THE TELLTALE GLOVES

The Federals having left, and Beauty being safe, we proceeded with our exercises that summer day at the "Dove's Nest." We passed a good examination, and just as we were singing our gayest songs a party of Confederates rode up. They tied their horses to the windows and doors, came in, and enjoyed the little concert. After the last melody had died away and the shades of evening were falling, we rode slowly homeward, each girl with a soldier boy beside her.

One of the soldiers, in particular, was a reckless, daring young man, who had shot at the Federals from[26] ambush¹ many times, had captured some of their horses, and was quite a terror to the raiders. His father's home was in that neighborhood, and the Federals were trying to capture him.

Now, when the boys—for they were only boys—left us at the gate this particular one forgot his gloves—left them on a gate post. We found them, took them into the house, and threw them carelessly on the hall table. There were no millinery stores, in fact no stores of any kind in the country, so the girls, for riding hats, wore boys' hats, with a plume² jauntily³ pinned on the side. We took our hats off and laid them on the table by the gloves. The boy's nickname, "Little Dare Devil," was on the inside of the buckskin cuffs⁴, but we had not noticed it.

[27]

That night we were aroused from sleep by the barking of dogs, the rattling⁵ of sabers and spurs. We knew, as soon as we were well awake, that the Federals were in the house, and, slipping on our wrappers, we ran to mother's room, for we could hear them beating on our doors. We were dreadfully frightened, for there was an unfinished suit of Confederate gray in the house, and we knew that if it was found the house would be burned to ashes. Mother, who had the suit in her room, would not "strike a light" until the suit was concealed⁶, and the pelican⁷ buttons slipped into her pocket.

The Federals kept calling loudly for light, and we heard them burst into our room, saying, "Here they are, boys! The bed is right warm! Be quick!" We knew, then, that[28] they were looking for Confederate soldiers.

The house was searched from garret to cellar, but, finding no one except members of the family, the intruders hurriedly departed. Next morning our hats and gloves were missing, having been taken from the hall table. A few days after this the Federals were out again, but this time in daylight. One of the officers came in the house and asked for a drink of water. While waiting for it to be drawn⁸ cool and fresh from the well (for Southerners were courteous⁹ to an enemy when he stood upon their threshold), he seemed disposed to chat with the girls.

"We came very near catching¹⁰ those fellows the other night," he said; "we got their hats and gloves, and saw their blankets on the floor.[29] Where in the world did they hide, young ladies?"

We were very indignant; and told him that no Southern soldier would sleep in a private house so near the enemy's lines, and thus endanger the lives and property of his relatives and friends. We said that the hats were ours, and we would like them returned, and that the roll of blankets was used by a little colored girl who slept in the house, which fact they would have discovered if they had not been nearly scared to death. The officer looked astonished and seemed somewhat ashamed of the whole affair, but some of them did not believe us, for they rode away laughing about the name inside the gloves.

1 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。

2 plume   

n.羽毛；v.整理羽毛，骚首弄姿，用羽毛装饰

参考例句：

• Her hat was adorned with a plume.她帽子上饰着羽毛。
• He does not plume himself on these achievements.他并不因这些成就而自夸。

3 jauntily   

adv.心满意足地；洋洋得意地；高兴地；活泼地

参考例句：

• His straw hat stuck jauntily on the side of his head. 他那顶草帽时髦地斜扣在头上。 来自辞典例句
• He returned frowning, his face obstinate but whistling jauntily. 他回来时皱眉蹙额，板着脸，嘴上却快活地吹着口哨。 来自辞典例句

4 cuffs   

n.袖口( cuff的名词复数 )v.掌打，拳打( cuff的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• a collar and cuffs of white lace 带白色蕾丝花边的衣领和袖口
• The cuffs of his shirt were fraying. 他衬衣的袖口磨破了。

5 rattling   

adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词

参考例句：

• This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
• At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时，一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来，把窗玻璃震得当当地响。

6 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

7 pelican   

n.鹈鹕，伽蓝鸟

参考例句：

• The pelican has a very useful beak.鹈鹕有一张非常有用的嘴。
• This pelican is expected to fully recover.这只鹈鹕不久就能痊愈。

8 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

9 courteous   

adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的

参考例句：

• Although she often disagreed with me,she was always courteous.尽管她常常和我意见不一，但她总是很谦恭有礼。
• He was a kind and courteous man.他为人友善，而且彬彬有礼。

10 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。