CHAPTER XII

 LIKE the ill wind that nevertheless blows some good, the thaw¹, although spoiling the coasting, opened the way for two weeks of the finest skating that Beaufort had ever known. The snow had become water, but the water now became ice.

 

For in the north Winter heard how his sovereignty was thus being intruded² upon by an o’er-anxious Spring, and in haste dispatched to the scene General Bitter-Cold. With his force General Bitter-Cold arrived, amid a flourish of trumpets³, late one night. So well did he work that by morning Beaufort and the country round-about was Winter’s again.

 

He sealed each pond and stream with the seal of empire, and then proceeded to fetter⁴ anew the mighty⁵ river.

 

Beaufort had a system of weather flags; and when, for some hours preceding General Bitter-Cold’s arrival, the cold-wave signal was flown from the staff upon the town hall cupola, it was received by Ned and his cronies, save Bob, with much delight. Bob, being rather thin-skinned, much preferred spring, no matter how early it might come.

 

 

But with no snow left, and with the streets mud and water, Ned decided⁶ that almost anything would be welcome.

 

“The paper says that the temperature will fall forty degrees by morning,” announced Mr. Miller⁷, at supper.

 

“Won’t that be fine, though!” asserted Ned.

 

“It won’t be very fine for the poor people, however,” suggested Mrs. Miller.

 

Ned tried to look solemn, but the picture of the skating quite blotted⁸ out that of the poor.

 

That night, as he sunk his cheek into his pillow, about to go to sleep, he heard old Boreas sound a fanfare⁹ down the flue; and he chuckled¹⁰ and blissfully cuddled into a ball.

 

In the barn loft¹² Bob, at the end of his burrow¹³ amid the hay, raised his head for a moment, inquiringly; then, with a shiver instead of a chuckle¹¹, he, also, cuddled closer.

 

The next morning Ned was detailed¹⁴ to sprinkle ashes and sawdust upon the various walks and paths belonging to the premises¹⁵, so that the other members of the household might venture out with safety. For himself he left a narrow strip, leading from back stoop to barn, unsprinkled; it was his private slide, and was a constant peril¹⁶ to other back-yard visitors, notably¹⁷ Maggie and Bob.

 

There was now excellent skating on the flats, where several large ponds had been formed and had readily frozen over. But the river yielded more slowly. However, the zero weather was genuine, and had come to stay a while. Grimly General Bitter-Cold did his work, day by day and night by night building from either bank out toward midstream, until finally a juncture¹⁸ had been made and over the channel itself had been spread a crust of crystal.

 

So quickly this crust deepened and toughened, that soon an ice bridge had been staked out, and teams were crossing from shore to shore.

 

The work of freezing had been done very quietly. On this account the Mississippi was now like glass. All Beaufort went skating. The field was unlimited¹⁹, save as in the swiftest parts of the current the water continued to show, sullen²⁰ and black.

 

“We’re going to skate down to Newton next Saturday,” declared Ned, confidently.

 

“It’s good of you to tell us,” remarked his father, mildly.

 

Ned was puzzled. He was not exactly sure what the tone of voice meant.

 

“Well, can’t I?” he inquired.

 

“That is a problem,” replied his father, bent²¹ upon teasing. “But I should think that a boy who not an hour ago declared himself unequal to the task of filling up two coal stoves might find considerable difficulty.”

 

“Oh, pshaw!” pouted²² Ned, the hit telling. “I mean, may I?”

 

“Just as your mother says,” answered his father. “We’ll leave it to her.”

 

Ned’s face did not express any great joy over this condition upon his going. He knew so well what an amount of convincing his mother, always timid, winter or summer, about the river, would take. Nevertheless, he went boldly at his task.

 

“May I, mother?” he appealed to Mrs. Miller, who had been listening with a smile on her face.

 

“Oh, Neddie! I don’t believe the ice is safe!” she said.

 

“Pooh!” scoffed²³ Ned. “It’s more than two feet thick, right in the channel. You just ought to see the big chunks²⁴ they’re cutting out for next summer.”

 

“But Newton’s so far,” objected his mother. “You wouldn’t get back until long after dark.”

 

“Why, mother!” exclaimed Ned, quite out of patience. “It’s only fourteen miles and we can skate that in an hour and a half easy.”

 

“I’m so afraid you’ll run into an air-hole, or something, Neddie,” pleaded his mother, unwilling²⁵ to pull down her flag.

 

“There isn’t a bit of danger,” assured Ned, eagerly. “Lots of the fellows have been down and back, and there’s a regular path.”

 

“Who, for instance?” suddenly chipped in his father. “‘Lots of fellows,’ I find, is sometimes rather indefinite.”

 

“Lou Ravens²⁶ and ‘Duke’ Burke did it just the other afternoon,” promptly²⁷ responded Ned.

 

 

“Still, since they are not centipedes it takes more than two boys to make a path, you know, Ned,” said his father, drily.

 

“But we could follow their skate marks—really we could, father,” cried Ned. “May I go, mother?”

 

“What do you say, Will?” asked Mrs. Miller, seeking refuge in her husband.

 

“Now that isn’t fair,” cried Ned. “Father said he’d leave it to you. May I? It’s just as safe as our back yard.”

 

“You’ll be very, very careful, and watch out for air-holes?” asked his mother.

 

“Yes, I will,” promised Ned.

 

“And be home before dark?”

 

“Yes, ma’am.”

 

“And not take any risks?”

 

“No, ma’am.”

 

1 thaw   

v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和

参考例句：

• The snow is beginning to thaw.雪已开始融化。
• The spring thaw caused heavy flooding.春天解冻引起了洪水泛滥。

2 intruded   

n.侵入的，推进的v.侵入，侵扰，打扰( intrude的过去式和过去分词 )；把…强加于

参考例句：

• One could believe that human creatures had never intruded there before. 你简直会以为那是从来没有人到过的地方。 来自辞典例句
• The speaker intruded a thin smile into his seriousness. 演说人严肃的脸上掠过一丝笑影。 来自辞典例句

3 trumpets   

喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 )； 小号； 喇叭形物； （尤指）绽开的水仙花

参考例句：

• A wreath was laid on the monument to a fanfare of trumpets. 在响亮的号角声中花圈被献在纪念碑前。
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。

4 fetter   

n./vt.脚镣，束缚

参考例句：

• This does not mean that we wish to fetter the trade union movement.这并不意味着我们想限制工会运动。
• Reform will be deepened to remove the institutional obstacles that fetter the development of productive forces.继续深化改革，突破束缚生产力发展的体制性障碍。

5 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

6 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。

7 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

8 blotted   

涂污( blot的过去式和过去分词 )； （用吸墨纸）吸干

参考例句：

• She blotted water off the table with a towel. 她用毛巾擦干桌上的水。
• The blizzard blotted out the sky and the land. 暴风雪铺天盖地而来。

9 fanfare   

n.喇叭；号角之声；v.热闹地宣布

参考例句：

• The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide.这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King.嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。

10 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

11 chuckle   

vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑

参考例句：

• He shook his head with a soft chuckle.他轻轻地笑着摇了摇头。
• I couldn't suppress a soft chuckle at the thought of it.想到这个，我忍不住轻轻地笑起来。

12 loft   

n.阁楼，顶楼

参考例句：

• We could see up into the loft from bottom of the stairs.我们能从楼梯脚边望到阁楼的内部。
• By converting the loft,they were able to have two extra bedrooms.把阁楼改造一下，他们就可以多出两间卧室。

13 burrow   

vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞

参考例句：

• Earthworms burrow deep into the subsoil.蚯蚓深深地钻进底土。
• The dog had chased a rabbit into its burrow.狗把兔子追进了洞穴。

14 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

15 premises   

n.建筑物，房屋

参考例句：

• According to the rules,no alcohol can be consumed on the premises.按照规定，场内不准饮酒。
• All repairs are done on the premises and not put out.全部修缮都在家里进行，不用送到外面去做。

16 peril   

n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物

参考例句：

• The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
• The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。

17 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

18 juncture   

n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头

参考例句：

• The project is situated at the juncture of the new and old urban districts.该项目位于新老城区交界处。
• It is very difficult at this juncture to predict the company's future.此时很难预料公司的前景。

19 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

20 sullen   

adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的

参考例句：

• He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。
• Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐，因为昨晚没睡好。

21 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

22 pouted   

v.撅（嘴）( pout的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her lips pouted invitingly. 她挑逗地撮起双唇。
• I pouted my lips at him, hinting that he should speak first. 我向他努了努嘴，让他先说。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

23 scoffed   

嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He scoffed at our amateurish attempts. 他对我们不在行的尝试嗤之以鼻。
• A hundred years ago people scoffed at the idea. 一百年前人们曾嘲笑过这种想法。

24 chunks   

厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分

参考例句：

• a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块
• Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？

25 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

26 ravens   

n.低质煤；渡鸦( raven的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Wheresoever the carcase is,there will the ravens be gathered together. 哪里有死尸，哪里就有乌鸦麇集。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A couple of ravens croaked above our boat. 两只乌鸦在我们小船的上空嘎嘎叫着。 来自辞典例句

27 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。