Cattleton found himself face to face with a demure-looking young man, whom he at once recognized as Harry2 Punner, a writer of delicious verses and editor of a rollicking humorous journal at New York.
“Hello, Hal! you here?” he cried. “Well how does it strike your funny bone? It insists upon appearing serious to me.”
“I’m smothering3 for a whiff of fresh air,” said Punner, in a very matter-of-fact tone. “Can’t we raise a window or something?”
“The only window visible to the naked eye,” said Cattleton, “is already raised higher than I[112] can reach,” and he pointed4 to a square hole in the wall about seven and a-half feet above the ground and very near the roof.
Crane went about in the room remarking that the aroma5 floating in the air was the bouquet6 of the very purest and richest copper-distilled corn whisky and that if he could find it he was quite sure that a sip7 of it would prove very refreshing8 under the peculiar9 circumstances of the case, an observation which called forth10 from Mrs. Nancy Jones Black a withering11 temperance reprimand.
“As the presiding officer of the Woman’s Prohibition12 Promulgation13 Society I cannot let such a remark pass without condemning14 it. If this really is a liquor establishment I desire to be let out of it forthwith.”
“So do I!” exclaimed little Mrs. Philpot with great vehemence15. “Open the door Mr. Hubbard, please.”
Hubbard went to the door and finding that it was constructed to open outwardly, gave it a shove with all his might. There was a short tussle16 and he staggered back.
“Why don’t you push it open?” fretfully exclaimed Mrs. Nancy Jones Black.
Cattleton had taken off his hat and was going about through the company soliciting19 handkerchiefs.
“drop them in, drop them in,” he urged, “I need all of them that I can get.”
He offered his hat as a contribution box as he spoke18, and nearly every-one gave a handkerchief, without in the least suspecting his purpose.
When he had collected a round dozen, Cattleton crammed20 them all down in the crown of his hat which he then put on his head.
“Now Hal,” he said, addressing Punner, “give me a boost and I’ll make an observation through that window.”
“Git back ther’!” growled23 a vicious voice, and at the same time the dull sound of a heavy blow was followed by the retreat of Cattleton from the window to the floor in a great hurry.
“The handkerchiefs did their duty nobly,” he remarked. “Let everybody come forward and identify his property.”
“What did you see?” asked Punner.
“A giant with an oak tree in his hand and murder in his eye,” said Cattleton, busily selecting and returning the handkerchiefs. “This eleemosynary padding was all that saved me. The blow was aimed at my divine intellect.”
“See here,” cried Peck, in great earnest, “this is no joking matter. We’re in the power of a set of mountain moonshiners, and may be murdered in cold blood. We’d better do something.”
Crane had prowled around until he had found a small jug25 of fragrant26 mountain dew whisky, which he was proceeding27 to taste in true Kentucky style, when a gaunt form rose in a corner of the room, and tottering28 forward seized the jug and took it out of his hand.
“No ye don’t, sonny, no ye don’t! This yer mounting jew air not ever’body’s licker ’at wants it. Not by er half er mile at the littlest calc’lation!”
Miss Crabb made a note. Crane gazed pathetically at the fantastic old man before him, and brushed his handkerchief across his lips, as if from habit, as he managed to say:
“Overpowerin’,” interrupted the old man, taking a sip from the vessel30. “Yes, I don’t blame ye fur a wantin’ of it, but this yer licker air mine.”
“Up in Kentucky,” said Crane, “we are proud to offer——”
“Kaintucky! did ye say ole Kaintuck? Air ye from ther’, boy?”
Miss Henrietta Stackpole came forward to hear what was to follow, her instinct telling her[115] that a point of human interest was about to be reached.
“Lulbegrud!”
“Yes.”
“How fur f’om Wright’s mill?”
“Close by, at Kiddville,” said Crane.
“Ye ’member Easton’s Springs close by an’ Pilot Knob away off in the distance?”
“Very well, indeed, and Guoff’s pond.”
“Boy, what mought yer name be?”
“Crane.”
“Crane!”
“Yes.”
“Well, I’ll ber dorg!”
The old man stood gazing and grinning at Crane for some moments, and then added:
“What’s yer pap’s name?”
“Eliphas Crane.”
“’Liphas Crane yore pap!”
“Yes.”
“Child, I air yer pap’s uncle.”
“What!”
“I air Peter Job Crane.”
“You!”
“Sartin es anything.”
“Are you my father’s uncle Peter?”
“I air yer pap’s uncle Pete.”
“How strange!”
Miss Stackpole did not permit a word, a look, or a shade of this interview to escape her. She now turned to Bartley Hubbard and said:
“We Americans are the victims of heterogeneous33 consanguinity34. Such an incident as this could not happen in England. It will be a long time before we can get rid of our ancestors.”
“Yes,” assented35 Hubbard, nonchalantly, “Yer pap’s uncle certainly is a large factor in American life.”
“How many men did you see when you looked out?” Peck inquired, addressing Cattleton.
“I saw only one, but he was a monster,” was the ready reply. “It’s no use brooding over trying to escape by force. We’re utterly36 helpless, and that jolt37 on my head has rendered me unfit for diplomatic efforts.”
“What do you suppose they will do with us?”
“They won’t dare let us go.”
“Why?”
“Ah, I see.”
The affair began to take on a very serious and gloomy aspect, and the room was growing oppressively hot, owing to the presence of a a small but energetic furnace that glowed under a sighing boiler39. Outside, with the clearing sky and refreshed air, there arose a clamor of bird-song in the dripping trees. Under the floor the spring-stream gurgled sweetly.
“Ye ’member Abbott’s still house on ole Lulbegrud?” said the old man, pursuing his reminisences, after he had permitted his grand-nephew[117] to taste the “mounting jew,” “an’ Dan Rankin’s ole bob-tail hoss?”
“Very well, indeed,” responded Crane, “and Billy Pace’s blackberry fields where I picked berries in summer and chased rabbits in winter.”
“Take er nother drop o’ the jyful juice, boy, fur the mem’ry o’ ole Kaintuck!”
“Oh dear! but isn’t it incomparably awful?” exclaimed Mrs. Nancy Jones Black, gazing in horrified40 fascination41 upon the two Kentuckians, as they bowed to each other and drank alternately from the little jug.
“Characteristic Southern scene not used by Craddock,” murmured Miss Crabb, making a whole page of a single note.
“Don’t this yere liquor taste o’ one thing an’ smell o’ another an’ jes’ kinder git ter the lowest p’int o’ yer appetite?” continued Crane’s great uncle Peter.
“Delicious beyond compare,” responded the young man, drinking again, “it is nectar of the gods.”
“Good deal like ole times down to Abbott’s still-house on Lulbegrud, boy,” the old man suggested, “ye don’t forgit erbout Dan Rankin’s mule43 a-kickin’ ole man Hornback’s hat off?”
The poet laughed retrospectively and mopped his glowing face with his handkerchief. The heat from the furnace and the stimulus44 of the excellent beverage45 were causing him to feel the need of fresh air.
Indeed, everybody was beginning to pant. Miss Moyne was so overcome with excitement and with the heat of the place, that she was ready to faint, when the door was flung open and Tolliver appeared. A rush of sweet cool air, flooding the room, revived her, just as she was sinking into Dufour’s arms.
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收听单词发音
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1
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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smothering
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的现在分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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aroma
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| n.香气，芬芳，芳香 | |
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bouquet
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| n.花束，酒香 | |
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sip
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| v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量 | |
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refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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withering
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| 使人畏缩的，使人害羞的，使人难堪的 | |
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prohibition
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| n.禁止；禁令，禁律 | |
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promulgation
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| n.颁布 | |
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condemning
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| v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地 | |
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vehemence
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| n.热切；激烈；愤怒 | |
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tussle
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| n.&v.扭打，搏斗，争辩 | |
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stolidly
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| adv.迟钝地，神经麻木地 | |
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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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19
soliciting
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| v.恳求( solicit的现在分词 )；（指娼妇）拉客；索求；征求 | |
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crammed
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| adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式) | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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poked
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| v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交 | |
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23
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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24
trench
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| n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕 | |
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25
jug
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| n.(有柄，小口，可盛水等的)大壶，罐，盂 | |
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fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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28
tottering
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| adj.蹒跚的，动摇的v.走得或动得不稳( totter的现在分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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29
undue
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| adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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31
steadfast
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| adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的 | |
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32
creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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33
heterogeneous
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| adj.庞杂的；异类的 | |
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consanguinity
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| n.血缘；亲族 | |
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35
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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jolt
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| v.（使）摇动，（使）震动，（使）颠簸 | |
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38
illicit
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| adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的 | |
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39
boiler
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| n.锅炉；煮器(壶，锅等) | |
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40
horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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42
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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43
mule
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| n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人 | |
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44
stimulus
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| n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物 | |
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45
beverage
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| n.(水，酒等之外的)饮料 | |
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