CHAPTER XX CONCLUSION

 When Marjorie realized that the excitement was all over, she left the keys of the tea-house with her brother and hurried back to tell the scouts² the good news. It was still very early in the morning; the sun was just making its appearance above the horizon when she opened the door of the Harris house. Instead of trying to enter silently, she made every effort to signify, by her noisy cheer, the success of her undertaking³.

 

“Hurrah for the Girl Scouts!” she sang out as she reached the foot of the stairs. “Hurrah for their loyal helpers, the boys!”

 

She was rewarded by a general stir on the floor above; one by one the girls slipped out of their beds, donned their kimonas, and came to the top of the stairs. Lily rushed down and threw her arms around Marjorie.

 

“You’re safe! You’re safe!” she cried joyously⁵. “Oh, Marj, I’m so thankful!”

 

“What happened? Tell us!” demanded two or three other girls at the same time.

 

“Wait till I come up,” replied Marjorie, as she and Lily started to ascend⁶ together. “I’ll tell you the whole story, as we finally got it from the chief boot-legger himself—and from Anna!”

 

“The boot-legger? Anna?” repeated all the astonished girls at once.

 

Marjorie nodded and led the way into her own room, surrounded by the scouts and Mrs. Munsen, who had joined the group. They all climbed upon her bed, and listened while she recounted, as fast as she could talk, the thrilling details of the capture and confession⁷. They leaned forward breathlessly, admiring her more every moment for her courage and persistence⁸.

 

“Suppose you had taken our advice and closed the tea-house!” remarked Marie Louise. “We’d never have discovered the real cause of all those mysterious knocks.”

 

“And that old boot-legger and his family would have gone on getting richer and richer, in opposition⁹ to the government!” added Florence.

 

“I always thought Anna was too good to be true,” put in Daisy. “Most girls of her ability get more than we could afford to pay her.”

 

“And besides, now that I think of it,” said Mrs. Munsen, “we really ought to have considered it very strange for her to go on working in a place where she had such a dreadful experience as she claimed to have had. You wouldn’t find one man in a hundred willing to take a chance like that—let alone a girl!”

 

“Well, it’s all right now!” said Marjorie, getting up from the bed. “Now—how about some breakfast?”

 

“Yes, you must be starved, you poor child!” said Mrs. Munsen. “If you go down and start things, Marjorie, I’ll be with you in five minutes.”

 

“And put something on for those noble boys,” said Daisy. “They’ll probably be along soon!”

 

The girls separated to dress, but they could not stop talking about the event; indeed, they discussed it at breakfast, dinner, and supper, upon every occasion—during their duties at the tea-house and their leisure at home in the evening.

 

Nor did they confine their talking to their own party, for Marjorie, anxious to clear up the suspicion that was attached to the place, immediately informed all the newspapers; and when the report was confirmed by the police and even by the Chief Dry Agent of the city, it received substantial publicity¹⁰. As a natural result, business increased as the days went by; the tea-house became more and more widely known to Philadelphians and their friends, and more generally patronized. As the time for closing drew near, Marjorie realized that her enterprise was an overwhelming triumph.

 

She would have considered the sale of the business and the fine little sum which she handed into Daisy’s keeping the culmination¹¹ of their success, had it not been for an occurrence that took place on Labor¹² Day—their last day at the tea-room. The whole thing came as a complete surprise.

 

It was supper time, and the tea-room was filled with guests. All the Girl Scouts in their uniforms were serving as waitresses; the boys were working in the kitchen under the direction of Mrs. Munsen; and even Mrs. Hadley had insisted upon taking a hand in the work. Just as Marjorie was wondering what they would do if any more patrons arrived, a motor drew up to the steps, and stopped while an impressive-looking man got out. He strode across the porch and opened the screen door in a manner that proclaimed him a person of dignity and authority.

 

“Is this the Girl Scout¹ Tea-room?” he asked, in a tone clearly audible in every part of the room.

 

“Yes,” replied Ethel, who happened to be standing¹³ nearest to the door. “I am sorry that there are no vacant tables this minute, but if you will be kind enough to wait in the rest-room, we will try to serve you as soon as possible.”

 

“I am sure your supper would be delicious,” replied the man, courteously¹⁴, still in the same distinct tone; “but I came for another purpose than for food. I am the Chief Dry Agent in the city.”

 

“Yes,” said Ethel, trembling in spite of herself.

 

“And who is your superior officer?” continued the official.

 

“Miss Wilkinson,” replied Ethel, as Marjorie came forward.

 

“Then, Miss Wilkinson, I want to tell you that I am here to congratulate your troop for catching¹⁵ a notorious boot-legger, who has been baffling the police for some time. In recognition of this service, we beg to present you with a written vote of thanks, bearing the seal of our department beneath the signature. You girls have not only performed a noteworthy service for the locality, but you have aided in the enforcement of an important Federal law. Because of your courage and perseverance¹⁶, prohibition¹⁷ is one step nearer to becoming an established fact.”

 

Amid the applause that followed from every corner of the tea-room as Marjorie graciously accepted the tribute, the joyous⁴ shouts of their staunch comrades in the kitchen could be heard—those untiring helpers who had worked so loyally all summer—that splendid band of boys, led by John Hadley and his assistant, Jack¹⁸ Wilkinson!

1 scout   

n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索

参考例句：

• He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
• The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

2 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

3 undertaking   

n.保证，许诺，事业

参考例句：

• He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。
• He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小，不敢从事任何事业。

4 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

5 joyously   

ad.快乐地, 高兴地

参考例句：

• She opened the door for me and threw herself in my arms, screaming joyously and demanding that we decorate the tree immediately. 她打开门，直扑我的怀抱，欣喜地喊叫着要马上装饰圣诞树。
• They came running, crying out joyously in trilling girlish voices. 她们边跑边喊，那少女的颤音好不欢快。 来自名作英译部分

6 ascend   

vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上

参考例句：

• We watched the airplane ascend higher and higher.我们看着飞机逐渐升高。
• We ascend in the order of time and of development.我们按时间和发展顺序向上溯。

7 confession   

n.自白，供认，承认

参考例句：

• Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
• The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。

8 persistence   

n.坚持，持续，存留

参考例句：

• The persistence of a cough in his daughter puzzled him.他女儿持续的咳嗽把他难住了。
• He achieved success through dogged persistence.他靠着坚持不懈取得了成功。

9 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

10 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

11 culmination   

n.顶点；最高潮

参考例句：

• The space race reached its culmination in the first moon walk.太空竞争以第一次在月球行走而达到顶峰。
• It may truly be regarded as the culmination of classical Greek geometry.这确实可以看成是古典希腊几何的登峰造级之作。

12 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

13 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

14 courteously   

adv.有礼貌地，亲切地

参考例句：

• He courteously opened the door for me.他谦恭有礼地为我开门。
• Presently he rose courteously and released her.过了一会，他就很客气地站起来，让她走开。

15 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

16 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

17 prohibition   

n.禁止；禁令，禁律

参考例句：

• The prohibition against drunken driving will save many lives.禁止酒后开车将会减少许多死亡事故。
• They voted in favour of the prohibition of smoking in public areas.他们投票赞成禁止在公共场所吸烟。

18 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。