"And the old man pointed1 out to Dan his room across the way--the room that looked out upon the garden and the monument."
Jud Hardy2, who lives at Windy Cove3 on the river some eighteen miles "back" from Corinth, had been looking forward to Fair time for months. Not that Jud had either things to exhibit or money to buy things exhibited. For while Jud professed4 to own, and ostensibly to cultivate a forty, he gained his living mostly by occasional "spells of work" on the farms of his neighbors. In lieu of products of his hand or fields for exhibition at the annual fair, Jud invariably makes an exhibition of himself, never failing thus to contribute his full share to the "other amusements," announced on the circulars and in the Daily Corinthian, as "too numerous to mention."
The citizens of the Windy Cove country have a saying that when Jud is sober and in a good humor and has money, he is a fairly good fellow, if he is not crossed in any way. The meat of which saying is in the well known fact, that Jud is never in a good humor when he is not sober, that he is never sober when he has money; and that with the exception of three or four kindred spirits, whose admiration5 for the bad man is equalled only by their fear of him, no one has ever been able to devise a way to avoid crossing him when he is in his normal condition.
With three of the kindred spirits, Jud arrived in Corinth that day, with the earliest of the visitors, and the quartette proceeded, at once, to warm up after their long ride. By ten o'clock they were well warmed. Just as the ten-forty train was slowing up at the depot6, Jud began his exhibition. It took place at the post office where the crowd was greatest, because of the incoming mail. Stationing himself near the door, the man from Windy Cove blocked the way for everyone who wanted to pass either in or out of the building. For the women and young girls he stepped aside with elaborate, drunken politeness and maudlin7, complimentary8 remarks. For the men who brushed him he had a scowling9 curse and a muttered threat. Meanwhile, his followers10 nearby looked on in tipsy admiration and "'lowed that there was bound to be somethin' doin', for Jud was sure a-huntin' trouble."
Then came one who politely asked Jud to move. He was an inoffensive little man, with a big star on his breast, and a big walking stick in his hand--the town marshal. Jud saw an opportunity to give an exhibition worth while. There were a few opening remarks--mostly profane--and then the representative of the law lay in a huddled11 heap on the floor, while the man from the river rushed from the building into the street.
The passing crowd stopped instantly. Scattered12 individuals from every side came running to push their way into the mass of men and women, until for a block on either side of the thoroughfare there was a solid wall of breathless humanity. Between these walls strolled Jud, roaring his opinion and defiance13 of every one in general, and the citizens of Corinth in particular.
It could not last long, of course. There were many men in the crowd who did not fear to challenge Jud, but there was that inevitable14 hesitation15, while each man was muttering to his neighbor that this thing ought to be stopped, and they were waiting to see if someone else would not start first to stop it.
Nearly the length of the block, Jud made his triumphant16 way; then, at the corner where the crowd was not so dense17, he saw a figure starting across the street.
"Hey there," he roared, "get back there where you belong! What th' hell do you mean? Don't you see the procession's a comin'?"
It was Denny. He had left his garden to go to the butcher's for a bit of meat for dinner. The crippled lad had just rounded the corner, and, forced to give all his attention to his own halting steps, did not grasp the situation but continued his dragging way across the path of the drunken and enraged18 bully19. The ruffian, seeing the lad ignore his loud commands, strode heavily forward with menacing fists, heaping foul20 epithets21 upon the head of the helpless Irish boy.
"Oh, why does someone not do something!" moaned a woman. A girl screamed.
Several men started, but before they could force their way through the press, the people saw a stranger, a well-dressed young giant, spring from the sidewalk, and run toward the two figures in the middle of the street. But Dan had not arrived upon the scene soon enough. Almost as he left the pavement the blow fell, and Denny lay still--a crumpled23, pitiful heap in the dirt.
Jud, flushed with this second triumph, turned to face the approaching stranger.
"Come on, you pink-eyed dude! I've got some fer you too. Come git your medicine, you--"
Dan was coming--coming so quickly that Jud's curses had not left his lips when the big fellow reached him. With one clean, swinging blow the man from Windy Cove was lifted fairly off the ground to fall several feet away from his senseless victim.
There was an excited yell from the crowd. But Jud, lean, loose-jointed and hard of sinew, had the physical toughness of his kind. Almost instantly he was on his feet again, reaching for his hip24 pocket with a familiar movement. And there was a wild scramble25 as those in front sought cover in the rear.
"Look out! Look out!"--came from the crowd.
But the mountain bred Dan needed no warning. With a leap, cat-like in its quickness, he was again upon the other. There was a short struggle, a sharp report, a wrenching26 twist, a smashing blow, and Jud was down once more, this time senseless. The weapon lay in the dust. The bullet had gone wide.
The crowd yelled their approval, and, even while they applauded, the people were asking each of his neighbor: "Who is he? Who is he?"
Several men rushed in, and Dan, seeing the bully safe in as many hands as could lay hold of him, turned to discover the young woman whom he had met at the depot kneeling in the street over the still unconscious Denny. With her handkerchief she was wiping the blood and dirt from the boy's forehead. Dan had only time to wonder at the calmness of her face and manner when the crowd closed in about them.
Then the Doctor pushed his way through the throng27, and the people, at sight of the familiar figure, obeyed his energetic orders and drew aside. A carriage was brought and Dan lifted the unconscious lad in his arms. The Doctor spoke28 shortly to the young woman, "You come too." And with the Doctor the two strangers in Corinth took Denny to his home.
In the excitement no one thought of introductions, while the people seeing their hero driving in the carriage with a young woman, also a stranger, changed their question from, "Who is he?" to "Who are they?"
When Denny had regained29 consciousness, and everything possible for his comfort and for the assistance of his distracted mother, had been done; and the physician had assured them that the lad would be as good as ever in a day or two, the men crossed the street to the little white house.
"Well," ejaculated Martha when Dan had been presented, and the incident on the street briefly30 related, "I'm mighty31 glad I cooked them three roosters."
Dan laughed his big, hearty32 laugh, "I'm glad, too," he said. "Doctor used to drive me wild out in the woods with tales of your cooking."
The Doctor could see that Martha was pleased at this by the way she fussed with her apron33.
"We always hoped that he would bring you with him on some of his trips," continued Dan, "we all wanted so much to meet you."
To the Doctor's astonishment34, Martha stammered35, "I--maybe I will go some day." Then her manner underwent a change as if she had suddenly remembered something. "You'll excuse me now while I put the dinner on," she said stiffly. "Just make yourself to home; preachers always do in this house, even if Doctor don't belong." She hurried away, and Dan looked at his host with his mother's questioning eyes. The Doctor knew what it was. Dan had felt it even in the house of his dearest friend. It was the preacher Martha had welcomed, welcomed him professionally because he was a preacher. And the Doctor felt again _that_ something that had come between him and the lad.
"Martha doesn't care for fishing," he said gently.
Then they went out on the porch, and the old man pointed out to Dan his room across the way--the room that looked out upon the garden and the monument.
"Several of your congregation wanted to have you in their homes," he explained. "But I felt--I thought you might like to be--it was near me you see--and handy to the church." He pointed to the building up the street.
"Yes," Dan answered, looking at his old friend curiously--such broken speech was not natural to the Doctor--"You are quite right. It was very kind of you; you know how I will like it to be near you." Then looking at the monument he asked whose it was.
The Doctor hesitated again. Dan faced him waiting for an answer.
"That--oh, that's our statesman. You will need time to fully36 appreciate that work of art, and what it means to Corinth. It will grow on you. It's been growing on me for several years."
The young man was about to ask another question regarding the monument, when he paused. The girl who had gone to Denny in the street was coming from the little cottage. As she walked away under the great trees that lined the sidewalk, the two men stood watching her. Dan's question about the monument was forgotten.
"I wonder who she is," he said in a low voice.
The Doctor recalled the meeting at the depot and chuckled37, and just then Martha called to dinner.
And the people on the street corners, at the ladies' bazaar38, in the stores, the church booths and in the homes, were talking; talking of the exhibition of the man from Windy Cove, and asking each of his neighbor: "Who are they?"
收听单词发音 |
1
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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cove
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| n.小海湾，小峡谷 | |
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professed
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| 公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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depot
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| n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站 | |
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maudlin
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| adj.感情脆弱的，爱哭的 | |
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complimentary
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| adj.赠送的，免费的，赞美的，恭维的 | |
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scowling
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 ) | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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enraged
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| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
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bully
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| n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮 | |
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foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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epithets
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| n.（表示性质、特征等的）词语( epithet的名词复数 ) | |
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gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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crumpled
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| adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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hip
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| n.臀部，髋；屋脊 | |
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scramble
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| v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料 | |
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wrenching
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| n.修截苗根，苗木铲根（铲根时苗木不起土或部分起土）v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的现在分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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throng
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| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
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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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regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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apron
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| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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bazaar
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| n.集市，商店集中区 | |
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