CHAPTER XXI THE ZEAL OF DR. TASA

I entered my tent. How awfully¹ alone I was! I should never find him again in the bottom of the camera or in the midst of postage stamps! I should never hear his little voice, prompting me with “Miferino.” I should never carry him astride the battlement, or on the crown of my hat. The imperial tomb was empty except for the white cotton bed!

I couldn’t sleep. After I don’t know how long the moon rose. I got up to look at the clock. It was midnight. Fiam had been walking four hours. How far had he gone?

The firing continued every now and then. “Little thunder,” I thought, remembering the queer idea of my friend. Every few minutes I looked at the clock. One o’clock passed; two o’clock passed. I was getting anxious. I thought an hour had gone by—it was five minutes.

At half-past two I began to listen. A quarter to three, three, a quarter past three——

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I thought he hadn’t found the mine, and I almost felt glad at the idea that I might see him again.

Half-past three. The minutes seemed like eternity². Twenty-five minutes to four. Twenty minutes to four——

It was (I shall never forget it) at precisely³ thirteen minutes to four when the night was lighted by an immense brilliant blue light. A few seconds later the whole earth shook and a horrible explosion rent the air. Then silence.

It wasn’t long before the trumpets⁴ blew. The camp was all commotion⁵. Commands were issued, confused with shouts. These, I made out, were joyful⁶.

“The mine has been fired! The mine has been fired!” they repeated again and again.

The ranks formed. The regiments⁷ drew up in line of march. The officers galloped⁸ about. The flags were unfurled.

At dawn the columns moved—fresh and eager, as if starting off for the first encounter.

The terrible pass was traversed by the soldiers singing while the bayonets glistened⁹ in the rising sun. Two hours later we were safely outside the [163] mountainous defile¹⁰, and were joined by the main army.

The enemy was forced to give battle, and was defeated.

That evening they all feasted in the general’s tent. All the officers were happy. I alone was sad.

After a while they began to ask, Who could have blown up the mine? Some one said:

“The soldiers sent to explore returned without finding anything.”

“Perhaps,” another suggested, “it blew up of itself on account of poor construction.”

“No,” said a third. “It was blown up by the enemy; they thought we were on the march, near the mine.”

I arose and said solemnly:

“I know who blew up the mine and made your victory and escape possible.”

“Tell us, tell us!” they shouted in chorus. “Who?”

“It was Fiam, who....”

“Who is that?” asked twenty voices at once. “Who is our hero and our rescuer? How did you know him?”

“It is,” I proceeded firmly, “the Haji of an old willow¹¹ tree that....” A tumult¹² of laughter greeted [164] me. Even the general joined in. They thought I was joking. The general cried:

“Still more legends, ha, ha!”

“I am in earnest,” I said, turning to him, and couldn’t help adding, “It was the Haji of Funato, your Haji.”

The laughter increased. “Legends, superstitions¹³, fancies,” I heard in the midst of the hilarity¹⁴.

I was so bewildered I didn’t know whether to get angry or laugh with them.

Suddenly I felt a touch on my shoulder. I turned to see an officer looking attentively¹⁵ at me. “My name is Tasa. Let me feel your pulse. Show me your tongue. I recommend a little ice on the head.”

The End

1 awfully   

adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地

参考例句：

• Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
• I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

2 eternity   

n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷

参考例句：

• The dull play seemed to last an eternity.这场乏味的剧似乎演个没完没了。
• Finally,Ying Tai and Shan Bo could be together for all of eternity.英台和山伯终能双宿双飞，永世相随。

3 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

4 trumpets   

喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 )； 小号； 喇叭形物； （尤指）绽开的水仙花

参考例句：

• A wreath was laid on the monument to a fanfare of trumpets. 在响亮的号角声中花圈被献在纪念碑前。
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。

5 commotion   

n.骚动，动乱

参考例句：

• They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵，引起了一阵骚乱。
• Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间，整条街道变得一片混乱。

6 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

7 regiments   

（军队的）团( regiment的名词复数 )； 大量的人或物

参考例句：

• The three regiments are all under the command of you. 这三个团全归你节制。
• The town was garrisoned with two regiments. 该镇有两团士兵驻守。

8 galloped   

（使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事

参考例句：

• Jo galloped across the field towards him. 乔骑马穿过田野向他奔去。
• The children galloped home as soon as the class was over. 孩子们一下课便飞奔回家了。

9 glistened   

v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Pearls of dew glistened on the grass. 草地上珠露晶莹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Her eyes glistened with tears. 她的眼里闪着泪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 defile   

v.弄污，弄脏；n.(山间)小道

参考例句：

• Don't defile the land of our ancestors!再不要污染我们先祖们的大地！
• We respect the faith of Islam, even as we fight those whose actions defile that faith.我们尊重伊斯兰教的信仰，并与玷污伊斯兰教的信仰的行为作斗争。

11 willow   

n.柳树

参考例句：

• The river was sparsely lined with willow trees.河边疏疏落落有几棵柳树。
• The willow's shadow falls on the lake.垂柳的影子倒映在湖面上。

12 tumult   

n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹

参考例句：

• The tumult in the streets awakened everyone in the house.街上的喧哗吵醒了屋子里的每一个人。
• His voice disappeared under growing tumult.他的声音消失在越来越响的喧哗声中。

13 superstitions   

迷信，迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Old superstitions seem incredible to educated people. 旧的迷信对于受过教育的人来说是不可思议的。
• Do away with all fetishes and superstitions. 破除一切盲目崇拜和迷信。

14 hilarity   

n.欢乐；热闹

参考例句：

• The announcement was greeted with much hilarity and mirth.这一项宣布引起了热烈的欢呼声。
• Wine gives not light hilarity,but noisy merriment.酒不给人以轻松的欢乐，而给人以嚣嚷的狂欢。

15 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》