第5章 乔的奇遇记
The Adventure of a Little Dog
马歇尔·桑德斯/Marshall Sauders
在莫里斯家的第一个冬天，我经历了一场惊心动魄的冒险。那是圣诞节的前一个星期，雾气弥漫，非常寒冷。那天，我懒懒地躺在火炉旁，累极了。
这时，门开了，一个叫贝西·德鲁里的年轻女孩走了进来。
她从马路对面她父亲的屋子里跑出来，头上戴着帽子，脖子上围着围巾。“哦，莫里斯夫人，”她说，“今晚你可以让劳拉过来陪陪我吗？妈妈刚才接到从班格传来的电报，说她的姨妈，也就是科尔夫人病重，她要去看她，爸爸今晚陪她一起乘火车去，妈妈怕我没有劳拉陪伴会孤单。”
“好吧，”莫里斯夫人说道，“我想劳拉很乐意陪你的。”
“那当然了，”劳拉小姐笑着对她的朋友说道，“半小时后我到你那里。”
“太谢谢你了。”说完，贝西匆忙走了。
她走后，莫里斯先生从报纸里探出头来，说道：“除了这两个女孩子，屋子里还有其他人吗？”
“哦，当然，”莫里斯夫人说道，“德鲁里夫人有个老奶妈，已经跟随她20年了，还有两个女仆，车夫唐纳德就睡在马厩里，他们会保护好她的。”
“很好。”莫里斯先生说完，又把头埋进报纸里了。
当劳拉小姐挎着小包下楼时，我起身跟上了她。“乔，你得回去。”她说道，然后关上门走了。
我不得不回去，但是我觉得糟糕透了，大声叫着，呜咽着。我在地板上走来走去，又跑到窗户边，大声咆哮着。
“天哪！”莫里斯先生对妻子说，“让这只狗去吧。”
“好吧。”莫里斯夫人疑惑地说，“杰克，带他过去。”
我和杰克很快来到了德鲁里家，他按了门铃，把我交给了开门的女仆。我蹑手蹑脚地走到前面的屋子里，在那里我找到了亲爱的劳拉小姐。
大厅的钟指向了11点。“我们是不是该睡觉了？”劳拉小姐问道。
“是该睡了。”贝西小姐说道。
“乔睡哪里呢？”
“不知道，”劳拉小姐说道，“在家时，他睡马厩里，或者跟吉姆睡自己的窝里。”
“要不让苏珊在厨房火炉边准备个舒服的床，他睡那里。”贝西小姐说。
苏珊把床准备好了，但我不愿睡那里，我大叫着，于是他们不得不在劳拉小姐的床边铺了块柔软的毯子，让我睡在上面。
劳拉小姐几乎要对我发火了，但是我不能控制自己。我来这里是要保护她的，我必须和她在一起。
两个女孩聊了很久后睡着了。劳拉小姐在睡前原谅了我，她把手放下来，让我舔了舔。
我累了，躺在柔软舒适的床上，很快入睡了。不过，丝丝的嘈杂声把我吵醒了，一次是劳拉小姐在床上翻身，一次是贝西小姐的梦中笑声。结着霜的树叶被风吹打着，发出奇怪的沙沙声。很快，我睡意全无。
大厅里有只大钟，它一摇摆，我就醒来。有一次，不知它摇摆了多少次，我从深睡中被惊醒。我梦到我又回到了以前的家，詹金斯拿鞭子追赶我，我吓得腿发抖，好像正想方设法逃脱。
我跳了起来，把自己摇醒，绕着房间转了一圈。几乎听不到两个女孩那轻盈的呼吸声。我走到门外，看了看大厅，那里有盏火光微弱的灯。奶妈的房门开着，我轻轻地走进去看了看。她睡得很沉，嘴里嘟嘟囔囔不知在说什么。
我又回到我的毯子上睡觉，但睡不着了。一种不祥之感笼罩着我。我被迫站了起来，重新走到楼梯上站着。我觉得该到大厅里转转，然后再睡。
与莫里斯家不同，德鲁里家的地毯如天鹅绒般柔软，我走在上面，不会发出咯吱咯吱的响声。我像猫一样溜到楼下，在大厅转悠了一会儿，又把所有的门闻了个遍，仔细听了听周围的动静。这里非常黑，没有灯，但要是有陌生人在周围，我肯定能察觉。
当我晃悠到大厅尽头那扇最远的门边时，我发现餐厅的门缝里透出一丝微弱的灯光，忽然灯光又立即消失了。我吃惊极了，餐厅是大家吃饭的地方，这家所有的人都吃过晚餐了，应该没有人的啊！
我走上前去，在门底下闻了闻，有一股强烈的气味，像是从乞丐身上散发出来的，闻起来好像是詹金斯的，没错，是詹金斯！
这个卑鄙的人要对我亲爱的劳拉小姐做什么？我快发疯了。我用爪子抓着门，我咆哮着，叫喊着。我跳起来，用身体撞着门，尽管我已是一只很重的狗了，但是我仍然感到自己像羽毛一样轻盈。
当时我觉得如果我不把门撞开，我就会发疯。每隔几秒钟，我都停下来把头靠在门槛上，听听里面的动静。屋子里一片混乱，椅子被撞倒了，好像有人正试图从窗户跳出去。
这使我比以前叫得更疯狂。当时我来不及想我只是一只中等身材的狗，如果他抓住我，很可能会杀了我。我愤怒极了，只想抓住他。
在我制造出如此大的噪音时，一声尖叫从楼上传来，接着有人的走动声，我在大厅里来回跑动，一会儿跑上楼梯，一会儿又下来。我不想让劳拉小姐跑下来，但我怎能让她理解我当时的心情呢？她站在那里，穿着白色的睡衣，靠在栏杆上，用手抚摸着自己的长发，脸上露出既惊讶又恐惧的表情。
“这只狗已经疯了，”贝西小姐尖叫道，“奶妈，往他身上泼点儿水。”
但奶妈当时要清醒得多。她跑下楼，头上的睡帽已经飞了，身后托着一条她从床上抓到的毯子。“屋里有贼，”她扯着嗓子叫着，“是这只狗发现的。”
她没有走到餐厅的门旁，而是打开前面的门，叫道：“警察！警察！救命，救命，有贼，有人行凶！”
她的尖叫声如此之大，以至于让人无法相信这是一个老妇人发出的！我急急忙忙地跟在她后面，穿过大厅的门，来到大门口，这时我听到有人在跑。我大叫了几声，唤来吉姆，跳到门口，赶在那个人前面。
那天晚上我真的是疯了。我确信那是詹金斯的气味。我觉得自己好想把他撕成碎片，我从来没有这样强烈的复仇感。我紧紧地追赶着他，就像他当年追赶着我和妈妈那样，我当时真是兴奋极了。
老吉姆很快赶上了我，我用鼻子拱了他一下，让他明白我很高兴他来了。我们飞奔着，在拐角处我们抓到了这个倒霉蛋，他竟然想逃脱我的爪子！
我愤怒地咆哮着，跳上前去咬住他的腿。他转过身来，尽管那个夜晚不是很亮，但我依然能看到昔日主人那张丑陋的脸。
看到吉姆和我竟然咬他，他好像恼怒极了。他抓起一把石子，掷向我们，嘴里还骂骂咧咧的。正在那时，我们前面传来一声奇怪的口哨声，接着身后又传来一声类似的声音。詹金斯的喉咙里发出一声奇怪、含糊不清的声音，然后他跑到了旁边的街上，远离了那两声口哨声的方向。
我怕他逃走，尽管我抓不住他，但还是一次又一次地跳起来，跟上他，有一次竟然把他绊倒了。当时他是多么恼怒啊！他把我踢到墙上，然后抓起一根棍子，使劲地打了我几下，接着又把石头扔向我。
尽管鲜血模糊了我的双眼，我几乎看不到他，但还是没有放弃。而只要詹金斯碰到我，老吉姆就狂怒不止，扑到他的身后，死死咬住他的小腿，和他拼起来。
詹金斯很快逃到高墙边上，停在那里，他急急忙忙地看了看身后，开始往墙上爬。墙太高了，我爬不上去。他要逃走了。怎么办？我放开嗓子，大声叫着，希望有人来帮我。他企图爬到墙上，但我跳了起来，抱住了他的腿。
我死死咬住他，竟然被他拖到了墙的另一边，而老吉姆被留在墙的另一边。詹金斯的脸撞到了地上，然后他爬起来，一脸的仇恨，朝我冲来。要是没有人来帮忙，我想他一定会把我的头靠在墙上撞得粉碎，就像在马厩里他把我那些可怜的兄弟的脑浆撞得四处飞溅一样。但是就在那时，传来一阵跑步声，两个男人跑到了这条街上，跃过了高墙，吉姆那会儿正上蹿下跳，在绝望中咆哮。
从他们的制服和手中握的警棍，我立刻看出他们是警察。他们很快抓住了詹金斯。他放弃了逃跑，但还像只丑陋的狗那样冲我骂道：“要是没有那条狗，我就不会被抓到。噢——”他摇晃着，后退了几步，嘴里骂道：“这是我自己的狗。”
“你真无耻，”其中一个警察严厉地说道，“这么晚了，你在干什么，惹得自家狗和牧师家温顺的狗满大街追你？”
詹金斯什么都没说，只是嘴里开始诅咒。正在那时，花园的房子里的窗户打开了，一个人叫道：“嗨，你们在干吗呢？”
“我们正在抓小偷，先生，”一个警察说道，“至少我觉得他是小偷，能扔下来根绳子吗？我们没带手铐。我们一个去监狱，一个还要去华盛顿街，有个妇女说那里有人行凶。请快点儿，先生。”
那位绅士扔下来一根绳子，不到两秒钟，詹金斯的手腕就被绑得牢牢的。“好狗啊。”另一个警察对我和吉姆说道。而后，他跑到了街上，我们尾随他过去了。
正当我们急急忙忙沿着华盛顿街走着，快靠近我们自己的房子时，我们看到从黑暗里闪出一丝亮光，接着听到人们来回跑的声音。邻居们已被奶妈的尖叫声惊醒了。莫里斯家的男孩子们全都跑到了街上，他们只穿了一点儿衣服，在寒风中冻得发抖。德鲁里家的车夫没戴帽子，头发都朝上竖着，拿着个灯笼四处跑着。
附近人家的房子全亮灯了，很多人把窗帘拉起，打开自家门，互相打听发生了什么事。
当警察还有我和吉姆出现在人们面前时，一大群人立刻围到警察周围，打探出了什么事。吉姆和我倒在地上，使劲儿地喘气，口水如泉水般从喉咙里流了出来。我们俩都累晕了。吉姆的背上有好几处都流血了，那是被詹金斯用石头砸的，而我也被砸得遍体鳞伤。
人们立即发现了我们，他们发出了阵阵骚动声。“勇敢的狗！高贵的狗！”大家如此称赞着，抚摸着我们。我们既骄傲又开心，站起来摇着尾巴，至少吉姆可以，我呢，则尽我所能地摇着。后来人们发现我们受了重伤。莫里斯夫人大叫着，一把抱起我，冲进了屋子，杰克和老吉姆跟了进来。
我们到了大厅。那边的火很旺，劳拉小姐和贝西小姐都坐在那里。看见我们，她们跳了起来，迅速地清洗了我们的伤口，让我们躺在火炉边。
“你保护了我们的银质餐具，勇敢的乔，”贝西小姐说道，“等我爸爸妈妈回来，他们一定会夸奖你们的。好了，杰克，有什么最新消息？”这时，莫里斯家的男孩子们都挤进了屋。
“警察正在询问你家的奶妈，检查餐厅，他们已经到警察厅做笔录了，你知道他发现了什么？”杰克兴奋地说道。
“不知道，发现了什么？”贝西小姐问道。
“那个恶棍要烧掉你们的房子。”
贝西小姐尖叫了起来，“为什么，你的意思是——”
“哦，”杰克说，“警察调查后认为，他打算把银质餐具装到袋子里带走，在这之前，他要把房子周围泼上汽油，点上一把火，这样人们就不会发现他的罪恶行径了。”
“那样我们所有人都会被烧死的，”贝西小姐说道，“他不可能只烧餐厅，而让别的房间免于火灾。”
“当然了，”杰克说道，“这正说明了他是个十足的恶棍。”
“他们证实这些了吗，杰克？”劳拉小姐问道。
“哦，他们只是猜测，因为他们在他装银器的袋子周围发现了几滴汽油。”
“多恐怖啊！可爱的乔，你救了我们，”漂亮的贝西小姐吻了吻我难看而又红肿的头。我只是舔了舔她的小手，但每次过后我总想多舔她几下。
第二天，德鲁里夫妇回家了，詹金斯的案子也水落石出。詹金斯被迫交代了一切，他被判处10年监禁。我希望他在那里好好改造，出来后做个好人。
The first winter I was at the Morrises， I had an adventure. It was a week before Christmas， and we were having cold， frosty weather. On that day， I was lying beside the fire， getting tired.
When the door opened， and a young girl called Bessie Drury came in.
She had a cap on and a shawl thrown over her shoulders， and she had just run across the street from her father's house. "Oh， Mrs. Morris，" she said， "will you let Laura come over and stay with me tonight？ Mamma has just gotten a telegram from Bangor， saying that her aunt， Mrs. Cole， is very ill， and she wants to see her， and papa is going to take her there by tonight's train， and she is afraid I will be lonely if I don't have Laura."
"Very well，" said Mrs. Morris， "I think Laura would like to go."
"Yes， indeed，" said Miss Laura， smiling at her friend. "I will come over in half an hour."
"Thank you so much，" said Miss Bessie. And she hurried away.
After she left， Mr. Morris looked up from his paper. "There will be some one in the house besides those two girls？"
"Oh， yes，" said Mrs. Morris， "Mrs. Drury has her old nurse， who has been with her for twenty years， and there are two maids besides， and Donald， the coachman， who sleeps over the stable. So they are well protected."
"Very good，" said Mr. Morris. And he went back to his paper.
When Miss Laura came down stairs with her little satchel on her arm， I got up and stood beside her. "Dear， old Joe，" she said， "you must not come." Then she shut the door and went out.
I had to step back then， but I cried and whined， I felt dreadfully. I walked up and down the floor and ran to the window， and howled.
"Mother，" Mr. morris said， turning to his wife， "let the dog go."
"Very well，" she said， in a puzzled way. "Jack， just run over with him."
Jack and I were soon at the front door， and he rang the bell and gave me in charge of the maid who opened it. I walked softly into a front room， and there I found my dear Miss Laura.
"Hadn't we better go to bed？" said Miss Laura， when the hall clock struck eleven.
"Yes， I suppose we had." said Miss Bessie.
"Where is this animal to sleep？"
"I don't know，" said Miss Laura， "he sleeps in the stable at home， or in the kennel with Jim."
"Suppose Susan makes him a nice bed by the kitchen stove？" said Miss Bessie.
Susan made the bed， but I was not willing to sleep in it. I barked so loudly when they shut me up alone， that they had to let me go upstairs with them.
Miss Laura was almost angry with me， but I could not help it. I had come over there to protect her， and I wasn't going to leave her， if I could help it.
The two girls talked for a long time， and then they fell asleep. Just before Miss Laura dropped off， she forgave me， and put down her hand for me to lick as I lay on a fur rug close by her bed.
I was very tired， and I had a very soft and pleasant bed， so I soon fell into a heavy sleep. But I waked up at the slightest noise. Once Miss Laura turned in bed， and another time Miss Bessie laughed in her sleep， and again， there were queer crackling noises in the frosty limbs of the trees outside， that made me start up quickly out of my sleep.
There was a big clock in the hall， and every time it struck I waked up. Once， just after it had struck some hours， I jumped up out of a sound nap. I had been dreaming about my early home. Jenkins was after me with a whip， and my limbs were quivering and trembling as if I had been trying to get away from him.
I sprang up and shook myself. Then I took a turn around the room. The two girls were breathing gently； I could scarcely hear them. I walked to the door and looked out into the hall. There was a dim light burning there. The door of the nurse's room stood open. I went quietly to it and looked in. She was breathing heavily and muttering in her sleep.
I went back to my rug and tried to go to sleep， but I could not. Such an uneasy feeling was upon me that I had to keep walking about. I went out into the hall again and stood at the head of the staircase. I thought I would take a walk through the lower hall， and then go to bed again.
The Drurys' carpets were all like velvet， and my paws did not make a rattling on them as they did on the oil cloth at the Morrises. I crept down the stairs like a cat， and walked along the lower hall， smelling under all the doors， listening as I went. There was no night light burning down here， and it was quite dark， but if there had been any strange person about I would have smelled him.
I was surprised when I got near the farther end of the hall， to see a tiny gleam of light shine for an instant from under the dining-room door. Then it went away again. The dining-room was the place to eat. Surely none of the people in the house would be there after the supper we had.
I went and sniffed under the door. There was a smell there； a strong smell like beggars and poor people. It smelled like Jenkins. It was.
What was the wretch doing in the house with my dear Miss Laura？ I thought I would go crazy. I scratched at the door， and barked and yelped. I sprang up on it， and though I was quite a heavy dog by this time， I felt as light as a feather.
It seemed to me that I would go mad if I could not get that door open. Every few seconds I stopped and put my head down to the doorsill to listen. There was a rushing about inside the room， and a chair fell over， and some one seemed to be getting out of the window.
This made me worse than ever. I did not stop to think that I was only a medium-sized dog， and that Jenkins would probably kill me， if he got his hands on me. I was so furious that I thought only of getting hold of him.
In the midst of the noise that I made， there was a screaming and a rushing to and fro upstairs. I ran up and down the hall， and half-way up the steps and back again. I did not want Miss Laura to come down， but how was I to make her understand？ There she was， in her white gown， leaning over the railing， and holding back her long hair， her face a picture of surprise and alarm.
"The dog has gone mad，" screamed Miss Bessie. "Nurse， pour a pitcher of water on him."
The nurse was more sensible. She ran downstairs， her night-cap flying， and a blanket that she had seized from her bed， trailing behind her. "There are thieves in the house，" she shouted at the top of her voice， "and the dog has found it out."
She did not go near the dining-room door， but threw open the front one， crying， "Policeman？ Policeman？ Help， help， thieves， murder？"
Such a screaming as that old woman made？ She was worse than I was. I dashed by her， out through the hall door， and away down to the gate， where I heard some one running. I gave a few loud yelps to call Jim， and leaped the gate as the man before me had done.
There was something savage in me that night. I think it must have been the smell of Jenkins. I felt as if I could tear him to pieces. I have never felt so wicked since. I was hunting him， as he had hunted me and my mother， and the thought gave me pleasure.
Old Jim soon caught up with me， and I gave him a push with my nose， to let him know I was glad he had come. We rushed swiftly on， and at the corner caught up with the miserable man who was running away from us.
I gave an angry growl， and jumped up， bit at his leg. He turned around， and though it was not a very bright night， there was light enough for me to see the ugly face of my old master.
He seemed so angry to think that Jim and I dared to snap at him. He caught up a handful of stones， and with some bad words threw them at us. Just then， away in front of us， was a queer whistle， and then another one like it behind us. Jenkins made a strange noise in his throat， and started to run down a side street， away from the direction of the two whistles.
I was afraid that he was going to get away， and though I could not hold him， I kept springing up on him， and once I tripped him up. Oh， how furious he was？ He kicked me against the side of a wall， and gave me two or three hard blows with a stick that he caught up， and kept throwing stones at me.
I would not give up， though I could scarcely see him for the blood that was running over my eyes. Old Jim got so angry whenever Jenkins touched me， that he ran up behind and nipped his calves， to make him turn on him.
Soon Jenkins came to a high wall， where he stopped， and with a hurried look behind， began to climb over it. The wall was too high for me to jump. He was going to escape. What shall I do？ I barked as loudly as I could for some one to come， and then sprang up and held him by the leg as he was getting over.
I had such a grip， that I went over the wall with him， and left Jim on the other side. Jenkins fell on his face in the earth. Then he got up， and with a look of deadly hatred on his face， pounced upon me. If help had not come， I think he would have dashed out my brains against the wall， as he dashed out my poor little brothers' against the horse's stall. But just then there was a running sound. Two men came down the street and sprang upon the wall， just where Jim was leaping up and down and barking in distress.
I saw at once by their uniform and the clubs in their hands， that they were policemen. In one short instant they had hold of Jenkins. He gave up then， but he stood snarling at me like an ugly dog. "If it hadn't been for that cur， I'd never a been caught. Why—" and he staggered back and uttered a bad word， "it's me own dog."
"More shame to you，" said one of the policemen， sternly， "what have you been up to at this time of night， to have your own dog and a quiet minister's spaniel dog a chasing you through the street？"
Jenkins began to swear and would not tell them anything. There was a house in the garden， and just at this minute some one opened a window and called out， "Hallo， there， what are you doing？"
"We're catching a thief， sir，" said one of the policemen， "leastwise I think that's what he's been up to. Could you throw us down a bit of rope？ We've no handcuffs here， and one of us has to go to the lock-up and the other to Washington street， where there's a woman yelling blue murder. And hurry up， please， sir."
The gentleman threw down a rope， and in two minutes Jenkins' wrists were tied together， and he was walked through the gate， saying bad words as fast as he could to the policeman who was leading him. "Good dogs，" said the other policeman to Jim and me. Then he ran up the street and we followed him.
As we hurried along Washington street， and came near our house， we saw lights gleaming through the darkness， and heard people running to and fro. The nurse's shrieking had alarmed the neighborhood. The Morris boys were all out in the street only half clad and shivering with cold， and the Drurys' coachman， with no hat on， and his hair sticking up all over his head， was running about with a lantern.
The neighbors' houses were all lighted up， and a good many people were hanging out of their windows and opening their doors， and calling to each other to know what all this noise meant.
When the policeman appeared with Jim and me at his heels， quite a crowd gathered around him to hear his part of the story. Jim and I dropped on the ground panting as hard as we could， and with little streams of water running from our tongues. We were both pretty well used up. Jim's back was bleeding in several places from the stones that Jenkins had thrown at him， and I was a mass of bruises.
Presently we were discovered， and then what a fuss was made over us. "Brave dogs？ Noble dogs？" everybody said， and patted and praised us. We were very proud and happy， and stood up and wagged our tails， at least Jim did， and I wagged what I could. Then they found what a state we were in. Mrs. Morris cried， and catching me up in her arms， ran in the house with me， and Jack followed with old Jim.
We all went into the parlor. There was a good fire there， and Miss Laura and Miss Bessie were sitting over it. They sprang up when they saw us， and right there in the parlor washed our wounds， and made us lie down by the fire.
"You saved our silver， brave Joe，" said Miss Bessie， "just wait till my papa and mamma come home， and see what they will say. Well， Jack， what is the latest？" as the Morris boys came trooping into the room.
"The policeman has been questioning your nurse， and examining the dining-room， and has gone down to the station to make his report， and do you know what he has found out？" said Jack， excitedly.
"No， what？" asked Miss Bessie.
"Why that villain was going to burn your house."
Miss Bessie gave a little shriek. "Why， what do you mean？"
"Well，" said Jack， "they think by what they discovered， that he planned to pack his bag with silver， and carry it off； but just before he did so he would pour oil around the room， and set fire to it， so people would not find out that he had been robbing you."
"Why we might have all been burned to death，" said Miss Bessie. "He couldn't burn the dining-room without setting fire to the rest of the house."
"Certainly not，" said Jack， "that shows what a villain he is."
"Do they know this for certain， Jack？" asked Miss Laura.
"Well， they suppose so； they found some bottles of oil along with the bag he had for the silver."
"How horrible？ My darling old Joe， perhaps you saved our lives，" and pretty Miss Bessie kissed my ugly， swollen head. I could do nothing but lick her little hand， but always after that I thought a great deal of her.
The next day the Drurys came home， and everything was found out about Jenkins. He was made to confess all this. Then for his wickedness he was sent to prison for ten years， and I hope he will get to be a better man there， and be one after he comes out.