But Munson evened things up in the eighth, just when the home team had visions of a one-to-nothing victory, by getting two clean hits off Cochran and combining them with a clever steal. And at 1—1 the game dragged—no, it never dragged for an instant. But at 1—1 it stayed until the last of the eleventh. Holman’s had no hope of doing anything in that particular inning, for the tail end of her batting list was up: Wilder, Linder, Cochran. But you never can tell when the break will come. Wilder was passed, Babe Linder laid down a sacrifice bunt and Cochran, in spite of almost Herculean efforts, took the fourth ball pitched squarely on his shoulder! Cross complained bitterly when the rival pitcher was waved to first, and I think the incident affected8 his delivery. At all events, Torrey, left fielder and head of the batting list, rolled one toward third and after baseman and pitcher had each politely[16] left it to the other during a tragic9 moment the latter threw late to first. With bases filled, but one out and Hal Norwin swinging his two bats as he stepped to the plate, there could have been but one outcome. Cross had to pitch ’em and he knew it. Perhaps Cross already read the writing on the wall, for Hal said afterwards that that third delivery came to him with nothing on it but a sunbeam. He said that it looked so good he was almost afraid of it. Possibly Cross intended he should be. But Hal didn’t scare quite so easily as that, and so he took a fine healthy swing at it and it traveled. It went straight and far and came safe to earth yards out of reach of right fielder and to Cummins went the honor of scoring the winning tally10!
Joe didn’t march back to the campus with the triumphant11 horde12 but cut across back of the gymnasium and made his way to Number 14 in a somewhat depressed13 frame of mind. He had watched the game from start to finish and was well satisfied at the outcome, but he hadn’t been happy. When you have worked hard from February on to win your position and have set your heart on playing in the Big Game, why, you just can’t help feeling a bit glum14 when the Big Game finds you perched among the noncombatants of the grandstand. I don’t think Joe really regretted what he had done. One can be sad without being sorry.[17] But there were moments when he was rather self-contemptuous, when he told himself that he had done a silly, quixotic thing for which no one thanked him.
They were still cheering and singing over in front of School Hall when he reached his room, and the sounds came to him around the corner of the building and floated in at the open window. Although it was nearly five o’clock the golden sunlight still streamed across the meadows beyond the little river and save for the disturbing and discordant15 sounds from the campus the world was dreamily silent. It was beautiful, too, with the fresh, new green of grass and leaves and the peaceful sky and the mellow16 sunlight, but he was glad that in a few more days he would see the last of it for a while. In fact, he wasn’t sure that he ever wanted to return to Holman’s. He felt so horribly like a failure.
The shadows lengthened17 and the sunlight became tinged18 with flame. The dormitory echoed to laughter and the tramp of feet and the slamming of doors. Then, presently, his own door opened and Hal came in, bustlingly, radiating triumph and high spirits. “Some game, Joe!” he cried. “By jiminy, though, I thought they had us for a while! Didn’t you?”
“Yes,” replied Joe listlessly. “Cross was in great form.”
[18]
“Wasn’t he? I couldn’t get near him—until the last inning. Well, we won, thank goodness!”
Joe made no answer and Hal busied himself at the washstand. After a while: “You’re coming to the dinner, aren’t you?” asked the latter.
Joe hesitated. He had forgotten that the team would dine in state to-night in the visitors’ hall, with speeches and songs and at the end of the modest banquet, the election of a new captain. “I don’t know,” he said finally. “I suppose I have a right to, but—”
“Of course you have. Any fellow who has played on the team during the season has. I asked because—” Hal hesitated, and Joe, looking across, saw him as near embarrassment19 as he ever got. “The fact is,” he began again, and again stopped.
“Don’t worry,” said Joe. “I intend to, anyway.”
“Intend to what?” asked Hal, looking puzzledly over the towel with which he was drying his face.
“Vote for you for captain.”
“Oh, that! Thanks, but you needn’t if you’d rather not. I sha’n’t mind if you don’t. That isn’t what I was going to say, though.” He tossed the towel aside and, hands in pockets, came over to the window. “Look here, Joe. I haven’t been feeling any too easy yesterday and to-day. I thought it was all right to let you take the blame for—for my foolishness because it might mean winning the[19] game to-day. And I guess it did mean that, as it’s turned out. But I’ve sort of hated myself, just the same, and I guess what I ought to have done was stand the racket myself and let the game look after itself. But I didn’t and post mortems don’t get you anything. But there’s no reason for carrying the thing any further. What we’ve got to do now is get you squared up with faculty and the school and—and every one. So I’m going to tell ’em the truth at dinner to-night.”
“Why not?”
“Why not? Because there’ll be at least two faculty there, and if you think they’ll let you accept the captaincy after ’fessing up to that stunt21 you’re all wrong.”
“Of course it’s the question,” said Joe impatiently. “You’re practically sure of the captaincy. I know it and so do you. If faculty gets this on you you’re a goner. Besides, what good’s it going to do any one? School’s over in three days, and just as long as they’re going to let me pass with my class I don’t mind three days in bounds.”
“That’s all right,” replied Hal stubbornly, “but right is right. I let you suffer because I wanted to win the game. The game’s won. Now it’s my turn to stand the gaff.”
[20]
“And lose the captaincy!”
“It can be helped!” said Joe angrily. “All you need to do is get this fool idea out of your head. You talk like a—a sick fish!”
“Just the same—”
“No, sir! I won’t stand for it! What sort of a silly fool do you think I’d feel like with you getting up before all that bunch and—and spouting24 all that rot? If you tell that yarn25 I’ll deny it!”
Hal smiled. “I can prove it, though. I can produce five fellows who will testify that I was in Gus Billing’s room at eleven o’clock that night.”
“Is that where you were?” asked Joe eagerly.
“Yes.”
“Oh! Why, that isn’t—there’s no harm—”
“Of course there’s no harm, but I stayed too late. Gus’s clock was about an hour slow and I never thought to look at my watch. Anyhow, it won’t do you any good to deny it, Joe.”
“Well, then—” Joe spoke26 slowly, frowning intently across the shadowy room. “Maybe you sort of feel that you—you owe me something. Of course I didn’t do it just for—just to oblige you, but you wanted to win, and I guess I helped—”
“Of course I owe you something. I’m trying to make you understand it. And I’m going to pay what I owe.”
[21]
“Not that way,” replied Joe firmly. “If you do want to—to square things there’s just one way you can do it.”
“How’s that?” asked Hal suspiciously.
“Forget it!”
“No, sir!”
“Yes, I mean it, Hal.” Their eyes challenged. After a moment Hal shrugged.
“All right,” he said, “but I don’t get your idea. It isn’t as if you’d done it for me—” He stopped and there was a long moment of silence. Then he asked brusquely: “You didn’t, did you?”
“No!” answered the other. Hal walked over, picked up his jacket and began to put it on. “And what if I did?” added Joe defiantly27.
“I know that if you don’t wash up and get ready we’ll be late,” laughed Hal. “Get a move on, Grumpy!”
“Well—but no speeches, Hal!”
“Nary a spooch!”
Joe splashed and gurgled and Hal watched, grinning broadly. Presently he observed carelessly: “I say, Joe, we’ve only got two more days to get our application in if we want this room next year.”
[22]
Joe dried his face with unusual care. “That’s right,” he said at last. “Guess we’d better get busy, eh?”
Maynard fell in with Naylor, assistant manager, on his way out. Naylor was still figuring his totals in the official score book and Maynard peered over his shoulder.
“What did you give Kenton on that last play?” he asked.
“Kenton? Kenton wasn’t in it, you idiot! Wilder played—”
“Still,” said “Granny” soberly, “I think you should have credited him with a sacrifice.”
And he went on, leaving Naylor looking after him commiseratingly.
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收听单词发音
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1
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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2
pitcher
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| n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手 | |
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3
faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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4
intentional
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| adj.故意的，有意（识）的 | |
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thigh
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| n.大腿；股骨 | |
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6
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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7
pegged
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| v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的过去式和过去分词 )；使固定在某水平 | |
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8
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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9
tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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10
tally
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| n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致 | |
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11
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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12
horde
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| n.群众，一大群 | |
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13
depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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14
glum
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| adj.闷闷不乐的，阴郁的 | |
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15
discordant
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| adj.不调和的 | |
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16
mellow
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| adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟 | |
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17
lengthened
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| （时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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18
tinged
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| v.（使）发丁丁声( ting的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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19
embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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20
scoffed
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| 嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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21
stunt
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| n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长 | |
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22
probation
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| n.缓刑(期)，(以观后效的)察看；试用(期) | |
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23
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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24
spouting
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| n.水落管系统v.（指液体）喷出( spout的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地讲；喋喋不休地说；喷水 | |
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25
yarn
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| n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事 | |
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26
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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27
defiantly
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| adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地 | |
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28
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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29
growled
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| 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 | |
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30
grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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sarcastically
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| adv.挖苦地，讽刺地 | |
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