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CHAPTER IX ON THE TRAIL
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 Barrett’s was not accustomed to visits from nattily1 attired2 boy scouts3 with rifles slung4 over their shoulders and the lolling youths of the settlement stared at him and commented audibly as he passed.
“Hey, what’s that you got over your shoulder?” one of them called.
“That, oh, that’s a soup spoon,” said Westy, quite unperturbed. “Do you know where Luke Meadows lives?”
“What d’yer want ’im fer?” one of the natives asked.
“Oh, I just wanted to see him,” said Westy.
“Whatcher want ter see ’im fer?”
“Oh, just for fun. Do you know where he lives?”
“He lives in that white house up the road,” said a rather more accommodating boy. “Do you see the house with the winder broken? The one with the chimney gone? He lives there, only he ain’t home.”
“He is too,” contradicted another informer. “I seen him go in his back door half an hour ago; he come around through the fields from the woods.”
“Thanks,” said Westy.
If Luke Meadows lived in the house indicated and had indeed returned home through the fields, then he must have emerged from the woods at a considerable distance from his home, an unnecessary thing to do except upon the theory that he wished to throw some one off his track, or at least avoid being seen. Westy thought he could sense the position in which this man stood toward the game wardens5 of the county. He thought it likely that there had been previous encounters between them. Hunting game out of season is a pursuit which is pretty apt to be chronic6.
Now that Westy was about to encounter this man, he felt just a little trepidation7. Perhaps it would have been better to go to Chandler first. But then the matter would have been out of his hands. He wished first to tell this man a thing or two which scouts know....
As he went along the narrow, dusty road, his uneasiness increased. He was not exactly afraid but he was beginning to balk8 a little at the prospect9 of denouncing a person who was probably many years his senior.
The little houses along the road, which must have been hopelessly unsightly from the beginning, had fallen into a state of disrepair and squalor which seemed in striking discord10 with the surrounding countryside. A slum in the city is bad enough; in the fair country it is shockingly grotesque11.
These little houses were double, each holding two families, and some of them were in blocks of three or four. They seemed to nestle under the shadow of the big wooden factory back in the field. Every window of the big factory was broken and a more forlorn picture of disuse and dilapidation12 could scarcely be imagined. From this factory a rusty13 railroad track disappeared into the woods; it had probably once joined the main line at Chandler.
Beyond these little rows of cheap frame houses was one which stood by itself. Its chimney was indeed gone and its window broken, but at least it stood by itself, was of a different color and architecture from the others, and had, in its shabby way, a character of its own. A little girl was swinging on the fence gate, or would have been swinging if the hinges had not been broken. A dried and curling woodchuck skin was nailed to the clapboards beside the door, a dubious14 hint of the predilections15 of the householder.

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1 nattily f21933db5004e1bcfb08b44e031b1162     
adv.整洁地,帅地
参考例句:
  • It was arranged carefully and nattily. 这是经过精细巧妙安排的。 来自互联网
2 attired 1ba349e3c80620d3c58c9cc6c01a7305     
adj.穿着整齐的v.使穿上衣服,使穿上盛装( attire的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The bride was attired in white. 新娘穿一身洁白的礼服。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • It is appropriate that everyone be suitably attired. 人人穿戴得体是恰当的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 scouts e6d47327278af4317aaf05d42afdbe25     
侦察员[机,舰]( scout的名词复数 ); 童子军; 搜索; 童子军成员
参考例句:
  • to join the Scouts 参加童子军
  • The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组,然后开始巡逻这个地区。
4 slung slung     
抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 ); 吊挂; 遣送; 押往
参考例句:
  • He slung the bag over his shoulder. 他把包一甩,挎在肩上。
  • He stood up and slung his gun over his shoulder. 他站起来把枪往肩上一背。
5 wardens e2599ddd0efb9a7622608a7c43692b1e     
n.看守人( warden的名词复数 );管理员;监察员;监察官
参考例句:
  • Air raid wardens in tin hats self-importantly stalked the streets. 空袭民防队员戴着钢盔神气活现地走在街上昂首阔步。 来自辞典例句
  • The game wardens tranquillized the rhinoceros with a drugged dart. 猎物保护区管理员用麻醉射器让犀牛静了下来。 来自辞典例句
6 chronic BO9zl     
adj.(疾病)长期未愈的,慢性的;极坏的
参考例句:
  • Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
  • Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。
7 trepidation igDy3     
n.惊恐,惶恐
参考例句:
  • The men set off in fear and trepidation.这群人惊慌失措地出发了。
  • The threat of an epidemic caused great alarm and trepidation.流行病猖獗因而人心惶惶。
8 balk RP2y1     
n.大方木料;v.妨碍;不愿前进或从事某事
参考例句:
  • We get strong indications that his agent would balk at that request.我们得到的强烈暗示是他的经纪人会回避那个要求。
  • He shored up the wall with a thick balk of wood.他用一根粗大的木头把墙撑住。
9 prospect P01zn     
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。
10 discord iPmzl     
n.不和,意见不合,争论,(音乐)不和谐
参考例句:
  • These two answers are in discord.这两个答案不一样。
  • The discord of his music was hard on the ear.他演奏的不和谐音很刺耳。
11 grotesque O6ryZ     
adj.怪诞的,丑陋的;n.怪诞的图案,怪人(物)
参考例句:
  • His face has a grotesque appearance.他的面部表情十分怪。
  • Her account of the incident was a grotesque distortion of the truth.她对这件事的陈述是荒诞地歪曲了事实。
12 dilapidation pusxz     
n.倒塌;毁坏
参考例句:
  • Yet all this was apart from any extraordinary dilapidation.特别破落的样子倒也找不出。
  • The farmhouse had fallen into a state of dilapidation.农舍落到了破败的境地。
13 rusty hYlxq     
adj.生锈的;锈色的;荒废了的
参考例句:
  • The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
  • I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用,我的法语又荒疏了。
14 dubious Akqz1     
adj.怀疑的,无把握的;有问题的,靠不住的
参考例句:
  • What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
  • He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。
15 predilections 2c42d26d86b808d09274bf754bd9d408     
n.偏爱,偏好,嗜好( predilection的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Like any other idealistic person you make a secret of your predilections. 像任何其他理想主义者,你从不隐晦自己的偏好。 来自互联网


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