Chapter 46 The Decoration Of Sammy

Smith leaned against the mantelpiece in the senior day-room atOutwood's--since Mike's innings against Downing's the Lost Lambs hadbeen received as brothers by that centre of disorder¹, so that evenSpiller was compelled to look on the hatchet² as buried--and gave hisviews on the events of the preceding night, or, rather, of thatmorning, for it was nearer one than twelve when peace had once morefallen on the school.

　　"Nothing that happens in this luny-bin," said Psmith, "has power tosurprise me now. There was a time when I might have thought it alittle unusual to have to leave the house through a canvas shoot atone³ o'clock in the morning, but I suppose it's quite the regular thinghere. Old school tradition, &c. Men leave the school, and find thatthey've got so accustomed to jumping out of window that they look onit as a sort of affectation to go out by the door. I suppose none ofyou merchants can give me any idea when the next knockaboutentertainment of this kind is likely to take place?""I wonder who rang that bell!" said Stone. "Jolly sporting idea.""I believe it was Downing himself. If it was, I hope he's satisfied."Jellicoe, who was appearing in society supported by a stick, lookedmeaningly at Mike, and giggled⁴, receiving in answer a stony⁵ stare.

　　Mike had informed Jellicoe of the details of his interview with Mr.

　　Barley at the "White Boar," and Jellicoe, after a momentary⁶ splutterof wrath⁷ against the practical joker, was now in a particularlylight-hearted mood. He hobbled about, giggling⁸ at nothing and atpeace with all the world.

　　"It was a stirring scene," said Psmith. "The agility⁹ with whichComrade Jellicoe boosted himself down the shoot was a triumph of mindover matter. He seemed to forget his ankle. It was the nearest thingto a Boneless Acrobatic Wonder that I have ever seen.""I was in a beastly funk, I can tell you."Stone gurgled.

　　"So was I," he said, "for a bit. Then, when I saw that it was all arag, I began to look about for ways of doing the thing really well. Iemptied about six jugs¹⁰ of water on a gang of kids under my window.""I rushed into Downing's, and ragged¹¹ some of the beds," said Robinson.

　　"It was an invigorating time," said Psmith. "A sort of pageant¹². I wasparticularly struck with the way some of the bright lads caught holdof the idea. There was no skimping¹³. Some of the kids, to my certainknowledge, went down the shoot a dozen times. There's nothing likedoing a thing thoroughly¹⁴. I saw them come down, rush upstairs, and besaved again, time after time. The thing became chronic¹⁵ with them. Ishould say Comrade Downing ought to be satisfied with the high stateof efficiency to which he has brought us. At any rate I hope----"There was a sound of hurried footsteps outside the door, and Sharpe, amember of the senior day-room, burst excitedly in. He seemed amused.

　　"I say, have you chaps seen Sammy?""Seen who?" said Stone. "Sammy? Why?""You'll know in a second. He's just outside. Here, Sammy, Sammy,Sammy! Sam! Sam!"A bark and a patter of feet outside.

　　"Come on, Sammy. Good dog."There was a moment's silence. Then a great yell of laughter burstforth. Even Psmith's massive calm was shattered. As for Jellicoe, hesobbed in a corner.

　　Sammy's beautiful white coat was almost entirely¹⁶ concealed¹⁷ by a thickcovering of bright red paint. His head, with the exception of theears, was untouched, and his serious, friendly eyes seemed toemphasise the weirdness¹⁸ of his appearance. He stood in the doorway,barking and wagging his tail, plainly puzzled at his reception. He wasa popular dog, and was always well received when he visited any of thehouses, but he had never before met with enthusiasm like this.

　　"Good old Sammy!""What on earth's been happening to him?""Who did it?"Sharpe, the introducer, had no views on the matter.

　　"I found him outside Downing's, with a crowd round him. Everybodyseems to have seen him. I wonder who on earth has gone and mucked himup like that!"Mike was the first to show any sympathy for the maltreated animal.

　　"Poor old Sammy," he said, kneeling on the floor beside the victim,and scratching him under the ear. "What a beastly shame! It'll takehours to wash all that off him, and he'll hate it.""It seems to me," said Psmith, regarding Sammy dispassionately throughhis eyeglass, "that it's not a case for mere¹⁹ washing. They'll eitherhave to skin him bodily, or leave the thing to time. Time, the GreatHealer. In a year or two he'll fade to a delicate pink. I don't seewhy you shouldn't have a pink bull-terrier. It would lend a touch ofdistinction to the place. Crowds would come in excursion trains to seehim. By charging a small fee you might make him self-supporting. Ithink I'll suggest it to Comrade Downing.""There'll be a row about this," said Stone.

　　"Rows are rather sport when you're not mixed up in them," saidRobinson, philosophically²⁰. "There'll be another if we don't start offfor chapel²¹ soon. It's a quarter to."There was a general move. Mike was the last to leave the room. As hewas going, Jellicoe stopped him. Jellicoe was staying in that Sunday,owing to his ankle.

　　"I say," said Jellicoe, "I just wanted to thank you again aboutthat----""Oh, that's all right.""No, but it really was awfully²² decent of you. You might have got intoa frightful²³ row. Were you nearly caught?""Jolly nearly.""It _was_ you who rang the bell, wasn't it?""Yes, it was. But for goodness sake don't go gassing about it, orsomebody will get to hear who oughtn't to, and I shall be sacked.""All right. But, I say, you _are_ a chap!""What's the matter now?""I mean about Sammy, you know. It's a jolly good score off oldDowning. He'll be frightfully sick.""Sammy!" cried Mike. "My good man, you don't think I did that, do you?

　　What absolute rot! I never touched the poor brute²⁴.""Oh, all right," said Jellicoe. "But I wasn't going to tell any one,of course.""What do you mean?""You _are_ a chap!" giggled Jellicoe.

　　Mike walked to chapel rather thoughtfully.

1 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

2 hatchet   

n.短柄小斧；v.扼杀

参考例句：

• I shall have to take a hatchet to that stump.我得用一把短柄斧来劈这树桩。
• Do not remove a fly from your friend's forehead with a hatchet.别用斧头拍打朋友额头上的苍蝇。

3 atone   

v.赎罪，补偿

参考例句：

• He promised to atone for his crime.他承诺要赎自己的罪。
• Blood must atone for blood.血债要用血来还。

4 giggled   

v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The girls giggled at the joke. 女孩子们让这笑话逗得咯咯笑。
• The children giggled hysterically. 孩子们歇斯底里地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 stony   

adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的

参考例句：

• The ground is too dry and stony.这块地太干，而且布满了石头。
• He listened to her story with a stony expression.他带着冷漠的表情听她讲经历。

6 momentary   

adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的

参考例句：

• We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。
• I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。

7 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

8 giggling   

v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We just sat there giggling like naughty schoolchildren. 我们只是坐在那儿像调皮的小学生一样的咯咯地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I can't stand her giggling, she's so silly. 她吃吃地笑，叫我真受不了，那样子傻透了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

9 agility   

n.敏捷，活泼

参考例句：

• The boy came upstairs with agility.那男孩敏捷地走上楼来。
• His intellect and mental agility have never been in doubt.他的才智和机敏从未受到怀疑。

10 jugs   

（有柄及小口的）水壶( jug的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Two china jugs held steaming gravy. 两个瓷罐子装着热气腾腾的肉卤。
• Jugs-Big wall lingo for Jumars or any other type of ascenders. 大岩壁术语，祝玛式上升器或其它种类的上升器。

11 ragged   

adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的

参考例句：

• A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
• Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。

12 pageant   

n.壮观的游行；露天历史剧

参考例句：

• Our pageant represented scenes from history.我们的露天历史剧上演一幕幕的历史事件。
• The inauguration ceremony of the new President was a splendid pageant.新主席的就职典礼的开始是极其壮观的。

13 skimping   

v.少用( skimp的现在分词 )；少给；克扣；节省

参考例句：

• Nearly a third of workers are skimping on work to meet personal commitments. 几乎有三分之一的员工仅仅是为了达到自己许下的承诺因而在工作上马虎了事。 来自互联网

14 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

15 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

16 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。

17 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

18 weirdness   

n.古怪，离奇，不可思议

参考例句：

• The weirdness of the city by night held her attention. 夜间城市的古怪景象吸引了她的注意力。
• But that's not the end of the weirdness feasible in evolutionary systems. 然而这还不是进化系统居然可行的最怪异的地方呐。

19 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

20 philosophically   

adv.哲学上；富有哲理性地；贤明地；冷静地

参考例句：

• He added philosophically that one should adapt oneself to the changed conditions. 他富于哲理地补充说，一个人应该适应变化了的情况。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Harry took his rejection philosophically. 哈里达观地看待自己被拒的事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

22 awfully   

adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地

参考例句：

• Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
• I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

23 frightful   

adj.可怕的；讨厌的

参考例句：

• How frightful to have a husband who snores!有一个发鼾声的丈夫多讨厌啊！
• We're having frightful weather these days.这几天天气坏极了。

24 brute   

n.野兽，兽性

参考例句：

• The aggressor troops are not many degrees removed from the brute.侵略军简直象一群野兽。
• That dog is a dangerous brute.It bites people.那条狗是危险的畜牲，它咬人。