“What are you going to do?” demanded the trainmaster, who had been watching him closely.
“There’s only one thing for me to do, isn’t there?” asked Allan, with a wan4 little smile. "That is to get out. I see I’m not fit for anything ? 151 ? better than section-work, after all. I’ll ask Jack5 Welsh for my old job—that is, if the road will have me."
“Sit down,” commanded Mr. Schofield, sternly. He saw how overwrought the boy was. “There’s no use jumping at conclusions. Besides, you’ve got to stay your trick out here, no matter how guilty you are. There’s your call now,” he added, as the key sounded.
Allan answered it mechanically, took down the message, repeated it, and had it O. K.’d. By the time that was done, he had partially6 regained7 his self-control.
“Of course I’ll serve out the trick,” he said. “But I didn’t suppose I’d ever have a chance to serve another. A mistake like that deserves the severest punishment you can inflict8.”
“You mean you think Nevins left the order on the hook and that you overlooked it?”
“Certainly,” said the boy. “How else could it have happened?”
“I don’t know. But neither can I understand how you could have overlooked it if you were at all careful. There are only three others on the hook.”
“I wasn’t as careful as I should have been,” said Allan in a low voice, “that’s certain.”
He was sure that he, and he only, had been at fault. Any other explanation seemed ridiculous.
“Did Nevins say anything about this train when you came on duty?” pursued the trainmaster.
? 152 ?
Allan made a mighty9 effort at recollection.
“No,” he said, at last; “I’m sure he didn’t. We talked a moment about the special, and he spoke10 of the heavy day’s work he’d had. That was all. If he’d said he had an order for it, I certainly shouldn’t have forgotten it right away.”
“Then Nevins broke the rules, too,” said Mr. Schofield, and got out his book of rules. “The second paragraph on page seventy-six reads as follows: ‘When both day and night operators are employed, one must not leave his post until relieved by the other, and the one going off duty must inform the one coming on respecting unfinished business and the position of trains.’”
“He waited until I had looked over the orders,” said Allan, with a lively remembrance of Nevins’s attitude toward that particular rule. “He supposed that I could read, and if there was anything I didn’t understand I’d have asked him.”
Mr. Schofield put his book back into his pocket, and got out another cigar. His nerves were jangling badly, and he felt the need of something to quiet them.
“Well,” he said, at last, “I’m sorry.”
And Allan bowed his head. He accepted the sentence of dismissal which the words implied; it was just. He saw all the air-castles which he had builded so hopefully come tumbling about him; he was overwhelmed in the ruins. He realized that there was no future for him in railroading; no place at the top. He had forfeited11 his right to serve the road, to expect promotion12, by that one mistake, that one piece of carelessness. At least, he told himself, it had taught him a lesson, and one that he would never forget. It had taught him—
“IN THE NEXT INSTANT THE TALL FIGURE HAD BEEN FLUNG VIOLENTLY INTO THE ROOM.”
? 153 ?
Some one stumbled heavily up the steps to the door, and Mr. Schofield uttered a sharp exclamation13 of astonishment14. Allan started around to see upon the threshold the strangest apparition15 his eyes had ever rested on.
Two figures stood there so daubed with mud, so bedraggled with dirty water, so torn and bruised16 and soiled as scarcely to resemble human beings. One was tall and thin, the other not so tall and much heavier. The shorter figure held the tall one by the back of the neck in a grip so tight and merciless that such of the latter’s face as was visible through its coating of mud was convulsed and purple. One eye was closed and swollen17, while the other seemed starting from its socket18. Both men had lost their hats, and their hair was matted with mud, reddened, in the case of the shorter one, with blood.
All this Allan saw at a glance, for in the next instant, the tall figure had been flung violently into the room, while the other entered after him, closed the door, and stood leaning against it, breathing heavily.
For a moment, not a word was spoken. The trainmaster and Allan stared in amazement19 from one ? 154 ? of these strange figures to the other. The tall one lay where he had fallen, gasping21 for breath; the other, having recovered somewhat, got out a handkerchief from some recess22, and made an ineffectual effort to blow his nose. Then, as he caught the expression of the others’ faces, he grinned so broadly that some of the mud on his cheeks cracked and scaled off.
“Ye don’t happen t’ have a bath-tub handy, do ye, Allan?” he inquired, in a voice so familiar that the boy jumped in his chair, and even Mr. Schofield started perceptibly.
“Jack!” cried Allan. “Why, what—”
He stopped, unable to go on, breathless with sheer astonishment.
“Is it really you, Welsh?” asked the trainmaster.
“Yes, Misther Schofield; it’s me, or what’s left o’ me,” said Jack, passing his hand ruefully over his head, and gazing down at his tattered23 garments.
“And who’s this?” asked the trainmaster, with a gesture toward the prostrate24 figure on the floor.
“I don’t know th’ dirty scoundrel’s name,” answered Jack, “but you’ll know him, I reckon, as soon as we scrape th’ mud off. But afore I tell th’ story, I would loike t’ wash up.”
“All right,” said Allan, starting from his chair, “here you are,” and he poured some water from a bucket into a wash-pan which stood on a soap-box beside the window. A towel hung from a roller on ? 155 ? the wall, and a piece of soap lay on the window-sill. It was here he washed up every night before he ate his midnight lunch.
Jack took off the remains25 of his coat, one sleeve of which had been torn out at the shoulder, rolled up his shirt-sleeves, and plunged26 his head into the water with a grunt27 of satisfaction. He got off the worst of the mud, threw out the dirty water, and filled the pan with fresh. From this he emerged fairly like his old self, and rubbed face and head violently with the towel. When he had finished, an ugly cut was visible high on his forehead, near the roots of his hair. He touched it tenderly, and held the towel against it, for the washing had started it to bleeding again.
“Here, let me see that,” said Mr. Schofield, peremptorily28. He led Jack near the lamp, despite his protests that it was only a scratch, examined the cut, got out his handkerchief, dipped it in clean water, and washed the wound carefully. Then he took from his pocket a little case of court-plaster, drew the edges of the cut together, and stuck a sheet of the plaster over it.
“There,” he said, when the operation was finished, "that will soon be all right. And let me give you a piece of advice, Welsh, and you, too, Allan—never go about this world without a case of court-plaster in your pocket. Men, especially railroad men, are always getting little knocks and cuts, not worth considering in themselves, but which may ? 156 ? become poisoned, if left open, and cause a great deal of trouble. A snip29 of court-plaster stops all chance of that. So take my advice—"
There was a sudden movement behind them, and Jack hurled30 himself toward the door just in time to catch the other mud-bespattered figure as it was disappearing over the threshold. There was a moment’s struggle, then Jack got his deadly neck-grip again, and walked his captive back into the room.
“So ye thought ye’d git away, did ye?” he demanded, savagely31. “Thought ye’d give me th’ slip! Not after th’ hard work I had gittin’ ye here, me boy!”
He closed the door with his disengaged hand, then led his prisoner up to the light.
“Do ye know him?” he asked of Allan and the trainmaster, but neither of them saw anything familiar in the distorted and mud-grimed features which the rays of the lamp disclosed. They noticed, however, with what an agony of fear the prisoner stared at them with the single eye which was open.
“Ye don’t know him, hey?” said Jack, seeing their blank countenances32. “Well, ye wouldn’t know yer own father under such a layer o’ mud. Let’s wash him off. Then he’ll look more nateral.”
He shoved the prisoner toward the bucket of water, in spite of his suddenly desperate struggles. Then, pinching his neck savagely, he bent33 him down toward the bucket, and with his free hand splashed ? 157 ? the water over his face. Then he forced him up to the towel, rubbed his face vigorously, and finally spun34 him around toward the astonished onlookers35.
Allan gave a gasp20 of amazement.
“Why, it’s Nevins!” he said.
“Nevins!” echoed Mr. Schofield, coming a step nearer. “Why, no—yes it is, too!”
“And who may Nevins be?” demanded Jack.
“Nevins is the day operator here,” said Mr. Schofield. “Let him go, Jack; he can’t escape.”
Jack reluctantly released his grip of the unlucky operator’s neck.
“I don’t know,” he said, dubiously36. “If you’d chased him five mile, an’ fought him at th’ bottom of a ditch, an’ had him hit you in th’ head with a rock, mebbe you wouldn’t be so sure o’ that!”
“But what has he done?” demanded Mr. Schofield.
“Well, I don’t exactly know,” answered Jack, deliberately37, moving again between the prisoner and the door, and sitting down there. “But it was some deviltry.”
Mr. Schofield also sat down, more astonished than ever.
“See here, Welsh,” he said, “you’re not drunk?”
“Hain’t drunk a drop fer a matter o’ tin year, Mr. Schofield. Th’ effects wore off long ago.”
“He is drunk, Mr. Schofield,” broke in Nevins, quickly. "I smelt38 it on his breath. I’ll have the ? 158 ? law on him. He assaulted me out there in a ditch and nearly killed me. I’ll see if a man’s to be treated that way by a big, drunken bully—"
But Mr. Schofield stopped him with a gesture.
“That will do,” he said, coldly. “Don’t lie about it. I know that Welsh isn’t drunk. We’ll have his story first, and then yours. Fire away, Jack.”
“Well,” began Jack, “jest as th’ torpedy went off—”
“Which torpedo39?”
“Why, th’ one that th’ special exploded.”
“Oh, begin further back than that—begin at the beginning.”
“Well, then, jest as I jammed th’ torpedy on th’ track—”
“Was it you put it on the track?” cried Mr. Schofield.
“Why, sure,” said Jack. “Didn’t ye know that? Who else could it ’a’ been?”
“But how did you come to do that?”
“Why,” said Jack, “whin I heerd th’ special whistling away off up th’ line, an’ th’ signal showin’ a clear track, an’ knowed they was a freight comin’ up th’ grade, what else should I do but plant a torpedy? I didn’t have time t’ git t’ th’ office—besides, I knowed they was some diviltry on an’ I wanted t’ lay low till I could git Nolan—”
“Nolan!” echoed the trainmaster, more and more amazed.
? 159 ?
“Sure, Nolan—Dan Nolan—you raymimber him. I thought it was him I had, an’ mighty dissipinted I was whin I found my mistake. But I thought I’d better bring this feller along, anyhow, an’ find out what it was he done when he raised th’ windy there an’ leaned in—”
A flash of understanding sprang into Mr. Schofield’s eyes, and he glanced quickly at Nevins. But the latter’s face was turned away.
“See here, Jack,” said the trainmaster, leaning forward in his chair, “we’ll never get anywhere in this way. I want you to begin at the very beginning and tell us the whole story.”
“Well, sir,” said Jack, “I would, but I’m afeerd th’ story’d be too long.”
“No, it wouldn’t. We want to hear it.”
“All right, then,” Jack agreed, and settled back in his chair. “Ye may as well set down, Misther Nevins,” he added.
“Yes, sit down,” said Allan, moved with pity at the other’s bedraggled and exhausted40 condition. He brought forward the box which served as washstand, and pressed Nevins gently down upon it.
The latter resisted for a moment; then, suddenly, he collapsed41 in a heap upon the box and buried his face in his hands, his whole body shaken by a dry, convulsive sobbing42.
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收听单词发音
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1
stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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2
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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3
wreckage
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| n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏 | |
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4
wan
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| (wide area network)广域网 | |
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5
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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6
partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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7
regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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8
inflict
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| vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担 | |
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9
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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10
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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11
forfeited
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| （因违反协议、犯规、受罚等）丧失，失去( forfeit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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12
promotion
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| n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传 | |
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13
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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14
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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15
apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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16
bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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17
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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18
socket
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| n.窝，穴，孔，插座，插口 | |
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19
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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20
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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21
gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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22
recess
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| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
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23
tattered
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| adj.破旧的，衣衫破的 | |
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24
prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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25
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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26
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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27
grunt
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| v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝 | |
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28
peremptorily
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| adv.紧急地，不容分说地，专横地 | |
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29
snip
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| n.便宜货，廉价货，剪，剪断 | |
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30
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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31
savagely
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| adv. 野蛮地，残酷地 | |
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32
countenances
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| n.面容( countenance的名词复数 )；表情；镇静；道义支持 | |
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33
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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34
spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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35
onlookers
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| n.旁观者，观看者( onlooker的名词复数 ) | |
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36
dubiously
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| adv.可疑地，怀疑地 | |
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37
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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38
smelt
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| v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼 | |
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39
torpedo
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| n.水雷，地雷；v.用鱼雷破坏 | |
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40
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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41
collapsed
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| adj.倒塌的 | |
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42
sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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