“It’s a great thing,” he said, with a smirk4 of satisfaction—“it’s a great thing to be the go-between between two states of being; to have the exclusive franchise5 to export and import shades from one state to the other, and withal to have had as clean a record as mine has been. Valuable as is my franchise, I never corrupted6 a public official in my life, and—”
Here Charon stopped his soliloquy and his boat simultaneously7. As he rounded one of the many turns in the river a singular object met his gaze, and one, too, that filled him with misgiving8. It was another craft, and that was a thing not to be tolerated. Had he, Charon, owned the exclusive right of way on the Styx all these years to have it disputed here in the closing decade of the Nineteenth Century? Had not he dealt satisfactorily with all, whether it was in the line of ferriage or in the providing of boats for pleasure-trips up the river? Had he not received expressions of satisfaction, indeed, from the most exclusive families of Hades with the very select series of picnics he had given at Charon’s Glen Island? No wonder, then, that the queer-looking boat that met his gaze, moored9 in a shady nook on the dark side of the river, filled him with dismay.
“Blow me for a landlubber if I like that!” he said, in a hardly audible whisper. “And shiver my timbers if I don’t find out what she’s there for. If anybody thinks he can run an opposition10 line to mine on this river he’s mightily11 mistaken. If it comes to competition, I can carry shades for nothing and still quaff12 the B. & G. yellow-label benzine three times a day without experiencing a financial panic. I’ll show ’em a thing or two if they attempt to rival me. And what a boat! It looks for all the world like a Florentine barn on a canal-boat.”
Charon paddled up to the side of the craft, and, standing13 up in the middle of his boat, cried out,
“Ship ahoy!”
There was no answer, and the Ferryman hailed her again. Receiving no response to his second call, he resolved to investigate for himself; so, fastening his own boat to the stern-post of the stranger, he clambered on board. If he was astonished as he sat in his ferry-boat, he was paralyzed when he cast his eye over the unwelcome vessel14 he had boarded. He stood for at least two minutes rooted to the spot. His eye swept over a long, broad deck, the polish of which resembled that of a ball-room floor. Amidships, running from three-quarters aft to three-quarters forward, stood a structure that in its lines resembled, as Charon had intimated, a barn, designed by an architect enamoured of Florentine simplicity15; but in its construction the richest of woods had been used, and in its interior arrangement and adornment16 nothing more palatial17 could be conceived.
“What’s the blooming thing for?” said Charon, more dismayed than ever. “If they start another line with a craft like this, I’m very much afraid I’m done for after all. I wouldn’t take a boat like mine myself if there was a floating palace like this going the same way. I’ll have to see the Commissioners18 about this, and find out what it all means. I suppose it’ll cost me a pretty penny, too, confound them!”
A prey19 to these unhappy reflections, Charon investigated further, and the more he saw the less he liked it. He was about to encounter opposition, and an opposition which was apparently20 backed by persons of great wealth—perhaps the Commissioners themselves. It was a consoling thought that he had saved enough money in the course of his career to enable him to live in comfort all his days, but this was not really what Charon was after. He wished to acquire enough to retire and become one of the smart set. It had been done in that section of the universe which lay on the bright side of the Styx, why not, therefore, on the other, he asked.
“I’m pretty well connected even if I am a boatman,” he had been known to say. “With Chaos21 for a grandfather, and Erebus and Nox for parents, I’ve just as good blood in my veins22 as anybody in Hades. The Noxes are a mighty23 fine family, not as bright as the Days, but older; and we’re poor—that’s it, poor—and it’s money makes caste these days. If I had millions, and owned a railroad, they’d call me a yacht-owner. As I haven’t, I’m only a boatman. Bah! Wait and see! I’ll be giving swell24 functions myself some day, and these upstarts will be on their knees before me begging to be asked. Then I’ll get up a little aristocracy of my own, and I won’t let a soul into it whose name isn’t mentioned in the Grecian mythologies25. Mention in Burke’s peerage and the Élite directories of America won’t admit anybody to Commodore Charon’s house unless there’s some other mighty good reason for it.”
Foreseeing an unhappy ending to all his hopes, the old man clambered sadly back into his ancient vessel and paddled off into the darkness. Some hours later, returning with a large company of new arrivals, while counting up the profits of the day Charon again caught sight of the new craft, and saw that it was brilliantly lighted and thronged26 with the most famous citizens of the Erebean country. Up in the bow was a spirit band discoursing27 music of the sweetest sort. Merry peals28 of laughter rang out over the dark waters of the Styx. The clink of glasses and the popping of corks29 punctuated30 the music with a frequency which would have delighted the soul of the most ardent31 lover of commas, all of which so overpowered the grand master boatman of the Stygian Ferry Company that he dropped three oboli and an American dime32, which he carried as a pocket-piece, overboard. This, of course, added to his woe33; but it was forgotten in an instant, for some one on the new boat had turned a search-light directly upon Charon himself, and simultaneously hailed the master of the ferry-boat.
“Charon!” cried the shade in charge of the light. “Charon, ahoy!”
“Ahoy yourself!” returned the old man, paddling his craft close up to the stranger. “What do you want?”
“You,” said the shade. “The house committee want to see you right away.”
“What for?” asked Charon, cautiously.
“I’m sure I don’t know. I’m only a member of the club, and house committees never let mere34 members know anything about their plans. All I know is that you are wanted,” said the other.
“Sir Walter Raleigh, Cassius, Demosthenes, Blackstone, Doctor Johnson, and Confucius,” replied the shade.
“Tell ’em I’ll be back in an hour,” said Charon, pushing off. “I’ve got a cargo36 of shades on board consigned37 to various places up the river. I’ve promised to get ’em all through to-night, but I’ll put on a couple of extra paddles—two of the new arrivals are working their passage this trip—and it won’t take as long as usual. What boat is this, anyhow?”
“The Nancy Nox, of Erebus.”
“Thunder!” cried Charon, as he pushed off and proceeded on his way up the river. “Named after my mother! Perhaps it’ll come out all right yet.”
More hopeful of mood, Charon, aided by the two dead-head passengers, soon got through with his evening’s work, and in less than an hour was back seeking admittance, as requested, to the company of Sir Walter Raleigh and his fellow-members on the house committee. He was received by these worthies38 with considerable effusiveness39, considering his position in society, and it warmed the cockles of his aged3 heart to note that Sir Walter, who had always been rather distant to him since he had carelessly upset that worthy40 and Queen Elizabeth in the middle of the Styx far back in the last century, permitted him to shake three fingers of his left hand when he entered the committee-room.
“How do you do, Charon?” said Sir Walter, affably. “We are very glad to see you.”
“Thank you, kindly41, Sir Walter,” said the boatman. “I’m glad to hear those words, your honor, for I’ve been feeling very bad since I had the misfortune to drop your Excellency and her Majesty42 overboard. I never knew how it happened, sir, but happen it did, and but for her Majesty’s kind assistance it might have been the worse for us. Eh, Sir Walter?”
The knight43 shook his head menacingly at Charon. Hitherto he had managed to keep it a secret that the Queen had rescued him from drowning upon that occasion by swimming ashore44 herself first and throwing Sir Walter her ruff as soon as she landed, which he had used as a life-preserver.
“’Sh!” he said, sotto voce. “Don’t say anything about that, my man.”
“Very well, Sir Walter, I won’t,” said the boatman; but he made a mental note of the knight’s agitation45, and perceived a means by which that illustrious courtier could be made useful to him in his scheming for social advancement46.
“I understood you had something to say to me,” said Charon, after he had greeted the others.
“We have,” said Sir Walter. “We want you to assume command of this boat.”
The old fellow’s eyes lighted up with pleasure.
“You want a captain, eh?” he said.
“No,” said Confucius, tapping the table with a diamond-studded chop-stick. “No. We want a—er—what the deuce is it they call the functionary47, Cassius?”
“Senator, I think,” said Cassius.
Demosthenes gave a loud laugh.
“Your mind is still running on Senatorships, my dear Cassius. That is quite evident,” he said. “This is not one of them, however. The title we wish Charon to assume is neither Captain nor Senator; it is Janitor48.”
“What’s that?” asked Charon, a little disappointed. “What does a Janitor have to do?”
“He has to look after things in the house,” explained Sir Walter. “He’s a sort of proprietor49 by proxy50. We want you to take charge of the house, and see to it that the boat is kept shipshape.”
“Where is the house?” queried the astonished boatman.
“This is it,” said Sir Walter. “This is the house, and the boat too. In fact, it is a house-boat.”
“Not at all,” returned Sir Walter. “It’s a new-fangled scheme to set you up in business. We’ll pay you a large salary, and there won’t be much to do. You are the best man for the place, because, while you don’t know much about houses, you do know a great deal about boats, and the boat part is the most important part of a house-boat. If the boat sinks, you can’t save the house; but if the house burns, you may be able to save the boat. See?”
“I think I do, sir,” said Charon.
“Another reason why we want to employ you for Janitor,” said Confucius, “is that our club wants to be in direct communication with both sides of the Styx; and we think you as Janitor would be able to make better arrangements for transportation with yourself as boatman, than some other man as Janitor could make with you.”
“Spoken like a sage,” said Demosthenes.
“Furthermore,” said Cassius, “occasionally we shall want to have this boat towed up or down the river, according to the house committee’s pleasure, and we think it would be well to have a Janitor who has some influence with the towing company which you represent.”
“Can’t this boat be moved without towing?” asked Charon.
“No,” said Cassius.
“And I’m the only man who can tow it, eh?”
“You are,” said Blackstone. “Worse luck.”
“And you want me to be Janitor on a salary of what?”
“A hundred oboli a month,” said Sir Walter, uneasily.
“Very well, gentlemen,” said Charon. “I’ll accept the office on a salary of two hundred oboli a month, with Saturdays off.”
The committee went into executive session for five minutes, and on their return informed Charon that in behalf of the Associated Shades they accepted his offer.
“In behalf of what?” the old man asked.
“The Associated Shades,” said Sir Walter. “The swellest organization in Hades, whose new house-boat you are now on board of. When shall you be ready to begin work?”
“Right away,” said Charon, noting by the clock that it was the hour of midnight. “I’ll start in right away, and as it is now Saturday morning, I’ll begin by taking my day off.”
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1
renown
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| n.声誉，名望 | |
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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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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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smirk
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| n.得意地笑；v.傻笑；假笑着说 | |
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franchise
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| n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权 | |
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corrupted
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| （使）败坏( corrupt的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏 | |
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simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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misgiving
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕 | |
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moored
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| adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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mightily
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| ad.强烈地；非常地 | |
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quaff
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| v.一饮而尽；痛饮 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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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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simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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adornment
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| n.装饰；装饰品 | |
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palatial
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| adj.宫殿般的，宏伟的 | |
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commissioners
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| n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官 | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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chaos
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| n.混乱，无秩序 | |
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veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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mythologies
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| 神话学( mythology的名词复数 )； 神话（总称）； 虚构的事实； 错误的观点 | |
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thronged
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| v.成群，挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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discoursing
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| 演说（discourse的现在分词形式） | |
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peals
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| n.（声音大而持续或重复的）洪亮的响声( peal的名词复数 )；隆隆声；洪亮的钟声；钟乐v.（使）（钟等）鸣响，（雷等）发出隆隆声( peal的第三人称单数 ) | |
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corks
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| n.脐梅衣；软木( cork的名词复数 )；软木塞 | |
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punctuated
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| v.（在文字中）加标点符号，加标点( punctuate的过去式和过去分词 )；不时打断某事物 | |
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ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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dime
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| n.（指美国、加拿大的钱币）一角 | |
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woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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queried
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| v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问 | |
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cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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consigned
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| v.把…置于（令人不快的境地）( consign的过去式和过去分词 )；把…托付给；把…托人代售；丟弃 | |
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worthies
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| 应得某事物( worthy的名词复数 )； 值得做某事； 可尊敬的； 有（某人或事物）的典型特征 | |
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effusiveness
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| n.吐露，唠叨 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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43
knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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45
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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advancement
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| n.前进，促进，提升 | |
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functionary
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| n.官员；公职人员 | |
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janitor
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| n.看门人，管门人 | |
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proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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50
proxy
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| n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人 | |
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51
warily
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| adv.留心地 | |
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