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首页 » 经典英文小说 » The Circus Boys on the Flying Rings » CHAPTER XVIII. A STARTLING DISCOVERY
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CHAPTER XVIII. A STARTLING DISCOVERY
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 Phil’s recovery was rapid, though four days passed before he was permitted to leave his bed. As soon as he was able to get downstairs and sit out on the front porch of the hotel he found himself an object of interest as well as curiosity.
 
The story of his accident had been talked of until it had grown out of all proportion to the real facts in the case. The boys of the village hung over the porch rail and eyed him wonderingly and admiringly. It did not fall to their lot every day to get acquainted with a real circus boy. They asked him all manner of questions, which the lad answered gladly, for even though he had suffered a severe accident, he was not beyond enjoying the admiration1 of his fellows.
 
“It must be great to be a circus boy,” marveled one.
 
“It is until you fall off and crack your head,” laughed Phil. “It’s not half so funny then.”
 
After returning to his room that day Phil pondered deeply over the accident. He could not understand it.
 
“Nobody seems to know what really did happen,” he mused2. “Dr. Irvine says the wire broke. That doesn’t seem possible.”
 
Off in the little dog tent of the owner of the show, Mr. James Sparling, on the day following the accident, was asking himself almost the same questions.
 
He sent for Mr. Kennedy after having disposed of his early morning business. There was a scowl3 on the owner’s face, but it had not been caused by the telegram which lay on the desk before him, informing him that Phil was not seriously hurt. That was a source of keen satisfaction to the showman, for he felt that he could not afford to lose the young circus boy.
 
Teddy was so upset over it, however, that the boss had about made up his mind to let Phil’s companion go back and join him.
 
While the showman was thinking the matter over, Mr. Kennedy appeared at the opening of the dog tent.
 
“Morning,” he greeted, which was responded to by a muttered “Huh!” from James Sparling.
 
“Come in. What are you standing4 out there for?”
 
Kennedy was so used to this form of salutation that he paid no further attention to it than to obey the summons.
 
He entered and stood waiting for his employer to speak.
 
“I want you to tell me exactly what occurred last night, when young Forrest got hurt, Kennedy.”
 
“I can’t tell you any more about it than you heard last night. He had started to make his dive before I noticed that anything was wrong. He didn’t stop until he landed on his head. They said the wire snapped.”
 
“Did it?”
 
“I guess so,” grinned Kennedy.
 
“Who is responsible for having picked out that wire?”
 
“I guess I am.”
 
“And you have the face to stand there and tell me so?”
 
“I usually tell the truth, don’t I?”
 
“Yes, yes; you do. That’s what I like about you.”
 
“Heard from the kid this morning?”
 
“Yes; he’ll be all right in a few days. Concussion5 and general shaking up; that’s all, but it’s enough. How are the bulls this morning?”
 
“Emperor is sour. Got a regular grouch6 on.”
 
“Misses that young rascal7 Phil, I suppose?”
 
“Yes.”
 
“H-m-m-m!”
 
“Didn’t want to come through last night at all.”
 
“H-m-m-m. Guess we’d better fire you and let the boy handle the bulls; don’t you think so?”
 
The trainer grinned and nodded.
 
“Kennedy, you’ve been making your brags8 that you always tell me the truth. I am going to ask you a question, and I want you to see if you can make that boast good.”
 
“Yes, sir.”
 
Perhaps the trainer understood something of what was in his employer’s mind, for his lips closed sharply while his jaw9 took on a belligerent10 look.
 
“How did that wire come to break, Kennedy?”
 
The question came out with a snap, as if the showman already had made up his mind as to what the answer should be.
 
“It was cut, sir,” answered the trainer promptly11.
 
The lines in Mr. Sparling’s face drew hard and tense. Instead of a violent outburst of temper, which Kennedy fully12 expected, the owner sat silently contemplating13 his trainer for a full minute.
 
“Who did it?”
 
“I couldn’t guess.”
 
“I didn’t ask you to guess. I can guess for myself. I asked who did it?”
 
“I don’t know. I haven’t the least idea who would do a job like that in this show. I hope the mean hound will take French leave before I get him spotted14, sir.”
 
Mr. Sparling nodded with emphasis.
 
“I hope so, Kennedy. What makes you think the wire was cut?”
 
With great deliberation the trainer drew a small package from his inside coat pocket, carefully unwrapped it, placing the contents on the table in front of Mr. Sparling.
 
“What’s this—what’s this?”
 
“That’s the wire.”
 
“But there are two pieces here—”
 
“Yes. I cut off a few feet on each side of where the break occurred. Those are the two.”
 
Mr. Sparling regarded them critically.
 
“How can you tell that the wire has been cut, except where you cut it yourself?”
 
“It was cut halfway15 through with a file, as you can see, sir. When Forrest threw his weight on it, of course the wire parted at the weakened point.”
 
“H-m-m-m.”
 
“If you will examine it, an inch or two above the cut, you will find two or three file marks, where the file started to cut, then was moved down. Probably slipped. Looks like it. Don’t you think I’m right, sir?”
 
Mr. Sparling nodded reflectively.
 
“There can be no doubt of it. You think it was done between the two performances yesterday?”
 
“Oh, yes. That cut wouldn’t have held through one performance. It was cut during the afternoon.”
 
“Who was in the tent between the shows?”
 
“Pretty much the whole crowd. But, if you will remember, the day was dark and stormy. There was a time late in the afternoon, before the torches were lighted, when the big top was almost in darkness. It’s my idea that the job was done then. Anybody could have done it without being discovered. It’s likely there wasn’t anybody in the tent except himself at the time.”
 
“Kennedy, I want you to find out who did that. Understand?”

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 admiration afpyA     
n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕
参考例句:
  • He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
  • We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。
2 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
3 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。
4 standing 2hCzgo     
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。
5 concussion 5YDys     
n.脑震荡;震动
参考例句:
  • He was carried off the field with slight concussion.他因轻微脑震荡给抬离了现场。
  • She suffers from brain concussion.她得了脑震荡。
6 grouch fQ0z8     
n.牢骚,不满;v.抱怨
参考例句:
  • He's always having a grouch about something.他总是发脾气抱怨这个抱怨那个。
  • One of the biggest grouches is the new system of payment.人们抱怨最多的一点就是这种新的支付方式。
7 rascal mAIzd     
n.流氓;不诚实的人
参考例句:
  • If he had done otherwise,I should have thought him a rascal.如果他不这样做,我就认为他是个恶棍。
  • The rascal was frightened into holding his tongue.这坏蛋吓得不敢往下说了。
8 brags a9dd3aa68885098aec910f423b26b974     
v.自夸,吹嘘( brag的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • He constantly brags about how well he plays football. 他老是吹嘘自己足球踢得多么好。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • \"I don't care to listen to your brags.\" \"我没有兴趣听你吹了! 来自飘(部分)
9 jaw 5xgy9     
n.颚,颌,说教,流言蜚语;v.喋喋不休,教训
参考例句:
  • He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
  • A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。
10 belligerent Qtwzz     
adj.好战的,挑起战争的;n.交战国,交战者
参考例句:
  • He had a belligerent aspect.他有种好斗的神色。
  • Our government has forbidden exporting the petroleum to the belligerent countries.我们政府已经禁止向交战国输出石油。
11 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。
12 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
13 contemplating bde65bd99b6b8a706c0f139c0720db21     
深思,细想,仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 ); 注视,凝视; 考虑接受(发生某事的可能性); 深思熟虑,沉思,苦思冥想
参考例句:
  • You're too young to be contemplating retirement. 你考虑退休还太年轻。
  • She stood contemplating the painting. 她站在那儿凝视那幅图画。
14 spotted 7FEyj     
adj.有斑点的,斑纹的,弄污了的
参考例句:
  • The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
  • Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。
15 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。


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