"Sir," said he, "surely I am not mistaken in recognizing in you the supercargo of the ship SUSANNA HAYES, which arrived this afternoon at this port?"
"Indeed," said Jonathan, "thou art right, friend. That is my occupation, and that is whence I came."
"To be sure!" said the little gentleman. "To be sure! To be sure! The SUSANNA HAYES, with a cargo4 of Indian-corn meal, and from dear good friend Jeremiah Doolittle, of Philadelphia. I know your good master very well—very well indeed. And have you never heard him speak of his friend Mr. Abner Greenway, of Kingston, Jamaica?"
"Why, no," replied Jonathan, "I have no such recollection of the name nor do I know that any such name hath ever appeared upon our books."
"To be sure! To be sure!" repeated the little gentleman, briskly, and with exceeding good-nature. "Indeed, my name is not likely to have ever appeared upon his books, for I am not a business correspondent, but one who, in times past, was his extremely intimate friend. There is much I would like to ask about him, and, indeed, I was in hopes that you would have been the bearer of a letter from him. But I have lodgings5 at a little distance from here, so that if it is not requesting too much of you maybe you will accompany me thither6, so that we may talk at our leisure. I would gladly accompany you to your ship instead of urging you to come to my apartments, but I must tell you I am possessed of a devil of a fever, so that my physician hath forbidden me to be out of nights."
"Indeed," said Jonathan, whom, you may have observed, was of a very easy disposition—"indeed, I shall be very glad to accompany thee to thy lodgings. There is nothing I would like better than to serve any friend of good Jeremiah Doolittle's."
And thereupon, and with great amity7, the two walked off together, the little one-eyed gentleman in black linking his arm confidingly8 into that of Jonathan's, and tapping the pavement continually with his cane as he trotted9 on at a great pace. He was very well acquainted with the town (of which he was a citizen), and so interesting was his discourse10 that they had gone a considerable distance before Jonathan observed they were entering into a quarter darker and less frequented than that which they had quitted. Tall brick houses stood upon either side, between which stretched a narrow, crooked11 roadway, with a kennel12 running down the centre.
In front of one of these houses—a tall and gloomy structure—our hero's conductor stopped and, opening the door with a key, beckoned13 for him to enter. Jonathan having complied, his new-found friend led the way up a flight of steps, against which Jonathan's feet beat noisily in the darkness, and at length, having ascended14 two stairways and having reached a landing, he opened a door at the end of the passage and ushered15 Jonathan into an apartment, unlighted, except for the Moonshine, which, coming in through a partly open shutter16, lay in a brilliant patch of light upon the floor.
His conductor having struck a light with a flint and steel, our hero by the illumination of a single candle presently discovered himself to be in a bedchamber furnished with no small degree of comfort, and even elegance18, and having every appearance of a bachelor's chamber17.
"You will pardon me," said his new acquaintance, "if I shut these shutters19 and the window, for that devilish fever of which I spoke20 is of such a sort that I must keep the night air even out from my room, or else I shall be shaking the bones out of my joints21 and chattering22 the teeth out of my head by to-morrow morning."
So saying he was as good as his word, and not only drew the shutters to, but shot the heavy iron bolt into its place. Having accomplished24 this he bade our hero to be seated, and placing before him some exceedingly superior rum, together with some equally excellent tobacco, they presently fell into the friendliest discourse imaginable. In the course of their talk, which after awhile became exceedingly confidential25, Jonathan confided26 to his new friend the circumstances of the adventure into which he had been led by the beautiful stranger, and to all that he said concerning his adventure his interlocutor listened with the closest and most scrupulously27 riveted28 attention.
"Upon my word," said he, when Jonathan had concluded, "I hope that you may not have been made the victim of some foolish hoax29. Let me see what it is she has confided to you."
"That I will," replied Jonathan. And thereupon he thrust his hand into his breeches-pocket and brought forth30 the ivory ball.
No sooner did the one eye of the little gentleman in black light upon the object than a most singular and extraordinary convulsion appeared to seize upon him. Had a bullet penetrated31 his heart he could not have started more violently, nor have sat more rigidly32 and breathlessly staring.
Mastering his emotion with the utmost difficulty as Jonathan replaced the ball in his pocket, he drew a deep and profound breath and wiped the palm of his hand across his forehead as though arousing himself from a dream.
"And you," he said, of a sudden, "are, I understand it, a Quaker. Do you, then, never carry a weapon, even in such a place as this, where at any moment in the dark a Spanish knife may be stuck betwixt your ribs33?"
"Why, no," said Jonathan, somewhat surprised that so foreign a topic should have been so suddenly introduced into the discourse. "I am a man of peace and not of blood. The people of the Society of Friends never carry weapons, either of offence or defence."
As Jonathan concluded his reply the little gentleman suddenly arose from his chair and moved briskly around to the other side of the room. Our hero, watching him with some surprise, beheld34 him clap to the door and with a single movement shoot the bolt and turn the key therein. The next instant he turned to Jonathan a visage transformed as suddenly as though he had dropped a mask from his face. The gossiping and polite little old bachelor was there no longer, but in his stead a man with a countenance35 convulsed with some furious and nameless passion.
"That ball!" he cried, in a hoarse36 and raucous37 voice. "That ivory ball! Give it to me upon the instant!"
As he spoke he whipped out from his bosom38 a long, keen Spanish knife that in its every appearance spoke without equivocation39 of the most murderous possibilities.
The malignant40 passions that distorted every lineament of the countenance of the little old gentleman in black filled our hero with such astonishment41 that he knew not whether he were asleep or awake; but when he beheld the other advancing with the naked and shining knife in his hand his reason returned to him like a flash. Leaping to his feet, he lost no time in putting the table between himself and his sudden enemy.
"Indeed, friend," he cried, in a voice penetrated with terror—"indeed, friend, thou hadst best keep thy distance from me, for though I am a man of peace and a shunner of bloodshed, I promise thee that I will not stand still to be murdered without outcry or without endeavoring to defend my life!"
"Cry as loud as you please!" exclaimed the other. "No one is near this place to hear you! Cry until you are hoarse; no one in this neighborhood will stop to ask what is the matter with you. I tell you I am determined42 to possess myself of that ivory ball, and have it I shall, even though I am obliged to cut out your heart to get it!" As he spoke he grinned with so extraordinary and devilish a distortion of his countenance, and with such an appearance of every intention of carrying out his threat as to send the goose-flesh creeping like icy fingers up and down our hero's spine43 with the most incredible rapidity and acuteness.
Nevertheless, mastering his fears, Jonathan contrived44 to speak up with a pretty good appearance of spirit. "Indeed, friend," he said, "thou appearest to forget that I am a man of twice thy bulk and half thy years, and that though thou hast a knife I am determined to defend myself to the last extremity45. I am not going to give thee that which thou demandest of me, and for thy sake I advise thee to open the door and let me go free as I entered, or else harm may befall thee."
"Fool!" cried the other, hardly giving him time to end. "Do you, then, think that I have time to chatter23 with you while two villains46 are lying in wait for me, perhaps at the very door? Blame your own self for your death!" And, gnashing his teeth with an indescribable menace, and resting his hand upon the table, he vaulted47 with incredible agility48 clean across it and upon our hero, who, entirely49 unprepared for such an extraordinary attack, was flung back against the wall, with an arm as strong as steel clutching his throat and a knife flashing in his very eyes with dreadful portent50 of instant death.
With an instinct to preserve his life, he caught his assailant by the wrist, and, bending it away from himself, set every fibre of his body in a superhuman effort to guard and protect himself. The other, though so much older and smaller, seemed to be composed entirely of fibres of steel, and, in his murderous endeavors, put forth a strength so extraordinary that for a moment our hero felt his heart melt within him with terror for his life. The spittal appeared to dry up within his mouth, and his hair to creep and rise upon his head. With a vehement51 cry of despair and anguish52, he put forth one stupendous effort for defence, and, clapping his heel behind the other's leg, and throwing his whole weight forward, he fairly tripped his antagonist53 backward as he stood. Together they fell upon the floor, locked in the most desperate embrace, and overturning a chair with a prodigious54 clatter55 in their descent—our hero upon the top and the little gentleman in black beneath him.
As they struck the floor the little man in black emitted a most piercing and terrible scream, and instantly relaxing his efforts of attack, fell to beating the floor with the back of his hands and drubbing with his heels upon the rug in which he had become entangled56.
Our hero leaped to his feet, and with dilating57 eyes and expanding brain and swimming sight stared down upon the other like one turned to a stone.
He beheld instantly what had occurred, and that he had, without so intending, killed a fellow-man. The knife, turned away from his own person, had in their fall been plunged58 into the bosom of the other, and he now lay quivering in the last throes of death. As Jonathan gazed he beheld a thin red stream trickle59 out from the parted and grinning lips; he beheld the eyes turn inward; he beheld the eyelids60 contract; he beheld the figure stretch itself; he beheld it become still in death.
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1
habitual
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| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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lodgings
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| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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7
amity
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| n.友好关系 | |
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8
confidingly
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| adv.信任地 | |
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9
trotted
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| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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10
discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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11
crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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kennel
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| n.狗舍，狗窝 | |
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beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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14
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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15
ushered
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| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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16
shutter
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| n.百叶窗；(照相机)快门；关闭装置 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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elegance
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| n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙 | |
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shutters
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| 百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门 | |
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20
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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21
joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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22
chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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23
chatter
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| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
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24
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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25
confidential
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| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
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confided
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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27
scrupulously
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| adv.一丝不苟地；小心翼翼地，多顾虑地 | |
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28
riveted
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| 铆接( rivet的过去式和过去分词 )； 把…固定住； 吸引； 引起某人的注意 | |
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29
hoax
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| v.欺骗，哄骗，愚弄；n.愚弄人，恶作剧 | |
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30
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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31
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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32
rigidly
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| adv.刻板地，僵化地 | |
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ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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34
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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35
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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36
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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37
raucous
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| adj.(声音)沙哑的，粗糙的 | |
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38
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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39
equivocation
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| n.模棱两可的话，含糊话 | |
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40
malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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41
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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42
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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43
spine
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| n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊 | |
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44
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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45
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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46
villains
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| n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼 | |
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47
vaulted
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| adj.拱状的 | |
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48
agility
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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49
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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50
portent
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| n.预兆；恶兆；怪事 | |
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51
vehement
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| adj.感情强烈的；热烈的；(人)有强烈感情的 | |
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52
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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53
antagonist
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| n.敌人，对抗者，对手 | |
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54
prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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55
clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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56
entangled
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| adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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57
dilating
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| v.（使某物）扩大，膨胀，张大( dilate的现在分词 ) | |
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58
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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59
trickle
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| vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散 | |
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60
eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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