One afternoon a council—we may appropriately say of war—was held in St. Just. The scene of the council was the shop of Maggot, the blacksmith, and the members of it were a number of miners, the president being the worthy1 smith himself, who, with a sledge-hammer under his arm in the position of a short crutch2, occupied the chair, if we may be allowed so to designate the raised hearth3 of the forge.
The war with poverty had not been very successfully waged of late, and, at the time of which we write, the enemy had apparently4 given the miners a severe check, in the way of putting what appeared to be an insuperable obstacle in their path.
“Now, lads,” said Maggot, with a slap on the leathern apron5 that covered his knees, “this is the way on it, an’ do ’ee be quiet and hould yer tongues while I do spaik.”
The other men, of whom there were nearly a dozen, nodded and said, “Go on, booy; thee’s knaw tin, sure;” by which expression they affirmed their belief that the blacksmith was a very knowing fellow.
“You do tell me that you’ve come so close to water that you’re ’fraid to go on? Is that so?”
“Iss, iss,” responded the others.
“Well, I’ll hole into the house, ef you do agree to give un a good pitch,” said Maggot.
“Agreed, one and all,” cried the miners.
In order that the reader may understand the drift of this conversation, it is necessary to explain that the indefatigable6 miner, David Trevarrow, whom we have already introduced in his submarine workshop, had, according to his plan, changed his ground, and transferred his labour to a more hopeful part of the mine.
For some time previous the men had been at work on a lode7 which was very promising8, but they were compelled to cease following it, because it approached the workings of an old part of the mine which was known to be full of water. To tap this old part, or as the miners expressed it, to “hole into this house of water,” was, they were well aware, an exceedingly dangerous operation. The part of the mine to which we allude9 was not under the sea, but back a little from the shore, and was not very deep at that time. The “adit”—or water-conducting—level by which the spot was reached commenced at the cliffs, on a level with the seashore, and ran into the interior until it reached the old mine, about a quarter of a mile inland. Here was situated10 the “house,” which was neither more nor less than a number of old shafts11 and levels filled with water. As they had approached the old mine its near proximity12 was made disagreeably evident by the quantity of moisture that oozed13 through the crevices14 in the rocks—moisture which ere long took the form of a number of tiny rills—and at last began to spirt out from roof and sides in such a way that the miners became alarmed, and hesitated to continue to work in a place where they ran the most imminent15 risk of being suddenly drowned and swept into the sea, by the bursting of the rocks that still withstood the immense pressure of the confined water.
It was at this point in the undertaking16 that David Trevarrow went to examine the place, and made the discovery of a seam—a “keenly lode”—which had such a promising appearance that the anxiety of the miners to get rid of this obstructive “house” was redoubled.
It was at this point, too, that the council of which we write was held, in order to settle who should have the undesirable18 privilege of constituting the “forlorn hope” in their subterranean19 assault.
Maggot, who was known to be one of the boldest, and, at the same time, one of the most utterly20 reckless, men in St. Just, was appealed to in the emergency, and, as we have seen, offered to attack the enemy single-handed, on condition that the miners should give him a “pitch” of the good lode they had found—that is, give him the right to work out a certain number of fathoms21 of ore for himself.
They agreed to this, but one of them expressed some doubt as to Maggot’s courage being equal to the occasion.
To this remark Maggot vouchsafed22 no other reply than a frown, but his friend and admirer John Cock exclaimed in supreme23 contempt,—“What! Maggot afear’d to do it! aw, my dear, hould tha tongue.”
“But he haven’t bin24 to see the place,” urged the previous speaker.
“No, my son,” said Maggot, turning on the man with a look of pity, “but he can go an’ see it. Come, lads, lev us go an’ see this place of danger.”
The miners rose at once as Maggot threw his forehammer on a heap of coals, put on his hat, and strode out of the forge with a reckless fling. A few minutes sufficed to bring them to the beach at the mouth of the adit.
It was a singularly wild spot, close under those precipitous cliffs on which some of the picturesque25 buildings of Botallack mine are perched—a sort of narrow inlet or gorge26 which from its form is named the Narrow Zawn. There was nothing worthy of the name of a beach at the place, save a little piece of rugged27 ground near the adit mouth, which could be reached only by a zigzag28 path on the face of the almost perpendicular29 precipice30.
Arrived here, each man lighted a candle, wrapped the customary piece of wet clay round the middle of it, and entered the narrow tunnel. They advanced in single file, James Penrose leading. The height of the adit permitted of their walking almost upright, but the irregularity of the cuttings rendered it necessary that they should advance carefully, with special regard to their heads. In about a quarter of an hour they reached a comparatively open space—that is to say, there were several extensions of the cutting in various directions, which gave the place the appearance of being a small cavern31, instead of a narrow tunnel. Here the water, which in other parts of the adit flowed along the bottom, ran down the walls and spirted in fine streams from the almost invisible crevices of the rock, thus betraying at once the proximity and the power of the pent-up water.
“What think’ee now, my son?” asked an elderly man who stood at Maggot’s elbow.
After a short pause, during which he sternly regarded the rocks before him, the smith replied, “I’ll do it,” in the tone and with the air of a man who knows that what he has made up his mind to do is not child’s play.
The question being thus settled, the miners retraced32 their steps and went to their several homes.
Entering his cottage, the smith found his little girl Grace busily engaged in the interesting process of nursing the baby. He seated himself in a chair by the fireside, smoked his pipe, and watched the process, while his wife busied herself in preparing the evening meal.
Oh! but the little Maggot was a big baby—a worthy representative of his father—a true chip of the old block, for he was not only fat, riotous33, and muscular, but very reckless, and extremely positive. His little nurse, on the contrary, was gentle and delicate; not much bigger than the baby, although a good deal older, and she had a dreadful business of it to keep him in order. All her efforts at lifting and restraining him were somewhat akin17 to the exertion34 made by wrestlers to throw each other by main force, and her intense desire to make baby Maggot “be good” was repaid by severe kicks on the shins, and sundry35 dabs36 in the face with, luckily, a soft, fat pair of fists.
“Sit ’ee quiet, now, or I’ll scat oo nose,” said the little nurse suddenly, with a terrible frown.
It need scarcely be said that she had not the remotest; intention of carrying out this dreadful threat to smash the little Maggot’s nose. She accompanied it, however, with a twist that suddenly placed the urchin37 in a sitting posture38, much to his own surprise, for he opened his eyes very wide, drew his breath sharply, and appeared to meditate39 a roar. He thought better of it, however, and relapsed into goodness just as the door opened, and David Trevarrow entered.
“Oh, uncle David,” cried little Grace, jumping up and running towards him, “do help me nuss baby.”
“What’s the matter with the cheeld—bad, eh? Fetch un to me and I’ll cure him.”
There was no necessity to fetch baby, for that obstreperous40 individual entertained an immense regard for “Unkil Day,” and was already on his fat legs staggering across the floor to him with outstretched arms. Thereafter he only required a pair of wings to make him a complete cherub41.
Little Grace, relieved of her charge, at once set to work to assist her mother in household matters. She was one of those dear little earnest creatures who of their own accord act in a motherly and wifely way from their early years. To look at little Grace’s serious thoroughgoing face, when she chanced to pause in the midst of work, and meditate what was to be done next, one might imagine that the entire care of the household had suddenly devolved upon her shoulders. In the matter of housewifery little Grace was almost equal to big Grace, her respected mother; in downright honesty and truthfulness42 she greatly excelled her.
The description of Maggot’s household, on that evening, would be very incomplete were we to omit mention of Zackey Maggot. That young man—for man he deemed himself, and man he was, in all respects, except the trifling43 matters of years, size, and whiskers—that young man entered the room with his uncle, and, without deigning44 to change his wet red garments, sat him down at his father’s feet and caught hold of a small black kitten, which, at the time, lay sound asleep on the hearth, and began to play with it in a grave patronising way, as though his taking notice of it at all were a condescension45.
That black kitten, or Chet, as it was usually styled, was accustomed to be strangled the greater part of the morning by the baby. Most of the afternoon it was worried by Zackey, and, during the intervals46 of torment47, it experienced an unusually large measure of the vicissitudes48 incident to kitten life—such as being kicked out of the way by Maggot senior, or thrown or terrified out of the way by Mrs Maggot, or dashed at by stray dogs, or yelled at by passing boys. The only sunshine of its life (which was at all times liable to be suddenly clouded) was when it slept, or when little Grace put it on her soft neck, tickled49 its chin, and otherwise soothed50 its ruffled51 spirit, as only a loving heart knows how. A bad memory seemed to be that kitten’s chief blessing52. A horror of any kind was no sooner past than it was straightway forgotten, and the facetious53 animal would advance with arched back and glaring eyes in defiance54 of an incursive hen, or twirl in mad hopeless career after its own miserable55 tail!
“’Tis a keenly lode,” said Maggot, puffing56 his pipe thoughtfully.
“Iss,” assented57 David Trevarrow, also puffing his pipe, at the clouds issuing from which baby gazed with endless amazement58 and admiration59; “it’s worth much, but it isn’t worth your life.”
“Sure, I ain’t goin’ to give my life for’t,” replied Maggot.
“But you’re goin’ to risk it,” said David, “an’ you shouldn’t, for you’ve a wife an’ child’n to provide for. Now, I tell ’ee what it is: you lev it to me. I’ll hole to the house. It don’t matter much what happens to me.”
“No, ’ee won’t,” said Maggot stoutly60; “what I do promise to do I will do.”
“But if you die?” said David.
“Well, what if I do? we have all to come to that some day, sooner or later.”
“Are you prepared to die?” asked Trevarrow earnestly.
“Now, David, don’t ’ee trouble me with that. ’Tis all very well for the women an’ child’n, but it don’t suit me, it don’t, so lev us have no more of it, booy. I’ll do it to-morrow, that’s fixed61, so now we’ll have a bit supper.”
The tone in which Maggot said this assured David that further conversation would be useless, so he dropped the subject and sat down with the rest of the family to their evening meal.
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1
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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crutch
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| n.T字形拐杖；支持，依靠，精神支柱 | |
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3
hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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4
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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apron
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| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
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indefatigable
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| adj.不知疲倦的，不屈不挠的 | |
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7
lode
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| n.矿脉 | |
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promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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9
allude
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| v.提及，暗指 | |
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situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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11
shafts
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| n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等） | |
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12
proximity
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| n.接近，邻近 | |
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13
oozed
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| v.（浓液等）慢慢地冒出，渗出( ooze的过去式和过去分词 )；使（液体）缓缓流出；（浓液）渗出，慢慢流出 | |
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14
crevices
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| n.（尤指岩石的）裂缝，缺口( crevice的名词复数 ) | |
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15
imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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16
undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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18
undesirable
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| adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子 | |
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19
subterranean
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| adj.地下的，地表下的 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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21
fathoms
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| 英寻( fathom的名词复数 ) | |
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22
vouchsafed
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| v.给予，赐予( vouchsafe的过去式和过去分词 )；允诺 | |
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23
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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24
bin
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| n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件 | |
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25
picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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27
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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28
zigzag
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| n.曲折，之字形；adj.曲折的，锯齿形的；adv.曲折地，成锯齿形地；vt.使曲折；vi.曲折前行 | |
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perpendicular
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| adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置 | |
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precipice
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| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
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cavern
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| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
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32
retraced
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| v.折回( retrace的过去式和过去分词 )；回忆；回顾；追溯 | |
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33
riotous
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| adj.骚乱的；狂欢的 | |
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exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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sundry
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| adj.各式各样的，种种的 | |
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dabs
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| 少许( dab的名词复数 )； 是…能手； 做某事很在行； 在某方面技术熟练 | |
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urchin
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| n.顽童；海胆 | |
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posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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39
meditate
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| v.想，考虑，（尤指宗教上的）沉思，冥想 | |
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40
obstreperous
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| adj.喧闹的，不守秩序的 | |
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41
cherub
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| n.小天使，胖娃娃 | |
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42
truthfulness
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| n. 符合实际 | |
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43
trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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44
deigning
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| v.屈尊，俯就( deign的现在分词 ) | |
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45
condescension
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| n.自以为高人一等，贬低(别人) | |
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46
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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47
torment
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| n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠 | |
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48
vicissitudes
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| n.变迁，世事变化；变迁兴衰( vicissitude的名词复数 )；盛衰兴废 | |
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49
tickled
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| （使）发痒( tickle的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）愉快，逗乐 | |
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50
soothed
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| v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦 | |
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51
ruffled
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| adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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52
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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53
facetious
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| adj.轻浮的，好开玩笑的 | |
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54
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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55
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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56
puffing
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| v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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57
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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58
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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59
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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60
stoutly
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| adv.牢固地，粗壮的 | |
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61
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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