Chapter 11 catch the old man

Jim is the son of a cowboy who lives on the vast plains of Arizona.His dad had trained him rigorously in roping wild horses or calves.If Jim could develop this skill, he would be as good a cowboy as anyone in Arizona. At the age of 12, he traveled east for the first time.There lived his Uncle Charles.Jim, of course, carried his rope with him, and he was so proud of his skill that he wanted to show off his cowboy knack to his cousins. At first the town children watched Jim with ropes around posts and fence-posts with keen interest, but they soon grew tired of it, and Jim himself felt that the sport was not at all suitable for town folks.

But one day, a butcher asked him to ride his horse into the country, to a ranch he had once owned.Jim happily agreed.He had always longed to be able to ride a horse.And, as in the past, he carried his rope with him. He rode carefully across the high street, and as soon as he reached the open country road his spirits were so bright that he whipped the butcher's horse and galloped away with the style of a true cowboy. Then, still wanting to be freer, he crossed a barrier that lay in front of a field, and began to gallop across the pasture.At the same time, he uses his rope to noose his imaginary cattle.He shouted happily, feeling particularly satisfied in his heart.

Suddenly, Jim threw his rope far ahead.The rope was caught on something and stopped three feet above the ground.The noose was so tight that it nearly tore Jim off the horse. This is really unexpected, and what is even more surprising is that there is not even a stump on this grass.Jim's eyes widened in surprise.He was sure he had caught something when he heard a voice calling. "Hey, let go! I said, let me go! I can't see what you're doing?" No, Jim couldn't see anything.He wasn't about to let go at all, trying to figure out what was caught in his rope.He remembered a trick his father had taught him in the past, and he whipped and circled around the noose.

The horse led him closer and closer to his prey, and he saw his rope coiled up.It looked like there was nothing on the rope but air.He fastened one end of the rope tightly to a ring in the saddle.When the rope was wound, the horse began to back away with the rope, neighing horribly. Jim got off the horse, held the horse rope with one hand, and walked forward along the rope. Suddenly, he saw an old man tightly entangled by the rope. The old man was bald and hatless, with a long white beard that fell to his waist.He was wearing a white robe.He holds a scythe in one hand and an hourglass under his other arm.

Jim stared at him with startled eyes, only to hear the venerable old man say promise in an angry voice: "Now untie this rope as fast as you can! By your stupidity you have stopped everything on earth! Hey, why are you still staring at me? Don't you know who I am?" ?” "No." Jim replied stupidly. "Hey, I'm Time—Old Man Time! Now let me go, and if you want the earth to work, set me free." "How did I get you?" asked Jim, who did not step forward to release his captive. "I don't know. I've never been caught before," growled Old Man Time. "I think it's because you're foolishly throwing your rope around aimlessly."

"I didn't see you," said Jim. "Of course you can't see me. Human eyes can't see me unless they're within 3 feet of me. I'm always extra careful to stay more than 3 feet away from them. I'm crossing the terrain and I don't think anyone will come Here. I'd be safe if it weren't for your damned rope. Now, then, " He added angrily, "Can you let go of this rope?" "Why should I let go of the rope?" asked Jim. "Because everything in the world stopped moving as soon as you caught me. I see you don't want to end everything, including business, entertainment, war, love, pain and ambition, and everything in the world, do you? Not a single watch has ticked since you wrapped me up here like a mummy!"

Gum laughed, for it was absurd indeed to see the old man wrapped in rope from knee to jaw. "You'll do well to rest," said Jim, "I hear you've been leading a pretty busy life." "I do have a hard life," replied Old Man Time, with a sigh. "I should be in Kanchatka by now, but you little boy is interfering with all my normal habits!" "Too bad," said Jim, grinning. "Since the world is standing still, it doesn't hurt to take a break anyway. Once I set you free, time will fly again, your wings." Where is it?" "I have no wings," replied the old man, "that is a story invented by a man who has never seen me. In fact, I move very slowly."

"I know you're not in a hurry," said the little boy. "What are you doing with that scythe?" "Harvest men," said the old man. "Every time I swing my scythe, one man dies." "Well, if I keep you on a leash, I'll win a lifesaving medal," said Jim, "and people will live longer." "But people won't know about it," said Old Man Time, with a sad smile on his face. "It won't do people any good. You'd better release me at once." "No," said Jim, his tone firm. "I may never catch you again, so I'm going to detain you for a while, and see what the world would be like without you."

Then he put the bound old man on the back of the horse.He climbed into the saddle and started walking towards the city. He controlled the captive with one hand, and the reins of the horse with the other. They came to a road, and he saw a strange scene, a horse and a chappy parked in the middle of the road, the horse was in a galloping posture, with its head raised high, The two front legs are hanging in the air, but they are completely motionless, completely still.In the buggy sat a man and a woman, who could not have been so still and stiff had they not been turned to stone. "They don't have time!" the old man sighed, "Now, why don't you let me go?"

"Not yet." The little boy replied. He continued on the road until he reached the city.There, all the people stayed there in a fixed position, the same as when Jim used the rope to sex the old man.Jim stopped in front of a big silk shop, tied his horse, and went into the shop.Clerks were measuring cloth in front of a line of customers, showing them patterns, but they were motionless, as if suddenly transformed into sculptures. This situation is very unpleasant.A chill ran down Jim's back, and he walked out of the silk shop at once. At the corner of the pavement sat a poor crippled beggar, holding his hat in both hands, begging for money.Beside him stood a rich gentleman who was about to throw a penny into a beggar's hat.Jim knew that this gentleman was very rich, but very miserly.So he put his own hand boldly into the gentleman's pocket, and drew out his wallet, which contained a twenty-dollar gold coin.

He placed the gleaming gold in the gentleman's hand, and replaced the penny.Then put the penny back into the purse, and put the purse back into the gentleman's pocket. "When he comes back to life, he will be amazed at his generosity," thought the boy. He rode on his horse again and walked up the street, when he passed the shop of his friend, the butcher, he saw many blocks hanging outside the shop. "I'm worried the meat will rot," he said. "It takes time for meat to rot." The old man replied. Everything in front of him made Jim feel uneasy.But it is true. "It's as if time is everywhere," he said. "Yes, you have captured the most important man in the world," grunted the old man, "and you don't know how to let him go." Jim didn't answer.They soon came to his uncle's house.The streets are full of traffic and crowds, but everything is still.His two cousins ​​were about to step out of the house, ready to go to school.They carried books and slates in their arms.So, Jim had to jump over the fence to avoid colliding with them. His aunt was sitting in the front room reading the Bible.She was about to turn the next page when time stopped. His uncle is having lunch in the restaurant.He opened his mouth, just about to.Putting a piece of meat into his mouth, time stopped, and his eyes were fixed on the newspaper beside him.Jim ate his uncle's bread.While eating, he walked out of the house and came to the prisoner. "There's one thing I don't understand," he said. "What's the matter?" Old Man Time asked. "Others have been frozen, why can I move around?" "That's because I am your prisoner," replied the old man. "You can do anything you wish. But be careful not to do anything you regret." Jim casually threw the leftover pie crust at a bird hanging in the sky.When time stopped, this little bird was flying. "Anyway," he said with a laugh, "I will outlive anyone. No one will ever catch up with me." "Everyone's life is limited." The old man said, "When you live to the right time, my sickle will cut you off." "I forgot you had a scythe," Jim said kindly. At this time, a mischievous impulse came into the boy's mind.He suddenly realized that this was an interesting opportunity that would never happen again.He chained Old Man Time to a post in his uncle's house so that his captives could not escape.Then he crossed the road to the grocery store around the corner. That morning Jim was cursed by the grocer for accidentally stepping into a basket full of turnips. So Jim went to the back of the grocery store and unscrewed the molasses bucket. "It'll be nice to see the molasses all over the ground once the time goes back to normal," Jim said, laughing. Jim went on and came to a barber shop.He saw sitting in the barber chair what the boys called "the ugliest man in town."He disliked these boys very much, and they knew it.When time stopped, the barber was shampooing the man's hair.Jim turned and ran into a store and got a bottle of glue.He returned to the barbershop and poured glue on the unkempt man's tousled hair. "He'll be surprised when he wakes up," thought Jim. There was a school building nearby. Jim walked in and found that there were only young students in the school building.The teacher sat on his pseudo-dais with his usual stern and impatient expression. Jim picked up a piece of chalk and wrote in large letters on the blackboard: "Every student walked into the room yelling and throwing their textbooks at the teacher's head. Professor Sharp's signature" "This is bound to create a huge commotion," the prankster muttered as he walked. Around the corner the Mulligan Constable was standing talking to Miss Scrapley.Miss Scrapley was the best gossip in town.She always speaks ill of the neighbors.Jim felt that this opportunity should not be missed.He took off the policeman's hat and the policeman's jacket with brass buttons, and put these things on the young lady.Simultaneously, Jim put the feather and ribbon cap on the young lady's head triumphantly on the policeman's head. The effect was comic, and Jim laughed out loud.Jim saw a number of people standing around the corner, and he felt that there was bound to be a quarrel between Miss Scrapley and Constable Mulligan once the clock ticked. Only then did the young cowboy think of his captive, and he turned back to where he was tied.Within three feet of his captive, he saw Old Man Time standing patiently.His body was still bound by the rope, and he yelled at Jim in anger and vexation: "Hey, when are you going to release me?" "I was thinking of that ugly scythe of yours," said Jim. "What do you mean?" Old Man Time asked. "If I set you free, you might use it to kill me in revenge," the boy replied. Old Man Time gave him a serious look, and then said: "I've known boys for thousands of years. Of course, I know they're naughty and reckless, but I like them. Because they grow up in my world. Now, if an adult catches me by chance , like you, I'd scare him. I don't mean to blame you. I was a little boy myself a long, long time ago, when the world was just being born. Now, you've had enough fun with me, I hope You respected the old man and set me free. In return, I don't care about being captured. It can't do much harm. Because, anyway, no one will know that time has stopped for three hours or so." "Well," Jim said cheerfully, "since you promised not to cut me off, I'll set you free." But he still had concerns. Once people returned to their lives, some people in the city would doubt the time. ever stopped. He carefully let go of the rope that tied the old man.As soon as the old man was free, he raised his scythe, straightened his white burqa, and nodded goodbye to Jim. Soon, he disappeared.The world came alive again, full of chaos and noise just like before. Jim reeled up his rope, mounted the butcher's horse, and trotted down the street. From the corner came a shrill scream.There, a large crowd soon gathered.From his horseback Jim saw Miss Scraple, in police uniform, angrily shaking her fists in front of Mulligan's eyes.Meanwhile, the policeman was tearing off the lady's hat from his own head, and throwing it on the ground, stomping on it angrily, the crowd laughed. When passing the school building, Jim heard a loud roar, and he knew that Professor Sharp was struggling to quell the commotion caused by the words on the blackboard. Passing by the window of the barber shop, he saw the "dreadful man" frantically beating the barber with a brush, his hair sticking out like bayonets on his head.Soon after, the grocer ran out of his shop, shouting "No!" leaving a trail of molasses under his feet. Gum's heart was filled with joy.While he was admiring the commotion he had caused, someone grabbed his leg and pulled him from his horse. "What are you doing here? You rascal?" cried the butcher angrily. "Didn't you promise to put that animal in the Plimptown pasture? And now you're riding this horse like a laid-back gentleman." Poor pony." "Exactly," said Jim, startled, "I've completely forgotten about the horse!"