Slam was a dog-fancier as well as a rat-catcher, and therefore doggy boys were attracted to his premises17, which, however, were sternly interdicted18. In the first place they were out of bounds, though this of itself did not go for very much. There was no town very near Weston, and so long as the boys made their appearance at the specified19 hours they were not overmuch interfered20 with. Paper chases, or hare and hounds as they are sometimes called, were openly arranged and encouraged; and if boys liked to take walks in the country, they could do so with a minimum of risk. If they were awkward enough to meet a master face to face when out of bounds, he could hardly help turning them back and giving them a slight imposition; but if they saw him coming, and got out of his way, he would not look in their direction.
But to enter an inn, or to visit Slam’s, was a serious offence, entailing21 severe punishment, and even expulsion, if repeated.
Yet one beautiful warm summer’s evening, when the birds were singing and the grasshoppers22 chirruping, and all nature invited mankind to play cricket or lawn-tennis, if there were no river handy for boating, four youths might have been seen (but were not, luckily for them) approaching the forbidden establishment. A lane with high banks, now covered with ferns and wild flowers, and furrowed23 with ruts which were more like crevasses24, ran up to the house; but they left this and went round the orchard to the back of the yard, in the wall of which there was a little door with a bell-handle beside it. On this being pulled there was a faint tinkle25, followed by a canine26 uproar27 of the most miscellaneous description, the deep-mouthed bay of the blood-hound, the sharp yap-yap of the toy terrier, and a chorus of intermediate undistinguishable barkings, some fierce, some frolicsome28, some expectant, being mixed up with the rattling29 of chains. Then an angry voice was heard amidst the hubbub30 commanding silence, and a sudden whine31 or two seemed to imply that he had shown some practical intention of being obeyed. A bolt was drawn32, the door opened, and a short wiry man, dressed in fustian33 and velveteen, with a fur cap on his head and a short pipe in his mouth, stood before them.
“Come in, gents,” said he. “Your dawg’s at the other end of the yard, Mr Stubbs, that’s why you don’t see him. He’s had an orkardness with Sayres, Mr Robarts’ dog, as was in the next kennel34, and I thought they’d have strangled themselves a-trying to get at one another, and so I had to separate them.”
“Will it be safe to let him loose?” asked Stubbs.
“No fear; he will never go near the other while he’s loose and the other one chained up; besides, he’ll be took up with seeing you, he will.”
It was very pleasant to the feelings of Stubbs that his dog knew him, which he evidently did, for he danced on his hind-legs, and wagged his tail, and whimpered, and did all that a bull-terrier can do in the way of smiling, when his proprietor36 approached for the purpose of freeing him from his chain. Their interviews were not as frequent as either dog or boy would have desired, but then they were very pleasant, for they brought the former a short spell of liberty, a meal of biscuit or paunch, and sometimes—oh, ecstasy37!—the worrying of a rat, while Stubbs enjoyed the sense of proprietorship38, and the knowledge that he was doing what was forbidden. He had dreams of leaving school and taking Topper home with him, and owning him as his friend before all the world, and he talked to Topper of that happy prospect40, and Topper really quite seemed to understand that Stubbs was his master, who had paid money for him, and was now put to considerable expense for his board and lodging41, let alone the danger he ran in coming to visit him. To an outsider, calmly reflecting, it did not seem a very good bargain for Stubbs, but still very much better than that of Perry, his friend and present companion, who kept a hawk42, and vainly endeavoured to teach the bird to know him and perch43 on his wrist. But Perry was fond of hawks44, and much regretted that the days were gone by when hawking45 was a favourite pastime.
The other two visitors at Slam’s that evening were Saurin and Edwards. Edwards had never been there before, and consequently his feelings were curiously46 compounded of fear and pleasurable expectation. He had looked from a distance at the place, the entrance to which was so sternly forbidden, and imagined all sorts of delightful47 wickedness—how delightful or why wicked he had no idea—going on inside. He was considerably48 disappointed to find himself in a dirty yard full of kennels49 to which dogs of all sorts and sizes were attached, none of whom looked as if it would be safe to pat them. There were a good many pigeons flying about, but he did not care for pigeons except in a pie. Perry’s hawk was only interesting to Perry. There was a monkey on a pole in a corner, but he was a melancholy50 monkey, who did nothing but raise and lower his eyebrows51.
“Does the gentleman want a dawg?” asked Slam.
“He will see,” replied Saurin; “if there is a real good one that takes his fancy he may buy him. It’s all right; he’s a friend of mine. Have you got that tobacco for me?”
“To be sure; you will find it in your drawer.”
Saurin went to a little wooden outhouse which contained a table, a chest of drawers, a cask of dog-biscuits, cages of rats, and other miscellaneous articles, and opening a locker52 which seemed to be appropriated to him, he took out a meerschaum pipe and a tobacco-pouch, and came out presently, emitting columns of blue fragrant53 smoke from his mouth. Edwards looked at his friend with increased respect, the idea of being intimate with a fellow who could smoke like that made him feel an inch taller.
“I think it’s beginning to colour, eh?” asked Saurin.
“Beautifully, I should say,” replied Edwards.
“Won’t you try?”
“Thanks; I think I should rather like,” said Edwards, who began to feel ambitious, “but I have not got anything to smoke.”
“Oh, Slam will let you have a pipe, or a cigar if you like it better.”
“Slam, my friend wants a cigar.”
“Well, sir, as you know, I can’t sell such things without a licence; but if the gent likes to have a few rats for one of the dawgs to show a bit of sport, I’ll give him a cigar with pleasure. It’s sixpence for half a dozen.”
“And, by the by, Edwards, it is usual to stand some beer to pay your footing. A couple of quarts of sixpenny will do.”
“That will make eighteenpence altogether,” responded Edwards cheerfully, producing that sum.
“I’ll send out for the beer at once,” said Mr Slam, taking the money and going towards the house.
Where he sent to is a mystery, for there was no public-house within a mile, and yet the can of beer arrived in about five minutes. It is much to be feared that Slam set the excise55 law at defiance56 when he felt perfectly57 safe from being informed against.
“Rats for Topper!” exclaimed Stubbs. “Oh, I say, Edwards, you are a brick, you know. I have been hard up lately, and he has not had a rat for ever so long. You won’t mind my letting them out for him, will you? You see, I should like him to think it was I who gave him the treat, if you don’t mind.”
Edwards had no objection to become a party to this innocent deception58, and the cage of rats was brought out from some mysterious place where there was an unlimited59 supply of those vermin. Whereupon every individual dog in the establishment went off his head with excitement, and began barking and tearing at his chain in a manner to soften60 the hardest heart. That rats should be so near and yet so far! The building, which was once a stable, had been fitted up expressly as an arena61, where dogs might exhibit their prowess, and thither62 the cage was now carried by Stubbs, Topper going almost the whole way on his hind-legs, with his nose close to the wires. Considering the amount of excitement the entertainment did not last long; the rats were turned out into the arena, where Topper pounced63 upon them one after the other with a nip and a shake which was at once fatal. In a couple of minutes there were six fewer rats in the world, and Topper was extremely anxious to diminish the number still further. Doctor Johnson, the compiler of the dictionary, said he had never in his life had as many peaches and nectarines as he could eat, and that was Topper’s feelings with regard to rats. Edwards did not enjoy the spectacle quite as much as he felt that he ought. Besides, he was engaged in desperate efforts to light his cigar. Match after match did he burn, sucking away all the time like a leech64, but no smoke came into his mouth.
“Let us go into the orchard and finish the beer,” said Saurin.
The orchard was surrounded by so thick a hedge that it was just as private as the yard. A cobby horse was cropping the grass, an ungroomed, untrimmed animal, very much better than he looked, his master, for reasons of his own, being as anxious to disguise his merits as most proprietors39 of the noble animal are to enhance them as much as possible. There were possibilities of recreation here, though they were somewhat of a low order. Quoits hung up on several large nails driven into a wall, and there was a covered skittle alley65. For there were a good many small farmers of the class just above that of the a labourer in the neighbourhood, and some of them frequented Slam’s, and were partial to skittles.
The four boys and the proprietor of the establishment seated themselves on benches in this orchard and gulped66 the beer.
“Your cigar does not seem to draw well,” said Saurin.
“No,” replied Edwards; “I can’t think what is the matter with it; I never smoked a cigar like this before.”
Which was perfectly true, as it was the first he had ever put into his mouth.
“Let me look at it. Why, you have not bitten the end off! You might as well expect smoke to go up a chimney that is bricked up at the top. Here, I’ll cut it for you with my penknife; now you will find it go all right. What a row that hawk of yours makes, Perry!”
“Yes, he ought to be hooded67, you know. Hateful times we live in, don’t we! How jolly it must have been when education meant learning to ride, fly a hawk, train a hound, shoot with the bow, and use the sword and buckler, instead of mugging at abominable68 lessons.”
“Right you are, sir,” said Mr Slam; “why, even when I was a lad a fight or a bit of cocking could be brought off without much trouble, but nowadays the beaks69 and perlice are that prying70 and interfering71 there’s no chance hardly. And as for them times Mr Perry was speaking of, why, I’ve heard tell that the princes and all the nobs used to go to see a prize-fight in a big building all comfortable, just as they goes now to a theayter. And every parish had to find a bull or a bear to be bated every Sunday. Ah! them was the good old times, them was.”
Edwards did not find his cigar very nice. The smoke got down his throat and made him cough till his eyes watered, and the taste was not so pleasant as the smell. However, Saurin seemed to like it, so there must be some pleasure about it if he only persevered72.
He laboured under a delusion74 here, for Saurin would rather not have smoked, as a matter of fact, though he had a great object in view, the colouring of his pipe, which supported him. His real motive75 in this, as in all other matters, was vanity. Other boys would admire him for smoking like a full-grown man, and so he smoked. He would never have done it alone, without anyone to see him, being too fond of himself to persevere73 in anything he did not like out of whim35, or for the sake of some possible future gratification, of the reality of which he was not very well assured.
“Did you ever play at quoits, Edwards?” asked Saurin presently.
“Yes, I have played at home; we have some.”
“Suppose we have a game, then. Why, hulloa, how pale you look! don’t smoke any more of that cigar.”
“I do fee—feel a little queer,” said Edwards, who certainly did not exaggerate his sensations. A cold sweat burst out on his forehead, his hands were moist and clammy, and though it was a warm evening he shivered from head to foot, while he had a violent pain in his stomach which prevented his standing76 upright.
“Come, man alive, don’t give way. We must be getting back soon,” said Saurin, who was rather dismayed at the idea of taking his friend to his tutor’s in that condition, and the consequent risk of drawing suspicion on himself. “Would not a drop of brandy be a good thing, Slam?”
“Well, no, not in this here case,” said Slam. “The missus shall mix him a little mustard and warm water; that’s what he wants.”
“Poisoned! how can you be? You have taken nothing but the beer, and we have all drunk that. No, it’s the tobacco; it always makes fellows rather seedy at first, and I expect you swallowed a lot of the smoke.”
“I did.”
“Well, then, drink this and you will be all right presently.”
Edwards took the emetic78, which had the effect peculiar79 to that description of beverage80. It was not a pleasant one; indeed, he thought he was going to die; but after a while the worst symptoms passed off, and he was able to walk home.
Saurin and Edwards lodged81 at the same tutors, and they went up to the room of the latter without attracting attention. Here Edwards, under the other’s directions, washed his face, cleaned his teeth, changed his jacket and neck-tie, and put some scented82 pomatum on his hair, and then lay down on his bed till the supper-bell should ring.
“I shall not be able to eat,” he remonstrated83. “Do you think I need go down?”
“Oh, yes; come and have a try, or else it will excite suspicion. You would have to show at prayers directly afterwards, you know, so it will not make much difference. You have nothing to do with old Cookson between this and supper—no exercise or anything?”
“No, thank goodness!”
“That’s all right. You have a good hour for a nap, and your head will be better then. I must go and sweeten myself now.”
I regret to say that “old Cookson” was the shockingly disrespectful way in which this flagitious youth spoke84 of his reverend and learned tutor.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
orchard
|
|
| n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
tenant
|
|
| n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
squire
|
|
| n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
magistrates
|
|
| 地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
defiant
|
|
| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
remarkably
|
|
| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
obsequious
|
|
| adj.谄媚的，奉承的，顺从的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
gentry
|
|
| n.绅士阶级，上层阶级 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
frailties
|
|
| n.脆弱( frailty的名词复数 )；虚弱；（性格或行为上的）弱点；缺点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
lure
|
|
| n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
appreciative
|
|
| adj.有鉴赏力的，有眼力的；感激的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
innocence
|
|
| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
procure
|
|
| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
offender
|
|
| n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
expiate
|
|
| v.抵补，赎罪 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
depredations
|
|
| n.劫掠，毁坏( depredation的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
premises
|
|
| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
interdicted
|
|
| v.禁止（行动）( interdict的过去式和过去分词 )；禁用；限制 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
specified
|
|
| adj.特定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
interfered
|
|
| v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
entailing
|
|
| 使…成为必要( entail的现在分词 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
grasshoppers
|
|
| n.蚱蜢( grasshopper的名词复数 )；蝗虫；蚂蚱；（孩子）矮小的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
furrowed
|
|
| v.犁田，开沟( furrow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
crevasses
|
|
| n.破口，崩溃处，裂缝( crevasse的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
tinkle
|
|
| vi.叮当作响；n.叮当声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
canine
|
|
| adj.犬的，犬科的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
uproar
|
|
| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
frolicsome
|
|
| adj.嬉戏的，闹着玩的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
rattling
|
|
| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
hubbub
|
|
| n.嘈杂；骚乱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
whine
|
|
| v.哀号，号哭；n.哀鸣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
drawn
|
|
| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
fustian
|
|
| n.浮夸的；厚粗棉布 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
kennel
|
|
| n.狗舍，狗窝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
whim
|
|
| n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
proprietor
|
|
| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
ecstasy
|
|
| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
proprietorship
|
|
| n.所有（权）；所有权 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
proprietors
|
|
| n.所有人，业主( proprietor的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
prospect
|
|
| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
lodging
|
|
| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
hawk
|
|
| n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
perch
|
|
| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
hawks
|
|
| 鹰( hawk的名词复数 )； 鹰派人物，主战派人物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
hawking
|
|
| 利用鹰行猎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
curiously
|
|
| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
delightful
|
|
| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
considerably
|
|
| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
kennels
|
|
| n.主人外出时的小动物寄养处，养狗场；狗窝( kennel的名词复数 )；养狗场 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
melancholy
|
|
| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
eyebrows
|
|
| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
locker
|
|
| n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
fragrant
|
|
| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
smelt
|
|
| v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
excise
|
|
| n.(国产)货物税；vt.切除，删去 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
defiance
|
|
| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
perfectly
|
|
| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
deception
|
|
| n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
unlimited
|
|
| adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
soften
|
|
| v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
arena
|
|
| n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
thither
|
|
| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
pounced
|
|
| v.突然袭击( pounce的过去式和过去分词 )；猛扑；一眼看出；抓住机会（进行抨击） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
leech
|
|
| n.水蛭，吸血鬼，榨取他人利益的人；vt.以水蛭吸血；vi.依附于别人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
alley
|
|
| n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
gulped
|
|
| v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的过去式和过去分词 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
hooded
|
|
| adj.戴头巾的；有罩盖的；颈部因肋骨运动而膨胀的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
abominable
|
|
| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
beaks
|
|
| n.鸟嘴( beak的名词复数 )；鹰钩嘴；尖鼻子；掌权者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
prying
|
|
| adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
interfering
|
|
| adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
persevered
|
|
| v.坚忍，坚持( persevere的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
persevere
|
|
| v.坚持，坚忍，不屈不挠 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
delusion
|
|
| n.谬见，欺骗，幻觉，迷惑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
motive
|
|
| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
groaned
|
|
| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
emetic
|
|
| n.催吐剂；adj.催吐的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
peculiar
|
|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
beverage
|
|
| n.(水，酒等之外的)饮料 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
lodged
|
|
| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
scented
|
|
| adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
remonstrated
|
|
| v.抗议( remonstrate的过去式和过去分词 )；告诫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
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： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |