CHAPTER XXVI

It was late in the morning when Scott finally awoke. He glanced at Mr. Graham’s bed. It was empty. He listened for quite a while, but there was not a sound in the house. When he glanced at his watch he understood why it was. On the table he found a characteristic note from Mr. Graham. “Sleep your head off if you want to and catch up. I’ll be back this evening.”

Scott felt as though he had earned a rest and when he had washed the breakfast dishes he stretched out in a steamer-chair on the little front porch for a good loaf.

The waves were lapping soothingly¹ on the beach, the line of islands still shimmered² in the sunshine on the opposite side of the lagoon³, and a little oyster⁴ schooner⁵ glided⁶ lazily across the picture. It was almost the identical picture at which Scott had looked with impatient eyes just nine days before. Just nine days! That was all it was and yet how much had happened since then and how different everything looked now.

Then he had been a stranger in a strange land, very much at sea, and wondering what he had to do. Now it seemed as though he was an old inhabitant thoroughly⁷ familiar with the country and the ways of the people. And yet how very little he had really seen. Most of his time had been spent in the swamp and there were hundreds of things outside he wanted to know about. Probably the Washington office would get Mr. Graham’s report in another day or two and would wire him to return at once to his station in the Southwest. He wanted to go back there eventually, but he did wish that they would give him a few weeks longer there in the South to look about him.

All afternoon he just sat there on the porch and dreamed.

About supper time Mr. Graham returned in a high good humor. He shouted to Scott merrily as he rode into the yard and strode up the little oyster-shell walk with buoyant step.

“Well, Burton,” he exclaimed, clapping Scott on the knee with friendly hand, “I’ve just done something which pleases me mightily⁸, but it may not be such good news to you. Maybe you have had enough of the sunny South and are longing⁹ to be back in the clear atmosphere of your Arizona desert, but I wanted to see a little more of you and I have been exchanging telegrams with Washington most of the afternoon. Finally persuaded them that it was absolutely necessary for you to stay right here with me till the trial was over and those scoundrels were tight in the pen where they will surely go. What do you think of it?”

Scott jumped from his chair and grasped Mr. Graham’s hand, his face beaming with happiness. “The very thing I have been wishing for all afternoon. It seemed a shame to come away down here for such a short time and have to go back again without seeing much of the country outside of the swamps, but I did not suppose it could be managed. You have certainly been kind to me and I appreciate it.”

“Kind, fiddlesticks,” Mr. Graham exclaimed brusquely. “You’ve gotten me out of a tangle¹⁰ with which I have been vainly struggling for over two years, and I have only just begun to pay you back.”

And so it was that Scott spent three very pleasant months in the little cabin with Mr. Graham and learned how gentle, how courteous¹¹, and how thoughtful a really big man could be without in any way detracting from his strength. It was a lesson he never forgot and it stood him in good stead in the future.

Before he left he had the satisfaction of seeing the whole gang of thieves on their way to the penitentiary¹² under a fifteen-year sentence and had received a personal letter of thanks from the chief forester of the United States.

The End

1 soothingly   

adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地

参考例句：

• The mother talked soothingly to her child. 母亲对自己的孩子安慰地说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He continued to talk quietly and soothingly to the girl until her frightened grip on his arm was relaxed. 他继续柔声安慰那姑娘，她那因恐惧而紧抓住他的手终于放松了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 shimmered   

v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The sea shimmered in the sunlight. 阳光下海水闪烁着微光。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A heat haze shimmered above the fields. 田野上方微微闪烁着一层热气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 lagoon   

n.泻湖，咸水湖

参考例句：

• The lagoon was pullulated with tropical fish.那个咸水湖聚满了热带鱼。
• This area isolates a restricted lagoon environment.将这一地区隔离起来使形成一个封闭的泻湖环境。

4 oyster   

n.牡蛎；沉默寡言的人

参考例句：

• I enjoy eating oyster; it's really delicious.我喜欢吃牡蛎，它味道真美。
• I find I fairly like eating when he finally persuades me to taste the oyster.当他最后说服我尝尝牡蛎时，我发现我相当喜欢吃。

5 schooner   

n.纵帆船

参考例句：

• The schooner was driven ashore.那条帆船被冲上了岸。
• The current was bearing coracle and schooner southward at an equal rate.急流正以同样的速度将小筏子和帆船一起冲向南方。

6 glided   

v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔

参考例句：

• The President's motorcade glided by. 总统的车队一溜烟开了过去。
• They glided along the wall until they were out of sight. 他们沿着墙壁溜得无影无踪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

8 mightily   

ad.强烈地；非常地

参考例句：

• He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet. 他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。
• This seemed mightily to relieve him. 干完这件事后，他似乎轻松了许多。

9 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

10 tangle   

n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱

参考例句：

• I shouldn't tangle with Peter.He is bigger than me.我不应该与彼特吵架。他的块头比我大。
• If I were you, I wouldn't tangle with them.我要是你，我就不跟他们争吵。

11 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。

12 penitentiary   

n.感化院；监狱

参考例句：

• He worked as a warden at the state penitentiary.他在这所州监狱任看守长。
• While he was in the penitentiary her father died and the family broke up.他坐牢的时候，她的父亲死了，家庭就拆散了。