However, there came a change. By mid-forenoon our gaiety ran on only by its momentum9. The wedding was to be at eleven. At ten the Colonel, aside, told me, with a ferocious10 scowl11, that my Captain ought to have arrived. At half-past he told me again, but Major Harper, returning from Hazlehurst, said, "Oh, any of a hundred trifles might have delayed him a short time; he would be along." The wedding-hour passed, the wedding-feast filled the air with good smells. Horsemen ambled12 a few miles up the road and came back without tidings. Then a courier, one of Ferry's scouts13, galloped14 up to the General's tent, and presently the Major walked from it to the tavern15 and up to Charlotte's room, to say that Ferry was only detained by Quinn's non-arrival. "It's all right," said everyone.
Another hour wore on, another followed. The General and old Dismukes played cards and the latter began to smell of his drams, Harry and Cécile walked and talked apart, Camille kept me in leash16 with three other men, and about two o'clock came another courier with another bit of Ferry's writing; Quinn had returned. He had had a brush with jayhawkers in the night, had captured all but their leader, and had sent his prisoners in to brigade headquarters at union Church, while he returned to Ferry's camp bringing with him, mortally wounded--"O--oh! Oh--oh!" exclaimed Charlotte, gazing at the missive,--"Sergeant17 Jim Langley!"
"Does Ned say when he will start?" asked the Colonel, and Charlotte, reading again, said the sergeant, at the time of the writing, was not expected to live an hour. Whereupon the word went through town that Ferry was on his way to us.
"Smith," said the Colonel, just not too full to keep up a majestic18 frown, "want to saddle my horse and yours?" and very soon we were off to meet the tardy19 bridegroom. The October sunshine was fiery20, but the road led us through our old camp-ground for two or three shady miles before it forked to the right to cross the Natchez Trace, and to the left on its way to union Springs, and at the fork we halted. "Smith, I reckon we'd best go back." I mentioned his bruises21 and the torrid sun-glare before us, but he cursed both with equal contempt; "No, but I must go back; I--I've left a--oh, I must go back to wet my whistle!"
We had retraced22 our way but a few steps, when, looking behind me as a scout's habit is, I saw a horseman coming swiftly on the union Church road. "Colonel," I said, "here comes Scott Gholson."
Without pausing or turning an eye my hearer poured out a slow flood of curses. "If that whelp has come here of his own accord he's come for no good! Has he seen us?"
Gholson had not seen us; we had been in deep shade when he came into sight, and happened at that moment to turn an angle that took us out of his line of view. In a minute or so we were again at the small bridge over the embowered creek23 which ran through the camping-ground. The water was low and clear, and the Colonel turned from the bridge as if to cross beneath it and let his beast drink, yet motioned back for me to go upon it. As I reached its middle he came under it in the stream and halted. Guessing his wish I turned my horse across the bridge and waited. Gholson was almost within hail before he knew me. He was a heaving lump of dust, sweat and pain.
"Has Ned Ferry come?" was his first call. I shook my head. "Oh, thank God!" he cried with a wild gesture and sank low in the saddle; but instantly he roused again: "Oh, don't stop me, Smith; if I once stop I'm afraid I'll never get to her!"
I stopped him. "Why, Gholson, you're burning up with fever."
"Yes, I started with a shaking chill. I'm afraid, every minute, I'll go out of my head. Oh, Smith, Oliver's alive! He's alive, he's alive, and I've come to save his poor wife from a fate worse than death!"
"Gholson, you are out of your head."
"Oh, yes, yes, yes! and yet I know what I'm saying, I know what I'm saying!"
"You do not! Gholson, Oliver's been food for worms these four months. I know he wasn't dead at Gilmer's; but he died--now, let me tell you--he--"
"Smith, I know the whole story and you know only half!"
"No, no! I know all and you know only half; I have seen the absolute--"
"Proofs? no! you saw things taken from the body of another man in Oliver's clothes! Oliver swapped24 places with him on the boat going down to the city so's he could come back to these parts without being hung by the Yankees; swapped with a sick soldier, one of a pair that wanted to desert; swapped names, clothes, bandages, letters, everything. It was that soldier that died of the congestive chill and was buried by your mother with his face in a blanket--as, like enough, mine will be before another day is done--Oh, Lord, Lord! my head will burst!"
"Gholson, you're mistaken yet! That soldier came to my mother--"
"No, he never! the other one went to her, in cahoots with Oliver, and worked the thing all through so's to have the news of Oliver's death, so called, come back here to the Yankees and us; and to his wife, so's she would marry Ned Ferry to her everlasting25 shame, and people would say they was served right when he killed 'em at last! O--oh! Smith,--"
"Listen to me!" I had tried twice to interrupt and now I yelled; "was it Oliver, and a new gang, that Quinn fought last night, and have you got him at union Church?"
"Quinn didn't know it, for Oliver got away, but they got the Yankee deserter, and brought him in when everybody was asleep but me, and I cross-examined him. Oh, my friend, God's arm is not shortened that he cannot save! He maketh the wrath26 of the wicked to praise him! The man was dying then, but thank God, I choked the whole truth out of him with a halter over a limb, and then for three mortal hours I couldn't start because the squad27 that took him out to--Who--who is that?"
The Colonel moved from under the bridge, spurred up the bank, and turned to us with a murderous smile. "Howdy, Gholson." The smile grew. "Had to stay with the hanging-squad to keep his mouth shut, you was going to say, wa'n't you? But you knew Captain Ferry would be delayed waiting for Quinn, too; yes. Does any one know this now besides us three; no! Good, we're well met! Smith and me are going to union Church, and you'd better go with us; I've got a job that God A'mighty just built you two saints and me for; come, never mind Gallatin, Ferry's not there, and when he gets there Heaven ain't a-going to stop that wedding, and hell sha'n't." Gholson had barely caught his breath to demur28 when old Dismukes, roaring and snarling29 like a huge dog, whipped out his revolver, clutched the sick man's bosom30, and hanging over him and bellowing31 blasphemies32, yelled into his very teeth "Come!"
We galloped. A courier from the brigade-camp met us, and the Colonel scribbled33 a purely34 false explanation of our absence, begging that no delay be made because of it. As the man left us, who should come up from behind us but Harry, asking what was the matter. "Matter enough for you to come along," said the Arkansan, and we went two and two, he and Gholson, Harry and I. We reached camp at sundown, and stopped to feed and rest our horses and to catch an hour's sleep. Gholson's fatigue35 was pitiful, but he ate like a wolf, slept, and awoke with but little fever. The Colonel kept him under his eye, forcing on him the honors of his own board, bed and bottle, and at nine we galloped again.
Between eleven and twelve the Colonel, Harry and I were in a dense36 wood, moving noiselessly toward a clearing brilliantly lighted by the moon. I was guide. A few rods back in the woods Gholson was holding our horses and with cocked revolver detaining a young mulatto woman from whom the Colonel had extorted37 the knowledge which had brought us to this spot. The clearing was fenced, but was full of autumn weeds. Near the two sides next us, tilted38 awry39 on its high basement pillars, loomed40 an old cotton-gin house, its dark shadows falling toward us. A few yards beyond towered and gleamed a white-boled sycamore, and between the two the titanic41 arms of the horse-power press widened broadly downward out of the still night sky. The tree was the one which old Lucius Oliver had once pointed42 out to me at dawn.
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1
joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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stiffened
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| 加强的 | |
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amiably
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| adv.和蔼可亲地，亲切地 | |
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6
grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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7
giggling
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| v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 ) | |
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8
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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momentum
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| n.动力，冲力，势头；动量 | |
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ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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scowl
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| vi.(at)生气地皱眉，沉下脸，怒视；n.怒容 | |
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12
ambled
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| v.（马）缓行( amble的过去式和过去分词 )；从容地走，漫步 | |
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13
scouts
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| 侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员 | |
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14
galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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15
tavern
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| n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店 | |
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16
leash
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| n.牵狗的皮带，束缚；v.用皮带系住 | |
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sergeant
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| n.警官，中士 | |
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majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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tardy
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| adj.缓慢的，迟缓的 | |
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fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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bruises
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| n.瘀伤，伤痕，擦伤( bruise的名词复数 ) | |
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retraced
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| v.折回( retrace的过去式和过去分词 )；回忆；回顾；追溯 | |
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creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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24
swapped
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| 交换（工作）( swap的过去式和过去分词 )； 用…替换，把…换成，掉换（过来） | |
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everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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squad
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| n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组 | |
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demur
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| v．表示异议，反对 | |
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snarling
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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31
bellowing
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| v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的现在分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
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32
blasphemies
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| n.对上帝的亵渎，亵渎的言词[行为]( blasphemy的名词复数 )；侮慢的言词（或行为） | |
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scribbled
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| v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下 | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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36
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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extorted
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| v.敲诈( extort的过去式和过去分词 )；曲解 | |
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38
tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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awry
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| adj.扭曲的，错的 | |
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40
loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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41
titanic
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| adj.巨人的，庞大的，强大的 | |
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42
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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