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CHAPTER III—DEEPENING SHADOWS
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ON the second day after Mrs. Gaston was stricken a forlorn little boy sat in the kitchen watching Aunt Eve get supper. He saw her nod while she worked the dough1 for the biscuits.

“Aunt Eve, I’m going to sit up to-night and every night with my Mama, ’till she gets well. I can’t sleep for hours and hours. I lie awake and cry when I hear her talking ’till I feel like I’ll die. I must do something to help her.”

“Laws, honey, you’se too little. You can’t keep ’wake ’tall. You get so lonesome and skeered all by yerself.”

“I don’t care, I’ve told Tom to wake me to-night if I’m asleep when he goes, and I’ll sit up from twelve ’till two o’clock and then call you.”

“All right, Mammy’s darlin’ boy, but you git tired en can’t stan’ it.”

So that night at midnight he took his place by the bedside. His mother was sleeping, at first. He sat and gazed with aching heart at her still, white face. She stirred, opened her eyes, saw him, and imagined he was his father.

“Dearie-, I knew you would come,” she murmured. “They told me you were dead; but I knew better. What a long, long time you have been away. How brown the sun has tanned your face, but it’s just as handsome. I think handsomer than ever. And how like you is little Charlie! I knew you would be proud of him!”

While she talked, her eyes had a glassy look, that seemed to take no note of anything in the room.

The child listened for ten minutes, and then the horror of her strange voice, and look and words overwhelmed him. He burst into tears and threw his arms around his mother’s neck and sobbed2.

“Oh! Mama dear, it’s me, Charlie, your little boy, who loves you so much. Please, don’t talk that way. Please look at me like you used to. There! Let me kiss your eyes ’till they are soft and sweet again!”

He covered her eyes with kisses.

The mother seemed dazed for a moment, held him off at arm’s length, and then burst into laughter.

“Of course, you silly, I know you. You must run to bed now. Kiss me good night.”

“But you are sick, Mama, I am sitting up with you.” Again she ignored his presence. She was back in the old days with her Love. She was kissing her hand to him as he left her for his day’s work. Charlie looked at the clock. It was time to give her the soothing3 drops the doctor left. She took it, obedient as a child, and went on and on with interminable dreams of the past, now and then uttering strange things for a boy’s ears. But so terrible was the anguish4 with which he watched her, the words made little impression on his mind. It seemed to him some one was strangling him to death, and a great stone was piled on his little prostrate5 body.

When she grew quiet, at last, and dosed, how still the house seemed! How loud the tick of the clock! How slowly the hands moved! He had never noticed this before. He watched the hands for five minutes. It seemed each minute was an hour, and five minutes were as long as a day. What strange noises in the house! Suppose a ghost should walk into the room! Well, he wouldn’t run and leave his Mama; he made up his mind to that.

Some nights there were other sounds more ominous6. The town was crowded with strange negroes, who were hanging around the camp of the garrison7. One night a drunken gang came shouting and screaming up the alley8 close beside the house, firing pistols and muskets9. They stopped at the house, and one of them yelled, “Burn the rebel’s house down! It’s our turn now!”

The terrified boy rushed to the kitchen and called Nelse. In a minute, Nelse was on the scene. There was no more trouble that night.

“De lazy black debbels,” said Nelse, as he mopped the perspiration10 from his brow, “I’ll teach ’em what freedom is.”

The next day when the Rev11. John Durham had an interview with the Commandant of the troops, he succeeded in getting a consignment12 of corn for seed, and to meet the threat of starvation among some families whose condition he reported. This important matter settled, he said to the officer:

“Captain, we must look to you for protection. The town is swarming13 with vagrant14 negroes, bent15 on mischief16. There are camp followers17 with you organizing them into some sort of union League meetings, dealing18 out arms and ammunition19 to them, and what is worse, inflaming20 the worst passions against their former masters, teaching them insolence21 and training them for crime.”

“I’ll do the best I can for you Doctor, but I can’t control the camp followers who are organising the union League. They live a charmed life.”

That night, as the Preacher walked home from a visit to a destitute22 family he encountered a burly negro on the sidewalk, dressed in an old suit of Federal uniform, evidently under the influence of whiskey. He wore a belt around his waist, in which he had thrust, conspicuously23, an old horse pistol.

Standing24 squarely across the pathway, he said to the Preacher, “Git outer de road, white man, you’se er rebel, I’se er Loyal union Leaguer!”

It was his first experience with Negro insolence since the emancipation25 of his slaves. Quick as a flash, his right arm was raised. But he took a second thought, stepped aside, and allowed the drunken fool to pass. He went home wondering in a hazy26 sort of way through his excited passions what the end of it all would be. Gradually in his mind for days this towering figure of the freed Negro had been growing more and more ominous, until its menace overshadowed the poverty, the hunger, the sorrows and the devastation27 of the South, throwing the blight28 of its shadow over future generations, a veritable Black Death for the land and its people.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 dough hkbzg     
n.生面团;钱,现款
参考例句:
  • She formed the dough into squares.她把生面团捏成四方块。
  • The baker is kneading dough.那位面包师在揉面。
2 sobbed 4a153e2bbe39eef90bf6a4beb2dba759     
哭泣,啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 ); 哭诉,呜咽地说
参考例句:
  • She sobbed out the story of her son's death. 她哭诉着她儿子的死。
  • She sobbed out the sad story of her son's death. 她哽咽着诉说她儿子死去的悲惨经过。
3 soothing soothing     
adj.慰藉的;使人宽心的;镇静的
参考例句:
  • Put on some nice soothing music.播放一些柔和舒缓的音乐。
  • His casual, relaxed manner was very soothing.他随意而放松的举动让人很快便平静下来。
4 anguish awZz0     
n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦,烦恼
参考例句:
  • She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时,她由于痛苦而失声大哭。
  • The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。
5 prostrate 7iSyH     
v.拜倒,平卧,衰竭;adj.拜倒的,平卧的,衰竭的
参考例句:
  • She was prostrate on the floor.她俯卧在地板上。
  • The Yankees had the South prostrate and they intended to keep It'so.北方佬已经使南方屈服了,他们还打算继续下去。
6 ominous Xv6y5     
adj.不祥的,不吉的,预兆的,预示的
参考例句:
  • Those black clouds look ominous for our picnic.那些乌云对我们的野餐来说是个不祥之兆。
  • There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.电话那头出现了不祥的沉默。
7 garrison uhNxT     
n.卫戍部队;驻地,卫戍区;vt.派(兵)驻防
参考例句:
  • The troops came to the relief of the besieged garrison.军队来援救被围的守备军。
  • The German was moving to stiffen up the garrison in Sicily.德军正在加强西西里守军之力量。
8 alley Cx2zK     
n.小巷,胡同;小径,小路
参考例句:
  • We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
  • The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。
9 muskets c800a2b34c12fbe7b5ea8ef241e9a447     
n.火枪,(尤指)滑膛枪( musket的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The watch below, all hands to load muskets. 另一组人都来帮着给枪装火药。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
  • Deep ditch, single drawbridge, massive stone walls, eight at towers, cannon, muskets, fire and smoke. 深深的壕堑,单吊桥,厚重的石壁,八座巨大的塔楼。大炮、毛瑟枪、火焰与烟雾。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
10 perspiration c3UzD     
n.汗水;出汗
参考例句:
  • It is so hot that my clothes are wet with perspiration.天太热了,我的衣服被汗水湿透了。
  • The perspiration was running down my back.汗从我背上淌下来。
11 rev njvzwS     
v.发动机旋转,加快速度
参考例句:
  • It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
  • Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。
12 consignment 9aDyo     
n.寄售;发货;委托;交运货物
参考例句:
  • This last consignment of hosiery is quite up to standard.这批新到的针织品完全符合规格。
  • We have to ask you to dispatch the consignment immediately.我们得要求你立即发送该批货物。
13 swarming db600a2d08b872102efc8fbe05f047f9     
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。
14 vagrant xKOzP     
n.流浪者,游民;adj.流浪的,漂泊不定的
参考例句:
  • A vagrant is everywhere at home.流浪者四海为家。
  • He lived on the street as a vagrant.他以在大街上乞讨为生。
15 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
16 mischief jDgxH     
n.损害,伤害,危害;恶作剧,捣蛋,胡闹
参考例句:
  • Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
  • He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。
17 followers 5c342ee9ce1bf07932a1f66af2be7652     
追随者( follower的名词复数 ); 用户; 契据的附面; 从动件
参考例句:
  • the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
  • The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。
18 dealing NvjzWP     
n.经商方法,待人态度
参考例句:
  • This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
  • His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
19 ammunition GwVzz     
n.军火,弹药
参考例句:
  • A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
  • They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。
20 inflaming 680d9d4b23288e1c2a803752cc2520a4     
v.(使)变红,发怒,过热( inflame的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • And, by inflaming the liver, hepatitis can adversely affect dozens of life processes. 而肝脏的炎症又会对数十种生命过程产生有害影响。 来自辞典例句
  • Your throat are inflaming. 你的喉部发炎了。 来自互联网
21 insolence insolence     
n.傲慢;无礼;厚颜;傲慢的态度
参考例句:
  • I've had enough of your insolence, and I'm having no more. 我受够了你的侮辱,不能再容忍了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • How can you suffer such insolence? 你怎么能容忍这种蛮横的态度? 来自《简明英汉词典》
22 destitute 4vOxu     
adj.缺乏的;穷困的
参考例句:
  • They were destitute of necessaries of life.他们缺少生活必需品。
  • They are destitute of common sense.他们缺乏常识。
23 conspicuously 3vczqb     
ad.明显地,惹人注目地
参考例句:
  • France remained a conspicuously uneasy country. 法国依然是个明显不太平的国家。
  • She figured conspicuously in the public debate on the issue. 她在该问题的公开辩论中很引人注目。
24 standing 2hCzgo     
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。
25 emancipation Sjlzb     
n.(从束缚、支配下)解放
参考例句:
  • We must arouse them to fight for their own emancipation. 我们必须唤起他们为其自身的解放而斗争。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • They rejoiced over their own emancipation. 他们为自己的解放感到欢欣鼓舞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
26 hazy h53ya     
adj.有薄雾的,朦胧的;不肯定的,模糊的
参考例句:
  • We couldn't see far because it was so hazy.雾气蒙蒙妨碍了我们的视线。
  • I have a hazy memory of those early years.对那些早先的岁月我有着朦胧的记忆。
27 devastation ku9zlF     
n.毁坏;荒废;极度震惊或悲伤
参考例句:
  • The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
  • There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》
28 blight 0REye     
n.枯萎病;造成破坏的因素;vt.破坏,摧残
参考例句:
  • The apple crop was wiped out by blight.枯萎病使苹果全无收成。
  • There is a blight on all his efforts.他的一切努力都遭到挫折。


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