Charlie; I’ll be back directly,” said Mrs Brooke, as she was leaving the nursery. “Don’t even go near it.”
“No, muvver, I won’t.”
He spoke14 with much decision, for he adored water—not to drink but to play with—and seemed to realise the danger of his position, and the necessity for self-control.
The temptation to avail himself of the chance, however, was almost too much for him. Feeling that an internal conflict was pending15, he toddled16 to the fire, turned his back to it à la paterfamilias, and glared at the tub, resolved, come what might, to be “dood.” But fate was against him!
Suddenly he became aware that something more than radiated heat was operating in rear. He glanced behind. His cotton tunic17 was in flames! In the twinkling of an eye he was seated in the wash-tub, his hands clasped in horror as he thought of his guilt18, and the flames thoroughly19 extinguished!
The solemn glare and pursed mouth with which he met his mother’s look of blank amazement20 may be imagined but cannot be described—he looked so quiet, too, and so evidently contented21, for the warm water was congenial!
“O Charlie! did I not say that—”
“Yes, muvver, but I’m bu’nt.”
The fearsome and dripping black patch which presented itself to the agonised mother when she lifted him out of the tub sufficiently22 enlightened her and exonerated23 the child, but her anxiety was not relieved till she had stripped him naked and ascertained24 for certain that no scrap25 of his fair skin had been injured.
This may be said to have been the real commencement of Charlie Brooke’s career. We mention it chiefly to show that our hero was gifted with some power of ready resource even in childhood. He was also gifted with a fearless and daring disposition26, a quietly enthusiastic spirit, a modest mien27, and a strong muscular body.
Of course these admirable qualities were not fully28 developed in childhood, but the seeds were there. In due time the plants came up and the flowers bloomed.
We would here caution the reader—especially the youthful reader—against supposing that from this point our hero was engaged in rescue-work, and continued at it ever after without intermission. Like Samson, with his great strength, he exercised his powers only now and then—more than half unconscious of what was in him—and on many occasions without any definite purpose in view.
His first act of heroism29 was exercised, when he had reached the age of nine, in behalf of a kitten.
It was on a magnificent summer day, soon after he had been sent to the village school, that the incident occurred. Charlie was walking at the time with one of his school-fellows named Shank Leather.
Shank was a little older than himself, and a good enough fellow in his way, but much given to boasting, and possessed30 of very few of the fine qualities that characterised our hero. The two were out for a holiday-ramble, a long way from home, and had reached a river on the banks of which they sat down to enjoy their mid-day meal. The meal was simple, and carried in their pockets. It consisted of two inch-and-a-half-thick slices of bread, with two lumps of cheese to match.
“I wish this river was nearer home,” said Shank Leather, as they sat down under a spreading oak to dine.
“Why?” asked his companion, with a felicitous31 brevity and straightforwardness32 which occasionally marked his conversation.
“Because then I would have a swim in it everyday.”
“Can you swim?” asked Charlie, a slight elevation33 of the eyebrows34 indicating surprise not unmingled with admiration35—for our hero was a hero-worshipper. He could not well have been a hero otherwise!
“Of course I can swim,” returned Shank; “that is to say, a little; but I feel sure that I’ll be a splendid swimmer some day.”
His companion’s look of admiration increased.
“What’ll you take to drink?” asked Shank, drawing a large flask36 from the pocket in which he had concealed37 it up to that moment with the express purpose of giving his companion a pleasant surprise.
It may be well to add that the variety of dunks implied in his question was imaginary. Shank had only one flask, but in the exuberance38 of convivial39 generosity40 he quoted his own father—who was addicted41 to “the bottle.”
“What is it?” asked Brooke, in curious expectancy42.
“Taste and see,” said his friend, uncorking the flask.
Charlie tasted, but did not “see,” apparently, for he looked solemn, and tasted again.
“It’s liquorice-water,” said Shank, with the look of one who expects approval. “I made it myself!”
Nauseous in the extreme, it might have served the purpose of an emetic43 had not the digestion44 of the boys been ostrich-like, but, on hearing how it came into existence, Charlie put it a third time to his lips, took a good gulp45, and then, nodding his head as he wiped his mouth with his cuff46, declared that it was “wonderful.”
“Yes, isn’t it? There’s not many fellows could make stuff like that.”
“No, indeed,” assented47 the other heartily48, as he attacked the bread and cheese. “Does your father know you made it?”
“Oh yes, and he tasted it too—he’d taste anything in the shape of drink—but he spat49 it out, and then washed his mouth with brandy an’ water. Mother took some too, and she said she had tasted worse drinks; and she only wished that father would take to it. That made father laugh heartily. Then I gave some to little May, and she said it was ‘So nice.’”
“Ay. That was like little May,” remarked Charlie, with a quiet laugh; “she’d say that a mess o’ tar50 an’ shoe-blacking was nice if you made it. But I say, Shank, let’s see you swim. I’d give anything if I could swim. Do, like a brick as you are. There’s a fine deep hole here under the bank.”
He pointed51 to a pool in the river where the gurgling eddies52 certainly indicated considerable depth of water, but his friend shook his head.
“No, Charlie,” he said, “you don’t understand the danger as I do. Don’t you see that the water runs into the hole at such a rate that there’s a tree-mendous eddy53 that would sweep any man off his legs—”
“But you’re goin’ to swim, you know,” interrupted his friend, “an’ have got to be off your legs anyhow!”
“That’s all you know,” returned the other. “If a man’s swept round by an eddy, don’t you know, he’ll be banged against things, and then the water rushes out of the hole with such a gush54, an’ goes thunderin’ down below, over boulders55 and stones, and—an’—don’t you see?”
“That’s true, Shank; it does look dangerous, even for a man that can swim.”
He put such emphasis on the “man” that his comrade glanced sharply at him, but the genuine innocence56 of our hero’s face was too obvious to suggest irony57. He simply saw that the use of the word man pleased his friend, therefore he used it.
Conversation was cut short at this point by the sudden appearance on the scene of two strangers—a kitten and a dog.
The assertion that “dogs delight to bark and bite” is, perhaps, too sweeping58, but then it was made by a poet and poets have an acknowledged licence—though not necessarily a dog-licence. Certain it is, however, that this dog—a mongrel cur—did bark with savage59 delight, and display all its teeth, with an evident desire to bite, as it chased a delirious60 tortoise-shell kitten towards the river.
It was a round, soft, lively kitten, with the hair on its little body sticking straight out, its heart in its mouth, and horror in its lovely eyes. It made straight for the tree under which the dinner was going on. Both boys started up. Enemies in front and rear! Even a human general might have stood appalled61. Two courses were still open—right and left. The kitten turned right and went wrong, for that was the river-side. No time for thought! Barking cur and yelling boys! It reached the edge of the pool, spread out all its legs with a caterwaul of despair, and went headlong into the water.
Shank Leather gazed—something like glee mingled with his look of consternation62. Not so our hero. Pity was bursting his bosom63. With one magnificent bound he went into the pool, caught the kitten in his right hand, and carried it straight to the bottom. Next moment he re-appeared on the surface, wildly beating the water with one hand and holding the kitten aloft in the other. Shank, to do him justice, plunged64 into the river up to his waist, but his courage carried him no further. There he stuck, vainly holding out a hand and shouting for help.
But no help was near, and it seemed as if the pair of strugglers were doomed65 to perish when a pitiful eddy swept them both out of the deep pool into the foaming66 rapid below. Shank followed them in howling despair, for here things looked ten times worse: his comrade being tossed from billow to breaker, was turned heels over head, bumped against boulders, stranded67 on shallows, overturned and swept away again—but ever with the left arm beating wildly, and the right hand with the kitten, held high in air.
But the danger, except from being dashed against the boulders, was not really as great as it seemed, for every time that Brooke got a foothold for an instant, or was driven on a rock, or was surged, right-end-up, on a shoot of water, he managed to gasp68 a little air—including a deal of water. The kitten, of course, had the same chances, and, being passive, perhaps suffered less.
At the foot of the rapid they were whirled, as if contemptuously, into an eddy. Shank was there, as deep as he dared venture. He even pushed in up to the arm-pits, and, catching69 his comrade by the hair, dragged him to bank.
“O Charlie, I’ve saved ye!” he exclaimed, as his friend crawled out and sat down.
“Ay, an’ you’ve saved the kitten too!” replied his friend, examining the poor animal.
“It’s dead,” said Shank; “dead as mutton.”
With tender care the rescuer squeezed the water from the fur of the rescued. Then, pulling open his vest and shirt, he was about to place the kitten in his bosom to warm it.
“No use doin’ that,” said Leather. “You’re as wet an’ nigh as cold as itself.”
“That’s true. Sit down here,” returned Brooke, in a tone of command which surprised his comrade. “Open your shirt.”
Again Shank obeyed wonderingly. Next moment he gave a gasp as the cold, wet creature was thrust into his warm bosom.
“It makes me shiver all over,” he said.
“Never mind,” replied his friend coolly, as he got up and wrung71 the water out of his own garments.
“It’s beginning to move, Charlie,” said Shank, after a few minutes.
“Give it here, then.”
The creature was indeed showing feeble symptoms of revival72, so Brooke—whose bosom was not only recovering its own heat, but was beginning to warm the wet garments—thrust it into his own breast, and the two friends set off homeward at a run.
At the nearest house they made inquiry73 as to the owner of the kitten, but failed to find one. Our hero therefore resolved to carry it home. Long before that haven74 was reached, however, his clothes were nearly dry, and the rescued one was purring sweetly, in childlike innocence—all the horrors, sufferings, and agonies of the past forgotten, apparently, in the enjoyment75 of the present.
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1
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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chronic
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| adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的 | |
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modifications
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| n.缓和( modification的名词复数 )；限制；更改；改变 | |
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amiability
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| n.和蔼可亲的，亲切的，友善的 | |
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prevailing
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| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
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infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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diversified
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| adj.多样化的，多种经营的v.使多样化，多样化( diversify的过去式和过去分词 )；进入新的商业领域 | |
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mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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immature
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| adj.未成熟的，发育未全的，未充分发展的 | |
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11
cleansing
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| n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词 | |
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12
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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13
drudgery
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| n.苦工，重活，单调乏味的工作 | |
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spoke
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| 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 | |
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15
pending
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| prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的 | |
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toddled
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| v.（幼儿等）东倒西歪地走( toddle的过去式和过去分词 )；蹒跚行走；溜达；散步 | |
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tunic
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| n.束腰外衣 | |
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guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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exonerated
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| v.使免罪，免除( exonerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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scrap
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| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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mien
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| n.风采；态度 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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heroism
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| n.大无畏精神，英勇 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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31
felicitous
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| adj.恰当的，巧妙的；n.恰当，贴切 | |
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straightforwardness
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| n.坦白，率直 | |
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elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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flask
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| n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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exuberance
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| n.丰富；繁荣 | |
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convivial
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| adj.狂欢的，欢乐的 | |
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40
generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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addicted
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| adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的 | |
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42
expectancy
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| n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额 | |
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emetic
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| n.催吐剂；adj.催吐的 | |
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digestion
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| n.消化，吸收 | |
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gulp
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| vt.吞咽，大口地吸（气）；vi.哽住；n.吞咽 | |
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46
cuff
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| n.袖口；手铐；护腕；vt.用手铐铐；上袖口 | |
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47
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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49
spat
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| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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50
tar
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| n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于 | |
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51
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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52
eddies
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| （水、烟等的）漩涡，涡流( eddy的名词复数 ) | |
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53
eddy
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| n.漩涡，涡流 | |
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54
gush
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| v.喷，涌；滔滔不绝(说话)；n.喷，涌流；迸发 | |
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55
boulders
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| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 | |
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56
innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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57
irony
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| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
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58
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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59
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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60
delirious
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| adj.不省人事的，神智昏迷的 | |
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61
appalled
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| v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的 | |
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62
consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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63
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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64
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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65
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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66
foaming
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| adj.布满泡沫的；发泡 | |
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67
stranded
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| a.搁浅的，进退两难的 | |
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68
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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69
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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70
stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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71
wrung
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| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
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72
revival
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| n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振 | |
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73
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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74
haven
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| n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所 | |
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75
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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