“You’d have made the battery at the University for sure, ‘Medee,” Emil said as they were walking from the ball-grounds back to the church on the hill. “You’re pitching better than you did in the spring.”
Amedee grinned. “Sure! A married man don’t lose his head no more.” He slapped Emil on the back as he caught step with him. “Oh, Emil, you wanna get married right off quick! It’s the greatest thing ever!”
Emil laughed. “How am I going to get married without any girl?”
Amedee took his arm. “Pooh! There are plenty girls will have you. You wanna get some nice French girl, now. She treat you well; always be jolly. See,” — he began checking off on his fingers, — “there is Severine, and Alphosen, and Josephine, and Hectorine, and Louise, and Malvina — why, I could love any of them girls! Why don’t you get after them? Are you stuck up, Emil, or is anything the matter with you? I never did know a boy twenty-two years old before that didn’t have no girl. You wanna be a priest, maybe? Not-a for me!” Amedee swaggered. “I bring many good Catholics into this world, I hope, and that’s a way I help the Church.”
Emil looked down and patted him on the shoulder. “Now you’re windy, ‘Medee. You Frenchies like to brag6.”
But Amedee had the zeal7 of the newly married, and he was not to be lightly shaken off. “Honest and true, Emil, don’t you want ANY girl? Maybe there’s some young lady in Lincoln, now, very grand,” — Amedee waved his hand languidly before his face to denote the fan of heartless beauty, — “and you lost your heart up there. Is that it?”
“Maybe,” said Emil.
But Amedee saw no appropriate glow in his friend’s face. “Bah!” he exclaimed in disgust. “I tell all the French girls to keep ‘way from you. You gotta rock in there,” thumping8 Emil on the ribs9.
When they reached the terrace at the side of the church, Amedee, who was excited by his success on the ball-grounds, challenged Emil to a jumping-match, though he knew he would be beaten. They belted themselves up, and Raoul Marcel, the choir10 tenor11 and Father Duchesne’s pet, and Jean Bordelau, held the string over which they vaulted12. All the French boys stood round, cheering and humping themselves up when Emil or Amedee went over the wire, as if they were helping13 in the lift. Emil stopped at five-feet-five, declaring that he would spoil his appetite for supper if he jumped any more.
Angelique, Amedee’s pretty bride, as blonde and fair as her name, who had come out to watch the match, tossed her head at Emil and said:—
“‘Medee could jump much higher than you if he were as tall. And anyhow, he is much more graceful14. He goes over like a bird, and you have to hump yourself all up.”
“Oh, I do, do I?” Emil caught her and kissed her saucy15 mouth squarely, while she laughed and struggled and called, “‘Medee! ‘Medee!”
“There, you see your ‘Medee isn’t even big enough to get you away from me. I could run away with you right now and he could only sit down and cry about it. I’ll show you whether I have to hump myself!” Laughing and panting, he picked Angelique up in his arms and began running about the rectangle with her. Not until he saw Marie Shabata’s tiger eyes flashing from the gloom of the basement doorway16 did he hand the disheveled bride over to her husband. “There, go to your graceful; I haven’t the heart to take you away from him.”
Angelique clung to her husband and made faces at Emil over the white shoulder of Amedee’s ball-shirt. Emil was greatly amused at her air of proprietorship18 and at Amedee’s shameless submission19 to it. He was delighted with his friend’s good fortune. He liked to see and to think about Amedee’s sunny, natural, happy love.
He and Amedee had ridden and wrestled20 and larked21 together since they were lads of twelve. On Sundays and holidays they were always arm in arm. It seemed strange that now he should have to hide the thing that Amedee was so proud of, that the feeling which gave one of them such happiness should bring the other such despair. It was like that when Alexandra tested her seed-corn in the spring, he mused17. From two ears that had grown side by side, the grains of one shot up joyfully22 into the light, projecting themselves into the future, and the grains from the other lay still in the earth and rotted; and nobody knew why.
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1
gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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pitcher
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| n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手 | |
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renowned
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| adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的 | |
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lithe
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| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
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neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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brag
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| v./n.吹牛，自夸；adj.第一流的 | |
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zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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thumping
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| adj.重大的，巨大的；重击的；尺码大的；极好的adv.极端地；非常地v.重击(thump的现在分词)；狠打；怦怦地跳；全力支持 | |
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9
ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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10
choir
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| n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱 | |
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tenor
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| n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意 | |
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vaulted
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| adj.拱状的 | |
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helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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saucy
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| adj.无礼的；俊俏的；活泼的 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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proprietorship
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| n.所有（权）；所有权 | |
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submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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wrestled
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| v.（与某人）搏斗( wrestle的过去式和过去分词 )；扭成一团；扭打；（与…）摔跤 | |
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larked
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| v.百灵科鸟（尤指云雀）( lark的过去式和过去分词 )；一大早就起床；鸡鸣即起；（因太费力而不想干时说）算了 | |
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joyfully
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| adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地 | |
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