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CHAPTER II AN IRREGULAR MEETING OF THE ANCLOTE FISHING CLUB
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When Tom Allen swung open the door, Bob saw that he was in a home of refinement1. On the walls, hung several old oil paintings; a wide, doorless opening led directly into a little parlor2.

“Gran’mothah,” said Tom, with deference3, addressing an aged4 lady sitting by a window, “this is Robert Balfour, of Chicago.”

As Bob bowed, Tom added:

“Bob, this is my gran’mothah, Mrs. Mendez. She lived in Pensacola befoah the Indians—almost.”

The venerable lady was rising, with a smile on her wrinkled face.

“Please don’t,” urged the boy. “I’m very glad to meet you. I’m a stranger, and the boys have taken me in. It’s beautiful here,” added Bob, glancing at the old-fashioned furniture; “my mother and I have often talked of such a place.”

“You are a strangah to the south, then?” said Mrs. Mendez.
 
“It’s the first time I ever saw pond lilies in the winter,” answered Bob, looking toward a bowl of white blossoms on the marble-topped table.

“They are magnolia buds,” explained Tom’s grandmother. “I have them for old time’s sake. When I was young, the gulf5 shore was lined with magnolias. They are gone now,” she added, with a sigh.

Hal Burton, after speaking to Mrs. Mendez, disappeared into a rear room with Tom, where an animated6 conversation was already to be heard. The words of Tom’s grandmother carried Bob back to vague pages in his history reading.

“You have lived here a long time,” he suggested.

“Since Pensacola was a trading post,” said the old lady. “But, in the early days, there was a cypress7 stockade8 about our cabin. Then, the gulf came up to our yard.”

Three blocks crowded with buildings now stood between the little house and the sea.

“Your father was Spanish?” asked Bob, his thoughts already fired with the passed away romance of those early days.
 
“A tradah among the Creek9 Indians,” answered Mrs. Mendez.

“Are there any relics10 of those times in Pensacola now?” went on Bob eagerly.

Mrs. Mendez smiled. “The big house you just passed on the corner is fifty years older than I am. Within it, are the beams the Indians helped to raise.”

“What was it?—A fort?” asked Bob.

Again the old lady smiled. “If my son, Tom’s father, were alive, he could tell you its story—I am too old. But it was where the Indians came to sell furs. Mr. Mendez was a clerk there.”

At this moment, the two boys and a middle-aged11 woman entered the room.

“This is Bob, mothah,” exclaimed Tom Allen, and Mrs. Allen gave young Balfour the hand grasp of southern hospitality.

“They picked me up on the street,” repeated Bob, with renewed embarrassment12.

“You ah certainly most welcome to ouah home,” interrupted Mrs. Allen. “An’ as fo’ pickin’ yo’ up on the street,” she continued, with a smile, “I found a real gold ring on the banquette mahsef once.” Then, as Bob’s confusion deepened, the pleasant voiced woman[23] added, “These young prowlahs ah about to pahtake of some refreshments13 in the next room.”

“Charlotte,” exclaimed Mrs. Mendez from her rocking chair, “the young gentleman asked me about the old post. Won’t you tell him?”

Bob heard a sigh from Tom, who immediately stepped to his side and whispered:

“Them thah crabs15 is gittin’ cold. I’ll tell you all about it latah.”

“My own grandfathah helped hew16 its timbahs,” explained Mrs. Allen. “It is now a fo’gotten monument.”

She was leading the little party into the rear room. Hal, bearing the lamp, nudged Bob with his elbow.

“Cut it out,” he whispered. “Them ducks are all dead an’ gone. Come on. Don’t you hear the crabs shiverin’ with the cold?”

“Some day,” continued Mrs. Allen, “I’ll be glad to tell you the story of the old warehouse17. It was wheah colonial day tradahs made fortunes on the gulf as the Hudson Bay Company drew wealth from the Indians of the no’th. It is now a boa’din’ house,” she concluded, with a curious smile. “Perhaps youah mothah would be glad to come and see it?”
 
Thanking his hostess, Bob was about to enter upon another line of inquiry18 when Tom caught him by the arm.

“You’ll excuse us, mothah,” said Tom, “but this is a regulah meetin’ night. We ah about to considah impo’tant mattahs.”

“Say,” exploded Hal at once, “can’t you get all o’ that mossy dope you need in the history books?”

“Plenty of it,” laughed Bob, “but that’s at long range. I’m comin’ to-morrow and look all over the old building.”

Tom grunted19. “If that’s what yo’ all come to Pensacola fo’, I reckon you’ll have yo’ hands full.”

“You can read all that,” went on Hal. “And, take it from me, there’s too much to do to be nosin’ around lookin’ for Spanish things.”

Bob grinned and pointed20 to the table and the cooling loaves.

“These aren’t Spanish, are they? I’m ready.”

Tom had just lifted the top off one loaf and the savory21 steam was welling into the room, when he dropped the section of bread.

“Where’s Mac?” he exclaimed. Then he hastily stuck his head into the parlor.[25] “Mothah,” he called, “where’s Mac Gregory? He went fo’ some pralines.”

Mrs. Allen came quickly into the room.

“Gentlemen,” she exclaimed, holding her hands before her face as if to hide her confusion, “I must confess mah inexcusable ovahsight. Youah friend and colleague was heah and left a message which I neglected to delivah. He can not be with you at youah meetin’. A friend presented him a ticket to the ten-cent pictuah show, and he has repaired to the theatah.”

Tom’s eyes twinkled, but matter of fact Hal growled22:

“Went to the movin’ picture show on a regular meetin’ night?”

“So it appeahs,” laughed Mrs. Allen, as she withdrew.

“Well,” growled Hal, “it’s that many more crabs for us, anyway.”

It required no education for Bob to master a freshly fried soft shell crab14. But by the time three of them had disappeared with crackling crispness, he was ready to ask:

“Say, kids; what’s the meeting all about?”

Hal and Tom were too busy to reply at once, but, finally, both loaves were empty. After a[26] search for loose crumbs23, Hal pushed an empty loaf aside.

“Before we go any further, I’d like to know one thing. You look all right, and you eat all right—though you can’t tell much by crabs, there bein’ a limit to ’em, but are you one o’ them ducks ’at would rather get off in a corner an’ read a book than go boatin’ or fishin’? O’ course, you don’t have to answer lessen24 you want to, but business is business.”

“I can’t read a book while I’m in Pensacola,” answered Bob.

“That ain’t the point,” continued Hal, leaning over the table. “Would you like to do it?”

Bob could not resist laughing outright25.

“I don’t know what I’d do or want to do if I had to mosey around town here for three months all alone. But if you fellows have anything on that you’ll let me in on, I’ll cut the books.”

“We’ve got a club,” spoke26 up Tom, who seemed satisfied with the statement, “but it ain’t a ‘gang’. We ah very pahticulah, because we got to be. Ouah by-laws permit but fouah membahs, not includin’ Jerry Blossom. About the end of the season last yeah, we were fo’ced to expel a membah foh absentin’ himself from a reg’lar weekly outin’ to attend a picnic with a girl. Are you co’espondin’ with any girls?”

“I am not,” answered Bob promptly27.

His interlocutors gazed at each other a few moments in silence.

“I reckon Mac ought to be hyah by rights,” suggested Tom, as if in deep thought.

“He ought to be expelled hisself,” blurted28 out Hal.

“But he owns the boat,” argued Tom, seriously. “And, besides, it was a free ticket.”

“’Scuse us,” remarked Hal suddenly, as he beckoned29 to Tom. “We got to confer a minute.”

Bob used the interval30 to look about the room. On the wall hung a framed set of engrossed31 resolutions. They were dated only five years before, and signed by the officers of the Mexico and Florida Steamship32 Company, deploring33 the death of Captain Malcolm Allen, who had been in the service of the company in the Mexican trade for many years as master of the steamer Mazatlan. This then was Tom’s father.

“Balfour,” said Tom Allen at last, touching34 Bob on the arm, “we’ve elected you a membah of the ‘Anclote Island Fishing Club’.”
 
“I’m sure I’m glad,” exclaimed Bob. “I hoped it was something like that. But how about Mac? What if he don’t approve of me?”

“Then I reckon you’re fired,” answered Hal, bluntly.

Bob could not help showing some chagrin35.

“I don’t see why that troubles you,” went on Hal. “We’re takin’ a chance, too. You’ve got the privilege o’ sayin’ you don’t accept.”

“But I do,” insisted Bob. “That is, if my mother consents.”

“There you go,” snorted the doubting Hal. “I knew there’d be somethin’.”

“Well,” responded Bob, “there’ll have to be that condition. My parents pay my way, and they tell me what I’m goin’ to do.”

Tom reached out his hand. Thereupon, Hal could do no less. As the three boys, acquaintances of but a little over an hour, awkwardly shook hands, Tom said:

“If everything is all right, an’ youah mothah lets yo’, come to my house about three o’clock to-morrow. Hal and I ah fo’ced to attend school till that ouah.”

“I hope Mac approves,” added Bob, still nettled36 over this condition. “I suppose you make[29] fishin’ trips now and then,” he went on. “Do you ever camp out?”

Hal snorted, and slapped Tom on the back.

“Say,” he chuckled37, “do you hear that? Go fishin’ sometimes? Do we camp out? Kid,” he added solemnly, “we do go fishin’—sometimes. And them sometimes is every Friday at noon, when our season opens, and that’s now, and we camp out from that till Monday mornin’. That’s all.”

Bob’s jaw38 fell. From Friday noon till Monday morning. The possibility of parental39 protest fell on him like a wet blanket.

“Where do you go?” he asked hastily.

Tom thereupon disclosed the nature and practice of the select quartette of adventurers. Three years before, Hal Burton, Mac Gregory, Tom Allen, and the now expelled boy, had come into possession, through Mac’s father, of a serviceable old life-saving boat. Rigging up a sail, the four boys had made a long cruise out of Pensacola Bay and along the gulf coast to Perdido Bay.

On the eastern shore of this ocean bayou rises a considerable bluff40 crowded with dense41 pine trees. On this, about ten miles from the gulf, the boys on their first cruise located a camp.[30] The following spring, Hal brought with him enough money to purchase a 10-horsepower motor, which was installed in the life boat—the Escambia. That year, by purchase of “culls” from the Perdido River saw mills and a vigilant42 search for drift timber, the club managed to secure material to build a cabin.

“Fine,” shouted Bob at last. “If Mac Gregory don’t vote for me, I’m goin’ to miss the best thing I ever read of. But say,” and he asked the question that had been on his tongue for some minutes, “why is it the Anclote Club? And where is Anclote Island?”

“About three hundred miles from here, over near Tampa,” answered Hal soberly.

“And do you cruise over there?”

“Nope,” snapped Hal, “but say—listen! That’s the greatest tarpon fishin’ ground in the world. Quail43 are great over on old Perdido, and fishin’ in the bay is fine and dandy. But that ain’t tarpon. Some day we’re goin’ for the big fish—on the long voyage. We’re workin’ for a big boat and enough time. When we get ’em both, it’s the Anclote Fishin’ Club for Anclote Island at last.”

“Are you going this year?” asked Bob eagerly.
 
“I reckon not,” answered Tom with a smile. “But we are a goin’ to think about it mighty44 hard.”

Bob sprang up, his face aglow45 with enthusiasm. It was nearly ten o’clock.

“Boys,” he said—nervous in his eagerness—“I’ll be here at three o’clock to-morrow. If Mac turns me down, hang a black rag on the gate.”

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 refinement kinyX     
n.文雅;高尚;精美;精制;精炼
参考例句:
  • Sally is a woman of great refinement and beauty. 莎莉是个温文尔雅又很漂亮的女士。
  • Good manners and correct speech are marks of refinement.彬彬有礼和谈吐得体是文雅的标志。
2 parlor v4MzU     
n.店铺,营业室;会客室,客厅
参考例句:
  • She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
  • Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店?
3 deference mmKzz     
n.尊重,顺从;敬意
参考例句:
  • Do you treat your parents and teachers with deference?你对父母师长尊敬吗?
  • The major defect of their work was deference to authority.他们的主要缺陷是趋从权威。
4 aged 6zWzdI     
adj.年老的,陈年的
参考例句:
  • He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了,也老点了。
  • He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老,然而记忆力还好。
5 gulf 1e0xp     
n.海湾;深渊,鸿沟;分歧,隔阂
参考例句:
  • The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
  • There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。
6 animated Cz7zMa     
adj.生气勃勃的,活跃的,愉快的
参考例句:
  • His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
  • We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。
7 cypress uyDx3     
n.柏树
参考例句:
  • The towering pine and cypress trees defy frost and snow.松柏参天傲霜雪。
  • The pine and the cypress remain green all the year round.苍松翠柏,常绿不凋。
8 stockade FucwR     
n.栅栏,围栏;v.用栅栏防护
参考例句:
  • I had not gone a hundred yards when I reached the stockade.我跑了不到一百码,就到了栅栏前。
  • A heavy stockade around the cabin protected the pioneer from attack.小屋周围的厚厚的栅栏保护拓荒者免受攻击。
9 creek 3orzL     
n.小溪,小河,小湾
参考例句:
  • He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
  • People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。
10 relics UkMzSr     
[pl.]n.遗物,遗迹,遗产;遗体,尸骸
参考例句:
  • The area is a treasure house of archaeological relics. 这个地区是古文物遗迹的宝库。
  • Xi'an is an ancient city full of treasures and saintly relics. 西安是一个有很多宝藏和神圣的遗物的古老城市。
11 middle-aged UopzSS     
adj.中年的
参考例句:
  • I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
  • The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。
12 embarrassment fj9z8     
n.尴尬;使人为难的人(事物);障碍;窘迫
参考例句:
  • She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
  • Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。
13 refreshments KkqzPc     
n.点心,便餐;(会议后的)简单茶点招 待
参考例句:
  • We have to make a small charge for refreshments. 我们得收取少量茶点费。
  • Light refreshments will be served during the break. 中间休息时有点心供应。
14 crab xoozE     
n.螃蟹,偏航,脾气乖戾的人,酸苹果;vi.捕蟹,偏航,发牢骚;vt.使偏航,发脾气
参考例句:
  • I can't remember when I last had crab.我不记得上次吃蟹是什么时候了。
  • The skin on my face felt as hard as a crab's back.我脸上的皮仿佛僵硬了,就象螃蟹的壳似的。
15 crabs a26cc3db05581d7cfc36d59943c77523     
n.蟹( crab的名词复数 );阴虱寄生病;蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》
16 hew t56yA     
v.砍;伐;削
参考例句:
  • Hew a path through the underbrush.在灌木丛中砍出一条小路。
  • Plant a sapling as tall as yourself and hew it off when it is two times high of you.种一棵与自己身高一样的树苗,长到比自己高两倍时砍掉它。
17 warehouse 6h7wZ     
n.仓库;vt.存入仓库
参考例句:
  • We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
  • The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。
18 inquiry nbgzF     
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。
19 grunted f18a3a8ced1d857427f2252db2abbeaf     
(猪等)作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 ); (指人)发出类似的哼声; 咕哝着说
参考例句:
  • She just grunted, not deigning to look up from the page. 她只咕哝了一声,继续看书,不屑抬起头来看一眼。
  • She grunted some incomprehensible reply. 她咕噜着回答了些令人费解的话。
20 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
21 savory UC9zT     
adj.风味极佳的,可口的,味香的
参考例句:
  • She placed a huge dish before him of savory steaming meat.她将一大盘热气腾腾、美味可口的肉放在他面前。
  • He doesn't have a very savory reputation.他的名誉不太好。
22 growled 65a0c9cac661e85023a63631d6dab8a3     
v.(动物)发狺狺声, (雷)作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 );低声咆哮着说
参考例句:
  • \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道:“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》
23 crumbs crumbs     
int. (表示惊讶)哎呀 n. 碎屑 名词crumb的复数形式
参考例句:
  • She stood up and brushed the crumbs from her sweater. 她站起身掸掉了毛衣上的面包屑。
  • Oh crumbs! Is that the time? 啊,天哪!都这会儿啦?
24 lessen 01gx4     
vt.减少,减轻;缩小
参考例句:
  • Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
  • They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。
25 outright Qj7yY     
adv.坦率地;彻底地;立即;adj.无疑的;彻底的
参考例句:
  • If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事,你应该直率地对我说。
  • You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。
26 spoke XryyC     
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。
27 promptly LRMxm     
adv.及时地,敏捷地
参考例句:
  • He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
  • She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。
28 blurted fa8352b3313c0b88e537aab1fcd30988     
v.突然说出,脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She blurted it out before I could stop her. 我还没来得及制止,她已脱口而出。
  • He blurted out the truth, that he committed the crime. 他不慎说出了真相,说是他犯了那个罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
29 beckoned b70f83e57673dfe30be1c577dd8520bc     
v.(用头或手的动作)示意,召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He beckoned to the waiter to bring the bill. 他招手示意服务生把账单送过来。
  • The seated figure in the corner beckoned me over. 那个坐在角落里的人向我招手让我过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
30 interval 85kxY     
n.间隔,间距;幕间休息,中场休息
参考例句:
  • The interval between the two trees measures 40 feet.这两棵树的间隔是40英尺。
  • There was a long interval before he anwsered the telephone.隔了好久他才回了电话。
31 engrossed 3t0zmb     
adj.全神贯注的
参考例句:
  • The student is engrossed in his book.这名学生正在专心致志地看书。
  • No one had ever been quite so engrossed in an evening paper.没人会对一份晚报如此全神贯注。
32 steamship 1h9zcA     
n.汽船,轮船
参考例句:
  • The return may be made on the same steamship.可乘同一艘汽船当天回来。
  • It was so foggy that the steamship almost ran down a small boat leaving the port.雾很大,汽艇差点把一只正在离港的小船撞沉。
33 deploring 626edc75f67b2310ef3eee7694915839     
v.悲叹,痛惜,强烈反对( deplore的现在分词 )
参考例句:
34 touching sg6zQ9     
adj.动人的,使人感伤的
参考例句:
  • It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
  • His letter was touching.他的信很感人。
35 chagrin 1cyyX     
n.懊恼;气愤;委屈
参考例句:
  • His increasingly visible chagrin sets up a vicious circle.他的明显的不满引起了一种恶性循环。
  • Much to his chagrin,he did not win the race.使他大为懊恼的是他赛跑没获胜。
36 nettled 1329a37399dc803e7821d52c8a298307     
v.拿荨麻打,拿荨麻刺(nettle的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • My remarks clearly nettled her. 我的话显然惹恼了她。
  • He had been growing nettled before, but now he pulled himself together. 他刚才有些来火,但现在又恢复了常态。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
37 chuckled 8ce1383c838073977a08258a1f3e30f8     
轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
  • She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情,她就轻轻地暗自发笑。
38 jaw 5xgy9     
n.颚,颌,说教,流言蜚语;v.喋喋不休,教训
参考例句:
  • He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
  • A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。
39 parental FL2xv     
adj.父母的;父的;母的
参考例句:
  • He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
  • Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。
40 bluff ftZzB     
v.虚张声势,用假象骗人;n.虚张声势,欺骗
参考例句:
  • His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
  • John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。
41 dense aONzX     
a.密集的,稠密的,浓密的;密度大的
参考例句:
  • The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
  • The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
42 vigilant ULez2     
adj.警觉的,警戒的,警惕的
参考例句:
  • He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
  • The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。
43 quail f0UzL     
n.鹌鹑;vi.畏惧,颤抖
参考例句:
  • Cowards always quail before the enemy.在敌人面前,胆小鬼们总是畏缩不前的。
  • Quail eggs are very high in cholesterol.鹌鹑蛋胆固醇含量高。
44 mighty YDWxl     
adj.强有力的;巨大的
参考例句:
  • A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
  • The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。
45 aglow CVqzh     
adj.发亮的;发红的;adv.发亮地
参考例句:
  • The garden is aglow with many flowers.园中百花盛开。
  • The sky was aglow with the setting sun.天空因夕阳映照而发红光。


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