“Here it is springtime again, boys!”
“Yes, and I’m beginning to catch the spring fever. I just feel—well, torpid1 would describe it. I hate to study, or do any work that requires the least exertion2.”
“Hey, Billy, there’s one great exception you’ll have to make when you say that—you’ve never let that torpor3 interfere4 with your rapid locomotion5 when you heard the welcome sound of the dinner bell.”
The fat boy in the new khaki suit allowed a broad, good-natured smile to spread over his freckled6 face.
6
“Oh, that’s different!” he exclaimed quickly. “I said work, please remember, Alec, and as for feeding, why, I always class that under the head of undiluted, unadulterated pleasure.”
“Well, winter has come and gone, with a whole lot of talk about town improvement in the air, and nothing done, just as you were saying, Hugh.”
The manly7 looking young fellow who answered to the name of Hugh Hardin was patrol leader and assistant scout8 master. This could easily be learned by any one at all familiar with the various devices used by Boy Scouts9 to designate rank. On the left sleeve of his coat, just below the shoulder, he had first of all two white stripes, and underneath10 that a red first-class scout badge.
Hugh, as well as a number of other members of the Oakvale Troop, had for some time been authorized11 to wear certain medals signifying that at some previous date they had been instrumental in saving human life at the risk of their own.
If the reader does not know under what stirring conditions these medals, typifying the Boy Scout Roll of Honor, were earned, he can have the pleasure of reading all the particulars in previous books of this series, as lack of time and space prevents our mentioning them here.
7
Besides the leader of the Wolf Patrol there were present on this occasion Billy Worth—the stout12 member—Alec Sands—who had once been Hugh’s most bitter rival for honors, but since heading the Otter13 Patrol he had grown to be very chummy with him—and Buck14 Winter.
They attended Oakvale High School and were dismissed about half-past one in the afternoon. They thus had considerable advantage over the boys and girls in the lower grades.
Indeed, at the late hour in the spring afternoon mentioned, numerous little folks were heading homeward in knots, having just been given their freedom. Hugh and his three companions had stopped to chat, having met by accident at that point where traffic was congested—the wagons15 from the mills crossing in one direction and many big and little cars swinging around various corners.
8
Somehow or other that particular spot always had a peculiar16 sort of fascination17 for Hugh. It had tragic18 memories, too, for on several occasions serious accidents had occurred here, owing to the speed which some drivers persisted in making while approaching the dangerous crossing.
When Buck Winter, the boy who surpassed most of his chums in animal photography, spoke19 to Hugh about the dim prospect20 of anything being done in the matter of improving certain glaring defects in the government of the town, the scout master frowned and shook his head.
“I never saw anything hang fire like this,” he remarked, at the same time watching what was going on close by with keen interest. “There’s that crossing over yonder, and some other bad places where children pass over several times a day—it ought to be protected but it isn’t. An officer should be stationed there morning, noon and night, to see that traffic slows up when the children are going and coming from school.”
9
“That’s right, Hugh,” burst out the impulsive21 Billy, whose heart was just as big as his waist was expansive, “and some of these fine days there’s going to be something awful happening here! It’ll wake this sleepy old town up! For one, I don’t believe in waiting till your horse is stolen before you think to lock the stable door. ‘A stitch in time saves nine,’ they say.”
“Just see how the driver of that big touring car swings down with a rush, will you!” exclaimed Alec, indignantly. “He sounds his siren to beat the band, just as if he expected everybody to scatter22 like chickens crossing a road, and run for their lives. It’s a beastly shame!”
“Something’s got to be done, that’s all!” said Hugh, with compressed lips, and a flash in his eye that spoke volumes, as he looked after the reckless chauffeur23 of the car, now speeding away, with a nasty grin of conscious superiority on his face.
“If I was the mayor of this burgh in place of spineless old Strunk,” the impetuous Alec went on to exclaim, “you’d soon hear something pop. I would call the Council in session, and have ordinances24 passed that would keep these speeders under control. After a few of them had been locked up for a spell, as well as heavily fined, you’d notice a big difference.”
10
“That isn’t all, by any means,” Hugh chimed in, watching the approach of a bevy25 of small school girls with apprehension26, for the traffic seemed to be at its heaviest. “There are a number of other bad spots in town that need attention. The railroad crossing is utterly27 unprotected, and last summer one man was killed there, you remember, while twice vehicles have been wrecked28.”
“There were some other things you mentioned the last time we talked this over, Hugh, I remember,” said Buck Winter.
“Lots of them,” came the ready reply. “The whole town has grown careless again. True, people don’t litter the streets with waste paper now that they know about the cans placed for such trash—the scouts cured that evil—but there are other defects that ought to be attended to. For instance, some people persist in keeping garbage standing29 open for the flies to breed in. Others have nuisances about which their neighbors hate to complain of. I know six or seven places where this sort of thing is going on, and I reckon the scouts could trace dozens, if once they had the authority to start in on the job.”
11
“Oh, I guess I know what you’ve got in mind, Hugh!” exclaimed Billy, with sudden animation30. “I was reading the other day how that very thing is being carried out with great success right down in New York City. Boys are given badges to wear, and are called the Auxiliary31 Police, or something like that. They have their precincts to watch, and report every sort of nuisance or infraction32 of the law to their friend, the police captain, who sees that it is abated33. They say you would be surprised to see how well the boys do their duty. Things have taken on a new look since the scheme was started.”
“It could be done here a whole lot easier than in such a big city,” affirmed Hugh, eagerly. “We haven’t got such a raft of ignorant foreigners to handle, you see. A good many people up here have just fallen into careless ways, and all they need is to be waked up.”
12
“We did that other job first class,” said Billy, proudly, “and we’d win out again if only we had half a chance. But I don’t know what keeps on interfering34. They must be asleep, and only some terrible accident will startle them to action.”
“Some of the boys have told me in secret about a blind tiger that is being operated since the saloons were shut out of Oakvale,” declared Hugh. “Then I’ve also learned that some of the mill hands get together and gamble, which is against the law. The police, thinking of the votes those fellows can control, seem to wink35 at such things. There’s no use talking, the women of Oakvale have got to be roused, and join hands with every church in town to clean up the place again, this time for good. The scouts stand ready to do their part.”
“Every time!” added Billy, sonorously36, as he whacked37 Buck Winter on his back, as if to emphasize his remark.
“There are heaps of things that ought to be bettered,” asserted Alec. “They never will be until the scouts and the women join hands with all the good people of Oakvale for a genuine old clean-up time. All they seem to want is a leader. Everybody is waiting for some one else to make the start. Hugh, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s going to be up to you.”
13
“I was talking with Professor Marvin, the school principal, only yesterday,” said the scout master, “and he agreed with me that there was great need of all the moral forces in the community uniting for a big fight before things got too bad. He said he would see Mayor Strunk last night, and asked me, as acting38 in place of Lieutenant39 Denmead, who is away, to drop around to his house this evening, for he had invited the mayor, Mrs. Marsh40 and several of the leading ladies of the T. I. A., to take supper with him.”
“Good for that!” cried Billy. “Make sure you rub it in like everything, Hugh, once you get the chance. I hope to hear great news tomorrow morning, and I’ll be ready, for one, to take off my coat and get busy with a broom—of course, figuratively speaking, I mean.”
Alec nodded his head as if pleased.
14
“Something in the air tells me there are going to be warm doings in this town before a great while,” he asserted positively41. “It’s always darkest before dawn, they say, and things have about reached their limit here. Once the new broom gets agoing it’ll sweep out a lot of nuisances that have been an eyesore to all decent people for a long while back. My folks get quite worked up every time they begin to talk about certain things that are objectionable.”
“I’m going to begin and make a list of nuisances right off,” said Buck Winter.
“Well, I don’t like the way you look at me when you say that, Buck,” complained Billy, in affected42 uneasiness. “I’m going to reform, sure I am. Gimme half a chance, and I’ll even try to reduce my weight, if that bothers you, though I’d hate to cut my rations43 down to half.”
“Now look at all those vehicles and cars coming along from four directions at once!” exclaimed Alec. “That bunch of kids on the curb44 has been waiting all of five minutes for a half-decent chance to cross, but do you see any driver holding up to let them go over? They’re a lot of selfish and reckless—— Say, hold on, kids, don’t you dare to try it! Oh! Hugh, look there, one of them has run out! Hi! hi! Hold your horses—stop that car!”
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1
torpid
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| adj.麻痹的，麻木的，迟钝的 | |
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exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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torpor
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| n.迟钝；麻木；（动物的）冬眠 | |
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interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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locomotion
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| n.运动，移动 | |
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freckled
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| adj.雀斑；斑点；晒斑；（使）生雀斑v.雀斑，斑点( freckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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7
manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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8
scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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9
scouts
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| 侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员 | |
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underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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authorized
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| a.委任的，许可的 | |
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otter
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| n.水獭 | |
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buck
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| n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃 | |
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15
wagons
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| n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车 | |
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16
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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19
spoke
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| 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 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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impulsive
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| adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的 | |
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scatter
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| vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散 | |
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chauffeur
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| n.(受雇于私人或公司的)司机；v.为…开车 | |
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ordinances
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| n.条例，法令( ordinance的名词复数 ) | |
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bevy
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| n.一群 | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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wrecked
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| adj.失事的，遇难的 | |
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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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animation
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| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
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auxiliary
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| adj.辅助的，备用的 | |
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infraction
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| n.违反；违法 | |
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33
abated
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| 减少( abate的过去式和过去分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼） | |
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interfering
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| adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词 | |
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wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
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sonorously
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| adv.圆润低沉地；感人地；堂皇地；朗朗地 | |
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whacked
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| a.精疲力尽的 | |
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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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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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40
marsh
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| n.沼泽，湿地 | |
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41
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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43
rations
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| 定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量 | |
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44
curb
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| n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制 | |
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