CHAPTER XIV. IN AN ARMORED MOTOR CAR.

 On the way to Arras the boys had their first experience aboard an armored motor car, equipped with machine guns. Quite a promotion¹ from the teamster’s seat of a supply wagon²!

How the sergeant³ ever consented to let his charges join the crew of Belgians operating the war machine is not known. Perhaps he was not told until it was too late to object.

But there they were, Billy and Henri, as large as life, out “Uhlan hunting,” as the soldiers put it. The boys knew that a Uhlan was a kind of light cavalry⁴, or lancer, in the German army, and they had heard that he was “game,” but never before in the sense of game to be hunted.

As for that, hardly a day passed but the boys learned something new from the soldiers.

But a short time before at La Bassee they had seen one of these armored cars return from a dash ahead of the main body loaded with spoils in the shape of lancer caps, busbies, helmets, lances, rifles, and other trophies⁵, which the crew distributed as souvenirs to a crowd in the market place.

The next day one of the cars that went out never[69] came back. The Uhlans probably took it for a trophy⁶.

Whenever you see a splendid piece of tapestry⁷ or hangings displayed in a window, museum, or house, you may think of Arras, the little old town on the right bank of the narrow little river Scarpe, right in the center of the line of battle between Lille and Amiens, and remember that our boys were now following that line in France.

From the armored car the boys in the distance saw that famous old belfry, said to be 240 feet high, rising gracefully⁸ above the town hall, and on top of which was a huge crown. A day later this tower was wrecked⁹ by a shell in furious bombardment.

During this journey in the armored car the boys were filled with admiration¹⁰ of the dash and skill displayed by the Belgian crew. They were also greatly interested in the hardy¹¹ cyclists, who apparently¹² without effort kept up with the pace of the big machine. In some of the villages through which they passed, the inhabitants met the cyclists with kisses, in some of the roads the cyclists met barricades¹³ and machine guns.

“If a doctor told you that you needed change to help your health, Henri, you can write him that you’re getting it.”

Billy was finding this new war game very much to his liking¹⁴.

[70]

“You’ll have word from the doctor without writing,” retorted Henri, “if you don’t quit standing¹⁵ up in the car.”

Even then bullets were whizzing past them. The car had suddenly come upon a small party of the German mounted troops, firing with short-arms from the saddle.

The Belgian gunners instantly responded from the car and swept the road.

“On to Arras!”

Billy made the grim soldiers smile with his enthusiasm.

When the car rolled into the quaint¹⁶ old town of Arras, the boys confessed that they had never seen quite the like of it before.

“There’s a building that I’d like to move to Bangor,” said Billy, pointing to the Hotel de Ville, one of the finest in France, with its Gothic fa?ade rising upon seven arches of different sizes.

“There’s a lot of rare old houses here, I tell you,” asserted Henri, “but I never saw them until now, except on postcards. By the way, Billy, take a look at those and think of the days of Christopher Columbus.”

Henri referred to the Petite place and the Grande place, curious relics¹⁷ of the long gone days of Spanish rule, with their queer gables and old arcades¹⁸ resting on curiously¹⁹ shaped sand-stone columns.

[71]

“This is the town, you know,” advised Henri, “where Robespierre was born.”

“Humph! This war has kicked up a bigger muss in France than ‘Roby’ ever did.”

Billy was not inclined to concede that anything had ever created a stir ahead of that in which he was mixing.

The stir of the next day was, indeed, something to be remembered. Some of the biggest of the German guns were brought into action.

Billy and Henri had been napping, and never were naps more rudely disturbed.

Shells from the great guns used by the bombarding forces had a way of starting on their course with a minute-long shriek²⁰, which seemed to come from the shell itself. When the boys’ eyes had been cleared from sleep they could not only plainly see the projectiles²¹ in the beginning of their flight, but also distinctly observe the bellowing²² air rushing back to fill the vacancy²³ left by the discharge and bounding and rebounding²⁴ in a disturbed sea of gas.

“What a sight!” cried Billy when the first period of nervous strain had passed.

“Something fierce.” Henri’s comment was boy-like.

The boys were pacing in one of the antique streets with fragments of wood and chips of stone falling[72] about them when they heard a shout, followed down the avenue by the shouter. It was the sergeant rattling²⁵ like a milk wagon with his military fixings.

“Hustle, you young bearcats; get to cover!”

With that the sergeant yanked each boy by the shoulder into a hospital building nearby.

“Here’s help for you,” said the sergeant to one of the Red Cross nurses. “Keep them busy, and,” he added with especial emphasis, “inside.”

That gentle nurse, a young English girl, the boys learned afterward²⁶, was struck by a shell and carried dying on a litter from a battlefield where she had been attending the wounded. Her name was Winnie Bell, and she rests in the cemetery²⁷ at Le Mans, with the bodies of French and German soldiers around her, in whose service she gave up her noble young life.

The boys moved about with the nurse among the wounded, constantly growing in number.

“Oh! the pity of it all,” she murmured, putting a cup of water to the quivering lips of a sufferer, a mere²⁸ lad, wearing the brilliant uniform of a French trooper, with a gaping²⁹ wound in his shoulder.

Henri, leaning forward to give the nurse a bandage from the packet he was carrying, caught sight of the soldier’s upturned face.

[73]

“My brother Francois!” he moaned, dropping on his knees beside the litter.

The wounded soldier opened his eyes, and the agony of his hurt did not keep him from smiling.

1 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

2 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

3 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

4 cavalry   

n.骑兵；轻装甲部队

参考例句：

• We were taken in flank by a troop of cavalry. 我们翼侧受到一队骑兵的袭击。
• The enemy cavalry rode our men down. 敌人的骑兵撞倒了我们的人。

5 trophies   

n.（为竞赛获胜者颁发的）奖品( trophy的名词复数 )；奖杯；（尤指狩猎或战争中获得的）纪念品；（用于比赛或赛跑名称）奖

参考例句：

• His football trophies were prominently displayed in the kitchen. 他的足球奖杯陈列在厨房里显眼的位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hunter kept the lion's skin and head as trophies. 这猎人保存狮子的皮和头作为纪念品。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 trophy   

n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品

参考例句：

• The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。
• He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。

7 tapestry   

n.挂毯，丰富多采的画面

参考例句：

• How about this artistic tapestry and this cloisonne vase?这件艺术挂毯和这个景泰蓝花瓶怎么样？
• The wall of my living room was hung with a tapestry.我的起居室的墙上挂着一块壁毯。

8 gracefully   

ad.大大方方地；优美地

参考例句：

• She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

9 wrecked   

adj.失事的，遇难的

参考例句：

• the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
• the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞

10 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

11 hardy   

adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的

参考例句：

• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
• He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。

12 apparently   

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。

13 barricades   

路障，障碍物( barricade的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The police stormed the barricades the demonstrators had put up. 警察冲破了示威者筑起的街垒。
• Others died young, in prison or on the barricades. 另一些人年轻时就死在监牢里或街垒旁。

14 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

15 standing   

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。

16 quaint   

adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的

参考例句：

• There were many small lanes in the quaint village.在这古香古色的村庄里，有很多小巷。
• They still keep some quaint old customs.他们仍然保留着一些稀奇古怪的旧风俗。

17 relics   

[pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸

参考例句：

• The area is a treasure house of archaeological relics. 这个地区是古文物遗迹的宝库。
• Xi'an is an ancient city full of treasures and saintly relics. 西安是一个有很多宝藏和神圣的遗物的古老城市。

18 arcades   

n.商场( arcade的名词复数 )；拱形走道（两旁有商店或娱乐设施）；连拱廊；拱形建筑物

参考例句：

• Clothes are on sale in several shopping arcades these days. 近日一些服装店的服装正在大减价。 来自轻松英语会话---联想4000词(下)
• The Plaza Mayor, with its galleries and arcades, is particularly impressive. 市长大厦以其别具风格的走廊和拱廊给人留下十分深刻的印象。 来自互联网

19 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

20 shriek   

v./n.尖叫，叫喊

参考例句：

• Suddenly he began to shriek loudly.突然他开始大声尖叫起来。
• People sometimes shriek because of terror,anger,or pain.人们有时会因为恐惧，气愤或疼痛而尖叫。

21 projectiles   

n.抛射体( projectile的名词复数 )；（炮弹、子弹等）射弹，（火箭等）自动推进的武器

参考例句：

• These differences are connected with the strong absorption of the composite projectiles. 这些差别与复杂的入射粒子的强烈吸收有关。 来自辞典例句
• Projectiles became more important because cannons could now fire balls over hundreds or yards. 抛射体变得更加重要，因为人们已能用大炮把炮弹射到几百码的距离之外。 来自辞典例句

22 bellowing   

v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的现在分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫

参考例句：

• We could hear he was bellowing commands to his troops. 我们听见他正向他的兵士大声发布命令。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He disguised these feelings under an enormous bellowing and hurraying. 他用大声吼叫和喝采掩饰着这些感情。 来自辞典例句

23 vacancy   

n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺

参考例句：

• Her going on maternity leave will create a temporary vacancy.她休产假时将会有一个临时空缺。
• The vacancy of her expression made me doubt if she was listening.她茫然的神情让我怀疑她是否在听。

24 rebounding   

蹦跳运动

参考例句：

• The strength of negative temperature concrete is tested with supersonic-rebounding method. 本文将超声回弹综合法用于负温混凝土强度检测。
• The fundamental of basketball includes shooting, passing and catching, rebounding, etc. 篮球运动中最基本的东西包括投篮，传接球，篮板球等。

25 rattling   

adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词

参考例句：

• This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
• At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时，一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来，把窗玻璃震得当当地响。

26 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

27 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

28 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

29 gaping   

adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大

参考例句：

• Ahead of them was a gaping abyss. 他们前面是一个巨大的深渊。
• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。 来自《简明英汉词典》