Chapter 76

“Quitting?” the owners had asked later at the mill. “I don’t understand, Floyd; why quitting?” “The men want me for local’s president.” “Yes. I understand that. But that’s no reason to chuck your job; that’s no reason for quitting. . . .” “All right then. Not quitting, if you don’t like that word. Let’s just say I’m leaving your side so’s I can finally get started working for my own!” Even now, as he recalled the event, his eyes began to water. He’d never in his life been so proud. He’d gone to that first meeting with his head up and his shoulders back, figuring now, by god, now he was gonna show them, the ones who’d shot his grandfather dead for sticking up for his American rights, the ones who’d sandbagged the Wobblies into an ignoble¹ back seat in the thirties, who’d forced his disillusioned² father to a shameful³ life and a humiliating death, who’d put him—just a high-school kid!—behind the wheel of an overloaded⁴ truck long past the age of safety so’s they could hell around in a new convertible⁵ every year off the money his risks had made them! The ones who thought they were better, the Big-Asses ...goddam if he wouldn’t show them! Yet, after more than a year at it, what had he done? What could he point to? His eyes began to water faster, and he felt that warning tickle⁶ scrape in his throat. He plumped heavily down from the clothes hamper⁷ and took a sip⁸ of water to quench⁹ the tickle, then removed his shorts and undershirt and stepped into the tub. It wasn’t nearly as warm or as full as he liked it—no good old Vick’s neither—but it would have to do. He sighed and leaned back, searching for the comfort he used to find after a long day in the woods. But the water just wasn’t warm enough. As he lay with his eyes closed, the scene at the Snag suddenly leaped back into his thoughts. Draeger. Damn, it was hard to know how to take that man. It seemed so strange to Floyd that they should both be on the side of labor¹⁰. Try as he might, he couldn’t imagine Jonathan Bailey Draeger in there in the thick of it when the Wobs were winning those first terrible and costly¹¹ victories ...imagine him in there with pamphlets and sabot shoes, with ax handles and peavey poles, busting¹² heads and risking his life for the right to stand up on a box in a company town and say what he thought, or for equipment safe enough it wasn’t going to kill you before you drew your time, or even imagine him doing a little reckless and mocking act of rebellion such as wearing a button proudly proclaiming himself one of the citizens that President Teddy Roosevelt had labeled as citizens who, if they weren’t guilty of any crime, were nevertheless “undesirable” as far as the USA was concerned. No, not Draeger, not this fastidious know-it-all who’d obviously never had on a pair of corks¹³ in his life, or swung a double-edge when every swing felt as though it was sinking three inches deep into a head three feet thick with last night’s liquor, or sat for hours at the end of a day with a needle under a bright lamp, digging the jaggers and berry thorns and cedar¹⁴ slivers¹⁵ out of tired fin-gers....Not Jonathan Bailey Draeger. Without any warning the tickle flared¹⁶ hot and crackling in his throat again. He didn’t try to stave off the sneeze this time. He let it roar through the house in all its full-volumed magnificence; it might wake the family but at least they’d know who was up and fooling around at this hour; they’d know the old man was home. It left him tingling¹⁷ all down his arms and thighs¹⁸. A good sneeze was damn near like when you got your rocks off. It left a man feeling like he’d sure enough had something happen to him. After a minute Larry, his four-year-old, appeared at the bathroom door, rubbing the matted red hair where his head had lain on the pillow. Evenwrite scowled¹⁹ at him. “Here now, you little skunk²⁰ ...you ain’t supposed to be up an’ roaming around.” “Hello, Daddy,” the boy said sleepily. He stepped closer to the tub and looked down at the bubbles in the stiff fuzz that swarmed²¹ from his father’s heavy shoulders down over his chest and belly²² like a mantle²³ of thick orange moss²⁴. “I heard you an’ I woke up,” the boy explained. “Do you have to pee?” Evenwrite asked. The boy thought a while, looking at the hair, then shook his head. “No.”  “You sure?” “I done peed once tonight.” “Good fellow.” “Where’d you go, Daddy?” “Daddy had to see a man about some business.” “Did you win?” “It wasn’t a poker²⁵ game tonight, skunk. Now you get on back to bed.” “I peed before I went to sleep.” “All right, good boy. Now back to bed.” “Good night, Daddy.” The boy scuffed²⁶ out of the bathroom with short splay-footed steps, his round shoulders rolling with the walk: an infant parody²⁷ of the bearlike Evenwrite movement. When Floyd heard the bedsprings squeak²⁸ he reached out and pushed the bathroom door closed so the light or another sneeze wouldn’t wake the child’s brothers or sister. He slid down in the tub until the water came over his lips. His ears were submerged. He left just enough of his nose out to breathe. He closed his eyes again. Did I win, he thought, laughing warmly to himself at the boy’s imitation of the mother’s irritating question: I suppose he sees my whole life away from home as one big game of penny-nickeldime draw. And that’s about it, too, you come down to it, playing the crummy cards you was dealt and betting on better cards to come. Bluffing²⁹ and bullying³⁰ when you’re short, laying back when you’re long. . . . As he dozed³¹, his thoughts returned again to Draeger. One thing, he promised himself, one thing, though: I ain’t gonna tell my kids one side or the other...because it’s getting so you can’t hardly be sure ...any more...who’s the Big-Asses and who’s the Little-Asses . . . who’s on whose side . . . or who’s winning ...any more ...or even who you want to win for sure . . . Before noon of the next day, Monday, Evenwrite had called the two mute Sitkins boys, Howie Evans, Mel Sorenson, and Les Gibbons. They arrived, except for Les, in time for deerburger and potatoes. They could see the picket³² signs Evenwrite had made standing³³ against the wall like arms stacked before a battle. “Sit down, boys,” Evenwrite told the four men. “Have some chow. We’ll wait a while longer for Les, then head on out. Boy”—he winked³⁴ at them over the meat—“I tell you, I don’t know where we’d be during this strike it wasn’t for all the side-hill salmon³⁵ I been catching³⁶.” No one laughed. “This picket,” Howie said, “you sure Draeger knows about this?” “Sure as shooting,” Evenwrite said brightly. “I let him know last night that we was capable of running our own affairs if he wasn’t going to get off the pot. . . .” “I don’t know.” Howie hedged. “My old lady won’t like it if I’m doin’ something illegal—” “Legal be screwed! We’re doin’ something right for a change, and legal be screwed!” “But what about Hank?” “What about him? What can he do? What is there he can possibly do about a picket?” “I don’t know,” Howie muttered, standing. “You never can be sure . . .” A half an hour later the pickets³⁷ were plodding³⁸ back and forth³⁹ in front of the office at the mill. Orland Stamper came out and stood a moment looking at them, then returned to the shrieking⁴⁰ mill. “He’s gone to get word to Hank,” Howie said unhappily. “So what if he does?” Evenwrite demanded. “Howie, I swear you do overestimate⁴¹ that bastard⁴²...” The next time the log truck arrived from the show, Hank and Joe Ben alighted from its cab before it drove on to dump the logs in the river. The plodding men watched guardedly from beneath their metal hats as Hank and his little companion sat on the bench beneath the mill’s sheltered porch, viewing the parade. Half an hour passed. Hank smoked, grinning, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his hands dangling⁴³ between his legs; Joe Ben provided some march music with his little transistor⁴⁴ radio. Finally, to Howie’s relief, they saw Hank turn and whisper something to Joe and Joe erupt with laughter, then dash from the porch to a battered⁴⁵ pick-up and drive away toward town. When the log truck returned again, Hank bade them all a pleasant afternoon and climbed into the cab. They didn’t see any more of him that day. “We got him,” Evenwrite crowed, back at home that night with a new bottle of Vick’s. “They got to have supplies. They can’t run a show without supplies. An’ what supplier, what good teamster is gonna cross our picket line with gas or oil or parts, huh? Tomorrow or the next day will tell the tale.” Tomorrow told it. When Floyd arrived with his pickets the next morning they found a television mobile unit from Eugene with a portable TV camera, two photographers from the Register Guard, and Indian Jenny. And that night the front page carried the heading: pickets perplexed⁴⁶ by mysterious matrimony—which one is happy groom⁴⁷? And the six-fifteen TV news carried a picture of a woman with a shape like a stone and a face like a baked yam walking alongside a line of pickets, in poncho⁴⁸ and rubber milking boots, just what the pickets wore, carrying a sign on a stick just like those the pickets carried. Their signs proclaimed: unfair unfair. Her sign added: just married. No one volunteered for picket duty the next day. They met this time in the Snag. Behind the bar, completely absorbed in the polishing of a shot glass, Teddy seemed to barely register their called requests for drinks. “What tactics are you proposing this time, Floyd?” Draeger had entered without anyone’s noticing; he stood near the bar, opening a newspaper. “No fire, I hope?” “You’ll see, by godfrey. We’re tired of foolin’ around. You’ll see.” “Fine,” Draeger said pleasantly and sat down. “Let me know how it all turns out.” And arranged his paper before him and leaned over it. “A bourbon,” he said without looking up. “I. W. Harper’s.” Teddy already had it poured. “Okay then,” Evenwrite said in a terse⁴⁹ whisper at his table. “About ten. I’ll call Sitkins. Mel, you call Howie and ask him. Ten, then.” The men nodded back, sitting in grim silence around the table, chewing the rims⁵⁰ of glasses, not even breaking the serious mood of the approaching night to kid Teddy about his watered drinks. The talk went on until it was time to go to supper. A half-dozen resolute⁵¹ and stouthearted⁵² men met that night in Evenwrite’s front room over a case of Olympia quarts and devised a plot to slip out to the Stamper mill and hacksaw the cable bolts linking the surrounding logs that penned the booms together. “Stampede them logs downstream like they was wild horses!”

1 ignoble   

adj.不光彩的，卑鄙的；可耻的

参考例句：

• There's something cowardly and ignoble about such an attitude.这种态度有点怯懦可鄙。
• Some very great men have come from ignoble families.有些伟人出身低微。

2 disillusioned   

a.不再抱幻想的，大失所望的，幻想破灭的

参考例句：

• I soon became disillusioned with the job. 我不久便对这个工作不再抱幻想了。
• Many people who are disillusioned in reality assimilate life to a dream. 许多对现实失望的人把人生比作一场梦。

3 shameful   

adj.可耻的，不道德的

参考例句：

• It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。
• We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。

4 overloaded   

a.超载的，超负荷的

参考例句：

• He's overloaded with responsibilities. 他担负的责任过多。
• She has overloaded her schedule with work, study, and family responsibilities. 她的日程表上排满了工作、学习、家务等，使自己负担过重。

5 convertible   

adj.可改变的，可交换，同意义的；n.有活动摺篷的汽车

参考例句：

• The convertible sofa means that the apartment can sleep four.有了这张折叠沙发，公寓里可以睡下4个人。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了。

6 tickle   

v.搔痒，胳肢；使高兴；发痒；n.搔痒，发痒

参考例句：

• Wilson was feeling restless. There was a tickle in his throat.威尔逊只觉得心神不定。嗓子眼里有些发痒。
• I am tickle pink at the news.听到这消息我高兴得要命。

7 hamper   

vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子

参考例句：

• There are some apples in a picnic hamper.在野餐用的大篮子里有许多苹果。
• The emergence of such problems seriously hamper the development of enterprises.这些问题的出现严重阻碍了企业的发展。

8 sip   

v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量

参考例句：

• She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。
• Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。

9 quench   

vt.熄灭，扑灭；压制

参考例句：

• The firemen were unable to quench the fire.消防人员无法扑灭这场大火。
• Having a bottle of soft drink is not enough to quench my thirst.喝一瓶汽水不够解渴。

10 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

11 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

12 busting   

打破，打碎( bust的现在分词 )； 突击搜查（或搜捕）； （使）降级，降低军阶

参考例句：

• Jim and his wife were busting up again yesterday. 吉姆和他的妻子昨天又吵架了。
• He figured she was busting his chops, but it was all true. 他以为她在捉弄他，其实完全是真的。

13 corks   

n.脐梅衣；软木( cork的名词复数 )；软木塞

参考例句：

• Champagne corks were popping throughout the celebrations. 庆祝会上开香槟酒瓶塞的砰砰声不绝於耳。 来自辞典例句
• Champagne corks popped, and on lace tablecloths seven-course dinners were laid. 桌上铺着带装饰图案的网织的桌布，上面是七道菜的晚餐。 来自飘（部分）

14 cedar   

n.雪松，香柏(木)

参考例句：

• The cedar was about five feet high and very shapely.那棵雪松约有五尺高,风姿优美。
• She struck the snow from the branches of an old cedar with gray lichen.她把长有灰色地衣的老雪松树枝上的雪打了下来。

15 slivers   

（切割或断裂下来的）薄长条，碎片( sliver的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Margret had eight slivers of glass removed from her cheek. 从玛格列特的脸颊取出了八片碎玻璃。
• Eight slivers are drawn together to produce the drawn sliver. 在末道并条机上，八根棉条并合在一起被牵伸成熟条。

16 Flared   

adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The match flared and went out. 火柴闪亮了一下就熄了。
• The fire flared up when we thought it was out. 我们以为火已经熄灭，但它突然又燃烧起来。

17 tingling   

v.有刺痛感( tingle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• My ears are tingling [humming; ringing; singing]. 我耳鸣。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My tongue is tingling. 舌头发麻。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 thighs   

n.股，大腿( thigh的名词复数 )；食用的鸡（等的）腿

参考例句：

• He's gone to London for skin grafts on his thighs. 他去伦敦做大腿植皮手术了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The water came up to the fisherman's thighs. 水没到了渔夫的大腿。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 scowled   

怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He scowled his displeasure. 他满脸嗔色。
• The teacher scowled at his noisy class. 老师对他那喧闹的课堂板着脸。

20 skunk   

n.臭鼬，黄鼠狼；v.使惨败，使得零分；烂醉如泥

参考例句：

• That was a rotten thing to do, you skunk!那种事做得太缺德了，你这卑鄙的家伙！
• The skunk gives off an unpleasant smell when attacked.受到攻击时臭鼬会发出一种难闻的气味。

21 swarmed   

密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去

参考例句：

• When the bell rang, the children swarmed out of the school. 铃声一响，孩子们蜂拥而出离开了学校。
• When the rain started the crowd swarmed back into the hotel. 雨一开始下，人群就蜂拥回了旅社。

22 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

23 mantle   

n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红

参考例句：

• The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green.大地披上了苍翠欲滴的绿色斗篷。
• The mountain was covered with a mantle of snow.山上覆盖着一层雪。

24 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

25 poker   

n.扑克；vt.烙制

参考例句：

• He was cleared out in the poker game.他打扑克牌，把钱都输光了。
• I'm old enough to play poker and do something with it.我打扑克是老手了，可以玩些花样。

26 scuffed   

v.使磨损( scuff的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚走

参考例句：

• I scuffed the heel of my shoe on the stonework. 我的鞋跟儿给铺好的石头磨坏了。
• Polly dropped her head and scuffed her feet. 波莉低下头拖着脚走开了。 来自辞典例句

27 parody   

n.打油诗文，诙谐的改编诗文，拙劣的模仿；v.拙劣模仿，作模仿诗文

参考例句：

• The parody was just a form of teasing.那个拙劣的模仿只是一种揶揄。
• North Korea looks like a grotesque parody of Mao's centrally controlled China,precisely the sort of system that Beijing has left behind.朝鲜看上去像是毛时代中央集权的中国的怪诞模仿，其体制恰恰是北京方面已经抛弃的。

28 squeak   

n.吱吱声，逃脱；v.（发出）吱吱叫，侥幸通过；（俚）告密

参考例句：

• I don't want to hear another squeak out of you!我不想再听到你出声！
• We won the game,but it was a narrow squeak.我们打赢了这场球赛，不过是侥幸取胜。

29 bluffing   

n. 威吓，唬人 动词bluff的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• I don't think he'll shoot—I think he's just bluffing. 我认为他不会开枪—我想他不过是在吓唬人。
• He says he'll win the race, but he's only bluffing. 他说他会赢得这场比赛，事实上只是在吹牛。

30 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

31 dozed   

v.打盹儿，打瞌睡( doze的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He boozed till daylight and dozed into the afternoon. 他喝了个通霄，昏沉沉地一直睡到下午。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• I dozed off during the soporific music. 我听到这催人入睡的音乐，便不知不觉打起盹儿来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

32 picket   

n.纠察队；警戒哨；v.设置纠察线；布置警卫

参考例句：

• They marched to the factory and formed a picket.他们向工厂前进,并组成了纠察队。
• Some of the union members did not want to picket.工会的一些会员不想担任罢工纠察员。

33 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

34 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》

35 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

36 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。

37 pickets   

罢工纠察员( picket的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Five pickets were arrested by police. 五名纠察队员被警方逮捕。
• We could hear the chanting of the pickets. 我们可以听到罢工纠察员有节奏的喊叫声。

38 plodding   

a.proceeding in a slow or dull way

参考例句：

• They're still plodding along with their investigation. 他们仍然在不厌其烦地进行调查。
• He is plodding on with negotiations. 他正缓慢艰难地进行着谈判。

39 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。

40 shrieking   

v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The boxers were goaded on by the shrieking crowd. 拳击运动员听见观众的喊叫就来劲儿了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They were all shrieking with laughter. 他们都发出了尖锐的笑声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

41 overestimate   

v.估计过高，过高评价

参考例句：

• Don't overestimate seriousness of the problem.别把问题看重了。
• We overestimate our influence and our nuisance value.我们过高地估计了自己的影响力和破坏作用。

42 bastard   

n.坏蛋，混蛋；私生子

参考例句：

• He was never concerned about being born a bastard.他从不介意自己是私生子。
• There was supposed to be no way to get at the bastard.据说没有办法买通那个混蛋。

43 dangling   

悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口

参考例句：

• The tooth hung dangling by the bedpost, now. 结果，那颗牙就晃来晃去吊在床柱上了。
• The children sat on the high wall,their legs dangling. 孩子们坐在一堵高墙上，摇晃着他们的双腿。

44 transistor   

n.晶体管，晶体管收音机

参考例句：

• This make of transistor radio is small and beautifully designed.这半导体收音机小巧玲珑。
• Every transistor has at least three electrodes.每个晶体管至少有三个电极。

45 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

46 perplexed   

adj.不知所措的

参考例句：

• The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。
• The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。

47 groom   

vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁

参考例句：

• His father was a groom.他父亲曾是个马夫。
• George was already being groomed for the top job.为承担这份高级工作，乔治已在接受专门的培训。

48 poncho   

n.斗篷，雨衣

参考例句：

• He yawned and curled his body down farther beneath the poncho.他打了个呵欠，把身子再蜷拢点儿，往雨披里缩了缩。
• The poncho is made of nylon.这雨披是用尼龙制造的。

49 terse   

adj.(说话，文笔)精炼的，简明的

参考例句：

• Her reply about the matter was terse.她对此事的答复简明扼要。
• The president issued a terse statement denying the charges.总统发表了一份简短的声明，否认那些指控。

50 rims   

n.（圆形物体的）边( rim的名词复数 )；缘；轮辋；轮圈

参考例句：

• As she spoke, the rims of her eyes reddened a little. 说时，眼圈微红。 来自汉英文学 - 围城
• Her eyes were a little hollow, and reddish about the rims. 她的眼睛微微凹陷，眼眶有些发红。 来自辞典例句

51 resolute   

adj.坚决的，果敢的

参考例句：

• He was resolute in carrying out his plan.他坚决地实行他的计划。
• The Egyptians offered resolute resistance to the aggressors.埃及人对侵略者作出坚决的反抗。

52 stouthearted   

adj.刚毅的，大胆的

参考例句：

• He was artful and treacherous,and stouthearted soldier.他是一个狡猾、奸诈而坚强的战士。
• Robin Hood was a stouthearted man.罗宾汉是一个勇敢的人