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CHAPTER XXI THE RADIO STOLEN
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 Chief Ungaba’s party promised to be like several other similar functions to which the boys and Mr. Hampton had been bidden as guests by other friendly chiefs. For when they arrived, they found the select two dozen guests of the chief already seated in a circle around a huge iron cauldron filled with foaming1, milky2, African beer, while farther off in the village square blazed a number of fires around which the village proletariat were gathered to eat the meat of the rhino3 and drink their home brewed4 liquor.
 
Places were made for Mr. Hampton and the boys in the circle about Chief Ungaba’s select cauldron. And each was provided with a pliant5 length of hollow cane6. Every guest had such a “straw,” and these they dipped into the cauldron at frequent intervals7, sucking through them great mouthsful of beer.
 
Let it be said at once, so that there may be no misconception, that Mr. Hampton, Niellsen and the boys did not indulge. Too well they knew that outright8 refusal would wound the feelings of the chief deeply, and would bring down upon their heads such a weight of displeasure that their stay in the region undoubtedly9 would be only shortlived. Therefore, they accepted the straws and even rested them in the cauldron, but without drinking.
 
This deception10, however, was not discovered. For already the party had been in progress more than an hour, and the guests were becoming uproarious and were little likely to pay much attention to the white visitors.
 
At frequent intervals one or other of the guests would leap to his feet and begin to dance around the circle, lifting his knees high and prancing11. More and more often the performer of the moment would not confine himself to dancing, but would also burst into song.
 
A wild scene it made, as the light of the cooking fires in the square played ruddily on the mud walls of the huts nearby and the thatched roofs circular and running up to a peak from which projected the long center pole of the dwelling12. And for a time the boys found this picture of primitive13 men indulging in a celebration rather fascinating.
 
But before long the dancers and singers became so wild in their bearing that it became evident they would soon descend14 into a bestial15 orgy, and the boys found it difficult to keep their disgust from showing on their faces. Presently Mr. Hampton whispered to Jack16, who sat nearest him, and who in turn passed the word to the others, that he considered it time to withdraw. Which they did without further ado, making their way out of the circle without attracting the attention of the Kavirondos.
 
As they passed Chief Ungaba, however, Mr. Hampton paused to converse17 with him, and the chief got unsteadily to his feet. When informed that the whites planned to leave at an early hour the next morning, he displayed sincere regret. And after finding his pleas that they remain with him a while longer prove of no avail, he promised to be on hand to see them depart.
 
As they returned to their tent, Mr. Hampton commented sorrowfully upon the failure of civilization to penetrate18 the wilds and break down bestial customs by providing the natives with better things.
 
“Some day, of course, it will come,” he said, as they reached the boys’ tent, “but as yet civilization has not gone very far into the African wilds.”
 
Saying goodnight, he and Niellsen passed on toward their own tent, a-gleam in the moonlight a short distance beyond, while the boys lifted the flap and went in, Jack who led first shooting the rays of his pocket flashlight inside—a precaution which they never failed to observe when entering a dark tent in order to discover whether snakes had taken possession in their absence.
 
No snakes were to be seen. But as the rays of the flashlight passed over the various objects of the interior, Jack uttered a cry of dismay.
 
“What’s the matter?” demanded Frank, at his shoulder.
 
Disappearing into the tent without replying, Jack found and lighted a lantern. Then he turned to his two comrades who had pressed after him, and swinging the lantern so that its rays fell into the corner where their little radio station had been set up, he pointed19.
 
“Gone,” he said.
 
“Gone,” echoed Bob and Frank, as with one voice, in a tone of stupefaction.
 
It was true. Where their radio set had stood was now nothing but bare space.
 
For a moment or two, all three boys were too bewildered to speak. All they could do was to stare.
 
Then Bob became energized20, and sprang for the tent flap.
 
“Where are you going?” demanded Frank.
 
“To tell Mr. Hampton,” Bob replied.
 
“Let’s see what else is missing first. Evidently there’s been a thief here.”
 
Bob turned back and helped in the rapid inspection21 of the tent. None of their possessions was missing except the radio.
 
“Funny a Negro should take that,” mused22 Jack, as they looked at each other in growing puzzlement. “Most of them who have seen us use it look on it as a white man’s magic and wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole.”
 
“I’ll say it’s funny,” said Bob darkly. “Do you know what I think?”
 
“No. What?”
 
Bob looked around and lowering his voice drew his two comrades toward him while he whispered: “Mabele.”
 
Jack looked at him in stupefaction. But Frank’s alert eyes displayed complete understanding, and he nodded emphatically.
 
“That’s it. Remember what your father said, Jack, when he discovered Mabele at least had been in a position to overhear us discussing Mr. Ransome and the trouble amongst the natives in that Mountains of the Moon region, whether he actually had heard anything or not?”
 
“That’s right,” said Jack. And now his glance grew worried. “Let’s tell father at once.”
 
“You tell him,” said Bob. “I’ll go over to the bearers’ camp and see whether Mabele is around.”
 
“You aren’t afraid?”
 
“Huh.” Bob tapped his ever-ready automatic. “Besides, we mustn’t lose any time on this. My opinion is that the beggar’s decamped. If he has, we’ll want to pick up his trail as soon as possible.”
 
“But what in the world would he steal the radio for?” asked Frank.
 
“I don’t know,” said Bob. “But we can puzzle over that later. The first thing is to find out if our suspicions that it was he are correct.”
 
“You’re right, Bob,” said Frank. “And I’ll go with you, for on a job of this kind two are better than one. Jack in the meantime can carry word to his father and Niellsen.”

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1 foaming 08d4476ae4071ba83dfdbdb73d41cae6     
adj.布满泡沫的;发泡
参考例句:
  • He looked like a madman, foaming at the mouth. 他口吐白沫,看上去像个疯子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He is foaming at the mouth about the committee's decision. 他正为委员会的决定大发其火。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 milky JD0xg     
adj.牛奶的,多奶的;乳白色的
参考例句:
  • Alexander always has milky coffee at lunchtime.亚历山大总是在午餐时喝掺奶的咖啡。
  • I like a hot milky drink at bedtime.我喜欢睡前喝杯热奶饮料。
3 rhino xjmztD     
n.犀牛,钱, 现金
参考例句:
  • The rhino charged headlong towards us.犀牛急速地向我们冲来。
  • They have driven the rhino to the edge of extinction.他们已经令犀牛濒临灭绝。
4 brewed 39ecd39437af3fe1144a49f10f99110f     
调制( brew的过去式和过去分词 ); 酝酿; 沏(茶); 煮(咖啡)
参考例句:
  • The beer is brewed in the Czech Republic. 这种啤酒是在捷克共和国酿造的。
  • The boy brewed a cup of coffee for his mother. 这男孩给他妈妈冲了一杯咖啡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 pliant yO4xg     
adj.顺从的;可弯曲的
参考例句:
  • She's proud and stubborn,you know,under that pliant exterior.你要知道,在温顺的外表下,她既自傲又固执。
  • They weave a basket out of osiers with pliant young willows.他们用易弯的柳枝编制篮子。
6 cane RsNzT     
n.手杖,细长的茎,藤条;v.以杖击,以藤编制的
参考例句:
  • This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
  • English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。
7 intervals f46c9d8b430e8c86dea610ec56b7cbef     
n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 );间隔时间;[数学]区间;(戏剧、电影或音乐会的)幕间休息
参考例句:
  • The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴,有阵雨。
  • Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。
8 outright Qj7yY     
adv.坦率地;彻底地;立即;adj.无疑的;彻底的
参考例句:
  • If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事,你应该直率地对我说。
  • You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。
9 undoubtedly Mfjz6l     
adv.确实地,无疑地
参考例句:
  • It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
  • He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。
10 deception vnWzO     
n.欺骗,欺诈;骗局,诡计
参考例句:
  • He admitted conspiring to obtain property by deception.他承认曾与人合谋骗取财产。
  • He was jailed for two years for fraud and deception.他因为诈骗和欺诈入狱服刑两年。
11 prancing 9906a4f0d8b1d61913c1d44e88e901b8     
v.(马)腾跃( prance的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • The lead singer was prancing around with the microphone. 首席歌手手执麦克风,神气地走来走去。
  • The King lifted Gretel on to his prancing horse and they rode to his palace. 国王把格雷特尔扶上腾跃着的马,他们骑马向天宫走去。 来自辞典例句
12 dwelling auzzQk     
n.住宅,住所,寓所
参考例句:
  • Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
  • He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。
13 primitive vSwz0     
adj.原始的;简单的;n.原(始)人,原始事物
参考例句:
  • It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
  • His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。
14 descend descend     
vt./vi.传下来,下来,下降
参考例句:
  • I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。
  • We're not going to descend to such methods.我们不会沦落到使用这种手段。
15 bestial btmzp     
adj.残忍的;野蛮的
参考例句:
  • The Roman gladiatorial contests were bestial amusements.罗马角斗是残忍的娱乐。
  • A statement on Amman Radio spoke of bestial aggression and a horrible massacre. 安曼广播电台播放的一则声明提到了野蛮的侵略和骇人的大屠杀。
16 jack 53Hxp     
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克
参考例句:
  • I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
  • He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。
17 converse 7ZwyI     
vi.谈话,谈天,闲聊;adv.相反的,相反
参考例句:
  • He can converse in three languages.他可以用3种语言谈话。
  • I wanted to appear friendly and approachable but I think I gave the converse impression.我想显得友好、平易近人些,却发觉给人的印象恰恰相反。
18 penetrate juSyv     
v.透(渗)入;刺入,刺穿;洞察,了解
参考例句:
  • Western ideas penetrate slowly through the East.西方观念逐渐传入东方。
  • The sunshine could not penetrate where the trees were thickest.阳光不能透入树木最浓密的地方。
19 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
20 energized bb204e54f08e556db01b90c79563076e     
v.给予…精力,能量( energize的过去式和过去分词 );使通电
参考例句:
  • We are energized by love if we put our energy into loving. 如果我们付出能量去表现爱意,爱就会使我们充满活力。 来自辞典例句
  • I am completely energized and feeling terrific. 我充满了活力,感觉非常好。 来自辞典例句
21 inspection y6TxG     
n.检查,审查,检阅
参考例句:
  • On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查,发现肉变质了。
  • The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。
22 mused 0affe9d5c3a243690cca6d4248d41a85     
v.沉思,冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 );沉思自语说(某事)
参考例句:
  • \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们,”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道:‘我们这是在干什么?” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史


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