But although Ralph listened closely, he could not catch even the familiar tinkle3 of the bell that would have told him that Baldy and the rest were somewhere near at hand.
“Well, this is a nice pickle,” he thought, as he[97] set off to stir Jim into wakefulness, “it means a day’s delay while we hunt for the ponies; however, there appears to be plenty of rock in this vicinity for the professor to explore and hammer away at, so I suppose he’ll be happy.”
Jim greeted Ralph’s news without much surprise. It appeared that in years of packing he had grown used to such eccentricities4 on the part of ponies.
“We’ll track ’em down after breakfast,” he said, rolling out of his blanket and pulling on his boots.
In the meantime Ralph had aroused the others, and they set off for a cool plunge5 in the stream. The water was icy and made them gasp6, but they felt a hundred per cent. better after their bath. As Persimmons put it, “They began to feel as if the world was made of something else than ashes.” While the professor made less strenuous7 ablutions, the boys rubbed each other into a warm glow and then indulged[98] in a merry game of tag on the springy turf, and yet they were ready to respond eagerly to Jim’s breakfast call of:—“Come and get it!” accompanied by a vigorous solo on the wash tin performed by Jimmie.
It was wonderful what a difference there was in the New York waif already. The crisp mountain air had reddened his pale cheeks and the rough but plentiful8 “grub” had had its effect in nourishing his skinny frame. The old wistful look still lurked9 in his eyes, and all the boys’ attempts to drag from him the reason for his desire to penetrate10 the Rockies were in vain. So, perforce, they had to allow it to remain a mystery till such time as the lad himself chose to enlighten them. Bits of his history he had already imparted to them. The lad had enlivened many a camp fire with stories of his experiences in the saw-dust ring, and in selling papers in New York. Besides this, he had worked at peddling11 soap powder and household goods, and he[99] had some amusing narratives12 of his experiences among the farmers of the Catskills where he had worked as an “agent.” And as he lived with the boys, he adopted their language and ways as though he had been born to them.
“There’s a treat for you fellows this morning,” said Jimmie with a mysterious air, as the hungry boys squatted13 down and prepared to pass up their tin plates for their shares of bacon, bannocks and beans.
“What may that be, Jimmie?” inquired Ralph, while Mountain Jim grinned expansively.
Persimmons sniffed14 the air anticipatively.
“Seems to me I do smell something good,” he remarked.
“How would pancakes go?” inquired Jimmie.
“Great! Jimmie, you ought to be in Delmonico’s,” cried Hardware hungrily.
“I’ve been on the outside lookin’ in, many a time,” said Jimmie with a grin, as he turned to[100] the “spider” and began dishing up the thin, brown batter15 cakes.
Mountain Jim was on hand with a tin of maple16 syrup17 fashioned like a miniature log-cabin, the chimney forming the spout18.
“Eat hearty19, boys,” he said, as he passed it along, “and try to forget the black flies for a while.”
Early as the hour was, those pests were already at work, in spite of the “smudge” that Mountain Jim had built.
“Wish I’d put some of that black-fly dope on my hands,” muttered Hardware, “it’s great stuff.”
“Even if it does smell like cold storage eggs with the lid off,” laughed Ralph.
As he spoke20 he poured a liberal amount of syrup on his cakes. With hearty appetite he cut off a big slice of the top cake and eagerly took it into his mouth. For an instant a puzzled expression[101] played over his features, and then he gave a yell.
“Wow! Oh!” he ejaculated, and bolted from the “table.”
“What’s up? What’s the trouble?” asked the others.
“Been bit by a snake?” asked Mountain Jim apprehensively21. “Better get out your medicine chest, professor.”
Ralph was frantically22 gulping23 down several dipperfuls of water from the bucket Jimmie had brought from the creek24. They watched him with some alarm, holding bits of pancake suspended on their forks.
“Oh-h-h-h!” sputtered25 Ralph, and then turned to Jimmie, who stood looking on with undisguised amazement26.
“Say, you,” he gasped27 out, “did you put any of that fly dope on your hands this morning?”
“Y-y-y-yes,” stammered28 Jimmie, a guilty flush spreading over his face, “I did and——”
[102]
“And you forgot to wash it off before you mixed the batter for these cakes,” sputtered Ralph. “Fellows, pancakes flavored with fly dope are the worst ever.”
“Shucks!” grunted29 Hardware, “and I was counting on pancakes!”
“Dancing dish rags!” growled30 Persimmons. “What sort of a cook are you anyhow, Jimmie? Flavored with fly dope,—wow! wow!”
Jimmie looked ready to cry, and sniffed his fingers remorsefully31.
“Guess you’re right,” he admitted dolefully. “I’m sorry, fellows, but I reckon as a cook I’m a failure.”
“I hope it isn’t poison, that’s all,” groaned32 Hardware, with a glance at Ralph. “Feel any symptoms, Ralph?”
“None that can’t be stopped by plenty of coffee and a big plateful of grub,” laughed Ralph good-naturedly.
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收听单词发音
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1
ponies
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| 矮种马，小型马( pony的名词复数 )； ￡25 25 英镑 | |
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pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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3
tinkle
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| vi.叮当作响；n.叮当声 | |
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eccentricities
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| n.古怪行为( eccentricity的名词复数 )；反常；怪癖 | |
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plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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7
strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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plentiful
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| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
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lurked
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| vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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11
peddling
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| 忙于琐事的，无关紧要的 | |
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12
narratives
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| 记叙文( narrative的名词复数 )； 故事； 叙述； 叙述部分 | |
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13
squatted
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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14
sniffed
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| 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 | |
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15
batter
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| v.接连重击；磨损；n.牛奶面糊；击球员 | |
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16
maple
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| n.槭树，枫树，槭木 | |
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17
syrup
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| n.糖浆，糖水 | |
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18
spout
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| v.喷出，涌出；滔滔不绝地讲；n.喷管；水柱 | |
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19
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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20
spoke
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| 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 | |
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21
apprehensively
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| adv.担心地 | |
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22
frantically
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| ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
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23
gulping
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| v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的现在分词 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住 | |
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24
creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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25
sputtered
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| v.唾沫飞溅( sputter的过去式和过去分词 )；发劈啪声；喷出；飞溅出 | |
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26
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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27
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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28
stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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29
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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30
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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remorsefully
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| adv.极为懊悔地 | |
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32
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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