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首页 » 经典英文小说 » The Circus Boys on the Flying Rings » CHAPTER X. PHIL GETS A SURPRISE
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CHAPTER X. PHIL GETS A SURPRISE
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 “Where will I find Mr. Sparling?”
 
“In the doghouse.”
 
“Where’s that?”
 
“Out back of the ticket wagon1. It’s a little A tent, and we call it the boss’s doghouse, because it’s only big enough to hold a couple of St. Bernards.”
 
“Oh! What does he want of me?”
 
“Ask him,” grinned the attendant, who, it developed, was an usher2 in the reserved-seat section. “He don’t tell us fellows his business. Say, that was a great stunt3 you did with Emperor.”
 
“Oh, I don’t know.”
 
“I do. There’s the doghouse over there. See it?”
 
“Yes, thank you.”
 
The attendant leaving him, Phil walked on alone to Mr. Sparling’s private office, for such was the use to which he put the little tent that the usher had called the “doghouse.”
 
“I wonder what he can want of me?” mused4 Phil. “Probably he wants to thank me for stopping that pony5. I hope he doesn’t. I don’t like to be thanked. And it wasn’t much of anything that I did anyway. Maybe he’s going to—but what’s the use of guessing?”
 
The lad stepped up to the tent, the flaps of which were closed. He stretched out his hand to knock, then grinned sheepishly.
 
“I forgot you couldn’t knock at a tent door. I wonder how visitors announce themselves, anyway.”
 
His toe, at that moment, chanced to touch the tent pole and that gave him an idea. Phil tapped against the pole with his foot.
 
“Come in!” bellowed6 the voice of the owner of the show.
 
Phil entered, hat in hand. At the moment the owner was busily engaged with a pile of bills for merchandise recently purchased at the local stores, and he neither looked up nor spoke7.
 
Phil stood quietly waiting, noting amusedly the stern scowl8 that appeared to be part of Mr. Sparling’s natural expression.
 
“Well, what do you want?” he demanded, with disconcerting suddenness.
 
“I—I was told that you had sent for me, that you wanted to see me,” began the lad, with a show of diffidence.
 
“So I did, so I did.”
 
The showman hitched9 his camp chair about so he could get a better look at his visitor. He studied Phil from head to foot with his usual scowl.
 
“Sit down!”
 
“On the ground, sir?”
 
“Ground? No, of course not. Where’s that chair? Oh, my lazy tent man didn’t open it. I’ll fire him the first place we get to where he won’t be likely to starve to death. I hear you’ve been trying to put my show out of business.”
 
“I wasn’t aware of it, sir,” replied Phil, looking squarely at his questioner. “Perhaps I was not wholly blameless in attaching myself to Emperor.”
 
“Huh!” grunted10 Mr. Sparling, but whether or not it was a grunt11 of disapproval12, Phil could not determine.
 
“So you’re not living at home?”
 
“I have no home now, sir.”
 
“Just so, just so. Brought up in refined surroundings, parents dead, crabbed13 old uncle turned you out of doors for reasons best known to himself—”
 
Phil was amazed.
 
“You seem to know all about me, sir.”
 
“Of course. It’s my business to know something about everything. I ought to thank you for getting Mrs. Sparling out of that mix-up this morning, but I’ll let her do that for herself. She wants to see you after the performance.”
 
“I don’t like to be thanked, Mr. Sparling, though I should like to know Mrs. Sparling,” said Phil boldly.
 
“Neither do I, neither do I. Emperor has gone daffy over you. What did you feed him?”
 
“Some sugar and peanuts. That was all.”
 
“Huh! You ought to be a showman.”
 
“I have always wanted to be, Mr. Sparling.”
 
“Oh, you have, eh?”
 
“Yes, sir.”
 
“Well, why don’t you?”
 
“I have never had the opportunity.”
 
“You mean you’ve never looked for an opportunity. There are always opportunities for everything, but we have to go after them. You’ve been going after them today for the first time, and you’ve nailed one of them clear up to the splice14 of the center pole. Understand?”
 
“Not entirely15, sir.”
 
“Well, do you want to join out with the Great Sparling Combined Shows, or don’t you?”
 
“You mean—I join the—the—”
 
Mr. Sparling was observing him narrowly.
 
“I said, would you like to join our show?”
 
“I should like it better than anything else in the world.”
 
“Sign this contract, then,” snapped the showman, thrusting a paper toward Phil Forrest, at the same time dipping a pen in the ink bottle and handing it to him.
 
“You will allow me to read it first, will you not?”
 
“Good! That’s the way I like to hear a boy talk. Shows he’s got some sense besides what he’s learned in books at some—well, never mind.”
 
“What—what is this, ten dollars a week?” gasped16 Phil, scarcely able to believe his eyes as he looked at the paper.
 
“That’s what the contract says, doesn’t it?”
 
“Yes, sir.”
 
“Then, that’s what it is. Traveling expenses and feed included. You are an easy keeper?”
 
“Well, I don’t eat quite as much as a horse, if that’s what you mean,” laughed Phil.
 
“Huh!”
 
After reading the contract through, the lad affixed17 his signature to it with trembling hand. It was almost too good to be true.
 
“Thank you, sir,” he said, laying the paper before Mr. Sparling.
 
“And now, my lad,” added the showman more mildly, “let me give you some advice. Some folks look upon circus people as rough and intemperate19. That day’s past. When a man gets bad habits he’s of no further use in the circus business. He closes mighty20 quick. Remember that.”
 
“Yes, sir. You need not worry about my getting into any such trouble.”
 
“I don’t, or I wouldn’t take you. And another thing: Don’t get it into your head, as a good many show people do, that you know more about running the business than the boss does. He might not agree with you. It’s a bad thing to disagree with the boss, eh?”
 
“I understand, sir.”
 
“You’d better.”
 
“What do you want me to do? I don’t know what I can do to earn that salary, but I am willing to work at whatever you may put me to—”
 
“That’s the talk. I was waiting for you to come to that. But leave the matter to me. You’ll have a lot of things to do, after you get your bearings and I find out what you can do best. As it is, you have earned your salary for the first season whether you do anything else or not. You saved the big cat and you probably saved my wife’s life, but we’ll let that pass. When can you join out?”
 
“I’m ready now, sir. I shall want to go home and get my things and my books.”
 
“Huh! That’s right. Take your time. We shan’t be pulling out of here till after midnight, so you’d better go home and get ready. You’ll want to bid good-bye to Mrs. Ca—Ca—Cahill.”
 
“I wonder if there is anything that he doesn’t know about,” marveled Phil.
 
“Anything you want to ask me about—any favor you’d like? If there is, get it out.”
 
“Well, yes, there is, but I scarcely feel like asking it, you have been so kind to me.”
 
“Shucks!”
 
“I—I have a little friend, who—who, like myself, has no parents and is crazy over the circus. He wants to be a circus man just as much as I do. If you had a place—if you could find something for him to do, I should appreciate it very much.”
 
“Who is he, that youngster with the clown face, who crawled in under the tent this afternoon?”
 
Phil laughed outright21.
 
“I presume so. That’s the way he usually gets in.”
 
“Where is he now?”
 
“Seeing the performance, sir.”
 
“Nail him when he comes out. We’ll give him all the show he wants.”
 
With profuse22 thanks Phil Forrest backed from the tent and walked rapidly toward the entrance. It seemed to him as if he were walking on air.
 
“Let that boy through. He’s with the show now,” bellowed Mr. Sparling, poking23 his head from the doghouse tent.
 
The gateman nodded.
 
“How soon will the performance be over?” inquired Phil, approaching the gateman.
 
“Ten minutes now.”
 
“Then, I guess I won’t go in. I promised to meet Teddy over by the ticket wagon anyway.”
 
But Phil could not stand still. Thrusting his hands in his pockets he began pacing back and forth24, pondering deeply. He did not observe the shrewd eyes of Mr. Sparling fixed18 upon him from behind the flap of the little tent.
 
“At last, at last!” mused Phil. “I’m a real live showman at last, but what kind of a showman I don’t know. Probably they’ll make me help put up the tents and take them down. But, I don’t care. I’ll do anything. And think of the money I’ll earn. Ten dollars a week!” he exclaimed, pausing and glancing up at the fluttering flags waving from center and quarter poles. “Why, it’s a fortune! I shall be able to save most all of it, too. Oh, I’m so happy!”
 
“They’re coming out,” called the gateman to him.
 
“Thank you.”
 
Phil’s face was full of repressed excitement when Teddy came slouching up to him.
 
“Bully show,” announced the lad. “Didn’t know which way to look, there was so much to be seen.”
 
“How would you like to join the show and be a real circus man?” demanded Phil.
 
“Great!”
 
“Maybe I can fix it for you.”
 
“You?”
 
“Yes.”
 
“Don’t give me such a shock, Phil. You said it almost as if you meant it.”
 
“And I did.”
 
Teddy gazed at his companion for a full minute.
 
“Something’s been going on, I guess—something that I don’t seem to know anything about.”
 
“There has, Teddy. I’m already a showman. You come with me. Mr. Sparling wants to speak with you. Don’t be afraid of him. He talks as if he was mad all the time, but I’m sure he isn’t.”
 
Grasping Teddy by the arm Phil rushed him into Mr. Sparling’s tent, entering this time without knocking.
 
“This is my friend whom I spoke to you about,” announced Phil, thrusting Teddy up before the showman.
 
Mr. Sparling eyed the lad suspiciously.
 
“Want to join out, too, eh?”
 
“I—I’d like to,” stammered25 Teddy.
 
“Do your parents approve of your going with a show?”
 
“I—I don’t know, sir.”
 
“You’d better find out, then. Ask them mighty quick. This is no camp meeting outfit26 that plays week stands.”
 
“Can’t.”
 
“Why not?”
 
“’Cause they’re dead.”
 
“Huh! Why didn’t you say so before?”
 
“You didn’t ask me.”
 
“You’re too smart, young man.”
 
“Takes a smart man to be a circus man, doesn’t it?”
 
“I guess you’re right at that,” answered the showman, his stern features relaxing into a smile. “You’ll do. But you’d better not hand out that line of sharp talk in bunches when you get with the show. It might get you into trouble if you did.”
 
“Yes, sir; I’ll be good.”
 
“Now, you boys had better run along and make your preparations. You may take your supper in the cook tent tonight if you wish. But you will have to be on hand promptly27, as they take down the cook tent first of all.”
 
“Thank you; we will,” answered Phil.
 
“What act—what do I perform?” questioned Teddy, swelling28 with pride.
 
“Perform?”
 
“Yes.”
 
“Ho, ho, ho!”
 
“I’m going to be a performer and wear pink pants, ain’t I?”
 
“A performer? Oh, that’s too good. Yes, my son, you shall be a performer. How would you like to be a juggler30?”
 
“Fine!”
 
“Then, I think I’ll let you juggle29 the big coffeepot in the cook tent for the edification of the hungry roustabouts,” grinned Mr. Sparling.
 
“What do I do?”
 
“Do, young man—do?”
 
“Yes, sir.”
 
“Why, you stand by the coffee boiler31 in the cook tent, and when you hear a waiter bawl32 ‘Draw one,’ at the same time throwing a pitcher33 at you from halfway34 across the tent, you catch the pitcher and have it filled and ready for him by the time he gets to you.”
 
“Do I throw the pitcherful35 of coffee back at him?” questioned Teddy innocently.
 
“You might, but you wouldn’t be apt to try it a second time. You’d be likely to get a resounding36 slap from the flat of his hand—”
 
“I’d hit him on the nose if he did,” declared Teddy belligerently37.
 
Mr. Sparling could not resist laughing.
 
“That’s not the way to begin. But you will learn. Follow your friend Phil, here, and you will be all right if I am any judge of boys. I ought to be, for I have boys of my own. You’d better be going now.”
 
The two lads started off at a brisk pace. Phil to tell Mrs. Cahill of his good fortune. Teddy to bid good-bye to the people with whom he had been living as chore boy.
 

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 wagon XhUwP     
n.四轮马车,手推车,面包车;无盖运货列车
参考例句:
  • We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
  • The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。
2 usher sK2zJ     
n.带位员,招待员;vt.引导,护送;vi.做招待,担任引座员
参考例句:
  • The usher seated us in the front row.引座员让我们在前排就座。
  • They were quickly ushered away.他们被迅速领开。
3 stunt otxwC     
n.惊人表演,绝技,特技;vt.阻碍...发育,妨碍...生长
参考例句:
  • Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
  • Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。
4 mused 0affe9d5c3a243690cca6d4248d41a85     
v.沉思,冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 );沉思自语说(某事)
参考例句:
  • \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们,”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道:‘我们这是在干什么?” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
5 pony Au5yJ     
adj.小型的;n.小马
参考例句:
  • His father gave him a pony as a Christmas present.他父亲给了他一匹小马驹作为圣诞礼物。
  • They made him pony up the money he owed.他们逼他还债。
6 bellowed fa9ba2065b18298fa17a6311db3246fc     
v.发出吼叫声,咆哮(尤指因痛苦)( bellow的过去式和过去分词 );(愤怒地)说出(某事),大叫
参考例句:
  • They bellowed at her to stop. 他们吼叫着让她停下。
  • He bellowed with pain when the tooth was pulled out. 当牙齿被拔掉时,他痛得大叫。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
7 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
8 scowl HDNyX     
vi.(at)生气地皱眉,沉下脸,怒视;n.怒容
参考例句:
  • I wonder why he is wearing an angry scowl.我不知道他为何面带怒容。
  • The boss manifested his disgust with a scowl.老板面带怒色,清楚表示出他的厌恶之感。
9 hitched fc65ed4d8ef2e272cfe190bf8919d2d2     
(免费)搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 ); 搭便车; 攀上; 跃上
参考例句:
  • They hitched a ride in a truck. 他们搭乘了一辆路过的货车。
  • We hitched a ride in a truck yesterday. 我们昨天顺便搭乘了一辆卡车。
10 grunted f18a3a8ced1d857427f2252db2abbeaf     
(猪等)作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 ); (指人)发出类似的哼声; 咕哝着说
参考例句:
  • She just grunted, not deigning to look up from the page. 她只咕哝了一声,继续看书,不屑抬起头来看一眼。
  • She grunted some incomprehensible reply. 她咕噜着回答了些令人费解的话。
11 grunt eeazI     
v.嘟哝;作呼噜声;n.呼噜声,嘟哝
参考例句:
  • He lifted the heavy suitcase with a grunt.他咕噜着把沉重的提箱拎了起来。
  • I ask him what he think,but he just grunt.我问他在想什麽,他只哼了一声。
12 disapproval VuTx4     
n.反对,不赞成
参考例句:
  • The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
  • They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。
13 crabbed Svnz6M     
adj.脾气坏的;易怒的;(指字迹)难辨认的;(字迹等)难辨认的v.捕蟹( crab的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • His mature composi tions are generally considered the more cerebral and crabbed. 他成熟的作品一般被认为是触动理智的和难于理解的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • He met a crabbed, cantankerous director. 他碰上了一位坏脾气、爱争吵的主管。 来自辞典例句
14 splice irmyA     
v.接合,衔接;n.胶接处,粘接处
参考例句:
  • He taught me to edit and splice film.他教我剪辑和粘接胶片。
  • The film will be spliced with footage of Cypress Hill to be filmed in America.这部电影要和将在美国拍摄的柏树山乐队的音乐片段粘接在一起。
15 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
16 gasped e6af294d8a7477229d6749fa9e8f5b80     
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要
参考例句:
  • She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
  • People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
17 affixed 0732dcfdc852b2620b9edaa452082857     
adj.[医]附着的,附着的v.附加( affix的过去式和过去分词 );粘贴;加以;盖(印章)
参考例句:
  • The label should be firmly affixed to the package. 这张标签应该牢牢地贴在包裹上。
  • He affixed the sign to the wall. 他将标记贴到墙上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
18 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
19 intemperate ibDzU     
adj.无节制的,放纵的
参考例句:
  • Many people felt threatened by Arther's forceful,sometimes intemperate style.很多人都觉得阿瑟的强硬的、有时过激的作风咄咄逼人。
  • The style was hurried,the tone intemperate.匆促的笔调,放纵的语气。
20 mighty YDWxl     
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。
21 outright Qj7yY     
adv.坦率地;彻底地;立即;adj.无疑的;彻底的
参考例句:
  • If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事,你应该直率地对我说。
  • You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。
22 profuse R1jzV     
adj.很多的,大量的,极其丰富的
参考例句:
  • The hostess is profuse in her hospitality.女主人招待得十分周到。
  • There was a profuse crop of hair impending over the top of his face.一大绺头发垂在他额头上。
23 poking poking     
n. 刺,戳,袋 vt. 拨开,刺,戳 vi. 戳,刺,捅,搜索,伸出,行动散慢
参考例句:
  • He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
  • He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。
24 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
25 stammered 76088bc9384c91d5745fd550a9d81721     
v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He stammered most when he was nervous. 他一紧张往往口吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Barsad leaned back in his chair, and stammered, \"What do you mean?\" 巴萨往椅背上一靠,结结巴巴地说,“你是什么意思?” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
26 outfit YJTxC     
n.(为特殊用途的)全套装备,全套服装
参考例句:
  • Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
  • His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。
27 promptly LRMxm     
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。
28 swelling OUzzd     
n.肿胀
参考例句:
  • Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
  • There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。
29 juggle KaFzL     
v.变戏法,纂改,欺骗,同时做;n.玩杂耍,纂改,花招
参考例句:
  • If you juggle with your accounts,you'll get into trouble.你要是在帐目上做手脚,你可要遇到麻烦了。
  • She had to juggle her job and her children.她得同时兼顾工作和孩子。
30 juggler juggler     
n. 变戏法者, 行骗者
参考例句:
  • Dick was a juggler, who threw mists before your eyes. 迪克是个骗子,他在你面前故弄玄虚。
  • The juggler juggled three bottles. 这个玩杂耍的人可同时抛接3个瓶子。
31 boiler OtNzI     
n.锅炉;煮器(壶,锅等)
参考例句:
  • That boiler will not hold up under pressure.那种锅炉受不住压力。
  • This new boiler generates more heat than the old one.这个新锅炉产生的热量比旧锅炉多。
32 bawl KQJyu     
v.大喊大叫,大声地喊,咆哮
参考例句:
  • You don't have to bawl out like that. Eeverybody can hear you.你不必这样大声喊叫,大家都能听见你。
  • Your mother will bawl you out when she sees this mess.当你母亲看到这混乱的局面时她会责骂你的。
33 pitcher S2Gz7     
n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐;(棒球)投手
参考例句:
  • He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
  • Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。
34 halfway Xrvzdq     
adj.中途的,不彻底的,部分的;adv.半路地,在中途,在半途
参考例句:
  • We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路,天就黑了。
  • In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上,最忌讳的是有始无终。
35 pitcherful 6020bd9e6ac526f45b04a8368fcbeeab     
一水壶量
参考例句:
36 resounding zkCzZC     
adj. 响亮的
参考例句:
  • The astronaut was welcomed with joyous,resounding acclaim. 人们欢声雷动地迎接那位宇航员。
  • He hit the water with a resounding slap. 他啪的一声拍了一下水。
37 belligerently 217a53853325c5cc2e667748673ad9b7     
参考例句:
  • Cars zoomed helter-skelter, honking belligerently. 大街上来往车辆穿梭不停,喇叭声刺耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Harass, threaten, insult, or behave belligerently towards others. 向其它交战地折磨,威胁,侮辱,或表现。 来自互联网


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