“Arsk a blessin’, Ebenezer.”
All heads bowed as the compliant3 master of the house, with thin nervous hands outspread and in a voice quavering with piety4, responded to this request. Moses of the freckled5 face and pale blue eyes, kept one eye open as grace was being said, in order to scan the bounteous6 display on the table. Furtively7 he chose the largest bun on the plate that was placed close to Betty, his little foster-sister. To annex8 the most corpulent pickle9 would require some slight manœuvring, but he felt sure it could be managed.
“Amen!”
Suddenly, all heads were raised and a sigh of satisfaction escaped Mrs. Wopp’s lips.
“We do be glad to hev the new schoolmarm,” she announced, “you might of mentioned her, in yer blessin’, Ebenezer.”
“I’ll make a note of that, Lize.”
The dutiful husband drew from his pocket a long slip of paper and a small stubby pencil. Having a poor memory, he had formed the habit of making a note of everything his wife suggested, so that he could fulfill10 her wishes in future. The notes were plentiful11, but they failed in some unaccountable way to prod12 his memory.
“Never mind yer notes, Ebenezer, jist you sarve the pork.”
It had been Mrs. Wopp’s aim, to have the names for all the members of the household sanctified by biblical authority. She claimed to have had unnumbered admirers in her youth and had singled out her husband for his scriptural appellation13. A store of names had been secretly acquired for use in the event of her marriage, but as in the course of years only one boy had come to add freckles14 and rotundity to the family circle, she was thankful that she had used at least three of the collection on the fortunate youth. Moses Habakuk Ezra Wopp, the exact counterpart of his mother, sat next to his father and eyed the plate of Betty, who was seated beside him, mentally calculating the amount of each succulent morsel16 she consumed. Since he was twice her size, he was entitled, he thought, to at least twice her share. On his own plate a lonely pickled onion floated in gravy17.
“We shorely are glad to hev a teacher at larst,” re-asserted the bustling19 lady of the house, as she passed a cup of creamy tea to her new boarder. “Did you hear what happened to our larst teacher, Miss Gordon?” Here the good lady heaved a deep sigh. “The pore man hed a tryin’ time with some big boys named Bullock who started in to school larst fall arter workin’ all summer. The teacher used to spend his evenin’s to Bullock’s bunkhouse, playin’ black-jack with ole man Bullock.”
“And could he beat the old gentleman?” inquired Nell Gordon, vastly entertained.
“Miss Gordon, with all his book larnin’ he knowed no more ’bout black-jack than I know ’bout divin’ fer pearls, and the Bullock boys thort he was no good anyhow, ef he couldn’t beat their Par15 at cards. So one mornin’ they met him as he was goin’ to school, an’ they give him a good beatin’ up, then flung him in Rodd’s creek20 to cool him, bein’ winter. He crawled outer the creek, Miss Gordon, an’ never went to the school no more. It shorely was a jedgement on him fer playin’ those wicked card games. Moses, parse21 the ketchup22.”
“You must ’scuse me not goin’ to meet you, Miss Gordon,” apologized Mr. Wopp, as he held suspended a knife full of mashed25 potato, destined26 for his mouth. “But I hev a sick cow I couldn’t git away from, so I ast Howard here to drive in fer you.”
“It was quite all right,” answered Nell, anxiously watching for the reappearance of Mr. Wopp’s knife, “Mr. Eliot gave me a glorious drive over the prairie behind his team of greys, but,” with a sly look towards the young rancher, “I don’t believe he likes to meet trains.”
“La now! An’ why do you say that, my dear?” inquired Mrs. Wopp. “Set up straight, Moses, yer back looks like you was packin’ a sack of pertaters.”
“I might as well tell you all about it, Mrs. Wopp,” confessed Howard. “When I got to town and found the train was almost due, I felt frightfully shy. So I got Ken27 Judson to put on his boiled shirt and Sunday suit and go to the station. He looked the part, I assure you, much better than I would. He brought Miss Gordon to ‘The Golden West’ where I had recovered sufficiently28 to speak to her.”
“To think you let that good-fer-nothin’ Ken Judson, meet our schoolmarm,” wailed29 Mrs. Wopp. “Why he is the most ungodly feller in town. His folks in England send him a lot of money so’s he will keep away from them, an’ he spends it all in drinkin’ an’ gamblin’.”
“Never mind, Mrs. Wopp,” said Nell pleasantly, “he is a perfect gentleman in manners and he wasn’t drinking or gambling30 when I saw him. May I have a little more of your beautifully cooked meat?”
Mr. Wopp looked up in approval and brandished31 a formidable looking piece of fat meat, precariously32 poised33 on one prong of his fork and in his efforts to lose none of its dripping flavor, described an uncertain spiral in the air.
His fork having safely landed its cargo34, Mr. Wopp laid it carefully down and remarking, “I must make a note of that,” he began to inscribe35 Nell’s diplomatic request. As he leaned over the paper, his head shone like a round china lamp-shade, its shining expanse relieved here and there, by long wisps of grey hair.
At this point Moses looked up from his plate and complained, “Mar, this piece o’ meat I got, is so tough it hurts yer eyes to look at it.”
“Moses, yer manners is shockin’, did you expect to be sarved the best piece when company’s here?”
By this time, Nell was struggling with a dish of hard underdone crab-apples. She chased a refractory36 apple round and round in its small dish. Finally, with a feeling of triumph, she brought the apple to a halt. Alas37! it did not yield to the prodding38 of the spoon, but bounced up and with an accuracy worthy39 of a better cause, landed on the eye of Howard Eliot. Betty, all this time feasting her eyes on the new-comer, and enjoying the unusual opulence40 of the table, burst into hearty41 laughter.
“Biff on the eye!” she cried.
“Gee! Did you hear it splash?” screamed Moses.
The cheerful clatter42 of knives and forks against Mrs. Wopp’s best blue willow43 plates was a gentle accompaniment to the ripple44 of laughing apology that Nell offered to the victim. Any constraint45 that might have been felt hitherto among the circle, decreased perceptibly as the rancher wiped the sweet syrupy drops from his face.
By the time the deep apple-pie was brought in, raised in the centre by a cup, he had become facetious46, and turning a mirthful countenance to Nell, he whispered audibly, “Isn’t it just like Fuji Yama?” Before Nell could answer, Betty broke in.
“What is Fuji Mamas?”
“A new kind of hen,” retorted Moses.
“Oh Miss Gordon,” cried Betty suddenly roused to fresh interest, “you must see my pet turkey after supper. He has only one eye an’ he walks corner ways an’ his name is Job an’ I jist love him.” Betty’s breath was all used up and she sat back exhausted47.
By this time Moses’ plate was piled high with a steaming and odoriferous portion of Fuji Yama and he was content to postpone49 all discussions of Geography and fowls50 to an indefinite future. In a very few minutes, the entire mound51 had disappeared and Moses was polishing his plate with a piece of bread.
“Moses, ef you hev finished yer supper, change yer good clothes an’ go git the cows,” directed his mother. “Betty run an’ fasten up the hens, else the coyotes’ll git them.”
“I suppose you have a large farm, Mr. Wopp,” said Nell Gordon.
“We hev a homestead an’ pre-emption, Miss Gordon, but only work a hundred acres or thereabout. We run stock on the rest of it, aint that the how of it Lize?” Mr. Wopp looked to his help-meet for corroboration52.
At this moment a wild whoop53 was heard, and through the open door Moses could be seen dashing out of the corral gate on his cow-pony.
As Mrs. Wopp was preparing for bed that night, she recalled the sensation the sight of her reckless offspring had given her.
“When I see Moses was still wearin’ his best Sunday coat an’ pants an’ tearin’ along on that cayuse like John Gilping, I come all out in goose-flesh, Ebenezer, till you’d think the merkery had fell clean down to zero.”
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1
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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compliant
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| adj.服从的，顺从的 | |
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piety
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| n.虔诚，虔敬 | |
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freckled
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| adj.雀斑；斑点；晒斑；（使）生雀斑v.雀斑，斑点( freckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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6
bounteous
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| adj.丰富的 | |
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furtively
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| adv. 偷偷地, 暗中地 | |
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8
annex
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| vt.兼并，吞并；n.附属建筑物 | |
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9
pickle
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| n.腌汁，泡菜；v.腌，泡 | |
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10
fulfill
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| vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意 | |
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11
plentiful
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| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
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12
prod
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| vt.戳，刺；刺激，激励 | |
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13
appellation
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| n.名称，称呼 | |
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freckles
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| n.雀斑，斑点( freckle的名词复数 ) | |
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15
par
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| n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的 | |
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16
morsel
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| n.一口，一点点 | |
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17
gravy
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| n.肉汁；轻易得来的钱，外快 | |
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18
turnips
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| 芜青( turnip的名词复数 )； 芜菁块根； 芜菁甘蓝块根； 怀表 | |
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19
bustling
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| adj.喧闹的 | |
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creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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21
parse
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| v.从语法上分析；n.从语法上分析 | |
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ketchup
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| n.蕃茄酱，蕃茄沙司 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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predecessor
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| n.前辈，前任 | |
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mashed
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| a.捣烂的 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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ken
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| n.视野，知识领域 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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wailed
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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30
gambling
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| n.赌博；投机 | |
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31
brandished
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| v.挥舞( brandish的过去式和过去分词 )；炫耀 | |
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32
precariously
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| adv.不安全地；危险地；碰机会地；不稳定地 | |
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33
poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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34
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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35
inscribe
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| v.刻；雕；题写；牢记 | |
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36
refractory
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| adj.倔强的，难驾驭的 | |
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37
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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38
prodding
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| v.刺，戳( prod的现在分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳 | |
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39
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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40
opulence
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| n.财富，富裕 | |
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41
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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42
clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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43
willow
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| n.柳树 | |
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44
ripple
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| n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进 | |
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45
constraint
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| n.(on)约束，限制；限制(或约束)性的事物 | |
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46
facetious
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| adj.轻浮的，好开玩笑的 | |
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47
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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48
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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49
postpone
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| v.延期，推迟 | |
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50
fowls
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| 鸟( fowl的名词复数 )； 禽肉； 既不是这； 非驴非马 | |
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51
mound
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| n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫 | |
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52
corroboration
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| n.进一步的证实，进一步的证据 | |
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53
whoop
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| n.大叫，呐喊，喘息声；v.叫喊，喘息 | |
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