CHAPTER XXI. KIT MEETS A SCHOOLMATE.

 Kit¹ slept profoundly, being very tired. He was taken by surprise when, the next morning, he was shaken into a state of wakefulness, and opening his eyes met those of his neighbor Harry² Thorne.

 

"Is it morning?" he asked, in a sleepy tone.

 

"I should say it was. It is a quarter after nine, and the parade starts at ten."

 

"The parade?"

 

"Yes; we give a morning parade in every place we visit. If you are not on hand to take part in it, you will be fined five dollars."[Pg 104]

 

"I'll be up in a jiffy," said Kit, springing out of his berth³. "But there's time enough, isn't there?"

 

"Yes; but not too much. You will want to get some breakfast. By the way, are you used to driving?"

 

"Oh, yes. I have done a good deal of it," answered Kit.

 

"I thought so, as you are a country boy. How would you like to drive a span of horses attached to one of the small chariots?"

 

Kit was extremely fond of a horse, and he answered promptly⁴, "I'll do it."

 

"There are two. The other is driven by Charlie Davis, once a performer but now a ticket man. He is a little older than you."

 

"All right! I don't see how I came to sleep so late."

 

"You and Charlie are good matches. Once he went to bed Saturday night, and did not wake up till Monday morning."

 

"That beats my record!"

 

Kit was dressed in less than ten minutes.

 

"Where shall I get breakfast?" he asked.

 

"The regular breakfast is over, and you will have to buy some. There is a restaurant just opposite the lot. You might get in with one of the cooks, and get something in the cook tent."

 

"No; I'll go to the restaurant. To-morrow I'll be on hand at the regular breakfast."

 

The restaurant was a small one, with no pretensions⁵ to style, but Kit was hungry and not particular. At the same table there was a dark complexioned⁶ boy of about his own size, who had just begun to dispatch a beefsteak.

 

He looked up as Kit seated himself.[Pg 105]

 

"You're the new acrobat⁷, are you not?" asked the other.

 

"Yes; are you Charlie Davis?"

 

"Yes; how do you know me?"

 

"Harry Thorne was speaking of you."

 

"I see you're one of the late birds as well as I. I generally have to buy my breakfast outside. How do you like circus life?"

 

"I haven't tried it well enough to tell. This is only my second day."

 

"I went into it at fourteen. I've been an acrobat, too, but I have a weak ankle, and have gone into the ticket department."

 

"Are you going to remain in the circus permanently⁸?"

 

"No, I'm trying to wean myself from it. A friend has promised to set me up in business whenever I get ready to retire. If I kept on, I would be no better off at forty than I am now."

 

"Yet circus people make a good deal of money, I hear."

 

"Right you are, my boy, but they don't keep it. They get spoiled for anything else, and soon or later they are left out in the cold. I've had a good deal of fun out of it, for I like traveling, but I'm going to give it up."

 

"I took it up because I had nothing else to do, but I shan't stay in it long. I'll tell you about it some day. I hear you drive one of the pony⁹ chariots."

 

"Yes."

 

"I am to drive the other."

 

"Good! Don't let them run away with you, my boy."

 

"I'll try not to," said Kit, smiling. "Is there any danger?"[Pg 106]

 

"Not much. They're trained. Are you fond of horses?"

 

"I like nothing better."

 

"So it is with me. I'll wait till you are through breakfast, and then we'll go over together."

 

Half an hour later Kit sat on the box of a chariot, drawn¹⁰ by two beautiful ponies¹¹. The circus line had been formed, and the parade began. Behind him was a circus wagon¹², or rather a cage on wheels, through the gratings of which could be seen a tiger, crafty¹³ and cruel looking. In front was an elephant, with two or three performers on his back. Kit was dressed in street costume, his circus dress not being required.

 

In another part of the procession was Charlie Davis, driving a corresponding wagon.

 

Kit felt a peculiar¹⁴ exhilaration as he drove his ponies, and reflected upon the strangeness of his position, as compared with his previous experiences. He had from time to time watched circus processions, but not in his wildest and most improbable dreams had it ever occurred to him to imagine that he would ever himself take part in one. As he looked down from his perch¹⁵ he saw the streets lined with the usual curious crowd of spectators, among whom boys were largely represented.

 

"I suppose some of them are envying me," he thought to himself, with a smile. "Suppose there was some one who recognized me?"

 

No sooner had the thought come into his mind, than he heard his own name called in a voice indicating amazement¹⁶.

 

"Kit Watson, by all that's wonderful!" were the words that fell on his ears.

 

Looking to the right, his glance fell upon Jack¹⁷[Pg 107] Dormer, a schoolmate, who had been attending the same academy with him for a year past.

 

Kit colored, feeling a little embarrassed.

 

"How are you, Jack?" he said.

 

"How came you in this circus procession, Kit?"

 

"I can't tell you now. Come round to the lot, after the parade is over, and I'll tell you all about it."

 

Jack availed himself of the invitation and presented himself at the circus grounds.

 

"What does it all mean, Kit?" he asked. "Have you really and truly joined the circus?"

 

"Come round this afternoon, and you'll see me perform. I am one of the Vincenti brothers, acrobats¹⁸."

 

"But what put it in your head? That's what I want to know?"

 

"I thought I would like it better than being a blacksmith."

 

"But who ever dreamed of your being a blacksmith?"

 

"My uncle did. I'll tell you all about it."

 

Kit told his story. Jack Dormer listened with sympathetic interest.

 

"Do they pay you well?" he asked.

 

"I get twenty-five dollars a week, and all expenses."

 

"Can you get me a job?" asked Jack quite overcome by the magnificence of the salary.

 

"As an acrobat, Jack?" asked Kit, laughing, for Jack had the reputation of being one of the clumsiest boys in school.

 

"Well, no, I don't suppose I could do much in that way, but isn't there something I could do?"

 

"Take my advice, Jack, and give it up. You've[Pg 108] got a good home, and there is no need of your going into any such business even if you were qualified¹⁹."

 

"Don't you like it?"

 

"I can't tell yet. Of course it is exciting, but those who have been in it a good while advise against it. I may not stay in it more than one season."

 

"Shall I tell the fellows at school where you are?"

 

"No, I would rather you wouldn't."

 

"Does your cousin Ralph come back to school?"

 

"Yes."

 

"We could spare him a good deal better than you."

 

"I am not fond of Ralph myself, but the world is wide enough for us both."

 

Kit saw his schoolmate again after the afternoon performance, and received many compliments.

 

"I couldn't believe it was you," he said. "You acted as if you were an old hand at the business."

1 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

2 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

3 berth   

n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊

参考例句：

• She booked a berth on the train from London to Aberdeen.她订了一张由伦敦开往阿伯丁的火车卧铺票。
• They took up a berth near the harbor.他们在港口附近找了个位置下锚。

4 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

5 pretensions   

自称( pretension的名词复数 )； 自命不凡； 要求； 权力

参考例句：

• The play mocks the pretensions of the new middle class. 这出戏讽刺了新中产阶级的装模作样。
• The city has unrealistic pretensions to world-class status. 这个城市不切实际地标榜自己为国际都市。

6 complexioned   

脸色…的

参考例句：

• My aunt Ablewhite is a large, silent, fair-complexioned woman, with one noteworthy point in her character. 艾伯怀特表姨妈是个身材高大，生性沉默的人，为人有个突出的地方。
• Both were fair complexioned and slenderly made; both possessed faces full of distinction and intelligence. 两人都脸色白皙，身材苗条，两人都相貌非凡、一副聪明的样子。

7 acrobat   

n.特技演员，杂技演员

参考例句：

• The acrobat balanced a long pole on his left shoulder.杂技演员让一根长杆在他的左肩上保持平衡。
• The acrobat could bend himself into a hoop.这个杂技演员可以把身体蜷曲成圆形。

8 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

9 pony   

adj.小型的；n.小马

参考例句：

• His father gave him a pony as a Christmas present.他父亲给了他一匹小马驹作为圣诞礼物。
• They made him pony up the money he owed.他们逼他还债。

10 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

11 ponies   

矮种马，小型马( pony的名词复数 )； ￡25 25 英镑

参考例句：

• They drove the ponies into a corral. 他们把矮种马赶进了畜栏。
• She has a mania for ponies. 她特别喜欢小马。

12 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

13 crafty   

adj.狡猾的，诡诈的

参考例句：

• He admired the old man for his crafty plan.他敬佩老者的神机妙算。
• He was an accomplished politician and a crafty autocrat.他是个有造诣的政治家，也是个狡黠的独裁者。

14 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

15 perch   

n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于

参考例句：

• The bird took its perch.鸟停歇在栖木上。
• Little birds perch themselves on the branches.小鸟儿栖歇在树枝上。

16 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

17 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

18 acrobats   

n.杂技演员( acrobat的名词复数 )；立场观点善变的人，主张、政见等变化无常的人

参考例句：

• I was always fascinated by the acrobats at the circus. 我总是着迷于马戏团里的杂技演员。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The acrobats' performance drew forth applause from the audience. 杂技演员的表演博得了观众的掌声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。