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Chapter 82
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The man who entered was tall and muscular. He had a long blond mustache that curled up at the tips and a fringe of hair that went down the sides of his face and under his chin, leaving the point of his chin and his lower lip smoothly1 bare and seeming a little moist. His head was so closely cropped and his hair was so light that, for one unpleasant moment, Seldon was reminded of Mycogen. The newcomer wore what was unmistakably a uniform. It was red and white and about his waist was a wide belt decorated with silver studs. His voice, when he spoke2, was a rolling bass3 and its accent was not like any that Seldon had heard before. Most unfamiliar4 accents sounded uncouth5 in Seldons experience, but this one seemed almost musical, perhaps because of the richness of the low tones.
"I am Sergeant6 Emmer Thalus," he rumbled7 in a slow succession of syllables8. "I have come seeking Dr. Hari Seldon."
Seldon said, "I am he." In an aside to Dors, he muttered, "if Hummin couldnt come himself, he certainly sent a magnificent side of beef to represent him."
The sergeant favored Seldon with a stolid9 and slightly prolonged look. Then he said, "Yes. You have been described to me. Please come with me, Dr. Seldon."
Seldon said, "Lead the way."
The sergeant stepped backward. Seldon and Dors Venabili stepped forward. The sergeant stopped and raised a large hand, palm toward Dors. "I have been instructed to take Dr. Hari Seldon with me. I have not been instructed to take anyone else."
For a moment, Seldon looked at him uncomprehendingly. Then his look of surprise gave way to anger. "Its quite impossible that you have been told that, Sergeant. Dr. Dors Venabili is my associate and my companion. She must come with me."
"That is not in accordance with my instructions, Doctor."
"I dont care about your instructions in any way, Sergeant Thalus. I do not budge10 without her."
"Whats more," said Dors with clear irritation11, "my instructions are to protect Dr. Seldon at all times. I cannot do that unless I am with him. Therefore, where he goes, I go."
The sergeant looked puzzled. "My instructions are strict that I see to it that no harm comes to you, Dr. Seldon. If you will not come voluntarily, I must carry you to my vehicle. I will try to do so gently." He extended his two arms as though to seize Seldon by the waist and carry him off bodily.
Seldon skittered backward and out of reach. As he did so, the side of his right palm came down on the sergeants12 right upper arm where the muscles were thinnest, so that he struck the bone.
The sergeant drew a sudden deep breath and seemed to shake himself a bit, but turned, face expressionless, and advanced again. Davan, watching, remained where he was, motionless, but Raych moved behind the sergeant.
Seldon repeated his palm stroke a second time, then a third, but now Sergeant Thalus, anticipating the blow, lowered his shoulder to catch it on hard muscle. Dors had drawn13 her knives.
"Sergeant," she said forcefully. "Turn in this direction, I want you to understand I may be forced to hurt you severely14 if you persist in attempting to carry Dr. Seldon off against his will."
The sergeant paused, seemed to take in the slowly waving knives solemnly, then said, "It is not in my instructions to refrain from harming anyone but Dr. Seldon."
His right hand moved with surprising speed toward the neuronic whip in the holster at his hip15. Dors moved as quickly forward, knives flashing. Neither completed the movement.
Dashing forward, Raych had pushed at the sergeants back with his left hand and withdrew the sergeants weapon from its holster with his right. He moved away quickly, holding the neuronic whip in both hands now and shouting, "Hands up, Sergeant, or youre gonna get it!"
The sergeant whirled and a nervous look crossed his reddening face. It was the only moment that its stolidity16 had weakened. "Put that down, sonny," he growled17. "You dont know how it works."
Raych howled, "I know about the safety. Its off and this thing can fire. And it will if you try to rush me."
The sergeant froze. He clearly knew how dangerous it was to have an excited twelve-year-old handling a powerful weapon.
Nor did Seldon feel much better. He said, "Careful, Raych. Dont shoot. Keep your finger off the contact."
"I aint gonna let him rush me."
"He wont18.--Sergeant, please dont move. Lets get something straight. You were told to take me away from here. Is that right?"
"Thats right," said the sergeant, eyes somewhat protruding19 and firmly fixed20 on Raych (whose eyes were as firmly fixed on the sergeant). "But you were not told to take anyone else. Is that right?"
"No, I was not, Doctor," said the sergeant firmly. Not even the threat of a neuronic whip was going to make him weasel. One could see that.
"Very well, but listen to me, Sergeant. Were you told not to take anyone else?"
"I just said--"
"No, no. Listen, Sergeant. Theres a difference. Were your instructions simply Take Dr. Seldon!? Was that the entire order, with no mention of anyone else, or were the orders more specific? Were your orders as follows: Take Dr. Seldon and dont take anyone else?"
The sergeant turned that over in his head, then he said, "I was told to take you, Dr. Seldon."
"Then there was no mention of anyone else, one way or the other, was there?"
Pause. "No."
"You were not told to take Dr. Venabili, but you were not told not to take Dr. Venabili either. Is that right?"
Pause. "Yes."
"So you can either take her or not take her, whichever you please?"
Long pause. "I suppose so."
"Now then, heres Raych, the young fellow whos got a neuronic whip pointing at you--your neuronic whip, remember--and he is anxious to use it."
"Yay!" shouted Raych.
"Not yet, Raych," said Seldon. "And here is Dr. Venabili with two knives that she can use very expertly and theres myself, who can, if I get the chance, break your Adams apple with one hand so that youll never speak above a whisper again. Now then, do you want to take Dr. Venabili or dont you want to? Your orders allow you to do either."
And finally the sergeant said in a beaten voice, "I will take the woman."
"And the boy, Raych."
"And the boy."
"Good. Have I your word of honor--your word of honor as a soldier--that you will do as you have just said ... honestly?"
"You have my word of honor as a soldier," said the sergeant.
"Good. Raych, give back the whip.--Now.--Dont make me wait."
Raych, his face twisted into an unhappy grimace21, looked at Dors, who hesitated and then slowly nodded her head. Her face was as unhappy as Raychs. Raych held out the neuronic whip to the sergeant and said, "Theyre makin me, ya big--" His last words were unintelligible22.
Seldon said, "Put away your knives, Dors."
Dors shook her head, but put them away.
"Now, Sergeant?" said Seldon.
The sergeant looked at the neuronic whip, then at Seldon. He said, "You are an honorable man, Dr. Seldon, and my word of honor holds." With a military snap, he placed his neuronic whip in his holster.
Seldon turned to Davan and said, "Davan, please forget what you have seen here. We three are going voluntarily with Sergeant Thalus. You tell Yugo Amaryl when you see him that I will not forget him and that, once this is over and I am free to act, I will see that he gets into a University. And if theres anything reasonable I can ever do for your cause, Davan, I will.--Now, Sergeant, lets go."


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 smoothly iiUzLG     
adv.平滑地,顺利地,流利地,流畅地
参考例句:
  • The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作,所以工作进展顺利。
  • Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。
2 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。
3 bass APUyY     
n.男低音(歌手);低音乐器;低音大提琴
参考例句:
  • He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
  • The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。
4 unfamiliar uk6w4     
adj.陌生的,不熟悉的
参考例句:
  • I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
  • The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。
5 uncouth DHryn     
adj.无教养的,粗鲁的
参考例句:
  • She may embarrass you with her uncouth behavior.她的粗野行为可能会让你尴尬。
  • His nephew is an uncouth young man.他的侄子是一个粗野的年轻人。
6 sergeant REQzz     
n.警官,中士
参考例句:
  • His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
  • How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹?
7 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。
8 syllables d36567f1b826504dbd698bd28ac3e747     
n.音节( syllable的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • a word with two syllables 双音节单词
  • 'No. But I'll swear it was a name of two syllables.' “想不起。不过我可以发誓,它有两个音节。” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
9 stolid VGFzC     
adj.无动于衷的,感情麻木的
参考例句:
  • Her face showed nothing but stolid indifference.她的脸上毫无表情,只有麻木的无动于衷。
  • He conceals his feelings behind a rather stolid manner.他装作无动于衷的样子以掩盖自己的感情。
10 budge eSRy5     
v.移动一点儿;改变立场
参考例句:
  • We tried to lift the rock but it wouldn't budge.我们试图把大石头抬起来,但它连动都没动一下。
  • She wouldn't budge on the issue.她在这个问题上不肯让步。
11 irritation la9zf     
n.激怒,恼怒,生气
参考例句:
  • He could not hide his irritation that he had not been invited.他无法掩饰因未被邀请而生的气恼。
  • Barbicane said nothing,but his silence covered serious irritation.巴比康什么也不说,但是他的沉默里潜伏着阴郁的怒火。
12 sergeants c7d22f6a91d2c5f9f5a4fd4d5721dfa0     
警官( sergeant的名词复数 ); (美国警察)警佐; (英国警察)巡佐; 陆军(或空军)中士
参考例句:
  • Platoon sergeants fell their men in on the barrack square. 排长们在营房广场上整顿队伍。
  • The recruits were soon licked into shape by the drill sergeants. 新兵不久便被教育班长训练得象样了。
13 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。
14 severely SiCzmk     
adv.严格地;严厉地;非常恶劣地
参考例句:
  • He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
  • He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。
15 hip 1dOxX     
n.臀部,髋;屋脊
参考例句:
  • The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
  • The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。
16 stolidity 82f284886f2a794d9d38086f9dfb6476     
n.迟钝,感觉麻木
参考例句:
  • That contrast between flashy inspiration and stolidity may now apply to the world's big central banks. 而今这种创意的灵感和反应上的迟钝的对照也适用于世界上的各大中央银行。 来自互联网
17 growled 65a0c9cac661e85023a63631d6dab8a3     
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
参考例句:
  • \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道:“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》
18 wont peXzFP     
adj.习惯于;v.习惯;n.习惯
参考例句:
  • He was wont to say that children are lazy.他常常说小孩子们懒惰。
  • It is his wont to get up early.早起是他的习惯。
19 protruding e7480908ef1e5355b3418870e3d0812f     
v.(使某物)伸出,(使某物)突出( protrude的现在分词 );凸
参考例句:
  • He hung his coat on a nail protruding from the wall. 他把上衣挂在凸出墙面的一根钉子上。
  • There is a protruding shelf over a fireplace. 壁炉上方有个突出的架子。 来自辞典例句
20 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
21 grimace XQVza     
v.做鬼脸,面部歪扭
参考例句:
  • The boy stole a look at his father with grimace.那男孩扮着鬼脸偷看了他父亲一眼。
  • Thomas made a grimace after he had tasted the wine.托马斯尝了那葡萄酒后做了个鬼脸。
22 unintelligible sfuz2V     
adj.无法了解的,难解的,莫明其妙的
参考例句:
  • If a computer is given unintelligible data, it returns unintelligible results.如果计算机得到的是难以理解的数据,它给出的也将是难以理解的结果。
  • The terms were unintelligible to ordinary folk.这些术语一般人是不懂的。


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