Chapter 9

“He ain’t my little brother.” “Well, don’t you imagine you ought to leastways say something to the new mother?” “She ain’t never said nothing to me.” (Which was about the truth. Because she hadn’t said more than hello and good-by until that day when she comes in on my birthday. It’s late spring; I’m racked up in bed with a broken tooth I got from trying to field a bad hop¹ with my mush, and my head’s about to blow to pieces from the pain of it. She looks quick at me, then away, walks across the room and flutters there against the window like a bird. She’s wearing yellow and her hair’s long and blue-black. She’s got in her hand a story book she’s been reading to the kid. He’s three or four at the time. I hear him fussing next door. She stands there at the window, fluttering around like, waiting for me to say something about her being lonely, I guess. But I don’t say anything. Then her eyes light on that plaque² nailed up there beside the bed. . . .) In the years that followed Henry paid little attention to this second son. Where he had insisted on raising his firstborn to be as strong and self-sufficient as himself, he was content to let this second child—a large-eyed kid with his mother’s pale skin and a look like his veins³ ran skim milk—spend his youth alone in a room next to his mother’s, doing what-the-hell-ever it was that that sort of kid does alone in his room all day. (She looks at the plaque for a long time, twisting that book in her hands, then looks down at me. I see she’s commencing to cry....) The two boys were twelve years apart and Henry saw no reason to try to bring them together. What was the sense? When the boy Lee was five and had his drippy nose in a book of nursery rhymes, Hank was seventeen and he and Ben’s boy, Joe, were busy running that second-hand⁵ Henderson motorcycle into every ditch between the Snag in Wakonda and the Melody Ranch⁶ Dance Hall over in Eugene. “Brothers? I mean, what’s the sense? Why push it? Hank’s got Joe Ben ifn he needs a brother; they always been like ham an’ eggs and Joe’s at the house most of the time anyhow, what with his daddy always hellin’ around the country. An’ little Leland Stanford, he’s got his mama. . . .” “But who,” the loafers matching pennies in the Snag wondered, “has little Leland Stanford’s mama got?” The sweet little spooky thing, living the best years of her life over there in that bear den⁷ across the river with an old fart twice her age, living there after she’s sworn, time and again to everybody who’d stop and listen, that she was leaving for the East just as soon as little a great notion Leland was school age, and that was how long ago? “. . . so who does she have?” Boney Stokes shook his head slowly at Henry, the woes⁸ of all mankind marking his face. “I just am thinkin’ of the girl, Henry; because able as you still are, you can’t be the stud you once was—ain’t you concerned for her, day in and day out alone over yonder?” Henry leered, winked⁹, grinned into his hand. “Why shoot, Boney. Who’s to say whether I’m the stud of old or not?” Modest as a turkey gobbler. “Besides, some men are so wonderfully blest by nature that they don’t need to prove theirselfs night after night; they’re so fine-lookin’ and so special, they can keep a woman pantin’ with the pure mem’ry an’ the wild hope that what has happened once is liable to happen again!” And no other explanation for his young wife’s fidelity¹⁰ ever penetrated¹¹ the old man’s cock-certainty. In spite of all the hints and innuendos¹² he remained doggedly¹³ certain of her devotion to pure memory and wild hope for the fourteen years she lived in his wooden world. And even after. His veneer¹⁴ of vanity was not even scratched when she announced that she was leaving Oregon for a while to take Leland to one of the Eastern schools. “It’s for the kid she’s doin’ it,” Henry told them. “For the little feller. He gets these sick spells the doctors here’bouts can’t put their finger on the reason; maybe asthma¹⁵. Doc reckons he’d feel better someplace drier so we’ll give it a go. But her, no, don’t fool yourself, it’s tearin’ the poor soul to pieces to leave her old man: cryin’, carryin’ on for days now. . . .” He dipped a dark brown thumb and finger into his snuff can and regarded the pinch with narrow eyes. “Carryin’ on so about leavin’ it makes my heart sore.” He situated¹⁶ the wad between his lower lip and gums, then glanced quickly up with a grin. “Yessir boys, some of us got it, and some don’t.” (Still crying, reaches down and touches my puffed¹⁷ lip with a finger, then all of a sudden her head jerks back up to that plaque. Like something finally dawned on her. It was weird¹⁸. She stopped crying just like that and shivered like a north wind hit her. She puts down the book, slow, reaches out and gets hold of the plaque; I know she can’t pull it off on account of it’s got two sixpenny nails in it. She quits trying. Then she gives a little high, quick laugh, tilting¹⁹ her head at the plaque like a bird: “If you were to come into my room—I’ll put Leland in his playroom—do you think you would still be under its influence?” I look away from her and mumble²⁰ something about not getting her drift. She gives me this kind of trapped, desperate grin and takes me by the little finger, like I was so light she could pick me right up by it. “I mean, if you came next door into the sanctuary²¹ of my world, where you can’t look at it or it can’t look at you—do you suppose you could?” I still give her this dumb look and ask suppose I could what? She just tilts²² her head toward the plaque and keeps smiling at me, then says, “Haven’t you ever wondered about this monstrosity you’ve had hanging over your bed for sixteen years?” All the while pulling my finger. “Haven’t you ever wondered about the loneliness it can cause?” I shake my head. “Well, you just come on into the next room with me and I’ll explain it to you.” And I remember thinking, why, by God, look here: she can lift me up by one finger after all. . . .) “You don’t reckon,” Boney called haltingly as Henry walked toward the saloon door, “Henry, ah, you don’t reckon, do you . . .” reluctantly, with an apologetic tone as though hating it that he’d been driven to asking—for his old friend’s good, of course—to asking this painful question “. . . that her leavin’... could have anything to do with Hank joinin’ the U.S. Armed Services when he did? I mean, her decidin’ to leave when he decided²³ to join?” Henry paused, scratching at his nose. “Might be, Boney. Never can tell . . .” He pulled on his jacket, then jerked the zipper²⁴ to his chin and flipped²⁵ the collar. “Except she announced she was leavin’ days before Hank had any notion a-tall about joinin’.” His eyes flicked²⁶ to Boney and the scurrilous²⁷ grin snapped triumphant²⁸, like a rope jerked taut²⁹. “See you niggers around.” (And next door I remember thinking, She’s right about that plaque, too. It is nice to be out of sight of the godawful outfit³⁰. But I found that just being next door didn’t make any difference about getting away from it. In fact, over in the next room, after she told me what she felt it was doing to me, was when I really began to see that plaque. With a pine wall in the way, I saw it— the yellow paint, the red lettering, and all the stuff underneath³¹ the red and yellow—clearer than ever before in my life. But by the time I noticed it, I guess it was too late not to. Just like by the time I noticed what that little trip next door had started— and if I was forced to mark a place where this whole business commenced, that’s where I’d have to put it—it was way too late to stop it.) It is a later spring, years now since chasing tricky³² grounders. The air is chilled and tasting of wild mint. The river runs dappled from the mountains, catching³³ the fragrant³⁴ blizzard³⁵ blown from the blossoming blackberry vines that line its banks. The sun throbs³⁶ off and on. Unruly mobs of young clouds gather in the bright blue sky, riotous³⁷ and surging, full of threat that convinces no one. On the dock in front of the old house Henry helps Hank and Joe Ben load clothes, bundles, birdcages, hat-boxes . . . “Crap enough to have a purty fair auction³⁸, wouldn’t you say, Hank?”—cantankerous and jovial³⁹, becoming boyish with age as he had been once prematurely⁴⁰ aged⁴¹ and grim. “Sure, Henry.” “Son of a gun, look at the boogerin’ stuff!” The big, cumbersome⁴², low-slung hauling boat rocks and heaves as it is loaded. The woman stands watching, thin bird hand resting on the shoulder of her twelve-year-old son, who leans against her hip⁴³, polishing his eyeglasses with the hem⁴ of her canary-yellow skirt. The three men work, carrying boxes from the house. The boat heaves, sinking deeper. The colors strike with stinging clarity, cutting the scene deep: blue sky, white clouds, blue water, white petals⁴⁴ floating, and that sparkling patch of yellow... “Crap an’ corruption⁴⁵ enough to stay a lifetime, let ’lone a few months.” He turns to the woman. “What you takin’ so much of your own stuff for, as well as the boy’s? Travel fast and travel light, I allus say.” “It may take longer than I anticipated, getting him settled.” Then adds quickly, “But I’ll be back as soon as possible. I’ll be back just as soon as possible.” “Oho.” The old man winks⁴⁶ at Joe Ben and Hank as they carry a trunk along the dock. “See there, boys? See there. Can’t go too long on san’wiches an’ salad when she’s used to steak an’ potatoes.” Blue and white and yellow, and from that pole jutting⁴⁷ out of the second-story window hangs the flag that signals the grocery truck what supplies to leave; a sewn black number on a tailgate banner, red. Blue and white and yellow and red. The old man stalks back and forth⁴⁸ alongside the boat, studying the packing job. “I guess it’ll ride. Okay. Now then. Hank, whilst I’m driving them to the station you an’ Joe Ben see to gettin’ those parts we need for the donkey engine. You might have to take your cycle up to Newport and look around there, try Nyro Machine, they generally stock all the Skagit gear. I’ll be back from the depot⁴⁹ by dark; leave me a boat other side. Where’s my hat at?” Hank doesn’t answer. He bends instead to check the river’s level on the marker nailed to one of the pilings. The sun splashes silver on his pale metal hat. He straightens and pokes⁵⁰ his fists in the pockets of his Levis and looks down river. “Just a minute . . .” The woman doesn’t move; she is a yellow patch sewn against the blue river; old Henry is absorbed whittling⁵¹ a sliver⁵² to stick in a leak he has discovered in the sideboards of the boat; the gnomish⁵³ Joe Ben has gone into the boathouse for a tarp to cover the boat’s cargo⁵⁴ in case those jostling clouds decide to take action. “Just a minute...”

1 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

2 plaque   

n.饰板，匾，(医)血小板

参考例句：

• There is a commemorative plaque to the artist in the village hall.村公所里有一块纪念该艺术家的牌匾。
• Some Latin words were engraved on the plaque. 牌匾上刻着些拉丁文。

3 veins   

n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理

参考例句：

• The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的，感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 hem   

n.贴边，镶边；vt.缝贴边；(in)包围，限制

参考例句：

• The hem on her skirt needs sewing.她裙子上的褶边需要缝一缝。
• The hem of your dress needs to be let down an inch.你衣服的折边有必要放长1英寸。

5 second-hand   

adj.用过的，旧的，二手的

参考例句：

• I got this book by chance at a second-hand bookshop.我赶巧在一家旧书店里买到这本书。
• They will put all these second-hand goods up for sale.他们将把这些旧货全部公开出售。

6 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

7 den   

n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室

参考例句：

• There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
• The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

8 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

9 winked   

v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮

参考例句：

• He winked at her and she knew he was thinking the same thing that she was. 他冲她眨了眨眼，她便知道他的想法和她一样。
• He winked his eyes at her and left the classroom. 他向她眨巴一下眼睛走出了教室。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 fidelity   

n.忠诚，忠实；精确

参考例句：

• There is nothing like a dog's fidelity.没有什么能比得上狗的忠诚。
• His fidelity and industry brought him speedy promotion.他的尽职及勤奋使他很快地得到晋升。

11 penetrated   

adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The knife had penetrated his chest. 刀子刺入了他的胸膛。
• They penetrated into territory where no man had ever gone before. 他们已进入先前没人去过的地区。

12 innuendos   

n.影射的话( innuendo的名词复数 )；讽刺的话；含沙射影；暗讽

参考例句：

• Miss Moneypenny:Some day, you will have to make good on your innuendos. 彭妮：有朝一日，你会报偿你的暗示。 来自互联网
• Don't spread gossip, rumor, innuendos, unkindness, malicious words or physical anger. 不要散布谣言、闲话。 来自互联网

13 doggedly   

adv.顽强地，固执地

参考例句：

• He was still doggedly pursuing his studies.他仍然顽强地进行着自己的研究。
• He trudged doggedly on until he reached the flat.他顽强地、步履艰难地走着，一直走回了公寓。

14 veneer   

n.(墙上的)饰面，虚饰

参考例句：

• For the first time her veneer of politeness began to crack.她温文尔雅的外表第一次露出破绽。
• The panel had a veneer of gold and ivory.这木板上面镶饰了一层金和象牙。

15 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。

16 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

17 puffed   

adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• He lit a cigarette and puffed at it furiously. 他点燃了一支香烟，狂吸了几口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He felt grown-up, puffed up with self-importance. 他觉得长大了，便自以为了不起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

19 tilting   

倾斜，倾卸

参考例句：

• For some reason he thinks everyone is out to get him, but he's really just tilting at windmills. 不知为什么他觉得每个人都想害他，但其实他不过是在庸人自扰。
• So let us stop bickering within our ranks.Stop tilting at windmills. 所以，让我们结束内部间的争吵吧！再也不要去做同风车作战的蠢事了。

20 mumble   

n./v.喃喃而语，咕哝

参考例句：

• Her grandmother mumbled in her sleep.她祖母含混不清地说着梦话。
• He could hear the low mumble of Navarro's voice.他能听到纳瓦罗在小声咕哝。

21 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

22 tilts   

（意欲赢得某物或战胜某人的）企图，尝试( tilt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• As the kitten touches it, it tilts at the floor. 它随着击碰倾侧，头不动，眼不动，还呆呆地注视着地上。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
• The two writers had a number of tilts in print. 这两位作家写过一些文章互相攻击。

23 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

24 zipper   

n.拉链；v.拉上拉链

参考例句：

• The zipper is red.这条拉链是红色的。
• The zipper is a wonderful invention.拉链是个了不起的发明。

25 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

26 flicked   

（尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等）

参考例句：

• She flicked the dust off her collar. 她轻轻弹掉了衣领上的灰尘。
• I idly picked up a magazine and flicked through it. 我漫不经心地拿起一本杂志翻看着。

27 scurrilous   

adj.下流的，恶意诽谤的

参考例句：

• Scurrilous and untrue stories were being invented.有人正在捏造虚假诽谤的故事。
• She was often quite scurrilous in her references to me.她一提起我,常常骂骂咧咧的。

28 triumphant   

adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的

参考例句：

• The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
• There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。

29 taut   

adj.拉紧的，绷紧的，紧张的

参考例句：

• The bowstring is stretched taut.弓弦绷得很紧。
• Scarlett's taut nerves almost cracked as a sudden noise sounded in the underbrush near them. 思嘉紧张的神经几乎一下绷裂了，因为她听见附近灌木丛中突然冒出的一个声音。

30 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

31 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

32 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

33 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

34 fragrant   

adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的

参考例句：

• The Fragrant Hills are exceptionally beautiful in late autumn.深秋的香山格外美丽。
• The air was fragrant with lavender.空气中弥漫薰衣草香。

35 blizzard   

n.暴风雪

参考例句：

• The blizzard struck while we were still on the mountain.我们还在山上的时候暴风雪就袭来了。
• You'll have to stay here until the blizzard blows itself off.你得等暴风雪停了再走。

36 throbs   

体内的跳动( throb的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• My finger throbs with the cut. 我的手指因切伤而阵阵抽痛。
• We should count time by heart throbs, in the cause of right. 我们应该在正确的目标下，以心跳的速度来计算时间。

37 riotous   

adj.骚乱的；狂欢的

参考例句：

• Summer is in riotous profusion.盛夏的大地热闹纷繁。
• We spent a riotous night at Christmas.我们度过了一个狂欢之夜。

38 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

39 jovial   

adj.快乐的，好交际的

参考例句：

• He seemed jovial,but his eyes avoided ours.他显得很高兴，但他的眼光却避开了我们的眼光。
• Grandma was plump and jovial.祖母身材圆胖，整天乐呵呵的。

40 prematurely   

adv.过早地，贸然地

参考例句：

• She was born prematurely with poorly developed lungs. 她早产，肺部未发育健全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His hair was prematurely white, but his busy eyebrows were still jet-black. 他的头发已经白了，不过两道浓眉还是乌黑乌黑的。 来自辞典例句

41 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

42 cumbersome   

adj.笨重的，不便携带的

参考例句：

• Although the machine looks cumbersome,it is actually easy to use.尽管这台机器看上去很笨重，操作起来却很容易。
• The furniture is too cumbersome to move.家具太笨，搬起来很不方便。

43 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

44 petals   

n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• white petals tinged with blue 略带蓝色的白花瓣
• The petals of many flowers expand in the sunshine. 许多花瓣在阳光下开放。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

45 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

46 winks   

v.使眼色( wink的第三人称单数 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮

参考例句：

• I'll feel much better when I've had forty winks. 我打个盹就会感到好得多。
• The planes were little silver winks way out to the west. 飞机在西边老远的地方，看上去只是些很小的银色光点。 来自辞典例句

47 jutting   

v.（使）突出( jut的现在分词 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出

参考例句：

• The climbers rested on a sheltered ledge jutting out from the cliff. 登山者在悬崖的岩棚上休息。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soldier saw a gun jutting out of some bushes. 那士兵看见丛林中有一枝枪伸出来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

48 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

49 depot   

n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站

参考例句：

• The depot is only a few blocks from here.公共汽车站离这儿只有几个街区。
• They leased the building as a depot.他们租用这栋大楼作仓库。

50 pokes   

v.伸出( poke的第三人称单数 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交

参考例句：

• He pokes his nose into everything. 他这人好管闲事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Only the tip of an iceberg pokes up above water. 只有冰山的尖端突出于水面。 来自辞典例句

51 whittling   

v.切，削（木头），使逐渐变小( whittle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Inflation has been whittling away their savings. 通货膨胀使他们的积蓄不断减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is whittling down the branch with a knife to make a handle for his hoe. 他在用刀削树枝做一把锄头柄。 来自《简明英汉词典》

52 sliver   

n.裂片，细片，梳毛；v.纵切，切成长片，剖开

参考例句：

• There was only one sliver of light in the darkness.黑暗中只有一点零星的光亮。
• Then,one night,Monica saw a thin sliver of the moon reappear.之后的一天晚上，莫尼卡看到了一个月牙。

53 gnomish   

adj.似侏儒的，好戏弄的

参考例句：

• The Gnomish Mines go down about 8-10 levels. 矮人矿坑大概有8-10层。 来自互联网
• The other stairs lead to the Gnomish Mines, which is a branch of the main dungeon. 通常另一个是通往矮人矿坑的，这是游戏的一个分支。 来自互联网

54 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。