CHAPTER XXIX THE RALLY

 The assembly hall of the Bridgeboro High School presented a gala scene. The whole thing had come about unexpectedly; it had been an “inspiration” as Pee-wee would have said. The local newspaper at the instigation of several public-spirited individuals and organizations of town, had stirred up a festival spirit in the interest of the Boy Scouts² which must have surprised the kindly³ gentlemen of the Rotary⁴ Club who had certainly never expected that the award they had offered would be made the occasion of a public rally.

But Mrs. Gibson of the Woman’s Club had seen the opportunity for a “real Scout¹ night,” and the giving of the coveted⁵ award had been hooked up with a well-planned rally. The Rotary Club was in it, the Woman’s Club was in it, the Campfire Girls were in it, the Y.M.C.A. was in it, and Pee-wee Harris was in it. He was not only in it, he was all over it. Most of the troops in the county had lately returned from their summer outings and they blew into Bridgeboro, tanned and enthusiastic. Not all troops had elected candidates for the great award, but all were interested. It was Scout Night in Bridgeboro.

“Our troop is going to sit in the front row,” shouted Pee-wee; “and listen—everybody keep still—listen—when Warde gets called up on the stage—that’s the way they’re going to do—when he—shut up and listen—when he gets called up on the stage, don’t start shouting till I do. When I shout——”

“I never heard you stop shouting,” said Roy.

“I have to start in order to stop, don’t I?” Pee-wee roared. “How can I shout without being still first?”

“How are you going to get still?” Roy shot back.

“You leave it to me,” yelled Pee-wee. “Don’t anybody shout till I do. Then when I start everybody shout—wait a minute—this is what you all have to shout:

Yell, yell, yell,

Yell, yell, yell,

Yell, yell, yell,

Yellowstone!

I invented it because it’s got a lot of yells in it.”

“He thinks Yellowstone Park is named after a yell,” shouted Roy.

The First Bridgeboro Troop did sit in the front row and for a while Pee-wee was silent—while he finished eating an apple. The first six or eight rows were filled with scouts and their patrol pennants⁶ raised here and there made an inspiring and festive⁷ show. Behind them was the regular audience. On the stage a khaki tent had been pitched with logs piled outside it and a huge iron pot hanging over them upon a rough crane.

“Oh, boy, I wish that was filled with hunter’s stew,” Pee-wee whispered to Dorry Benton who sat next to him. “Yum, yum, I wish I was on that platform.”

“He’s so hungry he could eat an imitation meal,” Dorry whispered to Roy.

“Tell him to wait till the curtain comes down with a roll and he can eat that,” whispered Roy.

There was singing, and a high scout official from National Headquarters made a speech. The bronze cross was given to one proud scout, the Temple life-saving medal to another. A patrol from Little Valley gave a skilful⁸ demonstration⁹ of first aid. The Boy Scout Band from Northvale played several pieces; they had a very snappy little band, the Northvale Troop.

Then, a scout was blindfolded¹⁰ and led to the tent. He promised to jump up as soon as he heard the least sound of approach. Then a barefooted scout stole up, while the audience waited in suspense¹¹, and had actually started removing the bandage from the other boy’s eyes before the latter knew he was near. This brought great applause. The Campfire Girls sang in chorus and gave some interesting demonstrations¹². It was a pretty good program.

It was after ten o’clock when Mr. Atwater, of the Rotary Club, arose from among those seated on the stage and, drawing a batch¹³ of papers from his pocket, started to address the audience.

“Three cheers for the Rotary Club of Bridgeboro!” some one called. And three rousing cheers were given for that organization.

“Hurrah for Yellowstone Park!” one called.

“Hurrah for the scout that we don’t know who he is!” another shouted, and there was much laughter.

“Yes, we do know, too!” arose the thunderous voice of Scout Harris.

“We’ll all know very soon,” laughed Mr. Atwater, “if you’ll give me a chance to speak.”

A certain atmosphere of tenseness seemed to pervade¹⁴ the front rows of the assembly hall. Scouts became restless, there were whispering and demands for quiet. Mr. Atwater smilingly waited.

Then silence.

1 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。

2 scouts   

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。

3 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

4 rotary   

adj.(运动等)旋转的；轮转的；转动的

参考例句：

• The central unit is a rotary drum.核心设备是一个旋转的滚筒。
• A rotary table helps to optimize the beam incidence angle.一张旋转的桌子有助于将光线影响之方式角最佳化。

5 coveted   

adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图

参考例句：

• He had long coveted the chance to work with a famous musician. 他一直渴望有机会与著名音乐家一起工作。
• Ther other boys coveted his new bat. 其他的男孩都想得到他的新球棒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 pennants   

n.校旗( pennant的名词复数 )；锦标旗；长三角旗；信号旗

参考例句：

• Their manes streamed like stiff black pennants in the wind. 它们的鬃毛直立起来，在风中就像一面面硬硬的黑色三角旗。 来自互联网
• Bud ashtrays, bar towels, coasters, football pennants, and similar items were offered for sale. 同时它还制作烟灰缸、酒吧餐巾、杯垫子、杯托子、足球赛用的三角旗以及诸如此类的物品用于销售。 来自互联网

7 festive   

adj.欢宴的，节日的

参考例句：

• It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节，每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
• We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。

8 skilful   

(=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的

参考例句：

• The more you practise,the more skilful you'll become.练习的次数越多，熟练的程度越高。
• He's not very skilful with his chopsticks.他用筷子不大熟练。

9 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

10 blindfolded   

v.（尤指用布）挡住（某人）的视线( blindfold的过去式 )；蒙住（某人）的眼睛；使不理解；蒙骗

参考例句：

• The hostages were tied up and blindfolded. 人质被捆绑起来并蒙上了眼睛。
• They were each blindfolded with big red handkerchiefs. 他们每个人的眼睛都被一块红色大手巾蒙住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 suspense   

n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑

参考例句：

• The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
• The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。

12 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

13 batch   

n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量

参考例句：

• The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
• I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。

14 pervade   

v.弥漫，遍及，充满，渗透，漫延

参考例句：

• Science and technology have come to pervade every aspect of our lives.科学和技术已经渗透到我们生活的每一个方面。
• The smell of sawdust and glue pervaded the factory.工厂里弥漫着锯屑和胶水的气味。