Friends in the English Only Forum,
I am reading <Grit of Women> (written by Jack London) and finding the following part obscure to me.
The context is that in a tent in the freezing Alaska winter one of the men woke up quivering and complaining about the terrible trip. Thereat he, a young newcomer, asked for a match to light a cigarette. Then a man named Bettles handed the youngster a fire-stick and told him he had been through worse. And Bettles continued like:
"You're all right, for a cub, any ye've the true sperrit. Come this day year, you'll walk all us old bucks into the ground any time. An' best in your favor, you hain't got that streak of fat in your make-up which has sent many a husky man to the bosom of Abraham afore his right and proper time."
What puzzle me are that
1/Come this day year(does he mean come this day in a year?)
2/walk us old bucks into the ground(I think he meant that the young man might cause them old folks to end up dying somewhere. Am I right? And BTW how could the cub do this?)
3/sent many a husky man to the bosom of Abraham afore his right and proper time.(What does it mean? Why are people sent to the bosom of Abraham? Does it mean when people die? I know that it could be some kind of allusion.)
Thank you! I'll be glad if someone could help me with it.
I am reading <Grit of Women> (written by Jack London) and finding the following part obscure to me.
The context is that in a tent in the freezing Alaska winter one of the men woke up quivering and complaining about the terrible trip. Thereat he, a young newcomer, asked for a match to light a cigarette. Then a man named Bettles handed the youngster a fire-stick and told him he had been through worse. And Bettles continued like:
"You're all right, for a cub, any ye've the true sperrit. Come this day year, you'll walk all us old bucks into the ground any time. An' best in your favor, you hain't got that streak of fat in your make-up which has sent many a husky man to the bosom of Abraham afore his right and proper time."
What puzzle me are that
1/Come this day year(does he mean come this day in a year?)
2/walk us old bucks into the ground(I think he meant that the young man might cause them old folks to end up dying somewhere. Am I right? And BTW how could the cub do this?)
3/sent many a husky man to the bosom of Abraham afore his right and proper time.(What does it mean? Why are people sent to the bosom of Abraham? Does it mean when people die? I know that it could be some kind of allusion.)
Thank you! I'll be glad if someone could help me with it.
