第11章思念里的流浪狗(1)
预知未来的狗
GimtheW
佚名Anonymous
In1925,SamVanArsdale,proprietoroftheRuffHotelinMarshall,Missouri,purEerpuppyinLouisiana。Thepuppywassideredtheleastpromisierandwassoldatathrorice。Thedogwasnothiolookatashehadusuallybigpawsandanungainlyappearance。SamdeJim。
Jimgrewtobeafine。Thedogwassmartandgood-natured,andSamleasedwithhis&quain"。
Oneday,whenJimwasthreeyearsold,heandSamwerewalkingthroughthewoods。Theweatherwashot,andSamsaidtoJim,"e,boy,let'sgoaleunderahickorytree。"
Thereesoftreesinthewoods,butJimranstraightovertoahickorytree。Samrised。Nodoubtitwasjusta,SamsaidtoJim,"Showmeablackoaktree。"WhenJimrabladputhisrightpaworee,Samwasamazed。This'tpossiblybetrue。
"Showmewal;hesaid,andJimraotheandputhispawonit。Samuedwitheverythihinkof—astump,hazelbushes,acedartree,evenatin。Jimcorretifiedthemall。Samcouldhardlybelievetheevidenceofhisowneyes。Howcouldadogdosugs?
Samweoldhispened。
Shesaidflatly,"SamVanArsdale,youtellme,butdon'tgotellinga;Sampersuadedhisaothewoods,whereJimputoperformance。Sheshookherheadi—Sam'scrazystorywastrue!
&hefewdays,Sam'thelptellinghisfriendsaroundtownwhathissmartdogiledathimilyandmovedoffprettyfast。
Onemandidlisten,althoughofcoursehetical。Sam,notigthatthemanhadparkedhisthestreetafewyardsaway,toldJimtoshowthemanwhichcarwashis。Jimwentstraighttothedputhisfrontpawonit。
&hermaheliseplatenumberofhiscar。Samwroteitdoieceofpaperandputthepaperonthesidewalk。HetoldJimtoidehouthesitation,Jimwalkedtothequestion。
Afterislikethese,Jim'sreputationspreadlikewildfirearouown。Soonhewasdemhispowersielforamazedcrowdsofuptoahuatime。ThereseemedtobenolimittowhatJimcoulddo。Whenpeoplewereinthelobby,hecoulddetermiroomheyothehotel,ittifypetotheclothestheywore,thecoloroftheirhair—ihefactthatdhttobed—theirprofession,and,ihemilitary,theirrank。
&heskepticssaid,SamwassecretlysignalingtoJim。AlthoughnoneofSam'sfriendsandassociatesquestioegrity,knowinghimtobeaplain-speakingmanwhowouldn'tdreamofdegothers,onewomathistheory。Shehadthecleverideatowriteaninstruinshorthand;whichSamdidand。WhenSamshowedJimthepaperonwhistruwaswritten,andtoldhimtodowhateveritsaid,Jimweoaman。Thewoma;He'sdoingit!"Thensheexplaiheinstruwas,"Showusthemanwithrolledsocks。"
Jim'sreputationspreadfarbeyoownofMarshall。Neersandmagazinesfromalloverthetryseocoverthestory。Theywentaway,likeeveryoneelse,amazed。JimbeastheW。
Jim'sfeatsarousedstifidmedicalcuriosity。HewasexamierinariansatMissouriStateUy,whosaidthattherewasnothingunusualaboutJim—physically,hewasjustlikeaheycouldofferionforhisunytalent。
Oneday,somefriendspersuadedSamtotestJimfurther。Couldhepossiblypredictthefuture?SamtookaheKehatyearhewrotedowhehorsesonpiecesofpaperthathethenlaidonthefloor。HeaskedJimtoselectthehorsethatwouldwin。Jimputhispawoheslipsofpaper,utinalockedsafeuherace。ItturhatJimhadpickedthewiedhissuccessthefollowingyear,andsoonforsevensuccessiveyears。
SamwasnotagamblingmaedtoprofitfromJim'sabilitiestoforetellthefuture。HereylettersandtelegramsrequestingJim'spredisofwinninghorses。SomepeopleofferedtosplittheprofitswithSam。ButSamneverwavered。edinaluParamountforJimtoworkinmoviesforayear。Likethemodestmidwesternerhewas,Samsaidhedidn'treallyhemoneyanddidn'twanttoercializeJim。
Astimepassed,theboweenSamandJimgrew。Sam'sloveforJimwasthatofamanfreatestfriend。Andthedog'sabilitytodoanythingSamaskedwasjustoofJim'sdeepdevotiontowardsSam。Sowheheageoftwelvein1937,Samwasdevastated。AhewholetownofMarshallwasstuheloss。JimwasburiedintheRidgeParkCemetery,wherehissmallwhiteheadstonereads:JimtheW。
萨姆·范·阿斯代尔是密苏里州马歇尔镇拉夫旅馆的老板。1925年,他从路易斯安那州买回了一只英国塞特小猎狗。他被认为是这窝小狗中最没前途的一只,并且几乎是以白送的价格卖的。这只小狗看上去毫无特别之处,像大多数狗一样,有着一双大爪子和一张丑陋的嘴脸。萨姆决定叫他“吉姆”。
吉姆渐渐成为萨姆的亲密伙伴,他机灵、温顺,萨姆对这个“便宜货”很满意。
吉姆3岁的一天,他们路过一片林地。天气闷热,萨姆对吉姆说:“过来,小家伙!我们到一棵山核桃树下休息一会儿。”
林子中长有许多不同品种的树,吉姆却径直朝一棵山核桃树跑去。萨姆不禁有些惊讶,他想,一定是巧合。他一时来了兴致,对吉姆说:“告诉我哪棵是黑橡树?”吉姆跑到最近的那棵黑橡树前,并把前爪搭在树上,萨姆大为吃惊,他简直不敢相信这是真的。