“This is rather a home-made rabbit-house, eh, Will?” Marmaduke observed, inclining his head towards the cage.
“It’s kindy weak,” Jim chimed in. “It looks strong enough to hold me, but it keeps cracking every minute.”
“Hush!” breathed Will.
He had many fine qualities. Even at his early age, he could respect the feelings of a fallen foe4.
“Hello there, Steve,” he said, as they drew near the group of three. “I killed Tip, but I’ve saved Carlo, so my mind is easy.”
The three returned Will’s grin of pleasure with a shout of applause. So eager were they to welcome the victors that they tore off their boots and stockings, rolled their pants nearly up to their knees, and waded5 out till the water was two or three inches above their knees. Youth manifests its enthusiasm very recklessly at times.
At this moment Will experienced some of the triumph of a conquering hero.
“Now, Bob,” Charles began, as they floated the raft into its harbor; “now, Bob, you will be tried by us for your misdoings.”
“He has surely had punishment enough; let him go;” said tender-hearted George, sitting down on the bank and looking pityingly at the wild-eyed captive.
“Yes, Steve; let him go; for how on earth can we punish him?” Will supplemented.
[246]
“No!” Charles said resolutely6. “The boy who can float another boy’s dog over these falls is a scoundrel, and—”
“I never did!” Bob here put in.
“And,” continued Charles, “he ought to be court-martialed!”
Bob did not know what this meant; neither did Charles; the former looked awe-struck, the latter, wise and august.
Steve, however, added promptly7: “Of course. His father must have court-plastered him the other night for his bruises8; and now we must court-martial him for his wickedness.”
“Well,” said Marmaduke, seating himself with great composure, “I am going to be neutral.”
Poor boy, he thought “neutral” had an imposing9 look in his history, and he would seize this opportunity to illustrate10 its beauties.
With that, the entire six sat down in a circle around the raft. Charles and Stephen were resolved on punishment. Jim also. For some reason, George and Will were in favor of pardon.
“Well, boys,” said Will, “of course you can do what you like, but I believe I should let him go—box, and rope, and straps11, and all. I perished poor Tip, but I’ve rescued Carlo, and I’m satisfied.”
No doubt Will thought this a very genteel expression. Not so Marmaduke: he sprang to his feet with a gesture of surprise, and said earnestly, “Oh, Will! perish is a neuter verb!”
Will flushed, and moved uneasily from right to left.
“What is all this nonsense about neuters and neutrals?” Steve asked, angrily. “What do we care about your neuters? Botheration, you boys have put off this trial long enough. But,” with a mischievous12 twinkle in his eye, “tell us what a neuter verb is; and then, I hope, we may go on.”
Marmaduke was ill prepared for such a question, and he was never prompt in giving explanations. His face blanched13, he sank dejectedly to the ground, took off his[247] hat and toyed with it nervously14; took out his handkerchief and feebly tried to blow his nose; looked appealingly at the Sage15; and at last began, hesitatingly: “Well, hem3, Steve, Stephen, I’m afraid I can hardly make it clear to you, because—because—well, you know, Stephen, you don’t understand grammar very well. Well, perish—but,” brightening and rising, “I’ll just illustrate it for you. Now, you see, I’m standing16 up. Well,” suiting the action to the word, “I sit down when I go to the ground; but,” suiting the action to the word, “I set down my hat—or you, or any other boy, or a thing, or a word in a book.”
Marmaduke put on his hat and picked up and pocketed his handkerchief with the air of a man who has triumphed.
“Yes,” Steve admitted, “you make it pretty plain, Marmaduke; but these neuter verbs, and conjunctions, and things, were always a muddle17 to me. But,” guilelessly, “tell me this, and then we must attend to Bob: Is it right to say, I sit myself down, or I set myself down?”
Poor Marmaduke! He was struck dumb; he had a new view of neuter verbs. A look of woe18 that would have melted a heart of stone passed over his face. He arose and took a seat where Steve could not see him, muttering confusedly: “A neuter verb can’t do anything, but active verbs do.”
Stephen chuckled19: “I always knew those rules in the grammar wouldn’t work both ways.”
Charles and Will did not seem inclined to help Marmaduke out of his difficulty—probably they were as much puzzled as he. As for George, he was not at all disconcerted: when he understood a thing, he knew that he understood it. He looked on with supreme20 indifference21, not thinking it worth while to give his views.
“See how Bob behaved himself the night of the experiment,” Charles observed, coming back to the matter in hand. “He will always be trying to do us some harm if we let him off this time.”
“Yes,” chimed in Steve, glancing at the helpless captive, who was still on the raft, “we let him go that night and see how he has rewarded us for our mercy!”
[248]
“You wouldn’t have let him escape if it hadn’t been for me;” Will corrected.
“We didn’t hunt him down the next day, as we might have done!” Steve rejoined, as though that settled the question.
“I hope we are hardly such a set of cold-blooded fellows as that!” George said. “And besides what great harm did he do that night?”
“Oh, you, George Andrews!” Stephen retorted wrathfully. “I suppose you think we’re harping22 on your performances that night, but we’re not.”
“You had better not, Stephen Goodfellow!” said George also becoming wrathful. “You promised that you wouldn’t speak of that to me again.”
It is a lamentable23 fact, hinted at in the outset of this history, that these heroes quarreled occasionally. When one of these differences took place, each one had the strange, boyish habit of calling the other by his christian24 name and surname. If you doubt this, fair reader, [she for whom this is written will understand,] be so good as to play the eavesdropper25 on two small and quarrelsome juveniles26 disputing about the color of an absent playmate’s marble.
“I’m not; I’m keeping my word;” Steve replied seriously. “But perhaps your mind is running on clemency27, that bothered you so much the other day.”
“Perhaps yours is running on the term ‘Lynch law!’”
At this juncture28 neutral Marmaduke, who was beginning to recover his equanimity29, and who doubtless felt spiteful towards Stephen, hopped30 up and declared, in the tone of a dictator rather than of a peacemaker: “Gentlemen, the jury have disagreed; the case is dismissed.”
“Marmaduke Fitzwilliams,” cried Charles, rising in his turn, “four or five boys don’t make a jury; you don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Lawyers would say, constitute a jury,” Marmaduke corrected.
“Well, let ’em say it; we are not lawyers;” Charles roared.
“It would not be acting31 politically to punish him[249] ourselves,” the neutral one contended. “There is a whole court-house full of men in the village, that make it a business to punish people.”
Poor Marmaduke! He seemed to have a preternatural longing32 to figure in the courts of justice.
“Marmaduke,” George said musingly33, “don’t you suppose you are out of your reckoning when you say ‘acting politically’?”
“Yes, what does ‘politically’ mean, any way?” Stephen inquired, thinking to ensnare the boy once more.
This time, however, Marmaduke answered without hesitation34. “Why,” said he, “it’s an adverb, and adverbs always mean, in a manner—politically, in a political manner.”
Steve did not seem much enlightened, and Charles with a merry twinkle, asked, “Always?”
“Always!” firmly.
“Oh, then, politically ought to mean, in the manner of a policeman; abed, in the manner of a bedstead; and so on.”
Marmaduke looked aghast, and Charles the persecutor35 continued mercilessly: “Alongside, in the manner of a man who wears a long side.”
The neutral one was now quite discomfited36, and he arose and stole back to his seat, trying to collect himself and make out what “in a manner” really signifies.
But Steve yelled after him: “And to go means in the manner of a goner.”
At this dreadful outrage37 it is a wonder that Words did not take to themselves a voice to howl in the offender’s ear: “We cannot all be adverbs!”
As for Marmaduke he was utterly38 demoralized.
“Whatever you do, boys, don’t leave Bob to stiffen39 in his coils on that raft,” Will meekly40 suggested.
Charles and Stephen were so eager to have some one side with them that they took it for granted that Will, for very weariness, was now in favor of punishment; and Stephen, on the spur of the moment, made this startling observation:
[250]
“Why not do with Bob as he did with my dog? He has got himself all in a jumble41 on the raft—let us give him a ride up and down the river. It will be good for his constitution.”
Strangely enough, this idea was favorably received by the boys. They laughed, and applauded Stephen.
“It would be a very light punishment,” he continued, pressing home his advantage. “Don’t you all agree to it? Come, Will, what is your opinion?”
“It was you Bob was molesting42, Steve, and you must stir up your conscience to see what it says, and then go ahead,” Will answered. “You put it very mildly, but I suppose your meaning is, to cram43 Bob into Carlo’s prison, untangle the rope, and then float him around as he floated Carlo around.”
“Y-e-s,” Steve assented44, somewhat discomposed at this plain statement of his views.
“I’m tired of all this,” George exclaimed, with a sigh. “Fire ahead, Steve, and do whatever you like.”
“Hurrah, then,” Charlie cried gladly, “let us give Bob an airing.”
At this instant Marmaduke again appeared before the boys, and opened his mouth to make some sage remark; but Stephen,—now all animation,—in tones whose cheerfulness took away the harshness of the words, silenced him, saying: “Stop your noise, Marmaduke. You’re a neuter verb, you know; and they mustn’t do anything.”
“Perhaps you ought to consult Bob himself,” Will suggested. “He might observe some valuable observations about his punishment.”
“Let the prisoner speak,” chimed in the irrepressible neutral one.
“Well, Bob,” said Charles languidly, “moisten your lips and tongue, and let us have your views. In the first place, what was your plot? What did you intend to do with Carlo?”
Bob scowled45 at the speaker and was silent. But finally, having thought bettor of it, he did as directed, and said, “I was only going to fool you fellers; I never meant to do more’n scare him,” looking at Stephen, “and[251] then I was going to let his dog go. But,” sorrowfully, “you came along and spoilt it all.”
“Suppose Carlo had gone at your heels when you let him out of the box?” Charles asked.
Bob turned pale and muttered something in confusion.
“Well, what do you say about our turning the tables on you?” George asked.
“Nothin’,” the prisoner answered stoically, still playing the part of an orthodox villain. No; he, a boy of nearly seventeen years, would not again beg for mercy at the hands of his inferiors—in age; and he awaited his punishment with well-feigned indifference.
If the boys had been better versed46 in human nature, they would have known that this passive submission47 on his part boded48 evil to their future welfare.
Although Bob was acting like an orthodox villain, the six, in taking upon themselves to judge and punish him, were not acting like orthodox heroes. By no means. They were not the irreproachable49 youngsters who figure in octodecimo volumes. They all had an idea of the fitness of things; and all—even George and Will—thought it just and right that Bob should know, by actual experience, what Carlo’s feelings had been during his imprisonment50.
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1
crave
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| vt.渴望得到，迫切需要，恳求，请求 | |
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villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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hem
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| n.贴边，镶边；vt.缝贴边；(in)包围，限制 | |
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4
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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waded
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| （从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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6
resolutely
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| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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bruises
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| n.瘀伤，伤痕，擦伤( bruise的名词复数 ) | |
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9
imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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illustrate
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| v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图 | |
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straps
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| n.带子( strap的名词复数 )；挎带；肩带；背带v.用皮带捆扎( strap的第三人称单数 )；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带 | |
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12
mischievous
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| adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的 | |
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13
blanched
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| v.使变白( blanch的过去式 )；使（植物）不见阳光而变白；酸洗（金属）使有光泽；用沸水烫（杏仁等）以便去皮 | |
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nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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sage
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| n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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muddle
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| n.困惑，混浊状态；vt.使混乱，使糊涂，使惊呆；vi.胡乱应付，混乱 | |
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18
woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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harping
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| n.反复述说 | |
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lamentable
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| adj.令人惋惜的，悔恨的 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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eavesdropper
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| 偷听者 | |
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juveniles
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| n.青少年( juvenile的名词复数 )；扮演少年角色的演员；未成年人 | |
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27
clemency
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| n.温和，仁慈，宽厚 | |
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28
juncture
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| n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头 | |
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equanimity
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| n.沉着，镇定 | |
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30
hopped
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| 跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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musingly
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| adv.沉思地，冥想地 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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persecutor
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| n. 迫害者 | |
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discomfited
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| v.使为难( discomfit的过去式和过去分词)；使狼狈；使挫折；挫败 | |
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outrage
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| n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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39
stiffen
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| v.(使)硬，(使)变挺，(使)变僵硬 | |
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meekly
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| adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地 | |
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41
jumble
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| vt.使混乱，混杂；n.混乱；杂乱的一堆 | |
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42
molesting
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| v.骚扰( molest的现在分词 )；干扰；调戏；猥亵 | |
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43
cram
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| v.填塞，塞满，临时抱佛脚，为考试而学习 | |
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44
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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45
scowled
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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46
versed
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| adj. 精通，熟练 | |
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47
submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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48
boded
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| v.预示，预告，预言( bode的过去式和过去分词 )；等待，停留( bide的过去分词 )；居住；（过去式用bided）等待 | |
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49
irreproachable
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| adj.不可指责的，无过失的 | |
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50
imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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