CHAPTER XXVIII THE GARB OF THE SCOUT

 Mr. Wilde stared. The loitering boys stared. Everybody stared. And well they might, for the figure they gazed upon was bizarre to the last degree. Around Ed’s waist was drawn¹ a sweater like a romantic Spanish sash, while sticking ostentatiously in the shoulder of his shirt was a safety-pin, disqualified for its conventional use by much twisting and bending.

But the onlookers² had not long to stare. The sound of loud talking outside caused a general rush of the younger element to the great veranda³, while their less curious elders looked from doors and windows and wondered.

Approaching along one of the walks that bisect the spacious⁴ lawn in front of the big hotel was a strange sight. A boy in tattered⁵ khaki was approaching, hatless and barefooted, surrounded and followed by a questioning, gaping⁶, shouting, clamorous⁷ throng⁸. With him was another khaki-clad boy who was laughing at the excitement they were causing and answering the queries⁹ of their astonished escort.

It was no wonder that the boys gazed spellbound at the ragged¹⁰ apparition¹¹, nor that the park employees and tourists paused to stare. His trousers were all but in shreds¹², and not a button remained upon his mud-bespattered and torn shirt which lay open exposing his scratched chest. His hair was disheveled, one rebellious¹³ lock depending over his forehead. With one hand he kept continually pushing this back and sometimes effected the same result with a fine toss of his head, which somehow rounded out his picturesque¹⁴, vagabond aspect. His other hand was firmly buried in his trousers pocket, which bulged¹⁵ with the pressure of something large and flat. It was noticeable that he kept his hand there.

But it was not the name of Westy Martin that brought every last person out of the hotel, watching eagerly the excited little group. Rather was it the awful name of Bloodhound Pete shouted by an exuberant¹⁶ follower¹⁷ of the award boys.

“He got it from Bloodhound Pete! He got it from Bloodhound Pete!”

“Let’s see it!”

“Yes, you did—not!”

“Give us a look!”

“Seeing is believing!”

“Where did he?”

“When?”

“How?”

“Who says he did?”

“This feller did—alone? Yaaah!”

“What do you take us for?” one breathless skeptic¹⁸ demanded of Warde.

And so, shouting, clamoring, denying, scoffing¹⁹, questioning and crowding about him and talking all at the same time, the crowd constituted itself a vociferous²⁰ escort to Westy as he passed along the walk and up the big veranda and into the spacious, airy lobby of the Mammoth²¹ Hotel.

He had expected to keep his promise to his poor, fond mother and “wash his hands and face and brush his clothes before leaving the train,” and a few minutes later descend²², bag and baggage, from an auto²³ before the portal of his first stopping place in the park. “When you enter a hotel,” she had said, adjusting his collar, “you want to have your hair brushed and look like a gentleman.”

“Is Mr. Madison C. Wilde here?” Warde asked.

“The movie man?”

“Sure he is, he’s in the smoking room.”

“No, he isn’t, he’s in the lobby—he’s mad.”

“Come on, I’ll show you where he is, he chased us.”

Before Mr. Wilde had recovered from the sight of Ed Carlyle, Westy stood before him, conspicuous²⁴ in the clustering, vociferous throng, a fine picture of rags and tatters. Warde, standing²⁵ close to him, had forcibly loosened his comrade’s rolled-up sleeve so that on the loose hanging khaki the stalker’s badge and the pathfinder’s badge were exposed. Westy’s other arm, with a long scratch on it where he had let it slide against the bark of the big elm, was at his side, hand in pocket, clutching the treasure that was there.

Not so much as one vestige²⁶ remained about Westy of the trim boy scout²⁷ whom Mr. Wilde had “jollied” on the train; only his two badges exposed by his patrol mate and rendered clearer to view by Ed Carlyle as he smoothed down his companion’s wrinkled sleeve.

“Mr. Wilde,” said Westy, pulling his scarred arm out of his pocket, “here’s your wallet; it’s got your money and your permit all safe. I took it away from Bloodhound Pete and—and——”

“The pleasure is entirely²⁸ ours,” Ed Carlyle concluded for him.

1 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

2 onlookers   

n.旁观者，观看者( onlooker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A crowd of onlookers gathered at the scene of the crash. 在撞车地点聚集了一大群围观者。
• The onlookers stood at a respectful distance. 旁观者站在一定的距离之外，以示尊敬。

3 veranda   

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。

4 spacious   

adj.广阔的，宽敞的

参考例句：

• Our yard is spacious enough for a swimming pool.我们的院子很宽敞，足够建一座游泳池。
• The room is bright and spacious.这房间很豁亮。

5 tattered   

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。

6 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》

7 clamorous   

adj.吵闹的，喧哗的

参考例句：

• They are clamorous for better pay.他们吵吵嚷嚷要求增加工资。
• The meeting began to become clamorous.会议开始变得喧哗了。

8 throng   

n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集

参考例句：

• A patient throng was waiting in silence.一大群耐心的人在静静地等着。
• The crowds thronged into the mall.人群涌进大厅。

9 queries   

n.问题( query的名词复数 )；疑问；询问；问号v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的第三人称单数 )；询问

参考例句：

• Our assistants will be happy to answer your queries. 我们的助理很乐意回答诸位的问题。
• Her queries were rhetorical,and best ignored. 她的质问只不过是说说而已，最好不予理睬。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 ragged   

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。

11 apparition   

n.幽灵，神奇的现象

参考例句：

• He saw the apparition of his dead wife.他看见了他亡妻的幽灵。
• But the terror of this new apparition brought me to a stand.这新出现的幽灵吓得我站在那里一动也不敢动。

12 shreds   

v.撕碎，切碎( shred的第三人称单数 )；用撕毁机撕毁（文件）

参考例句：

• Peel the carrots and cut them into shreds. 将胡罗卜削皮，切成丝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I want to take this diary and rip it into shreds. 我真想一赌气扯了这日记。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

13 rebellious   

adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的

参考例句：

• They will be in danger if they are rebellious.如果他们造反，他们就要发生危险。
• Her reply was mild enough,but her thoughts were rebellious.她的回答虽然很温和，但她的心里十分反感。

14 picturesque   

adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的

参考例句：

• You can see the picturesque shores beside the river.在河边你可以看到景色如画的两岸。
• That was a picturesque phrase.那是一个形象化的说法。

15 bulged   

凸出( bulge的过去式和过去分词 )； 充满； 塞满（某物）

参考例句：

• His pockets bulged with apples and candy. 他的口袋鼓鼓地装满了苹果和糖。
• The oranges bulged his pocket. 桔子使得他的衣袋胀得鼓鼓的。

16 exuberant   

adj.充满活力的；（植物）繁茂的

参考例句：

• Hothouse plants do not possess exuberant vitality.在温室里培养出来的东西，不会有强大的生命力。
• All those mother trees in the garden are exuberant.果园里的那些母树都长得十分茂盛。

17 follower   

n.跟随者；随员；门徒；信徒

参考例句：

• He is a faithful follower of his home football team.他是他家乡足球队的忠实拥护者。
• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。

18 skeptic   

n.怀疑者，怀疑论者，无神论者

参考例句：

• She is a skeptic about the dangers of global warming.她是全球变暖危险的怀疑论者。
• How am I going to convince this skeptic that she should attention to my research?我将如何使怀疑论者确信她应该关注我的研究呢？

19 scoffing   

n. 嘲笑, 笑柄, 愚弄 v. 嘲笑, 嘲弄, 愚弄, 狼吞虎咽

参考例句：

• They were sitting around the table scoffing. 他们围坐在桌子旁狼吞虎咽地吃着。
• He the lid and showed the wonderful the scoffing visitors. 他打开盖子给嘲笑他们的老人看这些丰富的收获。

20 vociferous   

adj.喧哗的，大叫大嚷的

参考例句：

• They are holding a vociferous debate.他们在吵吵嚷嚷地辩论。
• He was a vociferous opponent of Conservatism.他高声反对保守主义。

21 mammoth   

n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的

参考例句：

• You can only undertake mammoth changes if the finances are there.资金到位的情况下方可进行重大变革。
• Building the new railroad will be a mammoth job.修建那条新铁路将是一项巨大工程。

22 descend   

vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降

参考例句：

• I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。
• We're not going to descend to such methods.我们不会沦落到使用这种手段。

23 auto   

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。

24 conspicuous   

adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的

参考例句：

• It is conspicuous that smoking is harmful to health.很明显，抽烟对健康有害。
• Its colouring makes it highly conspicuous.它的色彩使它非常惹人注目。

25 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。

26 vestige   

n.痕迹，遗迹，残余

参考例句：

• Some upright stones in wild places are the vestige of ancient religions.荒原上一些直立的石块是古老宗教的遗迹。
• Every vestige has been swept away.一切痕迹都被一扫而光。

27 scout   

n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索

参考例句：

• He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
• The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

28 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。