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首页 » 英文短篇小说 » Frank Merriwell's Diamond Foes » CHAPTER VII. CHIP GETS A LETTER.
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CHAPTER VII. CHIP GETS A LETTER.
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 That evening, the McQuade homestead thrummed with eager voices. Six of the best local players, carefully picked by McCarthy, had gathered. A good many more had offered their services, but most of these had more enthusiasm than baseball knowledge.
“We sure need a first baseman,” exclaimed Spaulding. Merry smiled.
“I wired my chum, Owen Clancy, this afternoon,” he explained. “He’s at Fardale now, and has been out West. He’s just getting over a sprained2 ankle, but I think he can cover first for us all right. Now, let’s get down to business and map things out.”
Billy Mac, of course, would be backstop. He had been practicing all afternoon with Merry, and Chip had found that he could ask no better partner. The lanky3 Dan McCarthy would cover third, and looked as if he would do it efficiently4.
Jim Spaulding made a bid for the central sack. He was one of the town players who had been ousted5 by Bully6 Carson, and was correspondingly bitter against the Clippers. Chub Newton would take care of short.
“We won’t be a cl-l-lassy-l-l-lookin’ bunch,”[59] announced the little fellow, as he inspected the ancient and tattered7 uniform he had brought along, “but we’l-l-l be right there when it comes to bal-l-l pl-l-laying!”
“You bet!” chuckled8 McCarthy, eying his own faded green shirt and baseball pants. “If I don’t bang out a two-bagger, I’ll quit tryin’ to play ball, by gum!”
The outfield would be taken care of by Moore, also an ex-Clipper; Henderson, who had been a high-school star two years before, and a tremendously built young chap named Nippen. This Nippen was almost a giant in build, possessed9 of terrific strength, and apparently10 had the general aspect and intelligence of a cow.
He was the one member of the gathering11 who did not impress Merriwell as being especially adapted for baseball. Billy, however, reassured12 his friend in a whispered aside that Nippen would produce the goods.
“He doesn’t look up to much, Chip, and he lumbers13 around like an overgrown puppy. But when he lands on the ball, he kills it, and the way he covers center field is something wonderful to watch. You wait!”
So Merry smiled and waited. Every one present displayed inspiring eagerness to work. There was one thing, however, which troubled Merriwell. This was the ill feeling which they displayed.
[60]
“You’ve got to watch that, fellows,” he said. “I noticed to-day that you weren’t a bit anxious to avoid trouble. Now, if we start in to win that game, it’s going to make the other crowd sore. They’ll try to get us into a fight and break up things. I want you to promise me that whatever they say or do, you’ll keep your heads and let the scrapping14 wait till later. We can’t afford to get rattled16, you know.”
All save McCarthy recognized this fact and readily extended their promise. The lanky third baseman held back, however.
“If that feller Squint17 Fletcher gets gay, I’m goin’ to paste him,” he declared stubbornly. “I won’t take any talk or any dirty work from him.”
“All right,” said Merry quietly. “We’ll have to find another man to cover third, I’m afraid. We can’t take any chances that way, fellows.”
McCarthy was taken all aback by this. When he found that Merriwell was in earnest, he scratched his head and reconsidered.
“All right,” he said, “I’ll promise not to start anything like a scrap15, no matter what Squint does. But I’m goin’ to file my spikes18, jest the same. I reckon we’d better make Merriwell captain, fellers.”
There was an instant shout of agreement. Chip held up his hand.
“Hold on, everybody! I think that Billy Mac[61] ought to be your captain. I’m an outsider, and I’m only butting19 in here, anyhow——”
“Not on your life!” yelled Billy.
“Yeh! You’re it, Merriwell!” chirped20 Chub Newton. “I’l-l-l bank on you every time! L-l-let’s make it unanimous, fel-l-lows!”
Merry’s protests were voted down amid wild enthusiasm, and he was elected captain of the pick-ups. Spaulding suggested that they call themselves the Carsonville Clippings.
“That’s it!” cried Chub. “The Cl-l-lippers and the Cl-l-lippings—wow! Won’t Bul-l-ly Carson be mad, though!”
The name was adopted with a yell of delight. The meeting was just breaking up when there was a ring at the doorbell, and Billy returned with a telegram for Chip.
“It’s from Clancy,” cried Merry, tearing open the envelope. “Hello! Listen to this, fellows!”
And, holding up the message, he read as follows:
Coming on the jump. Ankle fine. Bringing your uniform and some balls. Arrive to-morrow noon via Hornet.
Owen Clancy.
“What’s the Hornet?” inquired Billy, in wonder. “There’s no noon train in!”
“That’s Clancy’s car,” laughed Merry. “It’s an old auto21 that he took off the scrap heap and made into a racer, though it doesn’t look up to much. He brought it with him from the West.”
[62]
“I’d like to put him up,” volunteered Spaulding. “We’ve got lots of room at our place, and he’d be welcome to stay a month.”
Billy protested, for he wanted Clancy as a guest himself, but Merriwell knew that two guests would sorely tax good Mrs. McQuade’s resources, so he accepted Spaulding’s offer gratefully. The meeting broke up with the first practice set for the following morning, Chub Newton stating that he would get off work easily enough, as his employer had no love for the Carsons.
Merriwell rather expected that he would get a letter from his father in the morning’s mail, but none came. Though he said nothing of it, this worried him slightly. He had explained to Billy that he had written his father, asking for the thousand dollars, and he began to wonder if his letter had miscarried.
He soon forgot his worry, when the Clippings assembled on an old diamond used by the high school. It was in a meadow beside the river. Three or four old balls were produced, and Merry at once set to work to get an idea of what his team could do.
The results were both encouraging and discouraging. The diamond was rough and uncared for, so that the infield had a tough time judging balls, but the base throws were excellent, and they showed good form.
Merry handed up slow ones, and the batting[63] practice proved that in this quarter his team was lamentably22 weak. Chub Newton would bite at anything. McCarthy faced the plate wickedly, but his eye was poor on slow ones, and it was said that Bully Carson did his best work with a fadeaway ball.
Spaulding proved to be a fair batsman, while Nippen landed on Merry’s first ball and knocked it into the middle of the river. Henderson and Moore did poorly, and, although the three outfielders showed up better on gathering in high ones, Merry was not greatly encouraged when he and Billy went home for lunch.
“We’ve got a tough nut to crack here, old man,” he remarked soberly. “Can the Clippers hit pretty well?”
“That’s their strong suit,” gloomily returned Billy Mac. “They get a pitcher23 going, and it’s all off with him. They’re pretty ragged24 when it comes to headwork, but they give Carson mighty25 good support. Yes, they can certainly hit. Squint Fletcher leads the league.”
“Slugging doesn’t always mean hitting,” said Merry cheerfully. “Brace up, old man! We’ve a day and a half for practice, and we’re going to improve a whole lot.”
“We’ll need to,” muttered Billy. He halted suddenly, staring up at the house just ahead of them. “Hello! There’s a machine standing26 out in front!”
[64]
“Clancy must have come ahead of time!” cried Merry.
The two burst into a run. Reaching the veranda27, they found a red-haired young fellow seated in a rocker. He was talking with Mrs. McQuade. At sight of Merriwell, he leaped up and vaulted28 the railing.
“Hello, Chip!” he cried, wringing29 Merry’s hand. “Wow! I’m glad to see you!”
“Same here,” returned Chip. “I see you’ve already met Mrs. McQuade, eh?”
“We’re old friends by this time,” said Clancy. “Hello, Billy! I haven’t seen you since last fall. How’s everything?”
“Pretty good,” stated Billy, forgetting his troubles for the moment. “When do we get some eats, mother?”
“Lunch is all ready,” said Mrs. McQuade, who had taken a fancy to the red-haired chap already. “Do you want to bring your stuff inside, Mr. Clancy?”
Merriwell hastily explained that Clan1 was going to stop with Jim Spaulding, and they turned to examine the load heaped in the vacant seat of the machine.
This was composed of two Fardale uniforms, together with a catcher’s mitt30, protector, and mask, and a half dozen balls. On these Billy pounced31 with delight.
“Wait till this afternoon, Chip! We couldn’t[65] do much with those old balls this morning, but we’ll show you something this afternoon! Say, this looks pretty good to me.”
“Something to eat would look pretty good to me,” said Clancy. “I’ve been hitting the high places ever since early this morning. Say, it certainly did feel good to go out and have your mother pump water over me, Billy. Reminded me of days on the farm.”
The three settled down about the table, and Merry at once launched into a description of events at Carsonville. Billy and his mother never tired of watching the bronzed young fellow, who had been regaling Mrs. McQuade with tales of his adventures in Arizona, and Clancy polished off the good things before him with astonishing rapidity.
“It listens good to me,” he commented, with a sigh, when, at length, he could stow no more away. “I hear at Fardale that Billy has developed into quite a backstop, eh?”
“Sure,” said Merry. “He’s a wonder, and no mistake, Clan.”
“Oh, my eye!” sniffed32 Billy. “Just because I happen to hold on to your double shoots, you needn’t raise my modesty33 like that!”
“It isn’t every one who can hang on to them,” said Clancy. “Oh, by the way, Chip, I came mighty near forgetting! Your father was at Fardale yesterday on a flying visit.”
[66]
And he began to dig excitedly at his pocket, finally extricating34 an envelope which he handed to Merry.
“Your father asked me to give this to you. He said it would get to you quicker than if he mailed it.”
Merriwell nodded. With a word of apology to Mrs. McQuade, he tore open the envelope, half expecting to see an inclosure. None fell out. He ran his eye quickly over the letter, and his cheeks paled a trifle, then he refolded it, and put it in his pocket.
Five minutes later he stood on the veranda with Billy. Clancy was down in the drive explaining the hidden beauty of his car to Mrs. McQuade.
“What’s the trouble, Chip? Wouldn’t he let you have the coin?” asked Billy.
“I’m sorry, old man,” and Merriwell bit his lip. “He didn’t think it wise.”

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 clan Dq5zi     
n.氏族,部落,宗族,家族,宗派
参考例句:
  • She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
  • The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以,中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。
2 sprained f314e68885bee024fbaac62a560ab7d4     
v.&n. 扭伤
参考例句:
  • I stumbled and sprained my ankle. 我摔了一跤,把脚脖子扭了。
  • When Mary sprained her ankles, John carried her piggyback to the doctors. 玛丽扭伤了足踝,约翰驮她去看医生。
3 lanky N9vzd     
adj.瘦长的
参考例句:
  • He was six feet four,all lanky and leggy.他身高6英尺4英寸,瘦高个儿,大长腿。
  • Tom was a lanky boy with long skinny legs.汤姆是一个腿很细的瘦高个儿。
4 efficiently ZuTzXQ     
adv.高效率地,有能力地
参考例句:
  • The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
  • Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。
5 ousted 1c8f4f95f3bcc86657d7ec7543491ed6     
驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 ); 革职; 罢黜; 剥夺
参考例句:
  • He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
  • He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。
6 bully bully     
n.恃强欺弱者,小流氓;vt.威胁,欺侮
参考例句:
  • A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
  • The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。
7 tattered bgSzkG     
adj.破旧的,衣衫破的
参考例句:
  • Her tattered clothes in no way detracted from her beauty.她的破衣烂衫丝毫没有影响她的美貌。
  • Their tattered clothing and broken furniture indicated their poverty.他们褴褛的衣服和破烂的家具显出他们的贫穷。
8 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。
9 possessed xuyyQ     
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的
参考例句:
  • He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
  • He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。
10 apparently tMmyQ     
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎
参考例句:
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
11 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。
12 reassured ff7466d942d18e727fb4d5473e62a235     
adj.使消除疑虑的;使放心的v.再保证,恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句:
  • The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 lumbers 9c1d20ead82937d799582faa8e660599     
砍伐(lumber的第三人称单数形式)
参考例句:
  • Carefully she covers them and lumbers away. 它把这些卵仔细地盖好,然后慢吞吞地走开了。
  • Research shows that the intrinsic frequency of hole defect lumbers is little lower than standard lumbers. 研究表明,含有孔洞试件的固有频率与标准试件相比略低一些,但差别不大。
14 scrapping 6327b12f2e69f7c7fd6f72afe416a20a     
刮,切除坯体余泥
参考例句:
  • He was always scrapping at school. 他在学校总打架。
  • These two dogs are always scrapping. 这两条狗总是打架。
15 scrap JDFzf     
n.碎片;废料;v.废弃,报废
参考例句:
  • A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
  • Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。
16 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。
17 squint oUFzz     
v. 使变斜视眼, 斜视, 眯眼看, 偏移, 窥视; n. 斜视, 斜孔小窗; adj. 斜视的, 斜的
参考例句:
  • A squint can sometimes be corrected by an eyepatch. 斜视有时候可以通过戴眼罩来纠正。
  • The sun was shinning straight in her eyes which made her squint. 太阳直射着她的眼睛,使她眯起了眼睛。
18 spikes jhXzrc     
n.穗( spike的名词复数 );跑鞋;(防滑)鞋钉;尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 );偷偷地给某人的饮料加入(更多)酒精( 或药物);把尖状物钉入;打乱某人的计划
参考例句:
  • a row of iron spikes on a wall 墙头的一排尖铁
  • There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 监狱墙头装有一排尖钉,以防犯人逃跑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
19 butting 040c106d50d62fd82f9f4419ebe99980     
用头撞人(犯规动作)
参考例句:
  • When they were talking Mary kept butting in. 当他们在谈话时,玛丽老是插嘴。
  • A couple of goats are butting each other. 两只山羊在用角互相顶撞。
20 chirped 2d76a8bfe4602c9719744234606acfc8     
鸟叫,虫鸣( chirp的过去式 )
参考例句:
  • So chirped fiber gratings have broad reflection bandwidth. 所以chirped光纤光栅具有宽的反射带宽,在反射带宽内具有渐变的群时延等其它类型的光纤光栅所不具备的特点。
  • The crickets chirped faster and louder. 蟋蟀叫得更欢了。
21 auto ZOnyW     
n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车
参考例句:
  • Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
  • The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。
22 lamentably d2f1ae2229e3356deba891ab6ee219ca     
adv.哀伤地,拙劣地
参考例句:
  • Aviation was lamentably weak and primitive. 航空设施极其薄弱简陋。 来自辞典例句
  • Poor Tom lamentably disgraced himself at Sir Charles Mirable's table, by premature inebriation. 可怜的汤姆在查尔斯·米拉贝尔爵士的宴会上,终于入席不久就酩酊大醉,弄得出丑露乖,丢尽了脸皮。 来自辞典例句
23 pitcher S2Gz7     
n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐;(棒球)投手
参考例句:
  • He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
  • Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。
24 ragged KC0y8     
adj.衣衫褴褛的,粗糙的,刺耳的
参考例句:
  • A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
  • Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。
25 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。
26 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
27 veranda XfczWG     
n.走廊;阳台
参考例句:
  • She sat in the shade on the veranda.她坐在阳台上的遮荫处。
  • They were strolling up and down the veranda.他们在走廊上来回徜徉。
28 vaulted MfjzTA     
adj.拱状的
参考例句:
  • She vaulted over the gate and ran up the path. 她用手一撑跃过栅栏门沿着小路跑去。
  • The formal living room has a fireplace and vaulted ceilings. 正式的客厅有一个壁炉和拱形天花板。
29 wringing 70c74d76c2d55027ff25f12f2ab350a9     
淋湿的,湿透的
参考例句:
  • He was wringing wet after working in the field in the hot sun. 烈日下在田里干活使他汗流满面。
  • He is wringing out the water from his swimming trunks. 他正在把游泳裤中的水绞出来。
30 mitt Znszwo     
n.棒球手套,拳击手套,无指手套;vt.铐住,握手
参考例句:
  • I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日,我送给他一只棒球手套。
  • Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。
31 pounced 431de836b7c19167052c79f53bdf3b61     
v.突然袭击( pounce的过去式和过去分词 );猛扑;一眼看出;抓住机会(进行抨击)
参考例句:
  • As soon as I opened my mouth, the teacher pounced on me. 我一张嘴就被老师抓住呵斥了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The police pounced upon the thief. 警察向小偷扑了过去。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
32 sniffed ccb6bd83c4e9592715e6230a90f76b72     
v.以鼻吸气,嗅,闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 );抽鼻子(尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气);抱怨,不以为然地说
参考例句:
  • When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣,吸了吸鼻子,擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
33 modesty REmxo     
n.谦逊,虚心,端庄,稳重,羞怯,朴素
参考例句:
  • Industry and modesty are the chief factors of his success.勤奋和谦虚是他成功的主要因素。
  • As conceit makes one lag behind,so modesty helps one make progress.骄傲使人落后,谦虚使人进步。
34 extricating 2573223c6caa0360a91c3fff02bd9fe3     
v.使摆脱困难,脱身( extricate的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • First, this will not bring on disorder and, second, it will not make extricating oneself impossible. 大鸣大放,一不会乱,二不会下不得台。 来自互联网
  • Idea of Multhus "Two Control" and System Conditions of Extricating from "Population Trap " 马尔萨斯“两种抑制”的观点及解脱“人口陷阱”的制度条件。 来自互联网


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