第 9 节
作者:
天净沙 更新:2021-02-25 00:30 字数:9322
painfully turned himself in his bed until he faced the other warrior;
raised himself partly on his elbow; and began to work up a mysterious
expression of some kind in his face。 Gradually; irksomely; but surely
and steadily; it developed; and at last it took definite form as a pretty
successful wink。 The sufferer fell back exhausted with his labor; but
bathed in glory。 Now entered a personal friend of No。 2; the despoiled
soldier。 No。 2 pleaded with him with eloquent eyes; till presently he
understood; and removed the coffin from under No。 1's bed and put it
under No。 2's。 No。 2 indicated his joy; and made some more signs; the
friend understood again; and put his arm under No。 2's shoulders and
lifted him partly up。 Then the dying hero turned the dim exultation of
his eye upon No。 1; and began a slow and labored work with his hands;
gradually he lifted one hand up toward his face; it grew weak and dropped
back again; once more he made the effort; but failed again。 He took a
rest; he gathered all the remnant of his strength; and this time he
slowly but surely carried his thumb to the side of his nose; spread the
gaunt fingers wide in triumph; and dropped back dead。 That picture
sticks by me yet。 The 〃situation〃 is unique。
The next morning; at what seemed a very early hour; the little white
table…waiter appeared suddenly in my room and shot a single word out of
himself 〃Breakfast!〃
This was a remarkable boy in many ways。 He was about eleven years old;
he had alert; intent black eyes; he was quick of movement; there was no
hesitation; no uncertainty about him anywhere; there was a military
decision in his lip; his manner; his speech; that was an astonishing
thing to see in a little chap like him; he wasted no words; his answers
always came so quick and brief that they seemed to be part of the
question that had been asked instead of a reply to it。 When he stood at
table with his fly…brush; rigid; erect; his face set in a cast…iron
gravity; he was a statue till he detected a dawning want in somebody's
eye; then he pounced down; supplied it; and was instantly a statue again。
When he was sent to the kitchen for anything; he marched upright till he
got to the door; he turned hand…springs the rest of the way。
〃Breakfast!〃
I thought I would make one more effort to get some conversation out of
this being。
〃Have you called the Reverend; or are〃
〃Yes s'r!〃
〃Is it early; or is〃
〃Eight…five。〃
〃Do you have to do all the 'chores;' or is there somebody to give
you a〃
〃Colored girl。〃
〃Is there only one parish in this island; or are there〃
〃Eight!〃
〃Is the big church on the hill a parish church; or is it〃
〃Chapel…of…ease!〃
〃Is taxation here classified into poll; parish; town; and〃
〃Don't know!〃
Before I could cudgel another question out of my head; he was below;
hand…springing across the back yard。 He had slid down the balusters;
headfirst。 I gave up trying to provoke a discussion with him。 The
essential element of discussion had been left out of him; his answers
were so final and exact that they did not leave a doubt to hang
conversation on。 I suspect that there is the making of a mighty man or a
mighty rascal in this boyaccording to circumstancesbut they are going
to apprentice him to a carpenter。 It is the way the world uses its
opportunities。
During this day and the next we took carriage drives about the island and
over to the town of St。 George's; fifteen or twenty miles away。 Such
hard; excellent roads to drive over are not to be found elsewhere out of
Europe。 An intelligent young colored man drove us; and acted as guide…
book。 In the edge of the town we saw five or six mountain…cabbage palms
(atrocious name!) standing in a straight row; and equidistant from each
other。 These were not the largest or the tallest trees I have ever seen;
but they were the stateliest; the most majestic。 That row of them must
be the nearest that nature has ever come to counterfeiting a colonnade。
These trees are all the same height; say sixty feet; the trunks as gray
as granite; with a very gradual and perfect taper; without sign of branch
or knot or flaw; the surface not looking like bark; but like granite that
has been dressed and not polished。 Thus all the way up the diminishing
shaft for fifty feet; then it begins to take the appearance of being
closely wrapped; spool…fashion; with gray cord; or of having been turned
in a lathe。 Above this point there is an outward swell; and thence
upward for six feet or more the cylinder is a bright; fresh green; and is
formed of wrappings like those of an ear of green Indian corn。 Then
comes the great; spraying palm plume; also green。 Other palm trees
always lean out of the perpendicular; or have a curve in them。 But the
plumb…line could not detect a deflection in any individual of this
stately row; they stand as straight as the colonnade of Baalbec; they
have its great height; they have its gracefulness; they have its dignity;
in moonlight or twilight; and shorn of their plumes; they would duplicate
it。
The birds we came across in the country were singularly tame; even that
wild creature; the quail; would pick around in the grass at ease while we
inspected it and talked about it at leisure。 A small bird of the canary
species had to be stirred up with the butt…end of the whip before it
would move; and then it moved only a couple of feet。 It is said that
even the suspicious flea is tame and sociable in Bermuda; and will allow
himself to be caught and caressed without misgivings。 This should be
taken with allowance; for doubtless there is more or less brag about it。
In San Francisco they used to claim that their native flea could kick a
child over; as if it were a merit in a flea to be able to do that; as if
the knowledge of it trumpeted abroad ought to entice immigration。 Such a
thing in nine cases out of ten would be almost sure to deter a thinking
man from coming。
We saw no bugs or reptiles to speak of; and so I was thinking of saying
in print; in a general way; that there were none at all; but one night
after I had gone to bed; the Reverend came into my room carrying
something; and asked; 〃Is this your boot?〃 I said it was; and he said he
had met a spider going off with it。 Next morning he stated that just at
dawn the same spider raised his window and was coming in to get a shirt;
but saw him and fled。
I inquired; 〃Did he get the shirt?〃
〃No。〃
〃How did you know it was a shirt he was after?〃
〃I could see it in his eye。〃
We inquired around; but could hear of no Bermudian spider capable of
doing these things。 Citizens said that their largest spiders could not
more than spread their legs over an ordinary saucer; and that they had
always been considered honest。 Here was testimony of a clergyman against
the testimony of mere worldlingsinterested ones; too。 On the whole; I
judged it best to lock up my things。
Here and there on the country roads we found lemon; papaw; orange; lime;
and fig trees; also several sorts of palms; among them the cocoa; the
date; and the palmetto。 We saw some bamboos forty feet high; with stems
as thick as a man's arm。 Jungles of the mangrove tree stood up out of
swamps; propped on their interlacing roots as upon a tangle of stilts。
In drier places the noble tamarind sent down its grateful cloud of shade。
Here and there the blossomy tamarisk adorned the roadside。 There was a
curious gnarled and twisted black tree; without a single leaf on; it。
It might have passed itself off for a dead apple tree but for the fact
that it had a a star…like; red…hot flower sprinkled sparsely over its
person。 It had the scattery red glow that a constellation might have
when glimpsed through smoked glass; It is possible that our
constellations have been so constructed as to be invisible through smoked
glass; if this is so it is a great mistake。
We saw a tree that bears grapes; and just as calmly and unostentatiously
as a vine would do it。 We saw an India…rubber tree; but out of season;
possibly; so there were no shoes on it; nor suspenders; nor anything that
a person would properly expect to find there。 This gave it an
impressively fraudulent look。 There was exactly one mahogany tree on the
island。 I know this to be reliable; because I saw a man who said he had
counted it many a time and could not be mistaken。 He was a man with a
harelip and a pure heart; and everybody said he was as true as steel。
Such men are all too few。
One's eye caught near and far the pink cloud of the oleander and the red
blaze of the pomegranate blossom。 In one piece of wild wood the morning…
glory vines had wrapped the trees to their very tops; and decorated them
all over with couples and clusters of great bluebells…a fine and striking
spectacle; at a little distance。 But the dull cedar is everywhere; and
is the prevailing foliage。 One does not appreciate how dull it is until
the varnished; bright green attire of the infrequent lemon tree
pleasantly intrudes its contrast。 In one thing Bermuda is eminently
tropicalwas in May; at leastthe unbrilliant; slightly faded;
unrejoicing look of the landscape。 For forests ar