CHAPTER XIX NAN'S PLEA

 Bert's heart sank when he saw that it was the school principal who held him by the collar. He remembered what Nan had said about fighting and being expelled.

 

"It was Bert Bobbsey's fault," blustered¹ Danny, wiping his bleeding nose on his sleeve.

 

"No, it wasn't," answered Bert quickly. "It was his fault."

 

"I say it was your fault!" shouted Danny. "He started the fight, Mr. Tetlow."

 

"He struck first," went on Bert undauntedly.

 

"He caught me by the arm and wouldn't let me go," came from Danny.

 

"I told him to keep still," explained Bert. "He was calling, 'Afraid of a ghost!' at me and I don't like it. And he said my sister Nan was afraid of it, too."

 

"Both of you march up to my office," said Mr. Tetlow sternly. "And remain there until I come."

 

"My nose is bleeding," whined² Danny.

 

"You may go and wash your nose first," said the principal.

 

With a heart that was exceedingly heavy Bert entered the school and made his way to the principal's office. No one was there, and he sank on a chair in a corner. He heard the bells ring and heard the pupils enter the school and go to their various classrooms.

 

"If I am sent home, what will mamma and papa say?" he thought dismally³. He had never yet been sent home for misconduct, and the very idea filled him with nameless dread⁴.

 

His eye hurt him not a little, but to this he just then paid no attention. He was wondering what Mr. Tetlow would have to say when he came.

 

Presently the door opened and Danny shuffled⁵ in, a wet and bloody⁶ handkerchief held to his nose. He sat down on the opposite side of the office, and for several minutes nothing was said by either of the boys.

 

"I suppose you are going to try to get me into trouble," said Danny at length.

 

"You're trying to get me into trouble," returned Bert. "I didn't start the quarrel, and you know it."

 

"I don't know nothing of the kind, Bert Bobbsey! If you say I started the fight—I'll—I'll—tell something more about you."

 

"Really?"

 

"Yes, really."

 

"What can you tell?"

 

"You know well enough. Mr. Ringley hasn't forgotten about his broken window."

 

"Well, you broke that, I didn't."

 

"Humph! maybe I can prove that you broke it."

 

"Danny Rugg, what do you mean?" exclaimed Bert. "You know I had nothing to do with that broken window."

 

The big boy was about to say something more in reply when Mr. Tetlow entered the office.

 

"Boys," said he abruptly⁷, "this is a disgraceful affair. I thought both of you knew better than to fight. It is setting a very bad example to the rest of the scholars. I shall have to punish you both severely⁸."

 

Mr. Tetlow paused and Bert's heart leaped into his throat. What if he should be expelled? The very thought of it made him shiver.

 

"I have made a number of inquiries⁹ of the other pupils, and I find that you, Danny, started the quarrel. You raised the cry of 'Afraid of a ghost!' when you had no right to do so, and when Bert caught you by the arm and told you to stop you struck him. Is this true?"

 

"I—I—he hit me in the chin. I told him to let me go."

 

"He struck me first, Mr. Tetlow," put in Bert. "I am sure all of the boys will say the same."

 

"Hem¹⁰! Bert, you can go to your classroom. I will talk to you after school this afternoon."

 

Somewhat relieved Bert left the office and walked to the classroom, where the other pupils eyed him curiously¹¹. It was hard work to put his mind on his lessons, but he did his best, for he did not wish to miss in any of them and thus make matters worse.

 

"What did the principal do?" whispered the boy who sat next to him.

 

"Hasn't done anything yet," whispered Bert in return.

 

"It was Danny's fault," went on the boy. "We'll stick by you."

 

At noontime Bert walked home with Nan, feeling very much downcast.

 

"Oh, Bert, what made you fight?" said his twin sister. "I told you not to."

 

"I couldn't help it, Nan. He told everybody that you were afraid of the ghost."

 

"And what is Mr. Tetlow going to do?"

 

"I don't know. He told me to stay in after school this afternoon, as he wanted to talk with me."

 

"If he expels you, mamma will never get over it."

 

"I know that, Nan. But—but—I couldn't stand it to have him yelling out, 'Afraid of a ghost!'"

 

After that Nan said but little. But her thoughts were busy, and by the time they were returning to the school her mind was fully¹² made up.

 

To all of the school children the principal's office was a place that usually filled them with awe¹³. Rarely did anybody go there excepting when sent by a teacher because of some infringements¹⁴ of the rules.

 

Nan went to school early that afternoon, and as soon as she had left Bert and the two younger twins, she marched bravely to Mr. Tetlow's office and knocked on the door.

 

"Come in," said the principal, who was at his desk looking over some school reports.

 

"If you please, Mr. Tetlow, I came to see you about my brother, Bert Bobbsey," began Nan.

 

Mr. Tetlow looked at her kindly¹⁵, for he half expected what was coming.

 

"What is it, Nan?" he asked.

 

"I—I—oh, Mr. Tetlow, won't you please let Bert off this time? He only did it because Danny said such things about me; said I was afraid of the ghost, and made all the boys call out that we had a ghost at our house. I—I—think, somehow, that I ought to be punished if he is."

 

There, it was out, and Nan felt the better for it. Her deep brown eyes looked squarely into the eyes of the principal.

 

In spite of himself Mr. Tetlow was compelled to smile. He knew something of how the Bobbsey twins were devoted¹⁶ to each other.

 

"So you think you ought to be punished," he said slowly.

 

"Yes, if Bert is, for you see, he did it mostly for me."

 

"You are a brave sister to come in his behalf, Nan. I shall not punish him very severely."

 

"Oh, thank you for saying that, Mr. Tetlow."

 

"It was very wrong for him to fight——"

 

"Yes, I told him that."

 

"But Danny Rugg did wrong to provoke him. I sincerely trust that both boys forgive each other for what was done. Now you can go."

 

With a lighter¹⁷ heart Nan left the office. She felt that Bert would not be expelled. And he was not. Instead, Mr. Tetlow made him stay in an hour after school each day that week and write on his slate¹⁸ the sentence, "Fighting is wrong," a hundred times. Danny was also kept in and was made to write the sentence just twice as many times. Then Mr. Tetlow made the two boys shake hands and promise to do better in the future.

 

The punishment was nothing to what Bert had expected, and he stayed in after school willingly. But Danny was very sulky and plotted all manner of evil things against the Bobbseys.

 

"He is a very bad boy," said Nan. "If I were you, Bert, I'd have nothing more to do with him."

 

"I don't intend to have anything to do with him," answered her twin brother. "But, Nan, what do you think he meant when he said he'd make trouble about Mr. Ringley's broken window? Do you imagine he'll tell Mr. Ringley I broke it?"

 

"How would he dare, when he broke it himself?" burst out Nan.

 

"I'm sure I don't know. But if he did, what do you suppose Mr. Ringley would do?"

 

"I'm sure I don't know," came helplessly from Nan. "You can't prove that Danny did it, can you?"

 

"No."

 

"It's too bad. I wish the window hadn't been broken."

 

"So do I," said Bert; and there the talk came to an end, for there seemed nothing more to say.

1 blustered   

v.外强中干的威吓( bluster的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮；（风）呼啸；狂吹

参考例句：

• He blustered his way through the crowd. 他吆喝着挤出人群。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The wind blustered around the house. 狂风呼啸着吹过房屋周围。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 whined   

v.哀号( whine的过去式和过去分词 )；哀诉，诉怨

参考例句：

• The dog whined at the door, asking to be let out. 狗在门前嚎叫着要出去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He whined and pouted when he did not get what he wanted. 他要是没得到想要的东西就会发牢骚、撅嘴。 来自辞典例句

3 dismally   

adv.阴暗地，沉闷地

参考例句：

• Fei Little Beard assented dismally. 费小胡子哭丧着脸回答。 来自子夜部分
• He began to howl dismally. 它就凄凉地吠叫起来。 来自辞典例句

4 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

5 shuffled   

v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼

参考例句：

• He shuffled across the room to the window. 他拖着脚走到房间那头的窗户跟前。
• Simon shuffled awkwardly towards them. 西蒙笨拙地拖着脚朝他们走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

7 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

8 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

9 inquiries   

n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。
• I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 hem   

n.贴边，镶边；vt.缝贴边；(in)包围，限制

参考例句：

• The hem on her skirt needs sewing.她裙子上的褶边需要缝一缝。
• The hem of your dress needs to be let down an inch.你衣服的折边有必要放长1英寸。

11 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

12 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

13 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

14 infringements   

n.违反( infringement的名词复数 )；侵犯，伤害

参考例句：

• It'seems to me we've got to decide on wider issues than possible patent infringements. 我认为我们不能只考虑侵犯专利可能性这一问题，要对更大的一些问题做出决策。 来自企业管理英语口语（第二版）(2)
• Wikipedia relies on its users to correct errors and spot copyright infringements. 维基百科主要依靠用户来纠正错误，并发现版权侵权行为。 来自互联网

15 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。

16 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

17 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

18 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？