CHAPTER VI ESCAPE AND RECAPTURE

The life of the school for the first six months or so was uneventful. I spent the time in learning the routine, getting acquainted with the boys, etc. My first punishment came when I had been there about eight months. I had been put to work in the kitchen, working there each morning before school for four hours; in the afternoon returning again to work till supper at six. The kitchen work was supervised by a woman, good and gentle, but inclined to be supersensitive about the authority her position conveyed. One morning I received a barrel of particularly fine apples, as I supposed, for the usual kitchen purposes. Having a few pals¹ to whom apples would be in the nature of a treat, I selected a dozen or so of the largest and finest and stored[Pg 37] them away. Imagine my state of mind when I found out that the apples had been shipped as the special property of the kitchen overseer. Of course there was high commotion³ over the missing top layer, and, of course, I denied that I had seen the barrel, not to speak of opening it and abstracting the choicest dozen. It transpired⁴ that envious⁵ eyes other than mine had seen me hide them, the “stool” of the family, in fact, and he lost no time in conveying the information to the head. That night I was led gently into the punishment room, and experienced for the first time in my life the pain which sodden⁶ leather coming into violent contact with the bare skin brings. That licking was another step downward. I never got over the humiliation⁷ of that night. It made me revengeful; I vowed⁸ I would get even. I knew I did wrong in taking the apples, and it was not so much the punishment, it was the method by which I was caught and found out. That system of espionage⁹ exists and is encouraged by the officials in every penal¹⁰ institution I have been in. It seems that in[Pg 38] every collection of individuals, no matter the strata¹¹, there are always some a little more despicable and lower than the rest. These are termed “stool pigeons” by the men. I have found them, without exception, cowards at heart and with less soul than a corporation.

Soon after receiving the punishment I began laying my plans for an escape. The place had become monotonous¹². The routine, day after day, was galling¹³. I longed for the outside life, for just a glimpse of the city. I wanted to mix again with the people of the outside world. Daily, at frequent intervals¹⁴, I heard the long shrill¹⁵ whistle of a locomotive. How my heart used to beat when I heard it! I imagined the train with its cushioned seats, and I in one of them, journeying to one of the many summer resorts for a day’s outing. I envied the birds as they flew above me in the free air. I wanted to get away from the sight of the blue coats and visored officials. All of my nature craved¹⁶ for freedom once more.

The opportunity came. In the middle[Pg 39] of the night my pal² and I tied the ends of our bed sheets together and noiselessly slid to the ground, fifty feet below. We walked five miles to the railroad and boarded a train that took us speedily away from our former prison. It was good to be free again. The stars shone like diamonds in what seemed to me the bluest sky I had ever seen. The air was soft and cool and the rattle¹⁷ of the train was like music to our ears. We were bound we knew not where, contented¹⁸ with the fact that we were free. I have thought since then that I can imagine the feeling of a bird as it rises wing on wing in the bright heavens after a cage life of weary years.

Daylight found us in a city by the sea in southern New Jersey¹⁹. I shall never forget my first sight of the ocean on that eventful morning. It was the season of summer. The atmosphere was clear as crystal, save for a glimmering²⁰ haze²¹ in the distance, above which the morning sun was now sending down rays of golden color. To the far right an ocean liner was lazily[Pg 40] steaming along, the smoke from its funnels²² darkening the cast of the sky overhead. Before us a schooner²³, sails full set, rolled to the swell²⁴ of the ocean. The dull moan of the waves as they broke against the sand-strewn beach seemed full of symphonies. Above all was the silence of the early morn, broken only by the call of the wayward gull²⁵. Since then I have seen some of the famous scenery of the world, but never have I been impressed by the beauty of nature as I was on that morning of long ago. My contemplation of the beautiful picture before me was rudely interrupted by a slight noise behind me. I turned and was confronted by one of the officials of the school, his arms outstretched before him in the very act of laying hands upon me. I tried to dodge²⁶, but the attempt was useless. In a minute he had the handcuffs on me and I was being led back again to my prison.

1 pals   

n.朋友( pal的名词复数 )；老兄；小子；（对男子的不友好的称呼）家伙

参考例句：

• We've been pals for years. 我们是多年的哥们儿了。
• CD 8 positive cells remarkably increased in PALS and RP(P CD8+细胞在再生脾PALS和RP内均明显增加(P 来自互联网

2 pal   

n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友

参考例句：

• He is a pal of mine.他是我的一个朋友。
• Listen,pal,I don't want you talking to my sister any more.听着，小子，我不让你再和我妹妹说话了。

3 commotion   

n.骚动，动乱

参考例句：

• They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵，引起了一阵骚乱。
• Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间，整条街道变得一片混乱。

4 transpired   

（事实，秘密等）被人知道( transpire的过去式和过去分词 )； 泄露； 显露； 发生

参考例句：

• It transpired that the gang had had a contact inside the bank. 据报这伙歹徒在银行里有内应。
• It later transpired that he hadn't been telling the truth. 他当时没说真话，这在后来显露出来了。

5 envious   

adj.嫉妒的，羡慕的

参考例句：

• I don't think I'm envious of your success.我想我并不嫉妒你的成功。
• She is envious of Jane's good looks and covetous of her car.她既忌妒简的美貌又垂涎她的汽车。

6 sodden   

adj.浑身湿透的；v.使浸透；使呆头呆脑

参考例句：

• We stripped off our sodden clothes.我们扒下了湿透的衣服。
• The cardboard was sodden and fell apart in his hands.纸板潮得都发酥了，手一捏就碎。

7 humiliation   

n.羞辱

参考例句：

• He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。
• He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。

8 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

9 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

10 penal   

adj.刑罚的；刑法上的

参考例句：

• I hope you're familiar with penal code.我希望你们熟悉本州法律规则。
• He underwent nineteen years of penal servitude for theft.他因犯了大窃案受过十九年的苦刑。

11 strata   

n.地层（复数）；社会阶层

参考例句：

• The older strata gradually disintegrate.较老的岩层渐渐风化。
• They represent all social strata.他们代表各个社会阶层。

12 monotonous   

adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的

参考例句：

• She thought life in the small town was monotonous.她觉得小镇上的生活单调而乏味。
• His articles are fixed in form and monotonous in content.他的文章千篇一律，一个调调儿。

13 galling   

adj.难堪的,使烦恼的,使焦躁的

参考例句：

• It was galling to have to apologize to a man she hated. 令人恼火的是得向她憎恶的男人道歉。
• The insolence in the fellow's eye was galling. 这家伙的傲慢目光令人恼怒。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

14 intervals   

n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息

参考例句：

• The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴，有阵雨。
• Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。

15 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

16 craved   

渴望，热望( crave的过去式 )； 恳求，请求

参考例句：

• She has always craved excitement. 她总渴望刺激。
• A spicy, sharp-tasting radish was exactly what her stomach craved. 她正馋着想吃一个香甜可口的红萝卜呢。

17 rattle   

v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓

参考例句：

• The baby only shook the rattle and laughed and crowed.孩子只是摇着拨浪鼓，笑着叫着。
• She could hear the rattle of the teacups.她听见茶具叮当响。

18 contented   

adj.满意的，安心的，知足的

参考例句：

• He won't be contented until he's upset everyone in the office.不把办公室里的每个人弄得心烦意乱他就不会满足。
• The people are making a good living and are contented,each in his station.人民安居乐业。

19 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

20 glimmering   

n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I got some glimmering of what he was driving at. 他这么说是什么意思，我有点明白了。 来自辞典例句
• Now that darkness was falling, only their silhouettes were outlined against the faintly glimmering sky. 这时节两山只剩余一抹深黑，赖天空微明为画出一个轮廓。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

21 haze   

n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊

参考例句：

• I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中，我看不见她。
• He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。

22 funnels   

漏斗( funnel的名词复数 )； （轮船，火车等的）烟囱

参考例句：

• Conventional equipment such as mixing funnels, pumps, solids eductors and the like can be employed. 常用的设备，例如混合漏斗、泵、固体引射器等，都可使用。
• A jet of smoke sprang out of the funnels. 喷射的烟雾从烟囱里冒了出来。

23 schooner   

n.纵帆船

参考例句：

• The schooner was driven ashore.那条帆船被冲上了岸。
• The current was bearing coracle and schooner southward at an equal rate.急流正以同样的速度将小筏子和帆船一起冲向南方。

24 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。

25 gull   

n.鸥；受骗的人；v.欺诈

参考例句：

• The ivory gull often follows polar bears to feed on the remains of seal kills.象牙海鸥经常跟在北极熊的后面吃剩下的海豹尸体。
• You are not supposed to gull your friends.你不应该欺骗你的朋友。

26 dodge   

v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计

参考例句：

• A dodge behind a tree kept her from being run over.她向树后一闪，才没被车从身上辗过。
• The dodge was coopered by the police.诡计被警察粉碎了。