CHAPTER XXVII WHO STOLE THE PICTURE?

As Dorothy had promised, she met Zada at the lakeside, when the class was dismissed.

The Southern girl seemed so nervous, and so frightened, that Dorothy took her to the little nook that was sheltered by a rustic¹, summer house.

“The others will not see us here,” Dorothy said, “and I, too, feel as if I want to get away from all eyes.”

“You!” repeated Zada, “you have no reason to want to—hide. Oh, Dorothy, I don’t know how to tell you, but I must do so.”

“Now, Zada, you are just nervous, and I know perfectly² well it is that old matter that you wanted to tell me of some time ago. Whatever it is I do not want you to distress³ yourself about it. It is all past and gone, I am sure.”

“No,” sobbed⁴ Zada, “it will never be passed while it is on my mind. It is like a terrible nightmare, and it just haunts me.” Tears began to roll down her cheeks.

202 “There now, if you go on so you will have a nervous breakdown,” cautioned Dorothy. “I am sure you are over-rating it.” Dorothy took the little, trembling hand in hers. “If you had my troubles,” she suggested, and paused.

“Your troubles must be honorable,” replied the other, between her sobs⁵, and the thought of that word “arrest” gave Dorothy a start. “But,” continued Zada, “mother always told me one can stand anything better than—disgrace.”

“Disgrace!” exclaimed Dorothy. “Why do you speak that way? You could do nothing to disgrace yourself!”

“I shouldn’t, but I did. But I didn’t know it was so wrong!”

“There, that entirely⁶ alters the case. It could not have been so wrong, if you did not think so,” declared Dorothy.

Two of the girls on the path, hearing even the whispering voices, at that moment stood before the entrance to the little summer house. They were Dick and Ned.

“Land sakes!” exclaimed Dick, “are you two thinking of jumping into the lake? Did one ever see such faces!”

Zada turned her head to avoid their eyes. Dorothy did not know what to answer.

“Whatever is the matter?” demanded Edna.203 “I will go and fetch Tavia, and we will appoint a board of inquiry⁷. This looks serious.”

“Don’t joke,” Dorothy finally said. “Sometimes jokes are painful.”

“Oh, my dear! I beg your pardon. I did not mean to annoy you,” apologized Edna, sincerely.

“I know you did not, Edna,” said Dorothy, “but we seem to have trouble, in spite of our very good friends.” She sighed, and glanced at Zada. The latter had almost dried her eyes. “Zada, I am afraid, is homesick, and I am trying to cure her——”

“Homesick!” interrupted Dick. “I had that so bad the first year, that I broke out in shingles⁸. But even that did not get me free. I had to stay, and I am glad of it. Don’t you worry, Zada. There are worse places than Glenwood,” she finished cheeringly.

“Oh, I know that,” said Zada sniffling, “but it is very different here than at home.”

“Of course it is. That’s why we are here. If home were like this my mother would go crazy,” said the girl laughing. “Just imagine us tearing around as we do here! Why, my father would be so shocked he would put me in close confinement⁹. At the same time, here we think we are very nice and proper. Well, there goes the bell, and we haven’t had a bit of fun. I wonder what happened to Jean? She did not come out at all.”

204 “And where is Tavia?” asked Dorothy, rising in answer to the bell, and pressing Zada’s hand kindly¹⁰. “She must have had to do her work over.”

“Oh, worse than that. She had to apologize. Poor Tavia! She never makes a face but she is caught at it, I guess. Cummings does not love her as a sister,” said Molly Richards.

“Well, we had better hurry, or we will be tardy,” suggested Dorothy. “I have a lot to do—I did not study much last night.”

As they walked along Dorothy fell in step with Zada.

“Now don’t worry, dear,” she insisted. “I am sure everything will be all right.”

“But I must see you this afternoon,” said Zada. “I have made up my mind not to go to bed to-night until I have——”

“Hush,” cautioned Dorothy, for the others had turned around. Then they all reluctantly went back to the classroom.

Jean was sitting at her desk as they entered. She kept her head well bent¹¹ over her books, but it could be seen that her face was flushed.

Tavia sat back defiantly¹², as if to say “she couldn’t scare me.” Meaning, of course, that Miss Cummings’ remarks had little, if any, effect upon her. She had missed her entire recreation, because she refused to “apologize politely.”

205 Altogether the class was rather upset. An atmosphere of disquiet¹³ pervaded¹⁴ the room, and when the teachers changed classes, Miss Cummings left the room with a sigh of relief.

Miss Higley, the teacher of mathematics, was not one to be trifled with. She was one of the oldest of the faculty¹⁵ both in years, and in point of service, and when she came in every one sat up straight.

But the day wore on, and finally the work was over. Dorothy was wondering what could have happened, as the result of Mrs. Pangborn’s talk with Jean—wondering if the report about her father could be false. But no look, or word told her.

By a strange coincidence, however, Mrs. Pangborn asked Zada to ride to the village with her, and this again separated Zada from Dorothy. Of course the teacher had noticed the girl’s nervous manner, and “took her out,” hoping the ride would improve her spirits. But Zada would much rather not have gone. In fact every time Mrs. Pangborn asked her a question she shook—shook lest the question might be a dreaded¹⁶ one.

So that it was after tea before Zada sought Dorothy again, with the avowed¹⁷ intention of “confessing the terrible thing that was on her mind.”

She was indeed tired out, and when Dorothy206 insisted that she take the best chair, and rest back, Zada sighed and did as she had been invited to do.

“Dorothy,” began Zada, “when I did it, I never knew what trouble it meant, but I stole your picture!”

“Stole my picture! The one that was in the paper?”

“Yes,” and Zada gasped¹⁸ in relief, as if a terrible thing, indeed, had been lifted off her mind. “I was asked to do it. It was part of our club plan—the old club,” and she bit her lips at the memory. “I promised never to tell who asked me, or how I was asked, and I don’t feel yet I should tell. But when I found out all the trouble it made for you——”

She stopped, and Dorothy looked horrified¹⁹. That this little harmless child could have been the one to steal into her room, and get that picture from Tavia’s dresser!

“Can you ever forgive me, Dorothy?” pleaded the girl.

“I am sure,” said Dorothy with hesitation²⁰, “you could never have realized what it would mean.”

“I thought it was one of the club jokes. I never had an idea it was to go to that horrible paper. Oh dear! What I have suffered! I wanted to tell Mrs. Pangborn, but she is such a friend to mamma——” and the girl sobbed beyond words.

207 “She need not know it,” said Dorothy. “Neither need anyone else. It was I who was affected²¹, and now I am willing to let it rest, as it has rested.”

“Oh, you dear, noble girl!” exclaimed Zada, putting her arms around Dorothy’s neck. “I knew if I told you it would be all right, and I wanted to tell you before, but you would not let me. Now, I can rest,” and she breathed a sigh of relief. “But I must try to forgive the others, as you have been so good to me, I suppose.”

“I never knew I had such enemies,” said Dorothy. “Or perhaps they, too, thought it would be only a joke,” and Dorothy Dale endeavored, for her own peace of mind, and for the hope that her rivals might be friends—she tried to think it was intended for—a joke.

1 rustic   

adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬

参考例句：

• It was nearly seven months of leisurely rustic living before Michael felt real boredom.这种悠闲的乡村生活过了差不多七个月之后,迈克尔开始感到烦闷。
• We hoped the fresh air and rustic atmosphere would help him adjust.我们希望新鲜的空气和乡村的氛围能帮他调整自己。

2 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

3 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

4 sobbed   

哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说

参考例句：

• She sobbed out the story of her son's death. 她哭诉着她儿子的死。
• She sobbed out the sad story of her son's death. 她哽咽着诉说她儿子死去的悲惨经过。

5 sobs   

啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She was struggling to suppress her sobs. 她拼命不让自己哭出来。
• She burst into a convulsive sobs. 她突然抽泣起来。

6 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

7 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

8 shingles   

n.带状疱疹；（布满海边的）小圆石( shingle的名词复数 )；屋顶板；木瓦（板）；墙面板

参考例句：

• Shingles are often dipped in creosote. 屋顶板常浸涂木焦油。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The roofs had shingles missing. 一些屋顶板不见了。 来自辞典例句

9 confinement   

n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限

参考例句：

• He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。
• The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。

10 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

11 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

12 defiantly   

adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地

参考例句：

• Braving snow and frost, the plum trees blossomed defiantly. 红梅傲雪凌霜开。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 disquiet   

n.担心，焦虑

参考例句：

• The disquiet will boil over in the long run.这种不安情绪终有一天会爆发的。
• Her disquiet made us uneasy too.她的忧虑使我们也很不安。

14 pervaded   

v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A retrospective influence pervaded the whole performance. 怀旧的影响弥漫了整个演出。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The air is pervaded by a smell [smoking]. 空气中弥散着一种气味[烟味]。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

15 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

16 dreaded   

adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The dreaded moment had finally arrived. 可怕的时刻终于来到了。
• He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital. 他害怕非得在医院过圣诞节不可。 来自《用法词典》

17 avowed   

adj.公开声明的，承认的v.公开声明，承认( avow的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• An aide avowed that the President had known nothing of the deals. 一位助理声明，总统对这些交易一无所知。
• The party's avowed aim was to struggle against capitalist exploitation. 该党公开宣称的宗旨是与资本主义剥削斗争。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

19 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

20 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

21 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。