CHAPTER I BACK TO SCHOOL

Dan Vinton returned to Yardley after the Christmas vacation on an afternoon of one of those bright, warm days which sometimes happen along in the middle of Winter. As the train rumbled¹ over the bridge, Dan caught a fleeting² glimpse of Long Island Sound sparkling in the sunlight and pricked³ out here and there with a white sail. On his way up the winding⁴ road to the school—he had the station carriage to himself save for the unobtrusive presence of a homesick Preparatory Class boy—he saw clean russet meadows aglow⁵ in the mellow⁶ light, and, farther inland and across the little river, Meeker’s Marsh⁷ a broad expanse of reeds and grass and rushes shading from green-gold to coppery red. So far, although it was the third of January, there had been no snow storm worthy⁸ of the name in the vicinity of Wissining, and, save that the trees were bare of leaves, one might have thought himself[2] in Autumn. It was as though a careless, laughing October day had lost its place in the procession and now, after a two months’ truancy⁹, had squirmed and crowded itself back into line again. Dan cast a glance toward the athletic¹⁰ field, half expecting to see the brown footballs hurtling up against the sky.

The carriage skirted The Prospect¹¹ and began the steep ascent¹² which ends with the plateau on which the school buildings stand. A freight train rumbled by through the cut a few rods below and Dan watched the white steam as it wreathed upward until a movement by the boy in the farther corner of the carriage drew his attention. The lad was digging a gloved knuckle¹³ into his eye, his head averted¹⁴ in an effort to hide the threatening tears. Dan smiled. But the next moment, as he recalled how near to tears he had himself been on more than one occasion only some four months previous, the smile disappeared and he leaned forward.

“Well, kid, glad to get back?” he asked kindly¹⁵.

The lad—he looked to be no more than twelve years of age—turned and glanced at the questioner shyly, bravely trying to summon a smile as he shook his head.

“Oh, well, you will be in a day or two,” responded Dan heartily¹⁶. “What’s your name?”

[3]

“Merrow, sir.”

“Well, buck¹⁷ up, Merrow; and never mind the ‘sir.’ I dare say you chaps are pretty comfortable in Merle, aren’t you?”

“Yes, s—, yes, Mr. Vinton.”

“Oh, so you know me, do you?” laughed Dan. The boy nodded and smiled bashfully.

“I guess every fellow knows you,” he murmured.

“Well, don’t call me Mister, please. Where do you live when you’re at home?”

“Germantown, Pennsylvania, s—, I mean—”

“Well, that isn’t very far away, is it?” asked Dan cheerfully.

“N—no, not so very,” replied the other doubtfully.

“I should say not. I dare say you left home only three or four hours ago, eh?”

“Twelve o’clock.”

“Well, I started yesterday afternoon,” said Dan. “I had to come all the way from Ohio. That beats you, doesn’t it?”

The younger boy nodded. Then:

“We have a fellow in our house who comes from California,” he announced proudly.

“And that beats me,” laughed Dan. “Well, here we are.” He took up his bag and clambered out. “Come over and see me this evening,[4] Merrow, if you get too lonesome; 28 Clarke’s my room. Cheer up.”

He left his bag on the steps of Oxford¹⁹ while he sought the office to register.

“Back early,” said Mr. Forisher, the secretary.

“Yes, sir,” answered Dan. “We’ve got some dandy snow out our way and I thought I’d better start early in case the trains got tied up. Not many fellows back yet, are there?”

“Only a few. The next train will bring most of them. Nice weather we’re having.”

Dan agreed that it was and turned toward the door. But:

“By the way, Vinton,” said the secretary, “you have a new roommate with you this term, I believe?”

“Yes, sir, Gerald Pennimore.”

“Exactly. Well—er—we want to make young Pennimore’s stay with us as pleasant as possible, Vinton, and so—anything you can do to—er—smooth the way for him will be—er—appreciated at the Office.”

“Yes, sir. I’m going to try and look out for him, sir.”

“That’s right. I suppose he will be along pretty soon.”

“He and his father are coming on the six[5] o’clock, sir. I had a letter from him a couple of days ago.”

“Ah, that reminds me, Vinton! Mr. Collins left word that you were to join Mr. Pennimore and his son at the Doctor’s table this evening. He thought that would make it pleasant for the boy.”

Dan smiled as he closed the Office door behind him.

“It pays to be a millionaire,” he thought. “I rather wish, though, for Gerald’s sake, that his father wasn’t coming along. The sooner the fellows forget that Gerald’s John T’s son the better it’s going to be for Gerald.”

He rescued his bag and made his way to Clarke Hall where he climbed two flights of well-worn stairs and let himself into a corner room on the front of the building. There he sat down his bag, threw off his hat and coat and, crossing to the windows, sent them screeching²⁰ upward. The sun had passed from the front of the building but a thin shaft²¹ of amber¹⁸ light entered the side window and fell upon the bare top of the chiffonier nearby. Dan thrust his hands into his pockets and looked about him. Then he shook his head.

“It’s going to be funny here at first without Tubby,” he muttered. “Tubby wasn’t what you’d call an ideal roommate, but I was sort of[6] getting used to him. I suppose a fellow misses even a boil if he has it long enough!”

Twenty-eight Clarke was a large room, well lighted and airy. It was comfortably if plainly furnished. Each side of the room held its bed, chiffonier, washstand and chair. An ingrain carpet covered most of the floor and the shallow bay window was fitted with a window-seat piled with cushions. In the center of the room stood a broad-topped study table and a comfortable arm-chair flanked it at either side. On the clean gray-tinted walls hung a few good pictures. There was a good-sized closet on each side of the door. Being in a corner room there was an end window as well as the bay in front.

Dan hung his gray overcoat and derby hat in the closet, swung his bag to the table and began to unpack²² it. And while he is engaged let us have a good look at him.

Dan Vinton was fifteen years of age, rather tall, lithe²³, and long of limb. He had a quickness and certainty of movement—exhibited even in the way in which he stowed his things away—that impressed the observer at once. Alertness was a prominent characteristic of Dan’s; he never shilly-shallied, nor, on the other hand, was he especially impulsive²⁴. He had the faculty²⁵ of making up his mind quickly, and, his decision once[7] reached, he acted promptly²⁶ and with little loss of effort. Dan’s course between two points was always a straight line. All this may have had something to do with the fact that he played an extremely good game of football at the end of the line.

I don’t want to give the impression that Dan was one of the thin and nervous sort; on the contrary he was well-built, if a trifle large for his fifteen years, while his limbs were not all bone even if they were long. And nerves were things that never bothered him. He was good-looking, with steady brown eyes, a short, straight nose, brown hair, and a pleasant mouth which hinted of good temper. Dan had entered Yardley Hall School the preceding Fall and was in the Third Class. He had won a place for himself on the football eleven and had scored the winning touchdown in the final contest against Yardley’s rival, Broadwood Academy. One cannot ordinarily do a thing like that without becoming pretty well known in a school of some two hundred and seventy students or without gaining some degree of popularity, and Dan was no exception. He had received enough praise and adulation to have turned a less well-balanced head. To Dan the School’s homage²⁷ had brought pleasure but not pride. He had many acquaintances but only a[8] handful of friends. But the friends were worth having and the friendship was real.

Having emptied the bag he tossed it onto the closet shelf and wandered to the window, glancing at his watch on the way.

“Ten minutes to five,” he murmured. “That train ought to be in.” At that moment there was a shriek²⁸ from a locomotive whistle and Dan threw open one of the front windows and craned his head and shoulders out. It was just possible to see the corner of the station, nearly a half-mile away, and there was the big engine puffing²⁹ black smoke clouds from its diminutive³⁰ stack. A moment later it had taken up its journey again and Dan watched it and the ten cars slip across the open track and plunge³¹ into the long cut through the school grounds below The Prospect. It would be ten minutes at least before the carriages would arrive, and Dan settled himself in his arm-chair and took up a book. But the arrival of his trunk from the station interrupted him a moment later, and after the porter had gone he decided³² to do his unpacking³³ now and get it over with. The trunk was only a small one and didn’t keep him busy very long, but before he had finished the carriages had begun to unload their noisy passengers at the front of Oxford Hall and Dan decided to finish his task before seeking his[9] friends. So it was nearly a quarter of an hour later that he set his cap onto the back of his head and ran down the stairs. The station carriages were making their second trips and the front of Oxford was sprinkled with fellows. Dan returned salutations here and there without stopping as he cut around the corner of Clarke and made his way to Dudley.

1 rumbled   

发出隆隆声，发出辘辘声( rumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 轰鸣着缓慢行进； 发现…的真相； 看穿（阴谋）

参考例句：

• The machine rumbled as it started up. 机器轰鸣着发动起来。
• Things rapidly became calm, though beneath the surface the argument rumbled on. 事情迅速平静下来了，然而，在这种平静的表面背后争论如隆隆雷声，持续不断。

2 fleeting   

adj.短暂的，飞逝的

参考例句：

• The girls caught only a fleeting glimpse of the driver.女孩们只匆匆瞥了一眼司机。
• Knowing the life fleeting,she set herself to enjoy if as best as she could.她知道这种日子转瞬即逝，于是让自已尽情地享受。

3 pricked   

刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛

参考例句：

• The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry. 厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
• He was pricked by his conscience. 他受到良心的谴责。

4 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

5 aglow   

adj.发亮的；发红的；adv.发亮地

参考例句：

• The garden is aglow with many flowers.园中百花盛开。
• The sky was aglow with the setting sun.天空因夕阳映照而发红光。

6 mellow   

adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟

参考例句：

• These apples are mellow at this time of year.每年这时节，苹果就熟透了。
• The colours become mellow as the sun went down.当太阳落山时，色彩变得柔和了。

7 marsh   

n.沼泽，湿地

参考例句：

• There are a lot of frogs in the marsh.沼泽里有许多青蛙。
• I made my way slowly out of the marsh.我缓慢地走出这片沼泽地。

8 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

9 truancy   

n.逃学，旷课

参考例句：

• Schools need to reduce levels of truancy.学校需要减少旷课人数。
• It was a day for impulse and truancy.这是个适于冲动或偷懒的日子。

10 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

11 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

12 ascent   

n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高

参考例句：

• His rapid ascent in the social scale was surprising.他的社会地位提高之迅速令人吃惊。
• Burke pushed the button and the elevator began its slow ascent.伯克按动电钮，电梯开始缓慢上升。

13 knuckle   

n.指节；vi.开始努力工作；屈服，认输

参考例句：

• They refused to knuckle under to any pressure.他们拒不屈从任何压力。
• You'll really have to knuckle down if you want to pass the examination.如果想通过考试，你确实应专心学习。

14 averted   

防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移

参考例句：

• A disaster was narrowly averted. 及时防止了一场灾难。
• Thanks to her skilful handling of the affair, the problem was averted. 多亏她对事情处理得巧妙，才避免了麻烦。

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 heartily   

adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很

参考例句：

• He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。
• The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

17 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

18 amber   

n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的

参考例句：

• Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗？
• This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。

19 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

20 screeching   

v.发出尖叫声( screech的现在分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫

参考例句：

• Monkeys were screeching in the trees. 猴子在树上吱吱地叫着。
• the unedifying sight of the two party leaders screeching at each other 两党党魁狺狺对吠的讨厌情景

21 shaft   

n.(工具的)柄，杆状物

参考例句：

• He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
• This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

22 unpack   

vt.打开包裹（或行李），卸货

参考例句：

• I must unpack before dinner.我得在饭前把行李打开。
• She said she would unpack the items later.她说以后再把箱子里的东西拿出来。

23 lithe   

adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的

参考例句：

• His lithe athlete's body had been his pride through most of the fifty - six years.他那轻巧自如的运动员体格，五十六年来几乎一直使他感到自豪。
• His walk was lithe and graceful.他走路轻盈而优雅。

24 impulsive   

adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的

参考例句：

• She is impulsive in her actions.她的行为常出于冲动。
• He was neither an impulsive nor an emotional man,but a very honest and sincere one.他不是个一冲动就鲁莽行事的人，也不多愁善感.他为人十分正直、诚恳。

25 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

26 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。

27 homage   

n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬

参考例句：

• We pay homage to the genius of Shakespeare.我们对莎士比亚的天才表示敬仰。
• The soldiers swore to pay their homage to the Queen.士兵们宣誓效忠于女王陛下。

28 shriek   

v./n.尖叫，叫喊

参考例句：

• Suddenly he began to shriek loudly.突然他开始大声尖叫起来。
• People sometimes shriek because of terror,anger,or pain.人们有时会因为恐惧，气愤或疼痛而尖叫。

29 puffing   

v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• He was puffing hard when he jumped on to the bus. 他跳上公共汽车时喘息不已。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My father sat puffing contentedly on his pipe. 父亲坐着心满意足地抽着烟斗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

30 diminutive   

adj.小巧可爱的，小的

参考例句：

• Despite its diminutive size,the car is quite comfortable.尽管这辆车很小，但相当舒服。
• She has diminutive hands for an adult.作为一个成年人，她的手显得非常小。

31 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

32 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

33 unpacking   

n.取出货物，拆包[箱]v.从（包裹等）中取出（所装的东西），打开行李取出( unpack的现在分词 )；拆包；解除…的负担；吐露（心事等）

参考例句：

• Joe sat on the bed while Martin was unpacking. 马丁打开箱子取东西的时候，乔坐在床上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They are unpacking a trunk. 他们正在打开衣箱。 来自《简明英汉词典》