Winter assumed the reins6 of power by the grand inaugural7 of a considerable blizzard8. The wind was not as riotous9 and gusty10 as in the dreaded11 storm but steady and cold, snowing heavily and driving a close, surface blow. Night drew down the curtain with the temperature slightly lower, the breeze unabated in its mild steadiness and the snow falling in a thickening sheet. With the stars blanketed by heavy clouds and the moon stark12 dead the night was black. The white covering of snow made little difference to the impenetrable pall13.
Pellawa was unusually quiet though a few hardy14 pedestrians15 braved the deepening drifts. Louie Swale's joint16, however, boasted a small and interesting crowd. About the bar were some familiar faces, Snoopy Bill Baird, Nick Ford17 and other members of McClure's Gang. The Green Baize Door was shut. Two men occupied the privacy of the "Square Room," sitting on opposite sides of the table, each with his amber-hued flask18. Rob McClure was plainly on the defensive19, withstanding some daring proposition being urged by Reddy Sykes. Their frequent swigs were beginning to undermine McClure's scepticism.
"You think this Red Knight20 wheat, as you call it, is no hoax," said Rob.
"It's the real goods," averred21 Sykes positively22. "Pullar has tested it for four years and the experts in the University have pronounced it O.K. That is why Ned and the old man are toting into the City. It is good enough to be valued by Ned at one hundred dollars a bushel. They tell me John T. C. Norrgrene is interested in this thing himself. This wheat is due to cause a sensation with the result that Ned Pullar's stock goes up higher in the community as well as somewhere else. Ned Pullar's a mighty23 clever gink and I have a hunch24 that he has nothing on his old man. They've hit it lucky. The Red Knight is a gold mine to them."
McClure scowled25.
"Grant that there's anything in it, how do you propose to get hold of the wheat? Four hundred bushels is a big thing to lift."
"Easy when you go about it right. I've got it whittled26 to a hair trigger. Touch it and away she comes. You want to clap your claws on Pullar. Here is your chance to sink 'em deep. That four hundred bushels of Red Knight means more to old Ed. Pullar than his farm, stock and the whole works. He's doting27 on it. That makes it mean still more to Ned. Here is your chance to hand Pullar and Son a dizzy one."
Sykes paused a moment while he took a long drink. McClure pondered the proposition with a face that grew craftier28 the longer he simmered. His cogitations were suspended suddenly, however, by an innovation in the features of his companion. The pull of liquor had provoked immediate29 result, altering Sykes' countenance30 and causing a sudden expansion of his confidence. With his face overspread by a secretive leer he leaned closer and whispered:
"I haven't let it loose before, Rob, but I have red-hot grudge31 against your friend Pullar. That party has cut into my trail three or four times in as many years. We've locked horns before but the breaks went to him. His luck takes a sag32 to-night. There are three ways we can beat him up. We can get him through the old man in the way we've been figuring. This would cripple him for fair, but we've got to wait for our chance. It will come. The next best bet is a raid on The Red Knight. This thing is bigger than you are reckoning. Relieve him of this bunch of seed wheat and what have we done? We take forty thousand dollars out of his pocket and smother33 the one big howl of the old man's life. I am for putting over this surprise right off the bat."
He paused. McClure waited patiently.
"Go on," said Rob. "Give us your third bullet. It may do the trick alone. What is it?"
At the query34 Sykes' face changed in a manner that surprised even his hardened colleague. The unscrupulous plotter became a fiend repulsively35 malicious36. From his eyes shot a jealous malignity37, while upon every muscle of his face outcropped the pure depravity of hate. The mask had inadvertently slipped. Instinctively38 Sykes caught himself and replaced it. As McClure continued to search his face he realized that his companion was wearing his usual inscrutable smile. He could scarcely believe that the fiendish thing had disclosed itself.
"Never mind number three," said Sykes. "This is not a good time to consider it. It will be useful later."
McClure looked at him askance. The fellow possessed39 a knowledge that baffled him. A vague uneasiness crept into his mind, a premonition warning him of the man. Sykes realized that he had jeopardized40 matters not a little and exercised all his congenial graces to destroy the effect on the mind of his companion. He turned adroitly41 to levity42 and the flask and very soon they were on the old footing of boon43 companionship.
"We must get hold of The Red Knight," said McClure, swinging suddenly in line under the spell of the odorous whiskey. "And the sooner, the better."
"To-night!" announced Sykes with a fierce shutting of his jaws44.
McClure looked surprised.
"It's blowing a blizzard," was his objection. "And it's a good ten mile run."
"The kind of night I should select to kill a man," returned the other. "I could slip up to him out of the storm, pass him out and drop into the blizzard again. The snow would obligingly cover all trails. It is now eight o'clock. Bill Baird and his men are ready, six teams all told. They will pull the little raid at twelve. Each man will have a sleigh with double box and no bells. They will slip up the Valley along Pullar's hay trail to his barnyard, coming in from the field instead of the road. The wheat is all located—two hundred bushels in the house, a hundred in the granary and the balance in a portable bin45 in the southeast quarter."
"But Blackford is at the house. He'll put up a scrap46. You can't pull Dad's leg. He'll make a mess of it."
"We've arranged to put the old bloke away while the fun is on and it won't need any rough work. Leave Blackford to me."
"But they'll drop on us instantly without a clue. They'll search my farm and the elevators and every building in Pellawa."
Sykes threw back his head in glee.
"You're late coming into the game, Rob. That's the trouble!" And he poked47 the other playfully on the chest. "We are not bringing the wheat in here. Oh, no. There is Old Hunt's, the Squatter's shack48. It is water tight and drift tight and has not been used since the old geezer kicked out two years ago. The boys will drop the stuff there and we can market it by degrees through the winter. We'll hush49 up the detective stunt50 with an alibi51, an alibi that will cover the honour of eight good men. Here's the how. The gang's with Louie now. When we are ready they come in here for an all-night deal. Louie and the crowd see them enter. We let them out quietly through the rear into the dark. They sneak52 through the snow and do the job and turn up here in the wee sma' hours. Louie will not disturb the Square Room. But he can swear that we held it for the night. We'll make it worth his while. There you are. But the alibi will not be needed at all. The blizzard will blind the trail and pad the whole event. This storm will cover over any track in ten minutes. It is getting late and the men are waiting."
Sykes paused significantly.
"Call them in," said McClure, rubbing his hands in glee. "You are a wonder, Red! We'll send them on the smart hike."
The Green Baize Door opened and closed a few minutes later on the full gang of plotters. After being put through a detailed53 rehearsal54 of Sykes' plan they drank a copious55 draft to the success of the adventure.
"This will be a come-back on that blankety Hallowe'en foul," said Snoopy Bill with an avenging56 grin. "We'll proceed to tap Pullar a little for his fun."
The remark was followed by a chorus of curses that revealed the rankle57 of revenge. This motive58 was the sleeping thing Sykes had roused in his plying59 of the gang.
"You'll reach Pullar's farm around twelve," concluded Sykes. "A half-hour should see you loaded for the haul to Hunt's. You'll be back here by four. Come in quietly."
Thus adjured60, Snoopy Bill and his men, stealing out through the rear, vanished into the darkness and set off on their expedition.
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收听单词发音
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1
belied
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| v.掩饰( belie的过去式和过去分词 )；证明（或显示）…为虚假；辜负；就…扯谎 | |
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elongated
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| v.延长，加长( elongate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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3
vagary
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| n.妄想，不可测之事，异想天开 | |
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luncheon
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| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
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mellow
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| adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟 | |
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reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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inaugural
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| adj.就职的；n.就职典礼 | |
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blizzard
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| n.暴风雪 | |
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riotous
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| adj.骚乱的；狂欢的 | |
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gusty
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| adj.起大风的 | |
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dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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12
stark
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| adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地 | |
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13
pall
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| v.覆盖，使平淡无味；n.柩衣，棺罩；棺材；帷幕 | |
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14
hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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pedestrians
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| n.步行者( pedestrian的名词复数 ) | |
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16
joint
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| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
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17
Ford
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| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
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18
flask
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| n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱 | |
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19
defensive
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| adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的 | |
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20
knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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21
averred
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| v.断言( aver的过去式和过去分词 )；证实；证明…属实；作为事实提出 | |
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22
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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23
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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24
hunch
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| n.预感，直觉 | |
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25
scowled
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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26
whittled
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| v.切，削（木头），使逐渐变小( whittle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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27
doting
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| adj.溺爱的，宠爱的 | |
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28
craftier
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| 狡猾的，狡诈的( crafty的比较级 ) | |
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29
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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30
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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31
grudge
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| n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做 | |
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32
sag
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| v.下垂，下跌，消沉；n.下垂，下跌，凹陷，[航海]随风漂流 | |
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33
smother
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| vt./vi.使窒息；抑制；闷死；n.浓烟；窒息 | |
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34
query
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| n.疑问，问号，质问；vt.询问，表示怀疑 | |
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35
repulsively
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| adv.冷淡地 | |
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36
malicious
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| adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的 | |
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37
malignity
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| n.极度的恶意，恶毒；（病的）恶性 | |
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38
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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39
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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40
jeopardized
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| 危及，损害( jeopardize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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41
adroitly
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| adv.熟练地，敏捷地 | |
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42
levity
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| n.轻率，轻浮，不稳定，多变 | |
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43
boon
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| n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠 | |
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44
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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45
bin
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| n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件 | |
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46
scrap
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| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
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47
poked
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| v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交 | |
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48
shack
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| adj.简陋的小屋，窝棚 | |
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49
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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50
stunt
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| n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长 | |
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51
alibi
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| n.某人当时不在犯罪现场的申辩或证明；借口 | |
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52
sneak
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| vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行 | |
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53
detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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54
rehearsal
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| n.排练，排演；练习 | |
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55
copious
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| adj.丰富的，大量的 | |
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56
avenging
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| adj.报仇的，复仇的v.为…复仇，报…之仇( avenge的现在分词 )；为…报复 | |
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57
rankle
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| v.（怨恨，失望等）难以释怀 | |
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58
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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59
plying
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| v.使用（工具）( ply的现在分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意 | |
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60
adjured
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| v.（以起誓或诅咒等形式）命令要求( adjure的过去式和过去分词 )；祈求；恳求 | |
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