Chapter 25 Section VII

Pike sped through Charles Street and into the criss-crossing of downtown streets, rushing between lampposts and other carriages, to the wrath of the drivers.Pike's buggy, though old, was roomy enough to carry four passengers without knee-to-knee.Dr. Holmes informed Pike that he would be there on time at a quarter past twelve. He was supposed to take the bus to the theater, but now the destination was changed.Pike felt a little unhappy in his heart, feeling that this not only seemed to go against the doctor's wishes, but also dragged two more passengers for no reason to him.Still, Pike was willing to send them to the theater.

"What about my speech?" Holmes asked Fields, who was sitting in the back of the car. "The tickets are all sold out, you know!" "Pike can drive you to the theater as soon as you find Bucky and ask him a question or two," Fields said. The carriage is sent to fetch Annie, and we won't be left behind!" "Even if we do find him, what do you think we can ask?" Holmes asked. Longfellow explained: "Bucky was clearly agitated today. If we had talked to him somewhere a little further away from his house—and his booze—maybe he wouldn't have been particularly resistant. If Green hadn't happened to meet By the time we get here, maybe we'll have him before we're in such a hurry. I kind of wish we'd tell Green the whole story, but he's too weak to take the fright. Feels like the whole world is against him, unless some unexpected luck strikes."

"There!" cried Fields, pointing to a carriage some three hundred yards ahead of them. "Longfellow, is that it?" Longfellow stuck his head out of the car, felt the wind tearing at his beard, and gestured approval. "Driver, go straight ahead!" Fields called out loudly. Pike tightened the reins sharply, and the horse galloped forward at a pace that exceeded the speed limit—the "slow trot" recently mandated by the Boston Safety Board. "We're going too far east!" cried Pike, louder than a horse's hooves on the cobblestones. "We're getting farther and farther from the theater, Dr. Holmes!"

Fields asked Longfellow, "Why do we have to keep Green about Bucky? I don't think they know each other." "A long time ago," Longfellow nodded, "Mr. Green met Bucky in Rome, before his illness progressed. Green liked to talk about our translation of the Divine Comedy, whether people liked it or not. If Green With us in front of Bucky, I'm afraid he's going to start talking again, and it'll just make Bucky even more frustrated with his downfall, and water down his conversation." Pike missed his target several times, but after a few sharp turns and a slow chase, the distance was getting closer and closer.The coachman in front seemed to be rushing too, but he didn't realize that someone was chasing him behind him.As they approached the port area, the road narrowed and their target disappeared again.Pike scolded God anxiously, apologized after scolding, and then came to a sudden brake.Holmes sprang forward from inertia and fell on Longfellow's lap.

"There!" cried Pike, as the coachman drove the four-wheeled coach away from the port and came towards them.But the passengers in the car were gone. "He must have gone to port!" said Fields. Pike galloped forward for a while, and then let Holmes and the others get out of the car.A large number of people gathered at the port, they shouted, waved their arms, watched all kinds of ships disappear into the thick fog, and waved handkerchiefs to wish those traveling far away a safe journey.Regardless of the crowd's protests, the Longfellows squeezed their way in. "Most of the boats at this time of day go to Long Wharf," Longfellow said.In the early years, he often went to the pier to observe the arrival of large ships from Germany or Spain, and listened to the men and women who disembarked from the ships speak their dialects.In Boston, people of different skin colors and languages ​​with different accents are the most numerous.

Fields couldn't keep up, "Holmes, where are you?" "Come here, Fields!" Holmes called, lost in the crowd. Longfellow spotted Bucky walking toward a dark-skinned longshoreman carrying barrels.Holmes immediately followed. Fields failed to find Holmes, so he turned to ask other passengers, but after a while, he stopped and stood on the edge of the pier to rest. "This well-dressed fellow is standing here." The big greasy-bearded foreman grabbed Fields roughly by the arm and pushed him away. "Do you have a boat ticket? If you don't have one, just stand aside and don't block others from getting on the boat."

"Good sir," said Fields, "I need your help urgently. Have you ever seen a little man in a crumpled blue double-breasted frock coat with bloodshot eyes?" The foreman ignored him and was busy organizing the passengers to line up according to the cabin class and cabin number.Fields stood watching as the foreman took off his hat (too small for his enormous head) and scratched at his matted hair. The foreman gave orders incessantly, and his voice was so special and so contagious that Fields seemed to be listening, and closed his eyes.In his mind's eye a dimly lit room flickered from a tiny candle on the mantelpiece. "Hawthorne." Panting, Fields said such a name almost inadvertently.

The foreman stopped and turned to Fields, "What did you say?" "Hawthorne." Fields smiled. He knew he was right. "You really like reading Mr. Hawthorne's novels." "Hey, I said..." the foreman said in a low voice, "How do you know? Tell me!" His tone seemed to be begging or cursing. The passengers who were waiting for him stopped in their tracks, wanting to hear why. "No problem." Fields couldn't help but feel complacent.He had an ability to penetrate other people's minds, which had benefited him many years ago, when he was a junior employee. "Write your address on this piece of paper, and I will mail you the bronzing anthology on a blue background that contains all of his great works authorized by the widow of Hawthorne." Fields handed over a piece of paper, and then Hold it in your hand, "If you'd do me a favor, sir."

After hearing Fields' few words, the big man believed that he had great powers, and immediately agreed.