XI. How Otto was Saved.

 Little Otto was lying upon the hard couch in his cell, tossing in restless and feverish¹ sleep; suddenly a heavy hand was laid upon him and a voice whispered in his ear, “Baron², Baron Otto, waken, rouse yourself; I am come to help you. I am One-eyed Hans.”

 

Otto was awake in an instant and raised himself upon his elbow in the darkness. “One-eyed Hans,” he breathed, “One-eyed Hans; who is One-eyed Hans?”

 

“True,” said the other, “thou dost not know me. I am thy father’s trusted servant, and am the only one excepting his own blood and kin³ who has clung to him in this hour of trouble. Yes, all are gone but me alone, and so I have come to help thee away from this vile⁴ place.”

 

“Oh, dear, good Hans! if only thou canst!” cried Otto; “if only thou canst take me away from this wicked place. Alas⁵, dear Hans! I am weary and sick to death.” And poor little Otto began to weep silently in the darkness.

 

“Aye, aye,” said Hans, gruffly, “it is no place for a little child to be. Canst thou climb, my little master? canst thou climb a knotted rope?”

 

“Nay,” said Otto, “I can never climb again! See, Hans;” and he flung back the covers from off him.

 

“I cannot see,” said Hans, “it is too dark.”

 

“Then feel, dear Hans,” said Otto.

 

Hans bent⁶ over the poor little white figure glimmering⁷ palely in the darkness. Suddenly he drew back with a snarl⁸ like an angry wolf. “Oh! the black, bloody⁹ wretches¹⁰!” he cried, hoarsely¹¹; “and have they done that to thee, a little child?”

 

“Yes,” said Otto, “the Baron Henry did it.” And then again he began to cry.

 

“There, there,” said Hans, roughly, “weep no more. Thou shalt get away from here even if thou canst not climb; I myself will help thee. Thy father is already waiting below the window here, and thou shalt soon be with him. There, there, cry no more.”

 

While he was speaking Hans had stripped off his peddler’s leathern jacket, and there, around his body, was wrapped coil after coil of stout¹² hempen¹³ rope tied in knots at short distances. He began unwinding the rope, and when he had done he was as thin as ever he had been before. Next he drew from the pouch¹⁵ that hung at his side a ball of fine cord and a leaden weight pierced by a hole, both of which he had brought with him for the use to which he now put them. He tied the lead to the end of the cord, then whirling the weight above his head, he flung it up toward the window high above. Twice the piece of lead fell back again into the room; the third time it flew out between the iron bars carrying the cord with it. Hans held the ball in his hand and paid out the string as the weight carried it downward toward the ground beneath. Suddenly the cord stopped running. Hans jerked it and shook it, but it moved no farther. “Pray heaven, little child,” said he, “that it hath reached the ground, for if it hath not we are certainly lost.”

 

“I do pray,” said Otto, and he bowed his head.

 

Then, as though in answer to his prayer, there came a twitch¹⁶ upon the cord.

 

“See,” said Hans, “they have heard thee up above in heaven; it was thy father who did that.” Quickly and deftly¹⁷ he tied the cord to the end of the knotted rope; then he gave an answering jerk upon the string. The next moment the rope was drawn¹⁸ up to the window and down the outside by those below. Otto lay watching the rope as it crawled up to the window and out into the night like a great snake, while One-eyed Hans held the other end lest it should be drawn too far. At last it stopped. “Good,” muttered Hans, as though to himself. “The rope is long enough.”

 

He waited for a few minutes and then, drawing upon the rope and finding that it was held from below, he spat¹⁹ upon his hands and began slowly climbing up to the window above. Winding¹⁴ his arm around the iron bars of the grating that guarded it, he thrust his hand into the pouch that hung by his side, and drawing forth²⁰ a file, fell to work cutting through all that now lay between Otto and liberty.

 

It was slow, slow work, and it seemed to Otto as though Hans would never finish his task, as lying upon his hard couch he watched that figure, black against the sky, bending over its work. Now and then the file screeched²¹ against the hard iron, and then Hans would cease for a moment, but only to begin again as industriously²² as ever. Three or four times he tried the effects of his work, but still the iron held. At last he set his shoulder against it, and as Otto looked he saw the iron bend. Suddenly there was a sharp crack, and a piece of the grating went flying out into the night.

 

Hans tied the rope securely about the stump²³ of the stout iron bar that yet remained, and then slid down again into the room below.

 

“My little lord,” said he, “dost thou think that if I carry thee, thou wilt²⁴ be able and strong enough to cling to my neck?”

 

“Aye,” said Otto, “methinks I will be able to do that.”

 

“Then come,” said Hans.

 

He stooped as he spoke²⁵, and gently lifting Otto from his rude and rugged²⁶ bed he drew his broad leathern belt around them both, buckling²⁷ it firmly and securely. “It does not hurt thee?” said he.

 

“Not much,” whispered Otto faintly.

 

Then Hans spat upon his hands, and began slowly climbing the rope.

 

They reached the edge of the window and there they rested for a moment, and Otto renewed his hold around the neck of the faithful Hans.

 

“And now art thou ready?” said Hans

 

“Aye,” said Otto.

 

“Then courage,” said Hans, and he turned and swung his leg over the abyss below.

 

The next moment they were hanging in mid-air.

 

Otto looked down and gave a gasp²⁸. “The mother of heaven bless us,” he whispered, and then closed his eyes, faint and dizzy at the sight of that sheer depth beneath. Hans said nothing, but shutting his teeth and wrapping his legs around the rope, he began slowly descending²⁹, hand under hand. Down, down, down he went, until to Otto, with his eyes shut and his head leaning upon Hans’ shoulder, it seemed as though it could never end. Down, down, down. Suddenly he felt Hans draw a deep breath; there was a slight jar, and Otto opened his eyes; Hans was standing³⁰ upon the ground.

 

A figure wrapped in a dark cloak arose from the shadow of the wall, and took Otto in its arms. It was Baron Conrad.

 

“My son—my little child!” he cried, in a choked, trembling voice, and that was all. And Otto pressed his cheek against his father’s and began crying.

 

Suddenly the Baron gave a sharp, fierce cry. “Dear Heaven!” he cried; “what have they done to thee?” But poor little Otto could not answer.

 

“Oh!” gasped³¹ the Baron, in a strangled voice, “my little child! my little child!” And therewith he broke down, and his whole body shook with fierce, dry sobs³²; for men in those days did not seek to hide their grief as they do now, but were fierce and strong in the expression of that as of all else.

 

“Never mind, dear father,” whispered Otto; “it did not hurt me so very much,” and he pressed his lips against his father’s cheek.

 

Little Otto had but one hand.

 

1 feverish   

adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的

参考例句：

• He is too feverish to rest.他兴奋得安静不下来。
• They worked with feverish haste to finish the job.为了完成此事他们以狂热的速度工作着。

2 baron   

n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王

参考例句：

• Henry Ford was an automobile baron.亨利·福特是一位汽车业巨头。
• The baron lived in a strong castle.男爵住在一座坚固的城堡中。

3 kin   

n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的

参考例句：

• He comes of good kin.他出身好。
• She has gone to live with her husband's kin.她住到丈夫的亲戚家里去了。

4 vile   

adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的

参考例句：

• Who could have carried out such a vile attack?会是谁发起这么卑鄙的攻击呢？
• Her talk was full of vile curses.她的话里充满着恶毒的咒骂。

5 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

6 bent   

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。

7 glimmering   

n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I got some glimmering of what he was driving at. 他这么说是什么意思，我有点明白了。 来自辞典例句
• Now that darkness was falling, only their silhouettes were outlined against the faintly glimmering sky. 这时节两山只剩余一抹深黑，赖天空微明为画出一个轮廓。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

8 snarl   

v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮

参考例句：

• At the seaside we could hear the snarl of the waves.在海边我们可以听见波涛的咆哮。
• The traffic was all in a snarl near the accident.事故发生处附近交通一片混乱。

9 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

10 wretches   

n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋

参考例句：

• The little wretches were all bedraggledfrom some roguery. 小淘气们由于恶作剧而弄得脏乎乎的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The best courage for us poor wretches is to fly from danger. 对我们这些可怜虫说来，最好的出路还是躲避危险。 来自辞典例句

11 hoarsely   

adv.嘶哑地

参考例句：

• "Excuse me," he said hoarsely. “对不起。”他用嘶哑的嗓子说。
• Jerry hoarsely professed himself at Miss Pross's service. 杰瑞嘶声嘶气地表示愿为普洛丝小姐效劳。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

13 hempen   

adj. 大麻制的, 大麻的

参考例句：

• The net destined to support the car was made of very solid hempen cord. 承受着吊篮的网子是用非常结实的麻绳编的。
• Plant the crop such as wheaten, corn, potato, horsebean, hempen, cole aptly, a year one ripe. 适宜种植小麦、玉米、马铃薯、蚕豆、大麻、油菜等作物，一年一熟。

14 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

15 pouch   

n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件

参考例句：

• He was going to make a tobacco pouch out of them. 他要用它们缝制一个烟草袋。
• The old man is always carrying a tobacco pouch with him.这老汉总是随身带着烟袋。

16 twitch   

v.急拉，抽动，痉挛，抽搐；n.扯，阵痛，痉挛

参考例句：

• The smell made my dog's nose twitch.那股气味使我的狗的鼻子抽动着。
• I felt a twitch at my sleeve.我觉得有人扯了一下我的袖子。

17 deftly   

adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He deftly folded the typed sheets and replaced them in the envelope. 他灵巧地将打有字的纸折好重新放回信封。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At last he had a clew to her interest, and followed it deftly. 这一下终于让他发现了她的兴趣所在，于是他熟练地继续谈这个话题。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

18 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

19 spat   

n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声

参考例句：

• Her parents always have spats.她的父母经常有些小的口角。
• There is only a spat between the brother and sister.那只是兄妹间的小吵小闹。

20 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

21 screeched   

v.发出尖叫声( screech的过去式和过去分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫

参考例句：

• She screeched her disapproval. 她尖叫着不同意。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The car screeched to a stop. 汽车嚓的一声停住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

22 industriously   

参考例句：

• She paces the whole class in studying English industriously. 她在刻苦学习英语上给全班同学树立了榜样。
• He industriously engages in unostentatious hard work. 他勤勤恳恳，埋头苦干。

23 stump   

n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走

参考例句：

• He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
• He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

24 wilt   

v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱

参考例句：

• Golden roses do not wilt and will never need to be watered.金色的玫瑰不枯萎绝也不需要浇水。
• Several sleepless nights made him wilt.数个不眠之夜使他憔悴。

25 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：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

26 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

27 buckling   

扣住

参考例句：

• A door slammed in the house and a man came out buckling his belt. 房子里的一扇门砰地关上，一个男子边扣腰带边走了出来。
• The periodic buckling leaves the fibre in a waved conformation. 周期性的弯折在纤维中造成波形构成。

28 gasp   

n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说

参考例句：

• She gave a gasp of surprise.她吃惊得大口喘气。
• The enemy are at their last gasp.敌人在做垂死的挣扎。

29 descending   

n. 下行 adj. 下降的

参考例句：

• The results are expressed in descending numerical order . 结果按数字降序列出。
• The climbers stopped to orient themselves before descending the mountain. 登山者先停下来确定所在的位置，然后再下山。

30 standing   

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。

31 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

32 sobs   

啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She was struggling to suppress her sobs. 她拼命不让自己哭出来。
• She burst into a convulsive sobs. 她突然抽泣起来。