“I’d like to,” answered Jim, “and I will as soon as I finish my chores.”
Half an hour later the two were seated on opposite sides of the table in Jeff’s room, their books spread out before them in a very businesslike way. But there wasn’t much studying done that evening, although each acknowledged the necessity of it. There were too many things to talk about. Naturally the foremost topic was the school. Jeffrey had to tell Jim what he thought about it, and Jim had to give his opinion of the fellows they had met; and after that they discussed the instructors1 and the course of study and many associated subjects. And before the evening was over it was no longer Hazard and Latham, but Jim and Jeff.
[104]
And in another day or two proper names had quite disappeared from Sunnywood. Every one called every one else by his first name; except that Poke2 had dubbed3 Jeff “The Senator” and called him that about half the time. For awhile Jim’s mother was “Mrs. Hazard,” but eventually she became “Lady” to every one except Mr. Hanks. Mr. Hanks—or “Nancy,” as the boys dubbed him—called Mrs. Hazard pretty nearly everything except Mrs. Hazard. Sometimes it was Hazel, sometimes Hastings, sometimes Hathaway; and once, to the amusement and bewilderment of the entire table, he called her “Mrs. Venture.” Hope was “Miss Hope” to the boys for awhile, but as friendship ripened4 the Miss was dropped. The boys all liked Hope. They couldn’t have done anything else, I fancy, for Hope was always happy and merry, eager for fun and firmly convinced that Sunnywood Cottage held the four finest boys in Crofton Academy.
But I am getting ahead of my story.
Gil and Poke had in due time received the required parental5 sanction to their change of quarters and had settled down very comfortably in what Poke called the Royal Suite6. With three of their rooms rented for the school year[105] Jim and his mother were much encouraged, for even if the fourth room didn’t rent they could, they were certain, more than pay expenses. Mr. Hanks, in spite of Poke’s forebodings, troubled no one. If he found the house rather noisy at times, he made no complaint. Except at meal times they saw very little of him. He was usually very silent at the table, accepting what was placed before him or handed to him and eating it in his funny absentminded way. At school, however, Mr. Hanks was having his troubles. In the first place, he was a new man, and there is an unwritten law at Crofton to the effect that new instructors must be decently hazed7. Hazing8 in Mr. Hanks’ case consisted of taking advantage of his inexperience and diffidence until at the end of his first week at school his Latin and history classes had lost all semblance9 of order and discipline. The instructor’s worst trial was Latin 2. In this class was Brandon Gary, and Gary knew more ways to make the teacher’s life a burden to him than there were pages in the ?neid.
“Bull makes me very tired,” said Gil one day. “It’s all right to have a little fun; and every faculty10 ought to stand a little joshing; but Bull is keeping it up too long. First thing we know[106] Nancy will get discouraged and quit. If he only knew enough to sit on a few of those Smart Alecks he wouldn’t have any more trouble.”
“I think it’s just as mean as can be,” declared Hope. “Mr. Hanks is a perfect dear.”
“Oh, he’s all right,” agreed Poke. “Nancy isn’t a half bad sort. Only thing is he hasn’t enough grit11.”
“And,” continued Hope, puzzledly, “I don’t see why you want to call him Nancy. He doesn’t look a bit like a horse.”
“A what?” demanded Jeff in surprise.
“A horse. I asked Lady the other day who Nancy Hanks was and she said he—I mean she—was a famous racehorse. And I don’t see—”
But the boys were laughing so loudly that the rest of Hope’s remark was drowned. She viewed them bewilderedly.
“Wasn’t she a horse?” she asked doubtfully.
“Well,” answered Jeff, who had recovered first, “I believe there used to be a horse named that. But the original Nancy Hanks was Abraham Lincoln’s mother. Have you never heard of her?”
Hope shook her head. “I don’t believe so. What—what did she do?”
[107]
Jeff looked at Gil and Gil looked at Jim and Jim shook his head. It was Poke who came to the rescue.
“Mrs. Hanks,” he observed thoughtfully, “was a very estimable lady. Besides being the mother of the Martyr12 President she—er—she invented the idea of winding13 yarn14 in hanks. Hence the name.”
The others viewed him suspiciously, but were afraid to question his statement for fear of confessing their ignorance. Jeff said “Hm” noncommittingly and Jim became very busy over the lock he was trying to repair. Hope accepted the information at face value and thanked Poke very nicely. Poke, I think, was on the verge15 of a confession16 when Mr. Hanks himself came into sight beyond the fence. He had an armful of books as usual and his head seemed to have acquired to-day an added droop17. As he turned in through the gate his face looked pretty tired and discouraged. Jim and Poke arose from their places on the steps to let him by and it was only then that he saw the group. He lifted his funny old straw hat rather sketchily18 and murmured, “Good evening.” The others responded politely, but Hope, with a sudden rush of sympathy for the instructor,[108] said: “Won’t you sit down here and rest, Mr. Hanks? You look very tired, and supper won’t be ready for a long time.”
Mr. Hanks looked surprised and embarrassed, hesitated, dropped a book—which Gil rescued—and finally stammered19: “Er—thanks, but I have much work to do. It—it has been a very nice day, hasn’t it?”
They all agreed enthusiastically that it had, after which Mr. Hanks hemmed20 and coughed once or twice, bowed jerkily and went on in. They could hear him walking weariedly up the stairs to his room.
“He looks perfectly21 floppy22!” exclaimed Hope, indignantly. “It is too mean for anything to treat him so!”
“What’s floppy?” asked Gil, a little ashamed of his own small share in the instructor’s unhappiness and willing to switch the conversation.
“Ready to flop,” added Poke knowingly. “It is an excellent word, even if Mr. Webster doesn’t countenance24 it. What’s the matter, Jim?”
[109]
“I lost a screw somewhere. I guess it went down a crack when I got up.”
“That lock will be a wonder when you get through with it,” laughed Poke. “You’ve used up three screw-drivers and a perfectly good penknife on it so far.”
“The trouble,” responded Jim gravely, holding the offending article under his nose and squinting25 knowingly into its intricacies, “is with the tumblers.”
“Nonsense!” said Poke. “The trouble’s in the carburetor. It needs adjusting. How’s school going, Hope?”
“Fine!—I just love the teacher in our room.”
“Hm; wait until you’ve been there another week. Teachers all look good at first. They’re very—very deceptive26.” Poke shook his head sadly. “I’ve had a great deal of experience with teachers.”
“I guess they’ve had a good deal of experience with you,” laughed Hope. Poke grinned.
“Well, I don’t deny that I have aided in the education of a few. Including our estimable Nancy,” he added rashly.
Hope sobered. “I shan’t like you, Poke,”[110] she said gravely, “if you’re mean to Mr. Hanks.”
“Who? Me? Honest, now, I haven’t done a thing, have I, Gil?”
“Not much,” answered Gil. “No more than I have. We’ve all had a go at him. I think, though, it’s about time we let up. I guess we’ll have to squelch27 Bull Gary, Poke.”
Poke nodded. “I guess so. Bull lacks a—a sense of sufficiency.”
“What’s that?” inquired Jeff.
“That is a polite way of saying that he doesn’t know when he’s had enough. By the way, Jim, did we tell you that Gary has taken a room at Jones’s? He says it’s fine, but that’s poppycock. Jones’s is the worst hole in the village. I guess he’s still peeved28 with you for not renting a room to him.”
“I don’t see how I could,” said Jim, laying aside the lock with a sigh of relief. “I wasn’t going to put Jeff out; or you fellows either. Besides, I don’t like him.”
“Well, Bull isn’t terribly popular,” said Gil, “but he’s really not so awfully29 bad. All he needs is some one to beat a little sense into him. He’s a lot better than when he first came.[111] I dare say that some day Gary will be a useful member of society.”
“In the sweet by and by,” said Poke skeptically. “And, say, Gil, what’s the matter with Bull’s playing this year? He’s way off his game. Johnny gave him a fierce ragging this afternoon. Did you hear him? Told Bull that if he didn’t do better than he’d been doing he’d be wearing a nice warm blanket on the side-line. I guess Bull has a swelled30 head after last year.”
“Does he play well?” asked Jim.
“He can play well. He’s one of the best guards we’ve had for years. And in the Hawthorne game last fall—which, as you probably know, Mr. Locksmith, is our big game—he put up a grand old exhibition. Didn’t he, Gil?”
“You bet! And that’s what I say. You can’t altogether dislike a chap who can play football the way he can—when he wants to.”
“Well, he will have to want to pretty soon, I guess,” said Poke. “Johnny’s getting out of patience. When are you coming down to the field with me, Jim, to have a try?”
“About Christmas time, I think.”
“You don’t say? Well, let me tell you something,[112] son. I’m going to get Dun Sargent after you. I’m not going to see a good football player wasted in a locksmith.”
“Good football player!” scoffed31 Jim. “I never played enough to be good—or even real bad, for that matter. I don’t know enough about the rules to—to—”
“That’s all right,” said Gil. “They’ll teach the rules to you. Just you come and have a try. You’re missing a lot of fun.”
“And a lot of hard work, too,” sighed Poke.
“I wish you would play,” said Hope. “Won’t you, Jim?”
“How can I?” asked Jim a trifle irritably32. “I’d like to—in a way—I guess, but who’d do the work here?”
“Listen,” said Poke impressively, “if you’ll try for the squad33 and if you make it we’ll all help with your silly chores. Won’t we, fellows?”
“Right-O!” agreed Gil.
“Surely,” said Jeff.
“Besides,” Poke continued, “what do you have to do, anyway? Lug34 up a little coal, split some kindling35, sift36 some ashes—”
“Beat some carpets, run some errands, fix[113] some locks, study some lessons,” added Jim with a laugh.
“Oh, well, that’s nothing,” said Poke airily. “I’m a wonderful carpet beater; better than one of those vacuum things, Jim. Now that’s a fair offer. What do you say?”
Jim laughed.
“Will you report to-morrow?” Poke persisted.
“No, but maybe I’ll go down and look on for awhile.”
“All right! That’s a promise. You go down with Gil and me after school to-morrow. Don’t forget. Jeff, you’re a witness; you too, Hope. After he’s looked on awhile he will want to play. Jim, you’re a gone coon!”
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
instructors
|
|
| 指导者，教师( instructor的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
poke
|
|
| n.刺，戳，袋；vt.拨开，刺，戳；vi.戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
dubbed
|
|
| v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
ripened
|
|
| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
parental
|
|
| adj.父母的；父的；母的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
suite
|
|
| n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
hazed
|
|
| v.（使）笼罩在薄雾中( haze的过去式和过去分词 )；戏弄，欺凌（新生等，有时作为加入美国大学生联谊会的条件） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
hazing
|
|
| n.受辱，被欺侮v.（使）笼罩在薄雾中( haze的现在分词 )；戏弄，欺凌（新生等，有时作为加入美国大学生联谊会的条件） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
semblance
|
|
| n.外貌，外表 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
faculty
|
|
| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
grit
|
|
| n.沙粒，决心，勇气；v.下定决心，咬紧牙关 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
martyr
|
|
| n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
winding
|
|
| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
yarn
|
|
| n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
verge
|
|
| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
confession
|
|
| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
droop
|
|
| v.低垂，下垂；凋萎，萎靡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
sketchily
|
|
| adv.写生风格地，大略地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
stammered
|
|
| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
hemmed
|
|
| 缝…的褶边( hem的过去式和过去分词 )； 包围 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
perfectly
|
|
| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
floppy
|
|
| adj.松软的，衰弱的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
miserable
|
|
| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
countenance
|
|
| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
squinting
|
|
| 斜视( squint的现在分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
deceptive
|
|
| adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
squelch
|
|
| v.压制，镇压；发吧唧声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
peeved
|
|
| adj.恼怒的，不高兴的v.（使）气恼，（使）焦躁，（使）愤怒( peeve的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
awfully
|
|
| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
swelled
|
|
| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
scoffed
|
|
| 嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
irritably
|
|
| ad.易生气地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
squad
|
|
| n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
lug
|
|
| n.柄，突出部，螺帽；(英）耳朵；（俚）笨蛋；vt.拖，拉，用力拖动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
kindling
|
|
| n. 点火, 可燃物 动词kindle的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
sift
|
|
| v.筛撒，纷落，详察 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |