Jimmy was a humourist of a type that prevails in the rural South and West. Unskilled in originating methods of amusing or in witty4 conceptions, he had hit upon a comical idea and clung to it reverently5. It had seemed to Jimmy a very funny thing to have about his person, with which to amuse his friends, a tame horned frog with a red ribbon around its neck. As it was a happy idea, why not perpetuate6 it?
The sentiments existing between Jimmy and the frog cannot be exactly determined7. The capability8 of the horned frog for lasting9 affection is a subject upon which we have had no symposiums. It is easier to guess Jimmy's feelings. Muriel was his chef d'œuvre of wit, and as such he cherished her. He caught flies for her, and shielded her from sudden northers. Yet his care was half selfish, and when the time came she repaid him a thousand fold. Other Muriels have thus overbalanced the light attentions of other Jimmies.
Not at once did Jimmy Hayes attain10 full brotherhood11 with his comrades. They loved him for his simplicity12 and drollness13, but there hung above him a great sword of suspended judgment14. To make merry in camp is not all of a ranger's life. There are horse-thieves to trail, desperate criminals to run down, bravos to battle with, bandits to rout15 out of the chaparral, peace and order to be compelled at the muzzle16 of a six-shooter. Jimmy had been "'most generally a cow-puncher," he said; he was inexperienced in ranger methods of warfare17. Therefore the rangers18 speculated apart and solemnly as to how he would stand fire. For, let it be known, the honour and pride of each ranger company is the individual bravery of its members.
For two months the border was quiet. The rangers lolled, listless, in camp. And then—bringing joy to the rusting19 guardians20 of the frontier—Sebastiano Saldar, an eminent21 Mexican desperado and cattle-thief, crossed the Rio Grande with his gang and began to lay waste the Texas side. There were indications that Jimmy Hayes would soon have the opportunity to show his mettle22. The rangers patrolled with alacrity23, but Saldar's men were mounted like Lochinvar, and were hard to catch.
One evening, about sundown, the rangers halted for supper after a long ride. Their horses stood panting, with their saddles on. The men were frying bacon and boiling coffee. Suddenly, out of the brush, Sebastiano Saldar and his gang dashed upon them with blazing six-shooters and high-voiced yells. It was a neat surprise. The rangers swore in annoyed tones, and got their Winchesters busy; but the attack was only a spectacular dash of the purest Mexican type. After the florid demonstration24 the raiders galloped25 away, yelling, down the river. The rangers mounted and pursued; but in less than two miles the fagged ponies26 laboured so that Lieutenant27 Manning gave the word to abandon the chase and return to the camp.
Then it was discovered that Jimmy Hayes was missing. Some one remembered having seen him run for his pony28 when the attack began, but no one had set eyes on him since. Morning came, but no Jimmy. They searched the country around, on the theory that he had been killed or wounded, but without success. Then they followed after Saldar's gang, but it seemed to have disappeared. Manning concluded that the wily Mexican had recrossed the river after his theatric farewell. And, indeed, no further depredations29 from him were reported.
This gave the rangers time to nurse a soreness they had. As has been said, the pride and honour of the company is the individual bravery of its members. And now they believed that Jimmy Hayes had turned coward at the whiz of Mexican bullets. There was no other deduction30. Buck31 Davis pointed32 out that not a shot was fired by Saldar's gang after Jimmy was seen running for his horse. There was no way for him to have been shot. No, he had fled from his first fight, and afterward33 he would not return, aware that the scorn of his comrades would be a worse thing to face than the muzzles34 of many rifles.
So Manning's detachment of McLean's company, Frontier Battalion35, was gloomy. It was the first blot36 on its escutcheon. Never before in the history of the service had a ranger shown the white feather. All of them had liked Jimmy Hayes, and that made it worse.
Days, weeks, and months went by, and still that little cloud of unforgotten cowardice37 hung above the camp.
点击收听单词发音
1 ranger | |
n.国家公园管理员,护林员;骑兵巡逻队员 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 perennial | |
adj.终年的;长久的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 bosom | |
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 witty | |
adj.机智的,风趣的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 reverently | |
adv.虔诚地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 perpetuate | |
v.使永存,使永记不忘 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8 capability | |
n.能力;才能;(pl)可发展的能力或特性等 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9 lasting | |
adj.永久的,永恒的;vbl.持续,维持 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10 attain | |
vt.达到,获得,完成 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11 brotherhood | |
n.兄弟般的关系,手中情谊 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12 simplicity | |
n.简单,简易;朴素;直率,单纯 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13 drollness | |
n.离奇古怪;滑稽;幽默;诙谐 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14 judgment | |
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15 rout | |
n.溃退,溃败;v.击溃,打垮 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16 muzzle | |
n.鼻口部;口套;枪(炮)口;vt.使缄默 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17 warfare | |
n.战争(状态);斗争;冲突 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
18 rangers | |
护林者( ranger的名词复数 ); 突击队员 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
19 rusting | |
n.生锈v.(使)生锈( rust的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
20 guardians | |
监护人( guardian的名词复数 ); 保护者,维护者 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
21 eminent | |
adj.显赫的,杰出的,有名的,优良的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
22 mettle | |
n.勇气,精神 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
23 alacrity | |
n.敏捷,轻快,乐意 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
24 demonstration | |
n.表明,示范,论证,示威 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
25 galloped | |
(使马)飞奔,奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 ); 快速做[说]某事 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
26 ponies | |
矮种马,小型马( pony的名词复数 ); £25 25 英镑 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
27 lieutenant | |
n.陆军中尉,海军上尉;代理官员,副职官员 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
28 pony | |
adj.小型的;n.小马 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
29 depredations | |
n.劫掠,毁坏( depredation的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
30 deduction | |
n.减除,扣除,减除额;推论,推理,演绎 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
31 buck | |
n.雄鹿,雄兔;v.马离地跳跃 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
32 pointed | |
adj.尖的,直截了当的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
33 afterward | |
adv.后来;以后 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
34 muzzles | |
枪口( muzzle的名词复数 ); (防止动物咬人的)口套; (四足动物的)鼻口部; (狗)等凸出的鼻子和口 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
35 battalion | |
n.营;部队;大队(的人) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
36 blot | |
vt.弄脏(用吸墨纸)吸干;n.污点,污渍 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
37 cowardice | |
n.胆小,怯懦 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
欢迎访问英文小说网 |