CHAPTER XVIII I AM ENTRUSTED WITH A DELICATE MISSION

Although the fortunes of war turned out for the benefit of Japan in general, this was not the case with the troops among which I found myself.

When I had seen the general studying the map so intently I had concluded that he had good reason to be so serious. Frankly¹, I understood very little of what was going on, but Fiam knew all about it perfectly², and he didn’t always explain it to me, because he said it was dangerous to tell everything to foreigners by the Haji of the wire. But I felt from his looks that important events were taking place.

He was restless. He seemed to be cherishing a secret sorrow. During the fighting, while he watched from my hat, he was beside himself with excitement and ran around the brim crying:

“No, no! The great thunder to the right, the little thunder to the center! Quick! Whatever are they doing! To the right, I said. Stop! It is a mistake.”

[140]

But he wouldn’t tell me of what error he was speaking. To me it seemed as if things might be going very well. The enemy was withdrawing into a mountainous region, and we followed them without hindrance³. What more could be desired?

The mountains grew nearer and nearer. As we approached them we came to a deep valley, long and dark, which from a distance could be seen swarming⁴ with the enemy in the midst of clouds of dust raised by the cannon⁵, by the baggage and the columns of marching soldiers.

One evening, after Fiam had been shouting “Halt!” from every side of my hat, he said to me:

“Listen. I will tell you an important secret. If we enter that valley we are lost.”

[141]

“Truly,” I observed doubtingly.

“Immediately. This whole division of our army would be captured. You must run to the general and tell him to halt here and take the road toward the right.”

“How shall I do it? He wouldn’t listen to me.”

“Try it.”

“Shall I say that you sent me?”

“No, he wouldn’t believe it. Tell him that you have explored and are persuaded. Do try.”

He begged and implored⁶ with so much persistence⁷ that at last I decided⁸ to please him. I put him in my hat, mounted my horse and started.

I found the general riding in the midst of his guard. I asked to speak to him alone on a very important affair.

“General,” I said gravely, “if you enter that valley you are lost!”

He stopped his horse, looked at me in amazement⁹, and broke into a laugh.

“Ha, ha, you are joking.”

Indeed, I felt a little shaky. I should have liked to beg his pardon and withdraw in peace, but I knew [142] that Fiam was listening, and I had unlimited¹⁰ faith in him.

“I am not joking,” I said. “I beg you to believe that you risk having this part of your army captured.”

He looked at me attentively¹¹ as I went on:

“Send out your scouts¹², and you will be convinced of it.”

Then he replied courteously¹³: “I have sent. The road is clear. Don’t worry. I think you need to take care of yourself. At the first stop take a long rest. Good-bye, and thank you.”

He held out his hand to me, spurred his horse, and rode off.

1 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

2 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。

3 hindrance   

n.妨碍，障碍

参考例句：

• Now they can construct tunnel systems without hindrance.现在他们可以顺利地建造隧道系统了。
• The heavy baggage was a great hindrance to me.那件行李成了我的大累赘。

4 swarming   

密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 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：

• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。
• The beach is swarming with bathers. 海滩满是海水浴的人。

5 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

6 implored   

恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She implored him to stay. 她恳求他留下。
• She implored him with tears in her eyes to forgive her. 她含泪哀求他原谅她。

7 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。

8 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。

9 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

10 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

11 attentively   

adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神

参考例句：

• She listened attentively while I poured out my problems. 我倾吐心中的烦恼时，她一直在注意听。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She listened attentively and set down every word he said. 她专心听着，把他说的话一字不漏地记下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

13 courteously   

adv.有礼貌地，亲切地

参考例句：

• He courteously opened the door for me.他谦恭有礼地为我开门。
• Presently he rose courteously and released her.过了一会，他就很客气地站起来，让她走开。