“You are, too!” said Jake.
“You’re another!” said Jerry.
“And you’re his brother!” said Jake.
It was “quiet hour” in Camp Lenape. The peace of Sunday afternoon hung above the rows of white tents on the hillside above the placid1 lake. In Tent Ten, however, the quiet was broken by a sudden uproar2.
Six wide-awake lads perched on upper bunks5, grinning and nudging each other. All eyes were turned on two bronze-haired, blue-eyed, sun-browned boys who faced each other in the center of the tent.
8
As they stood thus, it seemed as if there was only one boy, looking at himself in a large mirror; for the Utway twins were so much alike that others often wondered how one of them knew whether he was himself, or his brother—whether Jerry did not sometimes wake in the morning and think for a moment that he might possibly be Jake. The resemblance was heightened by the fact that both wore identical outfits—the basketball shorts and green-and-white jersey6 that served as the camp uniform.
However, while Jerry wore a tennis sneaker on each foot, Jake wore only one. The other shoe he brandished7 in an upraised arm with a threatening air.
“That’s talking,” put in “wild Willie” Sanders, from his perch3 above the two brothers. “You tell him, Jake!”
Jake turned on the speaker. “No noise from the nickel seats!” he warned. “This is our business—no butting8 in. Now, Jerry, take back what you said.”
“Well, take back what you said!” responded Jerry with some spirit. “And quit aiming that shoe at me! Put it down!”
“Keep off!”
9
The band of onlookers9, now reinforced by the grinning faces of many inmates10 of neighboring tents, chuckled11 with delight. It looked as if there was going to be a fight at last. And the watchers knew from past experience that if the Utway twins got to scrapping12 again, the resulting action would do much to brighten up a dull Sunday afternoon. Therefore they waited happily for the first gong of the coming battle.
It looked as though Jerry meant business. With a swift rush he attempted to snatch the menacing shoe from his brother’s hand. Jake neatly13 dodged14, and swung the improvised15 weapon in a dangerous arc. His fingers slipped on the smooth rubber of the sole, and the shoe hurled16 itself with some force at Jerry’s chest.
Jerry grunted17 as the flying sneaker took him in the midriff. He was not hurt, but he was mad. He had forgotten completely what the original quarrel was about; he knew that the shoe had been flung by accident, but didn’t care; all he thought of was to “get even” with Jake. He snatched the nearest thing at hand, which happened to be a canteen belonging to little Pete Lister, and flung it wildly at his brother.
10
Jake dodged again, and returned this fire with an unwieldy missile that proved to be Fat Crampton’s generously-built raincoat. This went wild of the mark, and he ducked a whizzing flashlight while at the same time reaching about for more ammunition18. His hand touched “Sherlock” Jones’s camera-case, and he was about to aim this at Jerry’s head when he was taken full in the face with a canvas pillow, followed by a sweater and a Boy Scout19 Handbook.
“Hey!” cried Jones, jumping down from his bunk4 in alarm, now that his treasured possession was in danger, “that’s my camera-case you got!”
The contested object sailed past his ear and met its mark on Jerry’s leg. By this time Jerry was in no frame of mind to distinguish friend from enemy. He was seeing red, and the sight of young Jones dashing toward him to regain20 his property raised his temper to the boiling point. He reached out and greeted the oncoming boy with the contents of a handy water-bucket.
The bucket was half full, sufficient to make a drenching21 torrent22 which reduced the hapless Jones to a sopping23 state. His cry of rage filled the tent. Wild Willie Sanders came to his rescue, and together they advanced on Jerry, who was now armed with a loose tent-peg swinging on the end of its rope.
11
Jake had taken advantage of his momentary24 freedom from attack to gather together a goodly pile of ammunition—shoes, tennis rackets, pinecones, pillows, and an empty wasp’s nest which Lefkowitz had collected as a specimen25. Chink Towner had entrenched26 himself on the top of a bunk, from which fortified27 position he was able now and then to swipe the tumbling combatants over the head with a pillow. Little Peter Lister managed to give Fat Crampton a timely shove which sent him rolling between the legs of his battling tent-mates.
Objects of all sorts, from baseball bats to cakes of soap, flew through the air and landed in the low bushes outside the tent. Battle-cries and shouts of the wounded rent the calm Sunday afternoon air.
The fight was no longer a private contest. The action had become general. A whirling shoe had landed on “Kipper” Dabney, aide of Tent Nine next door, and he had immediately led his cohorts in a vengeful sally against their warlike neighbors. Somebody had refilled the empty water-pail and was methodically doing his bit to make sure that not one of the combatants was left undrenched. A scouting28 party from Tent Five had raced downhill and were swiftly pulling the blankets from every bunk and tossing them into the huckleberry bushes. Tent Ten was a battleground of whirling arms, tumbling bodies, and flying weapons, whereon no one knew his friend, and every boy fought for himself.
12
“Stop!”
A shrill29 voice of command cut through the tumult30. Unseen by the rioters, a short, erect31 man in scoutmaster’s uniform had appeared in their midst.
“Stop this at once! Put those things down! Attention!”
A boy on the outskirts32 of the group whistled in surprise. “Chickie! It’s Mr. Colby!” He dodged behind a tree and disappeared. Silently the boys from other tents faded from the scene, trying to look innocent and peaceful. In ten seconds the members of Tent Ten were left alone amid the ruins, under the stern gaze of Mr. Colby.
“Attention! Line up!”
Eight boys guiltily straightened, heels together.
“You, Utway, drop that baseball bat! Now, what’s the meaning of this?”
13
The councilor’s keen eyes flashed from one face to the next. The sudden uproar had brought him running from his place at the leaders’ meeting on the porch of the lodge34. As officer of the day, it was his duty to take charge of the camp program, inspect the tents, and assign merit points for the conduct of each tent-group. He took his duties most seriously; a short period of service in the National Guard had given him a mighty35 respect for military discipline; and his strictness at all times was well-known at Lenape.
“Men, you are a disgrace!” he snapped. A few feathers from a ripped pillow sifted36 down and settled upon the brim of his hat, but not a boy dared to smile. “A disgrace! Now, who’s responsible for this?”
His searching eye caught sight of the twins, standing37 together at one end of the line. He well knew the reputation these husky brothers had for unladylike conduct, and twice before had found it necessary to separate them from each other’s grasp after sudden tussles38. His lips tightened39 as he stopped before Jerry, whose relinquished40 baseball bat lay across his feet.
“You again, eh? Fighting with your brother, were you, Jake? Or Jerry, whichever you are?”
“Well, you see——”
“Never mind accusing anybody else! You’ll have to learn that camp is no place for continual bickering41! Look at this tent! You’ve made hay of the whole place. I’ll make it my job to see that Tent Ten gets the booby can for this——” The councilor’s words were broken off short, and he fell back, clapping his hands to his head.
14
He had been standing directly under the front tent pole, and the oil lantern hanging there, which had somehow escaped being brought into the fray42, had suddenly descended43 from its nail at the top of the pole and struck him full on the crown. The blow had been partly dulled by his stiff hat, but he was smarting with anger. His bristling44 gaze fell on the flushed face of Jake Utway, who stood beside the pole with defiance45 in his eyes.
“You—you did that, Utway! Don’t deny it!”
Jake did not deny it. He had taken this means of defending his brother from the full brunt of the guilt33 for the battle-royal.
“Well, why don’t you stop picking on Jerry? He wasn’t the only one to blame! All of us did some.”
“You—you——Both you boys are incorrigible46! Now, listen! You two must put this tent in order at once—pick up everything, make all the beds, put everything in its place! If this is not done, I shall recommend that you serve ten hours apiece on the chain gang. No discipline—no discipline——”
15
Still rubbing his injured brow tenderly, the enraged47 scoutmaster rushed from the tent, not daring to trust his temper further.
The group relaxed. “Guess that’ll fix you guys for soaking me with all that water,” muttered Sherlock Jones. “Serves you right.”
“Shut up,” said Jerry rudely. “Say, Jake, thanks. He sure did look sad when that lantern bopped him! I knew right away you did it on purpose.”
“Aw, he was picking on you,” answered Jake. “That’s all right. He got even with us, though. It’s not going to be an easy job, cleaning up this mess. Let’s get busy. Come on, pick up those blankets.”
“You’re no cripple—pick ’em up yourself!”
“Pick ’em up, you lazy loafer!”
“Who’s a loafer?”
“You are!”
“You’re another!”
“And you’re his brother!”
The Utway twins were at it again.
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1
placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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3
perch
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| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
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bunk
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| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
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bunks
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| n.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的名词复数 )；空话，废话v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的第三人称单数 )；空话，废话 | |
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6
jersey
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| n.运动衫 | |
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7
brandished
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| v.挥舞( brandish的过去式和过去分词 )；炫耀 | |
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8
butting
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| 用头撞人（犯规动作） | |
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9
onlookers
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| n.旁观者，观看者( onlooker的名词复数 ) | |
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10
inmates
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| n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
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11
chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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12
scrapping
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| 刮，切除坯体余泥 | |
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13
neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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14
dodged
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| v.闪躲( dodge的过去式和过去分词 )；回避 | |
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15
improvised
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| a.即席而作的,即兴的 | |
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16
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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17
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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18
ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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19
scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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20
regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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21
drenching
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| n.湿透v.使湿透( drench的现在分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
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22
torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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23
sopping
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| adj. 浑身湿透的 动词sop的现在分词形式 | |
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24
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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25
specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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entrenched
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| adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯) | |
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27
fortified
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| adj. 加强的 | |
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28
scouting
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| 守候活动，童子军的活动 | |
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29
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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30
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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31
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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32
outskirts
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| n.郊外，郊区 | |
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33
guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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34
lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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35
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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36
sifted
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| v.筛( sift的过去式和过去分词 )；筛滤；细查；详审 | |
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37
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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38
tussles
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| n.扭打，争斗( tussle的名词复数 ) | |
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39
tightened
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| 收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧 | |
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40
relinquished
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| 交出，让给( relinquish的过去式和过去分词 )； 放弃 | |
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41
bickering
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| v.争吵( bicker的现在分词 )；口角；（水等）作潺潺声；闪烁 | |
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42
fray
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| v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗 | |
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43
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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44
bristling
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| a.竖立的 | |
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45
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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46
incorrigible
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| adj.难以纠正的，屡教不改的 | |
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47
enraged
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| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
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