CHAPTER XXX. JIMMY TAKES THE HELM

 “It's Jimmy Bean. He wants ter see ye, ma'am,” announced Nancy in the doorway¹.

 

“Me?” rejoined Miss Polly, plainly surprised. “Are you sure he did not mean Miss Pollyanna? He may see her a few minutes to-day, if he likes.”

 

“Yes'm. I told him. But he said it was you he wanted.”

 

“Very well, I'll come down.” And Miss Polly arose from her chair a little wearily.

 

In the sitting room she found waiting for her a round-eyed, flushed-faced boy, who began to speak at once.

 

“Ma'am, I s'pose it's dreadful—what I'm doin', an' what I'm sayin'; but I can't help it. It's for Pollyanna, and I'd walk over hot coals for her, or face you, or—or anythin' like that, any time. An' I think you would, too, if you thought there was a chance for her ter walk again. An' so that's why I come ter tell ye that as long as it's only pride an' et—et-somethin' that's keepin' Pollyanna from walkin', why I knew you WOULD ask Dr. Chilton here if you understood—”

 

“Wh-at?” interrupted Miss Polly, the look of stupefaction on her face changing to one of angry indignation.

 

Jimmy sighed despairingly.

 

“There, I didn't mean ter make ye mad. That's why I begun by tellin' ye about her walkin' again. I thought you'd listen ter that.”

 

“Jimmy, what are you talking about?”

 

Jimmy sighed again.

 

“That's what I'm tryin' ter tell ye.”

 

“Well, then tell me. But begin at the beginning, and be sure I understand each thing as you go. Don't plunge² into the middle of it as you did before—and mix everything all up!”

 

Jimmy wet his lips determinedly³.

 

“Well, ter begin with, Dr. Chilton come ter see Mr. Pendleton, an' they talked in the library. Do you understand that?”

 

“Yes, Jimmy.” Miss Polly's voice was rather faint.

 

“Well, the window was open, and I was weedin' the flower-bed under it; an' I heard 'em talk.”

 

“Oh, Jimmy! LISTENING?”

 

“'Twa'n't about me, an' 'twa'n't sneak⁴ listenin',” bridled⁵ Jimmy. “And I'm glad I listened. You will be when I tell ye. Why, it may make Pollyanna—walk!”

 

“Jimmy, what do you mean?” Miss Polly was leaning forward eagerly.

 

“There, I told ye so,” nodded Jimmy, contentedly⁶. “Well, Dr. Chilton knows some doctor somewhere that can cure Pollyanna, he thinks—make her walk, ye know; but he can't tell sure till he SEES her. And he wants ter see her somethin' awful, but he told Mr. Pendleton that you wouldn't let him.”

 

Miss Polly's face turned very red.

 

“But, Jimmy, I—I can't—I couldn't! That is, I didn't know!” Miss Polly was twisting her fingers together helplessly.

 

“Yes, an' that's what I come ter tell ye, so you WOULD know,” asserted Jimmy, eagerly. “They said that for some reason—I didn't rightly catch what—you wouldn't let Dr. Chilton come, an' you told Dr. Warren so; an' Dr. Chilton couldn't come himself, without you asked him, on account of pride an' professional et—et—well, et-somethin anyway. An' they was wishin' somebody could make you understand, only they didn't know who could; an' I was outside the winder, an' I says ter myself right away, 'By Jinks, I'll do it!' An' I come—an' have I made ye understand?”

 

“Yes; but, Jimmy, about that doctor,” implored⁷ Miss Polly, feverishly⁸. “Who was he? What did he do? Are they SURE he could make Pollyanna walk?”

 

“I don't know who he was. They didn't say. Dr. Chilton knows him, an' he's just cured somebody just like her, Dr. Chilton thinks. Anyhow, they didn't seem ter be doin' no worryin' about HIM. 'Twas YOU they was worryin' about, 'cause you wouldn't let Dr. Chilton see her. An' say—you will let him come, won't you?—now you understand?”

 

Miss Polly turned her head from side to side. Her breath was coming in little uneven⁹, rapid gasps¹⁰. Jimmy, watching her with anxious eyes, thought she was going to cry. But she did not cry. After a minute she said brokenly:

 

“Yes—I'll let—Dr. Chilton—see her. Now run home, Jimmy—quick! I've got to speak to Dr. Warren. He's up-stairs now. I saw him drive in a few minutes ago.”

 

A little later Dr. Warren was surprised to meet an agitated¹¹, flushed-faced Miss Polly in the hall. He was still more surprised to hear the lady say, a little breathlessly:

 

“Dr. Warren, you asked me once to allow Dr. Chilton to be called in consultation¹², and—I refused. Since then I have reconsidered. I very much desire that you SHOULD call in Dr. Chilton. Will you not ask him at once—please? Thank you.”

1 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

2 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。

3 determinedly   

adv.决意地；坚决地，坚定地

参考例句：

• "Don't shove me,'said one of the strikers, determinedly. "I'm not doing anything." “别推我，"其中的一个罢工工人坚决地说，"我可没干什么。” 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Dorothy's chin set determinedly as she looked calmly at him. 多萝西平静地看着他，下巴绷得紧紧的，看来是打定主意了。 来自名作英译部分

4 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

5 bridled   

给…套龙头( bridle的过去式和过去分词 )； 控制； 昂首表示轻蔑（或怨忿等）； 动怒，生气

参考例句：

• She bridled at the suggestion that she was lying. 她对暗示她在说谎的言论嗤之以鼻。
• He bridled his horse. 他给他的马套上笼头。

6 contentedly   

adv.心满意足地

参考例句：

• My father sat puffing contentedly on his pipe.父亲坐着心满意足地抽着烟斗。
• "This is brother John's writing,"said Sally,contentedly,as she opened the letter.

7 implored   

恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She implored him to stay. 她恳求他留下。
• She implored him with tears in her eyes to forgive her. 她含泪哀求他原谅她。

8 feverishly   

adv. 兴奋地

参考例句：

• Feverishly he collected his data. 他拼命收集资料。
• The company is having to cast around feverishly for ways to cut its costs. 公司迫切须要想出各种降低成本的办法。

9 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

10 gasps   

v.喘气( gasp的第三人称单数 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• He leant against the railing, his breath coming in short gasps. 他倚着栏杆，急促地喘气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• My breaths were coming in gasps. 我急促地喘起气来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 agitated   

adj.被鼓动的，不安的

参考例句：

• His answers were all mixed up,so agitated was he.他是那样心神不定，回答全乱了。
• She was agitated because her train was an hour late.她乘坐的火车晚点一个小时，她十分焦虑。

12 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。