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CHAPTER XIX
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 Meantime down the ravine in the obscure little still-house our pedestrians1 were held in durance vile2 by Tolliver and his obedient moon-shiners.
 
It was a puzzling situation to all concerned. Far from wishing or intending to harm his prisoners, Tolliver still could not see his way clear to setting them at liberty. On the other hand he was clever enough to perceive that to hold them very long would be sure to lead to disaster, for their friends would institute a search and at the same time telegraph an account of their disappearance3 all over the country.
 
“’Pears ter me like I’ve ketched bigger game ’an my trap’ll hold,” he thought, as he stood in the door-way surveying his victims.
 
“What ye all a doin’ a monkeyin’ round’ these yer premerses, anyhow?” he demanded. “W’y c’udn’t ye jest wait ’ll I sent for ye ter kem yer?”
 
“It’s a sort of surprise party, my dear sir,” said Cattleton. “Don’t you see?”
 
“S’prise set o’ meddlin’ Yankees a foolin’ roun’ wher’ they air not got no business at,” responded Tolliver, “that’s w’at I calls it.”
 
“Where’s your pantry?” inquired Punner, “I’m as hungry as a wolf.”
 
“Hongry, air ye? What’d ye ’spect ter git ter eat at er still-house, anyhow? Hain’t ye[126] got no sense er tall? Air ye er plum blasted eejit?”
 
Tolliver made these inquiries4 in a voice and manner suggestive of suppressed but utter wrath5.
 
“Oh he’s always hungry, he would starve in a feed-store,” exclaimed Cattleton. “Don’t pay the least attention to him, Mr. Tolliver. He’s incurably6 hungry.”
 
“W’y ef the man’s really hongry——” Tolliver began to say in a sympathetic tone.
 
“Here,” interrupted Hubbard gruffly, “let us out of this immediately, can’t you? The ladies can’t bear this foul7 air much longer, it’s beastly.”
 
“Mebbe hit air you ’at air a running this yer chebang,” said Tolliver with a scowl8. “I’ll jes’ let ye out w’en I git ready an’ not a minute sooner, nother. So ye’ve hearn my tin horn.”
 
Miss Stackpole and Miss Crabb made notes in amazing haste.
 
Hubbard shrugged9 his heavy shoulders and bit his lip. He was baffled.
 
“Do you think they’ll kill us?” murmured Miss Moyne in Dufour’s ear.
 
Dufour could not answer.
 
Crane and his “pap’s uncle Pete” were still hobnobbing over the jug10.
 
“Yer’s a lookin’ at ye, boy, an’ a hopin’ agin hope ’at ye may turn out ter be es likely a man es yer pap,” the old man was saying, preliminary to another draught12.
 
Crane was bowing with extreme politeness in[127] acknowledgement of the sentiment, and was saying:
 
“I am told that I look like my father——”
 
“Yes, ye do look a leetle like im,” interrupted the old man with a leer over the jug, “but l’me say at it air dern leetle, boy, dern leetle!”
 
Punner overhearing this reply, laughed uproariously. Crane appeared oblivious13 to the whole force of the joke, however. He was simply waiting for his turn at the jug.
 
“As I wer’ a sayin’,” resumed the old man, “yer’s er hopin’ agin’ hope, an’ a lookin’ at ye——”
 
“How utterly14 brutal15 and disgusting!” cried Mrs. Nancy Jones Black. “I must leave here, I cannot bear it longer! This is nothing but a low, vile dram-shop! Let me pass!”
 
She attempted to go through the doorway16, but Tolliver interfered17.
 
“Stay wher’ ye air,” he said, in a respectful but very stern tone. “Ye can’t git out o’ yer jist yit.”
 
“Dear me! Dear me!” wailed18 Mrs. Black, “what an outrage19, what an insult! Are you men?” she cried, turning upon the gentlemen near her, “and will you brook20 this?”
 
“Give me your handkerchiefs again,” said Cattleton, “and I will once more poke21 out my head; ’tis all that I can do!”
 
“Shoot the fust head ’at comes out’n thet ther winder, Dave!” ordered Tolliver, speaking to some one outside.
 
[128]
 
“I don’t care for any handkerchiefs, thank you,” said Cattleton, “I’ve changed my mind.”
 
Miss Moyne was holding Dufour’s arm with a nervous clutch, her eyes were full of tears, and she was trembling violently. He strove to quiet her by telling her that there was no danger, that he would shield her, die for her and all that; but Tolliver looked so grim and the situation was so strange and threatening that she could not control herself.
 
“Goodness! but isn’t this rich material,” Miss Crabb soliloquized, writing in her little red book with might and main. “Bret Harte never discovered anything better.”
 
Miss Henrietta Stackpole was too busy absorbing the human interest of the interview between the two Cranes, to be more than indirectly22 aware of anything else that was going on around her.
 
“Ye needn’t be erfeard as ter bein’ hurt, boy,” said the old man, “not es long es yer pap’s uncle Pete air eroun’ yer. Hit ain’t often ’at I meets up wi’ kinfolks downyer, an’ w’en I does meet up wi’ ’em I treats ’em es er Southern gen’l’man orter treat his kinfolks.”
 
“Precisely so,” said Crane, taking another sip23, “hospitality is a crowning Southern virtue24. When I go up to Louisville Henry Watterson and I always have a good time.”
 
“Spect ye do, boy, spect ye do. Louisville use ter be a roarin’ good place ter be at.”
 
Tolliver, whose wits had been hard at work,[129] now proposed what he called “terms o’ pay-roll, like what they hed in the war.”
 
“Ef ye’ll all take a oath an’ swa’ at ye’ll never tell nothin’ erbout nothin,” said he, “w’y I’ll jest let ye off this yer time.”
 
“That is fair enough,” said Dufour, “we are not in the detective service.”
 
“Then,” observed Tolliver, “ef I ken25 git the ’tention of this yer meetin’, I move ’at it air yerby considered swore ’at nothin’ air ter be said erbout nothin’ at no time an’ never. Do ye all swa’?”
 
“Yes!” rang out a chorus of voices.
 
“Hit air cyarried,” said Tolliver, “an’ the meetin’ air dismissed, sigh er die. Ye kin11 all go on erbout yer business.”
 
The pedestrians filed out into the open air feeling greatly relieved. Crane lingered to have a few more passages with his sociable26 and hospitable27 grand-uncle. Indeed he remained until the rest of the party had passed out of sight up the ravine and he did not reach the hotel until far in the night, when he sang some songs under Miss Moyne’s window.
 
Taken altogether, the pedestrians felt that they had been quite successful in their excursion.
 
Dufour was happiness itself. On the way back he had chosen for himself and Miss Moyne a path which separated them from the others, giving him an opportunity to say a great deal to her.
 
Now it is a part of our common stock of[130] understanding that when a man has an excellent and uninterrupted opportunity to say a great deal to a beautiful young woman, he usually does not find himself able to say much; still he rarely fails to make himself understood.
 
They both looked so self-consciously happy (when they arrived a little later than the rest at Hotel Helicon) that suspicion would have been aroused but for two startling and all-absorbing disclosures which drove away every other thought.
 
One was the disclosure of the fact that Dufour was not Dufour, but George Dunkirk, and the other was the disclosure of the fact that the high sheriff of Mt. Boab County was in Hotel Helicon on important official business.
 
Little Mrs. Philpot was the first to discover that the great publisher really had not practiced any deception28 as to his name. Indeed her album showed that the signature therein was, after all, George Dunkirk and not Gaspard Dufour. The autograph was not very plain, it is true, but it was decipherable and the mistake was due to her own bad reading.
 
If the sheriff had been out of the question the humiliation29 felt by the authors, for whom Dunkirk was publisher and who had talked so outrageously30 about him, would have crushed them into the dust; but the sheriff was there in his most terrible form, and he forced himself upon their consideration with his quiet but effective methods of legal procedure.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 pedestrians c0776045ca3ae35c6910db3f53d111db     
n.步行者( pedestrian的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Several pedestrians had come to grief on the icy pavement. 几个行人在结冰的人行道上滑倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Pedestrians keep to the sidewalk [footpath]! 行人走便道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
2 vile YLWz0     
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。
3 disappearance ouEx5     
n.消失,消散,失踪
参考例句:
  • He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
  • Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。
4 inquiries 86a54c7f2b27c02acf9fcb16a31c4b57     
n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 );疑问;探究;打听
参考例句:
  • He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释,等候进一步调查。
  • I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
5 wrath nVNzv     
n.愤怒,愤慨,暴怒
参考例句:
  • His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
  • The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。
6 incurably d85x2     
ad.治不好地
参考例句:
  • But young people are incurably optimistic and women have a special knack of forgetting their troubles. 可是青年人,永远朝着愉快的事情想,女人们尤其容易忘记那些不痛快。
  • For herself she wanted nothing. For father and myself she was incurably ambitious. 她为她自己并无所求,可为父亲和我,却有着无法遏制的野心。
7 foul Sfnzy     
adj.污秽的;邪恶的;v.弄脏;妨害;犯规;n.犯规
参考例句:
  • Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
  • What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气!
8 scowl HDNyX     
vi.(at)生气地皱眉,沉下脸,怒视;n.怒容
参考例句:
  • I wonder why he is wearing an angry scowl.我不知道他为何面带怒容。
  • The boss manifested his disgust with a scowl.老板面带怒色,清楚表示出他的厌恶之感。
9 shrugged 497904474a48f991a3d1961b0476ebce     
vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀,什么也没说。
  • She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩,装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 jug QaNzK     
n.(有柄,小口,可盛水等的)大壶,罐,盂
参考例句:
  • He walked along with a jug poised on his head.他头上顶着一个水罐,保持着平衡往前走。
  • She filled the jug with fresh water.她将水壶注满了清水。
11 kin 22Zxv     
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。
12 draught 7uyzIH     
n.拉,牵引,拖;一网(饮,吸,阵);顿服药量,通风;v.起草,设计
参考例句:
  • He emptied his glass at one draught.他将杯中物一饮而尽。
  • It's a pity the room has no north window and you don't get a draught.可惜这房间没北窗,没有过堂风。
13 oblivious Y0Byc     
adj.易忘的,遗忘的,忘却的,健忘的
参考例句:
  • Mother has become quite oblivious after the illness.这次病后,妈妈变得特别健忘。
  • He was quite oblivious of the danger.他完全没有察觉到危险。
14 utterly ZfpzM1     
adv.完全地,绝对地
参考例句:
  • Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民,把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
  • I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。
15 brutal bSFyb     
adj.残忍的,野蛮的,不讲理的
参考例句:
  • She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
  • They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼,骨子里却是野蛮残忍。
16 doorway 2s0xK     
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径
参考例句:
  • They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
  • Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。
17 interfered 71b7e795becf1adbddfab2cd6c5f0cff     
v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 );调停;妨碍;干涉
参考例句:
  • Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》
18 wailed e27902fd534535a9f82ffa06a5b6937a     
v.哭叫,哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She wailed over her father's remains. 她对着父亲的遗体嚎啕大哭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The women of the town wailed over the war victims. 城里的妇女为战争的死难者们痛哭。 来自辞典例句
19 outrage hvOyI     
n.暴行,侮辱,愤怒;vt.凌辱,激怒
参考例句:
  • When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
  • We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。
20 brook PSIyg     
n.小河,溪;v.忍受,容让
参考例句:
  • In our room we could hear the murmur of a distant brook.在我们房间能听到远处小溪汩汩的流水声。
  • The brook trickled through the valley.小溪涓涓流过峡谷。
21 poke 5SFz9     
n.刺,戳,袋;vt.拨开,刺,戳;vi.戳,刺,捅,搜索,伸出,行动散慢
参考例句:
  • We never thought she would poke her nose into this.想不到她会插上一手。
  • Don't poke fun at me.别拿我凑趣儿。
22 indirectly a8UxR     
adv.间接地,不直接了当地
参考例句:
  • I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
  • They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人,他们进行了间接接触。
23 sip Oxawv     
v.小口地喝,抿,呷;n.一小口的量
参考例句:
  • She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。
  • Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。
24 virtue BpqyH     
n.德行,美德;贞操;优点;功效,效力
参考例句:
  • He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
  • You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。
25 ken k3WxV     
n.视野,知识领域
参考例句:
  • Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
  • Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.
26 sociable hw3wu     
adj.好交际的,友好的,合群的
参考例句:
  • Roger is a very sociable person.罗杰是个非常好交际的人。
  • Some children have more sociable personalities than others.有些孩子比其他孩子更善于交际。
27 hospitable CcHxA     
adj.好客的;宽容的;有利的,适宜的
参考例句:
  • The man is very hospitable.He keeps open house for his friends and fellow-workers.那人十分好客,无论是他的朋友还是同事,他都盛情接待。
  • The locals are hospitable and welcoming.当地人热情好客。
28 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。
29 humiliation Jd3zW     
n.羞辱
参考例句:
  • He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。
  • He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。
30 outrageously 5839725482b08165d14c361297da866a     
凶残地; 肆无忌惮地; 令人不能容忍地; 不寻常地
参考例句:
  • Leila kept smiling her outrageously cute smile. 莱拉脸上始终挂着非常可爱的笑容。
  • He flirts outrageously. 他肆无忌惮地调情。


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