John J. Floherty
1 Special Agent X came to a cabin about two miles up the mountain. He had come to get Cal Richards, an armed and dangerous killer. Through a broken window, he saw a man with a beard watching him closely. Agent X drew a deep breath. He stepped up to the cabin door with a cheerfull “Hello!”
2 Beside the fireplace(壁炉), an old man sat silently. Still standing near the window was the bearded –a gun in his hands.
3 “Gvernment man, aren’t you?” said the man with the gun.
4 “Yes,” replied the agent with a friendly smile. “You must be Pappy Richards.”
5 “Sure. I’m Cal’s pa. and you’re not going to get him.” The gun pointed at the G- man.
6 Agent X looked around the cabin. “I’ve been assigned(指派) to do it,” he said. “But I can see he isn’t here today. I guess I’ll have to come again.” Then he caught sight of a violin hanging on the wall. “Who plays the fiddle?” he asked.
7 For a moment there was silence. Then the old man by the fire spoke up(大声说). “Pappy,” he said. “He’s the best fiddler in these parts. You ought to hear him play Turkey in the Straw.” The G-man seemed deeply impressesd(给人留下深刻的印象). “You don’t say! I play a littlee myself. Mind if I look at the violin?”
8 As the crossed the room to the instrument(乐器), he knew that the gun was still aimed at him. He felt sweat on his forehead, but ho took the violin from the wall as calmly as if he were a welcome visitor. He turned it carefully and wiped off(擦去) the bow. Then he broke into the lively music of Turkey in the Straw. The old man began to beat time(打拍子), tapping(轻拍) one foot on the dirt floor. But Pappy stood unmoved, gun in hand and eyes aler(警惕的).
9 One tune(曲调) after another Agent X played, occasionally glancing(一瞥) at Pappy. Suddenly the music changed, and from the strings(琴弦) came the sweet notes(调子) of an old folk(民间的) song. The cabin was filled with glorious(令人快乐的) sound. Agent X was playing better than he had ever played in his life. Pappy Richards stood enchanted(使…着迷), the defiance(违抭) in his eyes giving way to a look of wonder. The gun was now pointed toward the floor. When the final notes of the song died away, Pappy placed the gun in a coner.
10 “Well stranger,” Pappy said, “that was first –class(一流的) fiddling. Maybe you’ll stay for dinner and play some more for us.”
11 After they had eaten, the three men sat in the spring sunshine outside the cabin. They talked about fiddle tunes and the fiddlers that Pappy and the old man had known here in the mountains.
12 They talked for an hour, and not once did anyone speak of the reason for the G-man’s visit. Once more the bow danced across the string’s; and so another hour passed quickly. Still not a word was said about Cal Richards. Finally the agent said, “Sorry! I must be getting back to village.”
13 Pappy’s friend eyed him for a moment and said, “How about Cal? You want him, don’t you?” There was a touch of amusement(兴趣) in his voice.
14 “Well, no,” said the G-man with a smile. “I don’t want him. The government wants him, and you know how it is when the government wants a man. It may take days or months or years to get him, but they’ll get him. And the longer it takes, the worse off(更糟糕的) he is.”
15 “Does the government always get the guy it wants?”
16 “No, not always. Sometimes he dies.”
17 Pappy, sitting on a nearly log(木柴), was deep in thought. “See here, stranger,” he interrupted suddenly. “I like you’re a decent(正派的) guy.” He paused as if it were hard to go on. Then, he said in a thick(沙哑的) coice, “I – well, I’ll have a talk with Cal. I think he might give himself up tomorrow. You be at the sheriff(县治安官)’s officee at noon!”
18 “Noon tomorrow!”said the agent, wondering if he looked as surprised as he left. “long until then.” After he left, he wiped his sweating forehead and sighed with relief(轻松).
19 The next day as the village clock struck twice, announcing(通告) the hour of noon, a bearded man came up the street toward the sheriff’s office. With his was a young fellow whose appearance(外貌) told of many days in hiding.
20 The G-man was waiting.
21 “Stranger,” said Pappy. “Here is Cal, my son.”
Word List(单词表)
fiddle n. (口语)小提琴
fiddle v. (口语)(用小提琴)演奏
fiddler n. (口语)小提琴手
special agent n. 特工
cabin n. 小屋,小木屋
get v. 抓获,捕获
armed adj. 武装的,持枪的
killer n. 杀人犯,杀手
broken adj. 被打碎了的
closely adv. 严密地,仔细地
government man n. (美国)联邦调查局特工
agent n. (政府机关的)特工
draw v. 吸(气),吸入
step v. 跨步,迈步
cheerful adj. 快活的,兴高采烈的
fireplace n. 壁炉
silently adv. 无声地,沉默地
silence n. 寂静,无言,沉默
bearded adj. 有胡须的
pa n. (口语)爸爸
assign v. 分配,指定,选派
violin n. 小提琴
play v. 演奏(乐器或音乐)
part n. 地区;部分
deeply adv. 极大地,深刻地
impress v. 给人留下深刻印象
instrument n. 乐器,仪器
aim v. 瞄准,对准
sweat n. 汗,汗水
sweat v. 出汗,流汗
forehead n. 额头,脑门
calmly adv.镇定地,冷静地
welcome adj. 受欢迎的
carefully adv. 仔细地,谨慎地
bow n.琴弓
unmoved adj. 无动于衷的
alert adj. 警惕的,警觉的
tune n. 曲调,歌曲
string n. 琴弦
sweet adj. 悦耳的,旋律优美的
note n. (乐器等的)音,调子
folk adj. 民间的,通俗的
glorious adj. (口语)非常愉快的,令人快乐的
enchant v. 使……着迷,迷倒……
defiance n. 违抗;藐视
first-class adj. 第一流的
sunshine n. 阳光
once adv. 一次
once more 再一次
dance v. 跳动,轻快地移动
quickly adv. 快速地,迅速地
eye v. 盯着,凝视
want v. 通缉(犯人)
amusement n. 兴趣;娱乐
worse off adj. (情况)更糟糕的,更贫困的
guy n. (美,口语)男人(guys家伙,包括女人)
nearby adj. 在附近的
log n. 木柴
deep adj. 专心的,全神贯注的
decent adj. 正派的
thick adj. (嗓音等)不清楚的,沙哑的
sheriff n. (美国的)县治安官
so long (美,口语)再见
relief n. (忧虑解除后的)轻松
appearance n. 外表,外貌
hiding n. 隐藏,躲藏
in hiding 在隐藏中
Proper Names(专有名词)
John J. Floherty 约翰·J·弗洛赫蒂(人名)
Cal Richards 卡尔·理查兹(人名)
Pappy Richards 帕皮·理查兹(人名)
Useful Expressions(常用短语)
draw a (deep) breath (深)吸一口气
point at 指着
look around 环顾四周
be assigned to do 被指派做某事
catch sight of 看见
speak up 大声说
aim at 瞄准
beat time 打拍子
break into 突然……起来
one after another 一个接一个
glance at 一瞥,看一眼
be filled with 充满
stay for dinner 留下来吃饭
speak of 提及,说起
be deep in thought 沉思
give oneself up to 向……自首
give way to 让路,为……所代替
After the explanation ,his doubts gave way to belief.
die away 逐渐消失
The wind died away and it began to rain.
as if 似乎
He spoke as if he were the prince himself. |