“Clean as a whistle. Best I ever saw. And think of the distance. Say, Masters, he’s a hero from Heroville.”
The lieutenant1 in charge of the cutter smiled and nodded his head.
“Ready! Pull away, men!” he ordered. “Take us back to the ship, coxswain.”
The first cutter of the Monongahela swept over the tumbling waters of Chesapeake Bay under the steady impulse of four pairs of oars2.
Lying insensible in the forward part was Nanny. Near him reclined Clif, fully3 aware of all that was going on about him, but thoroughly4 exhausted5.
Trolley6 and Joy, members of the boat’s crew, were paying much less attention to their oars than to their chum.
Talking among the men is generally prohibited, but in this case the rule was entirely7 lost sight of, and the crew conversed8 freely.
“Him should be Japan,” said Trolley, genuine admiration9 in his voice. “If boy do that in Japan navy they make him hero. Mikado give medal and all people sing songs.”
“But that is in Japan,” said Clif, with a return of his old winning smile. “Such little tricks are of common occurrence in this country. It happens every day.”
“Indeed it doesn’t,” broke in Joy. “Person might jump overboard, but not from the foretop. It was a lulu of a dive. And then when you touched water you didn’t stay under the surface five seconds.”
A rousing cheer and a tiger greeted the cutter as it swept alongside the gangway. Nanny was passed up and immediately taken to the sick bay. But when it came Clif’s turn, he rejected all aid and climbed up the side as nimbly as of yore.
On reaching the top of the gangway he glanced down upon a sea of enthusiastic, youthful faces. Grouped near the bulwark10 were twenty plebes. In the front rank were Toggles, Walters and others of Clif’s friends.
“Whoop! here he is!” shouted the former. “Up with him, fellows.”
Clif made an effort to escape, but he was seized and borne in triumph, wet as he was, about the deck.
At the procession passed the mainmast, the captain, who had been smilingly watching the scene with the other officers, stepped forward. Clif was immediately lowered to the deck.
“Mr. Faraday,” said the commander, “an act such as yours deserves all praise. I will mention you in my reports, and will also keep an eye on you in the future. As for that little trouble we will forget it. But I may as well add that it would be better for you and Mr. Gote to obey the rules as you find them. That will do.”
Clif bowed and went forward with the other cadets. He still felt, however, that he was laboring11 under an unjust cloud.
As he reached the gun deck hatch the apothecary12 came up and said as he hurried aft:
“Your friend has just recovered consciousness, Mr. Faraday. The surgeon says he’ll be all right in a day of two.”
“Thank God for that!” was Clif’s heartfelt comment. “Poor little chap! He has suffered enough for what he did.”
The words were overheard by Joy. The latter touched him on the shoulder and whispered:
“There’s that ‘plebe deviler,’ Cadet Corporal Sharpe, over there talking with Greene and Spendly. He looks disappointed.”
“He’ll look worse than that in a moment,” replied Clif, grimly.
Just then Cadet Corporal Sharpe sauntered past and descended15 the ladder leading below, with a swagger. Clif followed at his heels, and Joy, after a delirious16 signal to all standing17 near, followed him.
As the plebe from Nebraska reached the gun deck he saw Clif confront Sharpe.
“You are too contemptible18 to talk to,” he heard the former say; then Clif reached out and, catching19 Sharpe’s nose between his fingers, gave it a disdainful tweak!
The effect upon the cadet corporal was much as if the deck overhead had suddenly been lifted off and the blue canopy20 of heaven
The latter’s face wore a grim look of determination; and that strange smile, which was a signal of danger to all who knew him, hovered22 about his mouth.
Sharpe attempted to speak, but the words came in a stuttering stream. He was wild with rage.
Leaping forward, he aimed a blow, but before Clif could parry it, Blakely, the big first class man, intervened.
“Not here, you fool,” said the latter, warningly. “This is no place for a scrap24. If you want to fight the cheeky plebe go forward to the washroom.”
“If I want to fight?” cried Sharpe, struggling to free himself from Blakely’s detaining hands. “He pulled my nose, and I’ll kill him.”
“Then do it in the proper place,” was the cool reply. “Go to the washroom.”
“I’m perfectly25 willing to fight him there or here, or any old where,” announced Clif. “And I’ll do my best to give him a thrashing he won’t forget in a hurry.”
“You may receive one yourself,” said the big senior. “Get those wet clothes off and meet us forward. Be quick about it. We get up anchor at five bells.”
Clif was attended by Joy and Trolley, and five minutes later he entered the washroom to find it almost packed with cadets.
A space was cleared in the center and preliminaries arranged by Joy and a second class man. Blakely was to act as referee26.
When Clif stepped out, stripped and ready for the fray27, Sharpe advanced to meet him. The hazer’s face was not pleasant to contemplate28.
He was naturally a bully29 at heart, and his disposition30 was mean and small. The two attacks upon him that morning—attacks by two “miserable” plebes at that—had brought out all the vindictiveness31 of his petty nature.
Faraday confronted him calmly, but that old smile was very pronounced. Trolley and Joy, who knew it well, gleefully rubbed their hands.
“Time!” called Blakely. “Are you ready?”
Sharpe barely nodded.
The signal came, and the two enemies—for such they were, in truth—began to spar cautiously.
But this caution lasted not a minute. Sharpe, plainly wild with anger, made a furious attack and succeeded in beating down Clif’s guard. The result was a stiff tap upon Faraday’s chin which sent him reeling against the bulkhead.
A subdued33 howl of delight came from the members of the upper classes. The plebes looked glum34, but Trolley and Joy, who were attending Clif, showed no signs of discouragement.
Time was again called.
The “plebe deviler” essayed the same tactics, but he did not succeed so well as before. The round ended with a furious exchange of blows which left several angry blotches36 upon Sharpe’s face.
When the two faced each other for the third time, Clif instantly made a feint with his left and let drive with all his force with his right directly into Sharpe’s face.
There was a crunch37 and a thud, a gasping38 cry and the cadet corporal found himself upon the hard deck, his head dancing amid a whole galaxy39 of stars.
He scrambled40 erect41 and fairly tore himself from the hands of those about him. He was seen to tear something from his pocket and spring at Clif.
There was a flash, a warning cry from the spectators, then Faraday shot out both hands, landing with terrible force upon the chin and neck of the infuriated cadet.
Sharpe fell like a log, and at the same moment something dropped from his grasp with a metallic42 clatter43.
“He deserved to be killed!” exclaimed Joy, picking up something from the deck. “Look at this!”
It was a claspknife, open and ready for use.
“That lets him out,” muttered Blakely, grimly. “He’ll not suffer from too much companionship this cruise.” Raising his voice, he added:
“We may have differences with plebes, but we are gentlemen. Any person who associates with Sharpe hereafter is a cad.”
And Blakely’s decisions were always respected.
“Hurray!” cheered Trolley, embracing Clif. “You bully boy from backway. You do plenty for plebes to-day. Hurray!”
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1
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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2
oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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3
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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5
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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6
trolley
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| n.手推车，台车；无轨电车；有轨电车 | |
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7
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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8
conversed
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的过去式 ) | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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10
bulwark
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| n.堡垒，保障，防御 | |
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11
laboring
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| n.劳动，操劳v.努力争取(for)( labor的现在分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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12
apothecary
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| n.药剂师 | |
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13
gaped
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| v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的过去式和过去分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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14
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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15
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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16
delirious
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| adj.不省人事的，神智昏迷的 | |
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17
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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18
contemptible
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| adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的 | |
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19
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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20
canopy
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| n.天篷，遮篷 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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22
hovered
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| 鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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23
poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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24
scrap
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| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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26
referee
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| n.裁判员．仲裁人，代表人，鉴定人 | |
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27
fray
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| v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗 | |
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28
contemplate
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| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 | |
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29
bully
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| n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮 | |
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30
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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31
vindictiveness
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| 恶毒；怀恨在心 | |
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32
defensive
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| adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的 | |
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33
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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34
glum
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| adj.闷闷不乐的，阴郁的 | |
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35
wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
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36
blotches
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| n.（皮肤上的）红斑，疹块( blotch的名词复数 )；大滴 [大片]（墨水或颜色的）污渍 | |
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37
crunch
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| n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声 | |
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38
gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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39
galaxy
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| n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物) | |
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40
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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41
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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42
metallic
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| adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的 | |
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43
clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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44
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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