CHAPTER IV WHO TOOK IT

There was persistent¹ neighing on the summit. Concho's horse wanted his breakfast.

 

This protestation reached the ears of a party ascending² the mountain from its western face. To one of the party it was familiar.

 

“Why, blank it all, that's Chiquita. That d——d Mexican's lying drunk somewhere,” said the President of the B. M. Co.

 

“I don't like the look of this at all,” said Dr. Guild³, as they rode up beside the indignant animal. “If it had been an American, it might have been carelessness, but no Mexican ever forgets his beast. Drive ahead, boys; we may be too late.”

 

In half an hour they came in sight of the ledge⁴ below, the crumbled⁵ furnace, and the motionless figure of Concho, wrapped in a blanket, lying prone⁶ in the sunlight.

 

“I told you so,—drunk!” said the President.

 

The Doctor looked grave, but did not speak. They dismounted and picketed⁷ their horses. Then crept on all fours to the ledge above the furnace. There was a cry from Secretary Gibbs, “Look yer. Some fellar has been jumping us, boys. See these notices.”

 

There were two notices on canvas affixed⁸ to the rock, claiming the ground, and signed by Pedro, Manuel, Miguel, Wiles⁹, and Roscommon.

 

“This was done, Doctor, while your trustworthy Greaser locater,—d—n him,—lay there drunk. What's to be done now?”

 

But the Doctor was making his way to the unfortunate cause of their defeat, lying there quite mute to their reproaches. The others followed him.

 

The Doctor knelt beside Concho, unrolled him, placed his hand upon his wrist, his ear over his heart, and then said:

 

“Dead.”

 

“Of course. He got medicine of you last night. This comes of your d——d heroic practice.”

 

But the Doctor was too much occupied to heed¹⁰ the speaker's raillery. He had peered into Concho's protuberant¹¹ eye, opened his mouth, and gazed at the swollen¹² tongue, and then suddenly rose to his feet.

 

“Tear down those notices, boys, but keep them. Put up your own. Don't be alarmed, you will not be interfered¹³ with, for here is murder added to robbery.”

 

“Murder?”

 

“Yes,” said the Doctor, excitedly, “I'll take my oath on any inquest that this man was strangled to death. He was surprised while asleep. Look here.” He pointed¹⁴ to the revolver still in Concho's stiffening¹⁵ hand, which the murdered man had instantly cocked, but could not use in the struggle.

 

“That's so,” said the President, “no man goes to sleep with a cocked revolver. What's to be done?”

 

“Everything,” said the Doctor. “This deed was committed within the last two hours; the body is still warm. The murderer did not come our way, or we should have met him on the trail. He is, if anywhere, between here and Tres Pinos.”

 

“Gentlemen,” said the President, with a slight preparatory and half judicial¹⁶ cough, “two of you will stay here and stick! The others will follow me to Tres Pinos. The law has been outraged¹⁷. You understand the Court!”

 

By some odd influence the little group of half-cynical, half-trifling, and wholly reckless men had become suddenly sober, earnest citizens. They said, “Go on,” nodded their heads, and betook themselves to their horses.

 

“Had we not better wait for the inquest and swear out a warrant?” said the Secretary, cautiously.

 

“How many men have we?”

 

“Five!”

 

“Then,” said the President, summing up the Revised Statutes¹⁸ of the State of California in one strong sentence; “then we don't want no d——d warrant.”

 

 

1 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

2 ascending   

adj.上升的，向上的

参考例句：

• Now draw or trace ten dinosaurs in ascending order of size.现在按照体型由小到大的顺序画出或是临摹出10只恐龙。

3 guild   

n.行会，同业公会，协会

参考例句：

• He used to be a member of the Writers' Guild of America.他曾是美国作家协会的一员。
• You had better incorporate the firm into your guild.你最好把这个公司并入你的行业协会。

4 ledge   

n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁

参考例句：

• They paid out the line to lower him to the ledge.他们放出绳子使他降到那块岩石的突出部分。
• Suddenly he struck his toe on a rocky ledge and fell.突然他的脚趾绊在一块突出的岩石上，摔倒了。

5 crumbled   

（把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏

参考例句：

• He crumbled the bread in his fingers. 他用手指把面包捻碎。
• Our hopes crumbled when the business went bankrupt. 商行破产了，我们的希望也破灭了。

6 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

7 picketed   

用尖桩围住（picket的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• They picketed the restaurant. 他们在饭馆外设置纠察。
• Humboldt riotously picketed Von Trenk but the play was a hit. 尽管洪堡肆意破坏《冯·特伦克》的上演，然而这个剧还是轰动一时。

8 affixed   

adj.[医]附着的，附着的v.附加( affix的过去式和过去分词 )；粘贴；加以；盖（印章）

参考例句：

• The label should be firmly affixed to the package. 这张标签应该牢牢地贴在包裹上。
• He affixed the sign to the wall. 他将标记贴到墙上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 wiles   

n.（旨在欺骗或吸引人的）诡计，花招；欺骗，欺诈( wile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• All her wiles were to persuade them to buy the goods. 她花言巧语想打动他们买这些货物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The woman used all her wiles to tempt him into following her. 那女人用尽了自己的诱骗本领勾引着他尾随而去。 来自《用法词典》

10 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

11 protuberant   

adj.突出的，隆起的

参考例句：

• The boy tripped over a protuberant rock.那个男孩被突起的岩石绊了一下。
• He has a high-beaked nose and large protuberant eyes.他有着高鼻梁和又大又凸出的眼睛

12 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

13 interfered   

v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉

参考例句：

• Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

15 stiffening   

n. (使衣服等)变硬的材料, 硬化 动词stiffen的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• Her mouth stiffening, she could not elaborate. 她嘴巴僵直，无法细说下去。
• No genius, not a bad guy, but the attacks are hurting and stiffening him. 不是天才，人也不坏，但是四面八方的攻击伤了他的感情，使他横下了心。

16 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

17 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

18 statutes   

成文法( statute的名词复数 )； 法令； 法规； 章程

参考例句：

• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Each agency is also restricted by the particular statutes governing its activities. 各个机构的行为也受具体法令限制。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法