CHAPTER XVII ANOTHER CALL FOR HUSTLE

 They calmed Virgie, George stalked out and glumly¹ brought in his brand new pick and spade, and during dinner Harry² and Terry tried to explain.

 

"You see, we've got our mines ready, all right," concluded Terry, "but we can't work 'em."

 

"Why don't you make those fellows give you water, then?" demanded the spunky George. "Let's all go over there tonight with our guns and open a ditch. If my gun would shoot I'd go alone."

 

"Trouble is, their guns do shoot, I reckon," drawled Harry. "And another trouble is, the water all around is petering out anyway. That stream below is scarcely a trickle³. Pretty soon we'll be carrying our drinking and cooking water from Clear Creek⁴, and that's a mighty⁵ long tote."

 

"Pat says there's talk of digging a big ditch and fetching water into the gulch⁶ from a river over yonder," informed Terry. "But it will cost money, and anybody who uses the water will have to buy by the inch."

 

"Why don't we wait for it?" proposed George. "You've got some money saved up, and you're making more, aren't you? Your father didn't say anything about wanting his hundred dollars. He grub-staked you, on a chance."

 

"Yes, and his chance is powerful slim," retorted Harry. "He can do more with the hundred dollars than he can with a dry prospect⁷. A hundred dollars is all we've been offered for it, and so his half interest amounts to only $50, and he'd lose out. We'll pay him what we borrowed and we'll do the waiting."

 

"Did they sell the ranches⁸?" asked Terry.

 

"Part trade, and the rest is to come out of the crops. Guess they haven't got very much cash yet," answered George.

 

"That settles it," pronounced Harry. "When you go down you can take our dust. I reckon there's near a hundred dollars."

 

"I'm not going down, for a while," declared George. "I'll throw in with you fellows. Guess I can find something to do."

 

"What!"

 

"That's right," and George stubbornly wagged his head. "Maybe I won't get rich, but I can stick. I can dig around here, can't I? And tote water and help with the cooking?"

 

"Hurrah⁹!" cheered Terry. "He can have the True Blue and dig there; but I shouldn't wonder if Pat would hire him. We need another man."

 

"I can dig better than I can bake," admitted George. "I'll do something to earn my keep. I mean to stay and help out, Virgie can go back in the morning with those people who brought us in. They're just looking about. Where does the True Blue lie? Can I have it? Have you dug much there?"

 

"No. It's a drier claim than this. The water was on our side, so we thought we'd clean up the Golden Prize first."

 

"How much land is the True Blue?"

 

"One hundred feet long and fifty feet wide, same as the Golden Prize. We run one hundred feet from the cabin and into that little draw, and then the True Blue begins."

 

George stood up and gazed. His new property did not seem to impress him very favorably; and indeed it was not especially inviting¹⁰, being a bare rocky slope, pitted here and there with the shallow prospect holes of the preacher.

 

"Shucks!" he criticized. "It's mostly dirt and stones. I haven't got even that trough."

 

"You mean 'sluice,'" grandly corrected Terry. "'Trough' is a tenderfoot word. All you can do is pan, anyway, with a bucket of water. But I've got to go back to Pat."

 

"Might as well ask him for a job for me, will you?" responded George. "I'll take it unless I strike things rich first, and can make more money panning."

 

Terry trudged¹¹ away. George helped Harry with the dishes, then carried a bucketful of water to his claim and proceeded to "mine." This was working under difficulties, and Virgie, who had followed close after, proudly lugging¹² his spade, soon returned.

 

"I don't think that's much fun," she stated.

 

"Well, it isn't," agreed Harry. "And 'most of the folks who expected to get rich easy think the same way."

 

Presently George gave up, out of humor. He was not only tired, but hot and grimy, too.

 

"There's not a blamed sign of gold in that whole claim," he crossly declared. "You fellows got cheated. You can have it back again. I'll dig for Pat Casey. Will he pay me a dollar and a half a day?"

 

"He ought to pay you the same he pays Terry. That's three dollars a day for you two, and four dollars a day for me, and some days I make five—one day I made seven, and on Sundays I'm sure of six—! Why, there's a gold mine in itself. We'll be flying high," encouraged Harry.

 

George braced¹³ up. But—

 

"Huh!" he grunted¹⁴. "'Tisn't a pound a day, though."

 

"Terry's coming," piped Virgie.

 

So he was—not only coming, but bringing his tools with him, and also a decidedly disgusted aspect.

 

"Don't you work any more?" called George. "Doesn't he want me?"

 

"Naw!" growled¹⁵ Terry, throwing down his pick and spade. "He's busted¹⁶. And he doesn't want any more pies, either. Here are the last two. He can't eat 'em—says he has indigestion."

 

"Well, don't step on them," warned Harry. "We can eat them. But how is he 'busted'?"

 

"It isn't his claim," answered Terry. "That is, maybe he doesn't own it at all. Some men he was arguing with this morning say it's theirs. So nobody'll work there till things are settled up. And Pat's as mad as a hornet. They say all the dust in his oyster-can is theirs, too, because he got it out of that hole."

 

"Whew!" mused¹⁷ Harry. "The Extra Limited & Co. seem to be more limited than ever. And that's hard luck for Pat."

 

"What'll we all do, then?" queried¹⁸ George, aghast. "Light out and go down to Denver?"

 

"Not by a jugful¹⁹!" And Harry swung the two pies. "We're here to stick. I reckon three able-bodied men and a dog and a nice yellow mule²⁰ can earn a living somehow."

 

"I'll stay," asserted Terry.

 

"So will I," asserted George.

 

"I'll stay. I'll help Harry cook," proffered²¹ Virgie.

 

Harry picked her up and kissed her.

 

"No, you can't, Virgie. You go to the folks and tell them we're well and hustling²² and never say die, and pretty soon we'll be millionaires. But you see you can't stay with us, because we're liable to be traveling 'round, looking for the gold, and we may have to sleep in the rain, and sometimes there won't be much to cook."

 

Virgie wept. She was only a little girl, you know.

 

"But I want a mine," she said. "Don't I get any mine?"

 

"Of course you do," assured Harry. "You can have the mine George was working on. It's named the True Blue. George doesn't want it. And it's a real mine—see those holes?"

 

"Sure. You can have it, for all of me."

 

Virgie's tears dried instantly.

 

"All right. I'll dig in it." And off she hurried, with George's pan, in a moment to be occupied poking²³ into the dirt with a stick.

 

"Let's hold a council, boys," proposed Harry. "Pat was my best customer, for pies, and I don't think I'll bother any more with this cooking business. I reckon we'll have to make a tour of the diggin's and offer the services of three men and a mule. Jenny'll need to help, if she expects to eat. There's not much free grazing left around these claims."

 

While they were discussing ways and means, Virgie toiled²⁴ in from her "mine," carrying the empty pan.

 

"I sha'n't dig any more," she announced. "I'm tired."

 

"What have you got in your hand, Virgie?"

 

"A piece of my mine," and Virgie extended her prize. "I'm going to take a piece of my mine down to show papa."

 

"That's a good idea," approved Harry. "Take him a sample, so as to prove to him."

 

"Is it gold?" invited Virgie.

 

"I shouldn't wonder," said Harry, kindly²⁵. "It looks just like the pocket-piece I threw at Ike. Wait. I'll see."

 

But although he searched among the stones and bushes at the place where the pocket-piece might have bounded from Ike's back, he did not come across it, and neither did Terry nor George.

 

"It was the same kind of quartz²⁶, though," he insisted. "Where did you find your piece, Virgie?"

 

"Over there," answered Virgie, vaguely²⁷. "I don't remember. Can't I have it? Isn't it gold? That's a gold mine."

 

"Maybe it is gold, from the True Blue mine. You can tell your father you mined it," bantered²⁸ Harry.

 

"Goody!" And Virgie tightly clutched it. "And I can buy Duke with it. They're going to make him fight a bear and I don't want him to fight a bear."

 

"What's that?" Harry's voice rang sharply. "Who said so?"

 

"Sure," affirmed George. "We saw him, in a show. And there's a sign up telling folks to bring in a bear and have a match."

 

"Great Scotland! Why didn't you mention it before?" Harry was visibly disturbed.

 

"I did, to Terry."

 

"Yes, he did, but I'd forgotten," supported Terry. "I was intending to speak about it, but these other things put me off the track."

 

"What'd you sell him for?" taxed George. "Shouldn't think you'd have sold him. He's awful peaked, shut up there."

 

"Well, we didn't sell him for that, anyway," declared Harry. "Good-bye. You fellows stay here. I'm going."

 

"Where?"

 

"Down there—to Denver and Auraria. We'll go and rescue Duke, won't we, Virgie?"

 

"You don't need to go, do you? The folks can rescue him. We'll tell Virgie to ask them to," proposed Terry. "They'll do it."

 

"No, sir!" rapped Harry. "I got him into that mess and I'll get him out if it takes every cent we have. We can pay Father Richards by selling the mine, if necessary; but Duke sha'n't fight any bear. That wasn't the bargain." And he bolted into the cabin.

 

Terry gazed at George; George solemnly gazed at Terry. It was a day of sudden changes in plans.

 

"Shucks! Duke oughtn't to be made to fight a bear, though," murmured Terry.

 

"I should say not—I call that downright cruel," agreed George. "But the bear wasn't there yet. Anyway, maybe the man won't sell."

 

"He'll have to, if Harry once gets after him. And the folks will help now," reminded Terry, hopefully.

 

"I'll help," chirped²⁹ Virgie. "I'll help with my mine."

 

Harry bustled³⁰ out. He had his blanket and a small package in some sacking.

 

"Of course there's no use in the rest of you going," he said. "I've taken most of our 'pile,' Terry, but I've left you a pinch of dust and the two pies, and there's flour and stuff yet. I'll leave you Jenny, too. You and George and Jenny can be getting me a job while you're getting for yourselves. I'll be back as soon as I save Duke from being bear meat. If you can't find any paying jobs here, sell the blamed old claims, and we'll prospect in better diggin's. Climb on your pony³¹, Virgie. Tell 'em good-bye."

 

"You mustn't sell my mine," objected Virgie, from the saddle of the Indian pony. "I don't want it sold."

 

"Well, they can sell the Golden Prize, if they have to," laughed Harry. "So long, fellows. You'll see Duke and me later."

 

Away he strode at rapid limp—dear old Harry!—with Virgie on her ambling³² pony keeping pace beside him, into the gulch and on.

 

"Guess we'll have to rustle," spoke³³ Terry, to George, as they watched him and Virgie out of sight.

1 glumly   

adv.忧郁地，闷闷不乐地；阴郁地

参考例句：

• He stared at it glumly, and soon became lost in thought. 他惘然沉入了瞑想。 来自子夜部分
• The President sat glumly rubbing his upper molar, saying nothing. 总统愁眉苦脸地坐在那里，磨着他的上牙，一句话也没有说。 来自辞典例句

2 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

3 trickle   

vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散

参考例句：

• The stream has thinned down to a mere trickle.这条小河变成细流了。
• The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.汹涌的车流现在已经变得稀稀拉拉。

4 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

5 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

6 gulch   

n.深谷，峡谷

参考例句：

• The trail ducks into a narrow gulch.这条羊肠小道突然下到一个狭窄的峡谷里。
• This is a picture of California Gulch.这是加利福尼亚峡谷的图片。

7 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

8 ranches   

大农场， （兼种果树，养鸡等的）大牧场( ranch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They hauled feedlot manure from the ranches to fertilize their fields. 他们从牧场的饲养场拖走肥料去肥田。
• Many abandoned ranches are purchased or leased by other poultrymen. 许多被放弃的牧场会由其他家禽监主收买或租用。

9 hurrah   

int.好哇，万岁，乌拉

参考例句：

• We hurrah when we see the soldiers go by.我们看到士兵经过时向他们欢呼。
• The assistants raised a formidable hurrah.助手们发出了一片震天的欢呼声。

10 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

11 trudged   

vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He trudged the last two miles to the town. 他步履艰难地走完最后两英里到了城里。
• He trudged wearily along the path. 他沿着小路疲惫地走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 lugging   

超载运转能力

参考例句：

• I would smile when I saw him lugging his golf bags into the office. 看到他把高尔夫球袋拖进办公室，我就笑一笑。 来自辞典例句
• As a general guide, S＄1 should be adequate for baggage-lugging service. 一般的准则是，如有人帮你搬运行李，给一新元就够了。 来自互联网

13 braced   

adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• They braced up the old house with balks of timber. 他们用梁木加固旧房子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The house has a wooden frame which is braced with brick. 这幢房子是木结构的砖瓦房。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 grunted   

（猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说

参考例句：

• She just grunted, not deigning to look up from the page. 她只咕哝了一声，继续看书，不屑抬起头来看一眼。
• She grunted some incomprehensible reply. 她咕噜着回答了些令人费解的话。

15 growled   

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

参考例句：

• \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道：“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 busted   

adj. 破产了的，失败了的，被降级的，被逮捕的，被抓到的 动词bust的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You are so busted! 你被当场逮住了！
• It was money troubles that busted up their marriage. 是金钱纠纷使他们的婚姻破裂了。

17 mused   

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

18 queried   

v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问

参考例句：

• She queried what he said. 她对他说的话表示怀疑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• \"What does he have to do?\" queried Chin dubiously. “他有什么心事？”琴向觉民问道，她的脸上现出疑惑不解的神情。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

19 jugful   

一壶的份量

参考例句：

• He is not a silly boy, not by a jugful. 他不是一个傻孩子。
• There's about a jugful of water left. 还剩一壶水。

20 mule   

n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人

参考例句：

• A mule is a cross between a mare and a donkey.骡子是母马和公驴的杂交后代。
• He is an old mule.他是个老顽固。

21 proffered   

v.提供，贡献，提出( proffer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She proffered her cheek to kiss. 她伸过自己的面颊让人亲吻。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He rose and proffered a silver box full of cigarettes. 他站起身，伸手递过一个装满香烟的银盒子。 来自辞典例句

22 hustling   

催促（hustle的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Our quartet was out hustling and we knew we stood good to take in a lot of change before the night was over. 我们的四重奏是明显地卖座的， 而且我们知道在天亮以前，我们有把握收入一大笔钱。
• Men in motors were hustling to pass one another in the hustling traffic. 开汽车的人在繁忙的交通中急急忙忙地互相超车。

23 poking   

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：

• He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
• He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。

24 toiled   

长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉

参考例句：

• They toiled up the hill in the blazing sun. 他们冒着炎炎烈日艰难地一步一步爬上山冈。
• He toiled all day long but earned very little. 他整天劳碌但挣得很少。

25 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

26 quartz   

n.石英

参考例句：

• There is a great deal quartz in those mountains.那些山里蕴藏着大量石英。
• The quartz watch keeps good time.石英表走时准。

27 vaguely   

adv.含糊地，暖昧地

参考例句：

• He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
• He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面，对一切都视而不见。

28 bantered   

v.开玩笑，说笑，逗乐( banter的过去式和过去分词 )；（善意地）取笑，逗弄

参考例句：

• We bantered Nick on the subject of marriage. 我们就婚姻问题取笑尼克。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rival team members bantered before the game. 双方队员在比赛前互相说笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

29 chirped   

鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的过去式 )

参考例句：

• So chirped fiber gratings have broad reflection bandwidth. 所以chirped光纤光栅具有宽的反射带宽，在反射带宽内具有渐变的群时延等其它类型的光纤光栅所不具备的特点。
• The crickets chirped faster and louder. 蟋蟀叫得更欢了。

30 bustled   

闹哄哄地忙乱，奔忙( bustle的过去式和过去分词 )； 催促

参考例句：

• She bustled around in the kitchen. 她在厨房里忙得团团转。
• The hostress bustled about with an assumption of authority. 女主人摆出一副权威的样子忙来忙去。

31 pony   

adj.小型的；n.小马

参考例句：

• His father gave him a pony as a Christmas present.他父亲给了他一匹小马驹作为圣诞礼物。
• They made him pony up the money he owed.他们逼他还债。

32 ambling   

v.（马）缓行( amble的现在分词 )；从容地走，漫步

参考例句：

• At that moment the tiger commenced ambling towards his victim. 就在这时，老虎开始缓步向它的猎物走去。 来自辞典例句
• Implied meaning: drinking, ambling, the people who make golf all relatively succeed. 寓意：喝酒，赌博，打高尔夫的人都比较成功。 来自互联网

33 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。