小说搜索     点击排行榜   最新入库
首页 » 英文短篇小说 » Around the End » CHAPTER I THE FIRST SCRIMMAGE
选择底色: 选择字号:【大】【中】【小】
CHAPTER I THE FIRST SCRIMMAGE
关注小说网官方公众号(noveltingroom),原版名著免费领。
 “This way, everyone!”
Coach Payson sent the call to each end of the field and then, swinging his small blue megaphone in his hand, waited for the panting players to gather about him in front of the bench. They came running in from all parts of the gridiron, a motley gathering1 of football aspirants2; seasoned veterans of last year’s Yardley Varsity, Second Team men, substitutes, new boys; big, little, fat, thin, all sizes and conditions. Andy Ryan, the little red-haired trainer, stood over his pile of blankets and his water pail, back of the side-line, and viewed the sixty-odd candidates with a pessimistic shake of his head. John Payson, turning at the moment, saw it and smiled.
“What’s the matter, Andy? Don’t they look good?” he asked.
[2]
“I’ve seen some funny bunches in my day,” replied the trainer, “but never anything like them!”
“That’s what you say every year,” scoffed3 Payson good-naturedly. “I guess this lot will average about the same.” He turned to the breathless fellows gathering about him and pulled a little red book from his pocket. “All right, now. First scrimmage to-day, fellows. First squad4: Cousins, Plant, Fales, Girard, Merriwell, Stark5, Metz, Holmes, Greene, Fayette, Marion. Second squad: Fox, Steger, Keene, Johnson, McKesson, Fenwick, Adler, Simms, Crandall, Burtis, Brinspool. First squad take the south goal and kick off to the second. Men not playing get into blankets. On the run now. We’ll have two ten-minute periods. Get a couple of fellows to take the chains, will you, Andy?”
The two teams trotted7 to their positions, Andy tossed a horn to Davis, the manager, and summoned two blue-blanketed figures from the bench to act as linesmen, and in a moment the ball was hurtling from Merriwell’s toe.
Behind the benches, scattered8 over the grand stand, a hundred or more watchers who, during the preliminary practice, had lolled comfortably on the sunny seats, sat up and gave their attention to the scrimmage. Simms gathered in the[3] long kick and, behind a quickly-formed interference, ran the ball back a good twenty yards before the first squad smothered9 him. Murmurs10 of applause arose from the audience.
“That was a dandy run, wasn’t it?” observed Harry11 Merrow, who, seated beside Gerald Pennimore halfway12 up the stand, was eating peanuts as though his life depended on it. Gerald nodded.
“I wonder why Payson put Simms on the second and Holmes on the first,” he said. “Holmes only got into the Broadwood game last year for a few minutes at the end.”
“He played all through the Nordham game, though, didn’t he? I think he’s every bit as good as Simms.”
“He’s just as good a player maybe, Harry, but he isn’t half the general Al is. I see Burtis is playing right half on the second. I wonder if he will make the team this year. Of course he will get into the games now and then if only to kick goals, but I guess he’s got a lot of football to learn yet.”
Gee13, they ought to make him a present of his position on the First Team,” responded Harry, flicking14 a peanut shell at a group of boys below. “Any fellow who will go into a Broadwood game without any experience and win for us by a[4] goal from the field ought to have anything he wants.”
“Well, I guess Payson will take him on all right. I hope so. I like Burtis. Do you know him?”
“I met him once in your room last Spring. It was the day of the baseball game with Broadwood. He seemed a quiet sort of chap.”
“Yes, he’s a bit shy at first,” Gerald chuckled16, and then, in response to his friend’s look of inquiry17, continued: “I’ll never forget the night last year he came into our room and told Dan quite seriously that he ‘would like to play on the football team, please.’ Harold Towne put him up to it. Burtis was a pretty green lad then.”
“Towne always was a pup,” remarked Harry cheerfully. “There he goes now!”
“Who? Towne?”
“Burtis; he’s got the ball. Made a peach of a catch and— Oh, good work, Burtis! Gee, Gerald, he must have made fifteen easily. Say, he can run with the ball, can’t he? Did you see him slip away from Fayette?”
“Yes. I wouldn’t be surprised if he made good this year. Goodness knows we need a couple of half-backs! We’re going to miss Tom Roeder and Stearns and Hammel like anything.”
[5]
“We’re going to miss a whole lot of fellows. We’ll never have an end as good as Dan Vinton, nor a guard like Ridge18. Did you hear Payson say at the meeting the other night that only once before since he’s been coaching have we had so few veterans to build the team around?”
“Yes. So, too, I guess. Simms and Merriwell are really the only members of last year’s team we have; Holmes was more of a second-string man than anything else. Still, there’s good material out there; Marion for full, Stark for tackle, two good quarters, Fayette and Crandall and Greene for halfs; we’ll get along, I guess.”
“I wonder what sort of a captain Merriwell will make,” mused19 Harry. “He’s a good player, but——”
“And a good fellow, and well liked, don’t you think? I don’t believe he’s the leader that Dan was, though.”
“I should say not! You must miss Dan a whole lot, Gerald.”
“It’s something fierce! Lonely’s no name for it! I had a letter from him yesterday. He’s out for the Yale Freshman20 Team, of course.”
“I dare say they’ll make him captain,” asserted Harry loyally.
But Gerald shook his head. “Not much chance[6] of that, I guess. They made Alf Loring captain last year, and it isn’t likely they’d give the captaincy to Yardley fellows two years running. First’s going to score, Harry. Who’s playing center for them? Girard? He’s a whopping big brute21, isn’t he? Pshaw! He’d better learn to pass back better than that. Blocked! Ball, you idiots! Who’s got it! First, I think. No, second. Who? Burtis? It does look like him, but—no, it’s—It is Burtis, for a fact! How the dickens did he manage to get around that end? If he doesn’t watch out Payson will have him on the First Team.”
“Then he’s not likely to watch out,” laughed Harry. “Time’s up.”
They watched the players return to the bench and don their blankets while Andy ladled out the water sparingly. Payson studied his memorandum22 book, talking the while with Percy Davis, the manager. Captain Merriwell, trailing his blanket behind him, joined them. Then the coach turned to the line of players.
“All right, Plant, Girard, Stark, Marion, Steger, Johnson, McKesson, Fenwick and Brinspool,” he called. “Once around the field on the trot6 and run in. And don’t forget to weigh.”
Nine blankets were tossed aside and the released players started their jog around the side-lines.[7] Mr. Payson filled their places in the line-up, and a few minutes later the second half of the scrimmage began. Up on the stand, Harry Merrow, having finished the last of the peanuts, blew up the bag and demolished23 it with a loud report that made the audience jump in their seats. When his amusement had subsided24 he turned to Gerald again.
“I wish I’d gone in for football,” he sighed.
“You’re too light, you silly chump,” replied Gerald. “Besides, you can’t do cross-country work and play football. That’s what kept me out of football; that and the fact that Dan wouldn’t let me on!”
“When are we going to start work?” asked Harry.
“In about two weeks. Andy wants the weather to get a bit colder. Where did you finish last year? Eighth, wasn’t it?”
“Ninth. Holder25 beat me out at the line. We ought to have an easy time with Broadwood this year, Gerald. Most of their best men last year were seniors.”
“I hope not. I don’t want any runaway26 race. There’s no fun in that. Look, second’s going to try a goal from field. There goes Burtis back. I hope he makes it.”
“Where is it? About the twenty yards? He[8] ought to make it, if they don’t get through on him. There it goes! Over, wasn’t it?”
“I think so, but it was pretty far to the left. Yes, it’s a goal. That chap’s playing half the game for the second squad to-day. I’ll bet they’ll have him in the first to-morrow.”
“I’ll bet they won’t.”
“Why?”
“Because to-morrow’s Sunday,” replied Harry with a chuckle15. Gerald pulled Harry’s cap over his face, rumpled27 his hair and ran an elbow into his ribs28.
“You’re a smart little joker, aren’t you?” he laughed. “Sit up and watch the kick-off; and behave yourself; or, as Ned Tooker used to say, hebave yourself.”
“He was a silly ass,” said Harry, smoothing his hair and adjusting his cap.
“Ned? Don’t you believe it, Harry. He was a dandy, Ned was. I’ll bet he has a better time than any other three fellows I know. That’s a punk kick-off. Fenwick’s got it. Go it, you slowpoke! They’ve got him. He ran the wrong way, the chump. Funny how easy it is to play the game from the grand stand, Harry.”
“Yes, I guess you and I would do some brilliant little stunts29 if we had to go out there,” agreed Harry, nodding his head toward the field.[9] “If I had the ball and one of those big chaps like Girard came at me I’d drop it like a hot potato and never stop running until I was in 20 Whitson with the door locked behind me! Oh, I’d be a brave little football player!”
“Every man to his trade,” laughed Gerald. “Your trade—and mine—is running, Harry.”
“That’s so. Then I guess I’d get to my room ahead of Girard, wouldn’t I? Hello, time’s up. Let’s get back. I’m getting goose-flesh all over me. It certainly gets cold when the sun quits business. Did you have a good time this summer?”
“Dandy! Dad and I went across for two months; England, France, Switzerland, Holland, Germany and a little bit of Italy. It was great.”
“It must have been,” sighed Harry. “Wish my father owned all the steamship30 lines in the world! I spent the summer down on the Jersey31 coast with the mosquitoes. Had a good time, though. Used to get into my bathing suit at eleven and keep it on until ’most dinner time. You ought to see my back. It’s like—like mahogany.”
“Your face is bad enough. I didn’t know you that day you yelled to me from the window. Thought you were a colored gentleman!”
[10]
They made their way down the stand and on to the field. Ahead of them the players, their blankets flapping grotesquely32 behind them, were racing33 up the path toward the gymnasium. Two or three, however, still lingered where coach, manager and trainer were in consultation34. As Gerald and Harry reached the end of the field, one of these passed them at a trot, turned to look and stopped.
“Hello, Pennimore,” he said. “I guess you remember me, don’t you?”
“Of course I do, Burtis. Glad to see you again. How are you?” They shook hands. “You know Merrow?”
“I—think so. We met last year, didn’t we?” asked Kendall Burtis, as he shook hands again. Harry said yes, and Gerald asked:
“Are you in Clarke again this year, Burtis?”
“Yes, same place. I’m alone so far. My roommate, Towne, hasn’t shown up yet.”
“That so? What’s the matter with him?” asked Gerald as they went on.
“I don’t know. I asked at the Office the other day and the secretary there said they were expecting him.”
“It would be a terrible loss to the school if he didn’t come back,” observed Gerald gravely. Kendall shot a glance at him and smiled.
[11]
“Hope he stays away,” said Harry. “You played some football to-day, Burtis.”
“Much obliged. I had pretty good luck.”
“Luck didn’t kick that goal, did it?” laughed Gerald.
“Well, there’s always a lot of luck in trying for goal,” replied Kendall seriously. “Sometimes, just when you’re getting the ball away something happens, like a forward breaking through, and you get sort of rattled35. Then there’s the pass, too. If that doesn’t come right you’re likely to miss. There’s a lot of luck in it. Well, I must be getting on. Glad to have seen you again, Pennimore. You, too, Merrow.”
“Thanks. What are you doing this evening, Burtis? Mind if I drop in for a minute?”
“I wish you would. I haven’t anything to do. I—I’ll look for you.” He nodded and trotted ahead.
“Funny about him,” mused Harry. “He’s as homely36 as a mud-fence until he smiles, and then blessed if he isn’t almost good-looking! What do you know about that, old Gerald?”

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 gathering ChmxZ     
n.集会,聚会,聚集
参考例句:
  • He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
  • He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。
2 aspirants 472ecd97a62cf78b8eabaacabb2d8767     
n.有志向或渴望获得…的人( aspirant的名词复数 )v.渴望的,有抱负的,追求名誉或地位的( aspirant的第三人称单数 );有志向或渴望获得…的人
参考例句:
  • aspirants to the title of world champion 有志夺取世界冠军的人
  • The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out. 考试很严,几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
3 scoffed b366539caba659eacba33b0867b6de2f     
嘲笑,嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He scoffed at our amateurish attempts. 他对我们不在行的尝试嗤之以鼻。
  • A hundred years ago people scoffed at the idea. 一百年前人们曾嘲笑过这种想法。
4 squad 4G1zq     
n.班,小队,小团体;vt.把…编成班或小组
参考例句:
  • The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
  • A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。
5 stark lGszd     
adj.荒凉的;严酷的;完全的;adv.完全地
参考例句:
  • The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
  • He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。
6 trot aKBzt     
n.疾走,慢跑;n.老太婆;现成译本;(复数)trots:腹泻(与the 连用);v.小跑,快步走,赶紧
参考例句:
  • They passed me at a trot.他们从我身边快步走过。
  • The horse broke into a brisk trot.马突然快步小跑起来。
7 trotted 6df8e0ef20c10ef975433b4a0456e6e1     
小跑,急走( trot的过去分词 ); 匆匆忙忙地走
参考例句:
  • She trotted her pony around the field. 她骑着小马绕场慢跑。
  • Anne trotted obediently beside her mother. 安妮听话地跟在妈妈身边走。
8 scattered 7jgzKF     
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的
参考例句:
  • Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来,塞进文件夹里。
9 smothered b9bebf478c8f7045d977e80734a8ed1d     
(使)窒息, (使)透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 ); 覆盖; 忍住; 抑制
参考例句:
  • He smothered the baby with a pillow. 他用枕头把婴儿闷死了。
  • The fire is smothered by ashes. 火被灰闷熄了。
10 murmurs f21162b146f5e36f998c75eb9af3e2d9     
n.低沉、连续而不清的声音( murmur的名词复数 );低语声;怨言;嘀咕
参考例句:
  • They spoke in low murmurs. 他们低声说着话。 来自辞典例句
  • They are more superficial, more distinctly heard than murmurs. 它们听起来比心脏杂音更为浅表而清楚。 来自辞典例句
11 harry heBxS     
vt.掠夺,蹂躏,使苦恼
参考例句:
  • Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天,人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
  • Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。
12 halfway Xrvzdq     
adj.中途的,不彻底的,部分的;adv.半路地,在中途,在半途
参考例句:
  • We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路,天就黑了。
  • In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上,最忌讳的是有始无终。
13 gee ZsfzIu     
n.马;int.向右!前进!,惊讶时所发声音;v.向右转
参考例句:
  • Their success last week will gee the team up.上星期的胜利将激励这支队伍继续前进。
  • Gee,We're going to make a lot of money.哇!我们会赚好多钱啦!
14 flicking 856751237583a36a24c558b09c2a932a     
(尤指用手指或手快速地)轻击( flick的现在分词 ); (用…)轻挥; (快速地)按开关; 向…笑了一下(或瞥了一眼等)
参考例句:
  • He helped her up before flicking the reins. 他帮她上马,之后挥动了缰绳。
  • There's something flicking around my toes. 有什么东西老在叮我的脚指头。
15 chuckle Tr1zZ     
vi./n.轻声笑,咯咯笑
参考例句:
  • He shook his head with a soft chuckle.他轻轻地笑着摇了摇头。
  • I couldn't suppress a soft chuckle at the thought of it.想到这个,我忍不住轻轻地笑起来。
16 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。
17 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。
18 ridge KDvyh     
n.山脊;鼻梁;分水岭
参考例句:
  • We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
  • The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。
19 mused 0affe9d5c3a243690cca6d4248d41a85     
v.沉思,冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 );沉思自语说(某事)
参考例句:
  • \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们,”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道:‘我们这是在干什么?” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
20 freshman 1siz9r     
n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)
参考例句:
  • Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
  • He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。
21 brute GSjya     
n.野兽,兽性
参考例句:
  • The aggressor troops are not many degrees removed from the brute.侵略军简直象一群野兽。
  • That dog is a dangerous brute.It bites people.那条狗是危险的畜牲,它咬人。
22 memorandum aCvx4     
n.备忘录,便笺
参考例句:
  • The memorandum was dated 23 August,2008.备忘录上注明的日期是2008年8月23日。
  • The Secretary notes down the date of the meeting in her memorandum book.秘书把会议日期都写在记事本上。
23 demolished 3baad413d6d10093a39e09955dfbdfcb     
v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 );推翻;拆毁(尤指大建筑物);吃光
参考例句:
  • The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
  • They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来,为了不让拆除他们的房子,他们一直在进行最后的努力。
24 subsided 1bda21cef31764468020a8c83598cc0d     
v.(土地)下陷(因在地下采矿)( subside的过去式和过去分词 );减弱;下降至较低或正常水平;一下子坐在椅子等上
参考例句:
  • After the heavy rains part of the road subsided. 大雨过后,部分公路塌陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • By evening the storm had subsided and all was quiet again. 傍晚, 暴风雨已经过去,四周开始沉寂下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
25 holder wc4xq     
n.持有者,占有者;(台,架等)支持物
参考例句:
  • The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
  • That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。
26 runaway jD4y5     
n.逃走的人,逃亡,亡命者;adj.逃亡的,逃走的
参考例句:
  • The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
  • He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。
27 rumpled 86d497fd85370afd8a55db59ea16ef4a     
v.弄皱,使凌乱( rumple的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She rumpled his hair playfully. 她顽皮地弄乱他的头发。
  • The bed was rumpled and strewn with phonograph records. 那张床上凌乱不堪,散放着一些唱片。 来自辞典例句
28 ribs 24fc137444401001077773555802b280     
n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 );(船或屋顶等的)肋拱;肋骨状的东西;(织物的)凸条花纹
参考例句:
  • He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
  • Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。
29 stunts d1bd0eff65f6d207751b4213c4fdd8d1     
n.惊人的表演( stunt的名词复数 );(广告中)引人注目的花招;愚蠢行为;危险举动v.阻碍…发育[生长],抑制,妨碍( stunt的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • He did all his own stunts. 所有特技都是他自己演的。
  • The plane did a few stunts before landing. 飞机着陆前做了一些特技。 来自《简明英汉词典》
30 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。
31 jersey Lp5zzo     
n.运动衫
参考例句:
  • He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
  • They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致,都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。
32 grotesquely grotesquely     
adv. 奇异地,荒诞地
参考例句:
  • Her arched eyebrows and grotesquely powdered face were at once seductive and grimly overbearing. 眉棱棱着,在一脸的怪粉上显出妖媚而霸道。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
  • Two faces grotesquely disfigured in nylon stocking masks looked through the window. 2张戴尼龙长袜面罩的怪脸望着窗外。
33 racing 1ksz3w     
n.竞赛,赛马;adj.竞赛用的,赛马用的
参考例句:
  • I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
  • The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。
34 consultation VZAyq     
n.咨询;商量;商议;会议
参考例句:
  • The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
  • The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。
35 rattled b4606e4247aadf3467575ffedf66305b     
慌乱的,恼火的
参考例句:
  • The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
  • Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里,窗户都格格作响。
36 homely Ecdxo     
adj.家常的,简朴的;不漂亮的
参考例句:
  • We had a homely meal of bread and cheese.我们吃了一顿面包加乳酪的家常便餐。
  • Come and have a homely meal with us,will you?来和我们一起吃顿家常便饭,好吗?


欢迎访问英文小说网

©英文小说网 2005-2010

有任何问题,请给我们留言,管理员邮箱:[email protected]  站长QQ :点击发送消息和我们联系56065533