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第53节

michael, brother of jerry-第53节

小说: michael, brother of jerry 字数: 每页4000字

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 within certain leaping distance; he crouched lower; gathered himself for the leap; then turned his head to regard the men at his back outside the cage。  The trailing rope in their hands; to his neck; he had forgotten。

〃Now you might as well be good; old man;〃 Mulcachy addressed him in soft; caressing tones; taking a step toward him and holding in advance the iron fork。

This merely incensed the huge; magnificent creature。  He rumbled a low; tense growl; flattened his ears back; and soared into the air; his paws spread so that the claws stood out like talons; his tail behind him as stiff and straight as a rod。  Neither did the man crouch or flee; nor did the beast attain to him。  At the height of his leap the rope tightened taut on his neck; causing him to describe a somersault and fall heavily to the floor on his side。

Before he could regain his feet; Mulcachy was upon him; shouting to his small audience:  〃Here's where we pound the argument out of him!〃  And pound he did; on the nose with the butt of the whip; and jab he did; with the iron fork to the ribs。  He rained a hurricane of blows and jabs on the animal's most sensitive parts。 Ever Ben Bolt leaped to retaliate; but was thrown by the ten men tailed on to the rope; and; each time; even as he struck the floor on his side; Mulcachy was upon him; pounding; smashing; jabbing。 His pain was exquisite; especially that of his tender nose。  And the creature who inflicted the pain was as fierce and terrible as he; even more so because he was more intelligent。  In but few minutes; dazed by the pain; appalled by his inability to rend and destroy the man who inflicted it; Ben Bolt lost his courage。  He fled ignominiously before the little; two…legged creature who was more terrible than himself who was a full…grown Royal Bengal tiger。  He leaped high in the air in sheer panic; he ran here and there; with lowered head; to avoid the rain of pain。  He even charged the sides of the arena; springing up and vainly trying to climb the slippery vertical bars。

Ever; like an avenging devil; Mulcachy pursued and smashed and jabbed; gritting through his teeth:  〃You will argue; will you? I'll teach you what argument is!  There!  Take that!  And that! And that!〃

〃Now I've got him afraid of me; and the rest ought to be easy;〃 he announced; resting off and panting hard from his exertions; while the great tiger crouched and quivered and shrank back from him against the base of the arena…bars。  〃Take a five…minute spell; you fellows; and we'll got our breaths。〃

Lowering one of the iron chairs; and attaching it firmly in its place on the floor; Mulcachy prepared for the teaching of the first trick。  Ben Bolt; jungle…born and jungle…reared; was to be compelled to sit in the chair in ludicrous and tragic imitation of man…creatures。  But Mulcachy was not quite ready。  The first lesson of fear of him must be reiterated and driven home。

Stepping to a near safe distance; he lashed Ben Bolt on the nose。 He repeated it。  He did it a score of times; and scores of times。 Turn his head as he would; ever Ben Bolt received the bite of the whip on his fearfully bruised nose; for Mulcachy was as expert as a stage…driver in his manipulation of the whip; and unerringly the lash snapped and cracked and stung Ben Bolt's nose wherever Ben Bolt at the moment might have it。

When it became maddeningly unendurable; he sprang; only to be jerked back by the ten strong men who held the rope to his neck。 And wrath; and ferocity; and intent to destroy; passed out utterly from the tiger's inflamed brain; until he knew fear; again and again; always fear and only fear; utter and abject fear; of this human mite who searched him with such pain。

Then the lesson of the first trick was taken up。  Mulcachy tapped the chair sharply with the butt of the whip to draw the animal's attention to it; then flicked the whip…lash sharply on his nose。 At the same moment; an attendant; through the bars behind; drove an iron fork into his ribs to force him away from the bars and toward the chair。  He crouched forward; then shrank back against the side…bars。  Again the chair was rapped; his nose was lashed; his ribs were jabbed; and he was forced by pain toward the chair。 This went on interminablyfor a quarter of an hour; for half an hour; for an hour; for the men…animals had the patience of gods while he was only a jungle…brute。  Thus tigers are broken。  And the verb means just what it means。  A performing animal is BROKEN。 Something BREAKS in an animal of the wild ere such an animal submits to do tricks before pay…audiences。

Mulcachy ordered an assistant to enter the arena with him。  Since he could not compel the tiger directly to sit in the chair; he must employ other means。  The rope about Ben Bolt's neck was passed up through the bars and rove through the block…and…tackle。 At signal from Mulcachy; the ten men hauled away。  Snarling; struggling; choking; in a fresh madness of terror at this new outrage; Ben Bolt was slowly hoisted by his neck up from the floor; until; quite clear of it; whirling; squirming; battling; suspended by his neck like a man being hanged; his wind was shut off and he began to suffocate。  He coiled and twisted; the splendid muscles of his body enabling him almost to tie knots in it。

The block…and…tackle; running like a trolley on the overhead track; made it possible for the assistant to seize his tail and drag him through the air till he was above the chair。  His helpless body guided thus by the tail; his chest jabbed by the iron fork in Mulcachy's hands; the rope was suddenly lowered; and Ben Bolt; with swimming brain; found himself seated in the chair。 On the instant he leaped for the floor; received a blow on the nose from the heavy whip…handle; and had a blank cartridge fired straight into his nostril。  His madness of pain and fear was multiplied。  He sprang away in flight; but Mulcachy's voice rang out; 〃Hoist him!〃 and he slowly rose in the air again; hanging by his neck; and began to strangle。

Once more he was swung into position by his tail; jabbed in the chest; and lowered suddenly on the runbut so suddenly; with a frantic twist of his body on his part; that he fell violently across the chair on his belly。  What little wind was left him from the strangling; seemed to have been ruined out of him by the violence of the fall。  The glare in his eyes was maniacal and swimming。  He panted frightfully; and his head rolled back and forth。  Slaver dripped from his mouth; blood ran from his nose。

〃Hoist away!〃 Mulcachy shouted。

And again; struggling frantically as the tightening collar shut off his wind; Ben Bolt was slowly lifted into the air。  So wildly did he struggle that; ere his hind feet were off the floor; he pranced back and forth; so that when he was heaved clear his body swung like a huge pendulum。  Over the chair; he was dropped; and for a fraction of a second the posture was his of a man sitting in a chair。  Then he uttered a terrible cry and sprang。

It was neither snarl; nor growl; nor roar; that cry; but a sheer scream; as if something had broken inside of him。  He missed Mulcachy by inches; as another blank cartridge exploded up his other nostril and as the men with the rope snapped him back so abruptly as almost to break his neck。

This time; lowered quickly; he sank into the chair like a half… empty sack of meal; and continued so to sink; until; crumpling at the middle; his great tawny head falling forward; he lay on the floor unconscious。  His tongue; black and swollen; lolled out of his mouth。  As buckets of water were poured on him he groaned and moaned。  And here ended the first lesson。

〃It's all right;〃 Mulcachy said; day after day; as the teaching went on。  〃Patience and hard work will pull off the trick。  I've got his goat。  He's afraid of me。  All that's required is time; and time adds to value with an animal like him。〃

Not on that first day; nor on the second; nor on the third; did the requisite something really break inside Ben Bolt。  But at the end of a fortnight it did break。  For the day came when Mulcachy rapped the chair with his whip…butt; when the attendant through the bars jabbed the iron fork into Ben Bolt's ribs; and when Ben Bolt; anything but royal; slinking like a beaten alley…cat; in pitiable terror; crawled over to the chair and sat down in it like a man。  He now was an 〃educated〃 tiger。  The sight of him; so sitting; tragically travestying man; has been considered; and is considered; 〃educative〃 by multitudinous audiences。

The second case; that of St。 Elias; was a harder one; and it was marked down against Mulcachy as one of his rare failures; though all admitted that it was an unavoidable failure。  St。 Elias was a huge monster of an Alaskan bear; who was good…natured and even facetious and humorous after the way of bears。  But he had a will of his own that was correspondingly as stubborn as his bulk。  He could be persuaded to do things; but he would not tolerate being compelled to do things。  And in the trained…animal world; where turns must go off like clockwork; is little or no space for persuasion。  An animal must do its turn; and do it promptly。 Audiences will not brook the delay of waiting while a trainer tries to persuade a crusty o

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