Chapter V — Ben Wins Again

 "I am very glad you won," said Frank Jones, in a low voice.

 

"Thank you; so am I," answered Ben, smiling.

 

"Of course I should have preferred to win myself," continued Frank candidly¹; "but, as I saw that it lay between you and John Miles, I sided with you."

 

"Do you know Miles?"

 

"No, but I spoke² with him just as the race began. I saw that he felt sure of winning. He boasted that he had practiced running at a gymnasium in Boston."

 

"Then I wonder he didn't beat me."

 

"He would on a short race; but your wind is better."

 

"I am glad to win, for the sake of the money," said Ben. "I have lost my place at the factory, and my aunt depends on my earnings³."

 

"Then I am glad for you," said Frank. "I didn't need the money myself. If I had won, I would have given it to you, knowing your circumstances."

 

"You are very kind," said Ben gratefully.

 

"You may win another five dollars. I hope you will."

 

"It will be rather hard on John Miles to lose two races and his money, too."

 

"You needn't consider that. If I judge him rightly, he has self-conceit enough to carry him through a dozen defeats. He will have some excuse ready, you may be sure. He says he lost the first race by a sudden cramp⁴. He has not more cramp than I."

 

"There are little boys in line," said Ben. "I recognize Frank and Charlie Herman. Do you know the others?"

 

"I know nearly all. Next to Charlie Herman are Aleck Gale⁵, Johnny Clarke, little Vanderhoef, Brooks⁶ Gulager, and Charlie Boyd. The end boy is Charlie Snedeker."

 

"Who will win?"

 

"One of the Hermans, probably."

 

The prediction proved correct.

 

Charles Herman can in first, leading his brother by a few feet.

 

"You ought to divide the prize with me, Charlie," said Frank. "I didn't like to beat my older brother, or I would have run ahead of you."

 

"You didn't seem to hold back much," said Charlie. "However, I will be generous and give you a dollar. It will be all in the family."

 

Proclamation was now made that a supplementary⁷ race would be run, for a prize of five dollars, offered by John Miles, the contestants⁸ being John Miles and Ben Bradford. The distance by request of Miles, was diminished to two hundred yards. John was shrewd enough to see that the shorter distance was more favorable to himself. Defeat had not diminished his good opinion of himself, not increased his respect for Ben.

 

"You gained the race by an accident," he said to Ben, as they stood side by side, waiting for the signal.

 

"Perhaps I did," replied Ben good-humoredly; "all I can say is that it was a lucky accident for me."

 

"Of course it was. You don't think you can run as fast as I can?"

 

"I can't tell yet. I will do my best."

 

"You will have to. I have practiced running in a Boston gymnasium."

 

"Then you have the advantage of me."

 

"Of course I have. Besides, I am taller than you."

 

"For all that, I mean to win your five dollars if I can."

 

"My money is safe enough. I don't concern myself about that."

 

"He has a tolerably comfortable opinion of himself," thought Ben; "I begin to want to beat him for something else than the money."

 

The signal was given, and the boys started.

 

As in the first race, John Miles soon took the lead. He was nearly three inches taller than Ben. Naturally, his legs were longer, and this was an advantage. Again he put forth⁹ all his strength at once; Ben, on the other hand, reserved his strength for the close of the contest. When the race was half over, John Miles was probably twenty feet in advance.

 

"Boston, will win this time," said Arthur Clark. "See how much Miles leads."

 

"I am not so sure of that," said George Herman. "I know Ben Bradford. He is very strong, and can hold out well. Miles is using himself up. Do you see how he is panting?"

 

This was true. In spite of all his training, John Miles had never been able to overcome a shortness of breath which was constitutional with him. It was telling upon him now.

 

Foot by foot Ben gained upon him. It was the first race over again. Toward the finish he overtook him, and a final spurt¹⁰ won the race—with John Miles full ten feet behind.

 

"Have I won fairly?" asked our her, turning to John.

 

"That confounded cramp caught me again," said John sullenly¹¹. "If it hadn't been for that, you couldn't have beaten me."

 

"That was unlucky for you."

 

"I could beat you by twenty-five yards if I felt all right."

 

"Boasting is easy," thought Ben, but he did not say it. He felt in too good humor over his second victory.

 

"We may have a chance to run again some time when you are in better condition," he said cheerfully.

 

"Maybe so," answered John dubiously¹². He felt that he had had enough of running against Ben.

 

Ben's acquaintances gathered about him, and congratulated him over his double victory. Boys whom he did not know sought an introduction, and he found himself quite a lion.

 

John Miles returned to the two boys who had accompanied him, and began to apologize for his want of success.

 

"I was awfully¹³ unlucky," he said. "I suppose that fellow thinks, because he has beaten me twice when I had the cramp, that he is a better runner than I am. Just see those fellows crowding around him! I suppose he will strut¹⁴ like a turkey-cock."

 

But this was doing injustice¹⁵ to Ben. He certainly had reason to feel pleased with his success; for it not only brought him a sum equal to two weeks' wages at the factory, but he received the congratulations of the boys so modestly that he won the good opinion of many who had hitherto been strangers to him.

 

"By George, Ben, you've done well," said James Watson. "I just wish I were in your place."

 

"I owe my good luck to you, James."

 

"How is that?"

 

"You invited me to come here. I shouldn't have come but for you."

 

"I am glad of it, Ben. From what you tell me, the money'll come in handy."

 

"Indeed it will, James."

 

"It would come in handy to me, too, but you need it more."

 

Ben was summoned before the committee of the picnic, and asked whether he preferred to take his prizes in money or in the form of a gold medal.

 

"In money," he said promptly¹⁶.

 

"The medal would always remind you of your victory."

 

"They wouldn't receive it at a grocery store," said Ben.

 

"Then you are a family man?" said a member of the committee, smiling.

 

"Yes," said Ben; "I've got an aunt and cousin to provide for."

 

The money was accordingly placed in his hands. Two five-dollar greenbacks were a rich reward for his afternoon's exertions¹⁷, he thought.

 

"I wish I could earn as much money every day," he thought.

 

"We would have no trouble then about getting along."

 

About half-past four o'clock, Ben and James left the picnic grounds, and started on their way home. They had occasion to pass the cigar store where Ben had been offered employment. The proprietor¹⁸ was standing¹⁹ at the door.

 

"Have you made up your mind to accept my offer?" he asked recognizing Ben.

 

"You don't offer enough," said Ben.

 

"Isn't three dollars a week enough for a boy like you?"

 

"Since I last saw you I've earned ten dollars," answered Ben.

 

"You have!" exclaimed the cigar dealer²⁰, in surprise. "I believe you are deceiving me. You don't expect me to believe a story like that."

 

"There is the proof," said Ben, displaying the greenbacks.

 

"Are you sure you haven't stolen the money?" asked the dwarf²¹ suspiciously.

 

"I am as sure as that you are no gentleman," retorted Ben, nettled²² by his tone.

 

The cigar dealer began to jump up and down with rage, and shook his fist violently at the two boys, who retired²³ laughing.

1 candidly   

adv.坦率地，直率而诚恳地

参考例句：

• He has stopped taking heroin now,but admits candidly that he will always be a drug addict.他眼下已经不再吸食海洛因了,不过他坦言自己永远都是个瘾君子。
• Candidly,David,I think you're being unreasonable.大卫，说实话我认为你不讲道理。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

4 cramp   

n.痉挛；[pl.](腹)绞痛；vt.限制，束缚

参考例句：

• Winston stopped writing,partly because he was suffering from cramp.温斯顿驻了笔，手指也写麻了。
• The swimmer was seized with a cramp and had to be helped out of the water.那个在游泳的人突然抽起筋来，让别人帮着上了岸。

5 gale   

n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等）

参考例句：

• We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
• According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报，明天有大风。

6 brooks   

n.小溪( brook的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks gave the business when Haas caught him with his watch. 哈斯抓到偷他的手表的布鲁克斯时，狠狠地揍了他一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ade and Brooks exchanged blows yesterday and they were severely punished today. 艾德和布鲁克斯昨天打起来了，今天他们受到严厉的惩罚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 supplementary   

adj.补充的，附加的

参考例句：

• There is a supplementary water supply in case the rain supply fails.万一主水源断了，我们另外有供水的地方。
• A supplementary volume has been published containing the index.附有索引的增补卷已经出版。

8 contestants   

n.竞争者，参赛者( contestant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The competition attracted over 500 contestants representing 8 different countries. 这次比赛吸引了代表8个不同国家的500多名参赛者。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency. 两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

10 spurt   

v.喷出；突然进发；突然兴隆

参考例句：

• He put in a spurt at the beginning of the eighth lap.他进入第八圈时便开始冲刺。
• After a silence, Molly let her anger spurt out.沉默了一会儿，莫莉的怒气便迸发了出来。

11 sullenly   

不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地

参考例句：

• 'so what?" Tom said sullenly. “那又怎么样呢？”汤姆绷着脸说。
• Emptiness after the paper, I sIt'sullenly in front of the stove. 报看完，想不出能找点什么事做，只好一人坐在火炉旁生气。

12 dubiously   

adv.可疑地，怀疑地

参考例句：

• "What does he have to do?" queried Chin dubiously. “他有什么心事？”琴向觉民问道，她的脸上现出疑惑不解的神情。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• He walked out fast, leaving the head waiter staring dubiously at the flimsy blue paper. 他很快地走出去，撇下侍者头儿半信半疑地瞪着这张薄薄的蓝纸。 来自辞典例句

13 awfully   

adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地

参考例句：

• Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
• I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

14 strut   

v.肿胀，鼓起；大摇大摆地走；炫耀；支撑；撑开；n.高视阔步；支柱，撑杆

参考例句：

• The circulation economy development needs the green science and technology innovation as the strut.循环经济的发展需要绿色科技创新生态化作为支撑。
• Now we'll strut arm and arm.这会儿咱们可以手挽着手儿，高视阔步地走了。

15 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

16 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。

17 exertions   

n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使

参考例句：

• As long as they lived, exertions would not be necessary to her. 只要他们活着，是不需要她吃苦的。 来自辞典例句
• She failed to unlock the safe in spite of all her exertions. 她虽然费尽力气，仍未能将那保险箱的锁打开。 来自辞典例句

18 proprietor   

n.所有人；业主；经营者

参考例句：

• The proprietor was an old acquaintance of his.业主是他的一位旧相识。
• The proprietor of the corner grocery was a strange thing in my life.拐角杂货店店主是我生活中的一个怪物。

19 standing   

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。

20 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

21 dwarf   

n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小

参考例句：

• The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
• The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。

22 nettled   

v.拿荨麻打，拿荨麻刺（nettle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• My remarks clearly nettled her. 我的话显然惹恼了她。
• He had been growing nettled before, but now he pulled himself together. 他刚才有些来火，但现在又恢复了常态。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛

23 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。