“Get up!” he cried. “It’s Spring, Gerald! Get up and hear the birdies sing!”
And the birds really were singing; or, at least, they were chattering11 happily and noisily, which, as they were only little brown sparrows, was about all that could be expected of them. Gerald put a sleepy head alongside of Dan’s and sniffed12 the air greedily.
“Doesn’t it smell great?” he sighed. “Let’s get dressed and go out. What time is it?”
“Ten minutes to seven,” answered Dan. “Let’s go for a walk before Chapel13. What do you say?”
For answer Gerald raced to the washstand and was soon splashing busily, and in ten minutes they were flying down stairs with Spring in their veins14. Once off the stone walks it was gloriously soft and “mushy,” as Dan said. They had to keep to the sod so as not to go into the brown soil to their ankles. They crossed the bridge, waiting there a minute to watch a long freight train rumble15 past beneath them. A brakeman, sitting on a car roof, smoking his pipe, looked up at them, grinned and waved as he went by. Then they took the wood path and went down toward the beach, finding here and there new evidences,[147] if any were wanting, of the advent16 of Spring.
In the shaded places the snow, rotted and granular, still lay in little banks fringed with ice. But tiny green spikes17 and leaves were pushing their way through the litter of dead leaves, while, at the edge of the beach, the grass in one sunny spot, was actually green. Even the Sound seemed to look different. The water, reflecting the clear sky, was as blue as sapphire18. The sun shone radiantly on the few white sails in sight. A steamer, far out, left a mile-long trail of soft gray smoke behind it. A bird—Gerald declared joyfully19 that it was a robin20, but Dan contradicted it—sang sweetly somewhere behind them in the woods. Dan began throwing stones into the water from sheer exuberance21 of spirit. Then they hurried back to school, racing22 half the way, and reached Oxford23 just in time for Chapel. Even here the new influence was apparent; there was an unaccustomed restlessness in evidence; fellows scuffled their feet and glanced longingly24 toward the big windows which, partly opened, let in the softly appealing scent25 of Spring. All that day fellows lingered about the steps of the buildings and sighed when recitation time came, and there was much talk of tennis and baseball and track work. Two enterprising chaps got a canoe out[148] of the boathouse in the afternoon and paddled up the river.
And a week later Spring industries had really begun. In the gymnasium the track and field candidates were going through the preliminary work, the tennis courts were being rolled and raked and mended, and in the basement of the gymnasium, inside the big cage, the baseball candidates were toiling26 mightily27. Although the outdoor season for baseball at Yardley never opens until after Spring recess28 is over, a full fortnight of indoor work precedes it. This indoor work is in charge of the captain, for the coach doesn’t appear until the candidates get out. This year there was an unusually large number of entries for the team, and Captain Millener had his hands full. Luckily, more than half of last year’s team remained in school, and from these fellows Millener obtained assistance.
Stuart Millener was a tall, lanky29, black-eyed First Classman, with a shock of black hair and enough energy to run half a dozen baseball teams. Millener had never distinguished30 himself in his studies, but he had worked hard at them and had always managed to remain at peace with the Faculty31. He was a fellow who was now and always would be better able to work with his hands than with his brain. And there are plenty of[149] places for that sort in the world. As a first-baseman he was a huge success, and there seemed no reason why he should not turn out to be an excellent leader. He was highly popular and fellows believed in him. The Kingdon Gymnasium at Yardley is still one of the finest in the country and its baseball cage is roomy and light. Here every afternoon from half-past three until after five the baseball candidates practised. Fifty-seven fellows reported for work, and they were divided into three squads32 and each squad33 was given a half-hour’s work. There was five minutes’ hard work with the dumb-bells for all hands as a starter, and then the pitchers34 got busy under Colton’s direction, and Millener and his assistants looked after the batting and fielding. In order to leave the cage free for the latter branches of the art of baseball, the pitchers and catchers used the bowling35 alleys36 upstairs. Fielding practice was confined to the handling of grounders and slow hits, but there was plenty of room in the cage for this work, as well as for throwing and sliding to bases.
Dan was one of the first candidates to report and during the two weeks that intervened between that time and the beginning of Spring recess he toiled37 hard and enthusiastically. At home, on his school team, he had played at second[150] base and had never had any trouble in keeping his place. How he would compare with the other claimants for infield positions here at Yardley remained to be seen, but Alf declared that he was sure to make the nine, if not as a baseman, at least in the outfield.
Gerald, long since released from probation38, had bothered Mr. Bendix, the Physical Director, until that autocrat39 had given Gerald another examination, had congratulated him on his physical improvement and had finally grudgingly40 given him permission to play class baseball. And Gerald was mightily pleased. He bought a book of rules over in Greenburg and read it through from one blue cover to another, and asked so many questions that Dan’s head was in a whirl half the time. When Spring recess began Gerald was without a doubt the best read youth in school on the subject of baseball.
Spring recess and the month of April began almost together. Of the former there was to be just a week. Gerald’s father, writing from Berlin a fortnight before, had suggested that the two boys spend the vacation in New York. Both Gerald and Dan were delighted at the idea. Had it not been for this invitation Dan would have had to spend the recess at school, since it was hardly practicable to journey out to his home in Ohio[151] for so short a time. He wrote to his father and received permission to accept Gerald’s hospitality. And with the permission came something quite as welcome, a check for ten dollars.
“You’ll want some money to spend,” wrote Mr. Vinton, “and so I enclose herewith check for ten dollars. You mustn’t let your friend pay for everything, you know. Have a good time, and write and tell us what you do in New York. Your mother says you are to be very careful about crossing streets and riding in the subway. I say the same. The papers are full of accidents to folks in that town. You must try and get young Pennimore to come out and visit you this summer. It won’t do to let him do all the entertaining. If you think well of this, I will write to Mr. Pennimore about it when the time comes. Your mother and sister send their love. Your mother will write Sunday. Mae says I’m to tell you to send her lots of postcards from New York, and they must be colored ones, and you are to write on them all. My regards to Gerald. Your loving father.”
“I’d just love to go out and visit you,” said Gerald, when Dan read that portion of the letter to him, “but I don’t suppose father will let me. He will be afraid that the Indians will get me.”
“Oh, the Indians are quite peaceable in Graystone[152] now,” laughed Dan. “You just show your father that you know how to look after yourself, and I guess he will let you go. Why, a year ago he wouldn’t have thought of letting you stay in New York with just the servants, Gerald!”
“That’s so! But he thinks you’re so grand, Dan; I guess that’s why.”
“Well, I’ll be just as ‘grand’ next summer,” replied Dan cheerfully. “I’ll bet he will let you go. If he does, we can have a dandy time at home.”
But meanwhile they were looking forward to a dandy time in New York. And they had it. When they arrived at the house there was a good dinner awaiting them, a dinner which Mr. Pennimore’s chef fashioned for the delectation of two hungry boys. Strange soups and unpronounceable entrees41 and fancy dishes in general were omitted, and all the time they were there they had just the sort of things they liked. They were not, all of them, the things usually prescribed for schoolboys, however, and if Spring recess had lasted two weeks instead of one, it is probable that they would have had to go under the doctor’s care.
“Gee!” exclaimed Dan on one occasion, “this cream pie is simply swell43, Gerald! I suppose if I make the baseball team I’ll have to go in training.[153] So I’m going to make the most of my chances now.”
“So am I,” replied Gerald. “There won’t be much more pie for us after we get back, will there?”
“Oh, you won’t have to train if you make the class team,” said Dan. “It’s just the Varsity, you know.”
“Won’t I?” asked Gerald disappointedly.
“Well, I guess I’ll go in training, anyway. It’s good for you.”
Those were seven splendid days, and yet when the last one came neither of the two was sorry. Theaters and picture galleries and drives and walks were jolly enough, but, as Gerald sagely44 remarked, a fellow soon gets tired of them.
“I’d a heap rather play baseball or tennis than go to the theater,” said Gerald. “Wouldn’t you?”
Dan replied that he would, but he said it hesitatingly, for theaters and such things were more of a novelty to him than to Gerald. But he was quite as contented45 as Gerald when the train set them down at Wissining again. They went over to Dudley after dinner and called on Alf and Tom. Every one talked vacation for a while, and then the conversation turned to baseball and school sports.
[154]
“Payson’s coming next Monday,” announced Alf. “I saw Millener a while ago. He said that if the ground dries up enough we’ll get out on the field the first of the week.”
“Well, it’s soppy enough now,” said Dan. “And it looks like rain again.”
“Is Payson the coach?” asked Gerald.
“Yes,” Dan replied. “You remember him last Fall, don’t you? The chap that coached the football team?”
“Oh! Does he coach in baseball, too?”
“You bet he does!” said Alf. “And he’s a dandy, too. He used to catch for Cornell when he was there, and they say he was the best ever. By the way, Gerald, Dan says you’re going in for baseball.”
“Yes, Mr. Bendix said I might. Do you think I’ll stand any show for the Fourth Class team, Alf?”
“Ever played much?” Gerald shook his head sadly.
“I never played at all in a game. But I can throw a ball pretty well and catch; and I can bat a little. I had a tutor last year who used to play with me, and he said I did pretty well.”
“I dare say you’ll do as well as most of them,” said Tom. “Don’t let them think you’re a duffer, though; put up a front; tell ’em you’re[155] one of the finest young baseball players that ever struck the Hill.”
“I guess they wouldn’t believe that,” laughed Gerald. “Don’t you play, Tom?”
“Baseball? I rather guess not! It’s a silly game.”
Alf laughed maliciously46.
“No,” he said, “Tom doesn’t care for baseball, especially the batting part of it, do you, Tom?” Tom growled47.
“You see,” Alf continued, smiling reminiscently, “Tom went out for the team last Spring. They thought he was big enough to be promising48 material. So Payson let him stay on a while. One day, just after we got out of doors, we had batting practice at the net. Colton was pitching. You know, he has about everything there is, Colton has, and he thought he’d have some fun with Tom. So the first ball he sent Tom swiped at so hard that he fell over himself and tumbled into the net.”
“Didn’t either,” laughed Tom.
“That made him mad. So he spit on his hands, got a good grip on the bat, and tried the next one. That was an in-shoot, and Tom didn’t know it. It took him plumb49 in the ribs50. We all laughed at that, and Tom got madder than ever. ‘Put it where I can hit it!’ he yelled to Colton. ‘I dare[156] you to!’ So Colton did it, but he sent it so fast that Tom didn’t see it until it was by him.”
“It was over my head,” protested Tom, indignantly.
“Then Colton just let himself loose, and the rest of us, standing51 around waiting for our turns, just laughed ourselves sick! Once Tom lost hold of his bat, and it went about fifty feet into the field, just missing Colton by a foot. Another time Tom reached out so far that he fell on his face. Then another in-shoot took him in the arm, and that was enough. Tom threw down the bat and walked off.
“‘Here, where are you going?’ asked Payson.
“‘Home,’ said Tom. ‘What’s the good of standing up there and letting him slug me with the ball? I’ve got a smashed rib42 and a busted52 shoulder, and that’s all I want. I’m no hog53!’”
“It makes a good story, the way he tells it,” said Tom, when the laughter had ceased. “It’s a fact, though, that he did give me two awful whacks54 with that fool ball. Pshaw, I couldn’t hit it in a thousand years! I knew that, so I got out. Afterwards I tried to get Colton to stand up at the net and let me throw a few balls at him, but he wouldn’t do it. I told him he could have all the bats he wanted, too, but that didn’t seem to satisfy him.”
[157]
“I’ll bet you couldn’t have hit him,” jeered55 Alf.
“Couldn’t I? If he’d let me try he’d have gone to the hospital!”
“But you’re on the Track Team, aren’t you?” Gerald asked.
“Yes. There’s some sense to that.”
“Tom’s happy if you give him a sixteen-pound shot or a lump of lead on the end of a wire,” said Alf. “He won eight points for us last Spring. But you ought to see the crowd scatter56 when he gets swinging the hammer around.”
“Oh, you dry up,” said Tom.
“Fact, though,” laughed Alf. “Once last year when he was practising, the blamed thing got away from him and tore off about ten feet of the grandstand. Andy Ryan said it was a lucky thing the framework was of iron, or else he’d have smashed the whole stand up.”
“You fellows are having lots of fun with me,” growled Tom, good-naturedly, as he arose and took up his cap, “and I hate to spoil your enjoyment57, but I promised to look up Rand this evening.”
“That’s all right,” Dan assured him, “we can have just as much fun with you when you’re not here.”
“Well, what you don’t know can’t hurt you.[158] By the way, Gerald, want to come around to Oxford with me Saturday night? We’ve got a fellow coming over from Greenburg after the debate to do some sleight-of-hand for us.”
“I’d like to,” replied Gerald, “but—” He glanced anxiously at Dan and Alf.
“Sure,” said Alf. “Go ahead. We’re glad to have you. The more you see of Oxford, the better you’ll like Cambridge. You see, Gerald, the only way they can get the fellows to attend Oxford is by supplying them with vaudeville58 entertainments. In another year or so they’ll have to have brass59 bands and free feeds if they want fellows to go there!”
“That’s all right,” replied Tom. “We know who won the last debate. I’ll call around for you Saturday, Gerald, if I don’t see you before. Good night.”
“We gave it to you!” shouted Alf as the door closed behind his chum. “Why you haven’t got a debater in your whole society.” But the challenge was wasted, and Alf turned to Dan. “We’ll have to win the debate this Spring,” he grumbled60, “or there won’t be any living with Tom!”
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1
blustering
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| adj.狂风大作的，狂暴的v.外强中干的威吓( bluster的现在分词 )；咆哮；（风）呼啸；狂吹 | |
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2
tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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3
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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pajamas
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| n.睡衣裤 | |
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mellow
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| adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟 | |
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gutters
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| （路边）排水沟( gutter的名词复数 )； 阴沟； （屋顶的）天沟； 贫贱的境地 | |
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7
trickling
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| n.油画底色含油太多而成泡沫状突起v.滴( trickle的现在分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动 | |
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rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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aroma
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| n.香气，芬芳，芳香 | |
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10
awaken
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| vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起 | |
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11
chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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12
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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13
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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14
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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15
rumble
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| n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说 | |
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16
advent
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| n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临 | |
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17
spikes
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| n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划 | |
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18
sapphire
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| n.青玉，蓝宝石；adj.天蓝色的 | |
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19
joyfully
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| adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地 | |
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robin
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| n.知更鸟，红襟鸟 | |
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21
exuberance
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| n.丰富；繁荣 | |
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22
racing
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| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
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23
Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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24
longingly
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| adv. 渴望地 热望地 | |
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25
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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26
toiling
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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27
mightily
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| ad.强烈地；非常地 | |
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28
recess
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| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
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29
lanky
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| adj.瘦长的 | |
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30
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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31
faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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32
squads
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| n.（军队中的）班( squad的名词复数 )；（暗杀）小组；体育运动的运动（代表）队；（对付某类犯罪活动的）警察队伍 | |
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33
squad
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| n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组 | |
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34
pitchers
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| 大水罐( pitcher的名词复数 ) | |
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35
bowling
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| n.保龄球运动 | |
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36
alleys
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| 胡同，小巷( alley的名词复数 )； 小径 | |
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37
toiled
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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38
probation
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| n.缓刑(期)，(以观后效的)察看；试用(期) | |
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39
autocrat
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| n.独裁者；专横的人 | |
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40
grudgingly
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41
entrees
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| n.入场权( entree的名词复数 )；主菜 | |
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42
rib
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| n.肋骨，肋状物 | |
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43
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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44
sagely
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| adv. 贤能地，贤明地 | |
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45
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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46
maliciously
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| adv.有敌意地 | |
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47
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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48
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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49
plumb
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| adv.精确地，完全地；v.了解意义，测水深 | |
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50
ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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51
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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52
busted
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| adj. 破产了的，失败了的，被降级的，被逮捕的，被抓到的 动词bust的过去式和过去分词 | |
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53
hog
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| n.猪；馋嘴贪吃的人；vt.把…占为己有，独占 | |
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54
whacks
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| n.重击声( whack的名词复数 )；不正常；有毛病v.重击，使劲打( whack的第三人称单数 ) | |
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55
jeered
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| v.嘲笑( jeer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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56
scatter
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| vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散 | |
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57
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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58
vaudeville
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| n.歌舞杂耍表演 | |
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59
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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60
grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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