CHAPTER XLVIII. CONCLUSION.

Jode Lenning’s experience with Shoup and Geohegan, his recovery of the stolen mail bags, and his rescue of Colonel Hawtrey from the runaway¹ ore car were topics of discussion in that part of Arizona for a good many days.
Geohegan, it developed, was the cracksman who, on a former occasion, had helped Shoup break into the safe at the cyanide works and make off with four bars of bullion². Hawkins had been hunting for Shoup and Geohegan on the score of that attempted robbery, and he had about given up finding the rascally³ pair, when they dropped into his hands through that holdup in the cañon.
Shoup, although a young fellow, was a drug fiend. He had gone from bad to worse, until now he had committed a crime which, in all likelihood, would have to be expiated⁴ in some government prison.
In the confession⁵ which Geohegan made, it appeared that the two thieves had blundered upon Lenning entirely⁶ by chance. Taking his clothes and his horse was a plan of Shoup’s. After hiding the mail bags in the cañon, the two robbers had gone into the gulch⁷. Here they discovered some of Hawkins’ posse, and fled to escape them. They were followed relentlessly⁸, and finally captured.
Two drafts for twenty-five thousand dollars each, one for the professor and one for Mrs. Boorland, were found in one of the stolen mail pouches⁹. Thus the matter of the mine in the Picketpost Mountains was wound up, and nothing further remained to delay the departure of Frank and his chums from southern Arizona.
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The one thing Frank had wished for with all his heart—the reconciliation¹⁰ between Colonel Hawtrey and Lenning—had been accomplished¹¹. The lad now felt that he could leave Ophir with a cheerful spirit.
Among the first to pay Lenning a visit in the Ophir bunk¹² house and congratulate him on his brightening prospects¹³ were Clancy and Ballard.
“Don’t congratulate me, fellows,” said Lenning. “Give Merriwell the credit. He was my friend when every one else had turned against me. Whenever I needed a boost in the right direction, I could always count on him to give it. I’ll never forget Chip, and I’ll never cease to be grateful to him.”
“Chip is all to the mustard,” said Clancy loyally, “and I can only find fault with him about one thing.”
“What is that?”
“He wouldn’t let Pink and me go along with him and Blunt when they answered that mysterious call from Dolliver. See what a lot of excitement we missed!”
“That was a case, Clancy,” smiled Lenning, “where two of you were company and four would have been a crowd.”
“All right,” assented¹⁵ Ballard cheerfully, “we’ll leave it that way. Going to Gold Hill to live, Jode, as soon as that broken pin is mended?”
“No,” replied Lenning, “I’m going to stay right here and work for Mr. Bradlaugh and Mr. Burke. The colonel has done the fine thing by me, and he’d do more, but I don’t intend to let him. From now on I shall make my own way in the world.”
And for this determination, Clancy, Ballard, and all the rest of Lenning’s friends thought more of him than ever.
It was Wednesday when Frank and his chums took
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 their leave of Ophir. The last thing Frank did, before getting out of the town, was to send Borak to Barzy Blunt with a card. The card presented Barzy with Frank’s compliments and best wishes, and begged him to accept Borak as a present.
Borak had once belonged to Blunt. When dire¹⁴ necessity urged, the cowboy had been compelled to sell the famous black steed. Frank had purchased the animal, but had always intended, on leaving Arizona, to return the saddler to his former owner.
When the stage, which was to take the boys to Gold Hill, the nearest railroad point, pulled up at the door of the Ophir House, Pophagan, Woo Sing, and a host of others were gathered on the veranda¹⁶ to bid Merriwell, Clancy, and Ballard good-by. A miner, whose regard Frank had won by coaching the Ophir football squad¹⁷ to victory, presented each of the lads with a nugget of placer gold to be made into a scarfpin.
“You’re sartinly the clear quill¹⁸, kids,” said the miner, “and we’re a heap proud to have had ye among us. Pure gold, them nuggets is, and I reckon as how you’re all three the same. Come back to us some time. Don’t let this be the last time we see ye.”
“Maybe we will,” said Frank, shaking hands all around with a smothered¹⁹ feeling in his throat. “You’ve been mighty²⁰ good to us, all you Ophir people.”
“That’s no jolly,” said the red-headed chap.
“We almost feel like we belonged to Ophir,” added Ballard.
The professor had gone on to Gold Hill the day before, and the boys were to meet him in that town, and they were all to proceed northward²¹ together.
When the lads had shaken hands until their arms ached, they climbed into the stage, and the driver
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 whipped up his team. As they rolled down the straggling, familiar street, cheers went up from the hotel and were echoed all along the sidewalks.
“Three cheers for Merriwell, Clancy, and Ballard!” rang out the cry, and they were given again and again with a hearty²² good will.
“Seems almost like we were leaving home,” sniffed²³ Clancy.
“That’s right, Red!” agreed Ballard.
But Merriwell said nothing. He could not trust himself to speak.

“Frank Merriwell, Jr.’s Mission” will be the title of the next volume of the Merriwell Series, No. 218. Burt L. Standish has outdone himself in this latest narrative²⁴. It is a tale of sympathetic understanding and real friendship, as well as a story of action and excitement.

The End

1 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

2 bullion   

n.金条，银条

参考例句：

• In the London bullion market yesterday,the price of gold was steady.昨天伦敦金银市场黄金价格稳定。
• Police have launched a man-hunt for the bullion robbers.警方已大举搜捕抢劫金条的罪犯。

3 rascally   

adj. 无赖的，恶棍的 adv. 无赖地，卑鄙地

参考例句：

• They said Kelso got some rascally adventurer, some Belgian brute, to insult his son-in-law in public. 他们说是凯尔索指使某个下贱的冒险家，一个比利时恶棍，来当众侮辱他的女婿。
• Ms Taiwan: Can't work at all, but still brag and quibble rascally. 台湾小姐：明明不行，还要硬拗、赖皮逞强。

4 expiated   

v.为（所犯罪过）接受惩罚，赎（罪）( expiate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The thief expiated his theft by giving back the amount stolen and by reforming. 那小偷送回全部偷窃物并改过自新，以为他的偷窃行为赎罪。 来自互联网

5 confession   

n.自白，供认，承认

参考例句：

• Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
• The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。

6 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

7 gulch   

n.深谷，峡谷

参考例句：

• The trail ducks into a narrow gulch.这条羊肠小道突然下到一个狭窄的峡谷里。
• This is a picture of California Gulch.这是加利福尼亚峡谷的图片。

8 relentlessly   

adv.不屈不挠地；残酷地；不间断

参考例句：

• The African sun beat relentlessly down on his aching head. 非洲的太阳无情地照射在他那发痛的头上。
• He pursued her relentlessly, refusing to take 'no' for an answer. 他锲而不舍地追求她，拒不接受“不”的回答。

9 pouches   

n.（放在衣袋里或连在腰带上的）小袋( pouch的名词复数 )；（袋鼠等的）育儿袋；邮袋；（某些动物贮存食物的）颊袋

参考例句：

• Pouches are a peculiarity of marsupials. 腹袋是有袋动物的特色。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Under my eyes the pouches were heavy. 我眼睛下的眼袋很深。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

11 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

12 bunk   

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。

13 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

14 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

15 assented   

同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The judge assented to allow the prisoner to speak. 法官同意允许犯人申辩。
• "No," assented Tom, "they don't kill the women -- they're too noble. “对，”汤姆表示赞同地说，“他们不杀女人——真伟大！

16 veranda   

n.走廊；阳台

参考例句：

• She sat in the shade on the veranda.她坐在阳台上的遮荫处。
• They were strolling up and down the veranda.他们在走廊上来回徜徉。

17 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

18 quill   

n.羽毛管；v.给（织物或衣服）作皱褶

参考例句：

• He wrote with a quill.他用羽毛笔写字。
• She dipped a quill in ink,and then began to write.她将羽毛笔在墨水里蘸了一下，随后开始书写。

19 smothered   

（使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制

参考例句：

• He smothered the baby with a pillow. 他用枕头把婴儿闷死了。
• The fire is smothered by ashes. 火被灰闷熄了。

20 mighty   

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。

21 northward   

adv.向北；n.北方的地区

参考例句：

• He pointed his boat northward.他将船驶向北方。
• I would have a chance to head northward quickly.我就很快有机会去北方了。

22 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。

23 sniffed   

v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。