The Adventure of a Little Dog

馬歇爾·桑德斯/Marshall Sauders

在莫里斯家的第一個冬天，我經歷了一場驚心動魄的冒險。那是圣誕節的前一個星期，霧氣彌漫，非常寒冷。那天，我懶懶地躺在火爐旁，累極了。

這時，門開了，一個叫貝西·德魯里的年輕女孩走了進來。

她從馬路對面她父親的屋子里跑出來，頭上戴著帽子，脖子上圍著圍巾。“哦，莫里斯夫人，”她說，“今晚你可以讓勞拉過來陪陪我嗎？媽媽剛才接到從班格傳來的電報，說她的姨媽，也就是科爾夫人病重，她要去看她，爸爸今晚陪她一起乘火車去，媽媽怕我沒有勞拉陪伴會孤單。”

“好吧，”莫里斯夫人說道，“我想勞拉很樂意陪你的。”

“那當然了，”勞拉小姐笑著對她的朋友說道，“半小時后我到你那里。”

“太謝謝你了。”說完，貝西匆忙走了。

她走后，莫里斯先生從報紙里探出頭來，說道：“除了這兩個女孩子，屋子里還有其他人嗎？”

“哦，當然，”莫里斯夫人說道，“德魯里夫人有個老奶媽，已經跟隨她20年了，還有兩個女仆，車夫唐納德就睡在馬廄里，他們會保護好她的。”

“很好。”莫里斯先生說完，又把頭埋進報紙里了。

當勞拉小姐挎著小包下樓時，我起身跟上了她。“喬，你得回去。”她說道，然后關上門走了。

我不得不回去，但是我覺得糟糕透了，大聲叫著，嗚咽著。我在地板上走來走去，又跑到窗戶邊，大聲咆哮著。

“天哪！”莫里斯先生對妻子說，“讓這只狗去吧。”

“好吧。”莫里斯夫人疑惑地說，“杰克，帶他過去。”

我和杰克很快來到了德魯里家，他按了門鈴，把我交給了開門的女仆。我躡手躡腳地走到前面的屋子里，在那里我找到了親愛的勞拉小姐。

大廳的鐘指向了11點。“我們是不是該睡覺了？”勞拉小姐問道。

“是該睡了。”貝西小姐說道。

“喬睡哪里呢？”

“不知道，”勞拉小姐說道，“在家時，他睡馬廄里，或者跟吉姆睡自己的窩里。”

“要不讓蘇珊在廚房火爐邊準備個舒服的床，他睡那里。”貝西小姐說。

蘇珊把床準備好了，但我不愿睡那里，我大叫著，于是他們不得不在勞拉小姐的床邊鋪了塊柔軟的毯子，讓我睡在上面。

勞拉小姐幾乎要對我發火了，但是我不能控制自己。我來這里是要保護她的，我必須和她在一起。

兩個女孩聊了很久后睡著了。勞拉小姐在睡前原諒了我，她把手放下來，讓我舔了舔。

我累了，躺在柔軟舒適的床上，很快入睡了。不過，絲絲的嘈雜聲把我吵醒了，一次是勞拉小姐在床上翻身，一次是貝西小姐的夢中笑聲。結著霜的樹葉被風吹打著，發出奇怪的沙沙聲。很快，我睡意全無。

大廳里有只大鐘，它一搖擺，我就醒來。有一次，不知它搖擺了多少次，我從深睡中被驚醒。我夢到我又回到了以前的家，詹金斯拿鞭子追趕我，我嚇得腿發抖，好像正想方設法逃脫。

我跳了起來，把自己搖醒，繞著房間轉了一圈。幾乎聽不到兩個女孩那輕盈的呼吸聲。我走到門外，看了看大廳，那里有盞火光微弱的燈。奶媽的房門開著，我輕輕地走進去看了看。她睡得很沉，嘴里嘟嘟囔囔不知在說什么。

我又回到我的毯子上睡覺，但睡不著了。一種不祥之感籠罩著我。我被迫站了起來，重新走到樓梯上站著。我覺得該到大廳里轉轉，然后再睡。

與莫里斯家不同，德魯里家的地毯如天鵝絨般柔軟，我走在上面，不會發出咯吱咯吱的響聲。我像貓一樣溜到樓下，在大廳轉悠了一會兒，又把所有的門聞了個遍，仔細聽了聽周圍的動靜。這里非常黑，沒有燈，但要是有陌生人在周圍，我肯定能察覺。

當我晃悠到大廳盡頭那扇最遠的門邊時，我發現餐廳的門縫里透出一絲微弱的燈光，忽然燈光又立即消失了。我吃驚極了，餐廳是大家吃飯的地方，這家所有的人都吃過晚餐了，應該沒有人的啊！

我走上前去，在門底下聞了聞，有一股強烈的氣味，像是從乞丐身上散發出來的，聞起來好像是詹金斯的，沒錯，是詹金斯！

這個卑鄙的人要對我親愛的勞拉小姐做什么？我快發瘋了。我用爪子抓著門，我咆哮著，叫喊著。我跳起來，用身體撞著門，盡管我已是一只很重的狗了，但是我仍然感到自己像羽毛一樣輕盈。

當時我覺得如果我不把門撞開，我就會發瘋。每隔幾秒鐘，我都停下來把頭靠在門檻上，聽聽里面的動靜。屋子里一片混亂，椅子被撞倒了，好像有人正試圖從窗戶跳出去。

這使我比以前叫得更瘋狂。當時我來不及想我只是一只中等身材的狗，如果他抓住我，很可能會殺了我。我憤怒極了，只想抓住他。

在我制造出如此大的噪音時，一聲尖叫從樓上傳來，接著有人的走動聲，我在大廳里來回跑動，一會兒跑上樓梯，一會兒又下來。我不想讓勞拉小姐跑下來，但我怎能讓她理解我當時的心情呢？她站在那里，穿著白色的睡衣，靠在欄桿上，用手撫摸著自己的長發，臉上露出既驚訝又恐懼的表情。

“這只狗已經瘋了，”貝西小姐尖叫道，“奶媽，往他身上潑點兒水。”

但奶媽當時要清醒得多。她跑下樓，頭上的睡帽已經飛了，身后托著一條她從床上抓到的毯子。“屋里有賊，”她扯著嗓子叫著，“是這只狗發現的。”

她沒有走到餐廳的門旁，而是打開前面的門，叫道：“警察！警察！救命，救命，有賊，有人行兇！”

她的尖叫聲如此之大，以至于讓人無法相信這是一個老婦人發出的！我急急忙忙地跟在她后面，穿過大廳的門，來到大門口，這時我聽到有人在跑。我大叫了幾聲，喚來吉姆，跳到門口，趕在那個人前面。

那天晚上我真的是瘋了。我確信那是詹金斯的氣味。我覺得自己好想把他撕成碎片，我從來沒有這樣強烈的復仇感。我緊緊地追趕著他，就像他當年追趕著我和媽媽那樣，我當時真是興奮極了。

老吉姆很快趕上了我，我用鼻子拱了他一下，讓他明白我很高興他來了。我們飛奔著，在拐角處我們抓到了這個倒霉蛋，他竟然想逃脫我的爪子！

我憤怒地咆哮著，跳上前去咬住他的腿。他轉過身來，盡管那個夜晚不是很亮，但我依然能看到昔日主人那張丑陋的臉。

看到吉姆和我竟然咬他，他好像惱怒極了。他抓起一把石子，擲向我們，嘴里還罵罵咧咧的。正在那時，我們前面傳來一聲奇怪的口哨聲，接著身后又傳來一聲類似的聲音。詹金斯的喉嚨里發出一聲奇怪、含糊不清的聲音，然后他跑到了旁邊的街上，遠離了那兩聲口哨聲的方向。

我怕他逃走，盡管我抓不住他，但還是一次又一次地跳起來，跟上他，有一次竟然把他絆倒了。當時他是多么惱怒啊！他把我踢到墻上，然后抓起一根棍子，使勁地打了我幾下，接著又把石頭扔向我。

盡管鮮血模糊了我的雙眼，我幾乎看不到他，但還是沒有放棄。而只要詹金斯碰到我，老吉姆就狂怒不止，撲到他的身后，死死咬住他的小腿，和他拼起來。

詹金斯很快逃到高墻邊上，停在那里，他急急忙忙地看了看身后，開始往墻上爬。墻太高了，我爬不上去。他要逃走了。怎么辦？我放開嗓子，大聲叫著，希望有人來幫我。他企圖爬到墻上，但我跳了起來，抱住了他的腿。

我死死咬住他，竟然被他拖到了墻的另一邊，而老吉姆被留在墻的另一邊。詹金斯的臉撞到了地上，然后他爬起來，一臉的仇恨，朝我沖來。要是沒有人來幫忙，我想他一定會把我的頭靠在墻上撞得粉碎，就像在馬廄里他把我那些可憐的兄弟的腦漿撞得四處飛濺一樣。但是就在那時，傳來一陣跑步聲，兩個男人跑到了這條街上，躍過了高墻，吉姆那會兒正上躥下跳，在絕望中咆哮。

從他們的制服和手中握的警棍，我立刻看出他們是警察。他們很快抓住了詹金斯。他放棄了逃跑，但還像只丑陋的狗那樣沖我罵道：“要是沒有那條狗，我就不會被抓到。噢——”他搖晃著，后退了幾步，嘴里罵道：“這是我自己的狗。”

“你真無恥，”其中一個警察嚴厲地說道，“這么晚了，你在干什么，惹得自家狗和牧師家溫順的狗滿大街追你？”

詹金斯什么都沒說，只是嘴里開始詛咒。正在那時，花園的房子里的窗戶打開了，一個人叫道：“嗨，你們在干嗎呢？”

“我們正在抓小偷，先生，”一個警察說道，“至少我覺得他是小偷，能扔下來根繩子嗎？我們沒帶手銬。我們一個去監獄，一個還要去華盛頓街，有個婦女說那里有人行兇。請快點兒，先生。”

那位紳士扔下來一根繩子，不到兩秒鐘，詹金斯的手腕就被綁得牢牢的。“好狗啊。”另一個警察對我和吉姆說道。而后，他跑到了街上，我們尾隨他過去了。

正當我們急急忙忙沿著華盛頓街走著，快靠近我們自己的房子時，我們看到從黑暗里閃出一絲亮光，接著聽到人們來回跑的聲音。鄰居們已被奶媽的尖叫聲驚醒了。莫里斯家的男孩子們全都跑到了街上，他們只穿了一點兒衣服，在寒風中凍得發抖。德魯里家的車夫沒戴帽子，頭發都朝上豎著，拿著個燈籠四處跑著。

附近人家的房子全亮燈了，很多人把窗簾拉起，打開自家門，互相打聽發生了什么事。

當警察還有我和吉姆出現在人們面前時，一大群人立刻圍到警察周圍，打探出了什么事。吉姆和我倒在地上，使勁兒地喘氣，口水如泉水般從喉嚨里流了出來。我們倆都累暈了。吉姆的背上有好幾處都流血了，那是被詹金斯用石頭砸的，而我也被砸得遍體鱗傷。

人們立即發現了我們，他們發出了陣陣騷動聲。“勇敢的狗！高貴的狗！”大家如此稱贊著，撫摸著我們。我們既驕傲又開心，站起來搖著尾巴，至少吉姆可以，我呢，則盡我所能地搖著。后來人們發現我們受了重傷。莫里斯夫人大叫著，一把抱起我，沖進了屋子，杰克和老吉姆跟了進來。

我們到了大廳。那邊的火很旺，勞拉小姐和貝西小姐都坐在那里。看見我們，她們跳了起來，迅速地清洗了我們的傷口，讓我們躺在火爐邊。

“你保護了我們的銀質餐具，勇敢的喬，”貝西小姐說道，“等我爸爸媽媽回來，他們一定會夸獎你們的。好了，杰克，有什么最新消息？”這時，莫里斯家的男孩子們都擠進了屋。

“警察正在詢問你家的奶媽，檢查餐廳，他們已經到警察廳做筆錄了，你知道他發現了什么？”杰克興奮地說道。

“不知道，發現了什么？”貝西小姐問道。

“那個惡棍要燒掉你們的房子。”

貝西小姐尖叫了起來，“為什么，你的意思是——”

“哦，”杰克說，“警察調查后認為，他打算把銀質餐具裝到袋子里帶走，在這之前，他要把房子周圍潑上汽油，點上一把火，這樣人們就不會發現他的罪惡行徑了。”

“那樣我們所有人都會被燒死的，”貝西小姐說道，“他不可能只燒餐廳，而讓別的房間免于火災。”

“當然了，”杰克說道，“這正說明了他是個十足的惡棍。”

“他們證實這些了嗎，杰克？”勞拉小姐問道。

“哦，他們只是猜測，因為他們在他裝銀器的袋子周圍發現了幾滴汽油。”

“多恐怖啊！可愛的喬，你救了我們，”漂亮的貝西小姐吻了吻我難看而又紅腫的頭。我只是舔了舔她的小手，但每次過后我總想多舔她幾下。

第二天，德魯里夫婦回家了，詹金斯的案子也水落石出。詹金斯被迫交代了一切，他被判處10年監禁。我希望他在那里好好改造，出來后做個好人。

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.