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'The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky' by Stephen Crane, Part Two

时间:2018-04-07 07:36来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
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From VOA Learning English, this is American Stories.

Our story is called “The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky.” It was written by Stephen Crane. Today, we will hear the second and final part of the story.

“Don’t know whether there will be a fight or not,” answered one man firmly, “but there’ll be some shooting -- some good shooting.”

The young man who had warned them waved his hand. “Oh, there’ll be a fight fast enough, if anyone wants it. Anybody can get in a fight out there in the street. There’s a fight just waiting.”

The salesman seemed to be realizing the possibility of personal danger.

“What did you say his name was?” he asked.

“Scratchy Wilson,” voices answered together.

“And will he kill anybody? What are you going to do? Does this happen often? Can he break in that door?”

“No, he can’t break in that door,” replied the saloon-keeper. “He’s tried it three times. But when he comes you’d better lie down on the floor, stranger. He’s sure to shoot at the door, and a bullet may come through.”

After that, the salesman watched the door steadily1. The time had not yet come for him to drop to the floor, but he carefully moved near the wall.

“Will he kill anybody?” he asked again. The men laughed, without humor, at the question.

“He’s here to shoot, and he’s here for trouble. I don’t see any good in experimenting with him.”

“But what do you do in a situation like this? What can you do?”

A man answered, “Well, he and Jack2 Potter -- ”

“But,” the other men interrupted together, “Jack Potter’s in San Antonio.”

“Well, who is he? What’s he got to do with this?” “Oh, he’s the town policeman. He goes out and fights Scratchy when he starts acting3 this way.”

A nervous, waiting silence was upon them. The salesman saw that the saloon-keeper, without a sound, had taken a gun from a hiding place. Then he saw the man signal to him, so he moved across the room.

“You’d better come with me behind this table.”

“No, thanks,” said the salesman. “I’d rather be where I can get out the back door.”

At that, the saloon-keeper made a kindly4 but forceful motion. The salesman obeyed, and found himself seated on a box with his head below the level of the table. The saloon-keeper sat comfortably upon a box nearby.

“You see,” he whispered, “Scratchy Wilson is a wonder with a gun -- a perfect wonder. And when he gets excited, everyone gets out of his path. He’s a terror when he’s drunk. When he’s not drinking he’s all right -- wouldn’t hurt anything—nicest fellow in town. But when he’s drunk -- be careful!”

There were periods of stillness. “I wish Jack Potter were back from San Antonio,” said the saloon-keeper. “He shot Wilson once, in the leg. He’d come in and take care of this thing.

”Soon they heard from a distance the sound of a shot, followed by three wild screams. The men looked at each other.

“Here he comes,” they said. A man in a red shirt turned a corner and walked into the middle of the main street of Yellow Sky.

In each hand the man held a long, heavy, blue black gun. Often he screamed, and these cries rang through the seemingly deserted5 village.

The screams sounded sharply over the roofs with a power that seemed to have no relation to the ordinary strength of a man’s voice. These fierce cries rang against walls of silence.

The man’s face flamed in a hot anger born of whiskey. His eyes rolling but watchful6, hunted the still doorways7 and windows. He walked with the movement of a midnight cat. As the thoughts came to him, he roared threatening information.

The long guns hung from his hands like feathers, they were moved with electric speed. The muscles of his neck straightened and sank, straightened and sank, as passion moved him.

The only sounds were his terrible invitations to battle. The calm houses preserved their dignity at the passing of this small thing in the middle of the street.

There was no offer of fight -- no offer of fight. The man called to the sky. There were no answers. He screamed and shouted and waved his guns here and everywhere.

Finally, the man was at the closed door of the saloon. He went to it, and beating upon it with his gun, demanded drink. The door remained closed.

He picked up a bit of paper from the street and nailed it to the frame of the door with a knife. He then turned his back upon this place and walked to the opposite side of the street. Turning quickly and easily, he fired the guns at the bit of paper. He missed it by a half an inch.

He cursed at himself, and went away. Later, he comfortably shot out all the windows of the house of his best friend. Scratchy was playing with this town. It was a toy for him.

But still there was no offer of fight. The name of Jack Potter, his ancient enemy, entered his mind. He decided8 that it would be a good thing if he went to Potter’s house, and by shooting at it make him come out and fight. He moved in the direction of his desire, singing some sort of war song.

When he arrived at it, Potter’s house presented the same still front as had the other homes. Taking a good position, the man screamed an invitation to battle.

But this house regarded him as a great, stone god might have done. It gave no sign. After a little wait, the man screamed more invitations, mixing them with wonderful curses.

After a while came the sight of a man working himself into deepest anger over the stillness of a house. He screamed at it. He shot again and again. He paused only for breath or to reload his guns.

Potter and his bride walked rapidly. Sometimes they laughed together, quietly and a little foolishly.

“Next corner, dear,” he said finally.

They put forth9 the efforts of a pair walking against a strong wind. Potter was ready to point the first appearance of the new home. Then, as they turned the corner, they came face to face with the man in the red shirt, who was feverishly10 loading a large gun.

Immediately the man dropped his empty gun to the ground and, like lightning, pulled out another. The second gun was aimed at Potter’s chest.

There was a silence. Potter couldn’t open his mouth. Quickly he loosened his arm from the woman’s grasp, and dropped the bag to the sand.

As for the bride, her face had become the color of an old cloth. She was motionless. The two men faced each other at a distance of nine feet.

Behind the gun, Wilson smiled with a new and quiet cruelty.

“Tried to surprise me,” he said. “Tried to surprise me!” His eyes grew more evil. As Potter made a slight movement, the man pushed his gun sharply forward.

“No, don’t you do it, Jack Potter. Don’t you move a finger toward a gun yet. Don’t you move a muscle. The time has come for me to settle with you, and I’m going to do it my own way -- slowly, with no interruption. So just listen to what I tell you.”

Potter looked at his enemy. “I haven’t got a gun with me, Scratchy,” he said. “Honest, I haven’t.” He was stiffening11 and steadying, but at the back of his mind floated a picture of the beautiful car on the train. He thought of the glory of the wedding, the spirit of his new life.

“You know I fight when I have to fight, Scratchy Wilson. But I haven’t got a gun with me. You’ll have to do all the shooting yourself.”

His enemy’s face turned pale with anger. He stepped forward and whipped his gun back and forth before Potter’s chest.

“Don’t you tell me you haven’t got a gun with you, you dog. Don’t tell me a lie like that. There isn’t a man in Texas who ever saw you without a gun. Don’t think I’m a kid.” His eyes burned with anger and his breath came heavily.

“I don’t think you’re a kid,” answered Potter. His feet had not moved an inch backward. “I think you’re a complete fool. I tell you I haven’t got a gun, and I haven’t. If you’re going to shoot me, you’d better begin now; you’ll never get a chance like this again.”

So much enforced reasoning had weakened Wilson’s anger. He was calmer. “If you haven’t got a gun, why haven’t you got a gun?,” he asked. “Been to church?”

“I haven’t got a gun because I’ve just come from San Antonio with my wife. I’m married,” said Potter. “And if I had thought there’d be a fool like you here when I brought my wife home, I would have had a gun, and don’t you forget it.”

“Married!” said Scratchy, not at all understanding.

“Yes, married. I’m married,” said Potter, clearly.

“Married?” said Scratchy. Seemingly for the first time, he saw the pale, frightened woman at the other side. “No!” he said.

He was like a creature allowed a glance at another world. He moved a pace backward, and his arm, with the gun, dropped to his side.

“Is this the lady?” he asked.

“Yes, this is the lady,” answered Potter.

There was another period of silence.

“Well,” said Wilson at last, slowly. “I suppose we won’t fight now.”

“We won’t if you say so, Scratchy. You know I didn’t make the trouble.”

Potter lifted the bag.

“Well, I guess we won’t fight, Jack,” said Wilson. He was looking at the ground.

“Married!”

He was not a student of good manners. It was merely that in the presence of this foreign condition he was a simple child of the wildlands. He picked up his fallen gun, and he went away. His feet made deep tracks in the heavy sand.

Words in This Story

feverishly - adv. done in a way that involves intense emotion or activity : feeling or showing great or extreme excitement

muscle - n. a body tissue that can contract and produce movement

Old West / Wild West - expression. the western United States in its frontier period characterized by roughness and lawlessness

pace - n. a single step or the length of a single step

passion - n. a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something

saloon - n. a business where alcoholic12 drinks are served

saloon-keeper – n. a person who runs a bar; a bartender

whiskey - n. a strong alcoholic drink made from a grain (such as rye, corn, or barley)


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 steadily Qukw6     
adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地
参考例句:
  • The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
  • Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。
2 jack 53Hxp     
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克
参考例句:
  • I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
  • He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。
3 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
参考例句:
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
4 kindly tpUzhQ     
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地
参考例句:
  • Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
  • A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。
5 deserted GukzoL     
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的
参考例句:
  • The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
  • The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。
6 watchful tH9yX     
adj.注意的,警惕的
参考例句:
  • The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。
  • It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。
7 doorways 9f2a4f4f89bff2d72720b05d20d8f3d6     
n.门口,门道( doorway的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The houses belched people; the doorways spewed out children. 从各家茅屋里涌出一堆一堆的人群,从门口蹦出一群一群小孩。 来自辞典例句
  • He rambled under the walls and doorways. 他就顺着墙根和门楼遛跶。 来自辞典例句
8 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
9 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
10 feverishly 5ac95dc6539beaf41c678cd0fa6f89c7     
adv. 兴奋地
参考例句:
  • Feverishly he collected his data. 他拼命收集资料。
  • The company is having to cast around feverishly for ways to cut its costs. 公司迫切须要想出各种降低成本的办法。
11 stiffening d80da5d6e73e55bbb6a322bd893ffbc4     
n. (使衣服等)变硬的材料, 硬化 动词stiffen的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • Her mouth stiffening, she could not elaborate. 她嘴巴僵直,无法细说下去。
  • No genius, not a bad guy, but the attacks are hurting and stiffening him. 不是天才,人也不坏,但是四面八方的攻击伤了他的感情,使他横下了心。
12 alcoholic rx7zC     
adj.(含)酒精的,由酒精引起的;n.酗酒者
参考例句:
  • The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
  • Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。
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