第 30 节
作者:
泰达魔王 更新:2024-07-17 14:41 字数:9321
gold; in the last rays of the setting sun; some of which still
faintly illumined the eminence upon which we stood。 The scarabaeus
hung quite clear of any branches; and; if allowed to fall; would
have fallen at our feet。 Legrand immediately took the scythe; and
cleared with it a circular space; three or four yards in diameter;
just beneath the insect; and; having accomplished this; ordered
Jupiter to let go the string and come down from the tree。
Driving a peg; with great nicety; into the ground; at the precise
spot where the beetle fell; my friend now produced from his pocket
a tape measure。 Fastening one end of this at that point of the
trunk of the tree which was nearest the peg; he unrolled it till it
reached the peg and thence further unrolled it; in the direction
already established by the two points of the tree and the peg; for
the distance of fifty feetJupiter clearing away the brambles with
the scythe。 At the spot thus attained a second peg was driven; and
about this; as a center; a rude circle; about four feet in
diameter; described。 Taking now a spade himself; and giving one to
Jupiter and one to me; Legrand begged us to set about digging as
quickly as possible。
To speak the truth; I had no especial relish for such amusement at
any time; and; at that particular moment; would willingly have
declined it; for the night was coming on; and I felt much fatigued
with the exercise already taken; but I saw no mode of escape; and
was fearful of disturbing my poor friend's equanimity by a refusal。
Could I have depended; indeed; upon Jupiter's aid; I would have had
no hesitation in attempting to get the lunatic home by force; but I
was too well assured of the old negro's disposition; to hope that
he would assist me; under any circumstances; in a personal contest
with his master。 I made no doubt that the latter had been infected
with some of the innumerable Southern superstitions about money
buried; and that his fantasy had received confirmation by the
finding of the scarabaeus; or; perhaps; by Jupiter's obstinacy in
maintaining it to be 〃a bug of real gold。〃 A mind disposed to
lunacy would readily be led away by such suggestionsespecially if
chiming in with favorite preconceived ideasand then I called to
mind the poor fellow's speech about the beetle's being 〃the index
of his fortune。〃 Upon the whole; I was sadly vexed and puzzled;
but; at length; I concluded to make a virtue of necessityto dig
with a good will; and thus the sooner to convince the visionary; by
ocular demonstration; of the fallacy of the opinion he entertained。
The lanterns having been lit; we all fell to work with a zeal
worthy a more rational cause; and; as the glare fell upon our
persons and implements; I could not help thinking how picturesque a
group we composed; and how strange and suspicious our labors must
have appeared to any interloper who; by chance; might have stumbled
upon our whereabouts。
We dug very steadily for two hours。 Little was said; and our chief
embarrassment lay in the yelpings of the dog; who took exceeding
interest in our proceedings。 He; at length; became so obstreperous
that we grew fearful of his giving the alarm to some stragglers in
the vicinity;or; rather; this was the apprehension of Legrand;
for myself; I should have rejoiced at any interruption which might
have enabled me to get the wanderer home。 The noise was; at
length; very effectually silenced by Jupiter; who; getting out of
the hole with a dogged air of deliberation; tied the brute's mouth
up with one of his suspenders; and then returned; with a grave
chuckle; to his task。
When the time mentioned had expired; we had reached a depth of five
feet; and yet no signs of any treasure became manifest。 A general
pause ensued; and I began to hope that the farce was at an end。
Legrand; however; although evidently much disconcerted; wiped his
brow thoughtfully and recommenced。 We had excavated the entire
circle of four feet diameter; and now we slightly enlarged the
limit; and went to the farther depth of two feet。 Still nothing
appeared。 The gold…seeker; whom I sincerely pitied; at length
clambered from the pit; with the bitterest disappointment imprinted
upon every feature; and proceeded; slowly and reluctantly; to put
on his coat; which he had thrown off at the beginning of his labor。
In the meantime I made no remark。 Jupiter; at a signal from his
master; began to gather up his tools。 This done; and the dog
having been unmuzzled; we turned in profound silence toward home。
We had taken; perhaps; a dozen steps in this direction; when; with
a loud oath; Legrand strode up to Jupiter; and seized him by the
collar。 The astonished negro opened his eyes and mouth to the
fullest extent; let fall the spades; and fell upon his knees。
〃You scoundrel!〃 said Legrand; hissing out the syllables from
between his clenched teeth〃you infernal black villain!speak; I
tell you!answer me this instant; without prevarication!which
which is your left eye?〃
〃Oh; my golly; Massa Will! aint dis here my lef eye for sartain?〃
roared the terrified Jupiter; placing his hand upon his RIGHT organ
of vision; and holding it there with a desperate pertinacity; as if
in immediate; dread of his master's attempt at a gouge。
〃I thought so!I knew it! hurrah!〃 vociferated Legrand; letting
the negro go and executing a series of curvets and caracols; much
to the astonishment of his valet; who; arising from his knees;
looked; mutely; from his master to myself; and then from myself to
his master。
〃Come! we must go back;〃 said the latter; 〃the game's not up yet;〃
and he again led the way to the tulip tree。
〃Jupiter;〃 said he; when we reached its foot; 〃come here! was the
skull nailed to the limb with the face outward; or with the face to
the limb?〃
〃De face was out; massa; so dat de crows could get at de eyes good;
widout any trouble。〃
〃Well; then; was it this eye or that through which you dropped the
beetle?〃 here Legrand touched each of Jupiter's eyes。
〃'Twas dis eye; massade lef eyejis as you tell me;〃 and here it
was his right eye that the negro indicated。
〃That will dowe must try it again。〃
Here my friend; about whose madness I now saw; or fancied that I
saw; certain indications of method; removed the peg which marked
the spot where the beetle fell; to a spot about three inches to the
westward of its former position。 Taking; now; the tape measure
from the nearest point of the trunk to the peg; as before; and
continuing the extension in a straight line to the distance of
fifty feet; a spot was indicated; removed; by several yards; from
the point at which we had been digging。
Around the new position a circle; somewhat larger than in the
former instance; was now described; and we again set to work with
the spade。 I was dreadfully weary; but; scarcely understanding
what had occasioned the change in my thoughts; I felt no longer any
great aversion from the labor imposed。 I had become most
unaccountably interestednay; even excited。 Perhaps there was
something; amid all the extravagant demeanor of Legrandsome air
of forethought; or of deliberation; which impressed me。 I dug
eagerly; and now and then caught myself actually looking; with
something that very much resembled expectation; for the fancied
treasure; the vision of which had demented my unfortunate
companion。 At a period when such vagaries of thought most fully
possessed me; and when we had been at work perhaps an hour and a
half; we were again interrupted by the violent howlings of the dog。
His uneasiness; in the first instance; had been; evidently; but the
result of playfulness or caprice; but he now assumed a bitter and
serious tone。 Upon Jupiter's again attempting to muzzle him; he
made furious resistance; and; leaping into the hole; tore up the
mold frantically with his claws。 In a few seconds he had uncovered
a mass of human bones; forming two complete skeletons; intermingled
with several buttons of metal; and what appeared to be the dust of
decayed woolen。 One or two strokes of a spade upturned the blade
of a large Spanish knife; and; as we dug farther; three or four
loose pieces of gold and silver coin came to light。
At sight of these the joy of Jupiter could scarcely be restrained;
but the countenance of his master wore an air of extreme
disappointment。 He urged us; however; to continue our exertions;
and the words were hardly uttered when I stumbled and fell forward;
having caught the toe of my boot in a large ring of iron that lay
half buried in the loose earth。
We now worked in earnest; and never did I pass ten minutes of more
intense excitement。 During this interval we had fairly unearthed
an oblong chest of wood; which; from its perfect preservation and
wonderful hardness; had plainly been subjected to some mineralizing
processperhaps that of the