Some of these scouts7, like Hervey Willetts, were young adventurers, going hither and yon upon their own concerns, rebellious8 against the camp routine. Most of them were backsliding scouts, quite lacking in Hervey’s sprightly9 originality10 and vigor4. The worst that could be said of most of them was that they were aimless.
One of these was Archie Dennison, a lame11 boy from Vermont. He was a pioneer, that is to say, an unattached scout in the lonely region whence he had come. Doubtless his lack of association with boys, as well as his lameness12, had operated to make him the queer figure that he was. At all events, he enjoyed an immunity13 not only from participation14 in scout life, but also (what is more to be regretted) from chastisement15, which might have been helpful in the development of his character.
He was a looker-on, a critic of scouting, and a severe censor16. In school he was probably a monitor, finding delight in “keeping tabs” on other boys. And he did this instinctively17 at camp though no one had appointed him to such office. He had no affiliations18 and was more in touch with the camp authorities than with the boys. He liked to give information to the management.
It was rather pitiful that Wilfred Cowell should have drifted into a sort of chumminess with this boy, whose infirmity was the only thing that made him an appropriate pal19 for that high spirit which had accepted a hard lot with a patient philosophy and whose gentle diffidence and quaint20 humor were felt by all. Surely never before was there such grotesque21 union of the lovable and the unlovable.
Archie, fresh from a remote district, had discovered the movies in Terryville and had become a hopeless fan. Wilfred often accompanied him for two reasons; mainly because Archie walked at a leisurely22 gait and there was no call to spurts23 of strenuous activity which might prove embarrassing. His conscience was as good as Archie’s but not so troublesome. The other reason was that Wilfred saw the absurd side of the movies, even those pictures that were not intended to be funny.
On that memorable24 night that was to mean so much for him, Wilfred was walking home from Terryville with Archie. Their comments on the lurid25 picture had ceased with Archie’s saying that he could have one of the screen characters arrested for wearing a khaki scout suit, the offender26 not being a scout.
“I bet I could,” said Archie, “because I read it. If you wear a scout suit and you’re not a scout, I can have you arrested.”
“You mean that you can’t organize a troop and call yourselves boy scouts unless you are really registered as boy scouts,” said Wilfred good-humoredly. “There is a kind of a law about that. I guess you couldn’t stop a fellow from wearing a khaki suit. But I guess you couldn’t buy a scout suit unless you were a scout. I don’t know,” he added in his good-natured, rueful way, “I never bought one.”
“Didn’t you ever have money enough?” Archie asked.
“You guessed right,” laughed Wilfred.
“A scout has to notice things—I notice things,” said Archie. “I read a lot about it, too. If you wear a scout suit and you’re not a scout, I can get you arrested.”
“I don’t see why you want to be going around getting people arrested, anyway,” said Wilfred, his wholesome28 good-humor persisting.
“Not if they do something they got a right not to do?”
“No, I don’t think I’d bother.”
“Do you call yourself a scout?”
“Well, a kind of a one,” Wilfred laughed.
“If I was in your patrol, I’d get a scout suit because they’ve all got them and that’s a good patrol.”
“You bet it is,” said Wilfred.
“Then why don’t you get one?”
“Well, you see I’m not with them very much, so it isn’t noticed.”
“You’re with me and I’ve got one.”
“Well, you see,” said Wilfred, still amused, “you’ve got a suit and no patrol and I’ve got a patrol and no suit.”
“I’d rather have a suit, wouldn’t you?” Archie asked. His lack of humor seemed almost ghastly by contrast with Wilfred’s amiable29 and funny squint30 at things.
“Not than my patrol.”
“Can we get arrested for that?” Wilfred asked.
“Are they mad at you, your patrol?”
“Not that I know of.”
“They’d never get the banner away from me if I had it, because I sleep in the dormitory and I’d stand it right near my cot and I’d tie a string to it and tie the string to my foot. I thought of that, isn’t it a good idea?”
“It’s a good idea but it’s against the rule,” laughed Wilfred. “Maybe you’d get arrested.”
“You couldn’t get me arrested for that. You couldn’t even get me a black mark for it.”
“Well, I don’t want to get anybody any black marks,” said Wilfred.
“Because you know you couldn’t.”
“Well then, I’m glad I couldn’t.”
“Does your father send you money? I bet my father sends me more than yours does.”
“My father is dead, so you’re right again.”
“My father’s got a big hotel on a mountain. He sends me five dollars every week. Rich people come to that hotel. Don’t they send you any money, your people?”
“My sister sent me five dollars,” said Wilfred. It was loyalty32 to his home and his sister that prompted him to say this, the same fine delicacy33 of honor that caused him to keep his promise to his mother and to do this without even a secret sulkiness in his heart. If his heart was to be favored at a tragic34 cost, at least it was a heart worth favoring.
“Haven’t you got any brother?” Archie asked.
“No; I had one before I was born—I guess I can’t say that, can I? I would have had one only he was kidnapped and I guess they killed him because my father wouldn’t give them all the money they wanted.”
“If I got kidnapped when I was a kid, my father he’d have given them a million dollars.” That seemed a rather high price to pay for Archie Dennison; still what he said might have been true.
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1
scouting
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| 守候活动，童子军的活动 | |
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scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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frayed
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| adj.磨损的v.（使布、绳等）磨损，磨破( fray的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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vigor
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| n.活力，精力，元气 | |
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seething
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| 沸腾的，火热的 | |
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strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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scouts
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| 侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员 | |
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rebellious
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| adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的 | |
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sprightly
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| adj.愉快的，活泼的 | |
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originality
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| n.创造力，独创性；新颖 | |
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lame
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| adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的 | |
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lameness
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| n. 跛, 瘸, 残废 | |
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immunity
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| n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权 | |
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participation
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| n.参与，参加，分享 | |
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chastisement
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| n.惩罚 | |
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censor
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| n./vt.审查，审查员；删改 | |
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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affiliations
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| n.联系( affiliation的名词复数 )；附属机构；亲和性；接纳 | |
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pal
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| n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友 | |
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quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
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leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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spurts
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| 短暂而突然的活动或努力( spurt的名词复数 )； 突然奋起 | |
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memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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lurid
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| adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的 | |
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offender
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| n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者 | |
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ambled
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| v.（马）缓行( amble的过去式和过去分词 )；从容地走，漫步 | |
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wholesome
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| adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的 | |
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amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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squint
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| v. 使变斜视眼, 斜视, 眯眼看, 偏移, 窥视; n. 斜视, 斜孔小窗; adj. 斜视的, 斜的 | |
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emblem
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| n.象征，标志；徽章 | |
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loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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