CHAPTER XXXV DISAPPOINTMENT

 After a hearty¹ camp supper, devoured² with appetites whetted³ by the keen mountain air, the boys found themselves only too glad to roll in for a good night’s sleep. “Have the bell-boy call me in the morning,” called Ed airily from his blanket, but before either the drowsy⁴ Warde or tired Westy could come back at him with a reply, sleep overpowered all three. They only waked next morning when the brisk stirring about of Mr. Wilde and Billy disturbed them.

“Come on now, you fellows,” jeered⁵ Mr. Wilde. “Scouts ought to be up and dressed ahead of an old business man like me.”

Warde and Westy took this remark to heart and scrambled⁷ shamefacedly for their clothes, but Ed’s unfailing good humor left him untouched. He lolled back, gazing up and up into the depths of foliage⁸ above him and retorted, “Have that bellhop get my pants from the tailor.”

“Aren’t you going to wear your scout⁶ suit at all?” queried⁹ Westy in disapproval¹⁰.

“Aw, gee¹¹, Mr. Wilde joshed me so about wearing ‘rompers’ I’m going to stick to my corduroys,” said Ed, springing up, his mind eagerly on breakfast.

“Are you going up to Vulture Cliff this morning, Mr. Wilde?” asked Warde, impatient to know the program of the outing.

“That’s just where I’m going, Mister,” replied Mr. Wilde, busy already with preparations for this hike. “And,” he added, “I hope you young hopefuls put in a lucky day catching¹² plenty of fish for a good meal this evening, because when Billy and I get back here we’ll be hungry enough to eat a hard-boiled rhinoceros¹³.”

“Can’t we go with you?” asked Westy, his face the picture of disappointment.

“Go with us, your grandmother,” grinned Billy heartlessly. “That cliff is no place for little children.”

“I should say not,” added Mr. Wilde. “I can’t be responsible to your mammas if their darling boys fall down and have the buzzards pick their bones. Why, don’t you know a vulture would rather eat a Boy Scout than a dish of ice cream? No, you kids stick around here out of our way where you’re safe and show us what kind of a meal a star scout can cook.”

It was a cruel disappointment to the boys to find that their part in this unique expedition was to be limited to the mere¹⁴ routine of camp duty. This was truly a blow to their expectations and pride, but each was too good a scout to argue or whine¹⁵. They took this disappointment characteristically: Westy, the sensitive, was hurt. He felt that he had proved himself in the encounter with Bloodhound Pete and was entitled to be trusted in “big” things. He was too proud to say this, however, and only flushed and kept silent. Warde was plainly indignant. Ed, however, although quite as disappointed as the others, accepted it with his usual “I should worry” air.

“Go ahead,” he said jauntily¹⁶. “You can’t make me mad. I’m just crazy to be kitchen police. If I had a popgun I’d shoot a couple of elephants for a nice little fricassee for your supper. But listen, if you two fall off that cliff, don’t expect me to come running and pick you up.”

As Mr. Wilde and Billy set off, Warde sulked. Westy said, “I don’t think it’s fair, and it’s just our luck to be kept out of big things.”

But Ed said, “Poot! What do you care! I’d just as lieves have a good day’s fishing as monkey around up there on the top of the world trying to get movies of the angels. That ole cliff is too high for this baby! It’s worse than the Woolworth Tower and that always makes me seasick¹⁸. Come on, let’s go fishing. Maybe we’ll meet a grizzly¹⁹.”

At this prospect²⁰ Westy brightened and helped gather up their tackle which Ed opined was “some improvement on that historic safety pin.” Warde, however, refused to go along.

“I’m not going,” he said. “I turned my ankle on a loose rock last night anyway and it hurts. You catch the fish and I’ll cook them—that’s fair. I’m going to write a letter home. I don’t know when I’ll mail it, but I’ll get it written anyway.”

“’Tain’t your ankle, it’s your feelings that hurt,” said Ed, astutely²¹. “But do as you like, here’s where Kit¹⁷ Carson and Dan’l Boone leave you. S’long,” and Westy and Ed disappeared through the woods toward the sound of a boisterous²² mountain stream, leaving Warde behind. How little they knew what was to happen before they were all together again!

1 hearty   

adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的

参考例句：

• After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了，他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
• We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。

2 devoured   

吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光

参考例句：

• She devoured everything she could lay her hands on: books, magazines and newspapers. 无论是书、杂志，还是报纸，只要能弄得到，她都看得津津有味。
• The lions devoured a zebra in a short time. 狮子一会儿就吃掉了一匹斑马。

3 whetted   

v.（在石头上）磨（刀、斧等）( whet的过去式和过去分词 )；引起，刺激（食欲、欲望、兴趣等）

参考例句：

• The little chicks had no more than whetted his appetite. 那几只小鸡只引起了他的胃口。 来自英汉文学 - 热爱生命
• The poor morsel of food only whetted desire. 那块小的可怜的喜糕反而激起了他们的食欲。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

4 drowsy   

adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的

参考例句：

• Exhaust fumes made him drowsy and brought on a headache.废气把他熏得昏昏沉沉，还引起了头疼。
• I feel drowsy after lunch every day.每天午饭后我就想睡觉。

5 jeered   

v.嘲笑( jeer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The police were jeered at by the waiting crowd. 警察受到在等待的人群的嘲弄。
• The crowd jeered when the boxer was knocked down. 当那个拳击手被打倒时，人们开始嘲笑他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 scrambled   

v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 foliage   

n.叶子，树叶，簇叶

参考例句：

• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage.小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
• Dark foliage clothes the hills.浓密的树叶覆盖着群山。

9 queried   

v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问

参考例句：

• She queried what he said. 她对他说的话表示怀疑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• \"What does he have to do?\" queried Chin dubiously. “他有什么心事？”琴向觉民问道，她的脸上现出疑惑不解的神情。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

10 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。

11 gee   

n.马；int.向右！前进！，惊讶时所发声音；v.向右转

参考例句：

• Their success last week will gee the team up.上星期的胜利将激励这支队伍继续前进。
• Gee,We're going to make a lot of money.哇！我们会赚好多钱啦！

12 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

13 rhinoceros   

n.犀牛

参考例句：

• The rhinoceros has one horn on its nose.犀牛鼻子上有一个角。
• The body of the rhinoceros likes a cattle and the head likes a triangle.犀牛的形体像牛，头呈三角形。

14 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。

15 whine   

v.哀号，号哭；n.哀鸣

参考例句：

• You are getting paid to think,not to whine.支付给你工资是让你思考而不是哀怨的。
• The bullet hit a rock and rocketed with a sharp whine.子弹打在一块岩石上，一声尖厉的呼啸，跳飞开去。

16 jauntily   

adv.心满意足地；洋洋得意地；高兴地；活泼地

参考例句：

• His straw hat stuck jauntily on the side of his head. 他那顶草帽时髦地斜扣在头上。 来自辞典例句
• He returned frowning, his face obstinate but whistling jauntily. 他回来时皱眉蹙额，板着脸，嘴上却快活地吹着口哨。 来自辞典例句

17 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

18 seasick   

adj.晕船的

参考例句：

• When I get seasick,I throw up my food.我一晕船就呕吐。
• He got seasick during the voyage.在航行中他晕船。

19 grizzly   

adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊

参考例句：

• This grizzly liked people.这只灰熊却喜欢人。
• Grizzly bears are not generally social creatures.一般说来，灰熊不是社交型动物。

20 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

21 astutely   

adv.敏锐地；精明地；敏捷地；伶俐地

参考例句：

• That was what Ada Quonsetf astutely intended. 这正是艾达·昆赛脱狡狯之处。 来自辞典例句
• Freemantle had an idea that the TV session, astutely managed, might well develop into a show. 弗里曼特却自有主意，只要安排得巧妙，电视采访完全可以变成一次示威。 来自辞典例句

22 boisterous   

adj.喧闹的，欢闹的

参考例句：

• I don't condescend to boisterous displays of it.我并不屈就于它热热闹闹的外表。
• The children tended to gather together quietly for a while before they broke into boisterous play.孩子们经常是先静静地聚集在一起，不一会就开始吵吵嚷嚷戏耍开了。