岩岛奇遇 An Adventure on Island Rock（第2页）

Isatdownlimplyoriedtolookmattersfairlyintheface。I；callsforhelpotreayoheebodypassingdowntheshoreorofsomeb。

Ilookedatmywatch。Itastthree。Thetidewouldbegintoturnaboutfve，butitwouldbeatleastteherockwouldbecovered。Ihad，thehansixhourstoliveunlessrescued。

&wasbythistimeoutofsightarou。Ihopedthatthesightofadriftingdhtattraeoiooiioobemyonlyhope。NoalarmwouldbefeltatUncleRichard’sbeyheywouldsupposeIhadgooUncleAdams。

Ihaveheardoftimeseeminglongtoapersoni，buttomeitseemedfairlytofly，foreverymomentdecreasedmyceofrescue。IdeterminedIwouldocowardlyfear，so，withamurmuredprayerforhelp，Isetmyselftothetaskofwaitihasbravelyaspossible。AtintervalsIshoutedasloudlyasId，whenthesuheprleforthebestviewofthe“HoleintheWall，”Itookthepicture。Itafterwardsturobeagreatsuccess，butIhaveolookatitwithoutashudder。

Atfivethetidebegantoein。Very，veryslowlythewaterrosearoundIslandRock。Up，up，upitcame，whileIwatcheditwithfasatedeyes，feeliinatrap。Thesunfellloweraeightoeandbright；atwasalovelynight，dear，calm，brightasday，aerwasswishihehighestledgeoftherock。WithsomedifficultyIclimbedtothetopaoawaittheend。Ihadnolongeranyhopeofrescuebut，byagreateffort，Ipreservedself-trol。IfIhadtodie，Iwouldatleastfacedeathstaunchly。ButwhenIthoughtofmymotherathome，ittaskedallmyeokeepfrdownutterly。

SuddenlyIheardawhistle。Neverwassouoodupandpeeredeagerlysharoundthe“HoleintheWall”headland，ontopofthecliffs，Isawaboyandadog。Isentawildhallshore>

&arted，stoppedaowardsIslandRoextmomenthehailedme。ItwasErsvoiditwasLaddiewhbesidehim。

&，”Ishoutedwildly，“runforhelp-quick!quick！Thetidewillbeovertherohalfanhour！Hurry，oryouwillbetoolate！”

&artingoffatfullspeed，asIexpectedhimtodo，Eroodstillforamoment，aopickhisstepsdoathoverthecliff，follo>

&，”Ishoutedfrantically，“whatareyoudoing?Whydontyougoforhelp?”

&hadbythistimereaarrowledgeofrockjustabovethewater-liicedthathewasgsomethingoverhisarm。“Itwouldtaketooloed。“BythetimeIgottothedaboatcouldrowbackhere，you‘dbedrowned。LaddieandIwillsaveyou。Isthereanythingthereyoutiearopeto?I’veacoilofropeherethatIthinkwillbelooreachyou。IvebeendowntothedAlesentituptoyouruncle。”

Ilookedaboutme；asmooth，roundholehadbeehroughathinpartoftheapexoftherock。

“IcouldfastentheropeifIhadit！”Icalled。“Buthowyougetittome?”

Foraiedabitofdriftwoodtotheropeandputitih。Theethedogwasswimmingouttome。AssoonashecamecloseIcaughttherope。Itwasjustloostretshoretorock，alloleofhitcheswhiestgavearoundasmallboulderoiedmycamerayheadbymearingIfoundihehewaterand，holdingtotherope，wenthaotheshorewithLaddieswimmingbesideme。Erotheshorewardendoftheropelikegrimdeath，ataskthatwasnolightoneforhissmallarms。WhenIfinallyscrambledupbesidehim，hisfaceiiorembledlikealeaf。

“Ern，youareabrick！”Iexclaimed。“Youvesavedmylife！”

“No，itwasLaddie。”saidErotakeaall。

WehurriedhomeaUncleRichardsaboutten，justastheyweregoingtobed。WhenUncleRichardheardeurnedverypale，ahankGod！”Aumeoutofmywetclothesasquicklyaspossible，putmeawaytobedinhotblasahgiea。Isleptlikeatopaheworseformyexperiem。

AtthebreakfasttableUncleRichardscarcelyspoke。But，justaswefnished，hesaidabruptlytoEr，“I‘mnotgoingtosellLaddie。Youandthedogsavedweenyou，andnodogwhohelpeddothatisevergoingtobesoldbyme。Hehhebelongstoyou。Igivehimtoyouforyourveryown。”

“Oh，Mr。Lawso，withshiningeyes。

Ineversawaboylooksohappy。AsforLaddie，whowassittihhisshaggyheadosknee，Ireallybelievethedoguoo。Thelookinhiseyeswasalmosthuman。UncleRiedoverandpattedhim。“Gooddog！”hesaid。“Gooddog！”

理查德舅舅进来吃饭时，凯特舅妈问他：“今天我看见的那个在干草地上和你说话的人是谁？”

“鲍勃·马克斯，”理查德舅舅答道，“我把莱迪卖给他了。”

欧内斯特·休斯，那个靠给理查德舅舅做些零工而寄宿在他家的12岁孤儿，听到这些突然停止了吃饭。

他哽咽地哭喊着说：“噢，劳森先生，您别卖掉莱迪！”

理查德舅舅吃惊地看着这个和他一起生活了五年的小男孩，在此之前，欧内斯特一直都沉默寡言，从未主动开口要求过什么，更不必说试图反抗自己的命令了。

“我当然会卖掉，”理查德舅舅决然说道，“鲍勃肯出20块钱买下那只狗，他下个星期就来领走它。”

“噢，劳森先生，”欧内斯特说着站了起来，皱巴巴的小脸涨得通红，“别卖莱迪了，求求你，劳森先生，别卖它！”

“少废话！”理查德舅舅狠狠地说，他是那种不会顾及他人感受的人，他一旦决定的事情，就没人能改变。

“别把莱迪卖掉好吗？”欧内斯特恳求着，“我就这么一个朋友，没了它，我自己还有什么意思？噢，劳森先生，求求你了，别卖了！”

“你给我闭嘴，坐下！”理查德舅舅更严厉了，“狗是我的，我想怎么处置就怎么处置，卖了就卖了，快吃你的饭吧！”

但是，欧内斯特并没有坐下吃饭，这也是他第一次违背叔叔的命令。他猛地拿起椅背后面挂着的帽子，将帽檐拉到眼睛下面，带着哭腔从厨房跑了出去。舅舅看上去很生气，于是凯特赶忙安慰他：

“理查德，别生这个孩子的气了，”她说，“你知道他有多喜欢莱迪。他从小狗出生不久就一直和它玩耍，就这样失去莱迪，他当然会很伤心。听到你要把狗卖掉，就连我都觉得难过。”