前言

秘方简介

常用词列表

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

CHAPTER IX

AT half-past nine 九, that night, Tom and Sid were sent send to bed, as usual. They said their prayers 祷告, and Sid was soon asleep 睡着的. Tom lay lie awake 醒着的 and waited, in rest‧less 不安 impatience 不耐烦. When it seemed to him that it must be nearly day‧light 日光, he heard the clock 钟 strike ten 十! This was despair 绝望. He would have tossed 折腾 and fidgeted, as his nerves 神经 demanded, but he was afraid he might wake 醒 Sid. So he lay still, and stared up into the dark. Everything was dismally 惨淡 still. By and by, out of the stillness, little, scarcely 缺乏的 perceptible noises 噪音 began to emphasize 注重 themselves. The ticking 蜱 of the clock began to bring itself 本身 into notice. Old beams 梁 began to crack 破裂 mysteriously 神秘. The stairs 楼梯 creaked 吱吱 faintly 微弱的. Evidently spirits were abroad 到国外. A measured, muffled snore 鼾 issued from Aunt 阿姨 Polly’s chamber 室. And now the tire‧some 使…疲惫‧一些 chirping of a cricket 蟋蟀 that no human ingenuity 创造力 could locate 定位, began. Next the ghastly 阴森 ticking 蜱 of a death-watch in the wall at the bed’s head made Tom shudder 不寒而栗—it meant that somebody’s days were numbered. Then the howl 嗥 of a far-off dog rose rise on the night air, and was answered by a fainter 微弱的 howl 嗥 from a remoter 远程 distance. Tom was in an agony 痛苦. At last he was satisfied that time had ceased 停止 and eternity 永恒 begun; he began to doze, in spite 恶意 of himself; the clock 钟 chimed 钟 eleven 十一, but he did not hear it. And then there came, mingling 交融 with his half-formed dreams, a most melancholy 愁绪 caterwauling. The raising of a neighboring window disturbed 打扰 him. A cry of “Scat! you devil 魔鬼!” and the crash 碰撞 of an empty bottle against the back of his aunt 阿姨’s wood‧shed 木材；树林‧棚 brought him wide awake 醒着的, and a single minute later he was dressed and out of the window and creeping 爬行 along the roof of the “ell” on all fours. He “meow’d” with caution 小心 once or twice 两次, as he went; then jumped to the roof of the wood‧shed 木材；树林‧棚 and thence to the ground grind. Huckleberry Finn was there, with his dead cat 猫. The boys moved off and disappeared 不见 in the gloom 愁云. At the end of half an hour they were wading 涉 through the tall grass 草 of the grave‧yard 墓地.

It was a grave‧yard 墓地 of the old-fashioned Western kind. It was on a hill, about a mile and a half from the village. It had a crazy 荒唐的 board fence 栅栏 around it, which leaned lean inward 向内的 in places, and outward 向外的 the rest of the time, but stood upright 直立的 now‧here 无处. Grass 草 and weeds 杂草 grew grow rank 排列 over the whole cemetery 公墓. All the old graves 坟墓；严重的 were sunken in, there was not a tomb‧stone 墓‧石头 on the place; round-topped, worm 虫-eaten boards staggered 错开 over the graves, leaning for support and finding none. “ Sacred 神圣的 to the memory of” So-and-So had been painted on them once, but it could no longer have been read, on the most of them, now, even if there had been light.

A faint 微弱的 wind moaned 呻吟 through the trees, and Tom feared it might be the spirits of the dead, complaining 抱怨 at being disturbed. The boys talked little, and only under their breath, for the time and the place and the pervading 弥漫 solemnity and silence oppressed 压迫 their spirits. They found the sharp new heap 堆 they were seeking 寻求, and ensconced themselves within the protection of three great elms that grew in a bunch 束 within a few feet of the grave 坟墓；严重的.

Then they waited in silence for what seemed a long time. The hooting of a distant 遥远的 owl 猫头鹰 was all the sound that troubled the dead stillness. Tom’s reflections 反映 grew oppressive 压抑. He must force some talk. So he said in a whisper 低声说:

“Hucky, do you believe the dead people like it for us to be here?”

Huckleberry whispered 低声说:

“I wisht I knowed. It’s awful 糟糕的 solemn 庄严的 like, ain’t it?”

“I bet it is.”

There was a consider‧able 大量 pause 暂停, while the boys canvassed 帆布 this matter inwardly 向内的. Then Tom whispered:

“Say, Hucky—do you reckon 估计 Hoss Williams hears us talking?”

“O’ course he does. Least his sperrit does.”

Tom, after a pause:

“I wish I’d said Mister Williams. But I never meant any harm 损害. Everybody calls him Hoss.”

“A body can’t be too partic’lar how they talk ‘bout 回合 these-yer dead people, Tom.”

This was a damper 微湿的, and conversation died again.

Presently Tom seized 抓住 his comrade 同志’s arm and said:

“Sh!”

“What is it, Tom?” And the two clung together with beating hearts.

“Sh! There ‘tis TI again! Didn’t you hear it?”

“I—”

“There! Now you hear it.”

“Lord, Tom, they’re coming! They’re coming, sure. What’ll we do?”

“I dono. Think they’ll see us?”

“Oh, Tom, they can see in the dark, same as cats 猫. I wisht I hadn’t come.”

“Oh, don’t be afeard. I don’t believe they’ll bother us. We ain’t doing any harm 损害. If we keep perfectly still, maybe they won win’t notice us at all.”

“I’ll try to, Tom, but, Lord, I’m all of a shiver 发抖.”

“Listen!”

The boys bent bend their heads together and scarcely breathed 呼吸. A muffled sound of voices floated 漂浮 up from the far end of the grave‧yard 墓地.

“Look! See there!” whispered Tom. “What is it?”

“It’s devil 魔鬼-fire. Oh, Tom, this is awful 糟糕的.”

Some vague 模糊 figures approached through the gloom 愁云, swinging an old-fashioned tin 锡 lantern 灯笼 that freckled the ground with innumerable 无数 little spangles of light. Presently Huckleberry whispered with a shudder 不寒而栗:

“It’s the devils 魔鬼 sure enough. Three of ‘em! Lordy, Tom, we’re goners! Can you pray?”

“I’ll try, but don’t you be afeard. They ain’t going to hurt 损害 us. ‘Now I lay me down to sleep, I—‘”

“Sh!”

“What is it, Huck?”

“They’re humans! One of ‘em is, anyway 无论如何. One of ‘em’s old Muff Potter’s voice.”

“No—‘tain’t so, is it?”

“I bet I know it. Don’t you stir 搅动 nor budge. He ain’t sharp enough to notice us. Drunk drink, the same as usual, likely— blamed 指责 old rip 安息!”

“All right, I’ll keep still. Now they’re stuck stick. Can’t find it. Here they come again. Now they’re hot. Cold again. Hot again. Red hot! They’re p’inted right, this time. Say, Huck, I know another o’ them voices; it’s Injun Joe.”

“That’s so—that murderin’ half-breed 养育；繁殖! I’d druther they was devils a dern sight. What kin 亲属 they be up to?”

The whisper 低声说 died wholly 全 out, now, for the three men had reached the grave 坟墓；严重的 and stood within a few feet of the boys’ hiding-place.

“Here it is,” said the third voice; and the owner of it held the lantern 灯笼 up and revealed 揭示 the face of young Doctor Robinson.

Potter and Injun Joe were carrying a handbarrow with a rope 粗绳 and a couple of shovels 铲 on it. They cast 投 down their load and began to open the grave. The doctor put the lantern 灯笼 at the head of the grave and came and sat sit down with his back against one of the elm trees. He was so close the boys could have touched him.

“Hurry, men!” he said, in a low voice; “the moon might come out at any moment.”

They growled 吠声 a response 响应 and went on digging 挖. For some time there was no noise 噪音 but the grating 炉排 sound of the spades 铁锹 discharging 卸货 their freight 货物 of mould and gravel 碎石. It was very monotonous. Finally a spade 铁锹 struck strike upon the coffin 棺材 with a dull 钝的；没兴趣 woody accent 口音, and within another minute or two the men had hoisted 提升 it out on the ground. They pried 撬 off the lid 盖子 with their shovels 铲, got out the body and dumped 倾倒 it rudely 粗鲁的 on the ground. The moon drifted 漂移 from behind the clouds and exposed 暴露 the pallid face. The barrow was got ready and the corpse 尸体 placed on it, covered with a blanket 毯, and bound 必定；跳 to its place with the rope 粗绳. Potter took out a large spring-knife and cut off the dangling 吊着 end of the rope and then said:

“Now the cussed thing’s ready, Sawbones, and you’ll just out with another five, or here she stays.”

“That’s the talk!” said Injun Joe.

“Look here, what does this mean?” said the doctor. “You required your pay in advance, and I’ve paid you.”

“Yes, and you done more than that,” said Injun Joe, approaching the doctor, who was now standing. “Five years ago you drove drive me away from your father’s kitchen one night, when I come to ask for something to eat, and you said I warn’t there for any good; and when I swore 发誓:swear I’d get even with you if it took a hundred 百 years, your father had me jailed 监狱 for a vagrant. Did you think I’d forget? The Injun blood ain’t in me for nothing. And now I’ve got you, and you got to settle, you know!”

He was threatening the doctor, with his fist 拳头 in his face, by this time. The doctor struck out suddenly and stretched the ruffian on the ground. Potter dropped his knife, and exclaimed 喊叫:

“Here, now, don’t you hit my pard 平价!” and the next moment he had grappled 抓钩 with the doctor and the two were struggling with might and main, trampling 践踏 the grass and tearing the ground with their heels 脚跟. Injun Joe sprang to his feet, his eyes flaming 火焰 with passion 激情，热情；强烈情感, snatched 抢夺 up Potter’s knife, and went creeping, cat‧like 猫‧喜欢；象 and stooping 哈腰, round and round about the combatants 战斗, seeking 寻求 an opportunity. All at once the doctor flung himself free, seized the heavy head‧board 头；上端‧板，上船 of Williams’ grave and felled Potter to the earth with it—and in the same instant 瞬间 the half-breed 养育；繁殖 saw his chance and drove the knife to the hilt in the young man’s breast 乳房. He reeled 卷轴 and fell fall partly upon Potter, flooding 洪水 him with his blood, and in the same moment the clouds blotted 斑点 out the dreadful 可怕 spectacle 场面；眼镜 and the two frightened 使惊恐 boys went speeding away in the dark.

Presently, when the moon emerged 出现 again, Injun Joe was standing over the two forms, contemplating 沉思 them. The doctor murmured 私语 inarticulately, gave a long gasp 喘气 or two and was still. The half-breed 养育；繁殖 muttered 咕哝:

“That score 得分了 is settled—damn 该死的 you.”

Then he robbed 抢劫 the body. After which he put the fatal 致命 knife in Potter’s open right hand, and sat down on the dismantled 拆除 coffin 棺材. Three—four—five minutes passed, and then Potter began to stir 搅动 and moan 呻吟. His hand closed upon the knife; he raised it, glanced 一瞥 at it, and let it fall, with a shudder 不寒而栗. Then he sat up, pushing the body from him, and gazed 凝视 at it, and then around him, confusedly. His eyes met Joe’s.

“Lord, how is this, Joe?” he said.

“It’s a dirty 肮脏 business,” said Joe, without moving.

“What did you do it for?”

“I! I never done it!”

“Look here! That kind of talk won’t wash.”

Potter trembled 发抖 and grew white.

“I thought I’d got sober 清醒. I’d no business to drink to-night. But it’s in my head yet—worse’n when we started here. I’m all in a muddle 糊涂; can’t recollect anything of it, hardly. Tell me, Joe— honest 诚实的, now, old feller—did I do it? Joe, I never meant to—‘pon my soul and honor, I never meant to, Joe. Tell me how it was, Joe. Oh, it’s awful 糟糕的—and him so young and promising.”

“Why, you two was scuffling, and he fetched 取 you one with the head‧board 头；上端‧板，上船 and you fell flat; and then up you come, all reeling 卷轴 and staggering 错开 like, and snatched 抢夺 the knife and jammed 果酱 it into him, just as he fetched 取 you another awful clip 夹—and here you’ve laid, as dead as a wedge 楔 til now.”

“Oh, I didn’t know what I was a-doing. I wish I may die this minute if I did. It was all on account of the whiskey and the excitement 激动, I reckon 估计. I never used a weepon in my life before, Joe. I’ve fought fight, but never with weepons. They’ll all say that. Joe, don’t tell! Say you won’t tell, Joe—that’s a good feller. I always liked you, Joe, and stood up for you, too. Don’t you remember? You won’t tell, will you, Joe?” And the poor creature 动物；生物 dropped on his knees before the stolid murderer, and clasped 钩 his appealing 上诉 hands.

“No, you’ve always been fair and square with me, Muff Potter, and I won’t go back on you. There, now, that’s as fair as a man can say.”

“Oh, Joe, you’re an angel 天使. I’ll bless 祝福 you for this the longest day I live.” And Potter began to cry.

“Come, now, that’s enough of that. This ain’t any time for blubbering. You be off yonder way and I’ll go this. Move, now, and don’t leave any tracks 小路 behind you.”

Potter started on a trot 小跑 that quickly increased to a run. The half-breed 养育；繁殖 stood looking after him. He muttered 咕哝:

“If he’s as much stunned 击晕 with the lick 舔 and fuddled with the rum 朗姆酒 as he had the look of being, he won’t think of the knife till 到 he’s gone so far he’ll be afraid to come back after it to such a place by himself— chicken 鸡-heart!”

Two or three minutes later the murdered man, the blanketed 毯 corpse 尸体, the lid‧less 盖子‧少 coffin 棺材, and the open grave were under no inspection 检查 but the moon’s. The stillness was complete again, too.

CHAPTER X

THE two boys flew fly on and on, toward the village, speech‧less 演说‧少 with horror 恐怖. They glanced 一瞥 backward 向后的 over their shoulders from time to time, apprehensively, as if they feared they might be followed. Every stump 树墩 that started up in their path 小路 seemed a man and an enemy, and made them catch their breath; and as they sped by some outlying cottages 小屋 that lay near the village, the barking 吠 of the aroused 引起 watch-dogs seemed to give wings 翅膀 to their feet.

“If we can only get to the old tannery before we break down!” whispered Tom, in short catches between breaths. “I can’t stand it much longer.”

Huckleberry’s hard pantings 喘气 were his only reply, and the boys fixed their eyes on the goal 目标 of their hopes and bent to their work to win it. They gained steadily on it, and at last, breast 乳房 to breast 乳房, they burst 爆裂 through the open door and fell grateful 感激的 and exhausted 排气 in the sheltering shadows beyond. By and by their pulses 脉冲 slowed down, and Tom whispered:

“Huckleberry, what do you reckon 估计’ll come of this?”

“If Doctor Robinson dies, I reckon 估计 hanging’ll come of it.”

“Do you though?”

“Why, I know it, Tom.”

Tom thought a while, then he said:

“Who’ll tell? We?”

“What are you talking about? S’ pose 以…身份出现，造成 something happened and Injun Joe didn’t hang? Why, he’d kill us some time or other, just as dead sure as we’re a laying here.”

“That’s just what I was thinking to myself 我, Huck.”

“If any‧body 任何人 tells, let Muff Potter do it, if he’s fool enough. He’s generally drunk enough.”

Tom said nothing—went on thinking. Presently he whispered:

“Huck, Muff Potter don’t know it. How can he tell?”

“What’s the reason he don’t know it?”

“Because he’d just got that whack 重打 when Injun Joe done it. D’you reckon 估计 he could see anything? D’you reckon 估计 he knowed anything?”

“By hokey, that’s so, Tom!”

“And besides, look-a-here—maybe that whack 重打 done for him!”

“No, ‘taint 污点 likely, Tom. He had liquor 酒 in him; I could see that; and besides, he always has. Well, when pap’s full, you might take and belt 腰带 him over the head with a church and you couldn’t phase 相 him. He says so, his own self 自己. So it’s the same with Muff Potter, of course. But if a man was dead sober 清醒, I reckon 估计 maybe that whack 重打 might fetch 取 him; I dono.”

After another reflective 反光 silence, Tom said:

“Hucky, you sure you can keep mum 沉默?”

“Tom, we got to keep mum 沉默. You know that. That Injun devil 魔鬼 wouldn’t make any more of drownding us than a couple of cats, if we was to squeak 吱 ‘bout 回合 this and they didn’t hang him. Now, look-a-here, Tom, less take and swear 发誓 to one another—that’s what we got to do— swear to keep mum 沉默.”

“I’m agreed. It’s the best thing. Would you just hold hands and swear that we—”

“Oh no, that wouldn’t do for this. That’s good enough for little rubbishy common things—specially with gals 加仑, cuz they go back on you anyway 无论如何, and blab if they get in a huff—but there orter be writing ‘bout 回合 a big thing like this. And blood.”

Tom’s whole being applauded 鼓掌欢迎 this idea. It was deep, and dark, and awful 4; the hour, the circumstances 环境, the surroundings, were in keeping with it. He picked up a clean pine 松树 shingle 卵石 that lay in the moon-light, took a little fragment 分段 of “red keel” out of his pocket 口袋, got the moon on his work, and painfully 痛苦 scrawled these lines, emphasizing 注重 each slow down-stroke 一击;轻抚 by clamping 钳 his tongue 舌头 between his teeth, and letting up the pressure on the up-strokes 一击;轻抚. [See next page.]

“Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer swears 发誓 they will keep mum 沉默 about This and They wish They may Drop down dead in Their Tracks if They ever Tell and Rot 腐烂.”

Huckleberry was filled with admiration 钦佩 of Tom’s facility 设施 in writing, and the sublimity of his language. He at once took a pin 钉 from his lapel and was going to prick 刺 his flesh 肉, but Tom said:

“Hold on! Don’t do that. A pin’s brass 黄铜. It might have verdigrease on it.”

“What’s verdigrease?”

“It’s p’ison. That’s what it is. You just swaller some of it once—you’ll see.”

So Tom unwound the thread 线 from one of his needles 针, and each boy pricked 刺 the ball of his thumb 拇指 and squeezed 挤 out a drop of blood. In time, after many squeezes 挤, Tom managed to sign his initials 初始, using the ball of his little finger for a pen 笔. Then he showed Huckleberry how to make an H and an F, and the oath 誓言 was complete. They buried 埋葬 the shingle 卵石 close to the wall, with some dismal 惨淡 ceremonies 典礼 and incantations, and the fetters that bound 必定；跳 their tongues 舌头 were considered to be locked and the key thrown throw away.

A figure crept 爬行:creep stealthily through a break in the other end of the ruined 破坏 building, now, but they did not notice it.

“Tom,” whispered Huckleberry, “does this keep us from ever telling—always?”

“Of course it does. It don’t make any difference what happens, we got to keep mum 沉默. We’d drop down dead—don’t you know that?”

“Yes, I reckon 估计 that’s so.”

They continued to whisper for some little time. Presently a dog set up a long, lugubrious howl 嗥 just outside—within ten 十 feet of them. The boys clasped 钩 each other suddenly, in an agony 痛苦 of fright 恐怖.

“Which of us does he mean?” gasped 喘气 Huckleberry.

“I dono—peep 窥视 through the crack 破裂. Quick!”

“No, you, Tom!”

“I can’t—I can’t do it, Huck!”

“Please, Tom. There ‘tis TI again!”

“Oh, lordy, I’m thankful 感谢!” whispered Tom. “I know his voice. It’s Bull Harbison.” *

[* If Mr. Harbison owned a slave named Bull, Tom would have spoken speak of him as “Harbison’s Bull,” but a son or a dog of that name was “Bull Harbison.”]

“Oh, that’s good—I tell you, Tom, I was most scared 惊恐 to death; I’d a bet anything it was a stray 流浪 dog.”

The dog howled 嗥 again. The boys’ hearts sank 淹没:sink once more.

“Oh, my! that ain’t no Bull Harbison!” whispered Huckleberry. “Do, Tom!”

Tom, quaking with fear, yielded, and put his eye to the crack. His whisper was hardly audible 听得见 when he said:

“Oh, Huck, its a stray 流浪 dog!”

“Quick, Tom, quick! Who does he mean?”

“Huck, he must mean us both—we’re right together.”

“Oh, Tom, I reckon 估计 we’re goners. I reckon 估计 there ain’t no mistake ‘bout 回合 where I’ll go to. I been so wicked 邪恶的.”

“Dad 爸 fetch 取 it! This comes of playing hookey and doing everything a feller’s told not to do. I might a been good, like Sid, if I’d a tried—but no, I wouldn’t, of course. But if ever I get off this time, I lay I’ll just waller in Sunday-schools!” And Tom began to snuffle a little.

“You bad!” and Huckleberry began to snuffle too. “Consound it, Tom Sawyer, you’re just old pie 馅饼, ‘long-side o’ what I am. Oh, lordy, lordy, lordy, I wisht I only had half your chance.”

Tom choked 呛 off and whispered:

“Look, Hucky, look! He’s got his back to us!”

Hucky looked, with joy 喜悦 in his heart.

“Well, he has, by jingoes! Did he before?”

“Yes, he did. But I, like a fool, never thought. Oh, this is bully 欺负, you know. Now who can he mean?”

The howling 嗥 stopped. Tom pricked 刺 up his ears.

“Sh! What’s that?” he whispered.

“Sounds like—like hogs 豕 grunting 咕噜. No—it’s somebody snoring 鼾, Tom.”

“That is it! Where ‘bouts 回合 is it, Huck?”

“I bleeve it’s down at ‘tother end. Sounds so, anyway. Pap used to sleep there, sometimes, ‘long with the hogs 豕, but laws bless 祝福 you, he just lifts things when he snores 鼾. Besides, I reckon 估计 he ain’t ever coming back to this town any more.”

The spirit of adventure 冒险活动 rose in the boys’ souls once more.

“Hucky, do you das’t to go if I lead?”

“I don’t like to, much. Tom, s’ pose 以…身份出现，造成 it’s Injun Joe!”

Tom quailed. But presently the temptation 诱惑 rose up strong again and the boys agreed to try, with the understanding that they would take to their heels 脚跟 if the snoring 鼾 stopped. So they went tiptoeing stealthily down, the one behind the other. When they had got to within five steps of the snorer 鼾, Tom stepped on a stick, and it broke break with a sharp snap 卡. The man moaned 呻吟, writhed a little, and his face came into the moon‧light 月光. It was Muff Potter. The boys’ hearts had stood still, and their hopes too, when the man moved, but their fears passed away now. They tip 尖；窍门-toed 脚趾 out, through the broken break weather-boarding, and stopped at a little distance to exchange a parting word. That long, lugubrious howl 嗥 rose on the night air again! They turned and saw the strange dog standing within a few feet of where Potter was lying, and facing Potter, with his nose pointing heaven‧ward 天‧病房.

“Oh, geeminy, it’s him!” exclaimed 喊叫 both boys, in a breath.

“Say, Tom—they say a stray 流浪 dog come howling 嗥 around Johnny Miller’s house, ‘bout 回合 mid‧night 午夜, as much as two weeks ago; and a whippoorwill come in and lit on the banisters and sung sing, the very same evening; and there ain’t any‧body 任何人 dead there yet.”

“Well, I know that. And suppose there ain’t. Didn’t Gracie Miller fall in the kitchen fire and burn her‧self 她自己 terrible the very next Saturday?”

“Yes, but she ain’t dead. And what’s more, she’s getting better, too.”

“All right, you wait and see. She’s a goner, just as dead sure as Muff Potter’s a goner. That’s what the niggers say, and they know all about these kind of things, Huck.”

Then they separated, cogitating. When Tom crept in at his bed‧room 卧室 window the night was almost spent spend. He undressed 脱衣服 with excessive 过度的 caution 小心, and fell asleep 睡着的 congratulating 祝贺 himself that nobody knew of his escapade. He was not aware 知道的 that the gently-snoring 鼾 Sid was awake 醒着的, and had been so for an hour.

When Tom awoke 醒着的:awake, Sid was dressed and gone. There was a late look in the light, a late sense in the atmosphere 大气层. He was startled 惊吓. Why had he not been called—persecuted 迫害 till 到 he was up, as usual? The thought filled him with bodings. Within five minutes he was dressed and down-stairs, feeling sore 疼痛的 and drowsy. The family were still at table, but they had finished break‧fast 早餐. There was no voice of rebuke 训斥; but there were averted 避免 eyes; there was a silence and an air of solemnity that struck a chill 寒意 to the culprit 罪魁祸首’s heart. He sat down and tried to seem gay 快乐的, but it was up-hill work; it roused 唤醒 no smile, no response 响应, and he lapsed 失误 into silence and let his heart sink 淹没 down to the depths.

After break‧fast 早餐 his aunt 阿姨 took him aside, and Tom almost brightened 变亮 in the hope that he was going to be flogged; but it was not so. His aunt 3 wept weep over him and asked him how he could go and break her old heart so; and finally told him to go on, and ruin 破坏 himself and bring her gray hairs with sorrow 悲痛 to the grave, for it was no use for her to try any more. This was worse than a thou‧sand 千 whippings 鞭打, and Tom’s heart was sorer 疼痛的 now than his body. He cried, he pleaded 求情 for forgiveness 饶恕, promised to reform 改革 over and over again, and then received his dismissal 解雇, feeling that he had won but an imperfect 不完善 forgiveness 饶恕 and established 建立 but a feeble 微弱 confidence 信心.

He left the presence too miserable 悲惨的 to even feel revengeful toward Sid; and so the latter’s prompt 敏捷的 retreat 撤退 through the back gate 门 was unnecessary 不必要. He moped 拖把 to school gloomy 阴沉 and sad 悲哀的, and took his flogging, along with Joe Harper, for playing hookey the day before, with the air of one whose 谁的 heart was busy with heavier woes 荣辱与共 and wholly 全 dead to trifles 琐事. Then he betook himself to his seat, rested his elbows 弯头 on his desk and his jaws 下巴 in his hands, and stared at the wall with the stony stare of suffering that has reached the limit and can no further go. His elbow 弯头 was pressing against some hard substance 物质. After a long time he slowly and sadly 悲哀的 changed his position, and took up this object with a sigh 叹. It was in a paper. He unrolled it. A long, lingering 萦绕, colossal 庞大 sigh 叹 followed, and his heart broke. It was his brass 黄铜 and‧iron 和‧铁器 knob 把手!

This final 最后 feather 羽毛 broke the camel 骆驼’s back.

CHAPTER XI

CLOSE upon the hour of noon 正午 the whole village was suddenly electrified with the ghastly 阴森 news. No need of the as yet un-dreamed dream-of telegraph 电报; the tale 故事，不实之词 flew from man to man, from group to group, from house to house, with little less than telegraphic speed. Of course the school‧master 学校‧主人；硕士 gave holi-day for that afternoon; the town would have thought strangely of him if he had not.

A gory knife had been found close to the murdered man, and it had been recognized by somebody as belonging to Muff Potter—so the story ran. And it was said that a belated citizen had come upon Potter washing himself in the “branch” about one or two o’clock 3 in the morning, and that Potter had at once sneaked 潜行 off— suspicious 可疑的 circumstances 环境, especially the washing which was not a habit 习惯 with Potter. It was also said that the town had been ransacked for this “murderer” (the public are not slow in the matter of sifting 筛 evidence 证据 and arriving at a verdict 判决书), but that he could not be found. Horsemen had departed 离开 down all the roads in every direction, and the Sheriff “was confident 确信的” that he would be captured 捕获 before night.

All the town was drifting 漂移 toward the grave‧yard 墓地. Tom’s heart‧break 心‧破；断 vanished 消失 and he joined the procession 队伍, not because he would not a thou‧sand 千 times rather go any‧where 任何地方 else, but because an awful 5, unaccountable fascination 魅力 drew draw him on. Arrived at the dreadful 可怕 place, he wormed 虫 his small body through the crowd and saw the dismal 惨淡 spectacle 场面；眼镜. It seemed to him an age since he was there before. Somebody pinched 捏 his arm. He turned, and his eyes met Huckleberry’s. Then both looked else‧where 在别处 at once, and wondered if anybody had noticed anything in their mutual 相互 glance 一瞥. But everybody was talking, and intent 意图 upon the grisly spectacle 场面；眼镜 before them.

“Poor fellow!” “Poor young fellow!” “This ought to be a lesson 教训 to grave robbers 强盗!” “Muff Potter’ll hang for this if they catch him!” This was the drift 漂移 of remark; and the minister said, “It was a judgment 判断; His hand is here.”

Now Tom shivered 发抖 from head to heel 脚跟; for his eye fell upon the stolid face of Injun Joe. At this moment the crowd began to sway 摇摆 and struggle, and voices shouted, “It’s him! it’s him! he’s coming himself!”

“Who? Who?” from twenty 二十 voices.

“Muff Potter!”

“Hallo, he’s stopped!—Look out, he’s turning! Don’t let him get away!”

People in the branches of the trees over Tom’s head said he wasn’t trying to get away—he only looked doubtful 疑 and perplexed 困扰.

“Infernal impudence!” said a bystander; “wanted to come and take a quiet look at his work, I reckon 估计—didn’t expect any company.”

The crowd fell apart 相隔, now, and the Sheriff came through, ostentatiously leading Potter by the arm. The poor fellow’s face was haggard, and his eyes showed the fear that was upon him. When he stood before the murdered man, he shook shake as with a palsy, and he put his face in his hands and burst 爆裂 into tears.

“I didn’t do it, friends,” he sobbed 哭泣; “‘pon my word and honor I never done it.”

“Who’s accused 指责 you?” shouted a voice.

This shot shoot seemed to carry home. Potter lifted his face and looked around him with a pathetic 可怜 hopelessness in his eyes. He saw Injun Joe, and exclaimed 喊叫:

“Oh, Injun Joe, you promised me you’d never—”

“Is that your knife?” and it was thrust 推力 before him by the Sheriff.

Potter would have fallen fall if they had not caught catch him and eased 轻松 him to the ground. Then he said:

“Something told me ‘t if I didn’t come back and get—” He shuddered 不寒而栗; then waved his nerve‧less 神经‧少 hand with a vanquished gesture 手势 and said, “Tell ‘em, Joe, tell ‘em—it ain’t any use any more.”

Then Huckleberry and Tom stood dumb 哑 and staring, and heard the stony-hearted liar 说谎者 reel 卷轴 off his serene 安详 statement 声明, they expecting every moment that the clear sky would deliver God’s lightnings 闪电 upon his head, and wondering to see how long thestroke 一击;轻抚 was delayed 延迟. And when he had finished and still stood alive 活的；有生命的 and whole, their wavering 动摇 impulse 冲动 to break their oath 誓言 and save the poor betrayed 背叛 prisoner 犯人，囚犯’s life faded 褪去 and vanished 消失 away, for plainly this miscreant had sold sell himself to Satan and it would be fatal 致命 to meddle with the property of such a power as that.

“Why didn’t you leave? What did you want to come here for?” somebody said.

“I couldn’t help it—I couldn’t help it,” Potter moaned 呻吟. “I wanted to run away, but I couldn’t seem to come any‧where 任何地方 but here.” And he fell to sobbing 哭泣 again.

Injun Joe repeated his statement 声明, just as calmly 镇定的, a few minutes after‧ward 之后 on the inquest, under oath 誓言; and the boys, seeing that the lightnings 闪电 were still withheld, were confirmed 确认 in their belief that Joe had sold himself to the devil 3. He was now become, to them, the most bale‧fully 包‧完全地 interesting object they had ever looked upon, and they could not take their fascinated 深深吸引；迷住 eyes from his face.

They inwardly resolved 解决 to watch him nights, when opportunity should offer, in the hope of getting a glimpse 一瞥 of his dread 恐惧 master.

Injun Joe helped to raise the body of the murdered man and put it in a wagon 车皮 for removal 切除; and it was whispered through the shuddering 不寒而栗 crowd that the wound 创伤 bled 使出血:bleed a little! The boys thought that this happy circumstance 环境 would turn suspicion 怀疑 in the right direction; but they were disappointed 使失望, for more than one villager remarked:

“It was within three feet of Muff Potter when it done it.”

Tom’s fearful 可怕 secret and gnawing conscience 良心 disturbed his sleep for as much as a week after this; and at breakfast one morning Sid said:

“Tom, you pitch 沥青 around and talk in your sleep so much that you keep me awake 3 half the time.”

Tom blanched and dropped his eyes.

“It’s a bad sign,” said Aunt Polly, gravely 坟墓；严重的. “What you got on your mind, Tom?”

“Nothing. Nothing ‘t I know of.” But the boy’s hand shook so that he spilled 溢出:spill his coffee.

“And you do talk such stuff 塞满；材料,” Sid said. “Last night you said, ‘It’s blood, it’s blood, that’s what it is!’ You said that over and over. And you said, ‘Don’t torment 折磨 me so—I’ll tell!’ Tell what? What is it you’ll tell?”

Everything was swimming 游泳 before Tom. There is no telling what might have happened, now, but luckily 幸 the concern passed out of Aunt Polly’s face and she came to Tom’s relief without knowing it. She said:

“Sho! It’s that dreadful 可怕 murder. I dream about it most every night myself 我. Sometimes I dream it’s me that done it.”

Mary said she had been affected 影响 much the same way. Sid seemed satisfied. Tom got out of the presence as quick as he plausibly 似是而非 could, and after that he complained 抱怨 of tooth‧ache 牙‧疼痛 for a week, and tied up his jaws every night. He never knew that Sid lay nightly watching, and frequently slipped the band‧age 绷带 free and then leaned on his elbow 弯头 listening a good while at a time, and after‧ward 之后 slipped the band‧age 绷带 back to its place again. Tom’s distress 苦难 of mind wore wear off gradually 逐步地 and the tooth‧ache 牙‧疼痛 grew irksome and was discarded 丢弃. If Sid really managed to make anything out of Tom’s disjointed mutterings 咕哝, he kept it to himself.

It seemed to Tom that his schoolmates never would get done holding inquests on dead cats, and thus keeping his trouble present to his mind. Sid noticed that Tom never was coroner 验尸官 at one of these inquiries 调查, though it had been his habit 习惯 to take the lead in all new enterprises 企业; he noticed, too, that Tom never acted as a witness—and that was strange; and Sid did not over‧look 俯瞰 the fact that Tom even showed a marked aversion 厌恶 to these inquests, and always avoided them when he could. Sid marvelled 奇迹, but said nothing. However, even inquests went out of vogue at last, and ceased 停止 to torture 拷打 Tom’s conscience 良心.

Every day or two, during this time of sorrow 悲痛, Tom watched his opportunity and went to the little grated 炉排 jail 监狱-window and smuggled 走私 such small comforts through to the “murderer” as he could get hold of. The jail 监狱 was a trifling 琐事 little brick 砖 den 巢穴 that stood in a marsh 沼泽 at the edge of the village, and no guards were afforded 买得起 for it; indeed, it was seldom 很少 occupied 占据. These offerings greatly helped to ease 轻松 Tom’s conscience 良心.

The villagers 村民 had a strong desire to tar 柏油-and- feather 羽毛 Injun Joe and ride him on a rail 围栏；钢轨, for body-snatching 抢夺, but so formidable 强大 was his character that nobody could be found who was willing to take the lead in the matter, so it was dropped. He had been careful 小心 to begin both of his inquest-statements 声明 with the fight, without confessing 供认 the grave-robbery 抢劫案 that preceded 优于 it; therefore it was deemed 认为 wisest 明智的；聪明的 not to try the case in the courts at present.

CHAPTER XII

ONE of the reasons why Tom’s mind had drifted 漂移 away from its secret troubles was, that it had found a new and weighty matter to interest itself 本身 about. Becky Thatcher had stopped coming to school. Tom had struggled with his pride 自尊 a few days, and tried to “ whistle 吹口哨 her down the wind,” but failed. He began to find himself hanging around her father’s house, nights, and feeling very miserable 悲惨的. She was ill 生病. What if she should die! There was distraction 娱乐 in the thought. He no longer took an interest in war, nor even in piracy 海盗行为. The charm 魔力；使陶醉 of life was gone; there was nothing but dreariness left. He put his hoop 箍 away, and his bat 蝙蝠; there was no joy 喜悦 in them any more. His aunt was concerned. She began to try all manner of remedies 治疗法 on him. She was one of those people who are infatuated with patent 专利 medicines 医学 and all new-fangled methods 方法 of producing health or mending 修理 it. She was an inveterate experimenter in these things. When something fresh in this line came out she was in a fever 发热, right away, to try it; not on her‧self 她自己, for she was never ailing AIL, but on anybody else that came handy 便利. She was a subscriber 订户 for all the “Health” periodicals 期刊 and phrenological frauds 舞弊; and the solemn 庄严的 ignorance 无知 they were inflated 膨胀 with was breath to her nostrils 鼻孔. All the “ rot 腐烂” they contained about ventilation 通风, and how to go to bed, and how to get up, and what to eat, and what to drink, and how much exercise to take, and what frame of mind to keep one’s self 自己 in, and what sort of clothing to wear, was all gospel 福音 to her, and she never observed that her health-journals 日志 of the current month customarily 习惯的 upset 打翻 everything they had recommended the month before. She was as simple-hearted and honest 诚实的 as the day was long, and so she was an easy victim 受害者. She gathered together her quack periodicals 期刊 and her quack medicines, and thus armed with death, went about on her pale horse, metaphorically speaking, with “hell 地狱 following after.” But she never suspected 怀疑；嫌疑犯 that she was not an angel 天使 of healing 治愈 and the balm of Gilead in disguise 伪装, to the suffering neighbors.

The water treatment 治疗 was new, now, and Tom’s low condition was a wind‧fall 风‧落下 to her. She had him out at day‧light 日光 every morning, stood him up in the wood-shed and drowned 淹死 him with a deluge of cold water; then she scrubbed 擦洗 him down with a towel 毛巾 like a file 文件, and so brought him to; then she rolled him up in a wet 湿的 sheet and put him away under blankets 毯 till she sweated 流汗 his soul clean and “the yellow stains of it came through his pores 孔”—as Tom said.

Yet notwithstanding 虽然 all this, the boy grew more and more melancholy 愁绪 and pale and dejected. She added hot baths 沐浴, sitz baths, shower 阵雨 baths, and plunges 跳水. The boy remained as dismal 惨淡 as a hearse. She began to assist 帮助；协助；援助 the water with a slim 瘦 oat‧meal 燕麦‧餐 diet 饮食 and blister 起泡-plasters 灰泥. She calculated 计算 his capacity 容量 as she would a jug 坛子’s, and filled him up every day with quack cure 治愈-alls.

Tom had become indifferent 冷漠 to persecution 迫害 by this time. This phase 相 filled the old lady’s heart with consternation. This indifference 漠不关心 must be broken up at any cost. Now she heard of Pain-killer for the first time. She ordered a lot at once. She tasted it and was filled with gratitude 感谢. It was simply fire in a liquid 液体 form. She dropped the water treatment 治疗 and everything else, and pinned 钉 her faith to Pain-killer. She gave Tom a teaspoonful and watched with the deepest anxiety 焦虑 for the result. Her troubles were instantly 瞬间 at rest, her soul at peace again; for the “indifference 漠不关心” was broken up. The boy could not have shown a wilder, heartier 爽朗 interest, if she had built a fire under him.

Tom felt that it was time to wake 醒 up; this sort of life might be romantic 浪漫 enough, in his blighted 枯萎病 condition, but it was getting to have too little sentiment 情绪 and too much distracting 转移 variety about it. So he thought over various plans for relief, and finally hit upon that of professing 宣称 to be fond 喜欢的 of Pain-killer. He asked for it so often that he became a nuisance 讨厌事, and his aunt ended by telling him to help himself and quit 放弃 bothering 烦 her. If it had been Sid, she would have had no misgivings 疑虑 to alloy 合金 her delight; but since it was Tom, she watched the bottle clandestinely. She found that the medicine 医学 did really diminish 减少, but it did not occur 发生 to her that the boy was mending the health of a crack in the sitting-room floor with it.

One day Tom was in the act of dosing 剂量 the crack when his aunt’s yellow cat came along, purring, eyeing the tea‧spoon 茶匙 avariciously, and begging 乞讨 for a taste. Tom said:

“Don’t ask for it unless you want it, Peter.”

But Peter signified 表示 that he did want it.

“You better make sure.”

Peter was sure.

“Now you’ve asked for it, and I’ll give it to you, because there ain’t anything mean about me; but if you find you don’t like it, you mustn’t blame 指责 anybody but your own self.”

Peter was agree‧able 合适的. So Tom pried 撬 his mouth open and poured 淋；倒 down the Pain-killer. Peter sprang a couple of yards in the air, and then delivered a war-whoop 叫喊 and set off round and round the room, banging 砰 against furniture 家具, upsetting 打翻 flower-pots 罐, and making general havoc 浩劫. Next he rose on his hind feet and pranced around, in a frenzy 发狂 of enjoyment 享受, with his head over his shoulder and his voice pro‧claim 宣布 his unappeasable happiness 幸福. Then he went tearing around the house again spreading chaos 混沌 and destruction 破坏 in his path 小路. Aunt Polly entered in time to see him throw a few double summersets, deliver a final 最后 mighty 威武 hurrah 好哇, and sail 航行；帆 through the open window, carrying the rest of the flower-pots with him. The old lady stood petrified with astonishment 惊愕, peering 窥视 over her glasses; Tom lay on the floor expiring 到期 with laughter 笑.

“Tom, what on earth ails AIL that cat?”

“I don’t know, aunt,” gasped 喘气 the boy.

“Why, I never see anything like it. What did make him act so?”

“ Deed 行为 I don’t know, Aunt Polly; cats always act so when they’re having a good time.”

“They do, do they?” There was something in the tone 音 that made Tom apprehensive.

“Yes’m. That is, I believe they do.”

“You do?”

“Yes’m.”

The old lady was bending down, Tom watching, with interest emphasized 注重 by anxiety 焦虑. Too late he divined 神圣 her “drift 漂移.” The handle of the tell‧tale 告诉‧故事，不实之词 tea 茶水-spoon 匙 was visible 可以看见的；可视的 under the bed-valance. Aunt Polly took it, held it up. Tom winced WINCE, and dropped his eyes. Aunt Polly raised him by the usual handle—his ear—and cracked 破裂 his head soundly with her thimble.

“Now, sir 先生, what did you want to treat that poor dumb 哑 beast 野兽 so, for?”

“I done it out of pity 怜悯 for him—because he hadn’t any aunt.”

“Hadn’t any aunt!—you numskull. What has that got to do with it?”

“Heaps. Because if he’d had one she’d a burnt burn him out her‧self 她自己! She’d a roasted 烤 his bowels 肠 out of him ‘thout any more feeling than if he was a human!”

Aunt Polly felt a sudden pang of remorse 悔恨. This was putting the thing in a new light; what was cruelty 残酷 to a cat might be cruelty 残酷 to a boy, too. She began to soften 软的:soft; she felt sorry 对不起的. Her eyes watered a little, and she put her hand on Tom’s head and said gently:

“I was meaning for the best, Tom. And, Tom, it did do you good.”

Tom looked up in her face with just a perceptible twinkle 眨眼 peeping 窥视 through his gravity 重力.

“I know you was meaning for the best, aunty, and so was I with Peter. It done him good, too. I never see him get around so since—”

“Oh, go ‘long with you, Tom, before you aggravate 加剧 me again. And you try and see if you can’t be a good boy, for once, and you needn’t take any more medicine 医学.”

Tom reached school ahead of time. It was noticed that this strange thing had been occurring 发生 every day latterly. And now, as usual of late, he hung about the gate 门 of the school‧yard 学校‧院子 instead of playing with his comrades 同志. He was sick, he said, and he looked it. He tried to seem to be looking every‧where 到处 but whither he really was looking—down the road. Presently Jeff Thatcher hove in sight, and Tom’s face lighted; he gazed 凝视 a moment, and then turned sorrow‧fully 悲痛‧完全地 away. When Jeff arrived, Tom accosted him; and “led up” warily 警惕 to opportunities for remark about Becky, but the giddy lad 小伙子 never could see the bait 饵. Tom watched and watched, hoping when‧ever 随时 a frisking frock came in sight, and hating the owner of it as soon as he saw she was not the right one. At last frocks ceased 停止 to appear, and he dropped hope‧less 绝望地 into the dumps 倾倒; he entered the empty school‧house 学校‧房屋 and sat down to suffer. Then one more frock passed in at the gate, and Tom’s heart gave a great bound 必定；跳. The next instant 瞬间 he was out, and “going on” like an Indian; yelling 叫喊, laughing, chasing 追 boys, jumping over the fence 栅栏 at risk of life and limb 肢, throwing handsprings, standing on his head—doing all the heroic things he could conceive 构想 of, and keeping a furtive eye out, all the while, to see if Becky Thatcher was noticing. But she seemed to be unconscious 无意识 of it all; she never looked. Could it be possible that she was not aware 知道的 that he was there? He carried his exploits 利用 to her immediate vicinity 附近; came war-whooping 叫喊 around, snatched 抢夺 a boy’s cap 盖, hurled 投 it to the roof of the school‧house 学校‧房屋, broke through a group of boys, tumbling 下跌 them in every direction, and fell sprawling 蔓生, himself, under Becky’s nose, almost upsetting her—and she turned, with her nose in the air, and he heard her say: “Mf! some people think they’re mighty 威武 smart 聪明—always showing off!”

Tom’s cheeks 脸颊 burned burn. He gathered himself up and sneaked 潜行 off, crushed 压破 and crestfallen.

CHAPTER XIII

TOM’S mind was made up now. He was gloomy 阴沉 and desperate 殊死. He was a forsaken, friend‧less 朋友‧少 boy, he said; nobody loved him; when they found out what they had driven drive him to, perhaps they would be sorry 对不起的; he had tried to do right and get along, but they would not let him; since nothing would do them but to be rid 使摆脱 of him, let it be so; and let them blame 指责 him for the consequences 后果—why shouldn’t they? What right had the friend‧less 朋友‧少 to complain 抱怨? Yes, they had forced him to it at last: he would lead a life of crime 罪行. There was no choice.

By this time he was far down Meadow Lane, and the bell 钟 for school to “take up” tinkled faintly upon his ear. He sobbed 哭泣, now, to think he should never, never hear that old familiar sound any more—it was very hard, but it was forced on him; since he was driven out into the cold world, he must submit 给—but he forgave 原谅:forgive them. Then the sobs 哭泣 came thick and fast.

Just at this point he met his soul’s sworn 发誓:swear comrade 同志, Joe Harper—hard-eyed, and with evidently 明显地 a great and dismal 惨淡 purpose in his heart. Plainly here were “two souls with but a single thought.” Tom, wiping 擦 his eyes with his sleeve 袖, began to blubber out something about a resolution 解析度 to escape from hard usage 用法 and lack of sympathy 同情 at home by roaming 漫游 abroad 到国外 into the great world never to return; and ended by hoping that Joe would not forget him.

But it transpired that this was a request which Joe had just been going to make of Tom, and had come to hunt him up for that purpose. His mother had whipped 鞭打 him for drinking some cream 乳霜 which he had never tasted and knew nothing about; it was plain that she was tired of him and wished him to go; if she felt that way, there was nothing for him to do but succumb 屈服于; he hoped she would be happy, and never regret 后悔 having driven her poor boy out into the unfeeling world to suffer and die.

As the two boys walked sorrowing 悲痛 along, they made a new compact 紧凑 to stand by each other and be brothers and never separate till death relieved 解除 them of their troubles. Then they began to lay their plans. Joe was for being a hermit, and living on crusts 脆皮 in a remote 远程 cave 洞穴, and dying, some time, of cold and want and grief 哀思; but after listening to Tom, he conceded 承认 that there were some conspicuous 显着 advantages about a life of crime 罪行, and so he consented 同意 to be a pirate 海盗.

Three miles below St. Petersburg, at a point where the Mississippi River was a trifle 琐事 over a mile wide, there was a long, narrow, wooded island, with a shallow 浅的 bar at the head of it, and this offered well as a rendezvous. It was not inhabited 居住于; it lay far over toward the further shore, abreast a dense 稠密 and almost wholly 全 unpeopled forest. So Jackson’s Island was chosen choose. Who were to be the subjects of their piracies 海盗行为 was a matter that did not occur 发生 to them. Then they hunted up Huckleberry Finn, and he joined them promptly 敏捷的, for all careers 事业 were one to him; he was indifferent 冷漠. They presently separated to meet at a lonely 孤独的 spot on the river-bank two miles above the village at the favorite 喜爱的 hour—which was mid‧night 午夜. There was a small log 记录 raft 筏 there which they meant to capture 捕获. Each would bring hooks 钩 and lines, and such provision 规定 as he could steal in the most dark and mysterious 神秘 way—as became outlaws 取缔. And before the afternoon was done, they had all managed to enjoy the sweet glory 光荣 of spreading the fact that pretty soon the town would “hear something.” All who got this vague 模糊 hint 暗示 were cautioned 小心 to “be mum 沉默 and wait.”

About mid‧night 午夜 Tom arrived with a boiled 煮沸 ham 火腿 and a few trifles 琐事, and stopped in a dense 稠密 under‧growth 在…下面‧生长 on a small bluff 虚张声势 over‧look 俯瞰 the meeting-place. It was star‧light 星‧光；灯, and very still. The mighty 威武 river lay like an ocean 洋 at rest. Tom listened a moment, but no sound disturbed the quiet. Then he gave a low, distinct 不同 whistle 吹口哨. It was answered from under the bluff 虚张声势. Tom whistled 吹口哨 twice 两次 more; these signals were answered in the same way. Then a guarded voice said:

“Who goes there?”

“Tom Sawyer, the Black Avenger of the Spanish Main. Name your names.”

“Huck Finn the Red-Handed, and Joe Harper the Terror of the Seas.” Tom had furnished these titles, from his favorite 喜爱的 literature.

“‘Tis well. Give the counter‧sign 反；表面‧符号.”

Two hoarse whispers 低声说 delivered the same awful word simultaneously 同时 to the brooding 窝 night:

“Blood!”

Then Tom tumbled 下跌 his ham 火腿 over the bluff 虚张声势 and let himself down after it, tearing both skin 皮 and clothes to some extent in the effort. There was an easy, comfort‧able 舒服；自在 path along the shore under the bluff 虚张声势, but it lacked the advantages of difficulty and danger so valued by a pirate 海盗.

The Terror of the Seas had brought a side of bacon 培根, and had about worn wear himself out with getting it there. Finn the Red-Handed had stolen a skillet and a quantity 量 of half-cured 治愈 leaf 叶子 tobacco 烟草, and had also brought a few corn 玉米-cobs to make pipes 管子 with. But none of the pirates 海盗 smoked or “chewed 嚼” but himself. The Black Avenger of the Spanish Main said it would never do to start without some fire. That was a wise 明智的；聪明的 thought; matches were hardly known there in that day. They saw a fire smouldering upon a great raft 筏 a hundred 百 yards above, and they went stealthily thither and helped themselves to a chunk 块. They made an imposing 强加 adventure 冒险活动 of it, saying, “Hist!” every now and then, and suddenly halting 停 with finger on lip; moving with hands on imaginary 想像中的 dagger-hilts; and giving orders in dismal 惨淡 whispers that if “the foe 敌人” stirred 搅动, to “let him have it to the hilt,” because “dead men tell no tales 故事，不实之词.” They knew well enough that the raftsmen were all down at the village laying in stores or having a spree, but still that was no excuse 原谅 for their conducting 进行 this thing in an unpiratical way.

They shoved 推 off, presently, Tom in command, Huck at the after oar 桨 and Joe at the forward. Tom stood amidships, gloomy 阴沉-browed 眉头, and with folded 折叠 arms, and gave his orders in a low, stern 严肃 whisper:

“Luff, and bring her to the wind!”

“Aye-aye 赞成, sir 先生!”

“Steady, steady-y-y-y!”

“Steady it is, sir!”

“Let her go off a point!”

“Point it is, sir 3!”

As the boys steadily and monotonously drove the raft 筏 toward mid 中-stream it was no doubt understood understand that these orders were given only for “style 样式,” and were not intended to mean anything in particular.

“What sail 航行；帆’s she carrying?”

“Courses, tops’ls, and flying-jib, sir.”

“Send the r’yals up! Lay out aloft, there, half a dozen of ye—foretopmaststuns’l! Lively, now!”

“Aye-aye 赞成, sir!”

“Shake out that maintogalans’l! Sheets and braces 支撑! now my hearties 爽朗!”

“Aye-aye 赞成, sir!”

“Hellum-a-lee—hard a port 港口! Stand by to meet her when she comes! Port 港口, port 港口! Now, men! With a will! Stead-y-y-y!”

“Steady it is, sir!”

The raft 筏 drew beyond the middle of the river; the boys pointed her head right, and then lay on their oars. The river was not high, so there was not more than a two or three mile current. Hardly a word was said during the next three-quarters of an hour. Now the raft 筏 was passing before the distant 遥远的 town. Two or three glimmering lights showed where it lay, peacefully 安然 sleeping, beyond the vague 模糊 vast 广大 sweep of star-gemmed 宝石 water, unconscious 无意识 of the tremendous 巨大 event that was happening. The Black Avenger stood still with folded arms, “looking his last” upon the scene of his former joys 喜悦 and his later sufferings, and wishing “she” could see him now, abroad on the wild sea, facing peril 岌 and death with daunt‧less 吓住‧少 heart, going to his doom 厄运 with a grim 严峻 smile on his lips. It was but a small strain 压力 on his imagination 想像力 to remove 去掉 Jackson’s Island beyond eye-shot of the village, and so he “looked his last” with a broken and satisfied heart. The other pirates 海盗 were looking their last, too; and they all looked so long that they came near letting the current drift 漂移 them out of the range of the island. But they discovered the danger in time, and made shift 转移 to avert 避免 it. About two o’clock in the morning the raft 筏 grounded on the bar two hundred 百 yards above the head of the island, and they waded 涉 back and forth until they had landed their freight 货物. Part of the little raft 筏’s belongings consisted 组成 of an old sail, and this they spread over a nook in the bushes 灌木 for a tent 帐篷 to shelter their provisions 规定; but they themselves would sleep in the open air in good weather, as became outlaws 取缔.

They built a fire against the side of a great log 记录 twenty 二十 or thirty 三十 steps within the sombre depths of the forest, and then cooked some bacon 培根 in the frying 油炸；炒-pan 平底锅 for supper 晚饭, and used up half of the corn “pone” stock they had brought. It seemed glorious 辉煌 sport to be feasting 盛会 in that wild, free way in the virgin 处女 forest of an unexplored and uninhabited island, far from the haunts 出没 of men, and they said they never would return to civilization 文明. The climbing fire lit up their faces and threw throw its ruddy glare 强光 upon the pillared 支柱 tree-trunks 树干 of their forest temple 庙, and upon the varnished 漆 foliage 叶子 and festooning vines 藤蔓.

When the last crisp 脆 slice 片 of bacon 培根 was gone, and the last allowance 津贴；补贴 of corn pone devoured 吞食, the boys stretched themselves out on the grass, filled with contentment. They could have found a cooler place, but they would not deny 拒绝 themselves such a romantic 浪漫 feature 特征 as the roasting 烤 camp‧fire 营地‧火.

“Ain’t it gay 快乐的?” said Joe.

“It’s nuts 螺母!” said Tom. “What would the boys say if they could see us?”

“Say? Well, they’d just die to be here—hey 嘿, Hucky!”

“I reckon 估计 so,” said Huckleberry; “ anyways 无论如何, I’m suited 套房. I don’t want nothing better’n this. I don’t ever get enough to eat, gen’ ally 联盟；盟友—and here they can’t come and pick at a feller and bullyrag him so.”

“It’s just the life for me,” said Tom. “You don’t have to get up, mornings, and you don’t have to go to school, and wash, and all that blame foolishness. You see a pirate 海盗 don’t have to do anything, Joe, when he’s ashore 岸上, but a hermit he has to be praying consider‧able 大量, and then he don’t have any fun 乐趣, anyway, all by himself that way.”

“Oh yes, that’s so,” said Joe, “but I hadn’t thought much about it, you know. I’d a good deal rather be a pirate 海盗, now that I’ve tried it.”

“You see,” said Tom, “people don’t go much on hermits, nowadays 现在, like they used to in old times, but a pirate 海盗’s always respected. And a hermit’s got to sleep on the hardest place he can find, and put sack‧cloth 解雇‧布 and ashes 灰 on his head, and stand out in the rain, and—”

“What does he put sack‧cloth 解雇‧布 and ashes on his head for?” inquired 打听 Huck.

“I dono. But they’ve got to do it. Hermits always do. You’d have to do that if you was a hermit.”

“Dern’d if I would,” said Huck.

“Well, what would you do?”

“I dono. But I wouldn’t do that.”

“Why, Huck, you’d have to. How’d you get around it?”

“Why, I just wouldn’t stand it. I’d run away.”

“Run away! Well, you would be a nice old slouch of a hermit. You’d be a disgrace 耻辱.”

The Red-Handed made no response 响应, being better employed. He had finished gouging out a cob, and now he fitted a weed 杂草 stem to it, loaded it with tobacco 烟草, and was pressing a coal 煤 to the charge and blowing a cloud of fragrant smoke—he was in the full bloom 盛开 of luxurious 豪华 contentment. The other pirates 海盗 envied 嫉妒 him this majestic 雄伟 vice 副职的；副的, and secretly resolved 解决 to acquire 获得 it shortly. Presently Huck said:

“What does pirates 海盗 have to do?”

Tom said:

“Oh, they have just a bully 欺负 time—take ships and burn them, and get the money and bury 埋葬 it in awful places in their island where there’s ghosts 鬼 and things to watch it, and kill everybody in the ships—make ‘em walk a plank 板.”

“And they carry the women to the island,” said Joe; “they don’t kill the women.”

“No,” assented 同意 Tom, “they don’t kill the women—they’re too noble 高尚的. And the women’s always beautiful 美丽, too.

“And don’t they wear the bulliest clothes! Oh no! All gold 金 and silver 银 and di’monds,” said Joe, with enthusiasm 热情.

“Who?” said Huck.

“Why, the pirates 海盗.”

Huck scanned 扫描 his own clothing forlornly.

“I reckon 估计 I ain’t dressed fitten for a pirate 海盗,” said he, with a regretful pathos in his voice; “but I ain’t got none but these.”

But the other boys told him the fine clothes would come fast enough, after they should have begun their adventures 冒险活动. They made him understand that his poor rags 抹布 would do to begin with, though it was customary 习惯的 for wealthy 富裕 pirates 海盗 to start with a proper wardrobe 衣柜.

Gradually 逐步地 their talk died out and drowsiness began to steal upon the eyelids 眼皮 of the little waifs. The pipe 管子 dropped from the fingers of the Red-Handed, and he slept sleep the sleep of the conscience 3-free and the weary 厌倦. The Terror of the Seas and the Black Avenger of the Spanish Main had more difficulty in getting to sleep. They said their prayers 祷告 inwardly, and lying down, since there was nobody there with authority 权威 to make them kneel 跪 and recite 背诵 aloud 高声; in truth, they had a mind not to say them at all, but they were afraid to proceed 继续 to such lengths as that, lest 免得 they might call down a sudden and special thunder‧bolt 雷声‧螺栓 from heaven 天. Then at once they reached and hovered 徘徊 upon the imminent 即将来临 verge 边缘 of sleep—but an intruder 侵入者 came, now, that would not “down.” It was conscience. They began to feel a vague 模糊 fear that they had been doing wrong to run away; and next they thought of the stolen meat 肉, and then the real torture 拷打 came. They tried to argue it away by reminding conscience that they had purloined sweetmeats and apples 苹果 scores 得分了 of times; but conscience was not to be appeased by such thin plausibilities; it seemed to them, in the end, that there was no getting around the stubborn 倔强 fact that taking sweetmeats was only “ hooking 钩,” while taking bacon 培根 and hams 火腿 and such valuables 贵重的 was plain simple stealing 偷—and there was a command against that in the Bible. So they inwardly resolved 解决 that so long as they remained in the business, their piracies 海盗行为 should not again be sullied with the crime of stealing 偷. Then conscience granted 发放 a truce 休战, and these curiously inconsistent 不符 pirates 海盗 fell peacefully 安然 to sleep.

CHAPTER XIV

WHEN Tom awoke in the morning, he wondered where he was. He sat up and rubbed 擦 his eyes and looked around. Then he comprehended 理解. It was the cool gray dawn 黎明, and there was a delicious 美味的 sense of repose and peace in the deep pervading 弥漫 calm 镇定的 and silence of the woods. Not a leaf 叶子 stirred; not a sound obtruded upon great Nature’s meditation 冥想. Beaded dewdrops stood upon the leaves and grasses 草. A white layer of ashes covered the fire, and a thin blue breath of smoke rose straight into the air. Joe and Huck still slept.

Now, far away in the woods a bird called; another answered; presently the hammering 铁锤 of a woodpecker was heard. Gradually 逐步地 the cool dim 暗淡 gray of the morning whitened, and as gradually sounds multiplied 乘 and life manifested 表现 itself 本身. The marvel 奇迹 of Nature shaking off sleep and going to work unfolded 展开 itself 本身 to the musing 沉思 boy. A little green worm 虫 came crawling 爬行 over a dewy leaf 叶子, lifting two-thirds of his body into the air from time to time and “sniffing 吸气 around,” then proceeding 继续 again—for he was measuring, Tom said; and when the worm approached him, of its own accord, he sat as still as a stone, with his hopes rising and falling, by turns, as the creature 动物；生物 still came toward him or seemed inclined 倾斜 to go else‧where 在别处; and when at last it considered a painful 痛苦 moment with its curved body in the air and then came decisively 决定性的 down upon Tom’s leg and began a journey 旅行 over him, his whole heart was glad 高兴的—for that meant that he was going to have a new suit of clothes—without the shadow of a doubt a gaudy piratical uniform 制服. Now a procession 队伍 of ants 蚂蚁 appeared, from now‧here 无处 in particular, and went about their labors 劳动; one struggled man‧fully 男人‧完全地 by with a dead spider 蜘蛛 five times as big as itself 本身 in its arms, and lugged it straight up a tree-trunk 树干. A brown spotted lady-bug 虫；窃听器 climbed the dizzy 头晕 height 高度 of a grass blade 刀片, and Tom bent down close to it and said, “Lady-bug 虫；窃听器, lady-bug 虫；窃听器, fly away home, your house is on fire, your children’s alone,” and she took wing 翅膀 and went off to see about it—which did not surprise the boy, for he knew of old that this insect 虫 was credulous about conflagrations, and he had practised upon its simplicity 简单 more than once. A tumblebug came next, heaving 举起 sturdily 粗壮 at its ball, and Tom touched the creature 动物；生物, to see it shut 关闭 its legs against its body and pretend 假装 to be dead. The birds were fairly rioting 暴动 by this time. A cat‧bird 猫‧鸟, the Northern 北方的 mocker 嘲笑, lit in a tree over Tom’s head, and trilled out her imitations 模仿 of her neighbors in a rapture of enjoyment 享受; then a shrill jay swept sweep down, a flash 使闪光 of blue flame 火焰, and stopped on a twig 枝条 almost within the boy’s reach, cocked 公鸡 his head to one side and eyed the strangers 陌生人 with a consuming 消耗 curiosity 好奇心; a gray squirrel 松鼠 and a big fellow of the “fox 狐狸” kind came skurrying along, sitting up at intervals 间隔 to inspect 检查 and chatter 喋喋不休 at the boys, for the wild things had probably never seen a human being before and scarcely knew whether to be afraid or not. All Nature was wide awake and stirring 搅动, now; long lances of sun‧light 阳光 pierced 刺穿 down through the dense 稠密 foliage 叶子 far and near, and a few butter‧fly 蝴蝶 came fluttering 扑 upon the scene.

Tom stirred up the other pirates 海盗 and they all clattered 哒 away with a shout, and in a minute or two were stripped and chasing 追 after and tumbling 下跌 over each other in the shallow 浅的 limpid water of the white sand‧bar 沙‧条；酒吧. They felt no longing for the little village sleeping in the distance beyond the majestic 雄伟 waste of water. A vagrant current or a slight rise in the river had carried off their raft 筏, but this only gratified 取悦 them, since its going was something like burning the bridge between them and civilization 文明.

They came back to camp wonderfully 奇妙 refreshed 使恢复, glad 高兴的-hearted, and ravenous; and they soon had the camp-fire blazing 火焰 up again. Huck found a spring of clear cold water close by, and the boys made cups of broad oak 橡木 or hickory leaves, and felt that water, sweetened with such a wild‧wood 野生的‧木材；树林 charm 魔力；使陶醉 as that, would be a good enough substitute 替代 for coffee. While Joe was slicing 片 bacon 培根 for breakfast, Tom and Huck asked him to hold on a minute; they stepped to a promising nook in the river-bank and threw in their lines; almost immediately they had reward 报酬. Joe had not had time to get impatient 不耐烦 before they were back again with some hand‧some 英俊 bass 低音, a couple of sun-perch 栖息 and a small cat‧fish 猫‧鱼—provisions 规定 enough for quite a family. They fried 油炸；炒 the fish with the bacon 培根, and were astonished 使惊讶; for no fish had ever seemed so delicious 美味的 before. They did not know that the quicker a fresh-water fish is on the fire after he is caught the better he is; and they reflected little upon what a sauce 调味汁 open-air sleeping, open-air exercise, bathing 沐浴, and a large ingredient 成分 of hunger 饿 make, too.

They lay around in the shade 遮阳；阴, after breakfast, while Huck had a smoke, and then went off through the woods on an exploring expedition 远征. They tramped 流浪汉 gayly 快乐的 along, over decaying 腐烂 logs 记录, through tangled 纠纷 under‧brush 在…下面‧刷子, among solemn 庄严的 monarchs 君主 of the forest, hung from their crowns 王冠 to the ground with a drooping regalia of grape 葡萄-vines 藤蔓. Now and then they came upon snug nooks carpeted 地毯 with grass and jeweled 宝石 with flowers.

They found plenty of things to be delighted with, but nothing to be astonished at. They discovered that the island was about three miles long and a quarter of a mile wide, and that the shore it lay closest to was only separated from it by a narrow channel 渠道 hardly two hundred 百 yards wide. They took a swim 游泳 about every hour, so it was close upon the middle of the afternoon when they got back to camp. They were too hungry 饥饿 to stop to fish, but they fared 票价 sumptuously upon cold ham 火腿, and then threw themselves down in the shade 遮阳；阴 to talk. But the talk soon began to drag 拖拽, and then died. The stillness, the solemnity that brooded 窝 in the woods, and the sense of loneliness 孤单, began to tell upon the spirits of the boys. They fell to thinking. A sort of undefined longing crept upon them. This took dim 暗淡 shape, presently—it was budding 芽 home‧sickness 家‧疾病. Even Finn the Red-Handed was dreaming of his door‧step 门阶 and empty hogsheads. But they were all ashamed 惭愧的 of their weakness 弱点, and none was brave 勇敢的 enough to speak his thought.

For some time, now, the boys had been dully conscious of a peculiar 奇怪的 sound in the distance, just as one sometimes is of the ticking 蜱 of a clock which he takes no distinct 不同 note of. But now this mysterious 神秘 sound became more pronounced 发音, and forced a recognition 认识. The boys started, glanced 一瞥 at each other, and then each assumed 承担 a listening attitude 态度. There was a long silence, profound 深刻 and unbroken; then a deep, sullen boom 繁荣 came floating 漂浮 down out of the distance.

“What is it!” exclaimed 喊叫 Joe, under his breath.

“I wonder,” said Tom in a whisper.

“‘Tain’t thunder 雷声,” said Huckleberry, in an awed 威严 tone 音, “becuz thunder—”

“Hark!” said Tom. “Listen—don’t talk.”

They waited a time that seemed an age, and then the same muffled boom 繁荣 troubled the solemn 3 hush 嘘.

“Let’s go and see.”

They sprang to their feet and hurried to the shore toward the town. They parted the bushes on the bank and peered 窥视 out over the water. The little steam 蒸汽 ferry 渡船-boat was about a mile below the village, drifting 漂移 with the current. Her broad deck 甲板 seemed crowded with people. There were a great many skiffs rowing 行 about or floating with the stream in the neighborhood of the ferry‧boat 渡船‧小船, but the boys could not determine what the men in them were doing. Presently a great jet 喷射 of white smoke burst from the ferry‧boat 渡船‧小船’s side, and as it expanded 扩大 and rose in a lazy 懒惰的 cloud, that same dull 钝的；没兴趣 throb 搏动 of sound was borne bear to the listeners 倾听者 again.

“I know now!” exclaimed 喊叫 Tom; “somebody’s drownded!”

“That’s it!” said Huck; “they done that last summer, when Bill Turner got drownded; they shoot a cannon 大炮 over the water, and that makes him come up to the top. Yes, and they take loaves of bread 面包 and put quick‧silver 快的‧银 in ‘em and set ‘em afloat, and wherever 随地 there’s anybody that’s drownded, they’ll float 漂浮 right there and stop.”

“Yes, I’ve heard about that,” said Joe. “I wonder what makes the bread do that.”

“Oh, it ain’t the bread, so much,” said Tom; “I reckon 估计 it’s mostly what they say over it before they start it out.”

“But they don’t say anything over it,” said Huck. “I’ve seen ‘em and they don’t.”

“Well, that’s funny 有趣的,” said Tom. “But maybe they say it to themselves. Of course they do. Anybody might know that.”

The other boys agreed that there was reason in what Tom said, because an ignorant 愚昧 lump 块 of bread 3, uninstructed by an incantation, could not be expected to act very intelligently 智能 when set upon an errand 使命 of such gravity 重力.

“By jings, I wish I was over there, now,” said Joe.

“I do too” said Huck “I’d give heaps 堆 to know who it is.”

The boys still listened and watched. Presently a revealing 揭示 thought flashed 使闪光 through Tom’s mind, and he exclaimed 喊叫:

“Boys, I know who’s drownded—it’s us!”

They felt like heroes 英雄 in an instant. Here was a gorgeous 华丽 triumph 胜利; they were missed; they were mourned 悼; hearts were breaking on their account; tears were being shed; accusing 指责 memories of unkindness to these poor lost lads 小伙子 were rising up, and unavailing regrets 后悔 and remorse 悔恨 were being indulged 放纵; and best of all, the departed 离开 were the talk of the whole town, and the envy 嫉妒 of all the boys, as far as this dazzling 炫 notoriety was concerned. This was fine. It was worth while to be a pirate 海盗, after all.

As twilight 暮 drew on, the ferry‧boat 渡船‧小船 went back to her accustomed 使习惯 business and the skiffs disappeared. The pirates 海盗 returned to camp. They were jubilant with vanity 虚荣 over their new grandeur 富丽堂皇 and the illustrious trouble they were making. They caught fish, cooked supper 晚饭 and ate it, and then fell to guessing at what the village was thinking and saying about them; and the pictures they drew of the public distress 苦难 on their account were gratifying 取悦 to look upon—from their point of view. But when the shadows of night closed them in, they gradually 4 ceased 停止 to talk, and sat gazing 凝视 into the fire, with their minds evidently 明显地 wandering 漫步 elsewhere. The excitement 激动 was gone, now, and Tom and Joe could not keep back thoughts of certain persons at home who were not enjoying this fine frolic as much as they were. Misgivings came; they grew troubled and unhappy 不快乐; a sigh 叹 or two escaped, unawares 不知道. By and by Joe timidly 胆小 ventured 企业；投机活动；商业冒险 upon a round‧about 迂回 “feeler” as to how the others might look upon a return to civilization 文明—not right now, but—

Tom withered 枯萎 him with derision! Huck, being uncommitted as yet, joined in with Tom, and the waverer 动摇 quickly “explained,” and was glad to get out of the scrape 擦 with as little taint 污点 of chicken 鸡-hearted home-sickness 疾病 clinging 依偎 to his garments 服装 as he could. Mutiny was effectually laid to rest for the moment.

As the night deepened 变深, Huck began to nod, and presently to snore 鼾. Joe followed next. Tom lay upon his elbow 弯头 motion‧less 运动‧少, for some time, watching the two intently 意图. At last he got up cautiously 小心的, on his knees, and went searching among the grass and the flickering 闪烁 reflections flung by the camp‧fire 营地‧火. He picked up and inspected 检查 several large semi 半-cylinders 圆筒 of the thin white bark 吠 of a sycamore, and finally chose choose two which seemed to suit him. Then he knelt 跪:kneel by the fire and painfully 痛苦 wrote something upon each of these with his “red keel”; one he rolled up and put in his jacket 衣服 pocket 口袋, and the other he put in Joe’s hat and removed 去掉 it to a little distance from the owner. And he also put into the hat certain school‧boy 男生 treasures 金银财宝 of almost inestimable value—among them a lump 块 of chalk 粉笔, an India-rubber 橡胶 ball, three fishhooks, and one of that kind of marbles 大理石 known as a “sure ‘nough crystal 水晶.” Then he tiptoed his way cautiously among the trees till he felt that he was out of hearing, and straight‧way 直的‧路；方法 broke into a keen 热切的 run in the direction of the sand‧bar 沙‧条；酒吧.

CHAPTER XV

A few minutes later Tom was in the shoal water of the bar, wading 涉 toward the Illinois shore. Before the depth reached his middle he was half‧way 半 over; the current would permit no more wading 涉, now, so he struck out confidently 确信的 to swim 游泳 the remaining hundred 百 yards. He swam 游泳:swim quartering upstream 上游, but still was swept down‧ward 向下 rather faster than he had expected. However, he reached the shore finally, and drifted 漂移 along till he found a low place and drew himself out. He put his hand on his jacket 衣服 pocket, found his piece of bark 吠 safe, and then struck through the woods, following the shore, with streaming garments 服装. Shortly before ten 十 o’clock he came out into an open place opposite the village, and saw the ferry‧boat 渡船‧小船 lying in the shadow of the trees and the high bank. Everything was quiet under the blinking 眨 stars. He crept down the bank, watching with all his eyes, slipped into the water, swam three or four strokes and climbed into the skiff that did “yawl” duty at the boat’s stern 严肃. He laid himself down under the thwarts 阻挠 and waited, panting 喘气.

Presently the cracked bell 钟 tapped 敲；龙头；汲取（液体） and a voice gave the order to “cast 投 off.” A minute or two later the skiff’s head was standing high up, against the boat’s swell 膨胀；增强, and the voyage 旅行 was begun. Tom felt happy in his success, for he knew it was the boat’s last trip for the night. At the end of a long twelve 十二 or fifteen 十五 minutes the wheels stopped, and Tom slipped over‧board 落水 and swam ashore 岸上 in the dusk 黄昏, landing fifty 五十 yards down‧stream 下游, out of danger of possible stragglers.

He flew along unfrequented alleys 胡同, and shortly found himself at his aunt’s back fence. He climbed over, approached the “ell,” and looked in at the sitting-room window, for a light was burning there. There sat Aunt Polly, Sid, Mary, and Joe Harper’s mother, grouped together, talking. They were by the bed, and the bed was between them and the door. Tom went to the door and began to softly lift the latch 闩; then he pressed gently and the door yielded a crack; he continued pushing cautiously, and quaking every time it creaked 吱吱, till he judged he might squeeze 挤 through on his knees; so he put his head through and began, warily 警惕.

“What makes the candle 蜡烛 blow so?” said Aunt Polly. Tom hurried up. “Why, that door’s open, I believe. Why, of course it is. No end of strange things now. Go ‘long and shut 关闭 it, Sid.”

Tom disappeared under the bed just in time. He lay and “breathed” himself for a time, and then crept to where he could almost touch his aunt’s foot.

“But as I was saying,” said Aunt Polly, “he warn’t bad, so to say—only mischeevous. Only just giddy, and harum-scarum, you know. He warn’t any more responsible than a colt. He never meant any harm 损害, and he was the best-hearted boy that ever was”—and she began to cry.

“It was just so with my Joe—always full of his devilment, and up to every kind of mischief 恶作剧, but he was just as unselfish and kind as he could be—and laws bless 祝福 me, to think I went and whipped him for taking that cream 乳霜, never once recollecting that I throwed it out myself 我 because it was sour 有酸味的, and I never to see him again in this world, never, never, never, poor abused 滥用 boy!” And Mrs. Harper sobbed 哭泣 as if her heart would break.

“I hope Tom’s better off where he is,” said Sid, “but if he’d been better in some ways—”

“Sid!” Tom felt the glare 强光 of the old lady’s eye, though he could not see it. “Not a word against my Tom, now that he’s gone! God’ll take care of him—never you trouble yourself, sir! Oh, Mrs. Harper, I don’t know how to give him up! I don’t know how to give him up! He was such a comfort to me, although he tormented 折磨 my old heart out of me, ‘most.”

“The Lord giveth and the Lord hath taken away—Blessed be the name of the Lord! But it’s so hard—Oh, it’s so hard! Only last Saturday my Joe busted 胸围 a fire‧cracker 火‧饼干 right under my nose and I knocked 敲 him sprawling 蔓生. Little did I know then, how soon—Oh, if it was to do over again I’d hug 拥抱 him and bless 3 him for it.”

“Yes, yes, yes, I know just how you feel, Mrs. Harper, I know just exactly how you feel. No longer ago than yesterday noon 正午, my Tom took and filled the cat full of Pain-killer, and I did think the cretur would tear the house down. And God for‧give 原谅 me, I cracked Tom’s head with my thimble, poor boy, poor dead boy. But he’s out of all his troubles now. And the last words I ever heard him say was to reproach 责备—”

But this memory was too much for the old lady, and she broke entirely down. Tom was snuffling, now, himself—and more in pity 怜悯 of himself than anybody else. He could hear Mary crying, and putting in a kindly word for him from time to time. He began to have a nobler 高尚的 opinion of himself than ever before. Still, he was sufficiently 充分地 touched by his aunt’s grief 哀思 to long to rush 仓促 out from under the bed and overwhelm 压倒 her with joy—and the theatrical 戏剧的 gorgeousness of the thing appealed 上诉 strongly to his nature, too, but he resisted 抵抗 and lay still.

He went on listening, and gathered by odds 奇 and ends that it was conjectured 推测 at first that the boys had got drowned while taking a swim; then the small raft 筏 had been missed; next, certain boys said the missing lads 小伙子 had promised that the village should “hear something” soon; the wise 明智的；聪明的-heads had “put this and that together” and decided that the lads 小伙子 had gone off on that raft 筏 and would turn up at the next town below, presently; but toward noon 正午 the raft 筏 had been found, lodged 存放 against the Missouri shore some five or six miles below the village—and then hope perished 沦; they must be drowned, else hunger 饿 would have driven them home by night‧fall 夜‧落下 if not sooner. It was believed that the search for the bodies had been a fruit‧less 成果‧少 effort merely because the drowning 淹死 must have occurred 发生 in mid 中-channel 渠道, since the boys, being good swimmers 游泳者, would otherwise have escaped to shore. This was Wednesday night. If the bodies continued missing until Sunday, all hope would be given over, and the funerals 葬礼 would be preached 说教 on that morning. Tom shuddered 不寒而栗.

Mrs. Harper gave a sobbing 哭泣 good‧night 好的‧夜 and turned to go. Then with a mutual 相互 impulse 冲动 the two bereaved 丧 women flung themselves into each other’s arms and had a good, consoling 安慰 cry, and then parted. Aunt Polly was tender 纤弱的 far beyond her wont 惯于, in her good‧night 好的‧夜 to Sid and Mary. Sid snuffled a bit 一点 and Mary went off crying with all her heart.

Aunt Polly knelt down and prayed for Tom so touchingly, so appealingly, and with such measure‧less 测量‧少 love in her words and her old trembling 发抖 voice, that he was weltering in tears again, long before she was through.

He had to keep still long after she went to bed, for she kept making broken-hearted ejaculations from time to time, tossing 折腾 unrest‧fully 动荡‧完全地, and turning over. But at last she was still, only moaning 呻吟 a little in her sleep. Now the boy stole out, rose gradually 5 by the bed‧side 床头, shaded 遮阳；阴 the candle 蜡烛-light with his hand, and stood regarding her. His heart was full of pity 怜悯 for her. He took out his sycamore scroll 滚动 and placed it by the candle 蜡烛. But something occurred 发生 to him, and he lingered 萦绕 considering. His face lighted with a happy solution of his thought; he put the bark 吠 hastily 草草 in his pocket. Then he bent over and kissed 接吻 the faded lips, and straight‧way 直的‧路；方法 made his steal‧thy 偷，拿‧你的 exit 出口, latching 闩 the door behind him.

He threaded 线 his way back to the ferry 渡船 landing, found nobody at large there, and walked boldly 胆大的；醒目的 on board the boat, for he knew she was tenant‧less 承租人‧少 except that there was a watch‧man 钟表；注视‧男人, who always turned in and slept like a graven image 图片. He untied the skiff at the stern 严肃, slipped into it, and was soon rowing cautiously upstream 上游. When he had pulled a mile above the village, he started quartering across and bent himself stoutly 肥硕 to his work. He hit the landing on the other side neatly 整洁的, for this was a familiar bit 一点 of work to him. He was moved to capture 捕获 the skiff, arguing that it might be considered a ship and therefore legitimate 合法 prey 猎物 for a pirate 海盗, but he knew a thorough search would be made for it and that might end in revelations 启示. So he stepped ashore 岸上 and entered the woods.

He sat down and took a long rest, torturing 拷打 himself mean‧while 同时 to keep awake, and then started warily 警惕 down the home-stretch. The night was far spent. It was broad day‧light 日光 before he found himself fairly abreast the island bar. He rested again until the sun was well up and gilding 镀金 the great river with its splendor 辉, and then he plunged 跳水 into the stream. A little later he paused 暂停, dripping 滴, upon the threshold 阈 of the camp, and heard Joe say:

“No, Tom’s true-blue, Huck, and he’ll come back. He won’t desert 沙漠；抛弃. He knows that would be a disgrace 耻辱 to a pirate 海盗, and Tom’s too proud for that sort of thing. He’s up to something or other. Now I wonder what?”

“Well, the things is ours, anyway, ain’t they?”

“Pretty near, but not yet, Huck. The writing says they are if he ain’t back here to breakfast.”

“Which he is!” exclaimed 喊叫 Tom, with fine dramatic 戏剧性 effect, stepping grandly 宏大的 into camp.

A sumptuous breakfast of bacon 培根 and fish was shortly provided, and as the boys set to work upon it, Tom recounted 叙事 (and adorned 装饰) his adventures. They were a vain 徒劳的 and boastful company of heroes when the tale 故事，不实之词 was done. Then Tom hid hide himself away in a shady 阴凉 nook to sleep till noon 3, and the other pirates 海盗 got ready to fish and explore.

CHAPTER XVI

AFTER dinner all the gang 结伙 turned out to hunt for turtle 龟 eggs 鸡蛋 on the bar. They went about poking 戳 sticks into the sand 沙, and when they found a soft place they went down on their knees and dug 挖:dig with their hands. Sometimes they would take fifty 五十 or sixty 六十 eggs out of one hole. They were perfectly round white things a trifle 琐事 smaller than an English walnut 核桃. They had a famous 著名 fried-egg 鸡蛋 feast 盛会 that night, and another on Friday morning.

After breakfast they went whooping 叫喊 and prancing out on the bar, and chased 追 each other round and round, shedding 棚 clothes as they went, until they were naked 裸, and then continued the frolic far away up the shoal water of the bar, against the stiff 严厉的 current, which latter tripped their legs from under them from time to time and greatly increased the fun 乐趣. And now and then they stooped 哈腰 in a group and splashed 溅 water in each other’s faces with their palms 棕榈, gradually approaching each other, with averted 避免 faces to avoid the strangling 扼杀 sprays 喷雾, and finally gripping 握 and struggling till the best man ducked 鸭子 his neighbor, and then they all went under in a tangle 纠纷 of white legs and arms and came up blowing, sputtering, laughing, and gasping 喘气 for breath at one and the same time.

When they were well exhausted 排气, they would run out and sprawl 蔓生 on the dry, hot sand 沙, and lie there and cover themselves up with it, and by and by break for the water again and go through the original 原版的 performance once more. Finally it occurred 发生 to them that their naked 裸 skin 皮 represented flesh 肉-colored “ tights 紧的” very fairly; so they drew a ring in the sand and had a circus 马戏团—with three clowns 小丑 in it, for none would yield this proudest post to his neighbor.

Next they got their marbles 大理石 and played “knucks” and “ringtaw” and “keeps” till that amusement 娱乐 grew stale 陈旧. Then Joe and Huck had another swim, but Tom would not venture 企业；投机活动；商业冒险, because he found that in kicking 踢 off his trousers 长裤 he had kicked 踢 his string 绳子 of rattle‧snake 霸王鞭‧蛇 rattles 霸王鞭 off his ankle 踝, and he wondered how he had escaped cramp 抽筋 so long without the protection of this mysterious 神秘 charm. He did not venture again until he had found it, and by that time the other boys were tired and ready to rest. They gradually wandered 漫步 apart 相隔, dropped into the “dumps 倾倒,” and fell to gazing 凝视 longingly across the wide river to where the village lay drowsing in the sun. Tom found himself writing “BECKY” in the sand with his big toe 脚趾; he scratched 刮 it out, and was angry 生气的 with himself for his weakness 弱点. But he wrote it again, nevertheless 虽然; he could not help it. He erased 抹去 it once more and then took himself out of temptation 诱惑 by driving the other boys together and joining them.

But Joe’s spirits had gone down almost beyond resurrection 复活. He was so home‧sick 家‧病；恶心 that he could hardly endure 忍受 the misery 痛苦 of it. The tears lay very near the surface. Huck was melancholy 愁绪, too. Tom was downhearted, but tried hard not to show it. He had a secret which he was not ready to tell, yet, but if this mutinous depression 忧闷，压抑，不快乐 was not broken up soon, he would have to bring it out. He said, with a great show of cheerfulness:

“I bet there’s been pirates 海盗 on this island before, boys. We’ll explore it again. They’ve hid hide treasures here somewhere. How’d you feel to light on a rotten 腐烂的 chest 胸部 full of gold 金 and silver 银—hey 嘿?”

But it roused 唤醒 only faint 微弱的 enthusiasm 热情, which faded out, with no reply. Tom tried one or two other seductions; but they failed, too. It was discouraging 不鼓励 work. Joe sat poking 戳 up the sand with a stick and looking very gloomy 阴沉. Finally he said:

“Oh, boys, let’s give it up. I want to go home. It’s so lone‧some 孤单‧一些.”

“Oh no, Joe, you’ll feel better by and by,” said Tom. “Just think of the fishing that’s here.”

“I don’t care for fishing. I want to go home.”

“But, Joe, there ain’t such another swimming-place any‧where 任何地方.”

“Swimming’s no good. I don’t seem to care for it, somehow, when there ain’t anybody to say I sha’n’t go in. I mean to go home.”

“Oh, shucks! Baby! You want to see your mother, I reckon 估计.”

“Yes, I do want to see my mother—and you would, too, if you had one. I ain’t any more baby than you are.” And Joe snuffled a little.

“Well, we’ll let the cry‧baby 哭，叫喊‧婴儿 go home to his mother, won’t we, Huck? Poor thing—does it want to see its mother? And so it shall. You like it here, don’t you, Huck? We’ll stay, won’t we?”

Huck said, “Y-e-s”—without any heart in it.

“I’ll never speak to you again as long as I live,” said Joe, rising. “There now!” And he moved moodily away and began to dress himself.

“Who cares!” said Tom. “Nobody wants you to. Go ‘long home and get laughed at. Oh, you’re a nice pirate 海盗. Huck and me ain’t crybabies. We’ll stay, won’t we, Huck? Let him go if he wants to. I reckon 估计 we can get along without him, per’aps.”

But Tom was uneasy 不安, nevertheless 虽然, and was alarmed 警告 to see Joe go sullenly on with his dressing. And then it was discomforting 不舒适 to see Huck eying Joe’s preparations 制备 so wistfully, and keeping up such an ominous 不祥的 silence. Presently, without a parting word, Joe began to wade 涉 off toward the Illinois shore. Tom’s heart began to sink 淹没. He glanced 一瞥 at Huck. Huck could not bear the look, and dropped his eyes. Then he said:

“I want to go, too, Tom. It was getting so lone‧some 孤单‧一些 anyway, and now it’ll be worse. Let’s us go, too, Tom.”

“I won’t! You can all go, if you want to. I mean to stay.”

“Tom, I better go.”

“Well, go ‘long—who’s hendering you.”

Huck began to pick up his scattered 散落 clothes. He said:

“Tom, I wisht you’d come, too. Now you think it over. We’ll wait for you when we get to shore.”

“Well, you’ll wait a blame long time, that’s all.”

Huck started sorrow‧fully 悲痛‧完全地 away, and Tom stood looking after him, with a strong desire tugging 拖船 at his heart to yield his pride 自尊 and go along too. He hoped the boys would stop, but they still waded 涉 slowly on. It suddenly dawned 黎明 on Tom that it was become very lonely 孤独的 and still. He made one final 最后 struggle with his pride, and then darted 镖 after his comrades 同志, yelling 叫喊:

“Wait! Wait! I want to tell you something!”

They presently stopped and turned around. When he got to where they were, he began unfolding 展开 his secret, and they listened moodily till at last they saw the “point” he was driving at, and then they set up a war‧whoop 战争‧叫喊 of applause 热烈鼓掌 and said it was “ splendid 壮观的!” and said if he had told them at first, they wouldn’t have started away. He made a plausible 似是而非 excuse 原谅; but his real reason had been the fear that not even the secret would keep them with him any very great length of time, and so he had meant to hold it in reserve as a last seduction.

The lads 小伙子 came gayly back and went at their sports again with a will, chattering 喋喋不休 all the time about Tom’s stupendous plan and admiring the genius 天才 of it. After a daintyegg 鸡蛋 and fish dinner, Tom said he wanted to learn to smoke, now. Joe caught at the idea and said he would like to try, too. So Huck made pipes and filled them. These novices 初学者 had never smoked anything before but cigars 雪茄 made of grapevine, and they “bit” the tongue 舌头, and were not considered manly anyway.

Now they stretched themselves out on their elbows 弯头 and began to puff 噗, charily, and with slender 苗条 confidence 信心. The smoke had an unpleasant 不愉快 taste, and they gagged 插科打诨 a little, but Tom said:

“Why, it’s just as easy! If I’d a knowed this was all, I’d a learnt learn long ago.”

“So would I,” said Joe. “It’s just nothing.”

“Why, many a time I’ve looked at people smoking, and thought well I wish I could do that; but I never thought I could,” said Tom.

“That’s just the way with me, hain’t it, Huck? You’ve heard me talk just that way—haven’t you, Huck? I’ll leave it to Huck if I haven’t.”

“Yes—heaps of times,” said Huck.

“Well, I have too,” said Tom; “oh, hundreds 百 of times. Once down by the slaughter 屠宰-house. Don’t you remember, Huck? Bob Tanner was there, and Johnny Miller, and Jeff Thatcher, when I said it. Don’t you remember, Huck, ‘bout 回合 me saying that?”

“Yes, that’s so,” said Huck. “That was the day after I lost a white alley 胡同. No, ‘twas the day before.”

“There—I told you so,” said Tom. “Huck recollects it.”

“I bleeve I could smoke this pipe 管子 all day,” said Joe. “I don’t feel sick.”

“Neither do I,” said Tom. “I could smoke it all day. But I bet you Jeff Thatcher couldn’t.”

“Jeff Thatcher! Why, he’d keel over just with two draws. Just let him try it once. He’d see!”

“I bet he would. And Johnny Miller—I wish could see Johnny Miller tackle 滑车 it once.”

“Oh, don’t I!” said Joe. “Why, I bet you Johnny Miller couldn’t any more do this than nothing. Just one little snifter would fetch 取 him.”

“‘ Deed 行为 it would, Joe. Say—I wish the boys could see us now.”

“So do I.”

“Say—boys, don’t say anything about it, and some time when they’re around, I’ll come up to you and say, ‘Joe, got a pipe 管子? I want a smoke.’ And you’ll say, kind of care‧less 粗心 like, as if it warn’t anything, you’ll say, ‘Yes, I got my old pipe 3, and another one, but my tobacker ain’t very good.’ And I’ll say, ‘Oh, that’s all right, if it’s strong enough.’ And then you’ll out with the pipes, and we’ll light up just as ca’m, and then just see ‘em look!”

“By jings, that’ll be gay 快乐的, Tom! I wish it was now!”

“So do I! And when we tell ‘em we learned learn when we was off pirating 海盗, won’t they wish they’d been along?”

“Oh, I reckon 估计 not! I’ll just bet they will!”

So the talk ran on. But presently it began to flag 旗；石地板 a trifle 琐事, and grow disjointed. The silences widened 放宽; the expectoration marvellously increased. Every pore 孔 inside the boys’ cheeks 脸颊 became a spouting fountain 喷泉; they could scarcely bail 保释 out the cellars 地窖 under their tongues fast enough to prevent an inundation; little over‧flow 溢出 down their throats occurred 发生 in spite 恶意 of all they could do, and sudden retchings followed every time. Both boys were looking very pale and miserable 悲惨的, now. Joe’s pipe dropped from his nerve‧less 神经‧少 fingers. Tom’s followed. Both fountains 喷泉 were going furiously 疯狂 and both pumps 泵 bailing 保释 with might and main. Joe said feebly 微弱:

“I’ve lost my knife. I reckon 估计 I better go and find it.”

Tom said, with quivering 颤动 lips and halting 停 utterance 发声:

“I’ll help you. You go over that way and I’ll hunt around by the spring. No, you needn’t come, Huck—we can find it.”

So Huck sat down again, and waited an hour. Then he found it lone‧some 孤单‧一些, and went to find his comrades 同志. They were wide apart in the woods, both very pale, both fast asleep 睡着的. But something informed him that if they had had any trouble they had got rid of it.

They were not talkative at supper 晚饭 that night. They had a humble 谦逊的 look, and when Huck prepared his pipe after the meal 餐 and was going to prepare theirs, they said no, they were not feeling very well—something they ate at dinner had disagreed 不同意 with them.

About mid‧night 午夜 Joe awoke, and called the boys. There was a brooding 窝 oppressiveness in the air that seemed to bode something. The boys huddled 乱堆 themselves together and sought the friendly companion‧ship 伙伴关系 of the fire, though the dull 钝的；没兴趣 dead heat of the breath‧less 咋舌 atmosphere 大气层 was stifling 窒息. They sat still, intent 意图 and waiting. The solemn hush 嘘 continued. Beyond the light of the fire everything was swallowed 吞 up in the blackness 黑 of darkness 黑暗. Presently there came a quivering 颤动 glow 辉光 that vaguely 依稀 revealed 揭示 the foliage 叶子 for a moment and then vanished 消失. By and by another came, a little stronger. Then another. Then a faint 微弱的 moan 呻吟 came sighing 叹 through the branches of the forest and the boys felt a fleeting 舰队 breath upon their cheeks 脸颊, and shuddered 不寒而栗 with the fancy 想像 that the Spirit of the Night had gone by. There was a pause. Now a weird 奇怪的 flash 使闪光 turned night into day and showed every little grass‧blade 草‧刀片, separate and distinct 不同, that grew about their feet. And it showed three white, startled 惊吓 faces, too. A deep peal of thunder 雷声 went rolling and tumbling 下跌 down the heavens 天 and lost itself 本身 in sullen rumblings 隆隆 in the distance. A sweep of chilly 寒冷 air passed by, rustling 沙沙 all the leaves and snowing the flaky ashes broad‧cast 广播 about the fire. Another fierce 凶猛的 glare 强光 lit up the forest and an instant crash 碰撞 followed that seemed to rend the treetops right over the boys’ heads. They clung together in terror 恐怖, in the thick gloom 愁云 that followed. A few big raindrops fell pattering upon the leaves.

“Quick! boys, go for the tent 帐篷!” exclaimed 喊叫 Tom.

They sprang away, stumbling 绊倒 over roots and among vines 藤蔓 in the dark, no two plunging 跳水 in the same direction. A furious 狂怒 blast 爆破 roared 咆哮 through the trees, making everything sing as it went. One blinding flash after another came, and peal on peal of deafening thunder 3. And now a drenching rain poured down and the rising hurricane 飓风 drove it in sheets along the ground. The boys cried out to each other, but the roaring 咆哮 wind and the booming 繁荣 thunderblasts drowned their voices utterly 完全. However, one by one they straggled in at last and took shelter under the tent 帐篷, cold, scared, and streaming with water; but to have company in misery 痛苦 seemed something to be grateful 感激的 for. They could not talk, the old sail flapped 拍打 so furiously 疯狂, even if the other noises would have allowed them. The tempest 温度 rose higher and higher, and presently the sail tore tear loose from its fastenings 系牢 and went winging 翅膀 away on the blast 爆破. The boys seized each others’ hands and fled, with many tumblings 下跌 and bruises 挫伤, to the shelter of a great oak 橡木 that stood upon the river‧bank 河‧银行；岸. Now the battle was at its highest. Under the cease‧less 停止‧少 conflagration of lightning 闪电 that flamed 火焰 in the skies 滑雪, everything below stood out in clean‧cut 清理；清洁的‧砍 and shadow‧less 阴影‧少 distinctness: the bending trees, the billowy river, white with foam 泡沫, the driving spray 喷雾 of spumeflakes, the dim 暗淡 out‧line 概述；轮廓线 of the high bluffs 虚张声势 on the other side, glimpsed 一瞥 through the drifting 漂移 cloud‧rack 云‧架 and the slanting 倾斜 veil 面纱 of rain. Every little while some giant 巨人 tree yielded the fight and fell crashing 碰撞 through the younger growth; and the unflagging thunderpeals came now in ear-splitting 分裂 explosive 爆炸的 bursts 爆裂, keen 热切的 and sharp, and unspeakably appalling 惊恐. The storm 暴风雨 culminated 高潮 in one match‧less 比赛；火柴‧少 effort that seemed likely to tear the island to pieces, burn it up, drown 淹死 it to the treetops, blow it away, and deafen 使聋 every creature 3 in it, all at one and the same moment. It was a wild night for home‧less 无家可归 young heads to be out in.

But at last the battle was done, and the forces retired with weaker and weaker threatenings and grumblings 叽, and peace resumed 恢复 her sway 摇摆. The boys went back to camp, a good deal awed 威严; but they found there was still something to be thankful 感谢 for, because the great sycamore, the shelter of their beds, was a ruin 破坏, now, blasted 爆破 by the lightnings 闪电, and they were not under it when the catastrophe 灾难 happened.

Everything in camp was drenched, the camp‧fire 营地‧火 as well; for they were but heed‧less 注意‧少 lads 小伙子, like their generation 代, and had made no provision 规定 against rain. Here was matter for dismay 沮丧, for they were soaked 浸泡 through and chilled 寒意. They were eloquent 雄辩 in their distress 苦难; but they presently discovered that the fire had eaten so far up under the great log 记录 it had been built against (where it curved upward 向上 and separated itself 本身 from the ground), that a hand‧breadth 手‧宽度 or so of it had escaped wetting 湿的; so they patiently wrought 锻 until, with shreds 撕碎 and bark 吠 gathered from the under sides of sheltered logs, they coaxed 哄 the fire to burn again. Then they piled 堆 on great dead boughs till they had a roaring furnace 炉, and were gladhearted once more. They dried their boiled ham 火腿 and had a feast 盛会, and after that they sat by the fire and expanded 扩大 and glorified 荣耀 their mid‧night 午夜 adventure 冒险活动 until morning, for there was not a dry spot to sleep on, anywhere 3 around.

As the sun began to steal in upon the boys, drowsiness came over them, and they went out on the sand‧bar 沙‧条；酒吧 and lay down to sleep. They got scorched 烧焦 out by and by, and drearily 凄凉 set about getting breakfast. After the meal 餐 they felt rusty 生疏, and stiff 严厉的-jointed 共同的, and a little home‧sick 家‧病；恶心 once more. Tom saw the signs, and fell to cheering 欢呼 up the pirates 海盗 as well as he could. But they cared nothing for marbles 大理石, or circus 马戏团, or swimming, or anything. He reminded them of the imposing 强加 secret, and raised a ray 光束 of cheer 欢呼. While it lasted, he got them interested in a new device 设备. This was to knock 敲 off being pirates 海盗, for a while, and be Indians for a change. They were attracted 吸引 by this idea; so it was not long before they were stripped, and striped 条纹 from head to heel 脚跟 with black mud 泥, like so many zebras—all of them chiefs, of course—and then they went tearing through the woods to attack an English settlement 沉降.

By and by they separated into three hostile 敌对 tribes 部落, and darted 镖 upon each other from ambush 伏击 with dreadful 可怕 warwhoops, and killed and scalped 头皮 each other by thou‧sand 千. It was a gory day. Consequently 所以 it was an extremely satisfactory 满意 one.

They assembled 集合 in camp toward supper‧time 晚饭‧时间, hungry 饥饿 and happy; but now a difficulty arose arise—hostile 敌对 Indians could not break the bread of hospitality 待客 together without first making peace, and this was a simple impossibility 不可能的事 without smoking a pipe of peace. There was no other process that ever they had heard of. Two of the savages 野蛮人 almost wished they had remained pirates 海盗. However, there was no other way; so with such show of cheerfulness as they could muster they called for the pipe and took their whiff as it passed, in due form.

And behold 不料, they were glad they had gone into savagery, for they had gained something; they found that they could now smoke a little without having to go and hunt for a lost knife; they did not get sick enough to be seriously uncomfortable 不舒服. They were not likely to fool away this high promise for lack of effort. No, they practised cautiously, after supper 3, with right fair success, and so they spent a jubilant evening. They were prouder and happier in their new acquirement than they would have been in the scalping 头皮 and skinning 皮 of the Six Nations. We will leave them to smoke and chatter 喋喋不休 and brag 吹牛, since we have no further use for them at present.