"According to Smith's notion, it's too big to be black-fellows," said the Baker1. "But black or white, it's all one! And here goes for death or glory, spears or grub."
And he cooeed very loudly, standing2 right out in the open, on the edge of the deep-cut bank. As his voice echoed from the dense3 trees opposite, he saw a figure or two pass in front of the blaze.
"I've roused 'em," said Mandy, and he felt his revolver in his belt. "If they're man-eaters, I'll do for one or two."
Then his cooey was answered from the other side of the river.
"Hallo," said the Baker, and he dimly distinguished4 some tall figures on the opposite bank. But his answer appeared to disturb them curiously5. He could hear a quick, low chattering6, and saw them disperse7. He cooeed again impatiently, and this time he was answered in an unknown tongue.
"Blacks," said the Baker disconsolately8. "I guess we're done."
But he replied.
And, to his horror, for it was now utterly10 unexpected, he was answered in English, but in English of an accent that he had never heard. It sounded rather guttural, and quite foreign.
"Two miners," said Mandy; "and for Gawd's sake send over some grub. I and my mate have bin12 five days without food, and we're near dead."
"Where do you come from?" asked the voice.
"Up the billabong."
He heard them repeat the word "billabong," and then there was silence.
"How many are you?" said the voice again.
"Only two, damn it," said Mandy, and then he heard a bit of harsh laughter.
"Then stay where you are till we come," said the voice. And Mandy sat down, with his face to the river.
But in five minutes someone leapt on him from behind, and had him pinned as in a vice13. He could not move, and would not have been able to help himself if he had had his full strength.
"Hallo, what's this?" he said, as he heard the heavy breathing of the man who held him. Then he saw another figure in front holding a spear. "If it's whites the other side, it's blacks this," said Mandy; and he called aloud to Smith, "Good-bye, old man, they've got me."
And Smith, who had recovered from his faint, came staggering to his doom14 like a drunken man. He, too, was made a prisoner in a moment by yet another man whom the Baker had not seen.
Then their captors spoke in English. "Is that all?"
Mandy made a struggle.
"Why, are you English? Holy Moses! I thought you was black-fellows."
"No, we are English," said the man who held him.
But the voice was so strange, so wild, so utterly unlike any voice that he had ever heard, that it made his blood run cold. His skin crept, and his hair bristled15.
"Then why do you hold me?" said he, when he got his own voice back. "I'm half dead, and my mate's worse than I am. Lemme go, do now."
And at a word from the man with the spear, Mandy's captor let go. The Baker went to Smith.
"They're English, old man," he said, "and it's all right. They must be miners, too, or something, I don't know what. By the Lord, my head's gone wrong I do think."
He looked up, and saw the big man who had ordered his captors to release him. He saw his great beard dimly, and like a flash there came back to him the great bearded white savage16 whom they had seen that day.
"If they are like that, why, the Lord save us," he muttered. "It's a dream."
But Smith was lying there dying. The thought of that brought his courage back.
"We can talk to 'em anyway," he said, and tried to get Smith upon his feet. One of the others helped him. And they went down to the river bank silently.
A little way further down the river than the place the billabong entrance lay were some rough canoes, and they put Smith in one and Mandeville in the other.
"Cheer up, old man," said the Baker, and they shot out on the gloomy water, just there some thirty yards across, and with about ten strokes, they reached the other side.
The Baker landed easily, and the other men helped Smith, a bit roughly, but not unkindly. They went up the bank, and going about fifty yards, came out on an open space in which was a large camp and some native-looking gunyahs, or leaf and branch huts.
And then Mandeville could see his hosts, or his captors, whichever they might turn out to be, and his heart sank within him, for they were nearly all big, and one was gigantic, and their whole appearance was that of the dead man whom they had seen. It was like a nightmare truly to see them clad in skins, rough and hairy, and burnt as black as white men can ever get. But their features were English, if strangely altered, and very few appeared to have traces of black blood in them. Those who had were the smaller, and apparently17 the less considered.
And he saw the women, too. They did not at first lessen18 his fear of the men. But he had no time just then to speculate ignorantly; Smith called for his attention. He seemed absolutely dying; he lay quite unconscious, and only moaned a little every now and again.
"Can you give me somethin' for my mate?" he asked, and the chief nodded and spoke to one of the women. She disappeared into the largest gunyah, and brought out a dish with some boiled or stewed19 meat in it.
"I 'opes to God it ain't man," said the Baker. But when he took the dish from the savage woman, whose matted hair hung to her bare knees, he nearly let it drop. It was heavy truly, but it was of pure gold!
"I'm done," said Mandy, going on his knees by Smith. "I'm fair beat. This cooks my goose. When did I die?"
And he fed Smith with his fingers until the same woman who had given him the dish snatched it away from him, and taking Smith's head on her lap, she fed him with a rudely-fashioned spoon of the same metal as the dish.
Then another woman, who was younger and fairer to look on, brought Mandy some food, which he ate too ravenously20. But when he nearly choked, he put the brake on, and forcing himself to stay, he took out his pipe, and lighted it with a hot coal.
This proceeding21 was curiously, not to say anxiously, watched by every one of the twenty or thirty people, young and old, who composed the camp. But when he took a deep inspiration, and then blew out the smoke, there was a stampede among the little boys and girls. But the men were intensely interested.
"Is that 'bacca'?" asked the big man.
"Yes," said the Baker.
"I've heard of it," said the chief; "my father's father told me. Is it good? My father said it was good."
"Would you like to try it?" asked the Baker, holding his precious pipe out. "But not too much, or it will make you sick."
And the chief very solemnly took a draw, which he managed fairly well. It did not seem to commend itself to him, however, and he handed it back to Mandy, who, alternately eating and smoking, was soon in a state of repletion22, which prevented him caring what happened. And now Smith began to get really conscious.
"Where am I?" he asked the Baker, whom he found sitting by him.
"We're in a camp with white men," said the Baker loudly, and then he added rapidly, and in a lower tone, "And I'm beat, Smith. They are all like the man wot we saw dead this afternoon."
Smith sat up as if he had been pricked23 by a spear, and looked at their captors standing in the glare of the fire.
"Pre-historic men," he said. "I knew I was crazy. I want to go to sleep."
And the Baker took off his coat to roll it up for a pillow. He still had the golden ball in his pocket, and he took it out. It was snatched from his hand the next moment by the chief, who seemed greatly disturbed.
"You, where did you get this?" he demanded.
And the Baker related as simply as possible what they had found by the billabong. His recital24 was listened to with groans25, and one woman shrieked26, and was taken away by the others. She was his wife, and apparently the dead man was the chief's brother. When the Baker finished, he placed his coat under Smith's head, and his chum fell fast asleep.
But now the camp was in agitation27, and every one got out his arms, which were all of a kind resembling black-fellows' weapons. But most of the clubs were of gold, with wooden handles, and some were globular, some pear-shaped, and some the shape of a jagged nugget. When they were ready, the chief called to the Baker:
"You will stay, and I will leave five men here. To-morrow night we shall be back. You are friends. But if you are not, we will burn you alive."
And he departed with fifteen others towards the river, while the Baker lay down under a kangaroo skin, given him by the girl who had offered him food.
"She'd be good-looking if she'd comb her hair, and take her first bath," said the Baker. "But who they are, and what they are, and 'ow they came here, just licks me."
He fell asleep, and every time he woke during the night he heard the melancholy28 wail29 of the bereaved30 woman. It struck him as if she ought not to feel it so much, being so savage to look at.
When he woke in the morning, he found Smith sitting up with his hands to his head.
"Am I crazy, Baker?"
"If you are, I am," said the Baker.
"Then, we are alive, and not so hungry, and in a camp of pre-historic men?" asked Smith.
"I dunno about prestoric, but we're in a camp of jumped-up white savages31 that talk English," said the Baker.
Smith rose.
"Look, here, Baker, draw it mild!"
"I tell you they talks English just as good as you or me, though sometimes they shoves in a word I don't savvy32," said the Baker. "And what's more, everything they 'ave is solid gold—jugs and pots and clubs and h'everything. And they thinks no more of it than you or I would of a bally old iron camp oven."
And to convince Smith of that, he went to the outside of a hut and brought back a hammered-out basin, which must have weighed eight pounds at least.
"Is this my luck?" said Smith. But he could believe nothing till a girl came out into the dawn. "Do you mean she talks English?" asked Smith.
"That's what I mean," said the Baker stubbornly.
And Smith called to the girl, who came nearer, somewhat in the manner of a shy and curious filly.
"Are you English?" said Smith.
"Yes," said the girl.
"And you can talk it?"
"Of course," said the girl; "what the devil do you mean?"
But she used the word in an odd, wild, natural way, which showed mere33 curiosity, not anger. It struck Smith as being so utterly incongruous that he was absolutely thunder-struck, and for a moment could say nothing. Presently he recovered.
"But what are you all doing here?" he asked.
"I don't savvy," said the girl a bit sulkily.
"Have you always lived here?"
The young savage shook her head, and looked at him contemptuously.
"No fear," she replied; "we came here from Wonga Wonga."
"And where's Wonga Wonga?"
But this was too much for the girl. If this strange-looking man didn't know where Wonga Wonga was, and couldn't believe she knew her own language, he was evidently neither more nor less than a fool.
She didn't answer, and turned away. As she went, two of the men came from the river with some fish. They were absolute savages to look at. A Fuegian, or the wildest Tartar on the Siberian steppes was a civilised being to them.
Smith rose, and said, "Good-morning."
The bigger man of the two looked at him with peculiar34 apprehension35, mixed with some ferocity, and passed on, but the younger, who was far more open countenanced36, returned his salutation civilly.
"Will you have a fish?" he asked, and without waiting for acceptance, he dropped a Murray cod37 or big barbel at Smith's feet.
"Thank you," said Smith, and as the man looked quite as friendly as his gift showed, he invited him to sit down and palaver38. But it was a continual effort for him to comprehend that the other understood him if he used any but the very easiest words. And, indeed, he soon discovered that many abstract terms were beyond them.
"How long will the other men be away?" he asked, as he and the prehistoric40 person sat on a log, and the Baker lay on the ground.
"Not long, mate," said his friend. "When they have killed all the Emus they find."
"Emus?" said Smith.
"What's your name, mate?" asked Smith.
"Billy."
"Billy; and what else?"
But this the man didn't comprehend. He was Billy, and was the son of Bill who was out Emu-hunting, and the man who didn't understand that must be a fool. That was his opinion.
And now it began to dawn on Smith that the accent, which had sounded so strange even to the Baker, was nothing else than a variation, or descendant, of the purest Cockney. The aspirates were invariably omitted, and most, if not all, the a's had come i's, and the open o of English was undeniably the u with the umlaut of German. What other changes had taken place were due, probably, to the influence of climate, and some black-fellow lingo, which they could all talk fluently, and mixed with their English, especially when talking together.
But now Bill wanted to satisfy his curiosity.
And as the Baker filled it, some of the others came round. When it was filled, Mandeville struck a match on the seat of his trousers, and this caused a monstrous42 and absurd commotion43. One of the men at last grabbed hold of Mandeville, and insisted on examining his breeches, and the Baker only obtained release by striking another match. They stood a little further off then, and were terribly suspicious. But Bill tried the pipe very courageously44.
But Bill was loth to relinquish46 the extraordinary object he held.
"I like it," he said, as if that settled it. However, after a few more puffs, he gave it up, and resumed the conversation, this time taking the lead.
"Where do you come from, and what tribe are you?" he asked.
"We come from New Find; many days' journey," said Smith, pointing to the south-west. "But we are not a tribe. We are English."
"So are we," said the big, suspicious-looking man, "and you are not like us."
"Then, how did you come to be in Australia at all?" asked Smith. He was rapidly reaching the conclusion that they must be the descendants of people shipwrecked generations ago upon the Australian coast. But his question was greeted with laughter. The real question to them was where these white men came from.
"We shall 'ave to ask Big Jack," said the Baker; "he seemed to 'ave more savvy than all this lot put together. Blow me, if I hever saw sich a bloomin' crew."
"Dry up," said Smith; "you'll get your head caved in, and mine too, if you shoot off your mouth here and they catch on to your guff."
And as the community proceeded to make a morning meal in the most savage and primitive47 way, they joined in, and, roughly cleaning the fish Bill had given them, they cooked it in the hot coals in the approved manner.
"Where does all this gold come from?" asked Smith, when he was satisfied.
"Over there," he said
"How far?"
"Not far," said Bill
"Show it to us, Bill," said the Baker greedily.
But Bill shook his head.
"Not now; wait till Big Jack comes back. And what is your name?"
He spoke to Smith, who told him.
"Smith, Smith," said Bill; "and you?"
"Mandeville," said the Baker.
Bill tried it, but seemed to decide it was too long.
"He called you Baker," he said, looking doubtfully at the little man.
"Baker will do," answered Mandy.
And the idle throng49 returned to them, and asked questions about their journey and their people, which made Smith despair. He prayed for night and the big man's return.
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收听单词发音
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1
baker
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| n.面包师 | |
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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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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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5
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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6
chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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7
disperse
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| vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散 | |
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8
disconsolately
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| adv.悲伤地，愁闷地；哭丧着脸 | |
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9
lingo
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| n.语言不知所云，外国话，隐语 | |
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10
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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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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12
bin
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| n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件 | |
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13
vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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14
doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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15
bristled
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| adj. 直立的，多刺毛的 动词bristle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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16
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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17
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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18
lessen
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| vt.减少，减轻；缩小 | |
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19
stewed
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| adj.焦虑不安的，烂醉的v.炖( stew的过去式和过去分词 )；煨；思考；担忧 | |
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20
ravenously
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| adv.大嚼地，饥饿地 | |
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21
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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repletion
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| n.充满，吃饱 | |
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23
pricked
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| 刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛 | |
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recital
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| n.朗诵，独奏会，独唱会 | |
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25
groans
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| n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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26
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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wail
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| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
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30
bereaved
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| adj.刚刚丧失亲人的v.使失去（希望、生命等）( bereave的过去式和过去分词)；（尤指死亡）使丧失（亲人、朋友等）；使孤寂；抢走（财物） | |
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31
savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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32
savvy
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| v.知道，了解；n.理解能力，机智，悟性；adj.有见识的，懂实际知识的，通情达理的 | |
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33
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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35
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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36
countenanced
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| v.支持，赞同，批准( countenance的过去式 ) | |
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37
cod
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| n.鳕鱼；v.愚弄；哄骗 | |
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38
palaver
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| adj.壮丽堂皇的；n.废话，空话 | |
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pal
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| n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友 | |
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40
prehistoric
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| adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的 | |
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41
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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42
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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43
commotion
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| n.骚动，动乱 | |
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44
courageously
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| ad.勇敢地，无畏地 | |
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45
puffs
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| n.吸( puff的名词复数 )；（烟斗或香烟的）一吸；一缕（烟、蒸汽等）；（呼吸或风的）呼v.使喷出( puff的第三人称单数 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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46
relinquish
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| v.放弃，撤回，让与，放手 | |
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47
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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48
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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49
throng
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| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
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