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CHAPTER XVI OLD ACQUAINTANCE
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 That was a great day for Wilfred. The consciousness of right, which is said always to sustain those accused falsely, did not comfort him. He knew that he was looked upon askance by every scout1 in camp, and that he was odious2 to his own patrol.
Tom’s sensible advice only strengthened his stubbornness. He felt that it would be weak and inadequate3 to contrive4 an explanation after the event. His pride was now involved and he would maintain it at the expense of misjudgement. It was the same Wilfred Cowell who had let the boys in Bridgeboro believe the he had run away from Madden, and tripped and fallen, rather than condescend5 to advertise the plain facts of the case. No one could every really help such a boy as Wilfred; he would be his own ruin or his own salvation6.
Tom, simple and straightforward7, was puzzled at the boy’s queer reasoning. But indeed there was no reasoning about it. Wilfred was the victim of his own inward pride, and this produced the sorry effects which in turn cut his pride.
“Hanged if I get him,” said Tom.
Wilfred spent all morning with the young assistant manager who was making vigorous assaults against a couple of stumps9 in the adjacent woods. He was captivated, as he always was, by Wilfred’s ludicrous squint10 at things which on this day had a flavor of pathetic ruefulness.
“The only thing I got so far in connection with scouting,” he said, “is a time-table on the West Shore road. I think it will be very useful soon.”
“Well, you’re the doctor,” said Tom, as he chopped away.
“I wish I were,” said Wilfred, who was standing11 watching him. “I’d give myself a doctor’s certificate right away quick, and start things.”
“You seem to have started things all right,” Tom laughed.
One bright ray shone upon the lonely and discredited12 boy that day. Allison Berry, patrol leader of the New Haven13 troop, looked him up and his talk must have sounded like music in Wilfred’s ears. The leader’s sleeve was decorated with a dozen merit badge, he seemed very much a scout, and Wilfred experienced a little thrill of pride at finding himself the recipient14 of hearty15 tribute from this fine, clean-cut, sportsman-like fellow.
“Well, you didn’t pick me for a winner, did you?” he laughed at Tom, who kept busy at his chopping. “Didn’t think I’d lift the flag from the old home folks, did you?”
“Oh, I’m through picking winners,” said Tom.
“Yes? Well, you picked one in Will all right, didn’t you? May I sit down on this other stump8? Do you know this fellow saved my life once in the dim, dim past, Slady? With one exception he’s the best swimmer this side of Mars. And that exception is a fish.”
“I hear you say so,” said Wilfred.
“If you’d been down at the lake this morning, you’d have heard me say so. I’ve been telling everybody you’re a hero.”
“Did you have to chloroform them to get them to listen?” Wilfred asked.
“Now look here, Will. You’re the same old Chinese puzzle that you were in Connecticut. Nobody here that has any sense believes you deliberately16 let me get that emblem17; treason, that’s a lot of bunk18. You got rattled19, that’s what I told them. For the minute you didn’t realize; then biff, it was too late. You see I’m such a terribly fast runner—it’s wonderful.
“The old home folks, the Ravens20, didn’t know what struck them. How about that, Slady? They had twigs21 all around. Why, do you know—this is what I told the bunch—do you know if I had been out with Archie Dennison, I would have been likely to do any crazy thing; I might even have committed a murder. You know, Will, it wouldn’t have done you any good anyway; you couldn’t have caught me; the case was hopeless. Well, how do you like New Jersey22, anyway? I hear they don’t give you a holiday on Election; that’s some punk state.”
“It’s good to see you,” said Wilfred.
“Well, if you don’t like to see me, you have only yourself to blame; you’re the one that saved my life. I’ve been telling the whole camp about it, too. I’ve been telling them that maybe the reason you get rattled on land is because you really belong in the water. One fellow said you flopped23 last night. I said, ‘Well, what do you expect a fish out of water to do?’”
“Have you seen any of my—of the Ravens?”
“No, it would only make them sad to look at me. I was up there last night and nobody paid any attention to me.”
“They’ll call on you,” Tom said.
“When they wake up?”
“I’ve been peddling24 that radio set around all morning,” Allison continued. “I’ve been telling the crowd that if Will goes in for it, Mary Temple might just as well send it direct to him and not bother to come up—the contest is all over.”
“Oh, you’d better let her come up,” said Tom, busy at his task. “She’s a mighty25 pretty girl.”
“Yes?”
“Absolutely,” said Tom.
“Well, I’ll tell her Will got the wave in his hair from being so much in the ocean waves. What do you think of that wavy26 hair, Slade? Ever notice how he closes one eye on the road when he gets mad?”
“I never saw him mad,” said Tom.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 scout oDGzi     
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。
2 odious l0zy2     
adj.可憎的,讨厌的
参考例句:
  • The judge described the crime as odious.法官称这一罪行令人发指。
  • His character could best be described as odious.他的人格用可憎来形容最贴切。
3 inadequate 2kzyk     
adj.(for,to)不充足的,不适当的
参考例句:
  • The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
  • She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。
4 contrive GpqzY     
vt.谋划,策划;设法做到;设计,想出
参考例句:
  • Can you contrive to be here a little earlier?你能不能早一点来?
  • How could you contrive to make such a mess of things?你怎么把事情弄得一团糟呢?
5 condescend np7zo     
v.俯就,屈尊;堕落,丢丑
参考例句:
  • Would you condescend to accompany me?你肯屈尊陪我吗?
  • He did not condescend to answer.He turned his back on me.他不愿屈尊回答我的问题。他不理睬我。
6 salvation nC2zC     
n.(尤指基督)救世,超度,拯救,解困
参考例句:
  • Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
  • Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。
7 straightforward fFfyA     
adj.正直的,坦率的;易懂的,简单的
参考例句:
  • A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
  • I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。
8 stump hGbzY     
n.残株,烟蒂,讲演台;v.砍断,蹒跚而走
参考例句:
  • He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
  • He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。
9 stumps 221f9ff23e30fdcc0f64ec738849554c     
(被砍下的树的)树桩( stump的名词复数 ); 残肢; (板球三柱门的)柱; 残余部分
参考例句:
  • Rocks and stumps supplied the place of chairs at the picnic. 野餐时石头和树桩都充当了椅子。
  • If you don't stir your stumps, Tom, you'll be late for school again. 汤姆,如果你不快走,上学又要迟到了。
10 squint oUFzz     
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
参考例句:
  • A squint can sometimes be corrected by an eyepatch. 斜视有时候可以通过戴眼罩来纠正。
  • The sun was shinning straight in her eyes which made her squint. 太阳直射着她的眼睛,使她眯起了眼睛。
11 standing 2hCzgo     
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。
12 discredited 94ada058d09abc9d4a3f8a5e1089019f     
不足信的,不名誉的
参考例句:
  • The reactionary authorities are between two fires and have been discredited. 反动当局弄得进退维谷,不得人心。
  • Her honour was discredited in the newspapers. 她的名声被报纸败坏了。
13 haven 8dhzp     
n.安全的地方,避难所,庇护所
参考例句:
  • It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后,这真是一个安乐窝。
  • The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。
14 recipient QA8zF     
a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器
参考例句:
  • Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
  • Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。
15 hearty Od1zn     
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。
16 deliberately Gulzvq     
adv.审慎地;蓄意地;故意地
参考例句:
  • The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
  • They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。
17 emblem y8jyJ     
n.象征,标志;徽章
参考例句:
  • Her shirt has the company emblem on it.她的衬衫印有公司的标记。
  • The eagle was an emblem of strength and courage.鹰是力量和勇气的象征。
18 bunk zWyzS     
n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位;废话
参考例句:
  • He left his bunk and went up on deck again.他离开自己的铺位再次走到甲板上。
  • Most economists think his theories are sheer bunk.大多数经济学家认为他的理论纯属胡说。
19 rattled b4606e4247aadf3467575ffedf66305b     
慌乱的,恼火的
参考例句:
  • The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
  • Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里,窗户都格格作响。
20 ravens afa492e2603cd239f272185511eefeb8     
n.低质煤;渡鸦( raven的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Wheresoever the carcase is,there will the ravens be gathered together. 哪里有死尸,哪里就有乌鸦麇集。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • A couple of ravens croaked above our boat. 两只乌鸦在我们小船的上空嘎嘎叫着。 来自辞典例句
21 twigs 17ff1ed5da672aa443a4f6befce8e2cb     
细枝,嫩枝( twig的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Some birds build nests of twigs. 一些鸟用树枝筑巢。
  • Willow twigs are pliable. 柳条很软。
22 jersey Lp5zzo     
n.运动衫
参考例句:
  • He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
  • They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致,都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。
23 flopped e5b342a0b376036c32e5cd7aa560c15e     
v.(指书、戏剧等)彻底失败( flop的过去式和过去分词 );(因疲惫而)猛然坐下;(笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地)移动或落下;砸锅
参考例句:
  • Exhausted, he flopped down into a chair. 他筋疲力尽,一屁股坐到椅子上。
  • It was a surprise to us when his play flopped. 他那出戏一败涂地,出乎我们的预料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
24 peddling c15a58556d0c84a06eb622ab9226ef81     
忙于琐事的,无关紧要的
参考例句:
  • He worked as a door-to-door salesman peddling cloths and brushes. 他的工作是上门推销抹布和刷子。
  • "If he doesn't like peddling, why doesn't he practice law? "要是他不高兴卖柴火,干吗不当律师呢?
25 mighty YDWxl     
adj.强有力的;巨大的
参考例句:
  • A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
  • The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。
26 wavy 7gFyX     
adj.有波浪的,多浪的,波浪状的,波动的,不稳定的
参考例句:
  • She drew a wavy line under the word.她在这个词的下面画了一条波纹线。
  • His wavy hair was too long and flopped just beneath his brow.他的波浪式头发太长了,正好垂在他的眉毛下。


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