Chapter 21. The Parson and the Scone.

It was dinner-time. And weren’t we hungry! — particularly Joe! He was kept from school that day to fork up hay-work hard enough for a man — too hard for some men — but in many things Joe was more than a man’s equal. Eating was one of them. We were all silent. Joe ate ravenously¹. The meat and pumpkin² disappeared, and the pile of hot scones³ grew rapidly less. Joe regarded it with anxiety. He stole sly glances at Dad and at Dave and made a mental calculation. Then he fixed⁵ his eyes longingly⁶ on the one remaining scone⁴, and ate faster and faster. . . . Still silence. Joe glanced again at Dad.

The dogs outside barked. Those inside, lying full-stretch beneath the table, instantly darted⁷ up and rushed out. One of them carried off little Bill — who was standing⁸ at the table with his legs spread out and a pint⁹ of tea in his hand — as far as the door on its back, and there scraped him off and spilled tea over him. Dad spoke¹⁰. He said, “Damn the dogs!” Then he rose and looked out the window. We all rose — all except Joe. Joe reached for the last scone.

A horseman dismounted at the slip-rails.

“Some stranger,” Dad muttered, turning to re-seat himself.

“Why, it’s — it’s the minister!” Sal cried —“the minister that married Kate!”

Dad nearly fell over. “Good God!” was all he said, and stared hopelessly at Mother. The minister — for sure enough it was the Rev¹¹. Daniel Macpherson — was coming in. There was commotion¹². Dave finished his tea at a gulp¹³, put on his hat, and left by the back-door. Dad would have followed, but hesitated, and so was lost. Mother was restless —“on pins and needles.”

“And there ain’t a bite to offer him,” she cried, dancing hysterically¹⁴ about the table —“not a bite; nor a plate, nor a knife, nor a fork to eat it with!” There was humour in Mother at times. It came from the father’s side. He was a dentist.

Only Joe was unconcerned. He was employed on the last scone. He commenced it slowly. He wished it to last till night. His mouth opened and received it fondly. He buried his teeth in it and lingered lovingly over it. Mother’s eyes happened to rest on him. Her face brightened. She flew at Joe and cried:

“Give me that scone! — put it back on the table this minute!”

Joe became concerned. He was about to protest. Mother seized him by the hair (which hadn’t been cut since Dan went shearing) and hissed¹⁵:

“Put — it — back — sir!” Joe put it back.

The minister came in. Dad said he was pleased to see him — poor Dad! — and enquired¹⁶ if he had had dinner. The parson had not, but said he didn’t want any, and implored¹⁷ Mother not to put herself about on his account. He only required a cup of tea — nothing else whatever. Mother was delighted, and got the tea gladly. Still she was not satisfied. She would be hospitable¹⁸. She said:

“Won’t you try a scone with it, Mr. Macpherson?” And the parson said he would —“just one.”

Mother passed the rescued scone along, and awkwardly apologised for the absence of plates. She explained that the Andersons were threshing their wheat, and had borrowed all our crockery and cutlery — everybody’s, in fact, in the neighbourhood — for the use of the men. Such was the custom round our way. But the minister didn’t mind. On the contrary, he commended everybody for fellowship and good-feeling, and felt sure that the district would be rewarded.

It took the Rev. Macpherson no time to polish off the scone. When the last of it was disappearing Mother became uneasy again. So did Dad. He stared through the window at the parson’s sleepy-looking horse, fastened to the fence. Dad wished to heaven it would break away, or drop dead, or do anything to provide him with an excuse to run out. But it was a faithful steed. It stood there leaning on its forehead against a post. There was a brief silence.

Then the minister joked about his appetite — at which only Joe could afford to smile — and asked, “May I trouble you for just another scone?”

Mother muttered something like “Yes, of course,” and went out to the kitchen just as if there had been some there. Dad was very uncomfortable. He patted the floor with the flat of his foot and wondered what would happen next. Nothing happened for a good while. The minister sipped¹⁹ and sipped his tea till none was left . . .

Dad said: “I’ll see what’s keeping her,” and rose — glad if ever man was glad — to get away. He found Mother seated on the ironbark table in the kitchen. They didn’t speak. They looked at each other sympathisingly.

“Well?” Dad whispered at last; “what are you going to do?” Mother shook her head. She didn’t know.

“Tell him straight there ain’t any, an’ be done with it,” was Dad’s cheerful advice. Mother several times approached the door, but hesitated and returned again.

“What are you afraid of?” Dad would ask; “he won’t eat y’.” Finally she went in.

Then Dad tiptoed to the door and listened. He was listening eagerly when a lump of earth — a piece of the cultivation²⁰ paddock — fell dangerously near his feet. It broke and scattered²¹ round him, and rattled²² inside against the papered wall. Dad jumped round. A row of jackasses on a tree near by laughed merrily. Dad looked up. They stopped. Another one laughed clearly from the edge of the tall corn. Dad turned his head. It was Dave. Dad joined him, and they watched the parson mount his horse and ride away.

Dad drew a deep and grateful breath. “Thank God!” he said.

1 ravenously   

adv.大嚼地，饥饿地

参考例句：

• We were all ravenously hungry after the walk. 我们散步之后都饿得要命。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The boys dug in ravenously. 男孩们开始狼吞虎咽地吃起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 pumpkin   

n.南瓜

参考例句：

• They ate turkey and pumpkin pie.他们吃了火鸡和南瓜馅饼。
• It looks like there is a person looking out of the pumpkin!看起来就像南瓜里有人在看着你！

3 scones   

n.烤饼，烤小圆面包( scone的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• scones and jam with clotted cream 夹有凝脂奶油和果酱的烤饼
• She makes scones and cakes for the delectation of visitors. 她烘制了烤饼和蛋糕供客人享用。 来自辞典例句

4 scone   

n.圆饼，甜饼，司康饼

参考例句：

• She eats scone every morning.她每天早上都吃甜饼。
• Scone is said to be origined from Scotland.司康饼据说来源于苏格兰。

5 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

6 longingly   

adv. 渴望地 热望地

参考例句：

• He looked longingly at the food on the table. 他眼巴巴地盯着桌上的食物。
• Over drinks,he speaks longingly of his trip to Latin America. 他带着留恋的心情，一边喝酒一边叙述他的拉丁美洲之行。

7 darted   

v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

9 pint   

n.品脱

参考例句：

• I'll have a pint of beer and a packet of crisps, please.我要一品脱啤酒和一袋炸马铃薯片。
• In the old days you could get a pint of beer for a shilling.从前，花一先令就可以买到一品脱啤酒。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

12 commotion   

n.骚动，动乱

参考例句：

• They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵，引起了一阵骚乱。
• Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间，整条街道变得一片混乱。

13 gulp   

vt.吞咽，大口地吸（气）；vi.哽住；n.吞咽

参考例句：

• She took down the tablets in one gulp.她把那些药片一口吞了下去。
• Don't gulp your food,chew it before you swallow it.吃东西不要狼吞虎咽，要嚼碎了再咽下去。

14 hysterically   

ad. 歇斯底里地

参考例句：

• The children giggled hysterically. 孩子们歇斯底里地傻笑。
• She sobbed hysterically, and her thin body was shaken. 她歇斯底里地抽泣着，她瘦弱的身体哭得直颤抖。

15 hissed   

发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对

参考例句：

• Have you ever been hissed at in the middle of a speech? 你在演讲中有没有被嘘过？
• The iron hissed as it pressed the wet cloth. 熨斗压在湿布上时发出了嘶嘶声。

16 enquired   

打听( enquire的过去式和过去分词 )； 询问； 问问题； 查问

参考例句：

• He enquired for the book in a bookstore. 他在书店查询那本书。
• Fauchery jestingly enquired whether the Minister was coming too. 浮式瑞嘲笑着问部长是否也会来。

17 implored   

恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She implored him to stay. 她恳求他留下。
• She implored him with tears in her eyes to forgive her. 她含泪哀求他原谅她。

18 hospitable   

adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的

参考例句：

• The man is very hospitable.He keeps open house for his friends and fellow-workers.那人十分好客，无论是他的朋友还是同事，他都盛情接待。
• The locals are hospitable and welcoming.当地人热情好客。

19 sipped   

v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sipped his coffee pleasurably. 他怡然地品味着咖啡。
• I sipped the hot chocolate she had made. 我小口喝着她调制的巧克力热饮。 来自辞典例句

20 cultivation   

n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成

参考例句：

• The cultivation in good taste is our main objective.培养高雅情趣是我们的主要目标。
• The land is not fertile enough to repay cultivation.这块土地不够肥沃，不值得耕种。

21 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

22 rattled   

慌乱的，恼火的

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。