2 - The Luck of Roaring Camp - By Bret Harte | Текст песни

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• The Luck of Roaring Camp - By Bret Harte

Soon after the ceremony, Roaring Camp began to change. The first improvements were made in the cabin of Tommy or "The Luck" as he was usually called. The men painted it white, planted flowers around it and kept it clean.

Tuttles store, where the men used to meet to talk and play cards, also changed. The owner imported a carpet and some mirrors. The men – seeing themselves in Tuttles mirrors – began to take more care about their hair, beards and clothing.

Stumpy made a new law for the camp. Anyone who wanted the honor of holding The Luck would have to wash daily. Kentuck appeared at the cabin every afternoon in a clean shirt, his face still shining from the washing hed given it.

The shouting and yelling that had given the camp its name also stopped. Tommy needed his sleep, and the men walked around speaking in whispers. Instead of angry shouts, the music of gentle songs filled the air. Strange new feelings of peace and happiness came into the hearts of the miners of Roaring Camp.

During those long summer days, The Luck was carried up the mountain to the place where the men were digging for gold. He would lie on a soft blanket decorated with wild flowers the men would bring.

Nature was his nurse and playmate. Birds flew around his blanket. And little animals would play nearby. Golden sunshine and soft breezes would stroke him to sleep.

During that golden summer The Luck was with them, the men of Roaring Camp all became rich. With the gold they found in the mountains came a desire for further improvement. The men voted to build a hotel the following spring. They hoped some good families with children would come to live in Roaring Camp.

But some of the men were against this plan. They hoped something would happen to prevent it. And something did.

The following winter, the winter of eighteen fifty-one, is still remembered for the heavy snows in the mountains. When the snow melted that spring, every stream became an angry river that raced down the mountains tearing up trees and bringing destruction.

One of those terrible streams was the North Fork River. Late one night, it leaped over its banks and raced into the valley of Roaring Camp.

The sleeping men had no chance to escape the rushing water, the crashing trees and the darkness. When morning came, Stumpys cabin near the river was gone. Further down in the valley they found the body of its unlucky owner.

But the pride, the hope, the joy, The Luck of Roaring Camp had disappeared.

Suddenly, a boat appeared from around a bend in the river. The men in it said they had picked up a man and a baby. Did anyone know them? Did they belong here?

Lying on the bottom of the rescue boat was Kentuck. He was seriously injured, but still holding The Luck of Roaring Camp in his arms. As they bent over the two, the men saw the child was pale and cold.

"Hes dead," said one of them.

Kentuck opened his eyes. "Dead?" he whispered. "Yes, Kentuck. And you are dying, too."

Kentuck smiled. "Dying!" he repeated. "He is taking me with him. Tell the boys Ive got The Luck with me."

And the strong man, still holding the small child, drifted away on the shadowy river that flows forever to the unknown sea.

You have just heard "The Luck of Roaring Camp," a story by Bret Harte. It was adapted for Special English by Dona De Sanctis. Your storyteller was Harry Monroe.

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