During the thirty-three days of the drive, Newmark, to the surprise of everybody, stayed with the work. Some of these days were very disagreeable. April rains are cold and persistent--the proverbs as to showers were made for another latitude1. Drenched2 garments are bad enough when a man is moving about and has daylight; but when night falls, and the work is over, he likes a dry place and a change with which to comfort himself. Dry places there were none. Even the interior of the tents became sodden3 by continual exits and entrances of dripping men, while dry garments speedily dampened in the shiftings of camp which, in the broader reaches of the lower river, took place nearly every day. Men worked in soaked garments, slept in damp blankets. Charlie cooked only by virtue5 of persistence6. The rivermen ate standing7 up, as close to the sputtering8, roaring fires as they could get. Always the work went forward.
But there were other times when a golden sun rose each morning a little earlier on a green and joyous9 world. The river ran blue. Migratory10 birds fled busily northward--robins, flute-voiced blue-birds, warblers of many species, sparrows of different kinds, shore birds and ducks, the sweet-songed thrushes. Little tepid11 breezes wandered up and down, warm in contrast to the faint snow-chill that even yet lingered in the shadows. Sounds carried clearly, so that the shouts and banter12 of the rivermen were plainly audible up the reaches of the river. Ashore13 moist and aggressive green things were pushing up through the watery14 earth from which, in shade, the last frost had not yet departed. At camp the fires roared invitingly15. Charlie's grub was hot and grateful. The fir beds gave dreamless sleep.
Newmark followed the work of the log-drive with great interest. All day long he tramped back and forth--on jam one day, on rear the next. He never said much, but watched keenly, and listened to the men's banter both on the work and about the evening's fire as though he enjoyed it. Gradually the men got used to him, and ceased to treat him as an outsider. His thin, eager face, his steel-blue, inquiring eyes behind the glasses, his gray felt hat, his lank4, tense figure in its gray, became a familiar feature. They threw remarks to him, to which he replied briefly16 and drily. When anything interesting was going on, somebody told him about it. Then he hurried to the spot, no matter how distant it might be. He used always the river trail; he never attempted to ride the logs.
He seemed to depend most on observation, for he rarely asked any questions. What few queries17 he had to proffer18, he made to Orde himself, waiting sometimes until evening to interview that busy and good-natured individual. Then his questions were direct and to the point. They related generally to the advisability of something he had seen done; only rarely did they ask for explanation of the work itself. That Newmark seemed capable of puzzling out for himself.
The drive, as has been said, went down as far as Redding in thirty-three days. It had its share of tribulation19. The men worked fourteen and sixteen hours at times. Several bad jams relieved the monotony. Three dams had to be sluiced20 through. Problems of mechanics arose to be solved on the spot; problems that an older civilisation21 would have attacked deliberately22 and with due respect for the seriousness of the situation and the dignity of engineering. Orde solved them by a rough-and-ready but very effective rule of thumb. He built and abandoned structures which would have furnished opportunity for a winter's discussion to some committees; just as, earlier in the work, the loggers had built through a rough country some hundreds of miles of road better than railroad grade, solid in foundation, and smooth as a turnpike, the quarter of which would have occupied the average county board of supervisors23 for five years. And while he was at it, Orde kept his men busy and satisfied. Your white-water birler is not an easy citizen to handle. Yet never once did the boss appear hurried or flustered24. Always he wandered about, his hands in his pockets, chewing a twig25, his round, wind-reddened face puckered26 humorously, his blue eyes twinkling, his square, burly form lazily relaxed. He seemed to meet his men almost solely27 on the plane of good-natured chaffing. Yet the work was done, and done efficiently28, and Orde was the man responsible.
The drive of which Orde had charge was to be delivered at the booms of Morrison and Daly, a mile or so above the city of Redding. Redding was a thriving place of about thirty thousand inhabitants, situated29 on a long rapids some forty miles from Lake Michigan. The water-power developed from the rapids explained Redding's existence. Most of the logs floated down the river were carried through to the village at the lake coast, where, strung up the river for eight or ten miles, stood a dozen or so big saw-mills, with concomitant booms, yards, and wharves30. Morrison and Daly, however, had built a saw and planing mill at Redding, where they supplied most of the local trade and that of the surrounding country-side.
The drive, then, was due to break up as soon as the logs should be safely impounded.
The last camp was made some six or eight miles above the mill. From that point a good proportion of the rivermen, eager for a taste of the town, tramped away down the road, to return early in the morning, more or less drunk, but faithful to their job. One or two did not return.
Among the revellers was the cook, Charlie, commonly called The Doctor. The rivermen early worked off the effects of their rather wild spree, and turned up at noon chipper as larks31. Not so the cook. He moped about disconsolately32 all day; and in the evening, after his work had been finished, he looked so much like a chicken with the pip that Orde's attention was attracted.
"Got that dark-brown taste, Charlie?" he inquired with mock solicitude33.
The cook mournfully shook his head.
"Large head? Let's feel your pulse. Stick out your tongue, sonny."
"I ain't been drinking, I tell you!" growled34 Charlie.
"Drinking!" expostulated Orde, horrified35. "Of course not! I hope none of MY boys ever take a drink! But that lemon-pop didn't agree with your stomach--now did it, Charlie?"
"I tell you I only had two glasses of beer!" cried Charlie, goaded36, "and I can prove it by Johnny Challan."
Orde turned to survey the pink-cheeked, embarrassed young boy thus designated.
"How many glasses did Johnny Challan have?" he inquired.
"He didn't drink none to speak of," spoke37 up the boy.
"Then why this joyless demeanour?" begged Orde.
Charlie grumbled38, fiercely inarticulate; but Johnny Challan interposed with a chuckle39 of enjoyment40.
"Tell us!" cried Orde delightedly.
"It was down at McNeill's place," explained Johnny Challan; encouraged by the interest of his audience. "They was a couple of sports there who throwed out three cards on the table and bet you couldn't pick the jack42. They showed you where the jack was before they throwed, and it surely looked like a picnic, but it wasn't."
"Three-card monte," said Newmark.
"How much?" asked Simms.
"About fifty dollars," replied the boy.
Orde turned on the disgruntled cook.
"And you had fifty in your turkey, camping with this outfit43 of hard citizens!" he cried. "You ought to lose it."
Johnny Challan was explaining to his companions exactly how the game was played.
"It's a case of keep your eye on the card, I should think," said big Tim Nolan. "If you got a quick enough eye to see him flip44 the card around, you ought to be able to pick her."
"That's what this sport said," agreed Challan. "'Your eye agin my hand,' says he."
"Well, I'd like to take a try at her," mused45 Tim.
But at this point Newmark broke into the discussion. "Have you a pack of cards?" he asked in his dry, incisive46 manner.
Somebody rummaged47 in a turkey and produced the remains48 of an old deck.
"I don't believe this is a full deck," said he, "and I think they's part of two decks in it."
"I only want three," assured Newmark, reaching his hand for the pack.
The men crowded around close, those in front squatting49, those behind looking over their shoulders.
Newmark cleared a cracker-box of drying socks and drew it to him.
"These three are the cards," he said, speaking rapidly. "There is the jack of hearts. I pass my hands--so. Pick the jack, one of you," he challenged, leaning back from the cracker-box on which lay the three cards, back up. "Any of you," he urged. "You, North."
Thus directly singled out, the foreman leaned forward and rather hesitatingly laid a blunt forefinger50 on one of the bits of pasteboard.
Without a word, Newmark turned it over. It was the ten of spades.
"Let me try," interposed Tim Nolan, pressing his big shoulders forward. "I bet I know which it was that time; and I bet I can pick her next time."
"Oh, yes, you BET!" shrugged51 Newmark. "And that's where the card-sharps get you fellows every time. Well, pick it," said he, again deftly52 flipping53 the cards.
Nolan, who had watched keenly, indicated one without hesitation54. Again it proved to be the ten of spades.
"Anybody else ambitious?" inquired Newmark. Everybody was ambitious; and the young man, with inexhaustible patience, threw out the cards, the corners of his mouth twitching55 sardonically56 at each wrong guess.
At length he called a halt.
"By this time I'd have had all your money," he pointed57 out. "Now, I'll pick the jack."
For the last time he made his swift passes and distributed the cards. Then quite calmly, without disturbing the three on the cracker-box, he held before their eyes the jack of hearts.
An exclamation58 broke from the interested group. Tim Nolan, who was the nearest, leaned forward and turned over the three on the board. They were the eight of diamonds and two tens of spades.
"That's how the thing is worked nine times out of ten," announced Newmark. "Once in a while you'll run against a straight game, but not often."
"But you showed us the jack every time before you throwed them!" puzzled Johnny Simms.
"Sleight59 of hand," explained Newmark. "The simplest kind of palming."
"Well, Charlie," said big Tim, "looks to me as if you had just about as much chance as a snowball in hell."
"Where'd you get onto doing all that, Newmark?" inquired North. "You ain't a tin horn yourself?"
Newmark laughed briefly. "Not I," said he. "I learned a lot of those tricks from a travelling magician in college."
During this demonstration60 Orde had sat well in the background, his chin propped61 on his hand, watching intently all that was going on. After the comment and exclamations62 following the exposure of the method had subsided63, he spoke.
"Boys," said he, "how game are you to get Charlie's money back--and then some?"
"Try us," returned big Tim.
"This game's at McNeill's, and McNeill's is a tough hole," warned Orde. "Maybe everything will go peaceful, and maybe not. And you boys that go with me have got to keep sober. There isn't going to be any row unless I say so, and I'm not taking any contract to handle a lot of drunken river-hogs as well as go against a game."
"All right," agreed Nolan, "I'm with you."
The thirty or so men of the rear crew then in camp signified their intention to stay by the procession.
"You can't make those sharps disgorge," counselled Newmark. "At the first look of trouble they will light out. They have it all fixed64. Force won't do you much good--and may get some of you shot."
"I'm not going to use force," denied Orde. "I'm just going to play their game. But I bet I can make it go. Only I sort of want the moral support of the boys."
"I tell you, you CAN'T win!" cried Newmark disgustedly. "It's a brace65 game pure and simple."
"I don't know about it's being pure," replied Orde drolly66, "but it's simple enough, if you know how to make the wheels go 'round. How is it, boys--will you back my play?"
And such was their confidence that, in face of Newmark's demonstration, they said they would.
收听单词发音 |
1
latitude
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| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
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drenched
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| adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
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sodden
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| adj.浑身湿透的；v.使浸透；使呆头呆脑 | |
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lank
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| adj.瘦削的；稀疏的 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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persistence
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| n.坚持，持续，存留 | |
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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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sputtering
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| n.反应溅射法；飞溅；阴极真空喷镀；喷射v.唾沫飞溅( sputter的现在分词 )；发劈啪声；喷出；飞溅出 | |
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joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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migratory
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| n.候鸟，迁移 | |
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tepid
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| adj.微温的，温热的，不太热心的 | |
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banter
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| n.嘲弄，戏谑；v.取笑，逗弄，开玩笑 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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watery
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| adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的 | |
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invitingly
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| adv. 动人地 | |
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briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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queries
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| n.问题( query的名词复数 )；疑问；询问；问号v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的第三人称单数 )；询问 | |
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proffer
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| v.献出，赠送；n.提议，建议 | |
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tribulation
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| n.苦难，灾难 | |
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sluiced
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| v.冲洗( sluice的过去式和过去分词 )；（指水）喷涌而出；漂净；给…安装水闸 | |
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civilisation
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| n.文明，文化，开化，教化 | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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supervisors
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| n.监督者，管理者( supervisor的名词复数 ) | |
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flustered
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| adj.慌张的；激动不安的v.使慌乱，使不安( fluster的过去式和过去分词) | |
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twig
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| n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解 | |
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puckered
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| v.（使某物）起褶子或皱纹( pucker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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efficiently
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| adv.高效率地，有能力地 | |
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situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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wharves
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| n.码头，停泊处( wharf的名词复数 ) | |
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larks
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| n.百灵科鸟（尤指云雀）( lark的名词复数 )；一大早就起床；鸡鸣即起；（因太费力而不想干时说）算了v.百灵科鸟（尤指云雀）( lark的第三人称单数 )；一大早就起床；鸡鸣即起；（因太费力而不想干时说）算了 | |
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disconsolately
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| adv.悲伤地，愁闷地；哭丧着脸 | |
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solicitude
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| n.焦虑 | |
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growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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goaded
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| v.刺激( goad的过去式和过去分词 )；激励；（用尖棒）驱赶；驱使（或怂恿、刺激）某人 | |
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37
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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grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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chuckle
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| vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑 | |
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enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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41
bunked
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| v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的过去式和过去分词 )；空话，废话 | |
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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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43
outfit
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| n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装 | |
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44
flip
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| vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的 | |
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45
mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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incisive
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| adj.敏锐的，机敏的，锋利的，切入的 | |
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rummaged
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| 翻找，搜寻( rummage的过去式和过去分词 )； 已经海关检查 | |
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48
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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49
squatting
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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50
forefinger
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| n.食指 | |
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51
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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52
deftly
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| adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地 | |
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53
flipping
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| 讨厌之极的 | |
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54
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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55
twitching
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| n.颤搐 | |
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56
sardonically
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| adv.讽刺地，冷嘲地 | |
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57
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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58
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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59
sleight
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| n.技巧，花招 | |
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60
demonstration
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| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
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61
propped
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| 支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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62
exclamations
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| n.呼喊( exclamation的名词复数 )；感叹；感叹语；感叹词 | |
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63
subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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64
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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brace
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| n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备 | |
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66
drolly
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| adv.古里古怪地；滑稽地；幽默地；诙谐地 | |
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