CHAPTER VI WHAT HAPPENED TO SIMON

"He came back two hours ago, sir, and he was in his room ten minutes ago—but he's gone."

"Well," said Bobby, who was just off to bed, "he'll be back again soon; can't come to much harm here. You'd better sit up for him, Mudd."

Off he went to bed. He lay reading for awhile and thinking of Cerise; then he put out the light and dropped off to sleep.

He was awakened¹ by Mudd. Mudd with a candle in his hand.

"He's not back yet, Mr. Robert."

Bobby sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Not back? Oh, Uncle Simon! What's the time?"

"Gone one, sir."

"Bother! What can have happened to him, Mudd?"

"That's what I'm asking myself," said Mudd.

A heavy step sounded on the gravel² drive in front of the hotel, then came a ring at the[Pg 235] bell. Mudd, candle in hand, darted³ off.

Bobby heard voices down below. Five minutes passed and then reappeared Mudd—ghastly to look at.

"They've took him," said Mudd.

"What?"

"He's been took poachin'."

"Poaching!"

"Colonel Salmon⁴'s river, he and a man, and the man's got off. He's at the policeman's house, and he says he'll let us have him if we'll go bail⁵ for him, seeing he's an old gentleman and only did it for the lark⁶ of the thing."

"Thank God!"

"But he'll have to go before the magistrates⁷ on We'n'sday, whether or no—before the magistrates—him!"

"The devil!" said Bobby. He got up and hurried on some clothes.

"Him before the magistrates—in his present state! Oh, Lord!"

"Shut up!" said Bobby. His hands were shaking as he put on his things. Pictures of Simon before the magistrates were fleeting⁸ before him. Money was the only chance. Could the policeman be bribed⁹?

Hurrying downstairs and outside into the moonlit night, he found the officer. None of[Pg 236] the hotel folk had turned out at the ring of the bell. Bobby, in a muted voice and beneath the stars, listened to the tale of the Law, then he tried corruption¹⁰.

Useless. Constable¹¹ Copper¹², though he might be no more good than a blind horse, according to Horn, was incorruptible yet consolatory¹³.

"It'll only be a couple of quid fine," said he. "Maybe not that, seeing what he is and it was done for a lark. Horn will get it in the neck, but not him. He's at my house now, and you can have him back if you'll go bail he won't get loose again. He's a nice old gentleman, but a bit peculiar¹⁴, I think."

Constable Copper seemed quite light-hearted over the matter, and to think little of it as an offence. A couple of quid would cover it! He did not, perhaps, appreciate fully¹⁵ the light and shade of the situation—a J.P. and member of the Athen?um and of the Society of Antiquaries brought up for poaching in company with an evil character named Horn!

Neither did Simon, whom they found seated on the side of the table in the Coppers¹⁶' sitting-room¹⁷ talking to Mrs. Copper, who was wrapped in a shawl.

He went back to the hotel with them rather silent but not depressed¹⁸; he tried, indeed, to[Pg 237] talk and laugh over the affair. This was the last straw, and Bobby burst out, giving him a "jawing¹⁹" complete and of the first pattern. Then they saw him to bed and put out the light.

At breakfast he was quite himself again, and the summons which arrived at eleven o'clock was not shown to him. No one knew of the affair with the exception of the whole village, all the hotel servants, Bobby and Mudd.

The distracted Mudd spent the morning walking about, hither and thither²⁰, trying to collect his wits and make a plan. Simon had given his name, of course, though indeed it did not matter much as he was a resident at the hotel. It was impossible to deport²¹ him or move him or pretend he was ill; nothing was possible but the bench of magistrates—Colonel Salmon presiding—and Publicity²².

At half-past eleven or quarter to twelve he sent the despairing message to Oppenshaw; then he collapsed²³ into a cold sort of resignation with hot fits at times.

1 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 gravel   

n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石

参考例句：

• We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
• More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。

3 darted   

v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

5 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

6 lark   

n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏

参考例句：

• He thinks it cruel to confine a lark in a cage.他认为把云雀关在笼子里太残忍了。
• She lived in the village with her grandparents as cheerful as a lark.她同祖父母一起住在乡间非常快活。

7 magistrates   

地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to come up before the magistrates 在地方法院出庭
• He was summoned to appear before the magistrates. 他被传唤在地方法院出庭。

8 fleeting   

adj.短暂的，飞逝的

参考例句：

• The girls caught only a fleeting glimpse of the driver.女孩们只匆匆瞥了一眼司机。
• Knowing the life fleeting,she set herself to enjoy if as best as she could.她知道这种日子转瞬即逝，于是让自已尽情地享受。

9 bribed   

v.贿赂( bribe的过去式和过去分词 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• They bribed him with costly presents. 他们用贵重的礼物贿赂他。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He bribed himself onto the committee. 他暗通关节，钻营投机挤进了委员会。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

11 constable   

n.(英国)警察，警官

参考例句：

• The constable conducted the suspect to the police station.警官把嫌疑犯带到派出所。
• The constable kept his temper,and would not be provoked.那警察压制着自己的怒气，不肯冒起火来。

12 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

13 consolatory   

adj.慰问的，可藉慰的

参考例句：

• Action is consolatory. It is the enemy of thought and the friend of flattering illusions. 行动是可以慰藉的。它是思想的敌人，是幻想的朋友。 来自互联网
• Action is consolatory. It is the enemy of thought and the friend of glittering illusions. 行动是令人安慰的，它是思想的敌人，是美好幻想的朋友。 来自互联网

14 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

15 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

16 coppers   

铜( copper的名词复数 )； 铜币

参考例句：

• I only paid a few coppers for it. 我只花了几个铜板买下这东西。
• He had only a few coppers in his pocket. 他兜里仅有几个铜板。

17 sitting-room   

n.（BrE）客厅，起居室

参考例句：

• The sitting-room is clean.起居室很清洁。
• Each villa has a separate sitting-room.每栋别墅都有一间独立的起居室。

18 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

19 jawing   

n.用水灌注

参考例句：

• I got tired of him jawing away all the time. 他老是唠唠叨叨讲个不停，使我感到厌烦。 来自辞典例句
• For heaven's sake, what are you two jawing about? 老天爷，你们两个还在嘟囔些什么？ 来自辞典例句

20 thither   

adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的

参考例句：

• He wandered hither and thither looking for a playmate.他逛来逛去找玩伴。
• He tramped hither and thither.他到处流浪。

21 deport   

vt.驱逐出境

参考例句：

• We deport aliens who slip across our borders.我们把偷渡入境的外国人驱逐出境。
• More than 240 England football fans are being deported from Italy following riots last night.昨晚的骚乱发生后有240多名英格兰球迷被驱逐出意大利。

22 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

23 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。