Strangely enough, the immediate5 cause that awoke Philip was a dull boom which made the faces of his comrades turn pale, and which was no less than the fall of the avalanche6 on which he had passed the night and the best part of the day before.
Philip, if he heard the sound at all, was not sufficiently7 awake at the time to understand its awful meaning; and without noticing the pallor of his comrades, he weakly put out his hand, which Coleman took in his own with a warm pressure, and Bromley came over to the side of the bunk and looked doubtingly into his face. Neither of his comrades uttered a word.
"Give me the gruel," said Philip; "I was never so hungry before. And don't look at me so, George; I'm not mad."
After he had eaten, he talked so rationally that Coleman and Bromley shook each other's hands and laughed immoderately at every slightest excuse for merriment, but said not a word of the delusion9 which had so lately darkened Philip's mind. They were so very jolly that Philip laughed weakly himself by infection, and then he asked them to tell him how he had fallen over the mountain without knowing it.
In reply to this question, Coleman told him that he had been sick, and that he must have walked off the great rock in the thick fog.
Philip was silent for a space, as if trying to digest this strange information, and then with some animation10 he said:
"Look here, Fred! The funniest part of this whole dark business was when I had climbed up to the top of the great bank. There, alongside a hole in the snow, lay our telescope. When I put out my hand to take it, it rolled away through the opening in the snow; and the Lord forgive me, fellows, I heard it ring on the rocks at the bottom of the Cove11."
With this long speech, and without waiting for a reply, Philip fell off into a gentle doze12.
Coleman and Bromley, having no doubt now that Philip's mind was restored, because he seemed to have no recollection of the princess or of his strange behavior on the mountain for the year that was past, were very happy at this change in his condition. As to the telescope, they regarded its fall as a very dangerous matter, and a catastrophe13 which might bring them some unwelcome visitors. But, then, it was possible that it had fallen among inaccessible14 rocks, and would never be found at all. If any one should come to disturb them, they might hear of some unpleasant facts of which they would rather remain in ignorance. Now that nearly five years had passed since the great war, they thought that whoever came would not exult15 over them in an unbearable16 way, or rub insults into their wounds. They knew that some of the mountaineers had been union men; and although they would never seek communication with them, a connection formed against their will might result to their advantage. They had a good supply of the double eagles left. Somebody held title to the mountain, they knew; and if the telescope did bring them visitors, they could buy the plateau from the deep gorge17 up, and pay in gold for it handsomely, too. Then they could send down their measures to a tailor and have new uniforms made to the buttons they had saved—that is, if the tailor was not a secessionist too hot-headed to soil his hands with the uniform of the old, mutilated, and disgraced union. Then, too, they could buy seeds and books and a great many comforts to make their lives more enjoyable on the mountain.
And so it came about that, when month after month passed and nobody came, the three soldiers were rather disappointed. They resolved to save what remained of their minted and milled coins against any unforeseen chance they might have to put them in circulation; and now that they thought of it, it would have been much wiser to have melted the coins of the United States and saved the English guineas. If, however, the world had not changed greatly since they left it, they believed the natives in the valley below would accept good red gold if the face of the old boy himself was stamped on the coin.
When Philip was quite himself again, by reason of his knowledge of milling he took entire control of the golden mill. In the cold weather his old overcoat was dusty with meal, as a miller's should be; and in the summer days plenty of the yellow dust clung to the hairs on his arms and in his thin red beard.
It is a Sunday morning in September again, and, to be exact with the date,—for it was a very important one in their history,—it is the fifth day of the month in the year '70. The three soldiers are standing18 together by the door of the mill, dressed very much as we last saw them there, and engaged in an animated19 conversation.
"An egg," said Lieutenant20 Coleman, facing his two comrades, and crossing his hands unconsciously over the great "A" on the back of his canvas trousers, "as an article of food may be considered as the connecting-link between the animal and the vegetable. If we had to kill the hen to get the egg, I should consider it a sin to eat it. What we have to do, and that right briskly, is to eat the eggs to prevent the hens from increasing until they are numerous enough to devour21 every green thing on the mountain."
"I am not so sure of that," said Philip, toying with his one dusty suspender; "we could feed the eggs to the bear."
"We could, but we won't," said Bromley, shaking some crumbs22 from the front of his gown. "When nature prompts a hen to cackle, do you think we are expected to look the other way? Why, Philip, you will be going back on honey next because bees make it. We are vegetarians24 because we no longer think it right to destroy animal life. We not only think it wrong to destroy, but we believe it to be our duty to preserve it wherever we find it. Don't we spread corn on the snow in the winter for the coons and squirrels? Come, now! We are not vegetarians at all. We are simply unwilling25 to take life, which leaves us to choose between vegetable diet and starvation. Now, then," said Bromley, spreading out his bare arms and shrugging his shoulders, "of the two, I choose a vegetable diet; but if I could eat half a broiled26 chicken without injury to the bird, I'd do it. That's the sort of vegetarian23 I am."
"Nonsense!" said Philip. "You're a dabster at splitting hairs, you are. It was uphill work making a vegetarian of you, George; but we have got you there at last, and you can't squirm out of it."
"Give it to him, Phil!" cried Coleman. "Hit him on the salt!"
"Exactly!" continued Philip, taking a swallow of water from a golden cup, and addressing himself to Bromley. "When the salt was gone you thought you'd never enjoy another meal, didn't you?—and how is it now? You are honest enough to admit that you never knew what a keen razor-edge taste was before. I'll bet you a quart of double eagles, George, that you get more flavor out of a dish of common—"
At that moment a bag of sand came through the branches of the tree which shaded the three soldiers as they talked. There was a dark shadow moving over the sunlit ground, and a rushing sound in the air above. Their own conversation, and the noise of the water pouring from the trough over the idle wheel and splashing on the stones, must have prevented their hearing human voices close at hand. Rushing out from under the trees, they saw a huge balloon sweeping27 over their heads. The enormous bag of silk, swaying and pulsating28 in the meshes29 of the netting, was a hundred feet above the plateau; but the willow30 basket, in which two men and one woman were seated, was not more than half that distance from the ground. The surprise, the whistling of the monster through the air, the snapping and rending31 of the drag-rope with its iron hook, which was tearing up the turf, and which in an instant more scattered32 the shingles33 on the roof of their house like chaff34, and carried off some of their bedding which was airing there—all these things were so startling, and came upon them so suddenly, that they had but short opportunity to observe the human beings who came so near them.
"RUSHING OUT FROM UNDER THE TREES, THEY SAW A HUGE BALLOON SWEEPING OVER THEIR HEADS."
"RUSHING OUT FROM UNDER THE TREES, THEY SAW
A HUGE BALLOON SWEEPING OVER THEIR HEADS."
Brief as the time was, the faces of the three strangers were indelibly impressed upon their memory, and no portion of their dress seen above the rim8 of the basket escaped their observation. The woman, who appeared to be perfectly35 calm and self-possessed, kissed her hand with a smile so enchanting36, lighting37 a face which seemed to the soldiers to be a face of such angelic beauty, that they half doubted if she could really belong to the race of earthly women they had once known so intimately. The men were not in like manner attractive to their eyes, but seemed to be of that oily-haired, waxy-mustached, beringed, and professorish variety which suggested to them chiropodists or small theatrical38 managers.
Notwithstanding the rushing and creaking of the cordage, the voices of the men in the balloon had that peculiar39 quality of distinctness that sound has on a lowery morning before a storm. Indeed, each voice above them had a vibration40 of its own which enabled the soldiers to hear all commingled41 and yet to hear each separately and distinctly. The hurried orders for the management of the balloon were given in subdued42 tones, and uttered with less excitement than might have been expected in the circumstances, yet the words came to the earth with startling distinctness.
When they saw the soldiers, the taller of the men, who wore the larger diamond in his shirt-front, put his hand to his mouth and cried in deafening43 tones:
"'Skylark,' from Charleston, 3:30 yesterday."
At the same time the beautiful lady, laying her hand on her breast as if to indicate herself, uttered the words:
"New York! New York!"
Even while they spoke44, their voices grew softer as the balloon sped on, the great gas-bag inclined forward by the action of the drag-rope, and its shadow flying beneath it over the surface of the plateau. As soon as the two professors saw the danger which threatened the log house, they began to throw out sand-bags from the car, and the lady clung with both hands to the guy-ropes. It was too late, however, to prevent the contact, and the lurch45 given to the basket by the momentary46 hold which the grappling-hook took in the roof of the house threw several objects to the ground, and on its release the balloon rose higher in the air, having a "U.S." blanket streaming back from the end of the drag-rope. The property they were bearing away was seen by the men in the car, and the rope was taken in with all speed; but a fresh breeze having set in from the east, the balloon was swept rapidly along, so that it was well beyond the plateau when the blanket fluttered loose from the hook.
The soldiers ran after it with outstretched arms until they came to the edge of the great boulder47, where they saw their good woolen48 blanket again, still drifting downward with funny antics through the air, until it fell noiselessly at the very door of the Cove postmaster.
The balloon itself was by this time soaring above the mountains beyond the Cove, and they kept their eyes on the receding49 ball until it was only a speck50 among the clouds and then vanished altogether into the pale blue of the horizon.
The soldiers had not seen the objects tumble out of the car when the drag-rope caught in the shingles of their house, and the thoughts of their wrecked51 roof and lost blanket had the power for the moment to displace even the image of the beautiful lady, whom they could never, never forget. The passage of the balloon had at first dazed and awed52, and then charmed and bewildered them, leaving them in a state of trembling excitement impossible for the reader to conceive of.
They no longer had the telescope with which to observe the surprise of the Cove postmaster when he found the gray blanket with "U.S." in the center; but they had the presence of mind to get behind trees, where they waited until he came out. He looked very small in the distance when he came at last, but they could see that the object was a man. It was evident, from his not having been out before, that he had not seen the balloon pass over. He seemed to stoop down and raise the blanket, and then to drop it and stand erect53, and by a tiny flash of light which each of the soldiers saw and knew must be the reflection of the sun on his spectacles, they were sure he was looking at the top of the mountain and thinking of the east wind. There was no help for it; and when he disappeared into the office with their blanket, they chinked the gold in their pockets; for they carried coin with them now, and thought that an opportunity might soon come for them to spend it. As they moved away in the direction of the house, they were sorry that the drag-rope of the balloon had not fastened its hook in the plateau; for they believed they were rich enough to buy the coats off the backs of the two men, and the diamonds in their shirt-fronts if they had cared for them.
As the three soldiers neared the house, they began, picking up the sand-bags, stenciled54 "Skylark, 1870." Philip, who was in the advance, had secured three, which he suddenly threw down into the grass with a cry of joy; for at their feet lay a book with an embellished55 green cover. The three were almost as much excited as they had been when they discovered the contents of the keg which they had dug out of the grave of the old man of the mountain, and instantly had their heads together, believing that they were about to learn something of the condition of the old United States, and even fearing they might read that they no longer existed at all. They were so nervous that they fumbled56 at the covers and hindered one another; and between them, in their haste, they dropped it on the ground. When they had secured it again and got their six eyes on the title-page, imagine their surprise and disgust when they read, "A Treatise57 on Deep-Sea Fishing"!
"Bother deep-sea fishing!" exclaimed Philip.
"Hum!" said Coleman, "it will work up into paper for the diary."
Bromley said nothing, but looked more disgusted than either of his comrades, and gave the book, which they had dropped again, a kick with his foot.
Their disappointment was somewhat relieved presently, for in the chips by the door of the house they found a small hand-bag of alligator58 leather marked with three silver letters, "E.Q.R." The key was attached to the lock by a ribbon; and as soon as the bag could be opened, Coleman seized upon another small book which was called "The Luck of Roaring Camp." The author was one Francis Bret Harte, of whom they had never heard before. The book was a new one, for it bore "1870" on the title-page, and the leaves were uncut except at a particular story entitled "Miggles."
Besides this book the bag contained numerous little trinkets, among which the most useful article was a pair of scissors. They found three dainty linen59 handkerchiefs with monograms60, a cut-glass vinaigrette containing salts of ammonia, a rag of chamois-skin dusty with a white powder, a tooth-brush, and a box of the tooth-powder aforesaid, a brush and comb, a box of bonbons61, a pair of tan-colored gloves, a button-hook, and an opened letter addressed to Elizabeth Q. Rose, No. 165 West 130th street, New York city.
The letter bore the postmark, "Liverpool, August 12," and was stamped at the New York office, "August 20, 8 P.M." Here was evidence of progress. Eight days from Liverpool to New York!
The envelop62 had been torn off at the lower right-hand corner in opening, so that it was impossible to tell whether the letters "U.S." or "C.S." had been written below "New York." The soldiers cut the leaves of the book, and glanced hurriedly over the pages without finding anything to clear up the mystery which interested them most. They sat down on the woodpile, sorely disappointed, to talk over the events of the morning; and presently they began clipping off their long beards with the scissors, and using the brush and comb, to which their heads had so long been strangers. The experience was all so strange that but for the treasures left behind, not counting the "Treatise on Deep-Sea Fishing," they might have doubted the reality of the passage of their a?rial visitor.
When it came to a division of the trifles of a lady's toilet, the well-known prejudice of the world below concerning a second-hand63 tooth-brush was cast to the winds by Bromley, while Lieutenant Coleman, who had some qualms64 of conscience, was better satisfied with the rag of chamois-skin for the same purpose. The vinaigrette and the gloves fell to Philip. They had just a handkerchief apiece, and nobody cared for the button-hook.
The letter found in the bag was a subject of heated discussion, and from motives65 of chivalrous66 delicacy67 remained for a long time unread. George Bromley contended that its contents might throw some light on the subject which the books had left in obscurity, while Lieutenant Coleman shrank from offering such an indignity68 to the memory of the angelic lady of the air. It was finally agreed that Bromley might examine and then destroy it, Lieutenant Coleman declining to be made acquainted with its contents.
They never quite understood the association of the beautiful lady with the two men, of whom they had but a poor opinion. When Bromley suggested that to their starved eyes a cook might seem a princess, his comrades were sufficiently indignant, and reminded him of her literary taste, as shown by the quality of the new book found in the bag.
After all, they had learned nothing of the great secret that vexed69 their lives. Was there still in existence a starry70 flag bearing any semblance71 to this one which was now floating over the mountain? Was it still loved in the land and respected on the sea?
To men who had seen it bent72 forward under the eagles of the old republic, gray in the stifling73 powder-clouds, falling and rising in the storm of battle, a pale ghost of a flag, fluttering colorless on the plain or climbing the stubborn mountain, human lives falling like leaves for its upholding—this was the burning question.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
accomplished
|
|
| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
bunk
|
|
| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
hearth
|
|
| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
gruel
|
|
| n.稀饭，粥 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
immediate
|
|
| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
avalanche
|
|
| n.雪崩，大量涌来 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
sufficiently
|
|
| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
rim
|
|
| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
delusion
|
|
| n.谬见，欺骗，幻觉，迷惑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
animation
|
|
| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
cove
|
|
| n.小海湾，小峡谷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
doze
|
|
| v.打瞌睡；n.打盹，假寐 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
catastrophe
|
|
| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
inaccessible
|
|
| adj.达不到的，难接近的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
exult
|
|
| v.狂喜，欢腾；欢欣鼓舞 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
unbearable
|
|
| adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
gorge
|
|
| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
animated
|
|
| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
lieutenant
|
|
| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
devour
|
|
| v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
crumbs
|
|
| int. (表示惊讶)哎呀 n. 碎屑 名词crumb的复数形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
vegetarian
|
|
| n.素食者；adj.素食的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
vegetarians
|
|
| n.吃素的人( vegetarian的名词复数 )；素食者；素食主义者；食草动物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
unwilling
|
|
| adj.不情愿的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
broiled
|
|
| a.烤过的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
sweeping
|
|
| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
pulsating
|
|
| adj.搏动的，脉冲的v.有节奏地舒张及收缩( pulsate的现在分词 )；跳动；脉动；受（激情）震动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
meshes
|
|
| 网孔( mesh的名词复数 )； 网状物； 陷阱； 困境 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
willow
|
|
| n.柳树 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
rending
|
|
| v.撕碎( rend的现在分词 )；分裂；（因愤怒、痛苦等而）揪扯（衣服或头发等）；（声音等）刺破 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
scattered
|
|
| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
shingles
|
|
| n.带状疱疹；（布满海边的）小圆石( shingle的名词复数 )；屋顶板；木瓦（板）；墙面板 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
chaff
|
|
| v.取笑，嘲笑；n.谷壳 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
perfectly
|
|
| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
enchanting
|
|
| a.讨人喜欢的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
lighting
|
|
| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
theatrical
|
|
| adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
peculiar
|
|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
vibration
|
|
| n.颤动，振动；摆动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
commingled
|
|
| v.混合，掺和，合并( commingle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
subdued
|
|
| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
deafening
|
|
| adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
spoke
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
lurch
|
|
| n.突然向前或旁边倒；v.蹒跚而行 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
momentary
|
|
| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
boulder
|
|
| n.巨砾；卵石，圆石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
woolen
|
|
| adj.羊毛(制)的；毛纺的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
receding
|
|
| v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
speck
|
|
| n.微粒，小污点，小斑点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
wrecked
|
|
| adj.失事的，遇难的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
awed
|
|
| adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
erect
|
|
| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
stenciled
|
|
| v.用模板印（文字或图案）( stencil的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
embellished
|
|
| v.美化( embellish的过去式和过去分词 )；装饰；修饰；润色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
fumbled
|
|
| （笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
treatise
|
|
| n.专著；(专题)论文 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
alligator
|
|
| n.短吻鳄(一种鳄鱼) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
linen
|
|
| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
monograms
|
|
| n.字母组合( monogram的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
bonbons
|
|
| n.小糖果( bonbon的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
envelop
|
|
| vt.包，封，遮盖；包围 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
second-hand
|
|
| adj.用过的，旧的，二手的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
qualms
|
|
| n.不安；内疚 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
motives
|
|
| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
chivalrous
|
|
| adj.武士精神的；对女人彬彬有礼的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
delicacy
|
|
| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
indignity
|
|
| n.侮辱，伤害尊严，轻蔑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
vexed
|
|
| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
starry
|
|
| adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
semblance
|
|
| n.外貌，外表 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
stifling
|
|
| a.令人窒息的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |