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CHAPTER XVII
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 One night Dag Daughtry sat at a table in the saloon called the Pile-drivers’ Home.  He was in a parlous1 predicament.  Harder than ever had it been to secure odd jobs, and he had reached the end of his savings2.  Earlier in the evening he had had a telephone conference with the Ancient Mariner3, who had reported only progress with an exceptionally strong nibble4 that very day from a retired5 quack6 doctor.
 
“Let me pawn7 my rings,” the Ancient Mariner had urged, not for the first time, over the telephone.
 
“No, sir,” had been Daughtry’s reply.  “We need them in the business.  They’re stock in trade.  They’re atmosphere.  They’re what you call a figure of speech.  I’ll do some thinking to-night an’ see you in the morning, sir.  Hold on to them rings an’ don’t be no more than casual in playin’ that doctor.  Make ’m come to you.  It’s the only way.  Now you’re all right, an’ everything’s hunkydory an’ the goose hangs high.  Don’t you worry, sir.  Dag Daughtry never fell down yet.”
 
But, as he sat in the Pile-drivers’ Home, it looked as if his fall-down was very near.  In his pocket was precisely8 the room-rent for the following week, the advance payment of which was already three days overdue9 and clamorously demanded by the hard-faced landlady10.  In the rooms, with care, was enough food with which to pinch through for another day.  The Ancient Mariner’s modest hotel bill had not been paid for two weeks—a prodigious11 sum under the circumstances, being a first-class hotel; while the Ancient Mariner had no more than a couple of dollars in his pocket with which to make a sound like prosperity in the ears of the retired doctor who wanted to go a-treasuring.
 
Most catastrophic of all, however, was the fact that Dag Daughtry was three quarts short of his daily allowance and did not dare break into the rent money which was all that stood between him and his family and the street.  This was why he sat at the beer table with Captain Jorgensen, who was just returned with a schooner12-load of hay from the Petaluma Flats.  He had already bought beer twice, and evinced no further show of thirst.  Instead, he was yawning from long hours of work and waking and looking at his watch.  And Daughtry was three quarts short!  Besides, Hanson had not yet been smashed, so that the cook-job on the schooner still lay ahead an unknown distance in the future.
 
In his desperation, Daughtry hit upon an idea with which to get another schooner of steam beer.  He did not like steam beer, but it was cheaper than lager.
 
“Look here, Captain,” he said.  “You don’t know how smart that Killeny Boy is.  Why, he can count just like you and me.”
 
“Hoh!” rumbled13 Captain Jorgensen.  “I seen ’em do it in side shows.  It’s all tricks.  Dogs an’ horses can’t count.”
 
“This dog can,” Daughtry continued quietly.  “You can’t fool ’m.  I bet you, right now, I can order two beers, loud so he can hear and notice, and then whisper to the waiter to bring one, an’, when the one comes, Killeny Boy’ll raise a roar with the waiter.”
 
“Hoh!  Hoh!  How much will you bet?”
 
The steward14 fingered a dime15 in his pocket.  If Killeny failed him it meant that the rent-money would be broken in upon.  But Killeny couldn’t and wouldn’t fail him, he reasoned, as he answered:
 
“I’ll bet you the price of two beers.”
 
The waiter was summoned, and, when he had received his secret instructions, Michael was called over from where he lay at Kwaque’s feet in a corner.  When Steward placed a chair for him at the table and invited him into it, he began to key up.  Steward expected something of him, wanted him to show off.  And it was not because of the showing off that he was eager, but because of his love for Steward.  Love and service were one in the simple processes of Michael’s mind.  Just as he would have leaped into fire for Steward’s sake, so would he now serve Steward in any way Steward desired.  That was what love meant to him.  It was all love meant to him—service.
 
“Waiter!” Steward called; and, when the waiter stood close at hand: “Two beers.—Did you get that, Killeny?  Two beers.”
 
Michael squirmed in his chair, placed an impulsive16 paw on the table, and impulsively17 flashed out his ribbon of tongue to Steward’s close-bending face.
 
“He will remember,” Daughtry told the scow-schooner captain.
 
“Not if we talk,” was the reply.  “Now we will fool your bow-wow.  I will say that the job is yours when I smash Hanson.  And you will say it is for me to smash Hanson now.  And I will say Hanson must give me reason first to smash him.  And then we will argue like two fools with mouths full of much noise.  Are you ready?”
 
Daughtry nodded, and thereupon ensued a loud-voiced discussion that drew Michael’s earnest attention from one talker to the other.
 
“I got you,” Captain Jorgensen announced, as he saw the waiter approaching with but a single schooner of beer.  “The bow-wow has forgot, if he ever remembered.  He thinks you an’ me is fighting.  The place in his mind for one beer, and two, is wiped out, like a wave on the beach wipes out the writing in the sand.”
 
“I guess he ain’t goin’ to forget arithmetic no matter how much noise you shouts,” Daughtry argued aloud against his sinking spirits.  “An’ I ain’t goin’ to butt18 in,” he added hopefully.  “You just watch ’m for himself.”
 
The tall, schooner-glass of beer was placed before the captain, who laid a swift, containing hand around it.  And Michael, strung as a taut19 string, knowing that something was expected of him, on his toes to serve, remembered his ancient lessons on the Makambo, vainly looked into the impassive face of Steward for a sign, then looked about and saw, not two glasses, but one glass.  So well had he learned the difference between one and two that it came to him—how the profoundest psychologist can no more state than can he state what thought is in itself—that there was one glass only when two glasses had been commanded.  With an abrupt20 upspring, his throat half harsh with anger, he placed both forepaws on the table and barked at the waiter.
 
Captain Jorgensen crashed his fist down.
 
“You win!” he roared.  “I pay for the beer! Waiter, bring one more.”
 
Michael looked to Steward for verification, and Steward’s hand on his head gave adequate reply.
 
“We try again,” said the captain, very much awake and interested, with the back of his hand wiping the beer-foam from his moustache.  “Maybe he knows one an’ two.  How about three?  And four?”
 
“Just the same, Skipper.  He counts up to five, and knows more than five when it is more than five, though he don’t know the figures by name after five.”
 
“Oh, Hanson!” Captain Jorgensen bellowed21 across the bar-room to the cook of the Howard.  “Hey, you square-head!  Come and have a drink!”
 
Hanson came over and pulled up a chair.
 
“I pay for the drinks,” said the captain; “but you order, Daughtry.  See, now, Hanson, this is a trick bow-wow.  He can count better than you.  We are three.  Daughtry is ordering three beers.  The bow-wow hears three.  I hold up two fingers like this to the waiter.  He brings two.  The bow-wow raises hell with the waiter.  You see.”
 
All of which came to pass, Michael blissfully unappeasable until the order was filled properly.
 
“He can’t count,” was Hanson’s conclusion.  “He sees one man without beer.  That’s all.  He knows every man should ought to have a glass.  That’s why he barks.”
 
“Better than that,” Daughtry boasted.  “There are three of us.  We will order four.  Then each man will have his glass, but Killeny will talk to the waiter just the same.”
 
True enough, now thoroughly22 aware of the game, Michael made outcry to the waiter till the fourth glass was brought.  By this time many men were about the table, all wanting to buy beer and test Michael.
 
“Glory be,” Dag Daughtry solloquized.  “A funny world.  Thirsty one moment.  The next moment they’d fair drown you in beer.”
 
Several even wanted to buy Michael, offering ridiculous sums like fifteen and twenty dollars.
 
“I tell you what,” Captain Jorgensen muttered to Daughtry, whom he had drawn23 away into a corner.  “You give me that bow-wow, and I’ll smash Hanson right now, and you got the job right away—come to work in the morning.”
 
Into another corner the proprietor24 of the Pile-drivers’ Home drew Daughtry to whisper to him:
 
“You stick around here every night with that dog of yourn.  It makes trade.  I’ll give you free beer any time and fifty cents cash money a night.”
 
It was this proposition that started the big idea in Daughtry’s mind.  As he told Michael, back in the room, while Kwaque was unlacing his shoes:
 
“It’s this way Killeny.  If you’re worth fifty cents a night and free beer to that saloon keeper, then you’re worth that to me . . . and more, my son, more.  ’Cause he’s lookin’ for a profit.  That’s why he sells beer instead of buyin’ it.  An’, Killeny, you won’t mind workin’ for me, I know.  We need the money.  There’s Kwaque, an’ Mr. Greenleaf, an’ Cocky, not even mentioning you an’ me, an’ we eat an awful lot.  An’ room-rent’s hard to get, an’ jobs is harder.  What d’ye say, son, to-morrow night you an’ me hustle25 around an’ see how much coin we can gather?”
 
And Michael, seated on Steward’s knees, eyes to eyes and nose to nose, his jowls held in Steward’s hand’s wriggled26 and squirmed with delight, flipping27 out his tongue and bobbing his tail in the air.  Whatever it was, it was good, for it was Steward who spoke28.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 parlous Q4lzU     
adj.危险的,不确定的,难对付的
参考例句:
  • They had a parlous journey on stormy seas.他们在风暴海洋上进行了一次危险的旅行。
  • English tennis is in a parlous condition.英国网球运动不堪设想。
2 savings ZjbzGu     
n.存款,储蓄
参考例句:
  • I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假,那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
  • By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时,他的存款已全部用完。
3 mariner 8Boxg     
n.水手号不载人航天探测器,海员,航海者
参考例句:
  • A smooth sea never made a skillful mariner.平静的大海决不能造就熟练的水手。
  • A mariner must have his eye upon rocks and sands as well as upon the North Star.海员不仅要盯着北极星,还要注意暗礁和险滩。
4 nibble DRZzG     
n.轻咬,啃;v.一点点地咬,慢慢啃,吹毛求疵
参考例句:
  • Inflation began to nibble away at their savings.通货膨胀开始蚕食他们的存款。
  • The birds cling to the wall and nibble at the brickwork.鸟儿们紧贴在墙上,啄着砖缝。
5 retired Njhzyv     
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的
参考例句:
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
6 quack f0JzI     
n.庸医;江湖医生;冒充内行的人;骗子
参考例句:
  • He describes himself as a doctor,but I feel he is a quack.他自称是医生,可是我感觉他是个江湖骗子。
  • The quack was stormed with questions.江湖骗子受到了猛烈的质问。
7 pawn 8ixyq     
n.典当,抵押,小人物,走卒;v.典当,抵押
参考例句:
  • He is contemplating pawning his watch.他正在考虑抵押他的手表。
  • It looks as though he is being used as a political pawn by the President.看起来他似乎被总统当作了政治卒子。
8 precisely zlWzUb     
adv.恰好,正好,精确地,细致地
参考例句:
  • It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
  • The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。
9 overdue MJYxY     
adj.过期的,到期未付的;早该有的,迟到的
参考例句:
  • The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了,被坏天气耽搁了。
  • The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了,因为房租过期未付。
10 landlady t2ZxE     
n.女房东,女地主
参考例句:
  • I heard my landlady creeping stealthily up to my door.我听到我的女房东偷偷地来到我的门前。
  • The landlady came over to serve me.女店主过来接待我。
11 prodigious C1ZzO     
adj.惊人的,奇妙的;异常的;巨大的;庞大的
参考例句:
  • This business generates cash in prodigious amounts.这种业务收益丰厚。
  • He impressed all who met him with his prodigious memory.他惊人的记忆力让所有见过他的人都印象深刻。
12 schooner mDoyU     
n.纵帆船
参考例句:
  • The schooner was driven ashore.那条帆船被冲上了岸。
  • The current was bearing coracle and schooner southward at an equal rate.急流正以同样的速度将小筏子和帆船一起冲向南方。
13 rumbled e155775f10a34eef1cb1235a085c6253     
发出隆隆声,发出辘辘声( rumble的过去式和过去分词 ); 轰鸣着缓慢行进; 发现…的真相; 看穿(阴谋)
参考例句:
  • The machine rumbled as it started up. 机器轰鸣着发动起来。
  • Things rapidly became calm, though beneath the surface the argument rumbled on. 事情迅速平静下来了,然而,在这种平静的表面背后争论如隆隆雷声,持续不断。
14 steward uUtzw     
n.乘务员,服务员;看管人;膳食管理员
参考例句:
  • He's the steward of the club.他是这家俱乐部的管理员。
  • He went around the world as a ship's steward.他当客船服务员,到过世界各地。
15 dime SuQxv     
n.(指美国、加拿大的钱币)一角
参考例句:
  • A dime is a tenth of a dollar.一角银币是十分之一美元。
  • The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。
16 impulsive M9zxc     
adj.冲动的,刺激的;有推动力的
参考例句:
  • She is impulsive in her actions.她的行为常出于冲动。
  • He was neither an impulsive nor an emotional man,but a very honest and sincere one.他不是个一冲动就鲁莽行事的人,也不多愁善感.他为人十分正直、诚恳。
17 impulsively 0596bdde6dedf8c46a693e7e1da5984c     
adv.冲动地
参考例句:
  • She leant forward and kissed him impulsively. 她倾身向前,感情冲动地吻了他。
  • Every good, true, vigorous feeling I had gathered came impulsively round him. 我的一切良好、真诚而又强烈的感情都紧紧围绕着他涌现出来。
18 butt uSjyM     
n.笑柄;烟蒂;枪托;臀部;v.用头撞或顶
参考例句:
  • The water butt catches the overflow from this pipe.大水桶盛接管子里流出的东西。
  • He was the butt of their jokes.他是他们的笑柄。
19 taut iUazb     
adj.拉紧的,绷紧的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • The bowstring is stretched taut.弓弦绷得很紧。
  • Scarlett's taut nerves almost cracked as a sudden noise sounded in the underbrush near them. 思嘉紧张的神经几乎一下绷裂了,因为她听见附近灌木丛中突然冒出的一个声音。
20 abrupt 2fdyh     
adj.突然的,意外的;唐突的,鲁莽的
参考例句:
  • The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
  • His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。
21 bellowed fa9ba2065b18298fa17a6311db3246fc     
v.发出吼叫声,咆哮(尤指因痛苦)( bellow的过去式和过去分词 );(愤怒地)说出(某事),大叫
参考例句:
  • They bellowed at her to stop. 他们吼叫着让她停下。
  • He bellowed with pain when the tooth was pulled out. 当牙齿被拔掉时,他痛得大叫。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
22 thoroughly sgmz0J     
adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地
参考例句:
  • The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
  • The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。
23 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
24 proprietor zR2x5     
n.所有人;业主;经营者
参考例句:
  • The proprietor was an old acquaintance of his.业主是他的一位旧相识。
  • The proprietor of the corner grocery was a strange thing in my life.拐角杂货店店主是我生活中的一个怪物。
25 hustle McSzv     
v.推搡;竭力兜售或获取;催促;n.奔忙(碌)
参考例句:
  • It seems that he enjoys the hustle and bustle of life in the big city.看起来他似乎很喜欢大城市的热闹繁忙的生活。
  • I had to hustle through the crowded street.我不得不挤过拥挤的街道。
26 wriggled cd018a1c3280e9fe7b0169cdb5687c29     
v.扭动,蠕动,蜿蜒行进( wriggle的过去式和过去分词 );(使身体某一部位)扭动;耍滑不做,逃避(应做的事等)
参考例句:
  • He wriggled uncomfortably on the chair. 他坐在椅子上不舒服地扭动着身体。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • A snake wriggled across the road. 一条蛇蜿蜒爬过道路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
27 flipping b69cb8e0c44ab7550c47eaf7c01557e4     
讨厌之极的
参考例句:
  • I hate this flipping hotel! 我讨厌这个该死的旅馆!
  • Don't go flipping your lid. 别发火。
28 spoke XryyC     
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。


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